Estratégias de aquisição de informação verbal
: o clustering semântico

  • Inês de Oliveira Simão (Student)

Student thesis: Master's Thesis

Abstract

Overall memory performance is traditionally ascribed to the efficient functioning of three processing stages – encoding, storage and retrieval. According to literature, the processe of retrieval of episodic memories can be optimized if during acquisition the subject organizes information in semantic clusters. The deficit in employing the semantic clustering is associated with a poor recovery in several neurologic disorders, nevertheless, regarding the origin of the semantic clustering’s decline, no agreement has been reached amongst studies. In this sense, it is relevant to explore the executive function and the semantic processing’s contribution to the clusters’ formation. The goal is to assess if the failure of the spontaneous use of this strategy, in individuals with cognitive decline, is due to a deficit in the executive function, a difficulty in detecting the semantic structure or a combination of both. This study used a sample of individuals with cognitive decline, resulting from several neurologic disorders (n=20). To evaluate the different domains, an evaluation protocol that allowed the correlation of variables representing the semantic clustering, executive function and semantic memory. The results in the California Verbal Learning Test confirmed the deficit in memory of the individuals of the sample which obtained low values in the recall and semantic clustering. Results revealed an implicit combination of executive function and semantic memory in this semantic clustering deficit, especially in free recall. Thus, one can conclude that the executive function and the semantic memory alone do not contribute to the semantic deficit, however, in information recovery trials, was found that the semantic clustering could come of a relation between these variables.
Date of Award14 Jul 2016
Original languagePortuguese
Awarding Institution
  • Universidade Católica Portuguesa
SupervisorFilipa Ribeiro (Supervisor)

Designation

  • Mestrado em Neuropsicologia

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