Is Primary Memory deficit of Alzheimer patients due to a “Central Executive” impairment?

Memory deficits are characteristic of the neuropsychological profile of patients affected by Alzheimer disease (AD). However, the nature of these deficits in memory function has only been investigated systematically in recent years. The disease is associated with deficits in short-term memory that are quite unlike those shown by patients with focal lesions who suffer from memory disorders. Also, the AD patients show a pattern that is rather different to that typical of global amnesia.

A number of studies are reviewed which suggest that AD patients may have a particular deficit in their ability to co-ordinate the performance of two tasks performed concurrently. Moreover, this deficit is not readily interpreted in terms of the general ''difficulty'' of the tasks being performed. It is suggested that the pattern of memory deficits (primary and to some extent secondary memory) shown by these patients is most readily interpreted within the context of the ''Working Memory Model'', and more precisely with the impairment of the ''Central Executive'', time-sharing, component of it.