Case report : perceptual and semantic memory encoding in people with mild cognitive impairment

Previous literature shows that the elderly people are able to take the advantage using semantic memory encoding to aid with their memory retrieval. However, people with mild cognitive impairment may not seem to take such benefit. This case report therefore sought to take an overview of the memory encoding processes in MCI. Two cases participated in an experimental paradigm involving encoding tasks by studying a list of words using perceptual and semantic memory encoding strategies and then making studied or unstudied judgment in the recognition phase. Results showed that they performed better using the perceptual encoding strategy. The process of memory encoding as shown by the event-related potentials data did not show consistent findings on whether they engaged in semantic processing under the semantic encoding condition. This case study gave the insights on the benefits using perceptual and semantic memory encoding strategies in people with mild cognitive impairment. Further study with more participants with MCI would be necessary.