These programs are designed for therapeutic use by individuals with short-term memory problems caused by an injury to the brain or by stroke. The emphasis is on the transfer of new information into long-term storage, as well as on short-term, temporary retention.
FASTREAD (Tachistoscopic Reading) addresses very brief visual memory at the most rapid presentations. MEMSCAN, a version of the classic Sternberg memory retrieval task, addresses the access to short term memory traces. WORDMEM (Word Memory Span), SPAN (Memory Span), TRIPREC (Triplet Recall) are all concerned with short-term verbal memory; while VISMEM (Visual Memory), PATTERNS, and SEQREC (Sequence Recall) are in the non-verbal domain.
FASTPRO is unique in this series, and in the field of memory rehabilitation, in that it addresses short-term prospective memory: remembering to follow through on commitments.
Special features of most of these programs include:
(STERNBERG) MEMSCAN is a version of the classic Sternberg procedure for scanning information in very short-term memory. A 2 choice differential response is made based on whether a target is included in a memory set of varying size.
The computer flashes a word and asks that it be typed in. The task speeds up as long as one can keep up, and slows down after errors. Word lists come with the program; custom word lists can be created with a text editor. The program is included as a brief visual memory exercise, but it also is useful for persons with deficits in attention, foveal perception, and verbal apraxia (difficulty planning and articulating words). The task offers feedback for visual imperception, reinforces attention and alertness, and exercises the typing and production of words. A "copy" mode is also an option.
Speeded reading of word lists is accompanied by a secondary "secret word" task which requires prospective memory (remembering to follow up on a task at a designated future time). FASTPRO was created in order to address "prospective" or future memory - the ability to remember something, e.g., that needs to be done, at a later time or in another place. In everyday life, such demands are common, that is, remembering to take one's medication, to call someone when one gets home, etc. Prospective memory failures are often characterized as absentmindedness, and are often what people think of when they worry about becoming forgetful. This task uses the FASTREAD (Tachistoscopic Reading) task as a foundation, with an additional "Secret Word" task.
WORDMEM calls for serial recall of short lists of unrelated words. Recall is typed on the keyboard, so this exercise can be used for independent use by many patients. The computer displays a random list of words one by one. The number of words and how long they appear are selected. At the end of the list, the user types in the words in order. Current scores may be viewed at any time. The exercise is to improve the immediate span of verbal memory.
Here, a patterned response sequence must be produced in response to a model. Not only the number, but the timing of the responses is important. This task reflects competency at the third milestone of response competency. PATTERNS calls for the ability to repeat a patterned series of responses. This task requires memory for the pattern and the ability to execute it. It is the defining task for the third milestone of response competency. Because stimuli can be visual (light flashes) or auditory (beeps), the PATTERN procedure can be conducted as the AVIT (Auditory Visual Integration Task).
VISMEM is a short-term memory storage task which does not involve explicitly verbal stimuli. Checkerboard displays are reproduced by key presses or using switches. The exercise focuses on visual, non-verbal memory. Persons with no keyboard skills can use this program via simple key presses or via switch inputs. You can choose simple or complex displays and increase the length of the series as improvement occurs. The computer displays one or more irregular patterns within a checkerboard. After the displays are studied, an opportunity is given to "paint" one of the displays on the screen by pressing arrow keys. The computer keeps a running count of your scores.
Sequence recall allows non-verbal 'recall' of stimuli, originally. This task is based on the Sequence Pictures Test by Dr. N. Mackworth and Dr. J. Mackworth of the Santa Clara Medical Center in California, who proposed it as a test of frontal lobe function, especially planning. Because it does not require the patient to read words aloud, this program can be used diagnostically and for treatment of patients unable to process verbal material, including non-English speakers, aphasics, and others. It can be set to a wide range of difficulty, from very easy to very hard.
In this program, the patient sees a series of lists of nonsense words, shapes, short words, or pictures presented on the screen one at a time. The lists are set for varying lengths, from 1 to 10 items. After the list is displayed, the patient is shown a "menu" of items that may have appeared on the list. The patient is to point to the items in the order in which they were shown. The computer then numbers the items in the correct order so the patient and therapist can see whether the patient recalled the items and the order correctly. In the course of therapy, one may gradually increase the sequence lengths.
Span is a short-term verbal memory task in which one is to recall the last few words in an ongoing series. The series is interrupted at unpredictable points.
A classic short-term verbal memory task, TRIPREC involves the recall of 3 words with varying amounts of interference. In this version, the therapist records the patient's verbal recall.
ALSO SEE THE RANDT MEMORY TEST