Effects of Spaced Retrieval Training on Semantic Memory in Alzheimer's Disease (Oren et al., 2014)

Purpose This article reports on a systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of spaced retrieval training (SRT) on semantic memory in people with Alzheimer's disease (AD) or related disorder.
Method An initial systematic database search identified 454 potential studies. After screening and de-duplication, 35 studies that used SRT with the population of interest remained. The authors used an appraisal point system to evaluate the quality of the studies. Twelve of the 35 studies met inclusion and exclusion criteria and passed the appraisal point system cutoff. The 12 studies were classified as Level I and II evidence.

Results Although the 12 studies varied in terms of design, methodology, and quality, SRT was shown to have important positive effects on learning semantic information across the included studies.

Conclusions The findings indicate that SRT is an effective semantic memory training technique for people with AD, and consequently, recommendations are suggested for implementing SRT in practice settings. Continued research in this domain is also warranted to address limitations and gaps in the current body of research evidence, including variability in SRT protocols, effects of dementia severity on learning outcomes, maintenance effects, generalization, and the role of explicit and implicit learning in SRT.

目的 本文对空间提取训练（SRT）对阿尔茨海默病（AD）或相关病症患者语义记忆影响进行了一项系统综述和荟萃分析。方法 通过初步的系统数据库搜索，共识别出454项潜在研究。经过筛选和去重后，保留了35项使用SRT针对目标人群的研究。作者采用评估点系统对研究质量进行了评估。在35项研究中，有12项符合纳入和排除标准，并通过了评估点系统的门槛。这12项研究被归类为I级和II级证据。结果 尽管这12项研究在设计、方法和质量上存在差异，但SRT在所有纳入的研究中均显示出对学习语义信息的重要积极影响。结论 研究结果表明，SRT是一种针对AD患者有效的语义记忆训练技术，因此，针对实践应用场景的实施建议也被提出。此外，针对当前研究证据中的局限性、差距，包括SRT方案的可变性、痴呆严重程度对学习成果的影响、维持效果、泛化以及显性和隐性学习在SRT中的作用等问题，继续在该领域进行深入研究也是必要的。