[Verbal Episodic Memory Test].

Background and purpose:

The decline of episodic memory is one of the earliest cognitive markers of mild cognitive impairment and various types of dementia. Until today, however, there is no standardized Hun­garian episodic memory test that takes into account the characteristics of the Hungarian language. The study presents the structure and standardized use of a new memory test (Verbal Episodic Memory Test, VEMT) as well as normative data in Hungary. 

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Methods:

The VEMT is suitable for the comprehensive examination of verbal learning abilities in a broader sense, and more specifically, for the neuropsychological measurement of verbal list learning abilities. In the present study, we constructed a normative database consisting of data from 385 participants.

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Results:

We showed that the VEMT is sensitive to demographic factors (e.g., age) which are linked to differences in episodic memory performance. Open access to the test is provided, and the normative scores are presented as well. 

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Conclusion:

The indicators of the test are suitable for drawing a learning curve, for showing the interaction of new and previously learned information (interference effects), and for measuring differences between free recall and cued recall. Furthermore, the test scores are appropriate for distinguishing the effects of different types of memory encoding forms (phonological, semantic, and episodic), for measuring the ability to reconstruct the presentation of a sequence (memory order information), for detecting the rate of forgetting, for measuring recognition abilities, and for detecting hippocampus-related mnemonic pattern separation and completion functions. 

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