Acquisition of Domain-Specific Knowledge in Patients with Organic Memory Disorders

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Abstract
Patients with organic memory disorders are typically unable to acquire and retain new information and are therefore often unable to lead independent lives. The present paper outlines an approach to memory remediation that attempts to teach memory impaired patients domain-specific knowledge relevant to their everyday functioning. Several studies describe the successful use of a training technique, the method of vanishing cues, in teaching patients information and skills associated with the operation of a microcomputer. Additional studies show that knowledge acquired in the laboratory can be applied in at least one important domain of everyday life—the workplace. Suggestions for the use of these techniques with other cognitively disabled populations and in other domains are considered.