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This article analyses the ways in which the memory of transnational traumatic events of war and conflict of the past have been represented at Wellington's waterfront and whether the site, with its multitude of memorial plaques, can be read as a lieu de mémoire. The study focuses on three commemorative plaques: the memorial plaque to those New Zealanders who took part in the Spanish Civil War (2011); the commemorative plaque to the Polish children of Pahīatua (2004); and the memorial plaque commemorating the arrival of the United States Marine Corps to New Zealand (1951/2000). It, first, examines the memory entrepreneurs behind the commemoration of the events the plaques depict and analyse whether these agents engaged in bottom-up or top-down mnemonic practices and activities (or a mixture of these). Second, it analyses the significance of these memorials in the collective memory of contemporary Aotearoa/New Zealand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Episodic memory (EM), one of the most commonly assessed cognitive domains in aging, is useful for identifying pathological processes such as mild cognitive impairment and dementia. However, EM tests must be culturally adapted, and the influence of sociodemographic variables analyzed, to provide cut-off points that enable correct diagnosis. The aim of this article is to report updated Spanish normative data for three EM tests: the California Verbal Learning Test, the Logical Memory subtest of the Wechsler Memory Test, and the Rivermead Behavioral Memory Test. Measures include immediate, short-, and long-delay free recall, intrusions, and global scores. The entire sample is comprised of 1,193 cognitively unimpaired participants aged +50, recruited from three cohort studies within the Spanish Consortium for Ageing Normative Data. Participants who subsequently developed cognitive impairment, detected at follow-up, were removed from the total sample. Data analysis included transformation of percentile ranges into scalar scores, tests for the effects of education level, age, and sex on performance, and linear regression to calculate scalar adjustments. Tables with percentile ranges and scalar scores for each measure are provided, with adjustments for age, education level, and sex, as required. The normative scores provide robust data for assessing EM in Spanish middle-aged and old populations. Effects of sex, age, and education level in each measure are discussed. Public Significance Statement: This study provides updated Spanish normative data for three of the main episodic memory tests used in neuropsychological assessments during the aging process. Each measure provides adjustments for age, education level, and sex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flashbulb memories (FBMs) refer to vivid and long-lasting autobiographical memories for the circumstances in which people learned of a shocking and consequential public event. A cross-national study across eleven countries aimed to investigate FBM formation following the first COVID-19 case news in each country and test the effect of pandemic-related variables on FBM. Participants had detailed memories of the date and others present when they heard the news, and had partially detailed memories of the place, activity, and news source. China had the highest FBM specificity. All countries considered the COVID-19 emergency as highly significant at both the individual and global level. The Classification and Regression Tree Analysis revealed that FBM specificity might be influenced by participants' age, subjective severity (assessment of COVID-19 impact in each country and relative to others), residing in an area with stringent COVID-19 protection measures, and expecting the pandemic effects. Hierarchical regression models demonstrated that age and subjective severity negatively predicted FBM specificity, whereas sex, pandemic impact expectedness, and rehearsal showed positive associations in the total sample. Subjective severity negatively affected FBM specificity in Turkey, whereas pandemic impact expectedness positively influenced FBM specificity in China and negatively in Denmark. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aimed to explore the association between a verbal learning task that evaluates the potential mutual dependency between memory and executive functions (i.e., the Test of Memory Strategies, TMS) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) Alzheimer's Disease (AD) biomarkers. Methods: A sample of 47 mild cognitive impairment (MCI) participants from Poland and Spain were classified according to the Erlangen Score Diagnostic Algorithm (ESA) into CSF- (n = 16) and CSF+ (n = 31) groups. Correlation analyses between TMS word-list conditions and CSF biomarkers were conducted. Additionally, an analysis of covariance was performed to define the effect on ESA classification in the sample, using as a covariable the country of origin of the participants. Results: Significant associations between the TMS-3 condition and Aβ42, t-tau, and p-tau were observed for the whole sample. In addition, the CSF- participants obtained higher cognitive performance in TMS-3 compared to the CSF+ group. This outcome persisted if the groups were based on Aβ42 scores, but not t-tau or p-tau values. Conclusions: These findings could indicate that poor performance on verbal learning tests may be affected by executive dysfunctions. Therefore, future intervention plans focused on training executive functions would be of interest to improve the ability of MCI patients to encode and organize information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) is an episodic memory helpful measure to detect changes associated with abnormal aging. There is a lack of RAVLT validation and normalization studies in Spain. The aim was to determine its psychometric properties and explore long-term forgetting (LTF) performance through 1-week delayed recall under three different modes of administration. The RAVLT was administered to 602 cognitively healthy volunteers, aged between 41 and 65 years, of whom 251 completed the LTF assessment. Findings reveal a factorial structure of four components, with satisfactory goodness of fit, and adequate convergent and divergent validity. We also demonstrated the differential effect of three methodologies used in LTF assessment, supporting that test expectancy positively influences long-term storage. Finally, normative data were generated according to age, sex, and education. The test, including the LTF measure, is a promising tool to estimate memory in middle-aged adults and develop predictive brain aging models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to establish normative data for the Spanish version of the California Verbal Learning Test, the Test de Aprendizaje Verbal España-Complutense (TAVEC). Through different subtests, the TAVEC allows verbal learning and episodic memory to be evaluated, an assessment that was carried out on a sample of 382 cognitive healthy Spanish individuals aged 60–90 years old. Unlike the participant's educational level, their age and sex significantly influenced performance in the TAVEC. We provide tables that allow the scaled scores obtained with this test to be adjusted for age and other tables with the relevant adjustments for sex. The normative data obtained in this study will help more precisely interpret the performance of older Spanish adults in the TAVEC, enhancing the utility of this neuropsychological test to evaluate verbal learning and episodic memory in clinical settings and in relation to healthy aging. Public Significance Statement: The present study provides updated normative data for the Spanish version of the California Verbal Learning Test, the Test de Aprendizaje Verbal España-Complutense (TAVEC) in Spanish older adults. The norms produced here are age and sex adjusted, enhancing the utility of this neuropsychological test to evaluate verbal learning and episodic memory in both clinical and research contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Memory Binding Test (MBT) is emerging as a promising tool for the detection of subtle memory impairment suggestive of Alzheimer's disease (AD). For such a test to be widely accessed and used, the availability of both alternate forms and language adaptations is required.Objectives: To develop a thorough methodology for obtaining alternate forms (A and B) of the MBT in Spanish and Catalan and to assess their equivalence.Method: According to the original development of the test, frequency was taken as the lexical variable of reference for the Spanish and Catalan adaptations. A crossed design protocol by form and language was used to compare the MBT results in a sample of 290 cognitively normal middle-aged participants. Pairwise Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICCs) were calculated among the six possible combinations.Results: The Spanish and Catalan lists of words for the MBT A and B resulting from the adaptation process as well as the original lists in English are presented. ICC indices for the comparisons between forms and languages ranged from 0.56 to 0.82.Conclusion: The MBT A and B in Spanish and Catalan showed similar outcomes and can be considered equivalent. Moreover, the thorough methodology presented here for the transcultural adaptation and equivalence study, could serve as a model for future adaptations of the MBT and other verbal tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Subjective memory impairment (SMI) refers to subjective awareness of initial memory decline undetectable with existing standardized cognitive tests. The Face Name Associative Memory Exam (FNAME) was created to detect memory deficits in individuals with preclinical Alzheimer's disease (AD). We reported normative data of a Spanish version of FNAME (S-FNAME) in cognitively normal (CN) Spanish-speaking subjects >49., Objective: To determine whether higher SMI [a modification of Memory Failures Everyday (MFE-30)] was related to worse memory performance (S-FNAME) or associated with greater affective symptoms in subjects >49; and whether MFE-30 and FNAME were able to discriminate between CN and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) subjects., Methods: 317 subjects (CN = 196, MCI = 121) were included in the analysis because they attended the annual "Open House Initiative" at Memory Clinic Fundació ACE, were >49 years, literate, received S-FNAME, MFE-30, and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, had Mini-Mental State Examination scores ≥27, and returned to complete a comprehensive diagnostic assessment., Results: MFE-30 scores were associated with affective symptoms but not with S-FNAME performance. S-FNAME scores were related to performance on memory variables of NBACE (neuropsychological battery used in Fundació ACE). Although the MCI group showed significantly higher MFE-30 and worse S-FNAME scores than the CN group, their discriminability values were similar (Sensitivity: 49.6 versus 52.9; Specificity: 85.1 versus 83.6, respectively)., Conclusions: SMI was more related to depressive symptoms than to S-FNAME memory performance; and S-FNAME scores were related to other episodic memory test performances, but neither to affective symptoms nor to SMI. MFE-30 and S-FNAME are not optimal for discriminating between CN and MCI groups. Longitudinal follow-up will determine if lower S-FNAME and higher SMI are related to increased risk of AD.