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Mental Status Examination in Primary Care: A Review

Table 3.
Classification of Memory Systems

MEMORY
DESCRIPTION SIGNIFICANCE OF DEFICIT EXAMPLES
TYPE

Episodic Ability to recall personal May be transient secondary to Knowing what you had for
experiences seizure, concussion, amnesia, breakfast, how you
medication use, hypoglycemia celebrated your last
birthday
Also occurs with degenerative
disorders, including Alzheimer
disease, vascular dementia,
dementia with Lewy bodies

Semantic Ability to learn and Most common with advanced Knowing who is the
store conceptual and Alzheimer disease president of the United
factual information States, how many planets
are in the solar system

Procedural Ability to learn Most common with Parkinson Learning to ride a bike,
behavioral and disorders play a musical instrument,
cognitive skills that are swim
used on an May also occur with Huntington
unconscious level disease, cerebrovascular accident,
tumors, depression (secondary to
effect on basal ganglia)

May not be present in early

Alzheimer disease

Working Ability to temporarily Combination of attention, Remembering a list of

maintain information concentration, and short-term seven words in order, a
memory phone number

May occur with delirium

Information from reference 6.

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