Deficit of the "primacy effect" in parkinsonians interpreted by means of the working memory model.

29 Parkinsonians and 29 controls matched for age and schooling were tested for memory by means of a free recall test (serial position curve) and two spans (verbal and non-verbal). The free recall test yields three measures: primacy (item 1); secondary memory (items 2-7) and recency (items 8-12). The Parkinsonians displayed a selective deficit of primacy, which is taken to be evidence of defective functioning of the Central Executive in the Working Memory model.