Everyday-like memory and its cognitive correlates in healthy older adults and in young patients with traumatic brain injury: a pilot study based on virtual reality.

UNLABELLED: PURPOSE STATE: A pilot-study with a comparison approach between aging and traumatic brain injury (TBI) is proposed to investigate everyday object memory patterns using a virtual HOMES test.
METHODS: Sixteen young controls, 15 older adults and 15 TBI patients underwent the HOMES test and traditional tests.
RESULTS: Older adults and TBI patients exhibited similar HOMES performances: poor recall, a greater recognition benefit, high false recognitions, but intact clustering and proactive interference effects. The age-related differences for HOMES measures were mainly mediated by executive functioning, while the HOMES performances in the TBI group were correlated with memory measures.
CONCLUSION: The differential cognitive mediating effects for a similar everyday-like memory pattern are discussed by highlighting the need for more cautious interpretations of cognitive mechanisms behind similar behavioral patterns in different populations especially in clinical and rehabilitation settings.