Visual and Verbal Learning in a Genetic Metabolic Disorder

The current study examined the hypothesized discrepancy between visual and verbal learning in individuals with cystinosis, a genetic metabolic disorder in which subtle visual-spatial impairments have been observed. Visual and verbal learning in cystinosis were examined in the following three studies. The goal of Study I was to provide a normative database and establish the reliability and validity of a new test of visual learning and memory (Visual Learning and Memory Test; VLMT) that was modeled after a widely used test of verbal learning and memory (California Verbal Learning Test; CVLT). One hundred seventy-two neurologically intact individuals aged 5 years through 50 years were administered the VLMT and the CVLT. Normative data were collected and the results suggested that the VLMT is a reliable and valid new measure of visual learning and memory. The aim of Study II was to examine visual and verbal learning and memory performances in individuals with cystinosis. Thirty-seven individuals with cystinosis and 37 matched controls were administered the VLMT and the CVLT. Individuals with cystinosis performed at a lower level than controls on almost all indices of visual learning and memory while no differences were found between the groups on the verbal measure. Examination of the results on the VLMT indicated that the visual learning impairment in cystinosis may result from a deficit in speeded visual information processing. Study III aimed to remediate the observed visual learning and memory deficit by implementing an intervention that increased the processing time for visual stimuli. Fifteen individuals with cystinosis were administered a version of the VLMT in which the stimuli were exposed for 3-seconds rather than 1-second. Fifteen matched controls were administered the 1-second version of the VLMT. The results of Study III indicated that by increasing the exposure time for each visual stimulus, individuals with cystinosis were able to perform at the same level as control subjects. This is the first study to demonstrate impaired visual learning and spared verbal learning in individuals with cystinosis. These results may provide the foundation for designing cognitive interventions and have implications for a greater understanding of gene-behavior relationships.