Memory ability of children with complex communication needs.

PubMed

Larsson, Maria; Sandberg, Annika Dahlgren

2008-01-01

Phonological memory is central to language and reading and writing skills. Many children with complex communication needs (CCN) experience problems with reading and writing acquisition. The reason could be because of the absence of articulatory ability, which might have a negative affect on phonological memory. Phonological and visuo-spatial short-term memory and working memory were tested in 15 children with CCN, aged 5 - 12 years, and compared to children with natural speech matched for gender, and mental and linguistic age. Results indicated weaker phonological STM and visuo-spatial STM and WM in children with CCN. The lack of articulatory ability could be assumed to affect subvocal rehearsal and, therefore, phonological memory which, in turn, may affect reading and writing acquisition. Weak visuo-spatial memory could also complicate the use of Bliss symbols and other types of augmentative and alternative communication.

The Effect of Old Age on Supra-Span Learning of Visuo-Spatial Sequences under Incidental and Intentional Encoding Instructions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gagnon, Sylvain; Bedard, Marie-Josee; Turcotte, Josee

2005-01-01

Recent findings [Turcotte, Gagnon, & Poirier, 2005. The effect of old age on the learning of supra-span sequences. "Psychology and Aging," 20, 251-260.] indicate that incidental learning of visuo-spatial supra-span sequences through immediate serial recall declines with old age (Hebb's paradigm). In this study, we examined whether…

Relating 7-Month-Olds Visuo-Spatial Working Memory to Other Basic Mental Skills Assessed with Two Different Versions of the Habituation-Dishabituation Paradigm

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ropeter, Anna; Pauen, Sabina

2013-01-01

This study examines the relationship between various basic mental processing abilities in infancy. Two groups of 7-month-olds received the same delayed-response task to assess visuo-spatial working memory, but two different habituation-dishabituation tasks to assess processing speed and recognition memory. The single-stimulus group ("N"…

Developmental dyscalculia is related to visuo-spatial memory and inhibition impairment☆

PubMed Central

Szucs, Denes; Devine, Amy; Soltesz, Fruzsina; Nobes, Alison; Gabriel, Florence

2013-01-01

Developmental dyscalculia is thought to be a specific impairment of mathematics ability. Currently dominant cognitive neuroscience theories of developmental dyscalculia suggest that it originates from the impairment of the magnitude representation of the human brain, residing in the intraparietal sulcus, or from impaired connections between number symbols and the magnitude representation. However, behavioral research offers several alternative theories for developmental dyscalculia and neuro-imaging also suggests that impairments in developmental dyscalculia may be linked to disruptions of other functions of the intraparietal sulcus than the magnitude representation. Strikingly, the magnitude representation theory has never been explicitly contrasted with a range of alternatives in a systematic fashion. Here we have filled this gap by directly contrasting five alternative theories (magnitude representation, working memory, inhibition, attention and spatial processing) of developmental dyscalculia in 9–10-year-old primary school children. Participants were selected from a pool of 1004 children and took part in 16 tests and nine experiments. The dominant features of developmental dyscalculia are visuo-spatial working memory, visuo-spatial short-term memory and inhibitory function (interference suppression) impairment. We hypothesize that inhibition impairment is related to the disruption of central executive memory function. Potential problems of visuo-spatial processing and attentional function in developmental dyscalculia probably depend on short-term memory/working memory and inhibition impairments. The magnitude representation theory of developmental dyscalculia was not supported. PMID:23890692

A Familiar Pattern? Semantic Memory Contributes to the Enhancement of Visuo-Spatial Memories

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Riby, Leigh M.; Orme, Elizabeth

2013-01-01

In this study we quantify for the first time electrophysiological components associated with incorporating long-term semantic knowledge with visuo-spatial information using two variants of a traditional matrix patterns task. Results indicated that the matrix task with greater semantic content was associated with enhanced accuracy and RTs in a…

Sustained attention is favored by progesterone during early luteal phase and visuo-spatial memory by estrogens during ovulatory phase in young women.

PubMed

Solís-Ortiz, S; Corsi-Cabrera, M

2008-08-01

Studies examining the influence of the menstrual cycle on cognitive function have been highly contradictory. The maintenance of attention is key to successful information processing, however how it co-vary with other cognitive functions and mood in function of phases of the menstrual cycle is not well know. Therefore, neuropsychological performance of nine healthy women with regular menstrual cycles was assessed during ovulation (OVU), early luteal (EL), late luteal (LL) and menstrual (MEN) phases. Neuropsychological test scores of sustained attention, executive functions, manual coordination, visuo-spatial memory, verbal fluency, spatial ability, anxiety and depression were obtained and submitted to a principal components analysis (PCA). Five eigenvectors that accounted the 68.31% of the total variance were identified. Performance of the sustained attention was grouped in an independent eigenvector (component 1), and the scores on verbal fluency and visuo-spatial memory were grouped together in an eigenvector (component 5), which explained 17.69% and 12.03% of the total variance, respectively. The component 1 (p<0.034) and the component 5 (p<0.003) showed significant variations during the menstrual cycle. Sustained attention showed an increase in the EL phase, when the progesterone is high. Visuo-spatial memory was increased, while that verbal fluency was decreased during the OVU phase, when the estrogens levels are high. These results indicate that sustained attention is favored by early luteal phase progesterone and do not covaried with any other neuropsychological variables studied. The influence of the estrogens on visuo-spatial memory was corroborated, and covaried inversely with verbal fluency.

Visuo-spatial processing and executive functions in children with specific language impairment

PubMed Central

Marton, Klara

2007-01-01

Background Individual differences in complex working memory tasks reflect simultaneous processing, executive functions, and attention control. Children with specific language impairment (SLI) show a deficit in verbal working memory tasks that involve simultaneous processing of information. Aims The purpose of the study was to examine executive functions and visuo-spatial processing and working memory in children with SLI and in their typically developing peers (TLD). Experiment 1 included 40 children with SLI (age=5;3–6;10) and 40 children with TLD (age=5;3–6;7); Experiment 2 included 25 children with SLI (age=8;2–11;2) and 25 children with TLD (age=8;3–11;0). It was examined whether the difficulties that children with SLI show in verbal working memory tasks are also present in visuo-spatial working memory. Methods & Procedures In Experiment 1, children's performance was measured with three visuo-spatial processing tasks: space visualization, position in space, and design copying. The stimuli in Experiment 2 were two widely used neuropsychological tests: the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test — 64 (WCST-64) and the Tower of London test (TOL). Outcomes & Results In Experiment 1, children with SLI performed more poorly than their age-matched peers in all visuo-spatial working memory tasks. There was a subgroup within the SLI group that included children whose parents and teachers reported a weakness in the child's attention control. These children showed particular difficulties in the tasks of Experiment 1. The results support Engle's attention control theory: individuals need good attention control to perform well in visuo-spatial working memory tasks. In Experiment 2, the children with SLI produced more perseverative errors and more rule violations than their peers. Conclusions Executive functions have a great impact on SLI children's working memory performance, regardless of domain. Tasks that require an increased amount of attention control and executive functions are more difficult for the children with SLI than for their peers. Most children with SLI scored either below average or in the low average range on the neuropsychological tests that measured executive functions. PMID:17852522

How to enhance route learning and visuo-spatial working memory in aging: a training for residential care home residents.

PubMed

Mitolo, Micaela; Borella, Erika; Meneghetti, Chiara; Carbone, Elena; Pazzaglia, Francesca

2017-05-01

This study aimed to assess the efficacy of a route-learning training in a group of older adults living in a residential care home. We verified the presence of training-specific effects in tasks similar to those trained - route-learning tasks - as well as transfer effects on related cognitive processes - visuo-spatial short-term memory (VSSTM; Corsi Blocks Test (CBT), forward version), visuo-spatial working memory (VSWM; CBT, backward version; Pathway Span Tasks; Jigsaw Puzzle Test) - and in self-report measures. The maintenance of training benefits was examined after 3 months. Thirty 70-90-year-old residential care home residents were randomly assigned to the route-learning training group or to an active control group (involved in non-visuo-spatial activities). The trained group performed better than the control group in the route-learning tasks, retaining this benefit 3 months later. Immediate transfer effects were also seen in visuo-spatial span tasks (i.e., CBT forward and backward version and Pathway Span Task); these benefits had been substantially maintained at the 3-month follow-up. These findings suggest that a training on route learning is a promising approach to sustain older adults' environmental learning and some related abilities (e.g., VSSTM and VSWM), even in residential care home residents.

Developmental dyscalculia is related to visuo-spatial memory and inhibition impairment.

PubMed

Szucs, Denes; Devine, Amy; Soltesz, Fruzsina; Nobes, Alison; Gabriel, Florence

2013-01-01

Developmental dyscalculia is thought to be a specific impairment of mathematics ability. Currently dominant cognitive neuroscience theories of developmental dyscalculia suggest that it originates from the impairment of the magnitude representation of the human brain, residing in the intraparietal sulcus, or from impaired connections between number symbols and the magnitude representation. However, behavioral research offers several alternative theories for developmental dyscalculia and neuro-imaging also suggests that impairments in developmental dyscalculia may be linked to disruptions of other functions of the intraparietal sulcus than the magnitude representation. Strikingly, the magnitude representation theory has never been explicitly contrasted with a range of alternatives in a systematic fashion. Here we have filled this gap by directly contrasting five alternative theories (magnitude representation, working memory, inhibition, attention and spatial processing) of developmental dyscalculia in 9-10-year-old primary school children. Participants were selected from a pool of 1004 children and took part in 16 tests and nine experiments. The dominant features of developmental dyscalculia are visuo-spatial working memory, visuo-spatial short-term memory and inhibitory function (interference suppression) impairment. We hypothesize that inhibition impairment is related to the disruption of central executive memory function. Potential problems of visuo-spatial processing and attentional function in developmental dyscalculia probably depend on short-term memory/working memory and inhibition impairments. The magnitude representation theory of developmental dyscalculia was not supported. Copyright © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Long-term memory for verbal and visual information in Down syndrome and Williams syndrome: performance on the Doors and People test.

PubMed

Jarrold, Christopher; Baddeley, Alan D; Phillips, Caroline

2007-02-01

Previous studies have suggested that Williams syndrome and Down syndrome may be associated with specific short-term memory deficits. Individuals with Williams syndrome perform relatively poorly on tests of visuo-spatial short-term memory and individuals with Down syndrome show a relative deficit on verbal short-term memory tasks. However, these patterns of impairments may reflect the impact of generally impaired visuo-spatial processing skills in Williams syndrome, and verbal abilities in Down syndrome. The current study explored this possibility by assessing long-term memory among 15 individuals with Williams syndrome and 20 individuals with Down syndrome using the Doors and People test, a battery which assesses recall and recognition of verbal and visual information. Individuals' performance was standardised for age and level of intellectual ability with reference to that shown by a sample of 110 typically developing children. The results showed that individuals with Down syndrome have no differential deficits in long-term memory for verbal information, implying that verbal short-term memory deficits in this population are relatively selective. Instead both individuals with Down syndrome and with Williams syndrome showed some evidence of relatively poor performance on tests of long-term memory for visual information. It is therefore possible that visuo-spatial short-term memory deficits that have previously been demonstrated in Williams syndrome may be secondary to more general problems in visuo-spatial processing in this population.

Persistence of Gender Related-Effects on Visuo-Spatial and Verbal Working Memory in Right Brain-Damaged Patients.

PubMed

Piccardi, Laura; Matano, Alessandro; D'Antuono, Giovanni; Marin, Dario; Ciurli, Paola; Incoccia, Chiara; Verde, Paola; Guariglia, Paola

2016-01-01

The aim of the present study was to verify if gender differences in verbal and visuo-spatial working memory would persist following right cerebral lesions. To pursue our aim we investigated a large sample (n. 346) of right brain-damaged patients and healthy participants (n. 272) for the presence of gender effects in performing Corsi and Digit Test. We also assessed a subgroup of patients (n. 109) for the nature (active vs. passive) of working memory tasks. We tested working memory (WM) administering the Corsi Test (CBT) and the Digit Span (DS) using two different versions: forward (fCBT and fDS), subjects were required to repeat stimuli in the same order that they were presented; and backward (bCBT and bDS), subjects were required to repeat stimuli in the opposite order of presentation. In this way, passive storage and active processing of working memory were assessed. Our results showed the persistence of gender-related effects in spite of the presence of right brain lesions. We found that men outperformed women both in CBT and DS, regardless of active and passive processing of verbal and visuo-spatial stimuli. The presence of visuo-spatial disorders (i.e., hemineglect) can affect the performance on Corsi Test. In our sample, men and women were equally affected by hemineglect, therefore it did not mask the gender effect. Generally speaking, the persistence of the men's superiority in visuo-spatial tasks may be interpreted as a protective factor, at least for men, within other life factors such as level of education or kind of profession before retirement.

Insensitivity of visual short-term memory to irrelevant visual information.

PubMed

Andrade, Jackie; Kemps, Eva; Werniers, Yves; May, Jon; Szmalec, Arnaud

2002-07-01

Several authors have hypothesized that visuo-spatial working memory is functionally analogous to verbal working memory. Irrelevant background speech impairs verbal short-term memory. We investigated whether irrelevant visual information has an analogous effect on visual short-term memory, using a dynamic visual noise (DVN) technique known to disrupt visual imagery (Quinn & McConnell, 1996b). Experiment I replicated the effect of DVN on pegword imagery. Experiments 2 and 3 showed no effect of DVN on recall of static matrix patterns, despite a significant effect of a concurrent spatial tapping task. Experiment 4 showed no effect of DVN on encoding or maintenance of arrays of matrix patterns, despite testing memory by a recognition procedure to encourage visual rather than spatial processing. Serial position curves showed a one-item recency effect typical of visual short-term memory. Experiment 5 showed no effect of DVN on short-term recognition of Chinese characters, despite effects of visual similarity and a concurrent colour memory task that confirmed visual processing of the characters. We conclude that irrelevant visual noise does not impair visual short-term memory. Visual working memory may not be functionally analogous to verbal working memory, and different cognitive processes may underlie visual short-term memory and visual imagery.

Visuo-spatial Ability in Individuals with Down Syndrome: Is it Really a Strength?

PubMed Central

Yang, Yingying; Conners, Frances A.; Merrill, Edward C.

2014-01-01

Down syndrome (DS) is associated with extreme difficulty in verbal skills and relatively better visuo-spatial skills. Indeed, visuo-spatial ability is often considered a strength in DS. However, it is not clear whether this strength is only relative to the poor verbal skills, or, more impressively, relative to cognitive ability in general. To answer this question, we conducted an extensive literature review of studies on visuo-spatial abilities in people with Down syndrome from January 1987 to May 2013. Based on a general taxonomy of spatial abilities patterned after Lohman, Pellegrino, Alderton, and Regian (1987) and Carroll (1993) and existing studies of DS, we included five different domains of spatial abilities – visuo-spatial memory, visuo-spatial construction, mental rotation, closure, and wayfinding. We evaluated a total of 49 studies including 127 different comparisons. Most comparisons involved a group with DS vs. a group with typical development matched on mental age and compared on a task measuring one of the five visuo-spatial abilities. Although further research is needed for firm conclusions on some visuo-spatial abilities, there was no evidence that visuo-spatial ability is a strength in DS relative to general cognitive ability. Rather, the review suggests an uneven profile of visuo-spatial abilities in DS in which some abilities are commensurate with general cognitive ability level, and others are below. PMID:24755229

Visuo-spatial abilities are key for young children's verbal number skills.

PubMed

Cornu, Véronique; Schiltz, Christine; Martin, Romain; Hornung, Caroline

2018-02-01

Children's development of verbal number skills (i.e., counting abilities and knowledge of the number names) presents a milestone in mathematical development. Different factors such as visuo-spatial and verbal abilities have been discussed as contributing to the development of these foundational skills. To understand the cognitive nature of verbal number skills in young children, the current study assessed the relation of preschoolers' verbal and visuo-spatial abilities to their verbal number skills. In total, 141 children aged 5 or 6 years participated in the current study. Verbal number skills were regressed on vocabulary, phonological awareness and visuo-spatial abilities, and verbal and visuo-spatial working memory in a structural equation model. Only visuo-spatial abilities emerged as a significant predictor of verbal number skills in the estimated model. Our results suggest that visuo-spatial abilities contribute to a larger extent to children's verbal number skills than verbal abilities. From a theoretical point of view, these results suggest a visuo-spatial, rather than a verbal, grounding of verbal number skills. These results are potentially informative for the conception of early mathematics assessments and interventions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Persistence of Gender Related-Effects on Visuo-Spatial and Verbal Working Memory in Right Brain-Damaged Patients

PubMed Central

Piccardi, Laura; Matano, Alessandro; D’Antuono, Giovanni; Marin, Dario; Ciurli, Paola; Incoccia, Chiara; Verde, Paola; Guariglia, Paola

2016-01-01

The aim of the present study was to verify if gender differences in verbal and visuo-spatial working memory would persist following right cerebral lesions. To pursue our aim we investigated a large sample (n. 346) of right brain-damaged patients and healthy participants (n. 272) for the presence of gender effects in performing Corsi and Digit Test. We also assessed a subgroup of patients (n. 109) for the nature (active vs. passive) of working memory tasks. We tested working memory (WM) administering the Corsi Test (CBT) and the Digit Span (DS) using two different versions: forward (fCBT and fDS), subjects were required to repeat stimuli in the same order that they were presented; and backward (bCBT and bDS), subjects were required to repeat stimuli in the opposite order of presentation. In this way, passive storage and active processing of working memory were assessed. Our results showed the persistence of gender-related effects in spite of the presence of right brain lesions. We found that men outperformed women both in CBT and DS, regardless of active and passive processing of verbal and visuo-spatial stimuli. The presence of visuo-spatial disorders (i.e., hemineglect) can affect the performance on Corsi Test. In our sample, men and women were equally affected by hemineglect, therefore it did not mask the gender effect. Generally speaking, the persistence of the men’s superiority in visuo-spatial tasks may be interpreted as a protective factor, at least for men, within other life factors such as level of education or kind of profession before retirement. PMID:27445734

The Nature of Verbal Short-Term Impairment in Dyslexia: The Importance of Serial Order

PubMed Central

Majerus, Steve; Cowan, Nelson

2016-01-01

Verbal short-term memory (STM) impairment is one of the most consistent associated deficits observed in developmental reading disorders such as dyslexia. Few studies have addressed the nature of this STM impairment, especially as regards the ability to temporarily store serial order information. This question is important as studies in typically developing children have shown that serial order STM abilities are predictors of oral and written language development. Associated serial order STM deficits in dyslexia may therefore further increase the learning difficulties in these populations. In this mini review, we show that specific serial order STM impairment is frequently reported in both dyslexic children and adults with a history of dyslexia. Serial order STM impairment appears to occur for the retention of both verbal and visuo-spatial sequence information. Serial order STM impairment is, however, not a characteristic of every individual dyslexic subject and is not specific to dyslexia. Future studies need to determine whether serial order STM impairment is a risk factor which, in association with phonological processing deficits, can lead to dyslexia or whether serial order STM impairment reflects associated deficits causally unrelated to dyslexia. PMID:27752247

Mild prenatal protein malnutrition increases alpha2C-adrenoceptor density in the cerebral cortex during postnatal life and impairs neocortical long-term potentiation and visuo-spatial performance in rats.

PubMed

Soto-Moyano, Rubén; Valladares, Luis; Sierralta, Walter; Pérez, Hernán; Mondaca, Mauricio; Fernández, Victor; Burgos, Héctor; Hernández, Alejandro

2005-06-01

Mild reduction in the protein content of the mother's diet from 25 to 8% casein, calorically compensated by carbohydrates, does not alter body and brain weights of rat pups at birth, but leads to significant enhancements in the concentration and release of cortical noradrenaline during early postnatal life. Since central noradrenaline and some of its receptors are critically involved in long-term potentiation (LTP) and memory formation, this study evaluated the effect of mild prenatal protein malnutrition on the alpha2C-adrenoceptor density in the frontal and occipital cortices, induction of LTP in the same cortical regions and the visuo-spatial memory. Pups born from rats fed a 25% casein diet throughout pregnancy served as controls. At day 8 of postnatal age, prenatally malnourished rats showed a threefold increase in neocortical alpha2C-adrenoceptor density. At 60 days-of-age, alpha2C-adrenoceptor density was still elevated in the neocortex, and the animals were unable to maintain neocortical LTP and presented lower visuo-spatial memory performance. Results suggest that overexpression of neocortical alpha2C-adrenoceptors during postnatal life, subsequent to mild prenatal protein malnutrition, could functionally affect the synaptic networks subserving neocortical LTP and visuo-spatial memory formation.

ViSA: a neurodynamic model for visuo-spatial working memory, attentional blink, and conscious access.

PubMed

Simione, Luca; Raffone, Antonino; Wolters, Gezinus; Salmas, Paola; Nakatani, Chie; Belardinelli, Marta Olivetti; van Leeuwen, Cees

2012-10-01

Two separate lines of study have clarified the role of selectivity in conscious access to visual information. Both involve presenting multiple targets and distracters: one simultaneously in a spatially distributed fashion, the other sequentially at a single location. To understand their findings in a unified framework, we propose a neurodynamic model for Visual Selection and Awareness (ViSA). ViSA supports the view that neural representations for conscious access and visuo-spatial working memory are globally distributed and are based on recurrent interactions between perceptual and access control processors. Its flexible global workspace mechanisms enable a unitary account of a broad range of effects: It accounts for the limited storage capacity of visuo-spatial working memory, attentional cueing, and efficient selection with multi-object displays, as well as for the attentional blink and associated sparing and masking effects. In particular, the speed of consolidation for storage in visuo-spatial working memory in ViSA is not fixed but depends adaptively on the input and recurrent signaling. Slowing down of consolidation due to weak bottom-up and recurrent input as a result of brief presentation and masking leads to the attentional blink. Thus, ViSA goes beyond earlier 2-stage and neuronal global workspace accounts of conscious processing limitations. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved.

Melatonin administration impairs visuo-spatial performance and inhibits neocortical long-term potentiation in rats.

PubMed

Soto-Moyano, Rubén; Burgos, Héctor; Flores, Francisco; Valladares, Luis; Sierralta, Walter; Fernández, Victor; Pérez, Hernán; Hernández, Paula; Hernández, Alejandro

2006-10-01

Melatonin has been shown to inhibit long-term potentiation (LTP) in hippocampal slices of rats. Since LTP may be one of the main mechanisms by which memory traces are encoded and stored in the central nervous system, it is possible that melatonin could modulate cognitive performance by interfering with the cellular and/or molecular mechanisms involved in LTP. We investigated in rats the effects of intraperitoneally-administered melatonin (0.1, 1 and 10 mg/kg), its saline-ethanol solvent, or saline alone, on the acquisition of visuo-spatial memory as well as on the ability of the cerebral cortex to develop LTP in vivo. Visuo-spatial performance was assessed daily in rats, for 10 days, in an 8-arm radial maze, 30 min after they received a single daily dose of melatonin. Visual cortex LTP was determined in sodium pentobarbital anesthetized rats (65 mg/kg i.p.), by potentiating transcallosal evoked responses with a tetanizing train (312 Hz, 500 ms duration) 30 min after administration of a single dose of melatonin. Results showed that melatonin impaired visuo-spatial performance in rats, as revealed by the greater number of errors committed and time spent to solve the task in the radial maze. Melatonin also prevented the induction of neocortical LTP. It is concluded that melatonin, at the doses utilized in this study, could alter some forms of neocortical plasticity involved in short- and long-term visuo-spatial memories in rats.

Temporal precision and the capacity of auditory-verbal short-term memory.

PubMed

Gilbert, Rebecca A; Hitch, Graham J; Hartley, Tom

2017-12-01

The capacity of serially ordered auditory-verbal short-term memory (AVSTM) is sensitive to the timing of the material to be stored, and both temporal processing and AVSTM capacity are implicated in the development of language. We developed a novel "rehearsal-probe" task to investigate the relationship between temporal precision and the capacity to remember serial order. Participants listened to a sub-span sequence of spoken digits and silently rehearsed the items and their timing during an unfilled retention interval. After an unpredictable delay, a tone prompted report of the item being rehearsed at that moment. An initial experiment showed cyclic distributions of item responses over time, with peaks preserving serial order and broad, overlapping tails. The spread of the response distributions increased with additional memory load and correlated negatively with participants' auditory digit spans. A second study replicated the negative correlation and demonstrated its specificity to AVSTM by controlling for differences in visuo-spatial STM and nonverbal IQ. The results are consistent with the idea that a common resource underpins both the temporal precision and capacity of AVSTM. The rehearsal-probe task may provide a valuable tool for investigating links between temporal processing and AVSTM capacity in the context of speech and language abilities.

Strategies and Biases in Location Memory in Williams Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farran, Emily K.

2008-01-01

Individuals with Williams syndrome (WS) demonstrate impaired visuo-spatial abilities in comparison to their level of verbal ability. In particular, visuo-spatial construction is an area of relative weakness. It has been hypothesised that poor or atypical location coding abilities contribute strongly to the impaired abilities observed on…

A familiar pattern? Semantic memory contributes to the enhancement of visuo-spatial memories.

PubMed

Riby, Leigh M; Orme, Elizabeth

2013-03-01

In this study we quantify for the first time electrophysiological components associated with incorporating long-term semantic knowledge with visuo-spatial information using two variants of a traditional matrix patterns task. Results indicated that the matrix task with greater semantic content was associated with enhanced accuracy and RTs in a change-detection paradigm; this was also associated with increased P300 and N400 components as well as a sustained negative slow wave (NSW). In contrast, processing of the low semantic stimuli was associated with an increased N200 and a reduction in the P300. These findings suggest that semantic content can aid in reducing early visual processing of information and subsequent memory load by unitizing complex patterns into familiar forms. The N400/NSW may be associated with the requirements for maintaining visuo-spatial information about semantic forms such as orientation and relative location. Evidence for individual differences in semantic elaboration strategies used by participants is also discussed. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Verbal short-term memory and vocabulary learning in polyglots.

PubMed

Papagno, C; Vallar, G

1995-02-01

Polyglot and non-polyglot Italian subjects were given tests assessing verbal (phonological) and visuo-spatial short-term and long-term memory, general intelligence, and vocabulary knowledge in their native language. Polyglots had a superior level of performance in verbal short-term memory tasks (auditory digit span and nonword repetition) and in a paired-associate learning test, which assessed the subjects' ability to acquire new (Russian) words. By contrast, the two groups had comparable performance levels in tasks assessing general intelligence, visuo-spatial short-term memory and learning, and paired-associate learning of Italian words. These findings, which are in line with neuropsychological and developmental evidence, as well as with data from normal subjects, suggest a close relationship between the capacity of phonological memory and the acquisition of foreign languages.

Improving working memory abilities in individuals with Down syndrome: a treatment case study

PubMed Central

Costa, Hiwet Mariam; Purser, Harry R. M.; Passolunghi, Maria Chiara

2015-01-01

Working memory (WM) skills of individuals with Down’s syndrome (DS) tend to be very poor compared to typically developing children of similar mental age. In particular, research has found that in individuals with DS visuo-spatial WM is better preserved than verbal WM. This study investigated whether it is possible to train short-term memory (STM) and WM abilities in individuals with DS. The cases of two teenage children are reported: EH, 17 years and 3 months, and AS, 15 years and 11 months. A school-based treatment targeting visuo-spatial WM was given to EH and AS for six weeks. Both prior to and after the treatment, they completed a set of assessments to measure WM abilities and their performance was compared with younger typically developing non-verbal mental age controls. The results showed that the trained participants improved their performance in some of the trained and non-trained WM tasks proposed, especially with regard to the tasks assessing visuo-spatial WM abilities. These findings are discussed on the basis of their theoretical, educational, and clinical implications. PMID:26441713

Individual Differences in Spatial Text Processing: High Spatial Ability Can Compensate for Spatial Working Memory Interference

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meneghetti, Chiara; Gyselinck, Valerie; Pazzaglia, Francesca; De Beni, Rossana

2009-01-01

The present study investigates the relation between spatial ability and visuo-spatial and verbal working memory in spatial text processing. In two experiments, participants listened to a spatial text (Experiments 1 and 2) and a non-spatial text (Experiment 1), at the same time performing a spatial or a verbal concurrent task, or no secondary task.…

Environment learning using descriptions or navigation: The involvement of working memory in young and older adults.

PubMed

Meneghetti, Chiara; Borella, Erika; Carbone, Elena; Martinelli, Massimiliano; De Beni, Rossana

2016-05-01

This study examined age-related differences between young and older adults in the involvement of verbal and visuo-spatial components of working memory (WM) when paths are learned from verbal and visuo-spatial inputs. A sample of 60 young adults (20-30 years old) and 58 older adults (60-75 years old) learned two paths from the person's point of view, one displayed in the form of a video showing the path, the other presenting the path in a verbal description. During the learning phase, participants concurrently performed a verbal task (articulatory suppression, AS group), or a visuo-spatial task (spatial tapping, ST group), or no secondary task (control, C group). After learning each path, participants completed tasks that involved the following: (1) recalling the sequential order and the location of landmarks; and (2) judging spatial sentences as true or false (verification test). The results showed that young adults outperformed older adults in all recall tasks. In both age groups performance in all types of task was worse in the AS and ST groups than in the C group, irrespective of the type of input. Overall, these findings suggest that verbal and visuo-spatial components of WM underpin the processing of environmental information in both young and older adults. The results are discussed in terms of age-related differences and according to the spatial cognition framework. © 2015 The British Psychological Society.

Improving working memory in children with low language abilities

PubMed Central

Holmes, Joni; Butterfield, Sally; Cormack, Francesca; van Loenhoud, Anita; Ruggero, Leanne; Kashikar, Linda; Gathercole, Susan

2015-01-01

This study investigated whether working memory training is effective in enhancing verbal memory in children with low language abilities (LLA). Cogmed Working Memory Training was completed by a community sample of children aged 8–11 years with LLA and a comparison group with matched non-verbal abilities and age-typical language performance. Short-term memory (STM), working memory, language, and IQ were assessed before and after training. Significant and equivalent post-training gains were found in visuo-spatial short-term memory in both groups. Exploratory analyses across the sample established that low verbal IQ scores were strongly and highly specifically associated with greater gains in verbal STM, and that children with higher verbal IQs made greater gains in visuo-spatial short-term memory following training. This provides preliminary evidence that intensive working memory training may be effective for enhancing the weakest aspects of STM in children with low verbal abilities, and may also be of value in developing compensatory strategies. PMID:25983703

Visuo-spatial memory deficits following medial temporal lobe damage: A comparison of three patient groups.

PubMed

Esfahani-Bayerl, Nazli; Finke, Carsten; Braun, Mischa; Düzel, Emrah; Heekeren, Hauke R; Holtkamp, Martin; Hasper, Dietrich; Storm, Christian; Ploner, Christoph J

2016-01-29

The contributions of the hippocampal formation and adjacent regions of the medial temporal lobe (MTL) to memory are still a matter of debate. It is currently unclear, to what extent discrepancies between previous human lesion studies may have been caused by the choice of distinct patient models of MTL dysfunction, as disorders affecting this region differ in selectivity, laterality and mechanisms of post-lesional compensation. Here, we investigated the performance of three distinct patient groups with lesions to the MTL with a battery of visuo-spatial short-term memory tasks. Thirty-one subjects with either unilateral damage to the MTL (postsurgical lesions following resection of a benign brain tumor, 6 right-sided lesions, 5 left) or bilateral damage (10 post-encephalitic lesions, 10 post-anoxic lesions) performed a series of tasks requiring short-term memory of colors, locations or color-location associations. We have shown previously that performance in the association task critically depends on hippocampal integrity. Patients with postsurgical damage of the MTL showed deficient performance in the association task, but performed normally in color and location tasks. Patients with left-sided lesions were almost as impaired as patients with right-sided lesions. Patients with bilateral post-encephalitic lesions showed comparable damage to MTL sub-regions and performed similarly to patients with postsurgical lesions in the association task. However, post-encephalitic patients showed additional impairments in the non-associative color and location tasks. A strikingly similar pattern of deficits was observed in post-anoxic patients. These results suggest a distinct cerebral organization of associative and non-associative short-term memory that was differentially affected in the three patient groups. Thus, while all patient groups may provide appropriate models of medial temporal lobe dysfunction in associative visuo-spatial short-term memory, additional deficits in non-associative memory tasks likely reflect damage of regions outside the MTL. Importantly, the choice of a patient model in human lesion studies of the MTL significantly influences overall performance patterns in visuo-spatial memory tasks. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Psychometric Measure of Working Memory Capacity for Configured Body Movement

PubMed Central

Wu, Ying Choon; Coulson, Seana

2014-01-01

Working memory (WM) models have traditionally assumed at least two domain-specific storage systems for verbal and visuo-spatial information. We review data that suggest the existence of an additional slave system devoted to the temporary storage of body movements, and present a novel instrument for its assessment: the movement span task. The movement span task assesses individuals' ability to remember and reproduce meaningless configurations of the body. During the encoding phase of a trial, participants watch short videos of meaningless movements presented in sets varying in size from one to five items. Immediately after encoding, they are prompted to reenact as many items as possible. The movement span task was administered to 90 participants along with standard tests of verbal WM, visuo-spatial WM, and a gesture classification test in which participants judged whether a speaker's gestures were congruent or incongruent with his accompanying speech. Performance on the gesture classification task was not related to standard measures of verbal or visuo-spatial working memory capacity, but was predicted by scores on the movement span task. Results suggest the movement span task can serve as an assessment of individual differences in WM capacity for body-centric information. PMID:24465437

Executive and Visuo-Motor Function in Adolescents and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sachse, Michael; Schlitt, Sabine; Hainz, Daniela; Ciaramidaro, Angela; Schirman, Shella; Walter, Henrik; Poustka, Fritz; Bolte, Sven; Freitag, Christine M.

2013-01-01

This study broadly examines executive (EF) and visuo-motor function in 30 adolescent and adult individuals with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in comparison to 28 controls matched for age, gender, and IQ. ASD individuals showed impaired spatial working memory, whereas planning, cognitive flexibility, and inhibition were spared.…

Mapping of the Underlying Neural Mechanisms of Maintenance and Manipulation in Visuo-Spatial Working Memory Using An n-back Mental Rotation Task: A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study.

PubMed

Lamp, Gemma; Alexander, Bonnie; Laycock, Robin; Crewther, David P; Crewther, Sheila G

2016-01-01

Mapping of the underlying neural mechanisms of visuo-spatial working memory (WM) has been shown to consistently elicit activity in right hemisphere dominant fronto-parietal networks. However to date, the bulk of neuroimaging literature has focused largely on the maintenance aspect of visuo-spatial WM, with a scarcity of research into the aspects of WM involving manipulation of information. Thus, this study aimed to compare maintenance-only with maintenance and manipulation of visuo-spatial stimuli (3D cube shapes) utilizing a 1-back task while functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans were acquired. Sixteen healthy participants (9 women, M = 23.94 years, SD = 2.49) were required to perform the 1-back task with or without mentally rotating the shapes 90° on a vertical axis. When no rotation was required (maintenance-only condition), a right hemispheric lateralization was revealed across fronto-parietal areas. However, when the task involved maintaining and manipulating the same stimuli through 90° rotation, activation was primarily seen in the bilateral parietal lobe and left fusiform gyrus. The findings confirm that the well-established right lateralized fronto-parietal networks are likely to underlie simple maintenance of visuo-spatial stimuli. The results also suggest that the added demand of manipulation of information maintained online appears to require further neural recruitment of functionally related areas. In particular mental rotation of visuospatial stimuli required bilateral parietal areas, and the left fusiform gyrus potentially to maintain a categorical or object representation. It can be concluded that WM is a complex neural process involving the interaction of an increasingly large network.

Mapping of the Underlying Neural Mechanisms of Maintenance and Manipulation in Visuo-Spatial Working Memory Using An n-back Mental Rotation Task: A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study

PubMed Central

Lamp, Gemma; Alexander, Bonnie; Laycock, Robin; Crewther, David P.; Crewther, Sheila G.

2016-01-01

Mapping of the underlying neural mechanisms of visuo-spatial working memory (WM) has been shown to consistently elicit activity in right hemisphere dominant fronto-parietal networks. However to date, the bulk of neuroimaging literature has focused largely on the maintenance aspect of visuo-spatial WM, with a scarcity of research into the aspects of WM involving manipulation of information. Thus, this study aimed to compare maintenance-only with maintenance and manipulation of visuo-spatial stimuli (3D cube shapes) utilizing a 1-back task while functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans were acquired. Sixteen healthy participants (9 women, M = 23.94 years, SD = 2.49) were required to perform the 1-back task with or without mentally rotating the shapes 90° on a vertical axis. When no rotation was required (maintenance-only condition), a right hemispheric lateralization was revealed across fronto-parietal areas. However, when the task involved maintaining and manipulating the same stimuli through 90° rotation, activation was primarily seen in the bilateral parietal lobe and left fusiform gyrus. The findings confirm that the well-established right lateralized fronto-parietal networks are likely to underlie simple maintenance of visuo-spatial stimuli. The results also suggest that the added demand of manipulation of information maintained online appears to require further neural recruitment of functionally related areas. In particular mental rotation of visuospatial stimuli required bilateral parietal areas, and the left fusiform gyrus potentially to maintain a categorical or object representation. It can be concluded that WM is a complex neural process involving the interaction of an increasingly large network. PMID:27199694

Spatial attention interacts with serial-order retrieval from verbal working memory.

PubMed

van Dijck, Jean-Philippe; Abrahamse, Elger L; Majerus, Steve; Fias, Wim

2013-09-01

The ability to maintain the serial order of events is recognized as a major function of working memory. Although general models of working memory postulate a close link between working memory and attention, such a link has so far not been proposed specifically for serial-order working memory. The present study provided the first empirical demonstration of a direct link between serial order in verbal working memory and spatial selective attention. We show that the retrieval of later items of a sequence stored in working memory-compared with that of earlier items-produces covert attentional shifts toward the right. This observation suggests the conceptually surprising notion that serial-order working memory, even for nonspatially defined verbal items, draws on spatial attention.

Aging and the intrusion superiority effect in visuo-spatial working memory.

PubMed

Cornoldi, Cesare; Bassani, Chiara; Berto, Rita; Mammarella, Nicola

2007-01-01

This study investigated the active component of visuo-spatial working memory (VSWM) in younger and older adults testing the hypotheses that elderly individuals have a poorer performance than younger ones and that errors in active VSWM tasks depend, at least partially, on difficulties in avoiding intrusions (i.e., avoiding already activated information). In two experiments, participants were presented with sequences of matrices on which three positions were pointed out sequentially: their task was to process all the positions but indicate only the final position of each sequence. Results showed a poorer performance in the elderly compared to the younger group and a higher number of intrusion (errors due to activated but irrelevant positions) rather than invention (errors consisting of pointing out a position never indicated by the experiementer) errors. The number of errors increased when a concurrent task was introduced (Experiment 1) and it was affected by different patterns of matrices (Experiment 2). In general, results show that elderly people have an impaired VSWM and produce a large number of errors due to inhibition failures. However, both the younger and the older adults' visuo-spatial working memory was affected by the presence of activated irrelevant information, the reduction of the available resources, and task constraints.

Executive and memory correlates of age-related differences in wayfinding performances using a virtual reality application.

PubMed

Taillade, Mathieu; Sauzéon, Hélène; Dejos, Marie; Pala, Prashant Arvind; Larrue, Florian; Wallet, Grégory; Gross, Christian; N'Kaoua, Bernard

2013-01-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate in large-scale spaces wayfinding and spatial learning difficulties for older adults in relation to the executive and memory decline associated with aging. We compared virtual reality (VR)-based wayfinding and spatial memory performances between young and older adults. Wayfinding and spatial memory performances were correlated with classical measures of executive and visuo-spatial memory functions, but also with self-reported estimates of wayfinding difficulties. We obtained a significant effect of age on wayfinding performances but not on spatial memory performances. The overall correlations showed significant correlations between the wayfinding performances and the classical measures of both executive and visuo-spatial memory, but only when the age factor was not partialled out. Also, older adults underestimated their wayfinding difficulties. A significant relationship between the wayfinding performances and self-reported wayfinding difficulty estimates is found, but only when the age effect was partialled out. These results show that, even when older adults have an equivalent spatial knowledge to young adults, they had greater difficulties with the wayfinding task, supporting an executive decline view in age-related wayfinding difficulties. However, the correlation results are in favor of both the memory and executive decline views as mediators of age-related differences in wayfinding performances. This is discussed in terms of the relationships between memory and executive functioning in wayfinding task orchestration. Our results also favor the use of objective assessments of everyday navigation difficulties in virtual applications, instead of self-reported questionnaires, since older adults showed difficulties in estimating their everyday wayfinding problems.

Landmark and route knowledge in children's spatial representation of a virtual environment.

PubMed

Nys, Marion; Gyselinck, Valérie; Orriols, Eric; Hickmann, Maya

2014-01-01

This study investigates the development of landmark and route knowledge in complex wayfinding situations. It focuses on how children (aged 6, 8, and 10 years) and young adults (n = 79) indicate, recognize, and bind landmarks and directions in both verbal and visuo-spatial tasks after learning a virtual route. Performance in these tasks is also related to general verbal and visuo-spatial abilities as assessed by independent standardized tests (attention, working memory, perception of direction, production and comprehension of spatial terms, sentences and stories). The results first show that the quantity and quality of landmarks and directions produced and recognized by participants in both verbal and visuo-spatial tasks increased with age. In addition, an increase with age was observed in participants' selection of decisional landmarks (i.e., landmarks associated with a change of direction), as well as in their capacity to bind landmarks and directions. Our results support the view that children first acquire landmark knowledge, then route knowledge, as shown by their late developing ability to bind knowledge of directions and landmarks. Overall, the quality of verbal and visuo-spatial information in participants' spatial representations was found to vary mostly with their visuo-spatial abilities (attention and perception of directions) and not with their verbal abilities. Interestingly, however, when asked to recognize landmarks encountered during the route, participants show an increasing bias with age toward choosing a related landmark of the same category, regardless of its visual characteristics, i.e., they incorrectly choose the picture of another fountain. The discussion highlights the need for further studies to determine more precisely the role of verbal and visuo-spatial knowledge and the nature of how children learn to represent and memorize routes.

Neural circuit basis of visuo-spatial working memory precision: a computational and behavioral study.

PubMed

Almeida, Rita; Barbosa, João; Compte, Albert

2015-09-01

The amount of information that can be retained in working memory (WM) is limited. Limitations of WM capacity have been the subject of intense research, especially in trying to specify algorithmic models for WM. Comparatively, neural circuit perspectives have barely been used to test WM limitations in behavioral experiments. Here we used a neuronal microcircuit model for visuo-spatial WM (vsWM) to investigate memory of several items. The model assumes that there is a topographic organization of the circuit responsible for spatial memory retention. This assumption leads to specific predictions, which we tested in behavioral experiments. According to the model, nearby locations should be recalled with a bias, as if the two memory traces showed attraction or repulsion during the delay period depending on distance. Another prediction is that the previously reported loss of memory precision for an increasing number of memory items (memory load) should vanish when the distances between items are controlled for. Both predictions were confirmed experimentally. Taken together, our findings provide support for a topographic neural circuit organization of vsWM, they suggest that interference between similar memories underlies some WM limitations, and they put forward a circuit-based explanation that reconciles previous conflicting results on the dependence of WM precision with load. Copyright © 2015 the American Physiological Society.

Retrosplenial Cortex Is Required for the Retrieval of Remote Memory for Auditory Cues

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Todd, Travis P.; Mehlman, Max L.; Keene, Christopher S.; DeAngeli, Nicole E.; Bucci, David J.

2016-01-01

The retrosplenial cortex (RSC) has a well-established role in contextual and spatial learning and memory, consistent with its known connectivity with visuo-spatial association areas. In contrast, RSC appears to have little involvement with delay fear conditioning to an auditory cue. However, all previous studies have examined the contribution of…

Cognitive predictors of copying and drawing from memory of the Rey-Osterrieth complex figure in 7- to 10-year-old children.

PubMed

Senese, Vincenzo Paolo; De Lucia, Natascia; Conson, Massimiliano

2015-01-01

Cognitive models of drawing are mainly based on assessment of copying performance of adults, whereas only a few studies have verified these models in young children. Moreover, developmental investigations have only rarely performed a systematic examination of the contribution of perceptual and representational visuo-spatial processes to copying and drawing from memory. In this study we investigated the role of visual perception and mental representation in both copying and drawing from memory skills in a sample of 227 typically developing children (53% females) aged 7-10 years. Participants underwent a neuropsychological assessment and the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure (ROCF). The fit and invariance of the predictive model considering visuo-spatial abilities, working memory, and executive functions were tested by means of hierarchical regressions and path analysis. Results showed that, in a gender invariant way, visual perception abilities and spatial mental representation had a direct effect on copying performance, whereas copying performance was the only specific predictor for drawing from memory. These effects were independent from age and socioeconomic status, and showed that cognitive models of drawing built up for adults could be considered for predicting copying and drawing from memory in children.

Dissociation of Cross-Sectional Trajectories for Verbal and Visuo-Spatial Working Memory Development in Rubinstein-Taybi Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Waite, Jane; Beck, Sarah R.; Heald, Mary; Powis, Laurie; Oliver, Chris

2016-01-01

Working memory (WM) impairments might amplify behavioural difference in genetic syndromes. Murine models of Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome (RTS) evidence memory impairments but there is limited research on memory in RTS. Individuals with RTS and typically developing children completed WM tasks, with participants with RTS completing an IQ assessment and…

Rehearsal in serial memory for visual-spatial information: evidence from eye movements.

PubMed

Tremblay, Sébastien; Saint-Aubin, Jean; Jalbert, Annie

2006-06-01

It is well established that rote rehearsal plays a key role in serial memory for lists of verbal items. Although a great deal of research has informed us about the nature of verbal rehearsal, much less attention has been devoted to rehearsal in serial memory for visual-spatial information. By using the dot task--a visual-spatial analogue of the classical verbal serial recall task--with delayed recall, performance and eyetracking data were recorded in order to establish whether visual-spatial rehearsal could be evidenced by eye movement. The use of eye movement as a form of rehearsal is detectable (Experiment 1), and it seems to contribute to serial memory performance over and above rehearsal based on shifts of spatial attention (Experiments 1 and 2).

Translating working memory into action: behavioral and neural evidence for using motor representations in encoding visuo-spatial sequences.

PubMed

Langner, Robert; Sternkopf, Melanie A; Kellermann, Tanja S; Grefkes, Christian; Kurth, Florian; Schneider, Frank; Zilles, Karl; Eickhoff, Simon B

2014-07-01

The neurobiological organization of action-oriented working memory is not well understood. To elucidate the neural correlates of translating visuo-spatial stimulus sequences into delayed (memory-guided) sequential actions, we measured brain activity using functional magnetic resonance imaging while participants encoded sequences of four to seven dots appearing on fingers of a left or right schematic hand. After variable delays, sequences were to be reproduced with the corresponding fingers. Recall became less accurate with longer sequences and was initiated faster after long delays. Across both hands, encoding and recall activated bilateral prefrontal, premotor, superior and inferior parietal regions as well as the basal ganglia, whereas hand-specific activity was found (albeit to a lesser degree during encoding) in contralateral premotor, sensorimotor, and superior parietal cortex. Activation differences after long versus short delays were restricted to motor-related regions, indicating that rehearsal during long delays might have facilitated the conversion of the memorandum into concrete motor programs at recall. Furthermore, basal ganglia activity during encoding selectively predicted correct recall. Taken together, the results suggest that to-be-reproduced visuo-spatial sequences are encoded as prospective action representations (motor intentions), possibly in addition to retrospective sensory codes. Overall, our study supports and extends multi-component models of working memory, highlighting the notion that sensory input can be coded in multiple ways depending on what the memorandum is to be used for. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Action video games improve reading abilities and visual-to-auditory attentional shifting in English-speaking children with dyslexia.

PubMed

Franceschini, Sandro; Trevisan, Piergiorgio; Ronconi, Luca; Bertoni, Sara; Colmar, Susan; Double, Kit; Facoetti, Andrea; Gori, Simone

2017-07-19

Dyslexia is characterized by difficulties in learning to read and there is some evidence that action video games (AVG), without any direct phonological or orthographic stimulation, improve reading efficiency in Italian children with dyslexia. However, the cognitive mechanism underlying this improvement and the extent to which the benefits of AVG training would generalize to deep English orthography, remain two critical questions. During reading acquisition, children have to integrate written letters with speech sounds, rapidly shifting their attention from visual to auditory modality. In our study, we tested reading skills and phonological working memory, visuo-spatial attention, auditory, visual and audio-visual stimuli localization, and cross-sensory attentional shifting in two matched groups of English-speaking children with dyslexia before and after they played AVG or non-action video games. The speed of words recognition and phonological decoding increased after playing AVG, but not non-action video games. Furthermore, focused visuo-spatial attention and visual-to-auditory attentional shifting also improved only after AVG training. This unconventional reading remediation program also increased phonological short-term memory and phoneme blending skills. Our report shows that an enhancement of visuo-spatial attention and phonological working memory, and an acceleration of visual-to-auditory attentional shifting can directly translate into better reading in English-speaking children with dyslexia.

The Measurement of Visuo-Spatial and Verbal-Numerical Working Memory: Development of IRT-Based Scales

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vock, Miriam; Holling, Heinz

2008-01-01

The objective of this study is to explore the potential for developing IRT-based working memory scales for assessing specific working memory components in children (8-13 years). These working memory scales should measure cognitive abilities reliably in the upper range of ability distribution as well as in the normal range, and provide a…

Memory Abilities in Williams Syndrome: Dissociation or Developmental Delay Hypothesis?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sampaio, Adriana; Sousa, Nuno; Fernandez, Montse; Henriques, Margarida; Goncalves, Oscar F.

2008-01-01

Williams syndrome (WS) is a neurodevelopmental genetic disorder often described as being characterized by a dissociative cognitive architecture, in which profound impairments of visuo-spatial cognition contrast with relative preservation of linguistic, face recognition and auditory short-memory abilities. This asymmetric and dissociative cognition…

Lingual and fusiform gyri in visual processing: a clinico-pathologic study of superior altitudinal hemianopia.

PubMed Central

Bogousslavsky, J; Miklossy, J; Deruaz, J P; Assal, G; Regli, F

1987-01-01

A macular-sparing superior altitudinal hemianopia with no visuo-psychic disturbance, except impaired visual learning, was associated with bilateral ischaemic necrosis of the lingual gyrus and only partial involvement of the fusiform gyrus on the left side. It is suggested that bilateral destruction of the lingual gyrus alone is not sufficient to affect complex visual processing. The fusiform gyrus probably has a critical role in colour integration, visuo-spatial processing, facial recognition and corresponding visual imagery. Involvement of the occipitotemporal projection system deep to the lingual gyri probably explained visual memory dysfunction, by a visuo-limbic disconnection. Impaired verbal memory may have been due to posterior involvement of the parahippocampal gyrus and underlying white matter, which may have disconnected the intact speech areas from the left medial temporal structures. Images PMID:3585386

Association between Early Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Symptoms and Current Verbal and Visuo-Spatial Short-Term Memory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gau, Susan Shur-Fen; Chiang, Huey-Ling

2013-01-01

Deficits in short-term memory are common in adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but their current ADHD symptoms cannot well predict their short-term performance. Taking a developmental perspective, we wanted to clarify the association between ADHD symptoms at early childhood and short-term memory in late childhood and…

Age-related differences in the use of spatial and categorical relationships in a visuo-spatial working memory task.

PubMed

Dai, Ruizhi; Thomas, Ayanna K; Taylor, Holly A

2018-01-30

Research examining object identity and location processing in visuo-spatial working memory (VSWM) has yielded inconsistent results on whether age differences exist in VSWM. The present study investigated whether these inconsistencies may stem from age-related differences in VSWM sub-processes, and whether processing of component VSWM information can be facilitated. In two experiments, younger and older adults studied 5 × 5 grids containing five objects in separate locations. In a continuous recognition paradigm, participants were tested on memory for object identity, location, or identity and location information combined. Spatial and categorical relationships were manipulated within grids to provide trial-level facilitation. In Experiment 1, randomizing trial types (location, identity, combination) assured that participants could not predict the information that would be queried. In Experiment 2, blocking trials by type encouraged strategic processing. Thus, we manipulated the nature of the task through object categorical relationship and spatial organization, and trial blocking. Our findings support age-related declines in VSWM. Additionally, grid organizations (categorical and spatial relationships), and trial blocking differentially affected younger and older adults. Younger adults used spatial organizations more effectively whereas older adults demonstrated an association bias. Our finding also suggests that older adults may be less efficient than younger adults in strategically engaging information processing.

Visuo-Spatial Processing and Executive Functions in Children with Specific Language Impairment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marton, Klara

2008-01-01

Background: Individual differences in complex working memory tasks reflect simultaneous processing, executive functions, and attention control. Children with specific language impairment (SLI) show a deficit in verbal working memory tasks that involve simultaneous processing of information. Aims: The purpose of the study was to examine executive…

The Effect of Configuration on VSWM Performance of Down Syndrome Individuals

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carretti, B.; Lanfranchi, S.

2010-01-01

Background: Recent studies have demonstrated that individuals with Down syndrome (DS) are poorer than controls in spatial-simultaneous tasks, but not in spatial-sequential tasks. To explain this finding, it has been suggested that the simultaneous visuo-spatial working memory deficit of individuals with DS could be due to the request for…

Role of Working Memory in Explaining the Performance of Individuals with Specific Reading Comprehension Difficulties: A Meta-Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carretti, Barbara; Borella, Erika; Cornoldi, Cesare; De Beni, Rossana

2009-01-01

It is well established that working memory is related to reading comprehension ability. However, its role in explaining specific reading comprehension difficulties is still under debate: the issue mainly concerns whether the contribution of working memory is dependent on task modality (verbal tasks being more predictive than visuo-spatial tasks)…

The processing of spatial information in short-term memory: insights from eye tracking the path length effect.

PubMed

Guérard, Katherine; Tremblay, Sébastien; Saint-Aubin, Jean

2009-10-01

Serial memory for spatial locations increases as the distance between successive stimuli locations decreases. This effect, known as the path length effect [Parmentier, F. B. R., Elford, G., & Maybery, M. T. (2005). Transitional information in spatial serial memory: Path characteristics affect recall performance. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory & Cognition, 31, 412-427], was investigated in a systematic manner using eye tracking and interference procedures to explore the mechanisms responsible for the processing of spatial information. In Experiment 1, eye movements were monitored during a spatial serial recall task--in which the participants have to remember the location of spatially and temporally separated dots on the screen. In the experimental conditions, eye movements were suppressed by requiring participants to incessantly move their eyes between irrelevant locations. Ocular suppression abolished the path length effect whether eye movements were prevented during item presentation or during a 7s retention interval. In Experiment 2, articulatory suppression was combined with a spatial serial recall task. Although articulatory suppression impaired performance, it did not alter the path length effect. Our results suggest that rehearsal plays a key role in serial memory for spatial information, though the effect of path length seems to involve other processes located at encoding, such as the time spent fixating each location and perceptual organization.

Working Memory and Executive Function Profiles of Individuals with Borderline Intellectual Functioning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alloway, T. P.

2010-01-01

Background: The aim of the present study was to investigate the following issues: (1) Do students with borderline intellectual functioning have a pervasive pattern of impaired working memory skills across both verbal and visuo-spatial domains? (2) Is there evidence for impairment in executive function skills, and which tasks indicate greater…

When Distractors and To-Be-Remembered Items Compete for the Control of Action: A New Perspective on Serial Memory for Spatial Information

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guerard, Katherine; Tremblay, Sebastien

2011-01-01

In serial memory for spatial information, performance is impaired when distractors are interpolated between to-be-remembered (TBR) stimuli (Tremblay, Nicholls, Parmentier, & Jones, 2005). The so-called sandwich effect, combined with the use of eye tracking, served as a tool for examining the role of the oculomotor system in serial memory for…

The Effect of Dual N-Back Task Training on Phonological Memory Expansion in Adult EFL Learners at the Beginner Level

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farvardin, Mohammad Taghi; Afghari, Akbar; Koosha, Mansour

2014-01-01

One of the most influential models of working memory (WM) is the one developed by Baddeley (1986, 2000, 2003) which views WM comprising several components--a central executive, an episodic buffer, the visuo-spatial sketchpad, and the phonological loop. The phonological loop or phonological memory (PM) deals with the temporary storage of verbal and…

Etiological Distinction of Working Memory Components in Relation to Mathematics

PubMed Central

Lukowski, Sarah L.; Soden, Brooke; Hart, Sara A.; Thompson, Lee A.; Kovas, Yulia; Petrill, Stephen A.

2014-01-01

Working memory has been consistently associated with mathematics achievement, although the etiology of these relations remains poorly understood. The present study examined the genetic and environmental underpinnings of math story problem solving, timed calculation, and untimed calculation alongside working memory components in 12-year-old monozygotic (n = 105) and same-sex dizygotic (n = 143) twin pairs. Results indicated significant phenotypic correlation between each working memory component and all mathematics outcomes (r = 0.18 – 0.33). Additive genetic influences shared between the visuo-spatial sketchpad and mathematics achievement was significant, accounting for roughly 89% of the observed correlation. In addition, genetic covariance was found between the phonological loop and math story problem solving. In contrast, despite there being a significant observed relationship between phonological loop and timed and untimed calculation, there was no significant genetic or environmental covariance between the phonological loop and timed or untimed calculation skills. Further analyses indicated that genetic overlap between the visuo-spatial sketchpad and math story problem solving and math fluency was distinct from general genetic factors, whereas g, phonological loop, and mathematics shared generalist genes. Thus, although each working memory component was related to mathematics, the etiology of their relationships may be distinct. PMID:25477699

Spanish normative studies in young adults (NEURONORMA young adults project): norms for the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure (copy and memory) and Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test.

PubMed

Palomo, R; Casals-Coll, M; Sánchez-Benavides, G; Quintana, M; Manero, R M; Rognoni, T; Calvo, L; Aranciva, F; Tamayo, F; Peña-Casanova, J

2013-05-01

The Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure (ROCF) and the Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test (FCSRT) are widely used in clinical practice. The ROCF assesses visual perception, constructional praxis, and visuo-spatial memory. The FCSRT assesses verbal learning and memory. In this study, as part of the Spanish normative studies project in young adults (NEURONORMA young adults), we present age- and education-adjusted normative data for both tests obtained by using linear regression techniques. The sample consisted of 179 healthy participants ranging in age from 18 to 49 years. We provide tables for converting raw scores to scaled scores in addition to tables with scores adjusted by socio-demographic factors. The results showed that education affects scores for some of the memory tests and the figure-copying task. Age was only found to have an effect on the performance of visuo-spatial memory tests, and the effect of sex was negligible. The normative data obtained will be extremely useful in the clinical neuropsychological evaluation of young Spanish adults. Copyright © 2011 Sociedad Española de Neurología. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Memory and Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Meta-Analysis

PubMed Central

Wallace, Anna; Bucks, Romola S.

2013-01-01

Study Objectives: To examine episodic memory performance in individuals with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Design Meta-analysis was used to synthesize results from individual studies examining the impact of OSA on episodic memory performance. The performance of individuals with OSA was compared to healthy controls or normative data. Participants Forty-two studies were included, comprising 2,294 adults with untreated OSA and 1,364 healthy controls. Studies that recorded information about participants at baseline prior to treatment interventions were included in the analysis. Measurements Participants were assessed with tasks that included a measure of episodic memory: immediate recall, delayed recall, learning, and/or recognition memory. Results: The results of the meta-analyses provide evidence that individuals with OSA are significantly impaired when compared to healthy controls on verbal episodic memory (immediate recall, delayed recall, learning, and recognition) and visuo-spatial episodic memory (immediate and delayed recall), but not visual immediate recall or visuo-spatial learning. When patients were compared to norms, negative effects of OSA were found only in verbal immediate and delayed recall. Conclusions: This meta-analysis contributes to understanding of the nature of episodic memory deficits in individuals with OSA. Impairments to episodic memory are likely to affect the daily functioning of individuals with OSA. Citation Wallace A; Bucks RS. Memory and obstructive sleep apnea: a meta-analysis. SLEEP 2013;36(2):203-220. PMID:23372268

The Role of Cognitive Abilities in Laparoscopic Simulator Training

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Groenier, M.; Schraagen, J. M. C.; Miedema, H. A. T.; Broeders, I. A. J. M.

2014-01-01

Learning minimally invasive surgery (MIS) differs substantially from learning open surgery and trainees differ in their ability to learn MIS. Previous studies mainly focused on the role of visuo-spatial ability (VSA) on the learning curve for MIS. In the current study, the relationship between spatial memory, perceptual speed, and general…

Individual Differences in the Development of Early Writing Skills: Testing the Unique Contribution of Visuo-Spatial Working Memory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bourke, Lorna; Davies, Simon J.; Sumner, Emma; Green, Carolyn

2014-01-01

Visually mediated processes including, exposure to print (e.g. reading) as well as orthographic transcription and coding skills, have been found to contribute to individual differences in literacy development. The current study examined the role of visuospatial working memory (WM) in underpinning this relationship and emergent writing. One hundred…

Effect of Insulin on Visuo-Spatial Memory and Histology of Cerebral Cortex in the Presence or Absence of Nitric Oxide Inhibition.

PubMed

Yarube, I U; Ayo, J O; Fatihu, M Y; Magaji, R A; Umar, I A; Alhassan, A W; Saleh, M Ia

2017-03-06

Insulin has emerged from its traditional 'peripheral' glucose-lowering function to become increasingly regarded as a brain hormone that controls a wide range of functions including learning and memory. Insulin action on learning and memory is linked to nitric oxide (NO) signalling, but its effects on memory and histology of cerebral cortex in conditions of varied NO availability is unclear. This research sought to determine the effect of insulin on visuo-spatial learning, memory and histology of cerebral cortex during NO deficiency. Twenty-four mice weighing 21-23 g, were divided into four groups (n = 6) and treated daily for seven days with 0.2 ml distilled water subcutaneously (s.c.) (control), 10 I.U/kg insulin s.c., 10 I.U/kg insulin + 50 mg/kg L-NAME intraperitoneally (i.p.), and 50 mg/kg i.p. L-NAME s.c., respectively. The 3-day MWM paradigm was used to assess memory. Brain tissue was examined for histological changes. There was no significant difference between day 1 and day 2 latencies for all the groups. The mice in all (but L-NAME) groups spent more time in the target quadrant, and the difference was significant within but not between groups. There was significant reduction in number of platform site crossings (4.83 ± 0.5, 0.67 ± 0.3, 0.50 ± 0.3 and 0.50 ± 0.3 for control, insulin, insulin+L-NAME and L-NAME groups, respectively) in all the groups compared to control. Normal histology of the cortex and absence of histological lesions were observed in brain slides of control and treatment groups. It was concluded that insulin administration impairs visuo-spatial memory to a greater extent in the presence of NO block, and to a lesser extent in the absence of NO block. Nitric oxide has a role in insulin-induced memory impairment. Insulin administration in the presence or absence of NO block had no effect on histology of cortex.

Association between early attention-deficit/hyperactivity symptoms and current verbal and visuo-spatial short-term memory.

PubMed

Gau, Susan Shur-Fen; Chiang, Huey-Ling

2013-01-01

Deficits in short-term memory are common in adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but their current ADHD symptoms cannot well predict their short-term performance. Taking a developmental perspective, we wanted to clarify the association between ADHD symptoms at early childhood and short-term memory in late childhood and adolescence. The participants included 401 patients with a clinical diagnosis of DSM-IV ADHD, 213 siblings, and 176 unaffected controls aged 8-17 years (mean age, 12.02 ± 2.24). All participants and their mothers were interviewed using the Chinese Kiddie Epidemiologic version of the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia to obtain information about ADHD symptoms and other psychiatric disorders retrospectively, at an earlier age first, then currently. The participants were assessed with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children--3rd edition, including Digit Span, and the Spatial working memory task of the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery. Multi-level regression models were used for data analysis. Although crude analyses revealed that inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity symptoms significantly predicted deficits in short-term memory, only inattention symptoms had significant effects (all p<0.001) in a model that included all three ADHD symptoms. After further controlling for comorbidity, age of assessment, treatment with methylphenidate, and Full-scale IQ, the severity of childhood inattention symptoms was still significantly associated with worse verbal (p = 0.008) and spatial (p ranging from 0.017 to 0.002) short-term memory at the current assessment. Therefore, our findings suggest that earlier inattention symptoms are associated with impaired verbal and visuo-spatial short-term memory at a later development stage. Impaired short-term memory in adolescence can be detected earlier by screening for the severity of inattention in childhood. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Visuo-spatial ability in colonoscopy simulator training.

PubMed

Luursema, Jan-Maarten; Buzink, Sonja N; Verwey, Willem B; Jakimowicz, J J

2010-12-01

Visuo-spatial ability is associated with a quality of performance in a variety of surgical and medical skills. However, visuo-spatial ability is typically assessed using Visualization tests only, which led to an incomplete understanding of the involvement of visuo-spatial ability in these skills. To remedy this situation, the current study investigated the role of a broad range of visuo-spatial factors in colonoscopy simulator training. Fifteen medical trainees (no clinical experience in colonoscopy) participated in two psycho-metric test sessions to assess four visuo-spatial ability factors. Next, participants trained flexible endoscope manipulation, and navigation to the cecum on the GI Mentor II simulator, for four sessions within 1 week. Visualization, and to a lesser degree Spatial relations were the only visuo-spatial ability factors to correlate with colonoscopy simulator performance. Visualization additionally covaried with learning rate for time on task on both simulator tasks. High Visualization ability indicated faster exercise completion. Similar to other endoscopic procedures, performance in colonoscopy is positively associated with Visualization, a visuo-spatial ability factor characterized by the ability to mentally manipulate complex visuo-spatial stimuli. The complexity of the visuo-spatial mental transformations required to successfully perform colonoscopy is likely responsible for the challenging nature of this technique, and should inform training- and assessment design. Long term training studies, as well as studies investigating the nature of visuo-spatial complexity in this domain are needed to better understand the role of visuo-spatial ability in colonoscopy, and other endoscopic techniques.

Memory functions of children born with asymmetric intrauterine growth restriction.

PubMed

Geva, Ronny; Eshel, Rina; Leitner, Yael; Fattal-Valevski, Aviva; Harel, Shaul

2006-10-30

Learning difficulties are frequently diagnosed in children born with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). Models of various animal species with IUGR were studied and demonstrated specific susceptibility and alterations of the hippocampal formation and its related neural structures. The main purpose was to study memory functions of children born with asymmetric IUGR in a large-scale cohort using a long-term prospective paradigm. One hundred and ten infants diagnosed with IUGR were followed-up from birth to 9 years of age. Their performance was compared with a group of 63 children with comparable gestational age and multiple socioeconomic factors. Memory functions (short-term, super- and long-term spans) for different stimuli types (verbal and visual) were evaluated using Visual Auditory Digit Span tasks (VADS), Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (Rey-AVLT), and Rey Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (ROCF). Children with IUGR had short-term memory difficulties that hindered both serial verbal processing system and simultaneous processing of high-load visuo-spatial stimuli. The difficulties were not related to prematurity, neonatal complications or growth catch-up, but were augmented by lower maternal education. Recognition skills and benefits from reiteration, typically affected by hippocampal dysfunction, were preserved in both groups. Memory profile of children born with IUGR is characterized primarily by a short-term memory deficit that does not necessarily comply with a typical hippocampal deficit, but rather may reflect an executive short-term memory deficit characteristic of anterior hippocampal-prefrontal network. Implications for cognitive intervention are discussed.

Age-related cognitive task effects on gait characteristics: do different working memory components make a difference?

PubMed

Qu, Xingda

2014-10-27

Though it is well recognized that gait characteristics are affected by concurrent cognitive tasks, how different working memory components contribute to dual task effects on gait is still unknown. The objective of the present study was to investigate dual-task effects on gait characteristics, specifically the application of cognitive tasks involving different working memory components. In addition, we also examined age-related differences in such dual-task effects. Three cognitive tasks (i.e. 'Random Digit Generation', 'Brooks' Spatial Memory', and 'Counting Backward') involving different working memory components were examined. Twelve young (6 males and 6 females, 20 ~ 25 years old) and 12 older participants (6 males and 6 females, 60 ~ 72 years old) took part in two phases of experiments. In the first phase, each cognitive task was defined at three difficulty levels, and perceived difficulty was compared across tasks. The cognitive tasks perceived to be equally difficult were selected for the second phase. In the second phase, four testing conditions were defined, corresponding to a baseline and the three equally difficult cognitive tasks. Participants walked on a treadmill at their self-selected comfortable speed in each testing condition. Body kinematics were collected during treadmill walking, and gait characteristics were assessed using spatial-temporal gait parameters. Application of the concurrent Brooks' Spatial Memory task led to longer step times compared to the baseline condition. Larger step width variability was observed in both the Brooks' Spatial Memory and Counting Backward dual-task conditions than in the baseline condition. In addition, cognitive task effects on step width variability differed between two age groups. In particular, the Brooks' Spatial Memory task led to significantly larger step width variability only among older adults. These findings revealed that cognitive tasks involving the visuo-spatial sketchpad interfered with gait more severely in older versus young adults. Thus, dual-task training, in which a cognitive task involving the visuo-spatial sketchpad (e.g. the Brooks' Spatial Memory task) is concurrently performed with walking, could be beneficial to mitigate impairments in gait among older adults.

ViSA: A Neurodynamic Model for Visuo-Spatial Working Memory, Attentional Blink, and Conscious Access

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Simione, Luca; Raffone, Antonino; Wolters, Gezinus; Salmas, Paola; Nakatani, Chie; Belardinelli, Marta Olivetti; van Leeuwen, Cees

2012-01-01

Two separate lines of study have clarified the role of selectivity in conscious access to visual information. Both involve presenting multiple targets and distracters: one "simultaneously" in a spatially distributed fashion, the other "sequentially" at a single location. To understand their findings in a unified framework, we propose a…

ERP Evidence of Early Cross-Modal Links between Auditory Selective Attention and Visuo-Spatial Memory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bomba, Marie D.; Singhal, Anthony

2010-01-01

Previous dual-task research pairing complex visual tasks involving non-spatial cognitive processes during dichotic listening have shown effects on the late component (Ndl) of the negative difference selective attention waveform but no effects on the early (Nde) response suggesting that the Ndl, but not the Nde, is affected by non-spatial…

Short-Term and Working Memory Skills in Primary School-Aged Children with Specific Language Impairment and Children with Pragmatic Language Impairment: Phonological, Linguistic and Visuo-Spatial Aspects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Freed, Jenny; Lockton, Elaine; Adams, Catherine

2012-01-01

Background: Children with specific language impairment (CwSLI) are consistently reported to have short-term memory (STM) and working memory (WM) difficulties. Aim: To compare STM and WM abilities in CwSLI with children with pragmatic language impairment (CwPLI). Methods & Procedures: Primary school-aged CwSLI (n = 12) and CwPLI (n = 23) were…

Does participation in art classes influence performance on two different cognitive tasks?

PubMed

Schindler, Manuel; Maihöfner, Christian; Bolwerk, Anne; Lang, Frieder R

2017-04-01

Effects of two mentally stimulating art interventions on processing speed and visuo-spatial cognition were compared in three samples. In a randomized 10-week art intervention study with a pre-post follow-up design, 113 adults (27 healthy older adults with subjective memory complaints, 50 healthy older adults and 36 healthy younger adults) were randomly assigned to one of two groups: visual art production or cognitive art evaluation, where the participants either produced or evaluated art. ANOVAs with repeated measures were computed to observe effects on the Symbol-Digit Test, and the Stick Test. Significant Time effects were found with regard to processing speed and visuo-spatial cognition. Additionally, there was found a significant Time × Sample interaction for processing speed. The effects proved robust after testing for education and adding sex as additional factor. Mental stimulation by participation in art classes leads to an improvement of processing speed and visuo-spatial cognition. Further investigation is required to improve understanding of the potential impact of art intervention on cognitive abilities across adulthood.

Hemispatial neglect and serial order in verbal working memory.

PubMed

Antoine, Sophie; Ranzini, Mariagrazia; van Dijck, Jean-Philippe; Slama, Hichem; Bonato, Mario; Tousch, Ann; Dewulf, Myrtille; Bier, Jean-Christophe; Gevers, Wim

2018-01-09

Working memory refers to our ability to actively maintain and process a limited amount of information during a brief period of time. Often, not only the information itself but also its serial order is crucial for good task performance. It was recently proposed that serial order is grounded in spatial cognition. Here, we compared performance of a group of right hemisphere-damaged patients with hemispatial neglect to healthy controls in verbal working memory tasks. Participants memorized sequences of consonants at span level and had to judge whether a target consonant belonged to the memorized sequence (item task) or whether a pair of consonants were presented in the same order as in the memorized sequence (order task). In line with this idea that serial order is grounded in spatial cognition, we found that neglect patients made significantly more errors in the order task than in the item task compared to healthy controls. Furthermore, this deficit seemed functionally related to neglect severity and was more frequently observed following right posterior brain damage. Interestingly, this specific impairment for serial order in verbal working memory was not lateralized. We advance the hypotheses of a potential contribution to the deficit of serial order in neglect patients of either or both (1) reduced spatial working memory capacity that enables to keep track of the spatial codes that provide memorized items with a positional context, (2) a spatial compression of these codes in the intact representational space. © 2018 The British Psychological Society.

Oculomotor preparation as a rehearsal mechanism in spatial working memory.

PubMed

Pearson, David G; Ball, Keira; Smith, Daniel T

2014-09-01

There is little consensus regarding the specific processes responsible for encoding, maintenance, and retrieval of information in visuo-spatial working memory (VSWM). One influential theory is that VSWM may involve activation of the eye-movement (oculomotor) system. In this study we experimentally prevented healthy participants from planning or executing saccadic eye-movements during the encoding, maintenance, and retrieval stages of visual and spatial working memory tasks. Participants experienced a significant reduction in spatial memory span only when oculomotor preparation was prevented during encoding or maintenance. In contrast there was no reduction when oculomotor preparation was prevented only during retrieval. These results show that (a) involvement of the oculomotor system is necessary for optimal maintenance of directly-indicated locations in spatial working memory and (b) oculomotor preparation is not necessary during retrieval from spatial working memory. We propose that this study is the first to unambiguously demonstrate that the oculomotor system contributes to the maintenance of spatial locations in working memory independently from the involvement of covert attention. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Posterior cortical atrophy variant of Alzheimer's dementia-A case report.

PubMed

Mukku, Shiva Shanker Reddy; Chintala, Haripriya; Nagaraj, Chandana; Mangalore, Sandhya; Sivakumar, Palanimuthu T; Varghese, Mathew

2018-05-17

Alzheimer's dementia (AD) is the commonest type of dementia presenting with initial episodic memory decline followed by involvement of other cognitive domains. Posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) is one of the variants of Alzheimer's dementia (AD) characterized by the atypical presentation of relatively persevered memory in the initial stage. PCA is an uncommon early onset dementia affecting adults between 50 and 65 years. It presents predominantly with visuo-spatial and visuo-perceptual deficits. PCA is a phenotype with varied etiology most common being Alzheimer's disease. The complex and atypical presentation with preserved memory and insight in patients with PCA poses challenge to clinicians in diagnosing at initial stages. There is also paucity of research on prevalence, course, prognosis and management of PCA. In this article we describe a middle aged gentlemen presenting with clinical features suggestive of PCA. We also discussed relevant literature. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Working Memory Deficits in ADHD: The Contribution of Age, Learning/Language Difficulties, and Task Parameters

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sowerby, Paula; Seal, Simon; Tripp, Gail

2011-01-01

Objective: To further define the nature of working memory (WM) impairments in children with combined-type ADHD. Method: A total of 40 Children with ADHD and an age and gender-matched control group (n = 40) completed two measures of visuo-spatial WM and two measures of verbal WM. The effects of age and learning/language difficulties on performance…

Specific memory impairment following neonatal encephalopathy in term-born children.

PubMed

van Handel, Mariëlle; de Sonneville, Leo; de Vries, Linda S; Jongmans, Marian J; Swaab, Hanna

2012-01-01

This study examines short-term memory, verbal working memory, episodic long-term memory, and intelligence in 32 children with mild neonatal encephalopathy (NE), 39 children with moderate NE, 10 children with NE who developed cerebral palsy (CP), and 53 comparison children, at the age of 9 to 10 years. in addition to a global effect on intelligence, NE had a specific effect on verbal working memory, verbal and visuo-spatial long-term memory, and learning, which was associated with degree of NE. Although these memory problems occurred in children without CP, they were more pronounced when children had also developed CP.

Cognitive components of a mathematical processing network in 9-year-old children.

PubMed

Szűcs, Dénes; Devine, Amy; Soltesz, Fruzsina; Nobes, Alison; Gabriel, Florence

2014-07-01

We determined how various cognitive abilities, including several measures of a proposed domain-specific number sense, relate to mathematical competence in nearly 100 9-year-old children with normal reading skill. Results are consistent with an extended number processing network and suggest that important processing nodes of this network are phonological processing, verbal knowledge, visuo-spatial short-term and working memory, spatial ability and general executive functioning. The model was highly specific to predicting arithmetic performance. There were no strong relations between mathematical achievement and verbal short-term and working memory, sustained attention, response inhibition, finger knowledge and symbolic number comparison performance. Non-verbal intelligence measures were also non-significant predictors when added to our model. Number sense variables were non-significant predictors in the model and they were also non-significant predictors when entered into regression analysis with only a single visuo-spatial WM measure. Number sense variables were predicted by sustained attention. Results support a network theory of mathematical competence in primary school children and falsify the importance of a proposed modular 'number sense'. We suggest an 'executive memory function centric' model of mathematical processing. Mapping a complex processing network requires that studies consider the complex predictor space of mathematics rather than just focusing on a single or a few explanatory factors.

Cognitive components of a mathematical processing network in 9-year-old children

PubMed Central

Szűcs, Dénes; Devine, Amy; Soltesz, Fruzsina; Nobes, Alison; Gabriel, Florence

2014-01-01

We determined how various cognitive abilities, including several measures of a proposed domain-specific number sense, relate to mathematical competence in nearly 100 9-year-old children with normal reading skill. Results are consistent with an extended number processing network and suggest that important processing nodes of this network are phonological processing, verbal knowledge, visuo-spatial short-term and working memory, spatial ability and general executive functioning. The model was highly specific to predicting arithmetic performance. There were no strong relations between mathematical achievement and verbal short-term and working memory, sustained attention, response inhibition, finger knowledge and symbolic number comparison performance. Non-verbal intelligence measures were also non-significant predictors when added to our model. Number sense variables were non-significant predictors in the model and they were also non-significant predictors when entered into regression analysis with only a single visuo-spatial WM measure. Number sense variables were predicted by sustained attention. Results support a network theory of mathematical competence in primary school children and falsify the importance of a proposed modular ‘number sense’. We suggest an ‘executive memory function centric’ model of mathematical processing. Mapping a complex processing network requires that studies consider the complex predictor space of mathematics rather than just focusing on a single or a few explanatory factors. PMID:25089322

Low-Cost Robotic Assessment of Visuo-Motor Deficits in Alzheimer's Disease.

PubMed

Bartoli, Eleonora; Caso, Francesca; Magnani, Giuseppe; Baud-Bovy, Gabriel

2017-07-01

A low-cost robotic interface was used to assess the visuo-motor performance of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Twenty AD patients and twenty age-matched controls participated in this work. The battery of tests included simple reaction times, position tracking, and stabilization tasks performed with both hands. The regularity, velocity, visual and haptic feedback were manipulated to vary movement complexity. Reaction times and movement tracking error were analyzed. Results show a marked group effect on a subset of conditions, in particular when the patients could not rely on the visual feedback of hand movement. The visuo-motor performance correlated with the measures of global cognitive functioning and with different memory-related abilities. Our results support the hypothesis that the ability to recall and use visuo-spatial associations might underlie the impairment in complex motor behavior that has been reported in AD patients. Importantly, the patients had preserved learning effects across sessions, which might relate to visuo-motor deficits being less evident in every-day life and clinical assessments. This robotic assessment, lasting less than 1 h, provides detailed information about the integrity of visuo-motor abilities. The data can aid the understanding of the complex pattern of deficits that characterizes this pervasive disease.

Metabotropic glutamate receptors 5 blockade reverses spatial memory deficits in a mouse model of Parkinson's disease.

PubMed

De Leonibus, Elvira; Managò, Francesca; Giordani, Francesco; Petrosino, Francesco; Lopez, Sebastien; Oliverio, Alberto; Amalric, Marianne; Mele, Andrea

2009-02-01

Visuo-spatial deficits are the most consistently reported cognitive abnormalities in Parkinson's disease (PD), and they are frequently associated to motor symptoms in the early stages of the disease when dopamine loss is moderate and still restricted to the caudate-putamen. The metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5) antagonist, 2-methyl-6-(phenylethynyl)-pyridine (MPEP), has beneficial effects on motor symptoms in animal models of PD. However, the effects of MPEP on the cognitive deficits of the disease have never been investigated. Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore its therapeutic potentials by investigating its effects on the visuo-spatial deficits induced by 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) lesions of dorsal striatum in CD1 mice. The results demonstrated that systemic injections of MPEP (6, 12, and 24 mg/kg, i.p.) impair visuo-spatial discrimination in intact mice at high concentrations, whereas lower doses (1.5 and 3 mg/kg, i.p.) were void of effects. Nevertheless, when an ineffective dose (MPEP 3 mg/kg) was injected, either acutely or subchronically (8 days), it antagonized the visuo-spatial discrimination deficit induced by bilateral dopamine lesion of the striatum. Furthermore, the same treatment increased contralateral turning induced by L-DOPA in mice bearing unilateral 6-OHDA lesion. These results confirm the therapeutic potential of mGluR5 blockade on motor symptoms induced by reduced striatal dopamine function. Further, they demonstrate that mGluR5 blockade may also have beneficial effects on cognitive deficits induced by dopamine depletion.

The relation between working memory and language comprehension in signers and speakers.

PubMed

Emmorey, Karen; Giezen, Marcel R; Petrich, Jennifer A F; Spurgeon, Erin; O'Grady Farnady, Lucinda

2017-06-01

This study investigated the relation between linguistic and spatial working memory (WM) resources and language comprehension for signed compared to spoken language. Sign languages are both linguistic and visual-spatial, and therefore provide a unique window on modality-specific versus modality-independent contributions of WM resources to language processing. Deaf users of American Sign Language (ASL), hearing monolingual English speakers, and hearing ASL-English bilinguals completed several spatial and linguistic serial recall tasks. Additionally, their comprehension of spatial and non-spatial information in ASL and spoken English narratives was assessed. Results from the linguistic serial recall tasks revealed that the often reported advantage for speakers on linguistic short-term memory tasks does not extend to complex WM tasks with a serial recall component. For English, linguistic WM predicted retention of non-spatial information, and both linguistic and spatial WM predicted retention of spatial information. For ASL, spatial WM predicted retention of spatial (but not non-spatial) information, and linguistic WM did not predict retention of either spatial or non-spatial information. Overall, our findings argue against strong assumptions of independent domain-specific subsystems for the storage and processing of linguistic and spatial information and furthermore suggest a less important role for serial encoding in signed than spoken language comprehension. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cognitive and psychopathology correlates of brain white/grey matter structure in severely psychotic schizophrenic inpatients.

PubMed

Banaj, Nerisa; Piras, Federica; Piras, Fabrizio; Ciullo, Valentina; Iorio, Mariangela; Battaglia, Claudia; Pantoli, Donatella; Ducci, Giuseppe; Spalletta, Gianfranco

2018-06-01

The brain structural correlates of cognitive and psychopathological symptoms within the active phase in severely psychotic schizophrenic inpatients have been rarely investigated. Twenty-eight inpatients with a DSM-5 diagnosis of Schizophrenia (SZ), admitted for acute psychotic decompensation, were assessed through a comprehensive neuropsychological and psychopathological battery. All patients underwent a high-resolution T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging investigation. Increased psychotic severity was related to reduced grey matter volumes in the medial portion of the right superior frontal cortex, the superior orbitofrontal cortex bilaterally and to white matter volume reduction in the medial portion of the left superior frontal area. Immediate verbal memory performance was related to left insula and inferior parietal cortex volume, while long-term visuo-spatial memory was related to grey matter volume of the right middle temporal cortex, and the right (lobule VII, CRUS1) and left (lobule VI) cerebellum. Moreover, psychotic severity correlated with cognitive inflexibility and negative symptom severity was related to visuo-spatial processing and reasoning disturbances. These findings indicate that a disruption of the cortical-subcortical-cerebellar circuit, and distorted memory function contribute to the development and maintenance of psychotic exacerbation.

Cross-modal activation of auditory regions during visuo-spatial working memory in early deafness.

PubMed

Ding, Hao; Qin, Wen; Liang, Meng; Ming, Dong; Wan, Baikun; Li, Qiang; Yu, Chunshui

2015-09-01

Early deafness can reshape deprived auditory regions to enable the processing of signals from the remaining intact sensory modalities. Cross-modal activation has been observed in auditory regions during non-auditory tasks in early deaf subjects. In hearing subjects, visual working memory can evoke activation of the visual cortex, which further contributes to behavioural performance. In early deaf subjects, however, whether and how auditory regions participate in visual working memory remains unclear. We hypothesized that auditory regions may be involved in visual working memory processing and activation of auditory regions may contribute to the superior behavioural performance of early deaf subjects. In this study, 41 early deaf subjects (22 females and 19 males, age range: 20-26 years, age of onset of deafness < 2 years) and 40 age- and gender-matched hearing controls underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging during a visuo-spatial delayed recognition task that consisted of encoding, maintenance and recognition stages. The early deaf subjects exhibited faster reaction times on the spatial working memory task than did the hearing controls. Compared with hearing controls, deaf subjects exhibited increased activation in the superior temporal gyrus bilaterally during the recognition stage. This increased activation amplitude predicted faster and more accurate working memory performance in deaf subjects. Deaf subjects also had increased activation in the superior temporal gyrus bilaterally during the maintenance stage and in the right superior temporal gyrus during the encoding stage. These increased activation amplitude also predicted faster reaction times on the spatial working memory task in deaf subjects. These findings suggest that cross-modal plasticity occurs in auditory association areas in early deaf subjects. These areas are involved in visuo-spatial working memory. Furthermore, amplitudes of cross-modal activation during the maintenance stage were positively correlated with the age of onset of hearing aid use and were negatively correlated with the percentage of lifetime hearing aid use in deaf subjects. These findings suggest that earlier and longer hearing aid use may inhibit cross-modal reorganization in early deaf subjects. Granger causality analysis revealed that, compared to the hearing controls, the deaf subjects had an enhanced net causal flow from the frontal eye field to the superior temporal gyrus. These findings indicate that a top-down mechanism may better account for the cross-modal activation of auditory regions in early deaf subjects.See MacSweeney and Cardin (doi:10/1093/awv197) for a scientific commentary on this article. © The Author (2015). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Guarantors of Brain. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Working Memory: Its Role in Dyslexia and Other Specific Learning Difficulties

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jeffries, Sharman; Everatt, John

2004-01-01

This paper reports a study contrasting dyslexic children against a control group of children without special educational needs (SEN) and a group with varied SENs. Children's abilities were compared on tasks assessing phonological processing, visuo-spatial/motor coordination and executive/inhibitory functioning; being targeted for assessment based…

Spatial serial order processing in schizophrenia.

PubMed

Fraser, David; Park, Sohee; Clark, Gina; Yohanna, Daniel; Houk, James C

2004-10-01

The aim of this study was to examine serial order processing deficits in 21 schizophrenia patients and 16 age- and education-matched healthy controls. In a spatial serial order working memory task, one to four spatial targets were presented in a randomized sequence. Subjects were required to remember the locations and the order in which the targets were presented. Patients showed a marked deficit in ability to remember the sequences compared with controls. Increasing the number of targets within a sequence resulted in poorer memory performance for both control and schizophrenia subjects, but the effect was much more pronounced in the patients. Targets presented at the end of a long sequence were more vulnerable to memory error in schizophrenia patients. Performance deficits were not attributable to motor errors, but to errors in target choice. The results support the idea that the memory errors seen in schizophrenia patients may be due to saturating the working memory network at relatively low levels of memory load.

Motor transfer from map ocular exploration to locomotion during spatial navigation from memory.

PubMed

Demichelis, Alixia; Olivier, Gérard; Berthoz, Alain

2013-02-01

Spatial navigation from memory can rely on two different strategies: a mental simulation of a kinesthetic spatial navigation (egocentric route strategy) or visual-spatial memory using a mental map (allocentric survey strategy). We hypothesized that a previously performed "oculomotor navigation" on a map could be used by the brain to perform a locomotor memory task. Participants were instructed to (1) learn a path on a map through a sequence of vertical and horizontal eyes movements and (2) walk on the slabs of a "magic carpet" to recall this path. The main results showed that the anisotropy of ocular movements (horizontal ones being more efficient than vertical ones) influenced performances of participants when they change direction on the central slab of the magic carpet. These data suggest that, to find their way through locomotor space, subjects mentally repeated their past ocular exploration of the map, and this visuo-motor memory was used as a template for the locomotor performance.

Short-term Memory in Childhood Dyslexia: Deficient Serial Order in Multiple Modalities.

PubMed

Cowan, Nelson; Hogan, Tiffany P; Alt, Mary; Green, Samuel; Cabbage, Kathryn L; Brinkley, Shara; Gray, Shelley

2017-08-01

In children with dyslexia, deficits in working memory have not been well-specified. We assessed second-grade children with dyslexia, with and without concomitant specific language impairment, and children with typical development. Immediate serial recall of lists of phonological (non-word), lexical (digit), spatial (location) and visual (shape) items were included. For the latter three modalities, we used not only standard span but also running span tasks, in which the list length was unpredictable to limit mnemonic strategies. Non-word repetition tests indicated a phonological memory deficit in children with dyslexia alone compared with those with typical development, but this difference vanished when these groups were matched for non-verbal intelligence and language. Theoretically important deficits in serial order memory in dyslexic children, however, persisted relative to matched typically developing children. The deficits were in recall of (1) spoken digits in both standard and running span tasks and (2) spatial locations, in running span only. Children with dyslexia with versus without language impairment, when matched on non-verbal intelligence, had comparable serial order memory, but differed in phonology. Because serial orderings of verbal and spatial elements occur in reading, the careful examination of order memory may allow a deeper understanding of dyslexia and its relation to language impairment. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Moving to higher ground: The dynamic field theory and the dynamics of visual cognition

PubMed Central

Johnson, Jeffrey S.; Spencer, John P.; Schöner, Gregor

2009-01-01

In the present report, we describe a new dynamic field theory that captures the dynamics of visuo-spatial cognition. This theory grew out of the dynamic systems approach to motor control and development, and is grounded in neural principles. The initial application of dynamic field theory to issues in visuo-spatial cognition extended concepts of the motor approach to decision making in a sensori-motor context, and, more recently, to the dynamics of spatial cognition. Here we extend these concepts still further to address topics in visual cognition, including visual working memory for non-spatial object properties, the processes that underlie change detection, and the ‘binding problem’ in vision. In each case, we demonstrate that the general principles of the dynamic field approach can unify findings in the literature and generate novel predictions. We contend that the application of these concepts to visual cognition avoids the pitfalls of reductionist approaches in cognitive science, and points toward a formal integration of brains, bodies, and behavior. PMID:19173013

An Investigation of Cognitive Skills and Behavior in High Ability Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alloway, Tracy Packiam; Elsworth, Miquela

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the cognitive and behavioral profiles of high ability students. Performance on measures of verbal and visuo-spatial working memory and general ability (vocabulary and block design) was compared across the following groups: high, average, and low ability students. The behavioral profile of high ability…

The Architecture, Dynamics, and Development of Mental Processing: Greek, Chinese, or Universal?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Demetriou, A.; Kui, Z.X.; Spanoudis, G.; Christou, C.; Kyriakides, L.; Platsidou, M.

2005-01-01

This study compared Greeks with Chinese, from 8 to 14 years of age, on measures of processing efficiency, working memory, and reasoning. All processes were addressed through three domains of relations: verbal/propositional, quantitative, and visuo/spatial. Structural equations modelling and rating scale analysis showed that the architecture and…

Differential Effects of Paced and Unpaced Responding on delayed Serial Order Recall in Schizophrenia

PubMed Central

Hill, S. Kristian; Griffin, Ginny B.; Houk, James C.; Sweeney, John A.

2011-01-01

Working memory for temporal order is a component of working memory that is especially dependent on striatal systems, but has not been extensively studied in schizophrenia. This study was designed to characterize serial order reproduction by adapting a spatial serial order task developed for nonhuman primate studies, while controlling for working memory load and whether responses were initiated freely (unpaced) or in an externally paced format. Clinically stable schizophrenia patients (n=27) and psychiatrically healthy individuals (n=25) were comparable on demographic variables and performance on standardized tests of immediate serial order recall (Digit Span, Spatial Span). No group differences were observed for serial order recall when read sequence reproduction was unpaced. However, schizophrenia patients exhibited significant impairments when responding was paced, regardless of sequence length or retention delay. Intact performance by schizophrenia patients during the unpaced condition indicates that prefrontal storage and striatal output systems are sufficiently intact to learn novel response sequences and hold them in working memory to perform serial order tasks. However, retention for newly learned response sequences was disrupted in schizophrenia patients by paced responding, when read-out of each element in the response sequence was externally controlled. The disruption of memory for serial order in paced read-out condition indicates a deficit in frontostriatal interaction characterized by an inability to update working memory stores and deconstruct ‘chunked’ information. PMID:21705197

Those are Your Legs: The Effect of Visuo-Spatial Viewpoint on Visuo-Tactile Integration and Body Ownership

PubMed Central

Pozeg, Polona; Galli, Giulia; Blanke, Olaf

2015-01-01

Experiencing a body part as one’s own, i.e., body ownership, depends on the integration of multisensory bodily signals (including visual, tactile, and proprioceptive information) with the visual top-down signals from peripersonal space. Although it has been shown that the visuo-spatial viewpoint from where the body is seen is an important visual top-down factor for body ownership, different studies have reported diverging results. Furthermore, the role of visuo-spatial viewpoint (sometime also called first-person perspective) has only been studied for hands or the whole body, but not for the lower limbs. We thus investigated whether and how leg visuo-tactile integration and leg ownership depended on the visuo-spatial viewpoint from which the legs were seen and the anatomical similarity of the visual leg stimuli. Using a virtual leg illusion, we tested the strength of visuo-tactile integration of leg stimuli using the crossmodal congruency effect (CCE) as well as the subjective sense of leg ownership (assessed by a questionnaire). Fifteen participants viewed virtual legs or non-corporeal control objects, presented either from their habitual first-person viewpoint or from a viewpoint that was rotated by 90°(third-person viewpoint), while applying visuo-tactile stroking between the participants legs and the virtual legs shown on a head-mounted display. The data show that the first-person visuo-spatial viewpoint significantly boosts the visuo-tactile integration as well as the sense of leg ownership. Moreover, the viewpoint-dependent increment of the visuo-tactile integration was only found in the conditions when participants viewed the virtual legs (absent for control objects). These results confirm the importance of first person visuo-spatial viewpoint for the integration of visuo-tactile stimuli and extend findings from the upper extremity and the trunk to visuo-tactile integration and ownership for the legs. PMID:26635663

Semantic amnesia without dementia: documentation of a case.

PubMed

Rusconi, M L; Zago, S; Basso, A

1997-06-01

We described the case of a patient affected by a progressive semantic memory disorder associated with prevalent temporal lobe atrophy. This deficit seems to be "pure" in the sense that it has not been found to overlap with other cognitive deficits (intellectual, linguistic, perceptual, visuo-spatial etc.) for a long time. Furthermore, despite his impaired semantic knowledge, the autobiographical memory of the patient was largely intact. This case therefore represents a form of "semantic amnesia" without dementia, and supports the hypothesis that there is a partial distinction between "semantic" and "episodic" memory.

Primacy Performance of Normal and Retarded Children: Stimulus Familiarity or Spatial Memory?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Swanson, Lee

1978-01-01

Explores the effect of stimulus familiarity on the spatial primacy performance of normal and retarded children. Assumes that serial recall tasks reflect spatial memory rather than verbal rehearsal. (BD)

Tactile exploration of virtual objects for blind and sighted people: the role of beta 1 EEG band in sensory substitution and supramodal mental mapping

PubMed Central

Brayda, L.; De Carli, F.; Chellali, R.; Famà, F.; Bruzzo, C.; Lucagrossi, L.; Rodriguez, G.

2012-01-01

The neural correlates of exploration and cognitive mapping in blindness remain elusive. The role of visuo-spatial pathways in blind vs. sighted subjects is still under debate. In this preliminary study, we investigate, as a possible estimation of the activity in the visuo-spatial pathways, the EEG patterns of blind and blindfolded-sighted subjects during the active tactile construction of cognitive maps from virtual objects compared with rest and passive tactile stimulation. Ten blind and ten matched, blindfolded-sighted subjects participated in the study. Events were defined as moments when the finger was only stimulated (passive stimulation) or the contour of a virtual object was touched (during active exploration). Event-related spectral power and coherence perturbations were evaluated within the beta 1 band (14–18 Hz). They were then related to a subjective cognitive-load estimation required by the explorations [namely, perceived levels of difficulty (PLD)]. We found complementary cues for sensory substitution and spatial processing in both groups: both blind and sighted subjects showed, while exploring, late power decreases and early power increases, potentially associated with motor programming and touch, respectively. The latter involved occipital areas only for blind subjects (long-term plasticity) and only during active exploration, thus supporting tactile-to-visual sensory substitution. In both groups, coherences emerged among the fronto-central, centro-parietal, and occipito-temporal derivations associated with visuo-spatial processing. This seems in accordance with mental map construction involving spatial processing, sensory-motor processing, and working memory. The observed involvement of the occipital regions suggests that a substitution process also occurs in sighted subjects. Only during explorations did coherence correlate positively with PLD for both groups and in derivations, which can be related to visuo-spatial processing, supporting the existence of supramodal spatial processing independently of vision capabilities. PMID:22338024

Vision, visuo-cognition and postural control in Parkinson's disease: An associative pilot study.

PubMed

Hill, E; Stuart, S; Lord, S; Del Din, S; Rochester, L

2016-07-01

Impaired postural control (PC) is common in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and is a major contributor to falls, with significant consequences. Mechanisms underpinning PC are complex and include motor and non-motor features. Research has focused predominantly on motor and sensory inputs. Vision and visuo-cognitive function are also integral to PC but have largely been ignored to date. The aim of this observational cross-sectional pilot study was to explore the relationship of vision and visuo-cognition with PC in PD. Twelve people with PD and ten age-matched healthy controls (HC) underwent detailed assessments for vision, visuo-cognition and postural control. Vision assessments included visual acuity and contrast sensitivity. Visuo-cognition was measured by visuo-perception (object identification), visuo-construction (ability to copy a figure) and visuo-spatial ability (judge distances and location of object within environment). PC was measured by an accelerometer for a range of outcomes during a 2-min static stance. Spearman's correlations identified significant associations. Contrast sensitivity, visuo-spatial ability and postural control (ellipsis) were significantly impaired in PD (p=0.017; p=0.001; and p=0.017, respectively). For PD only, significant correlations were found for higher visuo-spatial function and larger ellipsis (r=0.64; p=0.024) and impaired attention and reduced visuo-spatial function (r=-0.62; p=0.028). Visuo-spatial ability is associated with PC deficit in PD, but in an unexpected direction. This suggests a non-linear pattern of response. Further research is required to examine this novel and important finding. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cognitive deficits in individuals with methamphetamine use disorder: A meta-analysis.

PubMed

Potvin, Stéphane; Pelletier, Julie; Grot, Stéphanie; Hébert, Catherine; Barr, Alasdair M; Lecomte, Tania

2018-05-01

Methamphetamine has long been considered as a neurotoxic substance causing cognitive deficits. Recently, however, the magnitude and the clinical significance of the cognitive effects associated with methamphetamine use disorder (MUD) have been debated. To help clarify this controversy, we performed a meta-analysis of the cognitive deficits associated with MUD. A literature search yielded 44 studies that assessed cognitive dysfunction in 1592 subjects with MUD and 1820 healthy controls. Effect size estimates were calculated using the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis, for the following 12 cognitive domains: attention, executive functions, impulsivity/reward processing, social cognition, speed of processing, verbal fluency/language, verbal learning and memory, visual learning and memory, visuo-spatial abilities and working memory. Findings revealed moderate impairment across most cognitive domains, including attention, executive functions, language/verbal fluency, verbal learning and memory, visual memory and working memory. Deficits in impulsivity/reward processing and social cognition were more prominent, whereas visual learning and visuo-spatial abilities were relatively spared cognitive domains. A publication bias was observed. These results show that MUD is associated with broad cognitive deficits that are in the same range as those associated with alcohol and cocaine use disorder, as recently shown by way of meta-analysis. The prominent effects of MUD on social cognition and impulsivity/reward processing are based on a small number of studies, and as such, these results will need to be replicated. The functional consequences (social and occupational) of the cognitive deficits of methamphetamine will also need to be determined. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Genetic Contributions to Changes of Fiber Tracts of Ventral Visual Stream in 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome

PubMed Central

Kikinis, Zora; Makris, Nikos; Finn, Christine T.; Bouix, Sylvain; Lucia, Diandra; Coleman, Michael J.; Tworog-Dube, Erica; Kikinis, Ron; Kucherlapati, Raju; Shenton, Martha E.; Kubicki, Marek

2013-01-01

Patients with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS) represent a population at high risk for developing schizophrenia, as well as learning disabilities. Deficits in visuo-spatial memory are thought to underlie some of the cognitive disabilities. Neuronal substrates of visuo-spatial memory include the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFOF) and the inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF), two tracts that comprise the ventral visual stream. Diffusion Tensor Magnetic Resonance Imaging (DT-MRI) is an established method to evaluate white matter (WM) connections in vivo. DT-MRI scans of nine 22q11.2DS young adults and nine matched healthy subjects were acquired. Tractography of the IFOF and the ILF was performed. DT-MRI indices, including Fractional anisotropy (FA) (measure of WM changes), axial diffusivity (AD, measure of axonal changes) and radial diffusivity (RD, measure of myelin changes) of each of the tracts and each group were measured and compared. The 22q11.2DS group showed statistically significant reductions of FA in IFOF in the left hemisphere. Additionally, reductions of AD were found in the IFOF and the ILF in both hemispheres. These findings might be the consequence of axonal changes, which is possibly due to fewer, thinner, or less organized fibers. No changes in RD were detected in any of the tracts delineated, which is in contrast to findings in schizophrenia patients where increases in RD are believed to be indicative of demyelination. We conclude that reduced axonal changes may be key to understanding the underlying pathology of WM leading to the visuo-spatial phenotype in 22q11.2DS. PMID:23612843

Visuo-Motor and Cognitive Procedural Learning in Children with Basal Ganglia Pathology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mayor-Dubois, C.; Maeder, P.; Zesiger, P.; Roulet-Perez, E.

2010-01-01

We investigated procedural learning in 18 children with basal ganglia (BG) lesions or dysfunctions of various aetiologies, using a visuo-motor learning test, the Serial Reaction Time (SRT) task, and a cognitive learning test, the Probabilistic Classification Learning (PCL) task. We compared patients with early (less than 1 year old, n=9), later…

What's in a "face file"? Feature binding with facial identity, emotion, and gaze direction.

PubMed

Fitousi, Daniel

2017-07-01

A series of four experiments investigated the binding of facial (i.e., facial identity, emotion, and gaze direction) and non-facial (i.e., spatial location and response location) attributes. Evidence for the creation and retrieval of temporary memory face structures across perception and action has been adduced. These episodic structures-dubbed herein "face files"-consisted of both visuo-visuo and visuo-motor bindings. Feature binding was indicated by partial-repetition costs. That is repeating a combination of facial features or altering them altogether, led to faster responses than repeating or alternating only one of the features. Taken together, the results indicate that: (a) "face files" affect both action and perception mechanisms, (b) binding can take place with facial dimensions and is not restricted to low-level features (Hommel, Visual Cognition 5:183-216, 1998), and (c) the binding of facial and non-facial attributes is facilitated if the dimensions share common spatial or motor codes. The theoretical contributions of these results to "person construal" theories (Freeman, & Ambady, Psychological Science, 20(10), 1183-1188, 2011), as well as to face recognition models (Haxby, Hoffman, & Gobbini, Biological Psychiatry, 51(1), 59-67, 2000) are discussed.

Prism adaptation enhances activity of intact fronto-parietal areas in both hemispheres in neglect patients.

PubMed

Saj, Arnaud; Cojan, Yann; Vocat, Roland; Luauté, Jacques; Vuilleumier, Patrik

2013-01-01

Unilateral spatial neglect involves a failure to report or orient to stimuli in the contralesional (left) space due to right brain damage, with severe handicap in everyday activities and poor rehabilitation outcome. Because behavioral studies suggest that prism adaptation may reduce spatial neglect, we investigated the neural mechanisms underlying prism effects on visuo-spatial processing in neglect patients. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine the effect of (right-deviating) prisms on seven patients with left neglect, by comparing brain activity while they performed three different spatial tasks on the same visual stimuli (bisection, search, and memory), before and after a single prism-adaptation session. Following prism adaptation, fMRI data showed increased activation in bilateral parietal, frontal, and occipital cortex during bisection and visual search, but not during the memory task. These increases were associated with significant behavioral improvement in the same two tasks. Changes in neural activity and behavior were seen only after prism adaptation, but not attributable to mere task repetition. These results show for the first time the neural substrates underlying the therapeutic benefits of prism adaptation, and demonstrate that visuo-motor adaptation induced by prism exposure can restore activation in bilateral brain networks controlling spatial attention and awareness. This bilateral recruitment of fronto-parietal networks may counteract the pathological biases produced by unilateral right hemisphere damage, consistent with recent proposals that neglect may reflect lateralized deficits induced by bilateral hemispheric dysfunction. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Learning and memory for sequences of pictures, words, and spatial locations: an exploration of serial position effects.

PubMed

Bonk, William J; Healy, Alice F

2010-01-01

A serial reproduction of order with distractors task was developed to make it possible to observe successive snapshots of the learning process at each serial position. The new task was used to explore the effect of several variables on serial memory performance: stimulus content (words, blanks, and pictures), presentation condition (spatial information vs. none), semantically categorized item clustering (grouped vs. ungrouped), and number of distractors relative to targets (none, equal, double). These encoding and retrieval variables, along with learning attempt number, affected both overall performance levels and the shape of the serial position function, although a large and extensive primacy advantage and a small 1-item recency advantage were found in each case. These results were explained well by a version of the scale-independent memory, perception, and learning model that accounted for improved performance by increasing the value of only a single parameter that reflects reduced interference from distant items.

The effects of concurrent cannabis use among ecstasy users: neuroprotective or neurotoxic?

PubMed

Fisk, John E; Montgomery, Catharine; Wareing, Michelle; Murphy, Philip N

2006-08-01

The research evidence regarding the potential effects of ecstasy suggests that it may be neurotoxic and that its use is associated with cognitive impairment. In recent years evidence has emerged suggesting that cannabinoids, the active ingredients in cannabis, can be neuroprotective under certain conditions. Given that many ecstasy users also consume cannabis at the same time, the possibility emerges that these individuals might be less susceptible to ecstasy-related impairment. The present paper reanalyses the data from a number of previous studies, contrasting the performance of those individuals who generally consume cannabis and ecstasy at the same time with those who generally consume ecstasy on its own. The two ecstasy-using groups are compared with non-ecstasy users on a range of measures including processing speed, random letter generation, verbal and visuo-spatial working memory span, reasoning and associative learning. The two ecstasy user groups did not differ significantly from each other on any of the measures. Both user groups were significantly worse than non-ecstasy users on measures of associative learning, verbal and visuo-spatial working memory and reasoning. The results suggest that consuming cannabis at the same time as ecstasy does not reduce the likelihood of cognitive impairment.

Eye movements and serial memory for visual-spatial information: does time spent fixating contribute to recall?

PubMed

Saint-Aubin, Jean; Tremblay, Sébastien; Jalbert, Annie

2007-01-01

This research investigated the nature of encoding and its contribution to serial recall for visual-spatial information. In order to do so, we examined the relationship between fixation duration and recall performance. Using the dot task--a series of seven dots spatially distributed on a monitor screen is presented sequentially for immediate recall--performance and eye-tracking data were recorded during the presentation of the to-be-remembered items. When participants were free to move their eyes at their will, both fixation durations and probability of correct recall decreased as a function of serial position. Furthermore, imposing constant durations of fixation across all serial positions had a beneficial impact (though relatively small) on item but not order recall. Great care was taken to isolate the effect of fixation duration from that of presentation duration. Although eye movement at encoding contributes to immediate memory, it is not decisive in shaping serial recall performance. Our results also provide further evidence that the distinction between item and order information, well-established in the verbal domain, extends to visual-spatial information.

Disparities in visuo-spatial constructive abilities in Williams syndrome patients with typical deletion on chromosome 7q11.23.

PubMed

Muramatsu, Yukako; Tokita, Yoshihito; Mizuno, Seiji; Nakamura, Miho

2017-02-01

Williams syndrome (WS) is known for its uneven cognitive abilities, especially the difficulty in visuo-spatial cognition, though there are some inter-individual phenotypic differences. It has been proposed that the difficulty in visuo-spatial cognition of WS patients can be attributed to a haploinsufficiency of some genes located on the deleted region in 7q11.23, based on an examination of atypical deletions identified in WS patients with atypical cognitive deficits. According to this hypothesis, the inter-individual differences in visuo-spatial cognitive ability arise from variations in deletion. We investigated whether there were inter-individual differences in the visuo-spatial constructive abilities of five unrelated WS patients with the typical deletion on chromosome 7q11.23 that includes the candidate genes contributing visuo-spatial difficulty in WS patients. We used tests with three-dimensional factors such as Benton's three-dimensional block construction test, which are considered to be more sensitive than those with only two-dimensional factors. There were diverse inter-individual differences in the visuo-spatial constructive abilities among the present participants who shared the same typical genomic deletion of WS. One of the participants showed almost equivalent performances to typically developing adults in those tests. In the present study, we found a wide range of cognitive abilities in visuo-spatial construction even among the patients with a common deletion pattern of WS. The findings suggest that attributing differences in the phenotypes entirely to genetic factors such as an atypical deletion may not be always correct. Copyright © 2016 The Japanese Society of Child Neurology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The measurement of enhancement in mathematical abilities as a result of joint cognitive trainings in numerical and visual- spatial skills: A preliminary study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agus, M.; Mascia, M. L.; Fastame, M. C.; Melis, V.; Pilloni, M. C.; Penna, M. P.

2015-02-01

A body of literature shows the significant role of visual-spatial skills played in the improvement of mathematical skills in the primary school. The main goal of the current study was to investigate the impact of a combined visuo-spatial and mathematical training on the improvement of mathematical skills in 146 second graders of several schools located in Italy. Participants were presented single pencil-and-paper visuo-spatial or mathematical trainings, computerised version of the above mentioned treatments, as well as a combined version of computer-assisted and pencil-and-paper visuo-spatial and mathematical trainings, respectively. Experimental groups were presented with training for 3 months, once a week. All children were treated collectively both in computer-assisted or pencil-and-paper modalities. At pre and post-test all our participants were presented with a battery of objective tests assessing numerical and visuo-spatial abilities. Our results suggest the positive effect of different types of training for the empowerment of visuo-spatial and numerical abilities. Specifically, the combination of computerised and pencil-and-paper versions of visuo-spatial and mathematical trainings are more effective than the single execution of the software or of the pencil-and-paper treatment.

A working memory account of the interaction between numbers and spatial attention.

PubMed

van Dijck, Jean-Philippe; Abrahamse, Elger L; Acar, Freya; Ketels, Boris; Fias, Wim

2014-01-01

Rather than reflecting the long-term memory construct of a mental number line, it has been proposed that the relation between numbers and space is of a more temporary nature and constructed in working memory during task execution. In three experiments we further explored the viability of this working memory account. Participants performed a speeded dot detection task with dots appearing left or right, while maintaining digits or letters in working memory. Just before presentation of the dot, these digits or letters were used as central cues. These experiments show that the "attentional SNARC-effect" (where SNARC is the spatial-numerical association of response codes) is not observed when only the lastly perceived number cue--and no serially ordered sequence of cues--is maintained in working memory (Experiment 1). It is only when multiple items (numbers in Experiment 2; letters in Experiment 3) are stored in working memory in a serially organized way that the attentional cueing effect is observed as a function of serial working memory position. These observations suggest that the "attentional SNARC-effect" is strongly working memory based. Implications for theories on the mental representation of numbers are discussed.

Effect of BDNF Val66Met polymorphism on digital working memory and spatial localization in a healthy Chinese Han population.

PubMed

Gong, Pingyuan; Zheng, Anyun; Chen, Dongmei; Ge, Wanhua; Lv, Changchao; Zhang, Kejin; Gao, Xiaocai; Zhang, Fuchang

2009-07-01

Cognitive abilities are complex human traits influenced by genetic factors. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a unique polypeptide growth factor, has an influence on the differentiation and survival of neurons in the nervous system. A single-nucleotide polymorphism (rs6265) in the human gene, resulting in a valine to methionine substitution in the pro-BDNF protein, was thought to associate with psychiatric disorders and might play roles in the individual difference of cognitive abilities. However, the specific roles of the gene in cognition remain unclear. To investigate the relationships between the substitution and cognitive abilities, a healthy population-based study and the PCR-SSCP method were performed. The results showed the substitution was associated with digital working memory (p = 0.02) and spatial localization (p = 0.03), but not with inhibition, shifting, updating, visuo-spatial working memory, long-term memory, and others (p > 0.05) among the compared genotype groups analyzed by general linear model. On the other hand, the participants with BDNF (GG) had higher average performance in digital working memory and spatial localization than the ones with BDNF (AA). The findings of the present work implied that the variation in BDNF might play positive roles in human digital working memory and spatial localization.

Spatial working memory in neurofibromatosis 1: Altered neural activity and functional connectivity.

PubMed

Ibrahim, Amira F A; Montojo, Caroline A; Haut, Kristen M; Karlsgodt, Katherine H; Hansen, Laura; Congdon, Eliza; Rosser, Tena; Bilder, Robert M; Silva, Alcino J; Bearden, Carrie E

2017-01-01

Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1) is a genetic disorder that disrupts central nervous system development and neuronal function. Cognitively, NF1 is characterized by difficulties with executive control and visuospatial abilities. Little is known about the neural substrates underlying these deficits. The current study utilized Blood-Oxygen-Level-Dependent (BOLD) functional MRI (fMRI) to explore the neural correlates of spatial working memory (WM) deficits in patients with NF1. BOLD images were acquired from 23 adults with NF1 (age M  = 32.69; 61% male) and 25 matched healthy controls (age M  = 33.08; 64% male) during an in-scanner visuo-spatial WM task. Whole brain functional and psycho-physiological interaction analyses were utilized to investigate neural activity and functional connectivity, respectively, during visuo-spatial WM performance. Participants also completed behavioral measures of spatial reasoning and verbal WM. Relative to healthy controls, participants with NF1 showed reduced recruitment of key components of WM circuitry, the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and right parietal cortex. In addition, healthy controls exhibited greater simultaneous deactivation between the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and temporal regions than NF1 patients. In contrast, NF1 patients showed greater PCC and bilateral parietal connectivity with visual cortices as well as between the PCC and the cerebellum. In NF1 participants, increased functional coupling of the PCC with frontal and parietal regions was associated with better spatial reasoning and WM performance, respectively; these relationships were not observed in controls. Dysfunctional engagement of WM circuitry, and aberrant functional connectivity of 'task-negative' regions in NF1 patients may underlie spatial WM difficulties characteristic of the disorder.

Serial-position effects for items and relations in short-term memory.

PubMed

Jones, Tim; Oberauer, Klaus

2013-04-01

Two experiments used immediate probed recall of words to investigate serial-position effects. Item memory was tested through probing with a semantic category. Relation memory was tested through probing with the word's spatial location of presentation. Input order and output order were deconfounded by presenting and probing items in different orders. Primacy and recency effects over input position were found for both item memory and relation memory. Both item and relation memory declined over output position. The finding of a U-shaped input position function for item memory rules out an explanation purely in terms of positional confusions (e.g., edge effects). Either these serial-position effects arise from variations in the intrinsic memory strength of the items, or they arise from variations in the strength of item-position bindings, together with retrieval by scanning.

Reduced contribution of executive functions in impaired working memory performance in mild traumatic brain injury patients.

PubMed

Kumar, Sanjay; Rao, Shobini L; Chandramouli, Bangalore A; Pillai, Shibu

2013-08-01

Mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) is associated with often selective impairment of both working memory (WM) and the executive functions (EFs). Research indicates that one of the commonest deficits present in MTBI patients falls in the domain of WM. We aimed to investigate the role of EFs in WM impairment following MTBI. Performance on the tests of EFs and the verbal and visuo-spatial WM of 30 consecutive MTBI patients were compared with age/education/IQ matched 30 normal healthy control participants. Correlation between EFs and WM was studied separately for the MTBI and the control group. The MTBI and control group were tested on a range of EF tests and WM. The MTBI group was demonstrated impairment on verbal and visuo-spatial WM and category fluency tests only. Furthermore, the MTBI group had fewer significant correlations between the WM and EFs (5 out of 54 possible correlations) than in the control group (13 out of 54 possible correlations). We suggest that MTBI may lead to WM deficits as the contribution of executive processes to support the WM is diminished following MTBI. Such an understanding of the poor WM performance in MTBI patients will be helpful when planning appropriate strategies for cognitive rehabilitation. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Math practice and its influence on math skills and executive functions in adolescents with mild to borderline intellectual disability.

PubMed

Jansen, Brenda R J; De Lange, Eva; Van der Molen, Mariët J

2013-05-01

Adolescents with mild to borderline intellectual disability (MBID) often complete schooling without mastering basic math skills, even though basic math is essential for math-related challenges in everyday life. Limited attention to cognitive skills and low executive functioning (EF) may cause this delay. We aimed to improve math skills in an MBID-sample using computerized math training. Also, it was investigated whether EF and math performance were related and whether computerized math training had beneficial effects on EF. The sample consisted of a total of 58 adolescents (12-15 years) from special education. Participants were randomly assigned to either the experimental group or a treatment as usual (TAU) group. In the experimental condition, participants received 5 weeks of training. Math performance and EF were assessed before and after the training period. Math performance improved equally in both groups. However, frequently practicing participants improved more than participants in the control group. Visuo-spatial memory skills were positively related to addition and subtraction skills. Transfer effects from math training to EF were absent. It is concluded that math skills may increase if a reasonable effort in practicing math skills is made. The relation between visuo-spatial memory skills provides opportunities for improving math performance. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fractionating the neural correlates of individual working memory components underlying arithmetic problem solving skills in children

PubMed Central

Metcalfe, Arron W. S.; Ashkenazi, Sarit; Rosenberg-Lee, Miriam; Menon, Vinod

2013-01-01

Baddeley and Hitch’s multi-component working memory (WM) model has played an enduring and influential role in our understanding of cognitive abilities. Very little is known, however, about the neural basis of this multi-component WM model and the differential role each component plays in mediating arithmetic problem solving abilities in children. Here, we investigate the neural basis of the central executive (CE), phonological (PL) and visuo-spatial (VS) components of WM during a demanding mental arithmetic task in 7–9 year old children (N=74). The VS component was the strongest predictor of math ability in children and was associated with increased arithmetic complexity-related responses in left dorsolateral and right ventrolateral prefrontal cortices as well as bilateral intra-parietal sulcus and supramarginal gyrus in posterior parietal cortex. Critically, VS, CE and PL abilities were associated with largely distinct patterns of brain response. Overlap between VS and CE components was observed in left supramarginal gyrus and no overlap was observed between VS and PL components. Our findings point to a central role of visuo-spatial WM during arithmetic problem-solving in young grade-school children and highlight the usefulness of the multi-component Baddeley and Hitch WM model in fractionating the neural correlates of arithmetic problem solving during development. PMID:24212504

Preserved memory-based orienting of attention with impaired explicit memory in healthy ageing

PubMed Central

Salvato, Gerardo; Patai, Eva Z.; Nobre, Anna C.

2016-01-01

It is increasingly recognised that spatial contextual long-term memory (LTM) prepares neural activity for guiding visuo-spatial attention in a proactive manner. In the current study, we investigated whether the decline in explicit memory observed in healthy ageing would compromise this mechanism. We compared the behavioural performance of younger and older participants on learning new contextual memories, on orienting visual attention based on these learnt contextual associations, and on explicit recall of contextual memories. We found a striking dissociation between older versus younger participants in the relationship between the ability to retrieve contextual memories versus the ability to use these to guide attention to enhance performance on a target-detection task. Older participants showed significant deficits in the explicit retrieval task, but their behavioural benefits from memory-based orienting of attention were equivalent to those in young participants. Furthermore, memory-based orienting correlated significantly with explicit contextual LTM in younger adults but not in older adults. These results suggest that explicit memory deficits in ageing might not compromise initial perception and encoding of events. Importantly, the results also shed light on the mechanisms of memory-guided attention, suggesting that explicit contextual memories are not necessary. PMID:26649914

Visuo-spatial interference affects the identification of emotional facial expressions in unmedicated Parkinson's patients.

PubMed

García-Rodríguez, Beatriz; Guillén, Carmen Casares; Barba, Rosa Jurado; io Valladolid, Gabriel Rub; Arjona, José Antonio Molina; Ellgring, Heiner

2012-02-15

There is evidence that visuo-spatial capacity can become overloaded when processing a secondary visual task (Dual Task, DT), as occurs in daily life. Hence, we investigated the influence of the visuo-spatial interference in the identification of emotional facial expressions (EFEs) in early stages of Parkinson's disease (PD). We compared the identification of 24 emotional faces that illustrate six basic emotions in, unmedicated recently diagnosed PD patients (16) and healthy adults (20), under two different conditions: a) simple EFE identification, and b) identification with a concurrent visuo-spatial task (Corsi Blocks). EFE identification by PD patients was significantly worse than that of healthy adults when combined with another visual stimulus. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Enhancing the visuo-spatial aptitude of students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lord, Thomas R.

Research to date has not been able to agree whether visuo-spatial ability can be influenced through practice. Many have concluded that spatial awareness is an innate phenomena and cannot be learned. Others contend that an individual's visuo-spatial potentials are acquired through interactions with the environment. Many of these theorists believe that spatial thinking can be developed through interactive exercises devised to encourage mental image formation and manipulation. To help alleviate the confusion surrounding this question the following study was undertaken. Eighty-four college undergraduates were randomly placed into control and experimental sections. Student records were examined to assure that the groups did not differ significantly in their verbal or math proficiency and pertinent pretests were given to ascertain spatial levels. The groups were also similar on their male and female ratios. During the semester the experimental section was treated to a 30-minute interaction each week. These sessions involved spatial exercises that required the participants to mentally bisect three-dimensional geometric figures and to envision the shape of the two-dimensional surface formed by the bisection. The subjects drew their mental image of this surface on a sheet of paper. Fourteen weeks later both groups were post tested with a second comparable version of the pretest. Statistical t tests were performed on the group means to see if significant differences developed between the sections. The results indicate that statistical improvement in visuo-spatial cognition did occur for the experimental group in spatial visualization, and spatial orientation. This finding suggests that the weekly intervention sessions had a positive effect on the students' visuo-spatial awareness. These results, therefore, tend to support those researchers that claim visuo-spatial aptitude can be enhanced through teaching.

Towards a better cannabis drug.

PubMed

Mechoulam, Raphael; Parker, Linda

2013-12-01

This commentary discusses the importance of a new study entitled 'Cannabidiol attenuates deficits of visuo-spatial associative memory induced by Δ(9) -tetrahydrocannabinol' by Wright et al. from the Scripps Institute in La Jolla, California. The results in this study show that the non-psychoactive cannabis constituent cannabidiol opposes some, but not all, forms of behavioural and memory disruption caused by Δ(9) -tetrahydrocannabinol in male rhesus monkeys. This article is a commentary on the research paper by Wright et al., pp 1365-1373 of this issue. To view this paper visit http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/bph.12199. © 2013 The British Pharmacological Society.

Towards a better cannabis drug

PubMed Central

Mechoulam, Raphael; Parker, Linda

2013-01-01

This commentary discusses the importance of a new study entitled ‘Cannabidiol attenuates deficits of visuo-spatial associative memory induced by Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol’ by Wright et al. from the Scripps Institute in La Jolla, California. The results in this study show that the non-psychoactive cannabis constituent cannabidiol opposes some, but not all, forms of behavioural and memory disruption caused by Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol in male rhesus monkeys. LINKED ARTICLE This article is a commentary on the research paper by Wright et al., pp 1365–1373 of this issue. To view this paper visit http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/bph.12199 PMID:24024867

Visuo-spatialWorking Memory as a Limited Resource of Cognitive Processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zimmer, Hubert D.; Münzer, Stefan; Umla-Runge, Katja

Working memory is considered a cognitive component that mainly serves two functions. It temporarily maintains information that was either perceived but is no longer present in the environment, or that was internally generated, and it supplies a work space for transforming and manipulating elements of perception and thinking. Both functions are relevant for a successful interaction with the environment and it is therefore not surprising that WM is a central topic of research in the field of general psychology. This interest is further increased by the fact that WM is seen as a limited resource that constrains cognitive performances.

Sex Differences in Using Spatial and Verbal Abilities Influence Route Learning Performance in a Virtual Environment: A Comparison of 6- to 12-Year Old Boys and Girls.

PubMed

Merrill, Edward C; Yang, Yingying; Roskos, Beverly; Steele, Sara

2016-01-01

Previous studies have reported sex differences in wayfinding performance among adults. Men are typically better at using Euclidean information and survey strategies while women are better at using landmark information and route strategies. However, relatively few studies have examined sex differences in wayfinding in children. This research investigated relationships between route learning performance and two general abilities: spatial ability and verbal memory in 153 boys and girls between 6- to 12-years-old. Children completed a battery of spatial ability tasks (a two-dimension mental rotation task, a paper folding task, a visuo-spatial working memory task, and a Piagetian water level task) and a verbal memory task. In the route learning task, they had to learn a route through a series of hallways presented via computer. Boys had better overall route learning performance than did girls. In fact, the difference between boys and girls was constant across the age range tested. Structural equation modeling of the children's performance revealed that spatial abilities and verbal memory were significant contributors to route learning performance. However, there were different patterns of correlates for boys and girls. For boys, spatial abilities contributed to route learning while verbal memory did not. In contrast, for girls both spatial abilities and verbal memory contributed to their route learning performance. This difference may reflect the precursor of a strategic difference between boys and girls in wayfinding that is commonly observed in adults.

Revisiting Evidence for Modularity and Functional Equivalence across Verbal and Spatial Domains in Memory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guerard, Katherine; Tremblay, Sebastien

2008-01-01

The authors revisited evidence in favor of modularity and of functional equivalence between the processing of verbal and spatial information in short-term memory. This was done by investigating the patterns of intrusions, omissions, transpositions, and fill-ins in verbal and spatial serial recall and order reconstruction tasks under control,…

A simultaneous examination of two forms of working memory training: Evidence for near transfer only.

PubMed

Minear, Meredith; Brasher, Faith; Guerrero, Claudia Brandt; Brasher, Mandy; Moore, Andrew; Sukeena, Joshua

2016-10-01

The efficacy of working-memory training is a topic of considerable debate, with some studies showing transfer to measures such as fluid intelligence while others have not. We report the results of a study designed to examine two forms of working-memory training, one using a spatial n-back and the other a verbal complex span. Thirty-one undergraduates completed 4 weeks of n-back training and 32 completed 4 weeks of verbal complex span training. We also included two active control groups. One group trained on a non-adaptive version of n-back and the other trained on a real-time strategy video game. All participants completed pre- and post-training measures of a large battery of transfer tasks used to create composite measures of short-term and working memory in both verbal and visuo-spatial domains as well as verbal reasoning and fluid intelligence. We only found clear evidence for near transfer from the spatial n-back training to new forms of n-back, and this was the case for both adaptive and non-adaptive n-back.

Apolipoprotein ɛ4 breaks the association between declarative long-term memory and memory-based orienting of spatial attention in middle-aged individuals.

PubMed

Salvato, Gerardo; Patai, Eva Z; McCloud, Tayla; Nobre, Anna C

2016-09-01

Apolipoprotein (APOE) ɛ4 genotype has been identified as a risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer disease (AD). The memory system is mostly involved in AD, and memory deficits represent its key feature. A growing body of studies has focused on the earlier identification of cognitive dysfunctions in younger and older APOE ɛ4 carriers, but investigation on middle-aged individuals remains rare. Here we sought to investigate if the APOE ɛ4 genotype modulates declarative memory and its influences on perception in the middle of the life span. We tested 60 middle-aged individuals recruited according to their APOE allele variants (ɛ3/ɛ3, ɛ3/ɛ4, ɛ4/ɛ4) on a long-term memory-based orienting of attention task. Results showed that the APOE ɛ4 genotype impaired neither explicit memory nor memory-based orienting of spatial attention. Interestingly, however, we found that the possession of the ɛ4 allele broke the relationship between declarative long-term memory and memory-guided orienting of visuo-spatial attention, suggesting an earlier modulation exerted by pure genetic characteristics on cognition. These findings are discussed in light of possible accelerated brain ageing in middle-aged ɛ4-carriers, and earlier structural changes in the brain occurring at this stage of the lifespan. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Superior serial memory in the blind: a case of cognitive compensatory adjustment.

PubMed

Raz, Noa; Striem, Ella; Pundak, Golan; Orlov, Tanya; Zohary, Ehud

2007-07-03

In the absence of vision, perception of space is likely to be highly dependent on memory. As previously stated, the blind tend to code spatial information in the form of "route-like" sequential representations [1-3]. Thus, serial memory, indicating the order in which items are encountered, may be especially important for the blind to generate a mental picture of the world. In accordance, we find that the congenitally blind are remarkably superior to sighted peers in serial memory tasks. Specifically, subjects heard a list of 20 words and were instructed to recall the words according to their original order in the list. The blind recalled more words than the sighted (indicating better item memory), but their greatest advantage was in recalling longer word sequences (according to their original order). We further show that the serial memory superiority of the blind is not merely a result of their advantage in item recall per se (as we additionally confirm via a separate recognition memory task). These results suggest the refinement of a specific cognitive ability to compensate for blindness in humans.

Short term memory for single surface features and bindings in ageing: A replication study.

PubMed

Isella, Valeria; Molteni, Federica; Mapelli, Cristina; Ferrarese, Carlo

2015-06-01

In the present study we replicated a previous experiment investigating visuo-spatial short term memory binding in young and older healthy individuals, in the attempt to verify the pattern of impairment that can be observed in normal elderly for short term memory for single items vs short term memory for bindings. Assessing a larger sample size (25 young and 25 older subjects), using a more appropriate measure of accuracy for a change detection task (A'), and adding the evaluation of speed of performance, we confirmed that old normals show a decline in short term memory for bindings of shape and colour that is of comparable extent, and not major, to the decline in memory for single shapes and single colours. The absence of a specific deficit of short term memory for conjunctions of surface features seems to distinguish cognitive ageing from Alzheimer's Disease. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Lack of Awareness for Spatial and Verbal Constructive Apraxia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rinaldi, Maria Cristina; Piras, Federica; Pizzamiglio, Luigi

2010-01-01

It is still a matter of debate whether constructive apraxia (CA) should be considered a form of apraxia or, rather, the motor expression of a more pervasive impairment in visuo-spatial processing. Constructive disorders were linked to visuo-spatial disorders and to deficits in appreciating spatial relations among component sub-parts or problems in…

Cue generation and memory construction in direct and generative autobiographical memory retrieval.

PubMed

Harris, Celia B; O'Connor, Akira R; Sutton, John

2015-05-01

Theories of autobiographical memory emphasise effortful, generative search processes in memory retrieval. However recent research suggests that memories are often retrieved directly, without effortful search. We investigated whether direct and generative retrieval differed in the characteristics of memories recalled, or only in terms of retrieval latency. Participants recalled autobiographical memories in response to cue words. For each memory, they reported whether it was retrieved directly or generatively, rated its visuo-spatial perspective, and judged its accompanying recollective experience. Our results indicated that direct retrieval was commonly reported and was faster than generative retrieval, replicating recent findings. The characteristics of directly retrieved memories differed from generatively retrieved memories: directly retrieved memories had higher field perspective ratings and lower observer perspective ratings. However, retrieval mode did not influence recollective experience. We discuss our findings in terms of cue generation and content construction, and the implication for reconstructive models of autobiographical memory. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Preserved memory-based orienting of attention with impaired explicit memory in healthy ageing.

PubMed

Salvato, Gerardo; Patai, Eva Z; Nobre, Anna C

2016-01-01

It is increasingly recognised that spatial contextual long-term memory (LTM) prepares neural activity for guiding visuo-spatial attention in a proactive manner. In the current study, we investigated whether the decline in explicit memory observed in healthy ageing would compromise this mechanism. We compared the behavioural performance of younger and older participants on learning new contextual memories, on orienting visual attention based on these learnt contextual associations, and on explicit recall of contextual memories. We found a striking dissociation between older versus younger participants in the relationship between the ability to retrieve contextual memories versus the ability to use these to guide attention to enhance performance on a target-detection task. Older participants showed significant deficits in the explicit retrieval task, but their behavioural benefits from memory-based orienting of attention were equivalent to those in young participants. Furthermore, memory-based orienting correlated significantly with explicit contextual LTM in younger adults but not in older adults. These results suggest that explicit memory deficits in ageing might not compromise initial perception and encoding of events. Importantly, the results also shed light on the mechanisms of memory-guided attention, suggesting that explicit contextual memories are not necessary. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

In vivo administration of extracellular cGMP normalizes TNF-α and membrane expression of AMPA receptors in hippocampus and spatial reference memory but not IL-1β, NMDA receptors in membrane and working memory in hyperammonemic rats.

PubMed

Cabrera-Pastor, Andrea; Hernandez-Rabaza, Vicente; Taoro-Gonzalez, Lucas; Balzano, Tiziano; Llansola, Marta; Felipo, Vicente

2016-10-01

Patients with hepatic encephalopathy (HE) show working memory and visuo-spatial orientation deficits. Hyperammonemia is a main contributor to cognitive impairment in HE. Hyperammonemic rats show impaired spatial learning and learning ability in the Y maze. Intracerebral administration of extracellular cGMP restores learning in the Y-maze. The underlying mechanisms remain unknown. It also remains unknown whether extracellular cGMP improves neuroinflammation or restores spatial learning in hyperammonemic rats and if it affects differently reference and working memory. The aims of this work were: Spatial working and reference memory were assessed using the radial and Morris water mazes and neuroinflammation by immunohistochemistry and Western blot. Membrane expression of NMDA and AMPA receptor subunits was analyzed using the BS3 crosslinker. Extracellular cGMP was administered intracerebrally using osmotic minipumps. Chronic hyperammonemia induces neuroinflammation in hippocampus, with astrocytes activation and increased IL-1β, which are associated with increased NMDA receptors membrane expression and impaired working memory. This process is not affected by extracellular cGMP. Hyperammonemia also activates microglia and increases TNF-α, alters membrane expression of AMPA receptor subunits (increased GluA1 and reduced GluA2) and impairs reference memory. All these changes are reversed by extracellular cGMP. These results show that extracellular cGMP modulates spatial reference memory but not working memory. This would be mediated by modulation of TNF-α levels and of membrane expression of GluA1 and GluA2 subunits of AMPA receptors. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The effect of path length and display size on memory for spatial information.

PubMed

Guérard, Katherine; Tremblay, Sébastien

2012-01-01

In serial memory for spatial information, some studies showed that recall performance suffers when the distance between successive locations increases relatively to the size of the display in which they are presented (the path length effect; e.g., Parmentier et al., 2005) but not when distance is increased by enlarging the size of the display (e.g., Smyth & Scholey, 1994). In the present study, we examined the effect of varying the absolute and relative distance between to-be-remembered items on memory for spatial information. We manipulated path length using small (15″) and large (64″) screens within the same design. In two experiments, we showed that distance was disruptive mainly when it is varied relatively to a fixed reference frame, though increasing the size of the display also had a small deleterious effect on recall. The insertion of a retention interval did not influence these effects, suggesting that rehearsal plays a minor role in mediating the effects of distance on serial spatial memory. We discuss the potential role of perceptual organization in light of the pattern of results.

Sex Differences in Using Spatial and Verbal Abilities Influence Route Learning Performance in a Virtual Environment: A Comparison of 6- to 12-Year Old Boys and Girls

PubMed Central

Merrill, Edward C.; Yang, Yingying; Roskos, Beverly; Steele, Sara

2016-01-01

Previous studies have reported sex differences in wayfinding performance among adults. Men are typically better at using Euclidean information and survey strategies while women are better at using landmark information and route strategies. However, relatively few studies have examined sex differences in wayfinding in children. This research investigated relationships between route learning performance and two general abilities: spatial ability and verbal memory in 153 boys and girls between 6- to 12-years-old. Children completed a battery of spatial ability tasks (a two-dimension mental rotation task, a paper folding task, a visuo-spatial working memory task, and a Piagetian water level task) and a verbal memory task. In the route learning task, they had to learn a route through a series of hallways presented via computer. Boys had better overall route learning performance than did girls. In fact, the difference between boys and girls was constant across the age range tested. Structural equation modeling of the children’s performance revealed that spatial abilities and verbal memory were significant contributors to route learning performance. However, there were different patterns of correlates for boys and girls. For boys, spatial abilities contributed to route learning while verbal memory did not. In contrast, for girls both spatial abilities and verbal memory contributed to their route learning performance. This difference may reflect the precursor of a strategic difference between boys and girls in wayfinding that is commonly observed in adults. PMID:26941701

Fractionating the neural correlates of individual working memory components underlying arithmetic problem solving skills in children.

PubMed

Metcalfe, Arron W S; Ashkenazi, Sarit; Rosenberg-Lee, Miriam; Menon, Vinod

2013-10-01

Baddeley and Hitch's multi-component working memory (WM) model has played an enduring and influential role in our understanding of cognitive abilities. Very little is known, however, about the neural basis of this multi-component WM model and the differential role each component plays in mediating arithmetic problem solving abilities in children. Here, we investigate the neural basis of the central executive (CE), phonological (PL) and visuo-spatial (VS) components of WM during a demanding mental arithmetic task in 7-9 year old children (N=74). The VS component was the strongest predictor of math ability in children and was associated with increased arithmetic complexity-related responses in left dorsolateral and right ventrolateral prefrontal cortices as well as bilateral intra-parietal sulcus and supramarginal gyrus in posterior parietal cortex. Critically, VS, CE and PL abilities were associated with largely distinct patterns of brain response. Overlap between VS and CE components was observed in left supramarginal gyrus and no overlap was observed between VS and PL components. Our findings point to a central role of visuo-spatial WM during arithmetic problem-solving in young grade-school children and highlight the usefulness of the multi-component Baddeley and Hitch WM model in fractionating the neural correlates of arithmetic problem solving during development. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

From Resource-Adaptive Navigation Assistance to Augmented Cognition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zimmer, Hubert D.; Münzer, Stefan; Baus, Jörg

In an assistance scenario, a computer provides purposive information supporting a human user in an everyday situation. Wayfinding with navigation assistance is a prototypical assistance scenario. The present chapter analyzes the interplay of the resources of the assistance system and the resources of the user. The navigation assistance system provides geographic knowledge, positioning information, route planning, spatial overview information, and route commands at decision points. The user's resources encompass spatial knowledge, spatial abilities and visuo-spatial working memory, orientation strategies, and cultural habit. Flexible adaptations of the assistance system to available resources of the user are described, taking different wayfinding goals, situational constraints, and individual differences into account. Throughout the chapter, the idea is pursued that the available resources of the user should be kept active.

A Cross-Modal Perspective on the Relationships between Imagery and Working Memory

PubMed Central

Likova, Lora T.

2013-01-01

Mapping the distinctions and interrelationships between imagery and working memory (WM) remains challenging. Although each of these major cognitive constructs is defined and treated in various ways across studies, most accept that both imagery and WM involve a form of internal representation available to our awareness. In WM, there is a further emphasis on goal-oriented, active maintenance, and use of this conscious representation to guide voluntary action. Multicomponent WM models incorporate representational buffers, such as the visuo-spatial sketchpad, plus central executive functions. If there is a visuo-spatial “sketchpad” for WM, does imagery involve the same representational buffer? Alternatively, does WM employ an imagery-specific representational mechanism to occupy our awareness? Or do both constructs utilize a more generic “projection screen” of an amodal nature? To address these issues, in a cross-modal fMRI study, I introduce a novel Drawing-Based Memory Paradigm, and conceptualize drawing as a complex behavior that is readily adaptable from the visual to non-visual modalities (such as the tactile modality), which opens intriguing possibilities for investigating cross-modal learning and plasticity. Blindfolded participants were trained through our Cognitive-Kinesthetic Method (Likova, 2010a, 2012) to draw complex objects guided purely by the memory of felt tactile images. If this WM task had been mediated by transfer of the felt spatial configuration to the visual imagery mechanism, the response-profile in visual cortex would be predicted to have the “top-down” signature of propagation of the imagery signal downward through the visual hierarchy. Remarkably, the pattern of cross-modal occipital activation generated by the non-visual memory drawing was essentially the inverse of this typical imagery signature. The sole visual hierarchy activation was isolated to the primary visual area (V1), and accompanied by deactivation of the entire extrastriate cortex, thus ’cutting-off’ any signal propagation from/to V1 through the visual hierarchy. The implications of these findings for the debate on the interrelationships between the core cognitive constructs of WM and imagery and the nature of internal representations are evaluated. PMID:23346061

Working Memory Capacity and Resistance to Interference

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oberauer, Klaus; Lange, Elke; Engle, Randall W.

2004-01-01

Single-task and dual-task versions of verbal and spatial serial order memory tasks were administered to 120 students tested for working memory capacity with four previously validated measures. In the dual-task versions, similarity between the memory material and the material of the secondary processing task was varied. With verbal material, three…

Decoding illusory self-location from activity in the human hippocampus.

PubMed

Guterstam, Arvid; Björnsdotter, Malin; Bergouignan, Loretxu; Gentile, Giovanni; Li, Tie-Qiang; Ehrsson, H Henrik

2015-01-01

Decades of research have demonstrated a role for the hippocampus in spatial navigation and episodic and spatial memory. However, empirical evidence linking hippocampal activity to the perceptual experience of being physically located at a particular place in the environment is lacking. In this study, we used a multisensory out-of-body illusion to perceptually 'teleport' six healthy participants between two different locations in the scanner room during high-resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The participants were fitted with MRI-compatible head-mounted displays that changed their first-person visual perspective to that of a pair of cameras placed in one of two corners of the scanner room. To elicit the illusion of being physically located in this position, we delivered synchronous visuo-tactile stimulation in the form of an object moving toward the cameras coupled with touches applied to the participant's chest. Asynchronous visuo-tactile stimulation did not induce the illusion and served as a control condition. We found that illusory self-location could be successfully decoded from patterns of activity in the hippocampus in all of the participants in the synchronous (P < 0.05) but not in the asynchronous condition (P > 0.05). At the group-level, the decoding accuracy was significantly higher in the synchronous than in the asynchronous condition (P = 0.012). These findings associate hippocampal activity with the perceived location of the bodily self in space, which suggests that the human hippocampus is involved not only in spatial navigation and memory but also in the construction of our sense of bodily self-location.

Decoding illusory self-location from activity in the human hippocampus

PubMed Central

Guterstam, Arvid; Björnsdotter, Malin; Bergouignan, Loretxu; Gentile, Giovanni; Li, Tie-Qiang; Ehrsson, H. Henrik

2015-01-01

Decades of research have demonstrated a role for the hippocampus in spatial navigation and episodic and spatial memory. However, empirical evidence linking hippocampal activity to the perceptual experience of being physically located at a particular place in the environment is lacking. In this study, we used a multisensory out-of-body illusion to perceptually ‘teleport’ six healthy participants between two different locations in the scanner room during high-resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The participants were fitted with MRI-compatible head-mounted displays that changed their first-person visual perspective to that of a pair of cameras placed in one of two corners of the scanner room. To elicit the illusion of being physically located in this position, we delivered synchronous visuo-tactile stimulation in the form of an object moving toward the cameras coupled with touches applied to the participant’s chest. Asynchronous visuo-tactile stimulation did not induce the illusion and served as a control condition. We found that illusory self-location could be successfully decoded from patterns of activity in the hippocampus in all of the participants in the synchronous (P < 0.05) but not in the asynchronous condition (P > 0.05). At the group-level, the decoding accuracy was significantly higher in the synchronous than in the asynchronous condition (P = 0.012). These findings associate hippocampal activity with the perceived location of the bodily self in space, which suggests that the human hippocampus is involved not only in spatial navigation and memory but also in the construction of our sense of bodily self-location. PMID:26236222

Parental Socioeconomic Status and the Neural Basis of Arithmetic: Differential Relations to Verbal and Visuo-spatial Representations

PubMed Central

Demir, Özlem Ece; Prado, Jérôme; Booth, James R.

2015-01-01

We examined the relation of parental socioeconomic status (SES) to the neural bases of subtraction in school-age children (9- to 12-year-olds). We independently localized brain regions subserving verbal versus visuo-spatial representations to determine whether the parental SES-related differences in children’s reliance on these neural representations vary as a function of math skill. At higher SES levels, higher skill was associated with greater recruitment of the left temporal cortex, identified by the verbal localizer. At lower SES levels, higher skill was associated with greater recruitment of right parietal cortex, identified by the visuo-spatial localizer. This suggests that depending on parental SES, children engage different neural systems to solve subtraction problems. Furthermore, SES was related to the activation in the left temporal and frontal cortex during the independent verbal localizer task, but it was not related to activation during the independent visuo-spatial localizer task. Differences in activation during the verbal localizer task in turn were related to differences in activation during the subtraction task in right parietal cortex. The relation was stronger at lower SES levels. This result suggests that SES-related differences in the visuo-spatial regions during subtraction might be based in SES-related verbal differences. PMID:25664675

The neural correlates of visuo-spatial working memory in children with autism spectrum disorder: effects of cognitive load

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Research on the neural bases of cognitive deficits in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has shown that working memory (WM) difficulties are associated with abnormalities in the prefrontal cortex. However, cognitive load impacts these findings, and no studies have examined the relation between WM load and neural underpinnings in children with ASD. Thus, the current study determined the effects of cognitive load on WM, using a visuo-spatial WM capacity task in children with and without ASD with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Methods We used fMRI and a 1-back colour matching task (CMT) task with four levels of difficulty to compare the cortical activation patterns associated with WM in children (7–13 years old) with high functioning autism (N = 19) and matched controls (N = 17) across cognitive load. Results Performance on CMT was comparable between groups, with the exception of one difficulty level. Using linear trend analyses, the control group showed increasing activation as a function of difficulty level in frontal and parietal lobes, particularly between the highest difficulty levels, and decreasing activation as a function of difficulty level in the posterior cingulate and medial frontal gyri. In contrast, children with ASD showed increasing activation only in posterior brain regions and decreasing activation in the posterior cingulate and medial frontal gyri, as a function of difficulty level. Significant differences were found in the precuneus, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and medial premotor cortex, where control children showed greater positive linear relations between cortical activity and task difficulty level, particularly at the highest difficulty levels, but children with ASD did not show these trends. Conclusions Children with ASD showed differences in activation in the frontal and parietal lobes—both critical substrates for visuo-spatial WM. Our data suggest that children with ASD rely mainly on posterior brain regions associated with visual and lower level processing, whereas controls showed activity in frontal lobes related to the classic WM network. Findings will help guide future work by localizing areas of vulnerability to developmental disturbances. PMID:25057329

The neural correlates of visuo-spatial working memory in children with autism spectrum disorder: effects of cognitive load.

PubMed

Vogan, Vanessa M; Morgan, Benjamin R; Lee, Wayne; Powell, Tamara L; Smith, Mary Lou; Taylor, Margot J

2014-01-01

Research on the neural bases of cognitive deficits in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has shown that working memory (WM) difficulties are associated with abnormalities in the prefrontal cortex. However, cognitive load impacts these findings, and no studies have examined the relation between WM load and neural underpinnings in children with ASD. Thus, the current study determined the effects of cognitive load on WM, using a visuo-spatial WM capacity task in children with and without ASD with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We used fMRI and a 1-back colour matching task (CMT) task with four levels of difficulty to compare the cortical activation patterns associated with WM in children (7-13 years old) with high functioning autism (N = 19) and matched controls (N = 17) across cognitive load. Performance on CMT was comparable between groups, with the exception of one difficulty level. Using linear trend analyses, the control group showed increasing activation as a function of difficulty level in frontal and parietal lobes, particularly between the highest difficulty levels, and decreasing activation as a function of difficulty level in the posterior cingulate and medial frontal gyri. In contrast, children with ASD showed increasing activation only in posterior brain regions and decreasing activation in the posterior cingulate and medial frontal gyri, as a function of difficulty level. Significant differences were found in the precuneus, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and medial premotor cortex, where control children showed greater positive linear relations between cortical activity and task difficulty level, particularly at the highest difficulty levels, but children with ASD did not show these trends. Children with ASD showed differences in activation in the frontal and parietal lobes-both critical substrates for visuo-spatial WM. Our data suggest that children with ASD rely mainly on posterior brain regions associated with visual and lower level processing, whereas controls showed activity in frontal lobes related to the classic WM network. Findings will help guide future work by localizing areas of vulnerability to developmental disturbances.

[Short term memory and severe language disorders in the child].

PubMed

Gras-Vincendon, A; Belion, M; Abecassis, J; Bursztejn, C

1994-10-01

Memory, and particularly short-term memory or "working memory" (Baddeley), is involved in language acquisition in children. We have studied short-term memory, with verbal-and non verbal tests, of 8 children suffering from developmental dysphasia compared with other ones, matched in terms of age and performance I.Q. (W.I.S.C.-R.). The digit span did not significantly differ in the two groups, while the visuo-spatial span was lower in the dysphasic group. The memorization of a list of monosyllabic words by dysphasic children was poor in the absence of visual presentation and improved by it. Differences between dysphasic and control-children are unlikely to be due to speech rate which does not significantly differ from one group to the other one. The results suggest the existence, in language disordered children, of cognitive functions disorders much more important than those directly involved in the speech production.

Symbol-string sensitivity and children's reading.

PubMed

Pammer, Kristen; Lavis, Ruth; Hansen, Peter; Cornelissen, Piers L

2004-06-01

In this study of primary school children, a novel 'symbol-string' task is used to assess sensitivity to the position of briefly presented non-alphabetic but letter-like symbols. The results demonstrate that sensitivity in the symbol-string task explains a unique proportion of the variability in children's contextual reading accuracy. Moreover, developmental dyslexic readers show reduced sensitivity in this task, compared to chronological age controls. The results suggest that limitations set by visuo-spatial processes and/or attentional iconic memory resources may constrain children's reading accuracy.

Blocks, Bricks, and Planks: Relationships between Affordance and Visuo-Spatial Constructive Play Objects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ness, Daniel; Farenga, Stephen J.

2016-01-01

The authors consider the strengths and weaknesses of three different visuo-spatial constructive play object (VCPO) types--blocks, bricks, and planks--and their impact on the development of creativity in spatial thinking and higher learning during free play. Each VCPO has its own set of attributes, they note, leading to different purposes,…

Science and Technology Text Mining: Text Mining of the Journal Cortex

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-01-01

Amnesia Retrograde Amnesia GENERAL Semantic Memory Episodic Memory Working Memory TEST Serial Position Curve...in Cortex can be reasonably divided into four categories (papers in each category in parenthesis): Semantic Memory (151); Handedness (145); Amnesia ... Semantic Memory (151) is divided into Verbal/ Numerical (76) and Visual/ Spatial (75). Amnesia (119) is divided into Amnesia Symptoms (50) and

Spatial transposition gradients in visual working memory.

PubMed

Rerko, Laura; Oberauer, Klaus; Lin, Hsuan-Yu

2014-01-01

In list memory, access to individual items reflects limits of temporal distinctiveness. This is reflected in the finding that neighbouring list items tend to be confused most often. This article investigates the analogous effect of spatial proximity in a visual working-memory task. Items were presented in different locations varying in spatial distance. A retro-cue indicated the location of the item relevant for the subsequent memory test. In two recognition experiments, probes matching spatially close neighbours of the relevant item led to more false alarms than probes matching distant neighbours or non-neighbouring memory items. In two probed-recall experiments, one with simultaneous, the other with sequential memory item presentation, items closer to the cued location were more frequently chosen for recall than more distant items. These results reflect a spatial transposition gradient analogous to the temporal transposition gradient in serial recall and challenge fixed-capacity models of visual working memory (WM).

Lack of awareness for spatial and verbal constructive apraxia.

PubMed

Rinaldi, Maria Cristina; Piras, Federica; Pizzamiglio, Luigi

2010-05-01

It is still a matter of debate whether constructive apraxia (CA) should be considered a form of apraxia or, rather, the motor expression of a more pervasive impairment in visuo-spatial processing. Constructive disorders were linked to visuo-spatial disorders and to deficits in appreciating spatial relations among component sub-parts or problems in reproducing three-dimensionality. We screened a large population of brain-damaged patients for CA. Only patients with constructive disorders and no signs of neglect and/or aphasia were selected. Five apractic subjects were tested with both visuo-spatial and verbal tasks requiring constructive abilities. The former ones were tests such as design copying, while the latter were experimental tasks built to transpose into the linguistic domain the constructive process as phrasing by arranging paper scraps into a sentence. A first result showed a constructive impairment in both the visuo-spatial and the linguistic domain; this finding challenges the idea that CA is confined to the visuo-spatial domain. A second result showed a systematic association between CA and unawareness for constructive disorders. Third, lack of awareness was always associated with a lesion in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, a region deemed as involved in managing a conflict between intentions and sensory feed-back. Anosognosia for constructive disorders and the potential role of the right prefrontal cortex in generating the impairment, are discussed in the light of current models of action control. The core of CA could be the inability to detect any inconsistency between intended and executed action rather than a deficit in reproducing spatial relationship. 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Serial and Parallel Processes in Working Memory after Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oberauer, Klaus; Bialkova, Svetlana

2011-01-01

Six young adults practiced for 36 sessions on a working-memory updating task in which 2 digits and 2 spatial positions were continuously updated. Participants either did 1 updating operation at a time, or attempted 1 numerical and 1 spatial operation at the same time. In contrast to previous research using the same paradigm with a single digit and…

Spatio-Temporal Structure, Path Characteristics, and Perceptual Grouping in Immediate Serial Spatial Recall

PubMed Central

De Lillo, Carlo; Kirby, Melissa; Poole, Daniel

2016-01-01

Immediate serial spatial recall measures the ability to retain sequences of locations in short-term memory and is considered the spatial equivalent of digit span. It is tested by requiring participants to reproduce sequences of movements performed by an experimenter or displayed on a monitor. Different organizational factors dramatically affect serial spatial recall but they are often confounded or underspecified. Untangling them is crucial for the characterization of working-memory models and for establishing the contribution of structure and memory capacity to spatial span. We report five experiments assessing the relative role and independence of factors that have been reported in the literature. Experiment 1 disentangled the effects of spatial clustering and path-length by manipulating the distance of items displayed on a touchscreen monitor. Long-path sequences segregated by spatial clusters were compared with short-path sequences not segregated by clusters. Recall was more accurate for sequences segregated by clusters independently from path-length. Experiment 2 featured conditions where temporal pauses were introduced between or within cluster boundaries during the presentation of sequences with the same paths. Thus, the temporal structure of the sequences was either consistent or inconsistent with a hierarchical representation based on segmentation by spatial clusters but the effect of structure could not be confounded with effects of path-characteristics. Pauses at cluster boundaries yielded more accurate recall, as predicted by a hierarchical model. In Experiment 3, the systematic manipulation of sequence structure, path-length, and presence of path-crossings of sequences showed that structure explained most of the variance, followed by the presence/absence of path-crossings, and path-length. Experiments 4 and 5 replicated the results of the previous experiments in immersive virtual reality navigation tasks where the viewpoint of the observer changed dynamically during encoding and recall. This suggested that the effects of structure in spatial span are not dependent on perceptual grouping processes induced by the aerial view of the stimulus array typically afforded by spatial recall tasks. These results demonstrate the independence of coding strategies based on structure from effects of path characteristics and perceptual grouping in immediate serial spatial recall. PMID:27891101

Deficits in verbal long-term memory and learning in children with poor phonological short-term memory skills.

PubMed

Gathercole, Susan E; Briscoe, Josie; Thorn, Annabel; Tiffany, Claire

2008-03-01

Possible links between phonological short-term memory and both longer term memory and learning in 8-year-old children were investigated in this study. Performance on a range of tests of long-term memory and learning was compared for a group of 16 children with poor phonological short-term memory skills and a comparison group of children of the same age with matched nonverbal reasoning abilities but memory scores in the average range. The low-phonological-memory group were impaired on longer term memory and learning tasks that taxed memory for arbitrary verbal material such as names and nonwords. However, the two groups performed at comparable levels on tasks requiring the retention of visuo-spatial information and of meaningful material and at carrying out prospective memory tasks in which the children were asked to carry out actions at a future point in time. The results are consistent with the view that poor short-term memory function impairs the longer-term retention and ease of learning of novel verbal material.

The effectiveness of working memory training with individuals with intellectual disabilities - a meta-analytic review.

PubMed

Danielsson, Henrik; Zottarel, Valentina; Palmqvist, Lisa; Lanfranchi, Silvia

2015-01-01

Working memory (WM) training has been increasingly popular in the last years. Previous studies have shown that individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) have low WM capacity and therefore would benefit by this type of intervention. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of WM and cognitive training for individuals with ID. The effects reported in previous studies have varied and therefore a meta-analysis of articles in the major databases was conducted. Inclusion criteria included to have a pretest-posttest design with a training group and a control group and to have measures of WM or short-term memory. Ten studies with 28 comparisons were included. The results reveal a significant, but small, overall pretest-posttest effect size (ES) for WM training for individuals with ID compared to controls. A mixed WM approach, including both verbal and visuo-spatial components working mainly on strategies, was the only significant training type with a medium ES. The most commonly reported training type, visuo-spatial WM training, was performed in 60 percent of the included comparisons and had a non-significant ES close to zero. We conclude that even if there is an overall effect of WM training, a mixed WM approach appears to cause this effect. Given the few studies included and the different characteristics of the included studies, interpretations should be done with caution. However, different types of interventions appear to have different effects. Even if the results were promising, more studies are needed to better understand how to design an effective WM intervention for this group and to understand if, and how, these short-term effects remain over time and transfer to everyday activities.

The effectiveness of working memory training with individuals with intellectual disabilities – a meta-analytic review

PubMed Central

Danielsson, Henrik; Zottarel, Valentina; Palmqvist, Lisa; Lanfranchi, Silvia

2015-01-01

Working memory (WM) training has been increasingly popular in the last years. Previous studies have shown that individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) have low WM capacity and therefore would benefit by this type of intervention. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of WM and cognitive training for individuals with ID. The effects reported in previous studies have varied and therefore a meta-analysis of articles in the major databases was conducted. Inclusion criteria included to have a pretest–posttest design with a training group and a control group and to have measures of WM or short-term memory. Ten studies with 28 comparisons were included. The results reveal a significant, but small, overall pretest–posttest effect size (ES) for WM training for individuals with ID compared to controls. A mixed WM approach, including both verbal and visuo-spatial components working mainly on strategies, was the only significant training type with a medium ES. The most commonly reported training type, visuo-spatial WM training, was performed in 60 percent of the included comparisons and had a non-significant ES close to zero. We conclude that even if there is an overall effect of WM training, a mixed WM approach appears to cause this effect. Given the few studies included and the different characteristics of the included studies, interpretations should be done with caution. However, different types of interventions appear to have different effects. Even if the results were promising, more studies are needed to better understand how to design an effective WM intervention for this group and to understand if, and how, these short-term effects remain over time and transfer to everyday activities. PMID:26347692

Hebb learning, verbal short-term memory, and the acquisition of phonological forms in children.

PubMed

Mosse, Emma K; Jarrold, Christopher

2008-04-01

Recent work using the Hebb effect as a marker for implicit long-term acquisition of serial order has demonstrated a functional equivalence across verbal and visuospatial short-term memory. The current study extends this observation to a sample of five- to six-year-olds using verbal and spatial immediate serial recall and also correlates the magnitude of Hebb learning with explicit measures of word and nonword paired-associate learning. Comparable Hebb effects were observed in both domains, but only nonword learning was significantly related to the magnitude of Hebb learning. Nonword learning was also independently related to individuals' general level of verbal serial recall. This suggests that vocabulary acquisition depends on both a domain-specific short-term memory system and a domain-general process of learning through repetition.

Probing the nature of deficits in the 'Approximate Number System' in children with persistent Developmental Dyscalculia.

PubMed

Bugden, Stephanie; Ansari, Daniel

2016-09-01

In the present study we examined whether children with Developmental Dyscalculia (DD) exhibit a deficit in the so-called 'Approximate Number System' (ANS). To do so, we examined a group of elementary school children who demonstrated persistent low math achievement over 4 years and compared them to typically developing (TD), aged-matched controls. The integrity of the ANS was measured using the Panamath (www.panamath.org) non-symbolic numerical discrimination test. Children with DD demonstrated imprecise ANS acuity indexed by larger Weber fraction (w) compared to TD controls. Given recent findings showing that non-symbolic numerical discrimination is affected by visual parameters, we went further and investigated whether children performed differently on trials on which number of dots and their overall area were either congruent or incongruent with each other. This analysis revealed that differences in w were only found between DD and TD children on the incongruent trials. In addition, visuo-spatial working memory strongly predicts individual differences in ANS acuity (w) during the incongruent trials. Thus the purported ANS deficit in DD can be explained by a difficulty in extracting number from an array of dots when area is anti-correlated with number. These data highlight the role of visuo-spatial working memory during the extraction process, and demonstrate that close attention needs to be paid to perceptual processes invoked by tasks thought to represent measures of the ANS. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Neurocognitive Development and Predictors of L1 and L2 Literacy Skills in Dyslexia: A Longitudinal Study of Children 5-11 Years Old.

PubMed

Helland, Turid; Morken, Frøydis

2016-02-01

The aim of this study was to find valid neurocognitive precursors of literacy development in first language (L1, Norwegian) and second language (L2, English) in a group of children during their Pre-literacy, Emergent Literacy and Literacy stages, by comparing children with dyslexia and a typical group. Children who were 5 years old at project start were followed until the age of 11, when dyslexia was identified and data could be analysed in retrospect. The children's neurocognitive pattern changed both by literacy stage and domain. Visuo-spatial recall and RAN appeared as early precursors of L1 literacy, while phonological awareness appeared as early precursor of L2 English. Verbal long term memory was associated with both L1 and L2 skills in the Literacy stage. Significant group differences seen in the Pre-literacy and Emergent literacy stages decreased in the Literacy stage. The developmental variations by stage and domain may explain some of the inconsistencies seen in dyslexia research. Early identification and training are essential to avoid academic failure, and our data show that visuo-spatial memory and RAN could be suitable early markers in transparent orthographies like Norwegian. Phonological awareness was here seen as an early precursor of L2 English, but not of L1 Norwegian. © 2015 The Authors. Dyslexia published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Developmental change of visuo-spatial working memory in children: quantitative evaluation through an Advanced Trail Making Test.

PubMed

Kokubo, Naomi; Inagaki, Masumi; Gunji, Atsuko; Kobayashi, Tomoka; Ohta, Hidenobu; Kajimoto, Osami; Kaga, Makiko

2012-11-01

The present study aimed to investigate the developmental change in Visuo-Spatial Working Memory (VSWM) in typically developed children using a specially designed Advanced Trail Making Test for children (ATMT-C). We developed a new method for evaluating VSWM efficiency in children using a modified version ATMT to suit their shorter sustained attention. The ATMT-C consists of two parts; a number-based ATMT and a hiragana (Japanese phonogram)-based ATMT, both employing symbols familiar to young children. A total of 94 healthy participants (6-28 years of age) were enrolled in this study. A non-linear developmental change of VSWM efficiency was observed in the results from the ATMT-C. In the number-based ATMT, children under 8 years of age showed a relatively rapid increase in VSWM efficiency while older children (9-12 years) had a more gradual increase in VSWM efficiency. Results from the hiragana-based ATMT-C showed a slightly delayed increase pattern in VSWM efficiency compared to the pattern from the number-based ATMT. There were no significant differences in VSWM efficiency for gender, handedness and test order. VSWM in children gradually matures in a non steady-state manner and there is an important stage for VSWM maturation before reaching 12 years of age. VSWM efficiency may also vary depending on developmental condition of its cognitive subsystems. Copyright © 2012 The Japanese Society of Child Neurology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effects of Hearing Status and Sign Language Use on Working Memory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marschark, Marc; Sarchet, Thomastine; Trani, Alexandra

2016-01-01

Deaf individuals have been found to score lower than hearing individuals across a variety of memory tasks involving both verbal and nonverbal stimuli, particularly those requiring retention of serial order. Deaf individuals who are native signers, meanwhile, have been found to score higher on visual-spatial memory tasks than on verbal-sequential…

Neuropsychological functioning in adolescents with anorexia nervosa before and after cognitive remediation therapy: a feasibility trial.

PubMed

Dahlgren, Camilla Lindvall; Lask, Bryan; Landrø, Nils Inge; Rø, Øyvind

2013-09-01

To investigate neuropsychological functioning in adolescents with anorexia nervosa (AN) before and after receiving cognitive remediation therapy (CRT). Twenty young females with AN participated in an individually-delivered CRT treatment program. Neuropsychological and psychiatric assessments were administered before and after treatment. Weight, depression, anxiety, duration of illness, and level of eating disorder psychopathology were considered as covariates in statistical analyses. Significant changes in weight, depression, visio-spatial memory, perceptual disembedding abilities, and verbal fluency were observed. Changes in weight had a significant effect on improvements in visuo-spatial memory and verbal fluency. Results also revealed a significant effect of depressive symptoms on perceptual disembedding abilities. The results suggest improvements on a number of neuropsychological functions during the course of CRT. Future studies should explore the use of additional assessment instruments, and include control groups to assess the effectiveness of the intervention. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Behavioral Characterization of a Mouse Model Overexpressing DSCR1/ RCAN1

PubMed Central

Dierssen, Mara; Arqué, Gloria; McDonald, Jerome; Andreu, Nuria; Martínez-Cué, Carmen; Flórez, Jesús; Fillat, Cristina

2011-01-01

DSCR1/ RCAN1 is a chromosome 21 gene found to be overexpressed in the brains of Down syndrome (DS) and postulated as a good candidate to contribute to mental disability. However, even though Rcan1 knockout mice have pronounced spatial learning and memory deficits, the possible deleterious effects of its overexpression in DS are not well understood. We have generated a transgenic mouse model overexpressing DSCR1/RCAN1 in the brain and analyzed the effect of RCAN1 overexpression on cognitive function. TgRCAN1 mice present a marked disruption of the learning process in a visuo-spatial learning task. However, no significant differences were observed in the performance of the memory phase of the test (removal session) nor in a step-down passive avoidance task, thus suggesting that once learning has been established, the animals are able to consolidate the information in the longer term. PMID:21364922

Retrosplenial cortex is required for the retrieval of remote memory for auditory cues.

PubMed

Todd, Travis P; Mehlman, Max L; Keene, Christopher S; DeAngeli, Nicole E; Bucci, David J

2016-06-01

The restrosplenial cortex (RSC) has a well-established role in contextual and spatial learning and memory, consistent with its known connectivity with visuo-spatial association areas. In contrast, RSC appears to have little involvement with delay fear conditioning to an auditory cue. However, all previous studies have examined the contribution of the RSC to recently acquired auditory fear memories. Since neocortical regions have been implicated in the permanent storage of remote memories, we examined the contribution of the RSC to remotely acquired auditory fear memories. In Experiment 1, retrieval of a remotely acquired auditory fear memory was impaired when permanent lesions (either electrolytic or neurotoxic) were made several weeks after initial conditioning. In Experiment 2, using a chemogenetic approach, we observed impairments in the retrieval of remote memory for an auditory cue when the RSC was temporarily inactivated during testing. In Experiment 3, after injection of a retrograde tracer into the RSC, we observed labeled cells in primary and secondary auditory cortices, as well as the claustrum, indicating that the RSC receives direct projections from auditory regions. Overall our results indicate the RSC has a critical role in the retrieval of remotely acquired auditory fear memories, and we suggest this is related to the quality of the memory, with less precise memories being RSC dependent. © 2016 Todd et al.; Published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.

Individual differences in brain activity during visuo-spatial processing assessed by slow cortical potentials and LORETA.

PubMed

Lamm, Claus; Fischmeister, Florian Ph S; Bauer, Herbert

2005-12-01

Using slow-cortical potentials (SCPs), Vitouch et al. demonstrated that subjects with low ability to solve a complex visuo-spatial imagery task show higher activity in occipital, parietal and frontal cortex during task processing than subjects with high ability. This finding has been interpreted in the sense of the so-called "neural efficiency" hypothesis, which assumes that the central nervous system of individuals with higher intellectual abilities is functioning in a more efficient way than the one of individuals with lower abilities. Using a higher spatial resolution of SCP recordings, and by employing the source localization method of LORETA (low-resolution electromagnetic tomography), we investigated this hypothesis by performing an extended replication of Vitouch et al.'s study. SCPs during processing of a visuo-spatial imagery task were recorded in pre-selected subjects with either high or low abilities in solving the imagery task. Topographic and LORETA analyses of SCPs revealed that a distributed network of extrastriate occipital, superior parietal, temporal, medial frontal and prefrontal areas was active during task solving. This network is well in line with former studies of the functional neuroanatomy of visuo-spatial imagery. Contrary to our expectations, however, the results of Vitouch et al. as well as of other studies supporting the neural efficiency hypothesis could not be confirmed since no difference in brain activity between groups was observed. This inconsistency between studies might be due to differing task processing strategies. While subjects with high abilities in the Vitouch et al. study seemed to use a visuo-perceptual task solving approach, all other subjects relied upon a visuo-motor task processing strategy.

Granger causality analysis reveals distinct spatio-temporal connectivity patterns in motor and perceptual visuo-spatial working memory.

PubMed

Protopapa, Foteini; Siettos, Constantinos I; Evdokimidis, Ioannis; Smyrnis, Nikolaos

2014-01-01

We employed spectral Granger causality analysis on a full set of 56 electroencephalographic recordings acquired during the execution of either a 2D movement pointing or a perceptual (yes/no) change detection task with memory and non-memory conditions. On the basis of network characteristics across frequency bands, we provide evidence for the full dissociation of the corresponding cognitive processes. Movement-memory trial types exhibited higher degree nodes during the first 2 s of the delay period, mainly at central, left frontal and right-parietal areas. Change detection-memory trial types resulted in a three-peak temporal pattern of the total degree with higher degree nodes emerging mainly at central, right frontal, and occipital areas. Functional connectivity networks resulting from non-memory trial types were characterized by more sparse structures for both tasks. The movement-memory trial types encompassed an apparent coarse flow from frontal to parietal areas while the opposite flow from occipital, parietal to central and frontal areas was evident for the change detection-memory trial types. The differences among tasks and conditions were more profound in α (8-12 Hz) and β (12-30 Hz) and less in γ (30-45 Hz) band. Our results favor the hypothesis which considers spatial working memory as a by-product of specific mental processes that engages common brain areas under different network organizations.

The Effect of Verbal and Visuo-Spatial Abilities on the Development of Knowledge of the Earth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kikas, Eve

2006-09-01

Difficulties in students’ understanding of the spherical model of the Earth have been shown in previous studies. One of the reasons for these difficulties lies in beliefs and preliminary knowledge that hinder the interpretation of the scientific knowledge, the other reason may lie in the low level of verbal and visuo-spatial abilities. The study aims to investigate the effect of verbal and visuo-spatial abilities, but also that of preliminary knowledge on the later development of the knowledge of the Earth in school. 176 schoolchildren (96 boys and 80 girls) from five schools were tested; the mean age of the children during the first interview was seven years and eight months. All students were interviewed twice in grades 1 and 2, before and after they had learnt the topic in school. Factual, scientific and synthetic knowledge was assessed. The facilitative effect of visuo-spatial and verbal abilities and preliminary factual and scientific knowledge on students’ knowledge of astronomy after having learnt the topic in school was shown. In contrast, the hindering effect of synthetic knowledge was not found.

Comparing the effects of combined numerical and visuo- spatial psychoeducational trainings conducted by curricular teachers and external trainers. Preliminary evidence across kindergarteners.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agus, M.; Mascia, M. L.; Fastame, M. C.; Napoleone, V.; Porru, A. M.; Siddu, F.; Lucangeli, D.; Penna, M. P.

2016-11-01

The aim of this study was to verify the efficacy of two pencil-and-paper trainings empowering numerical and visuo-spatial abilities in Italian five-year-old kindergarteners. Specifically, the trainings were respectively carried out by the curricular teacher or by an external trainer. The former received a specific training in order to use the psychoeducational programmes with her pupils, whereas the latter received a specific education about the role of numerical and visuo-spatial abilities for school achievement and she was also trained to use psychoeducational trainings in kindergarten schools. At pre-test and post-test nonverbal functions and numeracy knowledge were assessed through a battery of standardized tests. The results show that both the numerical psychoeducational programme and the visuo-spatial one are useful tools to enhance mathematical achievements in kindergarteners. However, when the trainings were proposed by the external trainer, the efficacy of the psychoeducational programmes was more significant. These outcomes seem to be related both to the expertise and the novelty effect of the external trainer on the classroom.

Decoding complex flow-field patterns in visual working memory.

PubMed

Christophel, Thomas B; Haynes, John-Dylan

2014-05-01

There has been a long history of research on visual working memory. Whereas early studies have focused on the role of lateral prefrontal cortex in the storage of sensory information, this has been challenged by research in humans that has directly assessed the encoding of perceptual contents, pointing towards a role of visual and parietal regions during storage. In a previous study we used pattern classification to investigate the storage of complex visual color patterns across delay periods. This revealed coding of such contents in early visual and parietal brain regions. Here we aim to investigate whether the involvement of visual and parietal cortex is also observable for other types of complex, visuo-spatial pattern stimuli. Specifically, we used a combination of fMRI and multivariate classification to investigate the retention of complex flow-field stimuli defined by the spatial patterning of motion trajectories of random dots. Subjects were trained to memorize the precise spatial layout of these stimuli and to retain this information during an extended delay. We used a multivariate decoding approach to identify brain regions where spatial patterns of activity encoded the memorized stimuli. Content-specific memory signals were observable in motion sensitive visual area MT+ and in posterior parietal cortex that might encode spatial information in a modality independent manner. Interestingly, we also found information about the memorized visual stimulus in somatosensory cortex, suggesting a potential crossmodal contribution to memory. Our findings thus indicate that working memory storage of visual percepts might be distributed across unimodal, multimodal and even crossmodal brain regions. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Parental Socioeconomic Status and the Neural Basis of Arithmetic: Differential Relations to Verbal and Visuo-Spatial Representations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Demir, Özlem Ece; Prado, Jérôme; Booth, James R.

2015-01-01

We examined the relation of parental socioeconomic status (SES) to the neural bases of subtraction in school-age children (9- to 12-year-olds). We independently localized brain regions subserving verbal versus visuo-spatial representations to determine whether the parental SES-related differences in children's reliance on these neural…

Visuo-Spatial Performance in Autism: A Meta-Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Muth, Anne; Hönekopp, Johannes; Falter, Christine M.

2014-01-01

Visuo-spatial skills are believed to be enhanced in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). This meta-analysis tests the current state of evidence for Figure Disembedding, Block Design, Mental Rotation and Navon tasks in ASD and neurotypicals. Block Design (d = 0.32) and Figure Disembedding (d = 0.26) showed superior performance for ASD with large…

Observing Fearful Faces Leads to Visuo-Spatial Perspective Taking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zwickel, Jan; Muller, Hermann J.

2010-01-01

A number of recent studies suggested that visuo-spatial perspective taking (VSPT) occurs spontaneously when viewing either a human body or an action by an agent. However, it remains unclear whether VSPT is caused by the observation of an (potential) action or occurs because the observer infers from certain cues that another mind is present…

Incidental Learning of Links during Navigation: The Role of Visuo-Spatial Capacity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rouet, Jean-Francois; Voros, Zsofia; Pleh, Csaba

2012-01-01

We investigated the impact of readers' visuo-spatial (VS) capacity on their incidental learning of page links during the exploration of simple hierarchical hypertextual documents. Forty-three university students were asked to explore a series of hypertexts for a limited period of time. Then the participants were asked to recall the layout and the…

Support for distinct subcomponents of spatial working memory: a double dissociation between spatial-simultaneous and spatial-sequential performance in unilateral neglect.

PubMed

Wansard, Murielle; Bartolomeo, Paolo; Bastin, Christine; Segovia, Fermín; Gillet, Sophie; Duret, Christophe; Meulemans, Thierry

2015-01-01

Over the last decade, many studies have demonstrated that visuospatial working memory (VSWM) can be divided into separate subsystems dedicated to the retention of visual patterns and their serial order. Impaired VSWM has been suggested to exacerbate left visual neglect in right-brain-damaged individuals. The aim of this study was to investigate the segregation between spatial-sequential and spatial-simultaneous working memory in individuals with neglect. We demonstrated that patterns of results on these VSWM tasks can be dissociated. Spatial-simultaneous and sequential aspects of VSWM can be selectively impaired in unilateral neglect. Our results support the hypothesis of multiple VSWM subsystems, which should be taken into account to better understand neglect-related deficits.

Changing room cues reduces the effects of proactive interference in Clark's Nutcrackers, Nucifraga columbiana.

PubMed

Lewis, Jody L; Kamil, Alan C; Webbink, Kate E

2013-04-01

To determine what factors are important for minimizing interference effects in spatial memory, Clark's Nutcrackers, Nucifraga columbiana were tested for their spatial memory for two serial lists of locations per day. In this experiment two unique landmark sets were either different between List 1 and List 2 or the same. We found that Nutcrackers were most susceptible to interference when the landmark sets were the same. This study suggests that repeatedly testing animal memory in the same room, with the same cues, can hamper recall due to interference.

Spatial sequences, but not verbal sequences, are vulnerable to general interference during retention in working memory.

PubMed

Morey, Candice C; Miron, Monica D

2016-12-01

Among models of working memory, there is not yet a consensus about how to describe functions specific to storing verbal or visual-spatial memories. We presented aural-verbal and visual-spatial lists simultaneously and sometimes cued one type of information after presentation, comparing accuracy in conditions with and without informative retro-cues. This design isolates interference due specifically to maintenance, which appears most clearly in the uncued trials, from interference due to encoding, which occurs in all dual-task trials. When recall accuracy was comparable between tasks, we found that spatial memory was worse in uncued than in retro-cued trials, whereas verbal memory was not. Our findings bolster proposals that maintenance of spatial serial order, like maintenance of visual materials more broadly, relies on general rather than specialized resources, while maintenance of verbal sequences may rely on domain-specific resources. We argue that this asymmetry should be explicitly incorporated into models of working memory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Neurocognitive correlates of obesity and obesity-related behaviors in children and adolescents.

PubMed

Liang, J; Matheson, B E; Kaye, W H; Boutelle, K N

2014-04-01

Childhood obesity rates have risen dramatically over the past few decades. Although obesity has been linked to poorer neurocognitive functioning in adults, much less is known about this relationship in children and adolescents. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review to examine the relationship between obesity and obesity-related behaviors with neurocognitive functioning in youth. We reviewed articles from 1976 to 2013 using PsycInfo, PubMed, Medline and Google Scholar. Search terms included cognitive function, neurocognitive function/performance, executive function, impulsivity, self-regulation, effortful control, cognitive control, inhibition, delayed gratification, memory, attention, language, motor, visuo-spatial, academic achievement, obesity, overweight, body mass index, waist-hip ratio, adiposity and body fat. Articles were excluded if participants had health problems known to affect cognitive functioning, the study used imaging as the only outcome measure, they were non-peer-reviewed dissertations, theses, review papers, commentaries, or they were non-English articles. Sixty-seven studies met inclusion criteria for this review. Overall, we found data that support a negative relationship between obesity and various aspects of neurocognitive functioning, such as executive functioning, attention, visuo-spatial performance, and motor skill. The existing literature is mixed on the effects among obesity, general cognitive functioning, language, learning, memory, and academic achievement. Executive dysfunction is associated with obesity-related behaviors, such as increased intake, disinhibited eating, and less physical activity. Physical activity is positively linked with motor skill. More longitudinal research is needed to determine the directionality of such relationships, to point towards crucial intervention time periods in the development of children, and to inform effective treatment programs.

Neurocognitive correlates of obesity and obesity-related behaviors in children and adolescents

PubMed Central

Liang, J.; Matheson, BE.; Kaye, WH.; Boutelle, KN.

2015-01-01

Childhood obesity rates have risen dramatically over the past few decades. Although obesity has been linked to poorer neurocognitive functioning in adults, much less is known about this relationship in children and adolescents. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review to examine the relationship between obesity and obesity-related behaviors with neurocognitive functioning in youth. We reviewed articles from 1976 to 2013 using PsycInfo, PubMed, Medline and Google Scholar. Search terms included cognitive function, neurocognitive function/performance, executive function, impulsivity, self-regulation, effortful control, cognitive control, inhibition, delayed gratification, memory, attention, language, motor, visuo-spatial, academic achievement, obesity, overweight, body mass index, waist-hip ratio, adiposity and body fat. Articles were excluded if participants had health problems known to affect cognitive functioning, the study used imaging as the only outcome measure, they were non-peer-reviewed dissertations, theses, review papers, commentaries, or they were non-English articles. Sixty-seven studies met inclusion criteria for this review. Overall, we found data that support a negative relationship between obesity and various aspects of neurocognitive functioning, such as executive functioning, attention, visuo-spatial performance, and motor skill. The existing literature is mixed on the effects among obesity, general cognitive functioning, language, learning, memory, and academic achievement. Executive dysfunction is associated with obesity-related behaviors, such as increased intake, disinhibited eating, and less physical activity. Physical activity is positively linked with motor skill. More longitudinal research is needed to determine the directionality of such relationships, to point towards crucial intervention time periods in the development of children, and to inform effective treatment programs. PMID:23913029

The Relation between Gray Matter Morphology and Divergent Thinking in Adolescents and Young Adults

PubMed Central

Zanolie, Kiki; Kleibeuker, Sietske W.; Crone, Eveline A.

2014-01-01

Adolescence and early adulthood are developmental time periods during which creative cognition is highly important for adapting to environmental changes. Divergent thinking, which refers to generating novel and useful solutions to open-ended problems, has often been used as a measure of creative cognition. The first goal of this structural neuroimaging study was to elucidate the relationship between gray matter morphology and performance in the verbal (AUT; alternative uses task) and visuo-spatial (CAT; creative ability test) domain of divergent thinking in adolescents and young adults. The second goal was to test if gray matter morphology is related to brain activity during AUT performance. Neural and behavioral data were combined from a cross-sectional study including 25 adolescents aged 15–17 and 20 young adults aged 25–30. Brain-behavior relationships were assessed without a priori location assumptions and within areas that were activated during an AUT-scanner task. Gray matter volume and cortical thickness were not significantly associated with verbal divergent thinking. However, visuo-spatial divergent thinking (CAT originality and fluency) was positively associated with cortical thickness of the right middle temporal gyrus and left brain areas including the superior frontal gyrus and various occipital, parietal, and temporal areas, independently of age. AUT brain activity was not associated with cortical thickness. The results support an important role of a widespread brain network involved in flexible visuo-spatial divergent thinking, providing evidence for a relation between cortical thickness and visuo-spatial divergent thinking in adolescents and young adults. However, studies including visuo-spatial divergent thinking tasks in the scanner are warranted. PMID:25514366

Tc1 mouse model of trisomy-21 dissociates properties of short- and long-term recognition memory.

PubMed

Hall, Jessica H; Wiseman, Frances K; Fisher, Elizabeth M C; Tybulewicz, Victor L J; Harwood, John L; Good, Mark A

2016-04-01

The present study examined memory function in Tc1 mice, a transchromosomic model of Down syndrome (DS). Tc1 mice demonstrated an unusual delay-dependent deficit in recognition memory. More specifically, Tc1 mice showed intact immediate (30sec), impaired short-term (10-min) and intact long-term (24-h) memory for objects. A similar pattern was observed for olfactory stimuli, confirming the generality of the pattern across sensory modalities. The specificity of the behavioural deficits in Tc1 mice was confirmed using APP overexpressing mice that showed the opposite pattern of object memory deficits. In contrast to object memory, Tc1 mice showed no deficit in either immediate or long-term memory for object-in-place information. Similarly, Tc1 mice showed no deficit in short-term memory for object-location information. The latter result indicates that Tc1 mice were able to detect and react to spatial novelty at the same delay interval that was sensitive to an object novelty recognition impairment. These results demonstrate (1) that novelty detection per se and (2) the encoding of visuo-spatial information was not disrupted in adult Tc1 mice. The authors conclude that the task specific nature of the short-term recognition memory deficit suggests that the trisomy of genes on human chromosome 21 in Tc1 mice impacts on (perirhinal) cortical systems supporting short-term object and olfactory recognition memory. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Visuo-Spatial Processing in Autism--Testing the Predictions of Extreme Male Brain Theory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Falter, Christine M.; Plaisted, Kate C.; Davis, Greg

2008-01-01

It has been hypothesised that autism is an extreme version of the male brain, caused by high levels of prenatal testosterone (Baron-Cohen 1999). To test this proposal, associations were assessed between three visuo-spatial tasks and prenatal testosterone, indexed in second-to-fourth digit length ratios (2D:4D). The study included children with…

The Effect of Verbal and Visuo-Spatial Abilities on the Development of Knowledge of the Earth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kikas, Eve

2006-01-01

Difficulties in students' understanding of the spherical model of the Earth have been shown in previous studies. One of the reasons for these difficulties lies in beliefs and preliminary knowledge that hinder the interpretation of the scientific knowledge, the other reason may lie in the low level of verbal and visuo-spatial abilities. The study…

Visuo-spatial performance in autism: a meta-analysis.

PubMed

Muth, Anne; Hönekopp, Johannes; Falter, Christine M

2014-12-01

Visuo-spatial skills are believed to be enhanced in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). This meta-analysis tests the current state of evidence for Figure Disembedding, Block Design, Mental Rotation and Navon tasks in ASD and neurotypicals. Block Design (d = 0.32) and Figure Disembedding (d = 0.26) showed superior performance for ASD with large heterogeneity that is unaccounted for. No clear differences were found for Mental Rotation. ASD samples showed a stronger local processing preference for Navon tasks (d = 0.35); less clear evidence for performance differences of a similar magnitude emerged. We discuss the meta-analysis results together with other findings relating to visuo-spatial processing and three cognitive theories of ASD: Weak Central Coherence, Enhanced Perceptual Functioning and Extreme Male Brain theory.

How Is the Serial Order of a Visual Sequence Represented? Insights from Transposition Latencies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hurlstone, Mark J.; Hitch, Graham J.

2018-01-01

A central goal of research on short-term memory (STM) over the past 2 decades has been to identify the mechanisms that underpin the representation of serial order, and to establish whether these mechanisms are the same across different modalities and domains (e.g., verbal, visual, spatial). A fruitful approach to addressing this question has…

Dynamic feature analysis of vector-based images for neuropsychological testing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, Stephen L.; Cervantes, Basilio R.

1998-07-01

The dynamic properties of human motor activities, such as those observed in the course of drawing simple geometric shapes, are considerably more complex and often more informative than the goal to be achieved; in this case a static line drawing. This paper demonstrates how these dynamic properties may be used to provide a means of assessing a patient's visuo-spatial ability -- an important component of neuropsychological testing. The work described here provides a quantitative assessment of visuo-spatial ability, whilst preserving the conventional test environment. Results will be presented for a clinical population of long-term haemodialysis patients and test population comprises three groups of children (1) 7-8 years, (2) 9-10 years and (3) 11-12 years, all of which have no known neurological dysfunction. Ten new dynamic measurements extracted from patient responses in conjunction with one static feature deduced from earlier work describe a patient's visuo-spatial ability in a quantitative manner with sensitivity not previously attainable. The dynamic feature measurements in isolation provide a unique means of tracking a patient's approach to motor activities and could prove useful in monitoring a child' visuo-motor development.

Cognitive remediation therapy (CRT) benefits more to patients with schizophrenia with low initial memory performances.

PubMed

Pillet, Benoit; Morvan, Yannick; Todd, Aurelia; Franck, Nicolas; Duboc, Chloé; Grosz, Aimé; Launay, Corinne; Demily, Caroline; Gaillard, Raphaël; Krebs, Marie-Odile; Amado, Isabelle

2015-01-01

Cognitive deficits in schizophrenia mainly affect memory, attention and executive functions. Cognitive remediation is a technique derived from neuropsychology, which aims to improve or compensate for these deficits. Working memory, verbal learning, and executive functions are crucial factors for functional outcome. Our purpose was to assess the impact of the cognitive remediation therapy (CRT) program on cognitive difficulties in patients with schizophrenia, especially on working memory, verbal memory, and cognitive flexibility. We collected data from clinical and neuropsychological assessments in 24 patients suffering from schizophrenia (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of mental Disorders-Fourth Edition, DSM-IV) who followed a 3-month (CRT) program. Verbal and visuo-spatial working memory, verbal memory, and cognitive flexibility were assessed before and after CRT. The Wilcoxon test showed significant improvements on the backward digit span, on the visual working memory span, on verbal memory and on flexibility. Cognitive improvement was substantial when baseline performance was low, independently from clinical benefit. CRT is effective on crucial cognitive domains and provides a huge benefit for patients having low baseline performance. Such cognitive amelioration appears highly promising for improving the outcome in cognitively impaired patients.

Brain networks in posterior cortical atrophy: a single case tractography study and literature review.

PubMed

Migliaccio, Raffaella; Agosta, Federica; Toba, Monica N; Samri, Dalila; Corlier, Fabian; de Souza, Leonardo C; Chupin, Marie; Sharman, Michael; Gorno-Tempini, Maria L; Dubois, Bruno; Filippi, Massimo; Bartolomeo, Paolo

2012-01-01

Posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) is rare neurodegenerative dementia, clinically characterized by a progressive decline in higher-visual object and space processing. After a brief review of the literature on the neuroimaging in PCA, here we present a study of the brain structural connectivity in a patient with PCA and progressive isolated visual and visuo-motor signs. Clinical and cognitive data were acquired in a 58-years-old patient (woman, right-handed, disease duration 18 months). Brain structural and diffusion tensor (DT) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were obtained. A voxel-based morphometry (VBM) study was performed to explore the pattern of gray matter (GM) atrophy, and a fully automatic segmentation was assessed to obtain the hippocampal volumes. DT MRI-based tractography was used to assess the integrity of long-range white matter (WM) pathways in the patient and in six sex- and age-matched healthy subjects. This PCA patient had a clinical syndrome characterized by left visual neglect, optic ataxia, and left limb apraxia, as well as mild visuo-spatial episodic memory impairment. VBM study showed bilateral posterior GM atrophy with right predominance; DT MRI tractography demonstrated WM damage to the right hemisphere only, including the superior and inferior longitudinal fasciculi and the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, as compared to age-matched controls. The homologous left-hemisphere tracts were spared. No difference was found between left and right hippocampal volumes. These data suggest that selective visuo-spatial deficits typical of PCA might not result from cortical damage alone, but by a right-lateralized network-level dysfunction including WM damage along the major visual pathways. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Srl. All rights reserved.

Pharmacological evidence that both cognitive memory and habit formation contribute to within-session learning of concurrent visual discriminations

PubMed Central

Turchi, Janita; Devan, Bryan; Yin, Pingbo; Sigrist, Emmalynn; Mishkin, Mortimer

2010-01-01

The monkey's ability to learn a set of visual discriminations presented concurrently just once a day on successive days (24-hr ITI task) is based on habit formation, which is known to rely on a visuo-striatal circuit and to be independent of visuo-rhinal circuits that support one-trial memory. Consistent with this dissociation, we recently reported that performance on the 24-hr ITI task is impaired by a striatal-function blocking agent, the dopaminergic antagonist haloperidol, and not by a rhinal-function blocking agent, the muscarinic cholinergic antagonist scopolamine. In the present study, monkeys were trained on a short-ITI form of concurrent visual discrimination learning, one in which a set of stimulus pairs is repeated not only across daily sessions but also several times within each session (in this case, at about 4-min ITIs). Asymptotic discrimination learning rates in the non-drug condition were reduced by half, from ~11 trials/pair on the 24-hr ITI task to ~5 trials/pair on the 4-min ITI task, and this faster learning was impaired by systemic injections of either haloperidol or scopolamine. The results suggest that in the version of concurrent discrimination learning used here, the short ITIs within a session recruit both visuo-rhinal and visuo-striatal circuits, and that the final performance level is driven by both cognitive memory and habit formation working in concert. PMID:20144631

Pharmacological evidence that both cognitive memory and habit formation contribute to within-session learning of concurrent visual discriminations.

PubMed

Turchi, Janita; Devan, Bryan; Yin, Pingbo; Sigrist, Emmalynn; Mishkin, Mortimer

2010-07-01

The monkey's ability to learn a set of visual discriminations presented concurrently just once a day on successive days (24-h ITI task) is based on habit formation, which is known to rely on a visuo-striatal circuit and to be independent of visuo-rhinal circuits that support one-trial memory. Consistent with this dissociation, we recently reported that performance on the 24-h ITI task is impaired by a striatal-function blocking agent, the dopaminergic antagonist haloperidol, and not by a rhinal-function blocking agent, the muscarinic cholinergic antagonist scopolamine. In the present study, monkeys were trained on a short-ITI form of concurrent visual discrimination learning, one in which a set of stimulus pairs is repeated not only across daily sessions but also several times within each session (in this case, at about 4-min ITIs). Asymptotic discrimination learning rates in the non-drug condition were reduced by half, from approximately 11 trials/pair on the 24-h ITI task to approximately 5 trials/pair on the 4-min ITI task, and this faster learning was impaired by systemic injections of either haloperidol or scopolamine. The results suggest that in the version of concurrent discrimination learning used here, the short ITIs within a session recruit both visuo-rhinal and visuo-striatal circuits, and that the final performance level is driven by both cognitive memory and habit formation working in concert.

Galvanic vestibular stimulation speeds visual memory recall.

PubMed

Wilkinson, David; Nicholls, Sophie; Pattenden, Charlotte; Kilduff, Patrick; Milberg, William

2008-08-01

The experiments of Alessandro Volta were amongst the first to indicate that visuo-spatial function can be altered by stimulating the vestibular nerves with galvanic current. Until recently, the beneficial effects of the procedure were masked by the high levels of electrical current applied, which induced nystagmus-related gaze deviation and spatial disorientation. However, several neuropsychological studies have shown that much weaker, imperceptible currents that do not elicit unpleasant side-effects can help overcome visual loss after stroke. Here, we show that visual processing in neurologically healthy individuals can also benefit from galvanic vestibular stimulation. Participants first learnt the names of eight unfamiliar faces and then after a short delay, answered questions from memory about how pairs of these faces differed. Mean correct reaction times were significantly shorter when sub-sensory, noise-enhanced anodal stimulation was administered to the left mastoid, compared to when no stimulation was administered at all. This advantage occurred with no loss in response accuracy, and raises the possibility that the procedure may constitute a more general form of cognitive enhancement.

Long-term effects of cannabis on oculomotor function in humans.

PubMed

Huestegge, L; Radach, R; Kunert, H J

2009-08-01

Cannabis is known to affect human cognitive and visuomotor skills directly after consumption. Some studies even point to rather long-lasting effects, especially after chronic tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) abuse. However, it is still unknown whether long-term effects on basic visual and oculomotor processing may exist. In the present study, the performance of 20 healthy long-term cannabis users without acute THC intoxication and 20 control subjects were examined in four basic visuomotor paradigms to search for specific long-term impairments. Subjects were asked to perform: 1) reflexive saccades to visual targets (prosaccades), including gap and overlap conditions, 2) voluntary antisaccades, 3) memory-guided saccades and 4) double-step saccades. Spatial and temporal parameters of the saccades were subsequently analysed. THC subjects exhibited a significant increase of latency in the prosaccade and antisaccade tasks, as well as prolonged saccade amplitudes in the antisaccade and memory-guided task, compared with the control subjects. The results point to substantial and specific long-term deficits in basic temporal processing of saccades and impaired visuo-spatial working memory. We suggest that these impairments are a major contributor to degraded performance of chronic users in a vital everyday task like visual search, and they might potentially also affect spatial navigation and reading.

Gender differences in navigational memory: pilots vs. nonpilots.

PubMed

Verde, Paola; Piccardi, Laura; Bianchini, Filippo; Guariglia, Cecilia; Carrozzo, Paolo; Morgagni, Fabio; Boccia, Maddalena; Di Fiore, Giacomo; Tomao, Enrico

2015-02-01

The coding of space as near and far is not only determined by arm-reaching distance, but is also dependent on how the brain represents the extension of the body space. Recent reports suggest that the dissociation between reaching and navigational space is not limited to perception and action but also involves memory systems. It has been reported that gender differences emerged only in adverse learning conditions that required strong spatial ability. In this study we investigated navigational versus reaching memory in air force pilots and a control group without flight experience. We took into account temporal duration (working memory and long-term memory) and focused on working memory, which is considered critical in the gender differences literature. We found no gender effects or flight hour effects in pilots but observed gender effects in working memory (but not in learning and delayed recall) in the nonpilot population (Women's mean = 5.33; SD= 0.90; Men's mean = 5.54; SD= 0.90). We also observed a difference between pilots and nonpilots in the maintenance of on-line reaching information: pilots (mean = 5.85; SD=0.76) were more efficient than nonpilots (mean = 5.21; SD=0.83) and managed this type of information similarly to that concerning navigational space. In the navigational learning phase they also showed better navigational memory (mean = 137.83; SD=5.81) than nonpilots (mean = 126.96; SD=15.81) and were significantly more proficient than the latter group. There is no gender difference in a population of pilots in terms of navigational abilities, while it emerges in a control group without flight experience. We found also that pilots performed better than nonpilots. This study suggests that once selected, male and female pilots do not differ from each other in visuo-spatial abilities and spatial navigation.

The Comparison of the Visuo-Spatial Abilities of Dyslexic and Normal Students in Taiwan and Hong Kong

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Li-Chih; Yang, Hsien-Ming

2011-01-01

This study focused on a comparison of the visuo-spatial abilities (correct rate and speed) between dyslexic and normal students in Taiwan and Hong Kong. There were a total of 120 10-12 year old students. Thirty students had been diagnosed as dyslexic in Taiwan (T.W. dyslexia) and thirty students had been diagnosed as dyslexic in Hong Kong (H.K.…

Correlation between perceptual, visuo-spatial, and psychomotor aptitude to duration of training required to reach performance goals on the MIST-VR surgical simulator.

PubMed

McClusky, D A; Ritter, E M; Lederman, A B; Gallagher, A G; Smith, C D

2005-01-01

Given the dynamic nature of modern surgical education, determining factors that may improve the efficiency of laparoscopic training is warranted. The objective of this study was to analyze whether perceptual, visuo-spatial, or psychomotor aptitude are related to the amount of training required to reach specific performance-based goals on a virtual reality surgical simulator. Sixteen MS4 medical students participated in an elective skills course intended to train laparoscopic skills. All were tested for perceptual, visuo-spatial, and psychomotor aptitude using previously validated psychological tests. Training involved as many instructor-guided 1-hour sessions as needed to reach performance goals on a custom designed MIST-VR manipulation-diathermy task (Mentice AB, Gothenberg, Sweden). Thirteen subjects reached performance goals by the end of the course. Two were excluded from analysis due to previous experience with the MIST-VR (total n = 11). Perceptual ability (r = -0.76, P = 0.007) and psychomotor skills (r = 0.62, P = 0.04) significantly correlated with the number of trials required. Visuo-spatial ability did not significantly correlate with training duration. The number of trials required to train subjects to performance goals on the MIST-VR manipulation diathermy task is significantly related to perceptual and psychomotor aptitude.

A look at spatial abilities in undergraduate women science majors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lord, Thomas R.

Contemporary investigations indicate that men generally perform significantly better in tasks involving visuo-spatial awareness than do women. Researchers have attempted to explain this difference through several hypotheses but as yet the reason for the dimorphism has not been established. Further, contemporary studies have indicated that enhancement of mental image formation and manipulation is possible when students are subjected to carefully designed spatial interventions. Present research was conducted to see if women in the sciences were as spatial perceptively accurate as their male counterparts. The researcher also was interested to find if the women that received the intervention excercises improved in their visuo-spatial awareness as rapidly as their male counterparts.The study was conducted on science majors at a suburban two year college. The population was randomly divided into groups (experimental, placebo, and control) each containing approximately the same number of men and women. All groups were given a battery of spatial perception tests (Ekstrom et al, 1976) at the onset of the winter semester and a second version of the battery at the conclusion of the semester. An analysis of variance followed by Scheffe contrasts were run on the results. The statistics revealed that the experimental group significantly outperformed the nonexperimental groups on the tests. When the differences between the mean scores for the women in the experimental group were statistically compared to those of the men in the experimental group the women were improving at a more rapid rate. Many women have the capacity to develop visuo-spatial aptitude and although they may start out behind men in spatial ability, they learn quickly and often catch up to the men's level when given meaningful visuo-spatial interventions.

Variation in spatial language and cognition: exploring visuo-spatial thinking and speaking cross-linguistically.

PubMed

Soroli, Efstathia

2012-08-01

Languages differ strikingly in how they encode spatial information. This variability is realized with spatial semantic elements mapped across languages in very different ways onto lexical/syntactic structures. For example, satellite-framed languages (e.g., English) express MANNER: in the verb and PATH: in satellites, while verb-framed languages (e.g., French) lexicalize PATH: in the verb, leaving MANNER: implicit or peripheral. Some languages are harder to classify into these categories, rather presenting equipollently framed systems, such as Chinese (serial-verb constructions) or Greek (parallel verb- and satellite-framed structures in equally frequent contexts). Such properties seem to have implications not only on the formulation/articulation levels, but also on the conceptualization level, thereby reviving questions concerning the language-thought interface. The present study investigates the relative impact of language-independent and language-specific factors on spatial representations across three typologically different languages (English-French-Greek) combining a variety of complementary tasks (production, non-verbal, and verbal categorization). The findings show that typological properties of languages can have an impact on both linguistic and non-linguistic organization of spatial information, open new perspectives for the investigation of conceptualization, and contribute more generally to the debate concerning the universal and language-specific dimensions of cognition.

Cognitive rehabilitation training in patients with brain tumor-related epilepsy and cognitive deficits: a pilot study.

PubMed

Maschio, Marta; Dinapoli, Loredana; Fabi, Alessandra; Giannarelli, Diana; Cantelmi, Tonino

2015-11-01

The aim of this pilot observational study was to evaluate effect of cognitive rehabilitation training (RehabTr) on cognitive performances in patients with brain tumor-related epilepsy (BTRE) and cognitive disturbances. Medical inclusion criteria: patients (M/F) ≥ 18 years ≤ 75 with symptomatic seizures due to primary brain tumors or brain metastases in stable treatment with antiepileptic drugs; previous surgical resection or biopsy; >70 Karnofsky Performance Status; stable oncological disease. Eligible patients recruited from 100 consecutive patients with BTRE at first visit to our Center from 2011 to 2012. All recruited patients were administered battery of neuropsychological tests exploring various cognitive domains. Patients considered to have a neuropsychological deficit were those with at least one test score for a given domain indicative of impairment. Thirty patients out of 100 showed cognitive deficits, and were offered participation in RehabTr, of which 16 accepted (5 low grade glioma, 4 high grade glioma, 2 glioblastoma, 2 meningioma and 3 metastases) and 14 declined for various reasons. The RehabTr consisted of one weekly individual session of 1 h, for a total of 10 weeks, carried out by a trained psychologist. The functions trained were: memory, attention, visuo-spatial functions, language and reasoning by means of Training NeuroPsicologico (TNP(®)) software. To evaluate the effect of the RehabTr, the same battery of tests was administered directly after cognitive rehabilitation (T1), and at six-month follow-up (T2). Statistical analysis with Student T test for paired data showed that short-term verbal memory, episodic memory, fluency and long term visuo-spatial memory improved immediately after the T1 and remained stable at T2. At final follow-up all patients showed an improvement in at least one domain that had been lower than normal at baseline. Our results demonstrated a positive effect of rehabilitative training at different times, and, for these reasons, should encourage future research in this area with large, randomized clinical trials that evaluate the impact of a cognitive rehabilitation in patients with BTRE and cognitive deficits.

Computerized visuo-spatial memory test as a supplementary screening test for dementia.

PubMed

Maki, Yohko; Yoshida, Hiroshi; Yamaguchi, Haruyasu

2010-06-01

To prepare for a super-aging society, effective dementia screening tests are required. The most salient deficit appearing from the early stages of dementia/Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a deterioration in memory. The Hasegawa Dementia Scale-revised (HDS-R) and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) are widely used in Japan to screen for dementia. Both place an emphasis on memory function, but neither examines visuo-spatial memory (VSM) function, even though VSM deficits are a sensitive marker for the detection of conversion to dementia. Furthermore, brief tests of VSM that are appropriate for screening have not been standardized. Thus, in the present study, we devised a brief, computer-aided short-term VSM test. Sixty-six aged people were evaluated. Using the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR), it was found that 29 could be considered normal controls (NC; CDR 0), 10 had mild cognitive impairment (MCI; CDR 0.5), 15 had mild dementia (CDR 1), and 12 had moderate to severe dementia (CDR 2-3). The VSM test estimated how many locations each subject could memorize. Several numbered circles were shown on a monitor and subjects were required to memorize the location of these circles sequentially. After the numbers on the circles on the screen had disappeared, the subjects were required to indicate the circles in ascending order. A touch panel screen was used for this test to make it easier. The HDS-R was applied to subjects with MCI and dementia. The mean (+/-SD) VSM score in subjects with MCI (5.70 +/- 0.96) was significantly lower than that in NC subjects (6.69 +/- 0.82), but significantly higher than that in subjects classified as CDR 1 (4.67 +/- 0.87). There was no significant difference in VSM scores between subjects classified as CDR 1 and CDR 2-3 (3.80 +/- 0.80). There was a moderate significant correlation between VSM and HDS-R scores. In the present study, the VSM test detected differences in VSM function among NC subjects and subjects with MCI and mild dementia. The software program for the VSM test is distributed for free so that it can be widely used.

Neuropsychology of selective attention and magnetic cortical stimulation.

PubMed

Sabatino, M; Di Nuovo, S; Sardo, P; Abbate, C S; La Grutta, V

1996-01-01

Informed volunteers were asked to perform different neuropsychological tests involving selective attention under control conditions and during transcranial magnetic cortical stimulation. The tests chosen involved the recognition of a specific letter among different letters (verbal test) and the search for three different spatial orientations of an appendage to a square (visuo-spatial test). For each test the total time taken and the error rate were calculated. Results showed that cortical stimulation did not cause a worsening in performance. Moreover, magnetic stimulation of the temporal lobe neither modified completion time in both verbal and visuo-spatial tests nor changed error rate. In contrast, magnetic stimulation of the pre-frontal area induced a significant reduction in the performance time of both the verbal and visuo-spatial tests always without an increase in the number of errors. The experimental findings underline the importance of the pre-frontal area in performing tasks requiring a high level of controlled attention and suggest the need to adopt an interdisciplinary approach towards the study of neurone/mind interface mechanisms.

Computer-assisted rehabilitation of attention in pediatric multiple sclerosis and ADHD patients: a pilot trial.

PubMed

Simone, Marta; Viterbo, Rosa Gemma; Margari, Lucia; Iaffaldano, Pietro

2018-06-08

The treatment of cognitive deficits is challenging in pediatric onset multiple sclerosis (POMS) and in patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We performed a pilot double-blind RCT to evaluate the efficacy of a home-based computerized-program for retraining attention in two cohorts of POMS and ADHD patients. POMS and ADHD patients failing in at least 2/4 attention tests on a neuropsychological battery were randomized to specific or nonspecific computerized training (ST, nST), performed in one-hour sessions, twice/week for 3 months. The primary outcome was the effect of the training on global neuropsychological performances measured by the cognitive impairment index (CII). The efficacy of the intervention was evaluated in each disease group by using repeated measures ANOVA. Sixteen POMS (9 females, age 15.75 ± 1.74 years) and 20 ADHD (2 females, age 11.19 ± 2.49 years) patients were enrolled. In POMS patients the ST exposure was associated to a significantly more pronounced improvement of the CII (p < 0.0001) and on cognitive test exploring attention, concentration, planning strategies and visuo-spatial memory performances in comparison to nST exposure. In ADHD patients the difference between the ST and nST on the CII was not statistical significant (p = 0.06), but a greater effect of the ST was found only on cognitive test exploring attention and delayed recall of visuo-spatial memory performances. Our data suggest that a cognitive rehabilitation program that targets attention is a suitable tool for improving global cognitive functioning in POMS patients, whereas it has a less pronounced transfer effect in ADHD patients. ClinicalTrials.gov; NCT03190902 ; registration date: June 15, 2017; retrospectively registered.

Visuo-motor and cognitive procedural learning in children with basal ganglia pathology.

PubMed

Mayor-Dubois, C; Maeder, P; Zesiger, P; Roulet-Perez, E

2010-06-01

We investigated procedural learning in 18 children with basal ganglia (BG) lesions or dysfunctions of various aetiologies, using a visuo-motor learning test, the Serial Reaction Time (SRT) task, and a cognitive learning test, the Probabilistic Classification Learning (PCL) task. We compared patients with early (<1 year old, n=9), later onset (>6 years old, n=7) or progressive disorder (idiopathic dystonia, n=2). All patients showed deficits in both visuo-motor and cognitive domains, except those with idiopathic dystonia, who displayed preserved classification learning skills. Impairments seem to be independent from the age of onset of pathology. As far as we know, this study is the first to investigate motor and cognitive procedural learning in children with BG damage. Procedural impairments were documented whatever the aetiology of the BG damage/dysfunction and time of pathology onset, thus supporting the claim of very early skill learning development and lack of plasticity in case of damage. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Improvement of Visuo-spatial Function Assessed by Raven’s Colored Progressive Matrices in Dementia with Lewy Bodies by Donepezil Treatment

PubMed Central

Yoshino, Yuta; Mori, Takaaki; Yoshida, Taku; Toyota, Yasutaka; Shimizu, Hideaki; Iga, Jun-ichi; Nishitani, Shusaku; Ueno, Shu-ichi

2017-01-01

Objective Donepezil is used to improve cognitive impairment of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Visuo-spatial dysfunction is a well-known symptom of DLB. Non-verbal Raven’s Colored Progressive Matrices (RCPM) were used to assess both visual perception and reasoning ability in DLB subjects treated with donepezil. Methods Twenty-one DLB patients (mean age, 78.7±4.5 years) were enrolled. RCPM assessment was performed at the time of starting donepezil and within one year after starting donepezil. Results There were significant improvements of RCPM in the total scores between one year donepezil treatment (p=0.013), in both Set A score (p=0.002) and Set AB score (p=0.015), but trend in the Set B score (p=0.083). Conclusion Donepezil is useful for improving visuo-spatial impairment in DLB, but not for problem-solving impairment. PMID:28783933

Extinction of auditory stimuli in hemineglect: Space versus ear.

PubMed

Spierer, Lucas; Meuli, Reto; Clarke, Stephanie

2007-02-01

Unilateral extinction of auditory stimuli, a key feature of the neglect syndrome, was investigated in 15 patients with right (11), left (3) or bilateral (1) hemispheric lesions using a verbal dichotic condition, in which each ear received simultaneously one word, and a interaural-time-difference (ITD) diotic condition, in which both ears received both words lateralised by means of ITD. Additional investigations included sound localisation, visuo-spatial attention and general cognitive status. Five patients presented a significant asymmetry in the ITD diotic test, due to a decrease of left hemispace reporting but no asymmetry was found in dichotic listening. Six other patients presented a significant asymmetry in the dichotic test due to a significant decrease of left or right ear reporting, but no asymmetry in diotic listening. Ten of the above patients presented mild to severe deficits in sound localisation and eight signs of visuo-spatial neglect (three with selective asymmetry in the diotic and five in the dichotic task). Four other patients presented a significant asymmetry in both the diotic and dichotic listening tasks. Three of them presented moderate deficits in localisation and all four moderate visuo-spatial neglect. Thus, extinction for left ear and left hemispace can double dissociate, suggesting distinct underlying neural processes. Furthermore, the co-occurrence with sound localisation disturbance and with visuo-spatial hemineglect speaks in favour of the involvement of multisensory attentional representations.

P3 amplitude attenuation secondary to increases in target-to-target interval (TTI) during spatial serial order recall: Implications for EEG models of working memory function.

PubMed

Hochberger, William C; Axelrod, Jenna L; Sarapas, Casey; Shankman, Stewart A; Hill, S Kristian

2018-06-08

Research suggests that increasing delays in stimulus read-out can trigger declines in serial order recall accuracy due to increases in cognitive demand imposed by the delay; however, the exact neural mechanisms associated with this decline are unclear. Changes in neural resource allocation present as the ideal target and can easily be monitored by examining changes in the amplitude of an ERP component known as the P3. Changes in P3 amplitude secondary to exogenous pacing of stimulus read-out via increased target-to-target intervals (TTI) during recall could reflect decreased neural resource allocation due to increased cognitive demand. This shift in resource allocation could result in working memory storage decay and the declines in serial order accuracy described by prior research. In order to examine this potential effect, participants were administered a spatial serial order processing task, with the recall series consisting of a series of correct ("match") or incorrect ("non-match" or "oddball") stimuli. Moreover, the recall series included either a brief (500ms) or extended (2000ms) delay between stimuli. Results were significant for the presence of a P3 response to non-match stimuli for both experimental conditions, and attenuation of P3 amplitude secondary to the increase in target-to-target interval (TTI). These findings suggest that extending the delay between target recognition could increase cognitive demand and trigger a decrease in neural resource allocation that results in a decay of working memory stores.

Origins and early development of human body knowledge.

PubMed

Slaughter, Virginia; Heron, Michelle

2004-01-01

As a knowable object, the human body is highly complex. Evidence from several converging lines of research, including psychological studies, neuroimaging and clinical neuropsychology, indicates that human body knowledge is widely distributed in the adult brain, and is instantiated in at least three partially independent levels of representation. Sensorimotor body knowledge is responsible for on-line control and movement of one's own body and may also contribute to the perception of others' moving bodies; visuo-spatial body knowledge specifies detailed structural descriptions of the spatial attributes of the human body; and lexical-semantic body knowledge contains language-based knowledge about the human body. In the first chapter of this Monograph, we outline the evidence for these three hypothesized levels of human body knowledge, then review relevant literature on infants' and young children's human body knowledge in terms of the three-level framework. In Chapters II and III, we report two complimentary series of studies that specifically investigate the emergence of visuo-spatial body knowledge in infancy. Our technique is to compare infants'responses to typical and scrambled human bodies, in order to evaluate when and how infants acquire knowledge about the canonical spatial layout of the human body. Data from a series of visual habituation studies indicate that infants first discriminate scrambled from typical human body picture sat 15 to 18 months of age. Data from object examination studies similarly indicate that infants are sensitive to violations of three-dimensional human body stimuli starting at 15-18 months of age. The overall pattern of data supports several conclusions about the early development of human body knowledge: (a) detailed visuo-spatial knowledge about the human body is first evident in the second year of life, (b) visuo-spatial knowledge of human faces and human bodies are at least partially independent in infancy and (c) infants' initial visuo-spatial human body representations appear to be highly schematic, becoming more detailed and specific with development. In the final chapter, we explore these conclusions and discuss how levels of body knowledge may interact in early development.

Early blindness alters the spatial organization of verbal working memory.

PubMed

Bottini, Roberto; Mattioni, Stefania; Collignon, Olivier

2016-10-01

Several studies suggest that serial order in working memory (WM) is grounded on space. For a list of ordered items held in WM, items at the beginning of the list are associated with the left side of space and items at the end of the list with the right side. This suggests that maintaining items in verbal WM is performed in strong analogy to writing these items down on a physical whiteboard for later consultation (The Mental Whiteboard Hypothesis). What drives this spatial mapping of ordered series in WM remains poorly understood. In the present study we tested whether visual experience is instrumental in establishing the link between serial order in WM and spatial processing. We tested early blind (EB), late blind (LB) and sighted individuals in an auditory WM task. Replicating previous studies, left-key responses were faster for early items in the list whereas later items facilitated right-key responses in the sighted group. The same effect was observed in LB individuals. In contrast, EB participants did not show any association between space and serial position in WM. These results suggest that early visual experience plays a critical role in linking ordered items in WM and spatial representations. The analogical spatial structure of WM may depend in part on the actual experience of using spatially organized devices (e.g., notes, whiteboards) to offload WM. These practices are largely precluded to EB individuals, who instead rely to mnemonic devices that are less spatially organized (e.g., recordings, vocal notes). The way we habitually organize information in the external world may bias the way we organize information in our WM. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

How Does the Sparse Memory "Engram" Neurons Encode the Memory of a Spatial-Temporal Event?

PubMed

Guan, Ji-Song; Jiang, Jun; Xie, Hong; Liu, Kai-Yuan

2016-01-01

Episodic memory in human brain is not a fixed 2-D picture but a highly dynamic movie serial, integrating information at both the temporal and the spatial domains. Recent studies in neuroscience reveal that memory storage and recall are closely related to the activities in discrete memory engram (trace) neurons within the dentate gyrus region of hippocampus and the layer 2/3 of neocortex. More strikingly, optogenetic reactivation of those memory trace neurons is able to trigger the recall of naturally encoded memory. It is still unknown how the discrete memory traces encode and reactivate the memory. Considering a particular memory normally represents a natural event, which consists of information at both the temporal and spatial domains, it is unknown how the discrete trace neurons could reconstitute such enriched information in the brain. Furthermore, as the optogenetic-stimuli induced recall of memory did not depend on firing pattern of the memory traces, it is most likely that the spatial activation pattern, but not the temporal activation pattern of the discrete memory trace neurons encodes the memory in the brain. How does the neural circuit convert the activities in the spatial domain into the temporal domain to reconstitute memory of a natural event? By reviewing the literature, here we present how the memory engram (trace) neurons are selected and consolidated in the brain. Then, we will discuss the main challenges in the memory trace theory. In the end, we will provide a plausible model of memory trace cell network, underlying the conversion of neural activities between the spatial domain and the temporal domain. We will also discuss on how the activation of sparse memory trace neurons might trigger the replay of neural activities in specific temporal patterns.

The human hippocampal formation mediates short-term memory of colour-location associations.

PubMed

Finke, Carsten; Braun, Mischa; Ostendorf, Florian; Lehmann, Thomas-Nicolas; Hoffmann, Karl-Titus; Kopp, Ute; Ploner, Christoph J

2008-01-31

The medial temporal lobe (MTL) has long been considered essential for declarative long-term memory, whereas the fronto-parietal cortex is generally seen as the anatomical substrate of short-term memory. This traditional dichotomy is questioned by recent studies suggesting a possible role of the MTL for short-term memory. In addition, there is no consensus on a possible specialization of MTL sub-regions for memory of associative information. Here, we investigated short-term memory for single features and feature associations in three humans with post-surgical lesions affecting the right hippocampal formation and in 10 healthy controls. We used three delayed-match-to-sample tasks with two delays (900/5000 ms) and three set sizes (2/4/6 items). Subjects were instructed to remember either colours, locations or colour-location associations. In colour-only and location-only conditions, performance of patients did not differ from controls. By contrast, a significant group difference was found in the association condition at 5000 ms delay. This difference was largely independent of set size, thus suggesting that it cannot be explained by the increased complexity of the association condition. These findings show that the hippocampal formation plays a significant role for short-term memory of simple visuo-spatial associations, and suggest a specialization of MTL sub-regions for associative memory.

Visuo-spatial cueing in children with differential reading and spelling profiles

PubMed Central

Kemény, Ferenc; Gangl, Melanie; Schulte-Körne, Gerd; Moll, Kristina; Landerl, Karin

2017-01-01

Dyslexia has been claimed to be causally related to deficits in visuo-spatial attention. In particular, inefficient shifting of visual attention during spatial cueing paradigms is assumed to be associated with problems in graphemic parsing during sublexical reading. The current study investigated visuo-spatial attention performance in an exogenous cueing paradigm in a large sample (N = 191) of third and fourth graders with different reading and spelling profiles (controls, isolated reading deficit, isolated spelling deficit, combined deficit in reading and spelling). Once individual variability in reaction times was taken into account by means of z-transformation, a cueing deficit (i.e. no significant difference between valid and invalid trials) was found for children with combined deficits in reading and spelling. However, poor readers without spelling problems showed a cueing effect comparable to controls, but exhibited a particularly strong right-over-left advantage (position effect). Isolated poor spellers showed a significant cueing effect, but no position effect. While we replicated earlier findings of a reduced cueing effect among poor nonword readers (indicating deficits in sublexical processing), we also found a reduced cueing effect among children with particularly poor orthographic spelling (indicating deficits in lexical processing). Thus, earlier claims of a specific association with nonword reading could not be confirmed. Controlling for ADHD-symptoms reported in a parental questionnaire did not impact on the statistical analysis, indicating that cueing deficits are not caused by more general attentional limitations. Between 31 and 48% of participants in the three reading and/or spelling deficit groups as well as 32% of the control group showed reduced spatial cueing. These findings indicate a significant, but moderate association between certain aspects of visuo-spatial attention and subcomponents of written language processing, the causal status of which is yet unclear. PMID:28686635

Visuo-spatial cueing in children with differential reading and spelling profiles.

PubMed

Banfi, Chiara; Kemény, Ferenc; Gangl, Melanie; Schulte-Körne, Gerd; Moll, Kristina; Landerl, Karin

2017-01-01

Dyslexia has been claimed to be causally related to deficits in visuo-spatial attention. In particular, inefficient shifting of visual attention during spatial cueing paradigms is assumed to be associated with problems in graphemic parsing during sublexical reading. The current study investigated visuo-spatial attention performance in an exogenous cueing paradigm in a large sample (N = 191) of third and fourth graders with different reading and spelling profiles (controls, isolated reading deficit, isolated spelling deficit, combined deficit in reading and spelling). Once individual variability in reaction times was taken into account by means of z-transformation, a cueing deficit (i.e. no significant difference between valid and invalid trials) was found for children with combined deficits in reading and spelling. However, poor readers without spelling problems showed a cueing effect comparable to controls, but exhibited a particularly strong right-over-left advantage (position effect). Isolated poor spellers showed a significant cueing effect, but no position effect. While we replicated earlier findings of a reduced cueing effect among poor nonword readers (indicating deficits in sublexical processing), we also found a reduced cueing effect among children with particularly poor orthographic spelling (indicating deficits in lexical processing). Thus, earlier claims of a specific association with nonword reading could not be confirmed. Controlling for ADHD-symptoms reported in a parental questionnaire did not impact on the statistical analysis, indicating that cueing deficits are not caused by more general attentional limitations. Between 31 and 48% of participants in the three reading and/or spelling deficit groups as well as 32% of the control group showed reduced spatial cueing. These findings indicate a significant, but moderate association between certain aspects of visuo-spatial attention and subcomponents of written language processing, the causal status of which is yet unclear.

Exaggerated Leftward Bias in the Mental Number Line of Patients with Schizophrenia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cavezian, Celine; Rossetti, Yves; Danckert, James; d'Amato, Thierry; Dalery, Jean; Saoud, Mohamed

2007-01-01

Several visuo-motor tasks can be used to demonstrate biases towards left hemispace in schizophrenic patients, suggesting a minor right hemineglect. Recent studies in neglect patients used a new number bisection task to highlight a lateralized defect in their visuo-spatial representation of numbers. To test a possible lateralized representational…

The comparison of the visuo-spatial abilities of dyslexic and normal students in Taiwan and Hong Kong.

PubMed

Wang, Li-Chih; Yang, Hsien-Ming

2011-01-01

This study focused on a comparison of the visuo-spatial abilities (correct rate and speed) between dyslexic and normal students in Taiwan and Hong Kong. There were a total of 120 10-12 year old students. Thirty students had been diagnosed as dyslexic in Taiwan (T.W. dyslexia) and thirty students had been diagnosed as dyslexic in Hong Kong (H.K. dyslexia). Overall, 30 of the Taiwanese participants (T.W. normal) and 30 of the Hong Kong participants (H.K. normal) had received no special education. Dyslexic individuals were diagnosed by the doctors' clinical determination. The material was designed using Autodesk 3ds Max. The participants rotated 3D figures by themselves to find a ball. The results indicated that there was very little difference between dyslexic and normal students. However, the most significant difference between dyslexic and normal student was answering speed, especially in the combined data and the male data. An one-way ANOVA test indicated that in terms of rate and answering speed there was no difference between the H.K. and the T.W. dyslexics. Similar results were also found for the students with normal reading abilities in T.W. and H.K. The criterions for defining the visuo-spatial abilities of dyslexia students appear to be similar in Taiwan and Hong Kong. In addition, there is no difference between students' visuo-spatial abilities even though Chinese literacy instructions differed in the two areas. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Untangling the Contribution of the Subcomponents of Working Memory to Mathematical Proficiency as Measured by the National Tests: A Study among Swedish Third Graders

PubMed Central

Wiklund-Hörnqvist, Carola; Jonsson, Bert; Korhonen, Johan; Eklöf, Hanna; Nyroos, Mikaela

2016-01-01

The aim with the present study was to examine the relationship between the subcomponents in working memory (WM) and mathematical performance, as measured by the National tests in a sample of 597 Swedish third-grade pupils. In line with compelling evidence of other studies, individual differences in WM capacity significantly predicted mathematical performance. Dividing the sample into four groups, based on their mathematical performance, revealed that mathematical ability can be conceptualized in terms of different WM profiles. Pupils categorized as High-math performers particularly differed from the other three groups in having a significant higher phonological ability. In contrast, pupils categorized as Low-math performers were particularly characterized by having a significant lower visuo-spatial ability. Findings suggest that it is important for educators to recognize and acknowledge individual differences in WM to support mathematical achievement at an individual level. PMID:27486413

Reading a Story: Different Degrees of Learning in Different Learning Environments.

PubMed

Giannini, Anna Maria; Cordellieri, Pierluigi; Piccardi, Laura

2017-01-01

The learning environment in which material is acquired may produce differences in delayed recall and in the elements that individuals focus on. These differences may appear even during development. In the present study, we compared three different learning environments in 450 normally developing 7-year-old children subdivided into three groups according to the type of learning environment. Specifically, children were asked to learn the same material shown in three different learning environments: reading illustrated books (TB); interacting with the same text displayed on a PC monitor and enriched with interactive activities (PC-IA); reading the same text on a PC monitor but not enriched with interactive narratives (PC-NoIA). Our results demonstrated that TB and PC-NoIA elicited better verbal memory recall. In contrast, PC-IA and PC-NoIA produced higher scores for visuo-spatial memory, enhancing memory for spatial relations, positions and colors with respect to TB. Interestingly, only TB seemed to produce a deeper comprehension of the story's moral. Our results indicated that PC-IA offered a different type of learning that favored visual details. In this sense, interactive activities demonstrate certain limitations, probably due to information overabundance, emotional mobilization, emphasis on images and effort exerted in interactive activities. Thus, interactive activities, although entertaining, act as disruptive elements which interfere with verbal memory and deep moral comprehension.

Reading a Story: Different Degrees of Learning in Different Learning Environments

PubMed Central

Giannini, Anna Maria; Cordellieri, Pierluigi; Piccardi, Laura

2017-01-01

The learning environment in which material is acquired may produce differences in delayed recall and in the elements that individuals focus on. These differences may appear even during development. In the present study, we compared three different learning environments in 450 normally developing 7-year-old children subdivided into three groups according to the type of learning environment. Specifically, children were asked to learn the same material shown in three different learning environments: reading illustrated books (TB); interacting with the same text displayed on a PC monitor and enriched with interactive activities (PC-IA); reading the same text on a PC monitor but not enriched with interactive narratives (PC-NoIA). Our results demonstrated that TB and PC-NoIA elicited better verbal memory recall. In contrast, PC-IA and PC-NoIA produced higher scores for visuo-spatial memory, enhancing memory for spatial relations, positions and colors with respect to TB. Interestingly, only TB seemed to produce a deeper comprehension of the story’s moral. Our results indicated that PC-IA offered a different type of learning that favored visual details. In this sense, interactive activities demonstrate certain limitations, probably due to information overabundance, emotional mobilization, emphasis on images and effort exerted in interactive activities. Thus, interactive activities, although entertaining, act as disruptive elements which interfere with verbal memory and deep moral comprehension. PMID:29085296

A Matter of Balance: Motor Control is Related to Children’s Spatial and Proportional Reasoning Skills

PubMed Central

Frick, Andrea; Möhring, Wenke

2016-01-01

Recent research has shown close links between spatial and mathematical thinking and between spatial abilities and motor skills. However, longitudinal research examining the relations between motor, spatial, and mathematical skills is rare, and the nature of these relations remains unclear. The present study thus investigated the relation between children’s motor control and their spatial and proportional reasoning. We measured 6-year-olds’ spatial scaling (i.e., the ability to reason about different-sized spaces), their mental transformation skills, and their ability to balance on one leg as an index for motor control. One year later (N = 126), we tested the same children’s understanding of proportions. We also assessed several control variables (verbal IQ and socio-economic status) as well as inhibitory control, visuo-spatial and verbal working memory. Stepwise hierarchical regressions showed that, after accounting for effects of control variables, children’s balance skills significantly increased the explained variance in their spatial performance and proportional reasoning. Our results suggest specific relations between balance skills and spatial as well as proportional reasoning skills that cannot be explained by general differences in executive functioning or intelligence. PMID:26793157

Exploring biased attention towards body-related stimuli and its relationship with body awareness.

PubMed

Salvato, Gerardo; De Maio, Gabriele; Bottini, Gabriella

2017-12-08

Stimuli of great social relevance exogenously capture attention. Here we explored the impact of body-related stimuli on endogenous attention. Additionally, we investigate the influence of internal states on biased attention towards this class of stimuli. Participants were presented with a body, face, or chair cue to hold in memory (Memory task) or to merely attend (Priming task) and, subsequently, they were asked to find a circle in an unrelated visual search task. In the valid condition, the circle was flanked by the cue. In the invalid condition, the pre-cued picture re-appeared flanking the distracter. In the neutral condition, the cue item did not re-appear in the search display. We found that although bodies and faces benefited from a general faster visual processing compared to chairs, holding them in memory did not produce any additional advantage on attention compared to when they are merely attended. Furthermore, face cues generated larger orienting effect compared to body and chairs cues in both Memory and Priming task. Importantly, results showed that individual sensitivity to internal bodily responses predicted the magnitude of the memory-based orienting of attention to bodies, shedding new light on the relationship between body awareness and visuo-spatial attention.

The influence of visual ability on learning and memory performance in 13 strains of mice.

PubMed

Brown, Richard E; Wong, Aimée A

2007-03-01

We calculated visual ability in 13 strains of mice (129SI/Sv1mJ, A/J, AKR/J, BALB/cByJ, C3H/HeJ, C57BL/6J, CAST/EiJ, DBA/2J, FVB/NJ, MOLF/EiJ, SJL/J, SM/J, and SPRET/EiJ) on visual detection, pattern discrimination, and visual acuity and tested these and other mice of the same strains in a behavioral test battery that evaluated visuo-spatial learning and memory, conditioned odor preference, and motor learning. Strain differences in visual acuity accounted for a significant proportion of the variance between strains in measures of learning and memory in the Morris water maze. Strain differences in motor learning performance were not influenced by visual ability. Conditioned odor preference was enhanced in mice with visual defects. These results indicate that visual ability must be accounted for when testing for strain differences in learning and memory in mice because differences in performance in many tasks may be due to visual deficits rather than differences in higher order cognitive functions. These results have significant implications for the search for the neural and genetic basis of learning and memory in mice.

Impaired Processing of Serial Order Determines Working Memory Impairments in Alzheimer's Disease.

PubMed

De Belder, Maya; Santens, Patrick; Sieben, Anne; Fias, Wim

2017-01-01

Working memory (WM) problems are commonly observed in Alzheimer's disease (AD), but the affected mechanisms leading to impaired WM are still insufficiently understood. The ability to efficiently process serial order in WM has been demonstrated to be fundamental to fluent daily life functioning. The decreased capability to mentally process serial position in WM has been put forward as the underlying explanation for generally compromised WM performance. Determine which mechanisms, such as order processing, are responsible for deficient WM functioning in AD. A group of AD patients (n = 32) and their partners (n = 25), assigned to the control group, were submitted to an extensive battery of neuropsychological and experimental tasks, assessing general cognitive state and functioning of several aspects related to serial order WM. The results revealed an impaired ability to bind item information to serial position within WM in AD patients compared to controls. It was additionally observed that AD patients experienced specific difficulties with directing spatial attention when searching for item information stored in WM. The processing of serial order and the allocation of attentional resources are both disrupted, explaining the generally reduced WM functioning in AD patients. Further studies should now clarify whether this observation could explain disease-related problems for other cognitive functions such as verbal expression, auditory comprehension, or planning.

How Does the Sparse Memory “Engram” Neurons Encode the Memory of a Spatial–Temporal Event?

PubMed Central

Guan, Ji-Song; Jiang, Jun; Xie, Hong; Liu, Kai-Yuan

2016-01-01

Episodic memory in human brain is not a fixed 2-D picture but a highly dynamic movie serial, integrating information at both the temporal and the spatial domains. Recent studies in neuroscience reveal that memory storage and recall are closely related to the activities in discrete memory engram (trace) neurons within the dentate gyrus region of hippocampus and the layer 2/3 of neocortex. More strikingly, optogenetic reactivation of those memory trace neurons is able to trigger the recall of naturally encoded memory. It is still unknown how the discrete memory traces encode and reactivate the memory. Considering a particular memory normally represents a natural event, which consists of information at both the temporal and spatial domains, it is unknown how the discrete trace neurons could reconstitute such enriched information in the brain. Furthermore, as the optogenetic-stimuli induced recall of memory did not depend on firing pattern of the memory traces, it is most likely that the spatial activation pattern, but not the temporal activation pattern of the discrete memory trace neurons encodes the memory in the brain. How does the neural circuit convert the activities in the spatial domain into the temporal domain to reconstitute memory of a natural event? By reviewing the literature, here we present how the memory engram (trace) neurons are selected and consolidated in the brain. Then, we will discuss the main challenges in the memory trace theory. In the end, we will provide a plausible model of memory trace cell network, underlying the conversion of neural activities between the spatial domain and the temporal domain. We will also discuss on how the activation of sparse memory trace neurons might trigger the replay of neural activities in specific temporal patterns. PMID:27601979

Re-assessing acalculia: Distinguishing spatial and purely arithmetical deficits in right-hemisphere damaged patients.

PubMed

Benavides-Varela, S; Piva, D; Burgio, F; Passarini, L; Rolma, G; Meneghello, F; Semenza, C

2017-03-01

Arithmetical deficits in right-hemisphere damaged patients have been traditionally considered secondary to visuo-spatial impairments, although the exact relationship between the two deficits has rarely been assessed. The present study implemented a voxelwise lesion analysis among 30 right-hemisphere damaged patients and a controlled, matched-sample, cross-sectional analysis with 35 cognitively normal controls regressing three composite cognitive measures on standardized numerical measures. The results showed that patients and controls significantly differ in Number comprehension, Transcoding, and Written operations, particularly subtractions and multiplications. The percentage of patients performing below the cutoffs ranged between 27% and 47% across these tasks. Spatial errors were associated with extensive lesions in fronto-temporo-parietal regions -which frequently lead to neglect- whereas pure arithmetical errors appeared related to more confined lesions in the right angular gyrus and its proximity. Stepwise regression models consistently revealed that spatial errors were primarily predicted by composite measures of visuo-spatial attention/neglect and representational abilities. Conversely, specific errors of arithmetic nature linked to representational abilities only. Crucially, the proportion of arithmetical errors (ranging from 65% to 100% across tasks) was higher than that of spatial ones. These findings thus suggest that unilateral right hemisphere lesions can directly affect core numerical/arithmetical processes, and that right-hemisphere acalculia is not only ascribable to visuo-spatial deficits as traditionally thought. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Innovative testing of spatial ability: interactive responding and the use of complex stimuli material.

PubMed

Jelínek, Martin; Květon, Petr; Vobořil, Dalibor

2015-02-01

Despite initial expectations, which have emerged with the advancement of computer technology over the last decade of the twentieth century, scientific literature does not contain many relevant references regarding the development and use of innovative items in psychological testing. Our study presents and evaluates two novel item types. One item type is derived from a standard schematic test item used for the assessment of the spatial perception aspect of spatial ability, enhanced by an interactive response module. The performance on this item type is correlated with the performance on its paper and pencil counterpart. The other innovative item type used complex stimuli in the form of a short video of a ride through a city presented in an on-route perspective, which is intended to measure navigation skills and the ability to keep oneself oriented in space. In this case, the scores were related to the capacity of visuo-spatial working memory and also to the overall score in the paper/pencil test of spatial ability. The second relationship was moderated by gender.

Benefits of virtual reality based cognitive rehabilitation through simulated activities of daily living: a randomized controlled trial with stroke patients.

PubMed

Faria, Ana Lúcia; Andrade, Andreia; Soares, Luísa; I Badia, Sergi Bermúdez

2016-11-02

Stroke is one of the most common causes of acquired disability, leaving numerous adults with cognitive and motor impairments, and affecting patients' capability to live independently. There is substancial evidence on post-stroke cognitive rehabilitation benefits, but its implementation is generally limited by the use of paper-and-pencil methods, insufficient personalization, and suboptimal intensity. Virtual reality tools have shown potential for improving cognitive rehabilitation by supporting carefully personalized, ecologically valid tasks through accessible technologies. Notwithstanding important progress in VR-based cognitive rehabilitation systems, specially with Activities of Daily Living (ADL's) simulations, there is still a need of more clinical trials for its validation. In this work we present a one-month randomized controlled trial with 18 stroke in and outpatients from two rehabilitation units: 9 performing a VR-based intervention and 9 performing conventional rehabilitation. The VR-based intervention involved a virtual simulation of a city - Reh@City - where memory, attention, visuo-spatial abilities and executive functions tasks are integrated in the performance of several daily routines. The intervention had levels of difficulty progression through a method of fading cues. There was a pre and post-intervention assessment in both groups with the Addenbrooke Cognitive Examination (primary outcome) and the Trail Making Test A and B, Picture Arrangement from WAIS III and Stroke Impact Scale 3.0 (secondary outcomes). A within groups analysis revealed significant improvements in global cognitive functioning, attention, memory, visuo-spatial abilities, executive functions, emotion and overall recovery in the VR group. The control group only improved in self-reported memory and social participation. A between groups analysis, showed significantly greater improvements in global cognitive functioning, attention and executive functions when comparing VR to conventional therapy. Our results suggest that cognitive rehabilitation through the Reh@City, an ecologically valid VR system for the training of ADL's, has more impact than conventional methods. This trial was not registered because it is a small sample study that evaluates the clinical validity of a prototype virtual reality system.

Evidence of Anticipatory Eye Movements in the Spatial Hebb Repetition Effect: Insights for Modeling Sequence Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tremblay, Sebastien; Saint-Aubin, Jean

2009-01-01

In the present study, the authors offer a window onto the mechanisms that drive the Hebb repetition effect through the analysis of eye movement and recall performance. In a spatial serial recall task in which sequences of dots are to be remembered in order, when one particular series is repeated every 4 trials, memory performance markedly improves…

Fundamental movement skills and balance of children with Down syndrome.

PubMed

Capio, C M; Mak, T C T; Tse, M A; Masters, R S W

2018-03-01

Conclusive evidence supports the importance of fundamental movement skills (FMS) proficiency in promoting physical activity and countering obesity. In children with Down Syndrome (DS), FMS development is delayed, which has been suggested to be associated with balance deficits. This study therefore examined the relationship between FMS proficiency and balance ability in children with DS, with the aim of contributing evidence to programmes that address FMS delay. Participants consisted of 20 children with DS (7.1 ± 2.9 years old) and an age-matched control group of children with typical development (7.25 ± 2.5 years). In the first part of the study, FMS (i.e. locomotor and object control) proficiency of the children was tested using the Test of Gross Motor Development-2. Balance ability was assessed using a force platform to measure centre of pressure average velocity (AV; mm/sec), path length (mm), medio-lateral standard deviation (mm) and antero-posterior standard deviation (mm). In the second part of the study, children with DS participated in 5 weeks of FMS training. FMS proficiency and balance ability were tested post-training and compared to pre-training scores. Verbal and visuo-spatial short-term memory capacities were measured at pre-training to verify the role of working memory in skill learning. FMS proficiency was associated with centre of pressure parameters in children with DS but not in children with typical development. After controlling for age, AV was found to predict significant variance in locomotor (R 2  = 0.61, P < 0.001) and object control (R 2  = 0.69, P < 0.001) scores. FMS proficiency and mastery improved after FMS training, as did AV, path length and antero-posterior standard deviation (all P < 0.05). Verbal and visuo-spatial short-term memory did not interact with the effects of training. Children with DS who have better balance ability tend to have more proficient FMS. Skill-specific training improved not only FMS sub-skills but static balance stability as well. Working memory did not play a role in the changes caused by skills training. Future research should examine the causal relationship between balance and FMS. © 2017 MENCAP and International Association of the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The functional role of dorso-lateral premotor cortex during mental rotation: an event-related fMRI study separating cognitive processing steps using a novel task paradigm.

PubMed

Lamm, Claus; Windischberger, Christian; Moser, Ewald; Bauer, Herbert

2007-07-15

Subjects deciding whether two objects presented at angular disparity are identical or mirror versions of each other usually show response times that linearly increase with the angle between objects. This phenomenon has been termed mental rotation. While there is widespread agreement that parietal cortex plays a dominant role in mental rotation, reports concerning the involvement of motor areas are less consistent. From a theoretical point of view, activation in motor areas suggests that mental rotation relies upon visuo-motor rather than visuo-spatial processing alone. However, the type of information that is processed by motor areas during mental rotation remains unclear. In this study we used event-related fMRI to assess whether activation in parietal and dorsolateral premotor areas (dPM) during mental rotation is distinctively related to processing spatial orientation information. Using a newly developed task paradigm we explicitly separated the processing steps (encoding, mental rotation proper and object matching) required by mental rotation tasks and additionally modulated the amount of spatial orientation information that had to be processed. Our results show that activation in dPM during mental rotation is not strongly modulated by the processing of spatial orientation information, and that activation in dPM areas is strongest during mental rotation proper. The latter finding suggests that dPM is involved in more generalized processes such as visuo-spatial attention and movement anticipation. We propose that solving mental rotation tasks is heavily dependent upon visuo-motor processes and evokes neural processing that may be considered as an implicit simulation of actual object rotation.

Gaze-based rehearsal in children under 7: a developmental investigation of eye movements during a serial spatial memory task.

PubMed

Morey, Candice C; Mareva, Silvana; Lelonkiewicz, Jaroslaw R; Chevalier, Nicolas

2018-05-01

The emergence of strategic verbal rehearsal at around 7 years of age is widely considered a major milestone in descriptions of the development of short-term memory across childhood. Likewise, rehearsal is believed by many to be a crucial factor in explaining why memory improves with age. This apparent qualitative shift in mnemonic processes has also been characterized as a shift from passive visual to more active verbal mnemonic strategy use, but no investigation of the development of overt spatial rehearsal has informed this explanation. We measured serial spatial order reconstruction in adults and groups of children 5-7 years old and 8-11 years old, while recording their eye movements. Children, particularly the youngest children, overtly fixated late-list spatial positions longer than adults, suggesting that younger children are less likely to engage in covert rehearsal during stimulus presentation than older children and adults. However, during retention the youngest children overtly fixated more of the to-be-remembered sequences than any other group, which is inconsistent with the idea that children do nothing to try to remember. Altogether, these data are inconsistent with the notion that children under 7 do not engage in any attempts to remember. They are most consistent with proposals that children's style of remembering shifts around age 7 from reactive cue-driven methods to proactive, covert methods, which may include cumulative rehearsal. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Response strategies in list learning by orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus x P. abelii).

PubMed

Swartz, Karyl B; Himmanen, Sharon A; Shumaker, Robert W

2007-08-01

Rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) develop strategies to acquire and execute serial lists (K. B. Swartz & S. A. Himmanen, 2001). Serial probe recognition studies of list memory have demonstrated similarities across monkeys and humans (S. F. Sands & A. A. Wright, 1980). The present study extended the investigation of list learning and memory to determine whether orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus x P. abelii) would show evidence of subjective organization of photographic lists in a manner similar to that shown by humans learning a list of unrelated words (E. Tulving, 1962). No evidence for the effective use of a subjective organization strategy was found, but the orangutans developed a right-to-left spatial response strategy, which emerged during the acquisition of 5-item lists. This strategy was an effective way to reduce the load on working memory when presented with a complex array of items.

High-Performance Computation of Distributed-Memory Parallel 3D Voronoi and Delaunay Tessellation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Peterka, Tom; Morozov, Dmitriy; Phillips, Carolyn

2014-11-14

Computing a Voronoi or Delaunay tessellation from a set of points is a core part of the analysis of many simulated and measured datasets: N-body simulations, molecular dynamics codes, and LIDAR point clouds are just a few examples. Such computational geometry methods are common in data analysis and visualization; but as the scale of simulations and observations surpasses billions of particles, the existing serial and shared-memory algorithms no longer suffice. A distributed-memory scalable parallel algorithm is the only feasible approach. The primary contribution of this paper is a new parallel Delaunay and Voronoi tessellation algorithm that automatically determines which neighbormore » points need to be exchanged among the subdomains of a spatial decomposition. Other contributions include periodic and wall boundary conditions, comparison of our method using two popular serial libraries, and application to numerous science datasets.« less

Visuospatial bootstrapping: Binding useful visuospatial information during verbal working memory encoding does not require set-shifting executive resources.

PubMed

Calia, Clara; Darling, Stephen; Havelka, Jelena; Allen, Richard J

2018-05-01

Immediate serial recall of digits is better when the digits are shown by highlighting them in a familiar array, such as a phone keypad, compared with presenting them serially in a single location, a pattern referred to as "visuospatial bootstrapping." This pattern implies the establishment of temporary links between verbal and spatial working memory, alongside access to information in long-term memory. However, the role of working memory control processes like those implied by the "Central Executive" in bootstrapping has not been directly investigated. Here, we report a study addressing this issue, focusing on executive processes of attentional shifting. Tasks in which information has to be sequenced are thought to be heavily dependent on shifting. Memory for digits presented in keypads versus single locations was assessed under two secondary task load conditions, one with and one without a sequencing requirement, and hence differing in the degree to which they invoke shifting. Results provided clear evidence that multimodal binding (visuospatial bootstrapping) can operate independently of this form of executive control process.

A foundation for savantism? Visuo-spatial synaesthetes present with cognitive benefits.

PubMed

Simner, Julia; Mayo, Neil; Spiller, Mary-Jane

2009-01-01

Individuals with 'time-space' synaesthesia have conscious awareness of mappings between time and space (e.g., they may see months arranged in an ellipse, or years as columns or spirals). These mappings exist in the 3D space around the body or in a virtual space within the mind's eye. Our study shows that these extra-ordinary mappings derive from, or give rise to, superior abilities in the two domains linked by this cross-modal phenomenon (i.e., abilities relating to time, and visualised space). We tested ten time-space synaesthetes with a battery of temporal and visual/spatial tests. Our temporal battery (the Edinburgh [Public and Autobiographical] Events Battery - EEB) assessed both autobiographical and non-autobiographical memory for events. Our visual/spatial tests assessed the ability to manipulate real or imagined objects in 3D space (the Three Dimensional Constructional Praxis test; Visual Object and Space Perception Battery, University of Southern California Mental Rotation Test) as well as assessing visual memory recall (Visual Patterns Test - VPT). Synaesthetes' performance was superior to the control population in every assessment, but was not superior in tasks that do not draw upon abilities related to their mental calendars. Our paper discusses the implications of this temporal-spatial advantage as it relates to normal processing, synaesthetic processing, and to the savant-like condition of hyperthymestic syndrome (Parker et al., 2006).

The development of creative cognition across adolescence: distinct trajectories for insight and divergent thinking.

PubMed

Kleibeuker, Sietske W; De Dreu, Carsten K W; Crone, Eveline A

2013-01-01

We examined developmental trajectories of creative cognition across adolescence. Participants (N = 98), divided into four age groups (12/13 yrs, 15/16 yrs, 18/19 yrs, and 25-30 yrs), were subjected to a battery of tasks gauging creative insight (visual; verbal) and divergent thinking (verbal; visuo-spatial). The two older age groups outperformed the two younger age groups on insight tasks. The 25-30-year-olds outperformed the two youngest age groups on the originality measure of verbal divergent thinking. No age-group differences were observed for verbal divergent thinking fluency and flexibility. On divergent thinking in the visuo-spatial domain, however, only 15/16-year-olds outperformed 12/13-year-olds; a model with peak performance for 15/16-years-old showed the best fit. The results for the different creativity processes are discussed in relation to cognitive and related neurobiological models. We conclude that mid-adolescence is a period of not only immaturities but also of creative potentials in the visuo-spatial domain, possibly related to developing control functions and explorative behavior. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

A comparative study of working memory: immediate serial spatial recall in baboons (Papio papio) and humans.

PubMed

Fagot, Joël; De Lillo, Carlo

2011-12-01

Two experiments assessed if non-human primates can be meaningfully compared to humans in a non-verbal test of serial recall. A procedure was used that was derived from variations of the Corsi test, designed to test the effects of sequence structure and movement path length in humans. Two baboons were tested in Experiment 1. The monkeys showed several attributes of human serial recall. These included an easier recall of sequences with a shorter number of items and of sequences characterized by a shorter path length when the number of items was kept constant. However, the accuracy and speed of processing did not indicate that the monkeys were able to benefit from the spatiotemporal structure of sequences. Humans tested in Experiment 2 showed a quantitatively longer memory span, and, in contrast with monkeys, benefitted from sequence structure. The results are discussed in relation to differences in how human and non-human primates segment complex visual patterns. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effectiveness of a computerised working memory training in adolescents with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities.

PubMed

Van der Molen, M J; Van Luit, J E H; Van der Molen, M W; Klugkist, I; Jongmans, M J

2010-05-01

The goal of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a computerised working memory (WM) training on memory, response inhibition, fluid intelligence, scholastic abilities and the recall of stories in adolescents with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities attending special education. A total of 95 adolescents with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities were randomly assigned to either a training adaptive to each child's progress in WM, a non-adaptive WM training, or to a control group. Verbal short-term memory (STM) improved significantly from pre- to post-testing in the group who received the adaptive training compared with the control group. The beneficial effect on verbal STM was maintained at follow-up and other effects became clear at that time as well. Both the adaptive and non-adaptive WM training led to higher scores at follow-up than at post-intervention on visual STM, arithmetic and story recall compared with the control condition. In addition, the non-adaptive training group showed a significant increase in visuo-spatial WM capacity. The current study provides the first demonstration that WM can be effectively trained in adolescents with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities.

Measuring working memory capacity in children using adaptive tasks: Example validation of an adaptive complex span.

PubMed

Gonthier, Corentin; Aubry, Alexandre; Bourdin, Béatrice

2018-06-01

Working memory tasks designed for children usually present trials in order of ascending difficulty, with testing discontinued when the child fails a particular level. Unfortunately, this procedure comes with a number of issues, such as decreased engagement from high-ability children, vulnerability of the scores to temporary mind-wandering, and large between-subjects variations in number of trials, testing time, and proactive interference. To circumvent these problems, the goal of the present study was to demonstrate the feasibility of assessing working memory using an adaptive testing procedure. The principle of adaptive testing is to dynamically adjust the level of difficulty as the task progresses to match the participant's ability. We used this method to develop an adaptive complex span task (the ACCES) comprising verbal and visuo-spatial subtests. The task presents a fixed number of trials to all participants, allows for partial credit scoring, and can be used with children regardless of ability level. The ACCES demonstrated satisfying psychometric properties in a sample of 268 children aged 8-13 years, confirming the feasibility of using adaptive tasks to measure working memory capacity in children. A free-to-use implementation of the ACCES is provided.

Part-Set Cuing Facilitation for Spatial Information

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cole, Sydni M.; Reysen, Matthew B.; Kelley, Matthew R.

2013-01-01

Part-set cuing "inhibition" refers to the counterintuitive finding that hints--specifically, part of the set of to-be-remembered information--often impair memory performance in free recall tasks. Although inhibition is the most commonly reported result, part-set cuing "facilitation" has been shown with serial order tasks. The…

The effect of childhood trauma on spatial cognition in adults: a possible role of sex.

PubMed

Syal, Supriya; Ipser, Jonathan; Phillips, Nicole; Thomas, Kevin G F; van der Honk, Jack; Stein, Dan J

2014-06-01

Although animal evidence indicates that early life trauma results in pervasive hippocampal deficits underlying spatial and cognitive impairment, visuo-spatial data from adult humans with early childhood adversity are lacking. We administered 4 tests of visuo-spatial ability from the Cambridge Neuorpsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) to adults with a history of childhood trauma (measured by the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire) and a matched sample of healthy controls (trauma/control = 27/28). We observed a significant effect of trauma history on spatial/pattern learning. These effects could not be accounted for by adverse adult experiences, and were sex-specific, with prior adversity improving performance in men but worsening performance in women, relative to controls. Limitations include the small sample size and reliance of our study design on a retrospective, self report measure. Our results suggest that early adversity can lead to specific and pervasive deficits in adult cognitive function.

Visuospatial learning and memory in the Cebus apella and microglial morphology in the molecular layer of the dentate gyrus and CA1 lacunosum molecular layer.

PubMed

Santos-Filho, Carlos; de Lima, Camila M; Fôro, César A R; de Oliveira, Marcus A; Magalhães, Nara G M; Guerreiro-Diniz, Cristovam; Diniz, Daniel G; Vasconcelos, Pedro F da C; Diniz, Cristovam W P

2014-11-01

We investigated whether the morphology of microglia in the molecular layer of the dentate gyrus (DG-Mol) or in the lacunosum molecular layer of CA1 (CA1-LMol) was correlated with spatial learning and memory in the capuchin monkey (Cebus apella). Learning and memory was tested in 4 monkeys with visuo-spatial, paired associated learning (PAL) tasks from the Cambridge battery of neuropsychological tests. After testing, monkeys were sacrificed, and hippocampi were sectioned. We specifically immunolabeled microglia with an antibody against the adapter binding, ionized calcium protein. Microglia were selected from the middle and outer thirds of the DG-Mol (n=268) and the CA1-LMol (n=185) for three-dimensional reconstructions created with Neurolucida and Neuroexplorer software. Cluster and discriminant analyses, based on microglial morphometric parameters, identified two major morphological microglia phenotypes (types I and II) found in both the CA1-LMol and DG-Mol of all individuals. Compared to type II, type I microglia were significantly smaller, thinner, more tortuous and ramified, and less complex (lower fractal dimensions). PAL performance was both linearly and non-linearly correlated with type I microglial morphological features from the rostral and caudal DG-Mol, but not with microglia from the CA1-LMol. These differences in microglial morphology and correlations with PAL performance were consistent with previous proposals of hippocampal regional contributions for spatial learning and memory. Our results suggested that at least two morphological microglial phenotypes provided distinct physiological roles to learning-associated activity in the rostral and caudal DG-Mol of the monkey brain. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Symbol-string sensitivity and adult performance in lexical decision.

PubMed

Pammer, Kristen; Lavis, Ruth; Cooper, Charity; Hansen, Peter C; Cornelissen, Piers L

2005-09-01

In this study of adult readers, we used a symbol-string task to assess participants' sensitivity to the position of briefly presented, non-alphabetic but letter-like symbols. We found that sensitivity in this task explained a significant proportion of sample variance in visual lexical decision. Based on a number of controls, we show that this relationship cannot be explained by other factors including: chronological age, intelligence, speed of processing and/or concentration, short term memory consolidation, or fixation stability. This approach represents a new way to elucidate how, and to what extent, individual variation in pre-orthographic visual and cognitive processes impinge on reading skills, and the results suggest that limitations set by visuo-spatial processes constrain visual word recognition.

Effects of Hearing Status and Sign Language Use on Working Memory

PubMed Central

Sarchet, Thomastine; Trani, Alexandra

2016-01-01

Deaf individuals have been found to score lower than hearing individuals across a variety of memory tasks involving both verbal and nonverbal stimuli, particularly those requiring retention of serial order. Deaf individuals who are native signers, meanwhile, have been found to score higher on visual-spatial memory tasks than on verbal-sequential tasks and higher on some visual-spatial tasks than hearing nonsigners. However, hearing status and preferred language modality (signed or spoken) frequently are confounded in such studies. That situation is resolved in the present study by including deaf students who use spoken language and sign language interpreting students (hearing signers) as well as deaf signers and hearing nonsigners. Three complex memory span tasks revealed overall advantages for hearing signers and nonsigners over both deaf signers and deaf nonsigners on 2 tasks involving memory for verbal stimuli (letters). There were no differences among the groups on the task involving visual-spatial stimuli. The results are consistent with and extend recent findings concerning the effects of hearing status and language on memory and are discussed in terms of language modality, hearing status, and cognitive abilities among deaf and hearing individuals. PMID:26755684

Identifying Oneself with the Face of Someone Else Impairs the Egocentered Visuo-spatial Mechanisms: A New Double Mirror Paradigm to Study Self–other Distinction and Interaction

PubMed Central

Thirioux, Bérangère; Wehrmann, Moritz; Langbour, Nicolas; Jaafari, Nematollah; Berthoz, Alain

2016-01-01

Looking at our face in a mirror is one of the strongest phenomenological experiences of the Self in which we need to identify the face as reflected in the mirror as belonging to us. Recent behavioral and neuroimaging studies reported that self-face identification not only relies upon visual-mnemonic representation of one’s own face but also upon continuous updating and integration of visuo-tactile signals. Therefore, bodily self-consciousness plays a major role in self-face identification, with respect to interplay between unisensory and multisensory processing. However, if previous studies demonstrated that the integration of multisensory body-related signals contributes to the visual processing of one’s own face, there is so far no data regarding how self-face identification, inversely, contributes to bodily self-consciousness. In the present study, we tested whether self–other face identification impacts either the egocentered or heterocentered visuo-spatial mechanisms that are core processes of bodily self-consciousness and sustain self–other distinction. For that, we developed a new paradigm, named “Double Mirror.” This paradigm, consisting of a semi-transparent double mirror and computer-controlled Light Emitting Diodes, elicits self–other face merging illusory effect in ecologically more valid conditions, i.e., when participants are physically facing each other and interacting. Self-face identification was manipulated by exposing pairs of participants to an Interpersonal Visual Stimulation in which the reflection of their faces merged in the mirror. Participants simultaneously performed visuo-spatial and mental own-body transformation tasks centered on their own face (egocentered) or the face of their partner (heterocentered) in the pre- and post-stimulation phase. We show that self–other face identification altered the egocentered visuo-spatial mechanisms. Heterocentered coding was preserved. Our data suggest that changes in self-face identification induced a bottom-up conflict between the current visual representation and the stored mnemonic representation of one’s own face which, in turn, top-down impacted bodily self-consciousness. PMID:27610095

Face processing in chronic alcoholism: a specific deficit for emotional features.

PubMed

Maurage, P; Campanella, S; Philippot, P; Martin, S; de Timary, P

2008-04-01

It is well established that chronic alcoholism is associated with a deficit in the decoding of emotional facial expression (EFE). Nevertheless, it is still unclear whether this deficit is specifically for emotions or due to a more general impairment in visual or facial processing. This study was designed to clarify this issue using multiple control tasks and the subtraction method. Eighteen patients suffering from chronic alcoholism and 18 matched healthy control subjects were asked to perform several tasks evaluating (1) Basic visuo-spatial and facial identity processing; (2) Simple reaction times; (3) Complex facial features identification (namely age, emotion, gender, and race). Accuracy and reaction times were recorded. Alcoholic patients had a preserved performance for visuo-spatial and facial identity processing, but their performance was impaired for visuo-motor abilities and for the detection of complex facial aspects. More importantly, the subtraction method showed that alcoholism is associated with a specific EFE decoding deficit, still present when visuo-motor slowing down is controlled for. These results offer a post hoc confirmation of earlier data showing an EFE decoding deficit in alcoholism by strongly suggesting a specificity of this deficit for emotions. This may have implications for clinical situations, where emotional impairments are frequently observed among alcoholic subjects.

Music experience influences laparoscopic skills performance.

PubMed

Boyd, Tanner; Jung, Inkyung; Van Sickle, Kent; Schwesinger, Wayne; Michalek, Joel; Bingener, Juliane

2008-01-01

Music education affects the mathematical and visuo-spatial skills of school-age children. Visuo-spatial abilities have a significant effect on laparoscopic suturing performance. We hypothesize that prior music experience influences the performance of laparoscopic suturing tasks. Thirty novices observed a laparoscopic suturing task video. Each performed 3 timed suturing task trials. Demographics were recorded. A repeated measures linear mixed model was used to examine the effects of prior music experience on suturing task time. Twelve women and 18 men completed the tasks. When adjusted for video game experience, participants who currently played an instrument performed significantly faster than those who did not (P<0.001). The model showed a significant sex by instrument interaction. Men who had never played an instrument or were currently playing an instrument performed better than women in the same group (P=0.002 and P<0.001). There was no sex difference in the performance of participants who had played an instrument in the past (P=0.29). This study attempted to investigate the effect of music experience on the laparoscopic suturing abilities of surgical novices. The visuo-spatial abilities used in laparoscopic suturing may be enhanced in those involved in playing an instrument.

Hippocampal and posterior parietal contributions to developmental increases in visual short-term memory capacity.

PubMed

von Allmen, David Yoh; Wurmitzer, Karoline; Klaver, Peter

2014-10-01

Developmental increases in visual short-term memory (VSTM) capacity have been associated with changes in attention processing limitations and changes in neural activity within neural networks including the posterior parietal cortex (PPC). A growing body of evidence suggests that the hippocampus plays a role in VSTM, but it is unknown whether the hippocampus contributes to the capacity increase across development. We investigated the functional development of the hippocampus and PPC in 57 children, adolescents and adults (age 8-27 years) who performed a visuo-spatial change detection task. A negative relationship between age and VSTM related activity was found in the right posterior hippocampus that was paralleled by a positive age-activity relationship in the right PPC. In the posterior hippocampus, VSTM related activity predicted individual capacity in children, whereas neural activity in the right anterior hippocampus predicted individual capacity in adults. The findings provide first evidence that VSTM development is supported by an integrated neural network that involves hippocampal and posterior parietal regions.

Learning by observation: insights from Williams syndrome.

PubMed

Foti, Francesca; Menghini, Deny; Mandolesi, Laura; Federico, Francesca; Vicari, Stefano; Petrosini, Laura

2013-01-01

Observing another person performing a complex action accelerates the observer's acquisition of the same action and limits the time-consuming process of learning by trial and error. Observational learning makes an interesting and potentially important topic in the developmental domain, especially when disorders are considered. The implications of studies aimed at clarifying whether and how this form of learning is spared by pathology are manifold. We focused on a specific population with learning and intellectual disabilities, the individuals with Williams syndrome. The performance of twenty-eight individuals with Williams syndrome was compared with that of mental age- and gender-matched thirty-two typically developing children on tasks of learning of a visuo-motor sequence by observation or by trial and error. Regardless of the learning modality, acquiring the correct sequence involved three main phases: a detection phase, in which participants discovered the correct sequence and learned how to perform the task; an exercise phase, in which they reproduced the sequence until performance was error-free; an automatization phase, in which by repeating the error-free sequence they became accurate and speedy. Participants with Williams syndrome beneficiated of observational training (in which they observed an actor detecting the visuo-motor sequence) in the detection phase, while they performed worse than typically developing children in the exercise and automatization phases. Thus, by exploiting competencies learned by observation, individuals with Williams syndrome detected the visuo-motor sequence, putting into action the appropriate procedural strategies. Conversely, their impaired performances in the exercise phases appeared linked to impaired spatial working memory, while their deficits in automatization phases to deficits in processes increasing efficiency and speed of the response. Overall, observational experience was advantageous for acquiring competencies, since it primed subjects' interest in the actions to be performed and functioned as a catalyst for executed action.

Sleep benefits consolidation of visuo-motor adaptation learning in older adults.

PubMed

Mantua, Janna; Baran, Bengi; Spencer, Rebecca M C

2016-02-01

Sleep is beneficial for performance across a range of memory tasks in young adults, but whether memories are similarly consolidated in older adults is less clear. Performance benefits have been observed following sleep in older adults for declarative learning tasks, but this benefit may be reduced for non-declarative, motor skill learning tasks. To date, studies of sleep-dependent consolidation of motor learning in older adults are limited to motor sequence tasks. To examine whether reduced sleep-dependent consolidation in older adults is generalizable to other forms of motor skill learning, we examined performance changes over intervals of sleep and wake in young (n = 62) and older adults (n = 61) using a mirror-tracing task, which assesses visuo-motor adaptation learning. Participants learned the task either in the morning or in evening, and performance was assessed following a 12-h interval containing overnight sleep or daytime wake. Contrary to our prediction, both young adults and older adults exhibited sleep-dependent gains in visuo-motor adaptation. There was a correlation between performance improvement over sleep and percent of the night in non-REM stage 2 sleep. These results indicate that motor skill consolidation remains intact with increasing age although this relationship may be limited to specific forms of motor skill learning.

Manipulating Bodily Presence Affects Cross-Modal Spatial Attention: A Virtual-Reality-Based ERP Study.

PubMed

Harjunen, Ville J; Ahmed, Imtiaj; Jacucci, Giulio; Ravaja, Niklas; Spapé, Michiel M

2017-01-01

Earlier studies have revealed cross-modal visuo-tactile interactions in endogenous spatial attention. The current research used event-related potentials (ERPs) and virtual reality (VR) to identify how the visual cues of the perceiver's body affect visuo-tactile interaction in endogenous spatial attention and at what point in time the effect takes place. A bimodal oddball task with lateralized tactile and visual stimuli was presented in two VR conditions, one with and one without visible hands, and one VR-free control with hands in view. Participants were required to silently count one type of stimulus and ignore all other stimuli presented in irrelevant modality or location. The presence of hands was found to modulate early and late components of somatosensory and visual evoked potentials. For sensory-perceptual stages, the presence of virtual or real hands was found to amplify attention-related negativity on the somatosensory N140 and cross-modal interaction in somatosensory and visual P200. For postperceptual stages, an amplified N200 component was obtained in somatosensory and visual evoked potentials, indicating increased response inhibition in response to non-target stimuli. The effect of somatosensory, but not visual, N200 enhanced when the virtual hands were present. The findings suggest that bodily presence affects sustained cross-modal spatial attention between vision and touch and that this effect is specifically present in ERPs related to early- and late-sensory processing, as well as response inhibition, but do not affect later attention and memory-related P3 activity. Finally, the experiments provide commeasurable scenarios for the estimation of the signal and noise ratio to quantify effects related to the use of a head mounted display (HMD). However, despite valid a-priori reasons for fearing signal interference due to a HMD, we observed no significant drop in the robustness of our ERP measurements.

Manipulating Bodily Presence Affects Cross-Modal Spatial Attention: A Virtual-Reality-Based ERP Study

PubMed Central

Harjunen, Ville J.; Ahmed, Imtiaj; Jacucci, Giulio; Ravaja, Niklas; Spapé, Michiel M.

2017-01-01

Earlier studies have revealed cross-modal visuo-tactile interactions in endogenous spatial attention. The current research used event-related potentials (ERPs) and virtual reality (VR) to identify how the visual cues of the perceiver’s body affect visuo-tactile interaction in endogenous spatial attention and at what point in time the effect takes place. A bimodal oddball task with lateralized tactile and visual stimuli was presented in two VR conditions, one with and one without visible hands, and one VR-free control with hands in view. Participants were required to silently count one type of stimulus and ignore all other stimuli presented in irrelevant modality or location. The presence of hands was found to modulate early and late components of somatosensory and visual evoked potentials. For sensory-perceptual stages, the presence of virtual or real hands was found to amplify attention-related negativity on the somatosensory N140 and cross-modal interaction in somatosensory and visual P200. For postperceptual stages, an amplified N200 component was obtained in somatosensory and visual evoked potentials, indicating increased response inhibition in response to non-target stimuli. The effect of somatosensory, but not visual, N200 enhanced when the virtual hands were present. The findings suggest that bodily presence affects sustained cross-modal spatial attention between vision and touch and that this effect is specifically present in ERPs related to early- and late-sensory processing, as well as response inhibition, but do not affect later attention and memory-related P3 activity. Finally, the experiments provide commeasurable scenarios for the estimation of the signal and noise ratio to quantify effects related to the use of a head mounted display (HMD). However, despite valid a-priori reasons for fearing signal interference due to a HMD, we observed no significant drop in the robustness of our ERP measurements. PMID:28275346

Further evidence that similar principles govern recall from episodic and semantic memory: the Canadian prime ministerial serial position function.

PubMed

Neath, Ian; Saint-Aubin, Jean

2011-06-01

The serial position function, with its characteristic primacy and recency effects, is one of the most ubiquitous findings in episodic memory tasks. In contrast, there are only two demonstrations of such functions in tasks thought to tap semantic memory. Here, we provide a third demonstration, showing that free recall of the prime ministers of Canada also results in a serial position function. Scale Independent Memory, Perception, and Learning (SIMPLE), a local distinctiveness model of memory that was designed to account for serial position effects in episodic memory, fit the data. According to SIMPLE, serial position functions observed in episodic and semantic memory all reflect the relative distinctiveness principle: items will be well remembered to the extent that they are more distinct than competing items at the time of retrieval. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved).

Functional anatomy of visuo-spatial working memory during mental rotation is influenced by sex, menstrual cycle, and sex steroid hormones.

PubMed

Schöning, S; Engelien, A; Kugel, H; Schäfer, S; Schiffbauer, H; Zwitserlood, P; Pletziger, E; Beizai, P; Kersting, A; Ohrmann, P; Greb, R R; Lehmann, W; Heindel, W; Arolt, V; Konrad, C

2007-11-05

Recent observations indicate that sex and level of steroid hormones may influence cortical networks associated with specific cognitive functions, in particular visuo-spatial abilities. The present study probed the influence of sex, menstrual cycle, and sex steroid hormones on 3D mental rotation and brain function using 3-T fMRI. Twelve healthy women and 12 men were investigated. Menstrual cycle and hormone levels were assessed. The early follicular and midluteal phase of the menstrual cycle were chosen to examine short-term cyclical changes. Parietal and frontal areas were activated during mental rotation in both sexes. Significant differences between men and women were revealed in both phases of menstrual cycle. In men we observed a significant correlation of activation levels with testosterone levels in the left parietal lobe (BA 40). In women, a cycle-dependent correlation pattern was observed for testosterone: brain activation correlated with this male hormone only during the early follicular phase. In both cycle phases females' brain activation was significantly correlated with estradiol in frontal and parietal areas. Our study provides evidence that fMRI-related activity during performance of cognitive tasks varies across sex and phases of the menstrual cycle. The variation might be partly explained by better task performance in men, but our results indicate that further explanations like basic neuronal or neurovascular effects modulated by steroid hormones must be considered. Both estradiol and testosterone levels may influence fMRI signals of cognitive tasks, which should affect selection of subjects for future fMRI studies.

Relationships between hand laterality and verbal and spatial skills in 436 healthy adults balanced for handedness.

PubMed

Mellet, E; Jobard, G; Zago, L; Crivello, F; Petit, L; Joliot, M; Mazoyer, B; Tzourio-Mazoyer, N

2014-01-01

The relationship between manual laterality and cognitive skills remains highly controversial. Some studies have reported that strongly lateralised participants had higher cognitive performance in verbal and visuo-spatial domains compared to non-lateralised participants; however, others found the opposite. Moreover, some have suggested that familial sinistrality and sex might interact with individual laterality factors to alter cognitive skills. The present study addressed these issues in 237 right-handed and 199 left-handed individuals. Performance tests covered various aspects of verbal and spatial cognition. A principal component analysis yielded two verbal and one spatial factor scores. Participant laterality assessments included handedness, manual preference strength, asymmetry of motor performance, and familial sinistrality. Age, sex, education level, and brain volume were also considered. No effect of handedness was found, but the mean factor scores in verbal and spatial domains increased with right asymmetry in motor performance. Performance was reduced in participants with a familial history of left-handedness combined with a non-maximal preference strength in the dominant hand. These results elucidated some discrepancies among previous findings in laterality factors and cognitive skills. Laterality factors had small effects compared to the adverse effects of age for spatial cognition and verbal memory, the positive effects of education for all three domains, and the effect of sex for spatial cognition.

Spatialization in working memory is related to literacy and reading direction: Culture "literarily" directs our thoughts.

PubMed

Guida, Alessandro; Megreya, Ahmed M; Lavielle-Guida, Magali; Noël, Yvonnick; Mathy, Fabien; van Dijck, Jean-Philippe; Abrahamse, Elger

2018-06-01

The ability to maintain arbitrary sequences of items in the mind contributes to major cognitive faculties, such as language, reasoning, and episodic memory. Previous research suggests that serial order working memory is grounded in the brain's spatial attention system. In the present study, we show that the spatially defined mental organization of novel item sequences is related to literacy and varies as a function of reading/writing direction. Specifically, three groups (left-to-right Western readers, right-to-left Arabic readers, and Arabic-speaking illiterates) were asked to memorize random (and non-spatial) sequences of color patches and determine whether a subsequent probe was part of the memorized sequence (e.g., press left key) or not (e.g., press right key). The results showed that Western readers mentally organized the sequences from left to right, Arabic readers spontaneously used the opposite direction, and Arabic-speaking illiterates showed no systematic spatial organization. This finding suggests that cultural conventions shape one of the most "fluid" aspects of human cognition, namely, the spontaneous mental organization of novel non-spatial information. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Order information in verbal working memory shifts the subjective midpoint in both the line bisection and the landmark tasks.

PubMed

Antoine, Sophie; Ranzini, Mariagrazia; Gebuis, Titia; van Dijck, Jean-Philippe; Gevers, Wim

2017-10-01

A largely substantiated view in the domain of working memory is that the maintenance of serial order is achieved by generating associations of each item with an independent representation of its position, so-called position markers. Recent studies reported that the ordinal position of an item in verbal working memory interacts with spatial processing. This suggests that position markers might be spatial in nature. However, these interactions were so far observed in tasks implying a clear binary categorization of space (i.e., with left and right responses or targets). Such binary categorizations leave room for alternative interpretations, such as congruency between non-spatial categorical codes for ordinal position (e.g., begin and end) and spatial categorical codes for response (e.g., left and right). Here we discard this interpretation by providing evidence that this interaction can also be observed in a task that draws upon a continuous processing of space, the line bisection task. Specifically, bisections are modulated by ordinal position in verbal working memory, with lines bisected more towards the right after retrieving items from the end compared to the beginning of the memorized sequence. This supports the idea that position markers are intrinsically spatial in nature.

Inferior frontal oscillations reveal visuo-motor matching for actions and speech: evidence from human intracranial recordings.

PubMed

Halje, Pär; Seeck, Margitta; Blanke, Olaf; Ionta, Silvio

2015-12-01

The neural correspondence between the systems responsible for the execution and recognition of actions has been suggested both in humans and non-human primates. Apart from being a key region of this visuo-motor observation-execution matching (OEM) system, the human inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) is also important for speech production. The functional overlap of visuo-motor OEM and speech, together with the phylogenetic history of the IFG as a motor area, has led to the idea that speech function has evolved from pre-existing motor systems and to the hypothesis that an OEM system may exist also for speech. However, visuo-motor OEM and speech OEM have never been compared directly. We used electrocorticography to analyze oscillations recorded from intracranial electrodes in human fronto-parieto-temporal cortex during visuo-motor (executing or visually observing an action) and speech OEM tasks (verbally describing an action using the first or third person pronoun). The results show that neural activity related to visuo-motor OEM is widespread in the frontal, parietal, and temporal regions. Speech OEM also elicited widespread responses partly overlapping with visuo-motor OEM sites (bilaterally), including frontal, parietal, and temporal regions. Interestingly a more focal region, the inferior frontal gyrus (bilaterally), showed both visuo-motor OEM and speech OEM properties independent of orolingual speech-unrelated movements. Building on the methodological advantages in human invasive electrocorticography, the present findings provide highly precise spatial and temporal information to support the existence of a modality-independent action representation system in the human brain that is shared between systems for performing, interpreting and describing actions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Acute stress differentially affects spatial configuration learning in high and low cortisol-responding healthy adults

PubMed Central

Meyer, Thomas; Smeets, Tom; Giesbrecht, Timo; Quaedflieg, Conny W. E. M.; Merckelbach, Harald

2013-01-01

Background Stress and stress hormones modulate memory formation in various ways that are relevant to our understanding of stress-related psychopathology, such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Particular relevance is attributed to efficient memory formation sustained by the hippocampus and parahippocampus. This process is thought to reduce the occurrence of intrusions and flashbacks following trauma, but may be negatively affected by acute stress. Moreover, recent evidence suggests that the efficiency of visuo-spatial processing and learning based on the hippocampal area is related to PTSD symptoms. Objective The current study investigated the effect of acute stress on spatial configuration learning using a spatial contextual cueing task (SCCT) known to heavily rely on structures in the parahippocampus. Method Acute stress was induced by subjecting participants (N = 34) to the Maastricht Acute Stress Test (MAST). Following a counterbalanced within-subject approach, the effects of stress and the ensuing hormonal (i.e., cortisol) activity on subsequent SCCT performance were compared to SCCT performance following a no-stress control condition. Results Acute stress did not impact SCCT learning overall, but opposing effects emerged for high versus low cortisol responders to the MAST. Learning scores following stress were reduced in low cortisol responders, while high cortisol-responding participants showed improved learning. Conclusions The effects of stress on spatial configuration learning were moderated by the magnitude of endogenous cortisol secretion. These findings suggest a possible mechanism by which cortisol responses serve an adaptive function during stress and trauma, and this may prove to be a promising route for future research in this area. PMID:23671762

Selective white matter pathology induces a specific impairment in spatial working memory.

PubMed

Coltman, Robin; Spain, Aisling; Tsenkina, Yanina; Fowler, Jill H; Smith, Jessica; Scullion, Gillian; Allerhand, Mike; Scott, Fiona; Kalaria, Rajesh N; Ihara, Masafumi; Daumas, Stephanie; Deary, Ian J; Wood, Emma; McCulloch, James; Horsburgh, Karen

2011-12-01

The integrity of the white matter is critical in regulating efficient neuronal communication and maintaining cognitive function. Damage to brain white matter putatively contributes to age-related cognitive decline. There is a growing interest in animal models from which the mechanistic basis of white matter pathology in aging can be elucidated but to date there has been a lack of systematic behavior and pathology in the same mice. Anatomically widespread, diffuse white matter damage was induced, in 3 different cohorts of C57Bl/6J mice, by chronic hypoperfusion produced by bilateral carotid stenosis. A comprehensive assessment of spatial memory (spatial reference learning and memory; cohort 1) and serial spatial learning and memory (cohort 2) using the water maze, and spatial working memory (cohort 3) using the 8-arm radial arm maze, was conducted. In parallel, a systematic assessment of white matter components (myelin, axon, glia) was conducted using immunohistochemical markers (myelin-associated glycoprotein [MAG], degraded myelin basic protein [dMBP], anti-amyloid precursor protein [APP], anti-ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule [Iba-1]). Ischemic neuronal perikarya damage, assessed using histology (hematoxylin and eosin; H&E), was absent in all shams but was present in some hypoperfused mice (2/11 in cohort 1, 4/14 in cohort 2, and 17/24 in cohort 3). All animals with neuronal perikaryal damage were excluded from further study. Diffuse white matter damage occurred, throughout the brain, in all hypoperfused mice in each cohort and was essentially absent in sham-operated controls. There was a selective impairment in spatial working memory, with all other measures of spatial memory remaining intact, in hypoperfused mice with selective white matter damage. The results demonstrate that diffuse white matter pathology, in the absence of gray matter damage, induces a selective impairment of spatial working memory. This highlights the importance of assessing parallel pathology and behavior in the same mice. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Language skills and nonverbal cognitive processes associated with reading comprehension in deaf children.

PubMed

Daza, María Teresa; Phillips-Silver, Jessica; Ruiz-Cuadra, María del Mar; López-López, Francisco

2014-12-01

The main aim of this study was to examine the relationship between language skills (vocabulary knowledge and phonological awareness), nonverbal cognitive processes (attention, memory and executive functions) and reading comprehension in deaf children. Participants were thirty prelingually deaf children (10.7 ± 1.6 years old; 18 boys, 12 girls), who were classified as either good readers or poor readers by their scores on two reading comprehension tasks. The children were administered a rhyme judgment task and seven computerized neuropsychological tasks specifically designed and adapted for deaf children to evaluate vocabulary knowledge, attention, memory and executive functions in deaf children. A correlational approach was also used to assess the association between variables. Although the two groups did not show differences in phonological awareness, good readers showed better vocabulary and performed significantly better than poor readers on attention, memory and executive functions measures. Significant correlations were found between better scores in reading comprehension and better scores on tasks of vocabulary and non-verbal cognitive processes. The results suggest that in deaf children, vocabulary knowledge and nonverbal cognitive processes such as selective attention, visuo-spatial memory, abstract reasoning and sequential processing may be especially relevant for the development of reading comprehension. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of Serial Rehearsal Training on Memory Search

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCauley, Charley; And Others

1976-01-01

Half the subjects were trained to use a serial rehearsal strategy during target set storage and half were given no strategy training. The results indicate that the rate of memory search is IQ-related, and that serial rehearsal training facilitates memory search when rehearsal is covert. (Author/BW)

Three more semantic serial position functions and a SIMPLE explanation.

PubMed

Kelley, Matthew R; Neath, Ian; Surprenant, Aimée M

2013-05-01

There are innumerable demonstrations of serial position functions-with characteristic primacy and recency effects-in episodic tasks, but there are only a handful of such demonstrations in semantic memory tasks, and those demonstrations have used only two types of stimuli. Here, we provide three more examples of serial position functions when recalling from semantic memory. Participants were asked to reconstruct the order of (1) two cartoon theme song lyrics, (2) the seven Harry Potter books, and (3) two sets of movies, and all three demonstrations yielded conventional-looking serial position functions with primacy and recency effects. The data were well-fit by SIMPLE, a local distinctiveness model of memory that was originally designed to account for serial position effects in short- and long-term episodic memory. According to SIMPLE, serial position functions in both episodic and semantic memory tasks arise from the same type of processing: Items that are more separated from their close neighbors in psychological space at the time of recall will be better remembered. We argue that currently available evidence suggests that serial position functions observed when recalling items that are presumably in semantic memory arise because of the same processes as those observed when recalling items that are presumably in episodic memory.

Are the deficits in navigational abilities present in the Williams syndrome related to deficits in the backward inhibition?

PubMed Central

Foti, Francesca; Sdoia, Stefano; Menghini, Deny; Mandolesi, Laura; Vicari, Stefano; Ferlazzo, Fabio; Petrosini, Laura

2015-01-01

Williams syndrome (WS) is associated with a distinct profile of relatively proficient skills within the verbal domain compared to the severe impairment of visuo-spatial processing. Abnormalities in executive functions and deficits in planning ability and spatial working memory have been described. However, to date little is known about the influence of executive function deficits on navigational abilities in WS. This study aimed at analyzing in WS individuals a specific executive function, the backward inhibition (BI) that allows individuals to flexibly adapt to continuously changing environments. A group of WS individuals and a mental age- and gender-matched group of typically developing children were subjected to three task-switching experiments requiring visuospatial or verbal material to be processed. Results showed that WS individuals exhibited clear BI deficits during visuospatial task-switching paradigms and normal BI effect during verbal task-switching paradigm. Overall, the present results suggest that the BI involvement in updating environment representations during navigation may influence WS navigational abilities. PMID:25852605

Visual Predictions in the Orbitofrontal Cortex Rely on Associative Content

PubMed Central

Chaumon, Maximilien; Kveraga, Kestutis; Barrett, Lisa Feldman; Bar, Moshe

2014-01-01

Predicting upcoming events from incomplete information is an essential brain function. The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) plays a critical role in this process by facilitating recognition of sensory inputs via predictive feedback to sensory cortices. In the visual domain, the OFC is engaged by low spatial frequency (LSF) and magnocellular-biased inputs, but beyond this, we know little about the information content required to activate it. Is the OFC automatically engaged to analyze any LSF information for meaning? Or is it engaged only when LSF information matches preexisting memory associations? We tested these hypotheses and show that only LSF information that could be linked to memory associations engages the OFC. Specifically, LSF stimuli activated the OFC in 2 distinct medial and lateral regions only if they resembled known visual objects. More identifiable objects increased activity in the medial OFC, known for its function in affective responses. Furthermore, these objects also increased the connectivity of the lateral OFC with the ventral visual cortex, a crucial region for object identification. At the interface between sensory, memory, and affective processing, the OFC thus appears to be attuned to the associative content of visual information and to play a central role in visuo-affective prediction. PMID:23771980

Out with the Old and in with the New—Is Backward Inhibition a Domain-Specific Process?

PubMed Central

Menghini, Deny; Vicari, Stefano; Petrosini, Laura; Ferlazzo, Fabio

2015-01-01

Effective task switching is supported by the inhibition of the just executed task, so that potential interference from previously executed tasks is adaptively counteracted. This inhibitory mechanism, named Backward Inhibition (BI), has been inferred from the finding that switching back to a recently executed task (A-B-A task sequence) is harder than switching back to a less recently executed task (C-B-A task sequence). Despite the fact that BI effects do impact performance on everyday life activities, up to now it is still not clear whether the BI represents an amodal and material-independent process or whether it interacts with the task material. To address this issue, a group of individuals with Williams syndrome (WS) characterized by specific difficulties in maintaining and processing visuo-spatial, but not verbal, information, and a mental age- and gender-matched group of typically developing (TD) children were subjected to three task-switching experiments requiring verbal or visuo-spatial material to be processed. Results showed that individuals with WS exhibited a normal BI effect during verbal task-switching, but a clear deficit during visuo-spatial task-switching. Overall, our findings demonstrating that the BI is a material-specific process have important implications for theoretical models of cognitive control and its architecture. PMID:26565628

Cognitive rehabilitation with right hemifield eye-patching for patients with sub-acute stroke and visuo-spatial neglect: a randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Aparicio-López, Celeste; García-Molina, Alberto; García-Fernández, Juan; Lopez-Blazquez, Raquel; Enseñat-Cantallops, Antonia; Sánchez-Carrión, Rocío; Muriel, Vega; Tormos, Jose María; Roig-Rovira, Teresa

2015-01-01

To assess whether, following a right-hemisphere stroke, the combined administration of computer-based cognitive rehabilitation and right hemifield eye-patching in patients with visuo-spatial neglect is more effective than computer-based cognitive rehabilitation alone. Twelve patients were randomized into two treatment groups: a single treatment group (n = 7) and a combination treatment group (n = 5). In both cases, the treatment consisted of a mean number of 15 sessions, each lasting 1 hour. Visuo-spatial neglect was assessed using a specific exploration protocol (Bell Cancellation Test, Figure Copying of Odgen, Line Bisection, Baking Tray Task and Reading Task). The functional effects of the treatment were assessed using the Catherine Bergego Scale. Significant between-group differences were observed when comparing the pre- and post-treatment scores for the Reading Task. No differences were observed in either group in the Catherine Bergego Scale administered at baseline and at the final intervention. The results obtained do not allow one to conclude that the combination treatment with cognitive rehabilitation and right hemifield eye-patching is more effective than cognitive rehabilitation alone. Although partial improvement in the performance of neuropsychological tests was observed, this improvement is not present at functional level.

The effects of soy milk and isoflavone supplements on cognitive performance in healthy, postmenopausal women.

PubMed

Fournier, L R; Ryan Borchers, T A; Robison, L M; Wiediger, M; Park, J S; Chew, B P; McGuire, M K; Sclar, D A; Skaer, T L; Beerman, K A

2007-01-01

The decline in estrogen concentrations in women after menopause can contribute to health related changes including impairments in cognition, especially memory. Because of the health concerns related to hormone replacement therapy (HRT), alternative approaches to treat menopausal symptoms, such as nutritional supplements and/or diet containing isoflavones, are of interest. This study investigated whether soy isoflavones (soy milk and supplement) could improve cognitive functioning in healthy, postmenopausal women. PARTICIPANTS, INTERVENTION AND DESIGN: A total of 79 postmenopausal women, 48-65 years of age, completed a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in which they were randomly assigned to one of three experimental groups: cow's milk and a placebo supplement (control); soy milk and placebo supplement (soy milk, 72 mg isoflavones/day); or cow's milk and isoflavone supplement (isoflavone supplement, 70 mg isoflavones/day). Cognitive functioning was assessed using various cognitive tasks before the intervention (baseline) and after the intervention (test). In contrast to predictions, soy isoflavones did not improve selective attention (Stroop task), visual long-term memory (pattern recognition), short-term visuospatial memory (Benton Visual Retention Test), or visuo-spatial working memory (color match task). Also, the soy milk group showed a decline in verbal working memory (Digit Ordering Task) compared to the soy supplement and control groups. Soy isoflavones consumed as a food or supplement over a 16-week period did not improve or appreciably affect cognitive functioning in healthy, postmenopausal women.

TESS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dmitriy Morozov, Tom Peterka

2014-07-29

Computing a Voronoi or Delaunay tessellation from a set of points is a core part of the analysis of many simulated and measured datasets. As the scale of simulations and observations surpasses billions of particles, a distributed-memory scalable parallel algorithm is the only feasible approach. The primary contribution of this software is a distributed-memory parallel Delaunay and Voronoi tessellation algorithm based on existing serial computational geometry libraries that automatically determines which neighbor points need to be exchanged among the subdomains of a spatial decomposition. Other contributions include the addition of periodic and wall boundary conditions.

Linking Associative and Serial List Memory: Pairs Versus Triples

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Caplan, Jeremy B.; Glaholt, Mackenzie G.; McIntosh, Anthony R.

2006-01-01

Paired associates and serial list memory are typically investigated separately. An "isolation principle" (J. B. Caplan, 2005) was proposed to explain behavior in both paradigms by using a single model, in which serial list and paired associates memory differ only in how isolated pairs of items are from interference from other studied items. In…

Verbal short-term memory in individuals with chromosome 22q11.2 deletion: specific deficit in serial order retention capacities?

PubMed

Majerus, Steve; Van der Linden, Martial; Braissand, Vérane; Eliez, Stephan

2007-03-01

Many researchers have recently explored the cognitive profile of velocardiofacial syndrome (VCFS), a neurodevelopmental disorder linked to a 22q11.2 deletion. However, verbal short-term memory has not yet been systematically investigated. We explored verbal short-term memory abilities in a group of 11 children and adults presenting with VCFS and two control groups, matched on either CA or vocabulary knowledge, by distinguishing short-term memory for serial order and item information. The VCFS group showed impaired performance on the serial order short-term memory tasks compared to both control groups. Relative to the vocabulary-matched control group, item short-term memory was preserved. The implication of serial order short-term memory deficits on other aspects of cognitive development in VCFS (e.g., language development, numerical cognition) is discussed.

Sex differences in spatial memory using serial and search tasks.

PubMed

Shah, Darshna S; Prados, Jose; Gamble, Jasmin; De Lillo, Carlo; Gibson, Claire L

2013-11-15

The present study assessed the spatial abilities of male and female human participants using different versions of the non-navigational Corsi block-tapping test (CBT) and a search task. Males performed significantly better than females on the standard manual version of the CBT; however, the standard CBT does not allow discrimination between spatial memory span and the role of spatial organisational factors (structure, path length and presence of crossings) in the sequences to recall. These organisational factors were assessed, therefore, in an experiment in which 7-block-sequences had to be recalled in a computerised version of the CBT. No sex differences in performance were observed on the computerised CBT, indicating that males do not make better use of spatial organisational principles. Accordingly, sex differences observed in the manual CBT are likely to rely upon differences in memory span between males and females. In the search task, participants could locate a goal by reference to a Euclidian space (the geometry of a virtual enclose) or to proximal non-geometric cues. Both male and female participants showed a preference for the non-geometric cues, which overshadowed learning about the geometric cues when the two sets were available simultaneously during the training stage. These results indicate that sex differences do exist in those tests which are dependent on memory span. Sex differences were absent, however, in spatial organisational skills or in the usage of Euclidian and egocentric strategies to solve problems relying on spatial ability. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Spatial Context and Visual Perception for Action

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coello, Yann

2005-01-01

In this paper, evidences that visuo-spatial perception in the peri-personal space is not an abstract, disembodied phenomenon but is rather shaped by action constraints are reviewed. Locating a visual target with the intention of reaching it requires that the relevant spatial information is considered in relation with the body-part that will be…

[Use of "the Middlesex Elderly Assessment of Mental State" scale in the assessment of cognitive functioning in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage].

PubMed

Chyza, Karolina Julia; Polityńska, Barbara; Kochanowicz, Jan; Lewko, Janusz

2007-03-01

It is now well established that cognitive deficits are a frequent consequence of aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH). The cognitive status in the acute phase of the illness may provide valuable prognostic information in relation to the effects of the proposed treatment and long-term functioning of the patient. A prerequisite for this task is the identification of instruments that might prove useful in the diagnosis of neuropsychological deficits in patients with SAH. For these purposes we used The Middlesex Elderly Assessment of Mental State (MEAMS) in order to assess the cognitive deficits consequent upon SAH. To assess the cognitive functioning of patients undergoing treatment for SAH of aneurysmal origin in the acute stage of the illness, using a modified form of the MEAMS. 49 patients participated in the study, none of whom had a previous history of neurological or psychiatric illness. The age of the patients ranged between 23-70 years. 35 (71%) patients received surgical treatment (clipping of the aneurysm neck) and in 14 (29%) the aneurysm was embolised. The patients were assessed on two occasions: the first on admission to the Neurosurgery department following the SAH, and on the second, following treatment to secure the aneurysm. A modified version of the MEAMS in two parallel versions was used in the assessment. The results obtained were evaluated with reference to a control group. A range of cognitive impairments was identified with the aid of the MEAMS in patients undergoing treatment for aneurysmal SAH. These included deficits in visual and auditory memory, executive, perceptual and visuo-spatial functions together with the tendency to perseverate. In those patients who underwent surgery, deficits were observed in the following areas: disorientation in relation to self, time and place; perceptual, memory and visuo-spatial impairments. The results obtained indicate that the Middlesex Elderly Assessment of Mental State, in the form used in the present study appears to be a sensitive and useful instrument for the screening of cognitive impairments in patients following SAH, in the acute stages of the illness.

Contribution of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors to attention and episodic spatial memory during senescence

PubMed Central

Guidi, Michael; Rani, Asha; Karic, Semir; Severance, Barrett; Kumar, Ashok; Foster, Thomas C.

2015-01-01

A decrease in N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) function is associated with age-related cognitive impairments. However, NMDAR antagonists are prescribed for cognitive decline associated with age-related neurodegenerative disease, raising questions as to the role of NMDAR activity in cognitive function during aging. The current studies examined effects of NMDAR blockade on cognitive task that are sensitive to aging. Young and middle-age rats were trained on the five-choice serial reaction time task (5-CSRTT) and challenged with MK-801 (0.025, 0.05, and 0.1 mg/kg or vehicle). Attention deficits were apparent in middle-age and performance of young and middle-age rats was enhanced for low doses of MK-801 (0.025 and 0.05). The beneficial effects on attention were reversed by the highest dose of MK-801. Older animals exhibited a delay-dependent impairment of episodic spatial memory examined on a delayed-matching to place water maze task. Similarly, a low dose of MK-801 (0.05 mg/kg) impaired performance with increasing delay and aged animals were more susceptible to disruption by NMDAR blockade. Despite MK-801 impairment of episodic spatial memory, MK-801 had minimal effects on spatial reference memory. Our results confirm that NMDARs contribute to rapidly acquired and flexible spatial memory and support the idea that a decline in NMDAR function contributes to the age-related impairments in cognition. PMID:26234588

Contribution of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors to attention and episodic spatial memory during senescence.

PubMed

Guidi, Michael; Rani, Asha; Karic, Semir; Severance, Barrett; Kumar, Ashok; Foster, Thomas C

2015-11-01

A decrease in N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) function is associated with age-related cognitive impairments. However, NMDAR antagonists are prescribed for cognitive decline associated with age-related neurodegenerative disease, raising questions as to the role of NMDAR activity in cognitive function during aging. The current studies examined effects of NMDAR blockade on cognitive task that are sensitive to aging. Young and middle-age rats were trained on the five-choice serial reaction time task (5-CSRTT) and challenged with MK-801 (0.025, 0.05, and 0.1mg/kg or vehicle). Attention deficits were apparent in middle-age and performance of young and middle-age rats was enhanced for low doses of MK-801 (0.025 and 0.05). The beneficial effects on attention were reversed by the highest dose of MK-801. Older animals exhibited a delay-dependent impairment of episodic spatial memory examined on a delayed-matching to place water maze task. Similarly, a low dose of MK-801 (0.05mg/kg) impaired performance with increasing delay and aged animals were more susceptible to disruption by NMDAR blockade. Despite MK-801 impairment of episodic spatial memory, MK-801 had minimal effects on spatial reference memory. Our results confirm that NMDARs contribute to rapidly acquired and flexible spatial memory and support the idea that a decline in NMDAR function contributes to the age-related impairments in cognition. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The medial temporal memory system in Down syndrome: Translating animal models of hippocampal compromise.

PubMed

Clark, Caron A C; Fernandez, Fabian; Sakhon, Stella; Spanò, Goffredina; Edgin, Jamie O

2017-06-01

Recent studies have highlighted the dentate gyrus as a region of increased vulnerability in mouse models of Down syndrome (DS). It is unclear to what extent these findings are reflected in the memory profile of people with the condition. We developed a series of novel tasks to probe distinct medial temporal functions in children and young adults with DS, including object, spatial, and temporal order memory. Relative to mental age-matched controls (n = 45), individuals with DS (n = 28) were unimpaired on subtests involving short-term object or configural recall that was divorced from spatial or temporal contexts. By contrast, the DS group had difficulty recalling spatial locations when contextual information was salient and recalling the order in which objects were serially presented. Results are consistent with dysfunction of spatial and temporal contextual pattern separation abilities in individuals with DS, mediated by the hippocampus, including the dentate gyrus. Amidst increasing calls to bridge human and animal work, the memory profile demonstrated here in humans with DS is strikingly similar to that of the Ts65Dn mouse model of DS. The study highlights the trisynaptic circuit as a potentially fruitful intervention target to mitigate cognitive impairments associated with DS. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Drawing enhances cross-modal memory plasticity in the human brain: a case study in a totally blind adult

PubMed Central

Likova, Lora T.

2012-01-01

In a memory-guided drawing task under blindfolded conditions, we have recently used functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) to demonstrate that the primary visual cortex (V1) may operate as the visuo-spatial buffer, or “sketchpad,” for working memory. The results implied, however, a modality-independent or amodal form of its operation. In the present study, to validate the role of V1 in non-visual memory, we eliminated not only the visual input but all levels of visual processing by replicating the paradigm in a congenitally blind individual. Our novel Cognitive-Kinesthetic method was used to train this totally blind subject to draw complex images guided solely by tactile memory. Control tasks of tactile exploration and memorization of the image to be drawn, and memory-free scribbling were also included. FMRI was run before training and after training. Remarkably, V1 of this congenitally blind individual, which before training exhibited noisy, immature, and non-specific responses, after training produced full-fledged response time-courses specific to the tactile-memory drawing task. The results reveal the operation of a rapid training-based plasticity mechanism that recruits the resources of V1 in the process of learning to draw. The learning paradigm allowed us to investigate for the first time the evolution of plastic re-assignment in V1 in a congenitally blind subject. These findings are consistent with a non-visual memory involvement of V1, and specifically imply that the observed cortical reorganization can be empowered by the process of learning to draw. PMID:22593738

Drawing enhances cross-modal memory plasticity in the human brain: a case study in a totally blind adult.

PubMed

Likova, Lora T

2012-01-01

In a memory-guided drawing task under blindfolded conditions, we have recently used functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) to demonstrate that the primary visual cortex (V1) may operate as the visuo-spatial buffer, or "sketchpad," for working memory. The results implied, however, a modality-independent or amodal form of its operation. In the present study, to validate the role of V1 in non-visual memory, we eliminated not only the visual input but all levels of visual processing by replicating the paradigm in a congenitally blind individual. Our novel Cognitive-Kinesthetic method was used to train this totally blind subject to draw complex images guided solely by tactile memory. Control tasks of tactile exploration and memorization of the image to be drawn, and memory-free scribbling were also included. FMRI was run before training and after training. Remarkably, V1 of this congenitally blind individual, which before training exhibited noisy, immature, and non-specific responses, after training produced full-fledged response time-courses specific to the tactile-memory drawing task. The results reveal the operation of a rapid training-based plasticity mechanism that recruits the resources of V1 in the process of learning to draw. The learning paradigm allowed us to investigate for the first time the evolution of plastic re-assignment in V1 in a congenitally blind subject. These findings are consistent with a non-visual memory involvement of V1, and specifically imply that the observed cortical reorganization can be empowered by the process of learning to draw.

The contribution of general cognitive abilities and approximate number system to early mathematics.

PubMed

Passolunghi, Maria Chiara; Cargnelutti, Elisa; Pastore, Massimiliano

2014-12-01

Math learning is a complex process that entails a wide range of cognitive abilities to be fulfilled. There is sufficient evidence that both general and specific cognitive skills assume a fundamental role, despite the absence of shared consensus about the relative extent of their involvement. Moreover, regarding general abilities, there is no agreement about the recruitment of the different memory components or of intelligence. In relation to specific factors, great debate subsists regarding the role of the approximate number system (ANS). Starting from these considerations, we wanted to conduct a wide assessment of memory components and ANS, by controlling for the effects associated with intelligence and also exploring possible relationships between all precursors. To achieve this purpose, a sample of 157 children was tested at both beginning and end of their Grade 1. Both general (memory and intelligence) and specific (ANS) precursors were evaluated by a wide battery of tests and put in relation to concurrent and subsequent math skills. Memory was explored in passive and active aspects involving both verbal and visuo-spatial components. Path analysis results demonstrated that memory, and especially the more active processes, and intelligence were the strongest precursors in both assessment times. ANS had a milder role which lost significance by the end of the school year. Memory and ANS seemed to influence early mathematics almost independently. Both general and specific precursors seemed to have a crucial role in early math competences, despite the lower involvement of ANS. © 2014 The British Psychological Society.

Top-down search for color prevents voluntary directing of attention to informative singleton cues.

PubMed

Worschech, Franziska; Ansorge, Ulrich

2012-01-01

Visuo-spatial attention can be directed in a top-down controlled way to search for color targets and it can be captured by color contrasts, regardless of color identity. Here we tested whether participants can both search for a particular color target (e.g., red) and make use of a color-contrast cue that predicted the target's most likely position to direct their attention voluntarily. Our results show that this was impossible for the participants. Results support that top-down search for particular colors is incommensurate with directing attention to just any color contrast. The results are discussed in light of the current debates concerning the roles of color and color contrast for visuo-spatial attention.

Modality independence of order coding in working memory: Evidence from cross-modal order interference at recall.

PubMed

Vandierendonck, André

2016-01-01

Working memory researchers do not agree on whether order in serial recall is encoded by dedicated modality-specific systems or by a more general modality-independent system. Although previous research supports the existence of autonomous modality-specific systems, it has been shown that serial recognition memory is prone to cross-modal order interference by concurrent tasks. The present study used a serial recall task, which was performed in a single-task condition and in a dual-task condition with an embedded memory task in the retention interval. The modality of the serial task was either verbal or visuospatial, and the embedded tasks were in the other modality and required either serial or item recall. Care was taken to avoid modality overlaps during presentation and recall. In Experiment 1, visuospatial but not verbal serial recall was more impaired when the embedded task was an order than when it was an item task. Using a more difficult verbal serial recall task, verbal serial recall was also more impaired by another order recall task in Experiment 2. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis of modality-independent order coding. The implications for views on short-term recall and the multicomponent view of working memory are discussed.

Robotic guidance benefits the learning of dynamic, but not of spatial movement characteristics.

PubMed

Lüttgen, Jenna; Heuer, Herbert

2012-10-01

Robotic guidance is an engineered form of haptic-guidance training and intended to enhance motor learning in rehabilitation, surgery, and sports. However, its benefits (and pitfalls) are still debated. Here, we investigate the effects of different presentation modes on the reproduction of a spatiotemporal movement pattern. In three different groups of participants, the movement was demonstrated in three different modalities, namely visual, haptic, and visuo-haptic. After demonstration, participants had to reproduce the movement in two alternating recall conditions: haptic and visuo-haptic. Performance of the three groups during recall was compared with regard to spatial and dynamic movement characteristics. After haptic presentation, participants showed superior dynamic accuracy, whereas after visual presentation, participants performed better with regard to spatial accuracy. Added visual feedback during recall always led to enhanced performance, independent of the movement characteristic and the presentation modality. These findings substantiate the different benefits of different presentation modes for different movement characteristics. In particular, robotic guidance is beneficial for the learning of dynamic, but not of spatial movement characteristics.

The Role of Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex in Text Comprehension Inferences: Semantic Coherence or Socio-Emotional Perspective?

PubMed Central

Burin, Debora I.; Acion, Laura; Kurczek, Jake; Duff, Melissa C.; Tranel, Daniel; Jorge, Ricardo E.

2015-01-01

Two hypotheses about the role of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) in narrative comprehension inferences, global semantic coherence versus socio-emotional perspective, were tested. Seven patients with vmPFC lesions and seven demographically matched healthy comparison participants read short narratives. Using the consistency paradigm, narratives required participants to make either an emotional or visuo-spatial inference, in which a target sentence provided consistent or inconsistent information with a previous emotional state of a character or a visuo-spatial location of an object. Healthy comparison participants made the inferences both for spatial and emotional stories, as shown by longer reading times for inconsistent critical sentences. For patients with vmPFC lesions, inconsistent sentences were read slower in the spatial stories, but not in the emotional ones. This pattern of results is compatible with the hypothesis that vmPFC contributes to narrative comprehension by supporting inferences about socio-emotional aspects of verbally described situations. PMID:24561428

The match/mismatch of visuo-spatial cues between acquisition and retrieval contexts influences the expression of response vs. place memory in rats.

PubMed

Cassel, Raphaelle; Kelche, Christian; Lecourtier, Lucas; Cassel, Jean-Christophe

2012-05-01

Animals can perform goal-directed tasks by using response cues or place cues. The underlying memory systems are occasionally presented as competing. Using the double-H maze test (Pol-Bodetto et al.), we trained rats for response learning and, 24 h later, tested their memory in a 60-s probe trial using a new start place. A modest shift of the start place (translation: 60-cm to the left) provided a high misleading potential, whereas a marked shift (180° rotation; shift to the opposite) provided a low misleading potential. We analyzed each rat's first arm choice (to assess response vs. place memory retrieval) and its subsequent search for the former platform location (to assess the persistence in place memory or the shift from response to place memory). After the translation, response memory-based behavior was found in more than 90% rats (24/26). After the rotation, place memory-based behavior was observed in 50% rats, the others showing response memory or failing. Rats starting to use response cues were nevertheless able to subsequently shift to place ones. A posteriori behavioral analyses showed more and longer stops in rats starting their probe trial on the basis of place (vs. response) cues. These observations qualify the idea of competing memory systems for responses and places and are compatible with that of a cooperation between both systems according to principles of match/mismatch computation (at the start of a probe trial) and of error-driven adjustment (during the ongoing probe trial). Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The default mode network and the working memory network are not anti-correlated during all phases of a working memory task.

PubMed

Piccoli, Tommaso; Valente, Giancarlo; Linden, David E J; Re, Marta; Esposito, Fabrizio; Sack, Alexander T; Di Salle, Francesco

2015-01-01

The default mode network and the working memory network are known to be anti-correlated during sustained cognitive processing, in a load-dependent manner. We hypothesized that functional connectivity among nodes of the two networks could be dynamically modulated by task phases across time. To address the dynamic links between default mode network and the working memory network, we used a delayed visuo-spatial working memory paradigm, which allowed us to separate three different phases of working memory (encoding, maintenance, and retrieval), and analyzed the functional connectivity during each phase within and between the default mode network and the working memory network networks. We found that the two networks are anti-correlated only during the maintenance phase of working memory, i.e. when attention is focused on a memorized stimulus in the absence of external input. Conversely, during the encoding and retrieval phases, when the external stimulation is present, the default mode network is positively coupled with the working memory network, suggesting the existence of a dynamically switching of functional connectivity between "task-positive" and "task-negative" brain networks. Our results demonstrate that the well-established dichotomy of the human brain (anti-correlated networks during rest and balanced activation-deactivation during cognition) has a more nuanced organization than previously thought and engages in different patterns of correlation and anti-correlation during specific sub-phases of a cognitive task. This nuanced organization reinforces the hypothesis of a direct involvement of the default mode network in cognitive functions, as represented by a dynamic rather than static interaction with specific task-positive networks, such as the working memory network.

The Default Mode Network and the Working Memory Network Are Not Anti-Correlated during All Phases of a Working Memory Task

PubMed Central

Piccoli, Tommaso; Valente, Giancarlo; Linden, David E. J.; Re, Marta; Esposito, Fabrizio; Sack, Alexander T.; Salle, Francesco Di

2015-01-01

Introduction The default mode network and the working memory network are known to be anti-correlated during sustained cognitive processing, in a load-dependent manner. We hypothesized that functional connectivity among nodes of the two networks could be dynamically modulated by task phases across time. Methods To address the dynamic links between default mode network and the working memory network, we used a delayed visuo-spatial working memory paradigm, which allowed us to separate three different phases of working memory (encoding, maintenance, and retrieval), and analyzed the functional connectivity during each phase within and between the default mode network and the working memory network networks. Results We found that the two networks are anti-correlated only during the maintenance phase of working memory, i.e. when attention is focused on a memorized stimulus in the absence of external input. Conversely, during the encoding and retrieval phases, when the external stimulation is present, the default mode network is positively coupled with the working memory network, suggesting the existence of a dynamically switching of functional connectivity between “task-positive” and “task-negative” brain networks. Conclusions Our results demonstrate that the well-established dichotomy of the human brain (anti-correlated networks during rest and balanced activation-deactivation during cognition) has a more nuanced organization than previously thought and engages in different patterns of correlation and anti-correlation during specific sub-phases of a cognitive task. This nuanced organization reinforces the hypothesis of a direct involvement of the default mode network in cognitive functions, as represented by a dynamic rather than static interaction with specific task-positive networks, such as the working memory network. PMID:25848951

Part-set cueing impairment & facilitation in semantic memory.

PubMed

Kelley, Matthew R; Parihar, Sushmeena A

2018-01-19

The present study explored the influence of part-set cues in semantic memory using tests of "free" recall, reconstruction of order, and serial recall. Nine distinct categories of information were used (e.g., Zodiac signs, Harry Potter books, Star Wars films, planets). The results showed part-set cueing impairment for all three "free" recall sets, whereas part-set cueing facilitation was evident for five of the six ordered sets. Generally, the present results parallel those often observed across episodic tasks, which could indicate that similar mechanisms contribute to part-set cueing effects in both episodic and semantic memory. A novel anchoring explanation of part-set cueing facilitation in order and spatial tasks is provided.

Cognitive findings in spinocerebellar ataxia type 2: relationship to genetic and clinical variables.

PubMed

Le Pira, Francesco; Zappalà, Giuseppe; Saponara, Riccardo; Domina, Elisabetta; Restivo, Domenico; Reggio, Ester; Nicoletti, Alessandra; Giuffrida, Salvatore

2002-09-15

Several authors have recently reported a broad cognitive impairment in autosomal dominant cerebellar ataxias (ADCAs) patients. However, only a few studies on neuropsychological features in spinocerebellar ataxia type 2 (SCA2) patients are present in the current literature. The aim of this study is to evaluate the cognitive impairment in a wide sample of SCA2 patients and to verify the role of different disease-related factors (age of onset, disease duration, and clinical severity) on intellectual abilities. We administered a battery of neuropsychological tests assessing handedness, attention, short- and long-term verbal and visuo-spatial memory, executive functions, constructive abilities, general intellectual abilities and depression to 18 SCA2 patients belonging to eight families who came to our observation. Evidence of impaired verbal memory, executive functions and attention was found. The cognitive status was partially related to clinical severity rather than to disease duration or age at onset of symptoms. We partially confirmed data on cognitive defects already reported by others but we also found defective attention skills as well as significant lower performances in a nonverbal intelligence task.

Dynamic functional brain networks involved in simple visual discrimination learning.

PubMed

Fidalgo, Camino; Conejo, Nélida María; González-Pardo, Héctor; Arias, Jorge Luis

2014-10-01

Visual discrimination tasks have been widely used to evaluate many types of learning and memory processes. However, little is known about the brain regions involved at different stages of visual discrimination learning. We used cytochrome c oxidase histochemistry to evaluate changes in regional brain oxidative metabolism during visual discrimination learning in a water-T maze at different time points during training. As compared with control groups, the results of the present study reveal the gradual activation of cortical (prefrontal and temporal cortices) and subcortical brain regions (including the striatum and the hippocampus) associated to the mastery of a simple visual discrimination task. On the other hand, the brain regions involved and their functional interactions changed progressively over days of training. Regions associated with novelty, emotion, visuo-spatial orientation and motor aspects of the behavioral task seem to be relevant during the earlier phase of training, whereas a brain network comprising the prefrontal cortex was found along the whole learning process. This study highlights the relevance of functional interactions among brain regions to investigate learning and memory processes. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An examination of relationship between neurological soft signs and neurocognition.

PubMed

Solanki, Ram Kumar; Swami, Mukesh Kumar; Singh, Paramjeet

2012-03-01

Neurological soft signs (NSS) and cognitive function had been examined in schizophrenia, but their relationship has remained elusive for several years. We examined the relationship between NSS and cognitive functions in the present study. A cross sectional study was carried out. Subjects were drawn from first degree relatives of schizophrenia patients, admitted as inpatient or attending as an outpatient. Controls were recruited by word of mouth from hospital staff and visitors of hospitalized patients. Those subjects who satisfied the screening process were subjected to Cambridge Neurological Inventory for soft sign assessment and digit span test, paired associate learning test (PALT) and visuo-spatial working memory matrix (VSWMM) for cognitive function assessment. Correlation analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM) was used for analysis. Significant negative correlation of primitive reflexes with PALT; of motor coordination with VSWMM, working memory (WM) and cognitive index; of total NSS with WM and cognitive index among first degree relatives. SEM showed that motor soft signs have important negative influence over WM. The current findings indicate that NSS have significant negative effect on cognitive functioning. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Functional Determinants of Short-Term Memory: Evidence from Perceptual-Motor Interference in Verbal Serial Recall

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hughes, Robert W.; Marsh, John E.

2017-01-01

A functional, perceptual-motor, account of serial short-term memory (STM) is examined by investigating the way in which an irrelevant spoken sequence interferes with verbal serial recall. Even with visual list-presentation, verbal serial recall is particularly susceptible to disruption by irrelevant spoken stimuli that have the same identity…

On the Screen, in the Mind: An ERP Investigation into the Interaction between Visuo-Spatial Information and Spatial Language during On-Line Processing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zane, Emily

2016-01-01

This project used Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) to explore neurophysiological brain responses to prepositional phrases involving concrete and abstract reference nouns (e.g., "plate" and "moment," respectively) after the presentation of objects with varying spatial features. Prepositional phrases were headed by "in"…

The Impact of Handedness, Sex, and Cognitive Abilities on Left–Right Discrimination: A Behavioral Study

PubMed Central

Constant, Martin; Mellet, Emmanuel

2018-01-01

The present study examined the relationship between left–right discrimination (LRD) performance and handedness, sex and cognitive abilities. In total, 31 men and 35 women – with a balanced ratio of left-and right-handers – completed the Bergen Left–Right Discrimination Test. We found an advantage of left-handers in both identifying left hands and in verifying “left” propositions. A sex effect was also found, as women had an overall higher error rate than men, and increasing difficulty impacted their reaction time more than it did for men. Moreover, sex interacted with handedness and manual preference strength. A negative correlation of LRD reaction time with visuo-spatial and verbal long-term memory was found independently of sex, providing new insights into the relationship between cognitive skills and performance on LRD. PMID:29636718

The Impact of Handedness, Sex, and Cognitive Abilities on Left-Right Discrimination: A Behavioral Study.

PubMed

Constant, Martin; Mellet, Emmanuel

2018-01-01

The present study examined the relationship between left-right discrimination (LRD) performance and handedness, sex and cognitive abilities. In total, 31 men and 35 women - with a balanced ratio of left-and right-handers - completed the Bergen Left-Right Discrimination Test. We found an advantage of left-handers in both identifying left hands and in verifying "left" propositions. A sex effect was also found, as women had an overall higher error rate than men, and increasing difficulty impacted their reaction time more than it did for men. Moreover, sex interacted with handedness and manual preference strength. A negative correlation of LRD reaction time with visuo-spatial and verbal long-term memory was found independently of sex, providing new insights into the relationship between cognitive skills and performance on LRD.

Acute Unilateral Vestibular Failure Does Not Cause Spatial Hemineglect.

PubMed

Conrad, Julian; Habs, Maximilian; Brandt, Thomas; Dieterich, Marianne

2015-01-01

Visuo-spatial neglect and vestibular disorders have common clinical findings and involve the same cortical areas. We questioned (1) whether visuo-spatial hemineglect is not only a disorder of spatial attention but may also reflect a disorder of higher cortical vestibular function and (2) whether a vestibular tone imbalance due to an acute peripheral dysfunction can also cause symptoms of neglect or extinction. Therefore, patients with an acute unilateral peripheral vestibular failure (VF) were tested for symptoms of hemineglect. Twenty-eight patients with acute VF were assessed for signs of vestibular deficits and spatial neglect using clinical measures and various common standardized paper-pencil tests. Neglect severity was evaluated further with the Center of Cancellation method. Pathological neglect test scores were correlated with the degree of vestibular dysfunction determined by the subjective visual vertical and caloric testing. Three patients showed isolated pathological scores in one or the other neglect test, either ipsilesionally or contralesionally to the VF. None of the patients fulfilled the diagnostic criteria of spatial hemineglect or extinction. A vestibular tone imbalance due to unilateral failure of the vestibular endorgan does not cause spatial hemineglect, but evidence indicates it causes mild attentional deficits in both visual hemifields.

Acute Unilateral Vestibular Failure Does Not Cause Spatial Hemineglect

PubMed Central

Conrad, Julian; Habs, Maximilian; Brandt, Thomas; Dieterich, Marianne

2015-01-01

Objectives Visuo-spatial neglect and vestibular disorders have common clinical findings and involve the same cortical areas. We questioned (1) whether visuo-spatial hemineglect is not only a disorder of spatial attention but may also reflect a disorder of higher cortical vestibular function and (2) whether a vestibular tone imbalance due to an acute peripheral dysfunction can also cause symptoms of neglect or extinction. Therefore, patients with an acute unilateral peripheral vestibular failure (VF) were tested for symptoms of hemineglect. Methods Twenty-eight patients with acute VF were assessed for signs of vestibular deficits and spatial neglect using clinical measures and various common standardized paper-pencil tests. Neglect severity was evaluated further with the Center of Cancellation method. Pathological neglect test scores were correlated with the degree of vestibular dysfunction determined by the subjective visual vertical and caloric testing. Results Three patients showed isolated pathological scores in one or the other neglect test, either ipsilesionally or contralesionally to the VF. None of the patients fulfilled the diagnostic criteria of spatial hemineglect or extinction. Conclusions A vestibular tone imbalance due to unilateral failure of the vestibular endorgan does not cause spatial hemineglect, but evidence indicates it causes mild attentional deficits in both visual hemifields. PMID:26247469

Memory for Serial Order.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lewandowsky, Stephan; Murdock, Bennet B., Jr.

1989-01-01

An extension to Murdock's Theory of Distributed Associative Memory, based on associative chaining between items, is presented. The extended theory is applied to several serial order phenomena, including serial list learning, delayed recall effects, partial report effects, and buildup and release from proactive interference. (TJH)

The contribution of acetylcholine and dopamine to subprocesses of visual working memory--what patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment and Parkinson׳s disease can tell us.

PubMed

Blatt, Joana; Vellage, Anne; Baier, Bernhard; Müller, Notger G

2014-08-01

Attentional selection, i.e. filtering out of irrelevant sensory input and information storage are two crucial components of working memory (WM). It has been proposed that the two processes are mediated by different neurotransmitters, namely acetylcholine for attentional selection and dopamine for memory storage. However, this hypothesis has been challenged by others, who for example linked a lack in dopamine levels in the brain to filtering deficits. Here we tested the above mentioned hypothesis in two patient cohorts which either served as a proxy for a cholinergic or a dopaminergic deficit. The first group comprised 18 patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), the second 22 patients with Parkinson׳s disease (PD). The two groups did not differ regarding their overall cognitive abilities. Both patient groups as well as a control group without neurological deficits (n=25) performed a visuo-spatial working memory task in which both the necessity to filter out irrelevant information and memory load, i.e. the number of items to be held in memory, were manipulated. In accordance with the primary hypothesis, aMCI patients displayed problems with filtering, i.e., were especially impaired when the task required ignoring distracting stimuli. PD patients on the other hand showed difficulties when memory load was increased suggesting that they mainly suffered from a storage deficit. In sum, this study underlines how the investigation of neurologic patients with a presumed neurotransmitter deficit can aid to clarify these neurotransmitters׳ contribution to specific cognitive functions. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Enhanced and diminished visuo-spatial information processing in autism depends on stimulus complexity.

PubMed

Bertone, Armando; Mottron, Laurent; Jelenic, Patricia; Faubert, Jocelyn

2005-10-01

Visuo-perceptual processing in autism is characterized by intact or enhanced performance on static spatial tasks and inferior performance on dynamic tasks, suggesting a deficit of dorsal visual stream processing in autism. However, previous findings by Bertone et al. indicate that neuro-integrative mechanisms used to detect complex motion, rather than motion perception per se, may be impaired in autism. We present here the first demonstration of concurrent enhanced and decreased performance in autism on the same visuo-spatial static task, wherein the only factor dichotomizing performance was the neural complexity required to discriminate grating orientation. The ability of persons with autism was found to be superior for identifying the orientation of simple, luminance-defined (or first-order) gratings but inferior for complex, texture-defined (or second-order) gratings. Using a flicker contrast sensitivity task, we demonstrated that this finding is probably not due to abnormal information processing at a sub-cortical level (magnocellular and parvocellular functioning). Together, these findings are interpreted as a clear indication of altered low-level perceptual information processing in autism, and confirm that the deficits and assets observed in autistic visual perception are contingent on the complexity of the neural network required to process a given type of visual stimulus. We suggest that atypical neural connectivity, resulting in enhanced lateral inhibition, may account for both enhanced and decreased low-level information processing in autism.

Cognitive profile in Wilson's disease: a case series of 31 patients.

PubMed

Wenisch, E; De Tassigny, A; Trocello, J-M; Beretti, J; Girardot-Tinant, N; Woimant, F

2013-12-01

Wilson's disease (WD) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder of copper metabolism. If untreated, WD, which is initially a liver disease, can turn into a multi-systemic disease with neurological involvement. Very few studies have described cognitive impairment in WD. The aim of this study is to report the cognitive profile of 31 treated WD patients. Patients were classed into two groups using the Unified Wilson Disease Rating Scale (UWDRS): WD patients without neurological signs (WD-N(-)) (n=13), and WD patients with neurological signs (WD-N(+)) (n=18). The patients participated in a neuropsychological assessment evaluating memory, executive function and visuo-spatial abilities. Both groups performed well for verbal intelligence and episodic memory skills. However, the majority of these patients exhibited altered performance for at least one cognitive test, particularly in the executive domain. The WD-N(+) group performed less well than the WD-N(-) group on cognitive tests involving rapid motor function, abstract thinking, working memory and top-down inhibitory control. Cognitive impairment in treated WD patients essentially affects executive function involving fronto-striatal circuits. Verbal intelligence and episodic memory abilities seem to be remarkably preserved. Neuropsychological assessment is a valuable tool to evaluate the presence and the consequences of these cognitive impairments in WD patients with or without neurological signs in the course of this chronic disease. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Can Training in a Real-Time Strategy Videogame Attenuate Cognitive Decline in Older Adults?

PubMed Central

Basak, Chandramallika; Boot, Walter R.; Voss, Michelle W.; Kramer, Arthur F.

2014-01-01

Declines in various cognitive abilities, particularly executive control functions, are observed in older adults. An important goal of cognitive training is to slow or reverse these age-related declines. However, opinion is divided in the literature regarding whether cognitive training can engender transfer to a variety of cognitive skills in older adults. Yet, recent research indicates that videogame training of young adults may engender broad transfer to skills of visual attention. In the current study, we used a real-time strategy videogame to attempt to train executive functions in older adults, such as working memory, task switching, short-term memory, inhibition, and reasoning. Older adults were either trained in a real-time strategy videogame for 23.5 hours (RON, n=20) or not (CONTROLS, n=20). A battery of cognitive tasks, including tasks of executive control and visuo-spatial skills, were assessed before, during, and after video game training. The trainees improved significantly in the measures of game performance. They also improved significantly more than the controls in a subset of the cognitive tasks, such as task switching, working memory, visual short term memory, and mental rotation. Trends in improvement were also observed, for the video game trainees, in inhibition and reasoning. Individual differences in changes in game performance were correlated with improvements in task-switching. The study has implications for the enhancement of executive control processes of older adults. PMID:19140648

Pre-University Tuition in Science and Technology Can Influence Executive Functions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Méndez, Marta; Arias, Natalia; Menéndez, José R.; Villar, José R.; Neira, Ángel; Romano, Pedro V.; Núñez, José Carlos; Arias, Jorge L.

2014-01-01

Introduction: Scientific and technological areas include tuition based on highly visuo-spatial specialization and problem solving. Spatial skills and problem solving are embedded in a curriculum that promotes understanding of Science and technical subjects. These abilities are related to the development of executive functions (EFs). We aim to…

Are Numerical Impairments Syndrome Specific? Evidence from Williams Syndrome and Down's Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Paterson, Sarah J.; Girelli, Luisa; Butterworth, Brian; Karmiloff-Smith, Annette

2006-01-01

Background: Several theorists maintain that exact number abilities rely on language-relevant processes whereas approximate number calls on visuo-spatial skills. We chose two genetic disorders, Williams syndrome and Down's syndrome, which differ in their relative abilities in verbal versus spatial skills, to examine this hypothesis. Five…

Cerebral asymmetry for mental rotation: effects of response hand, handedness and gender.

PubMed

Johnson, Blake W; McKenzie, Kirsten J; Hamm, Jeff P

2002-10-28

We assessed lateralization of brain function during mental rotation, measuring the scalp distribution of a 400-600 ms latency event-related potential (ERP) with 128 recording electrodes. Twenty-four subjects, consisting of equal numbers of dextral and sinistral males and females, performed a mental rotation task under two response conditions (dominant non-dominant hand). For males, ERPs showed a right parietal bias regardless of response hand. For females, the parietal ERPs were slightly left-lateralized when making dominant hand responses, but strongly right-lateralized when making non-dominant hand responses. These results support the notion that visuo-spatial processing is more bilaterally organized in females. However, left hemisphere resources may be allocated to response preparation when using the non-dominant hand, forcing visuo-spatial processing to the right hemisphere.

Attention mechanisms in visual search -- an fMRI study.

PubMed

Leonards, U; Sunaert, S; Van Hecke, P; Orban, G A

2000-01-01

The human visual system is usually confronted with many different objects at a time, with only some of them reaching consciousness. Reaction-time studies have revealed two different strategies by which objects are selected for further processing: an automatic, efficient search process, and a conscious, so-called inefficient search [Treisman, A. (1991). Search, similarity, and integration of features between and within dimensions. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 17, 652--676; Treisman, A., & Gelade, G. (1980). A feature integration theory of attention. Cognitive Psychology, 12, 97--136; Wolfe, J. M. (1996). Visual search. In H. Pashler (Ed.), Attention. London: University College London Press]. Two different theories have been proposed to account for these search processes. Parallel theories presume that both types of search are treated by a single mechanism that is modulated by attentional and computational demands. Serial theories, in contrast, propose that parallel processing may underlie efficient search, but inefficient searching requires an additional serial mechanism, an attentional "spotlight" (Treisman, A., 1991) that successively shifts attention to different locations in the visual field. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we show that the cerebral networks involved in efficient and inefficient search overlap almost completely. Only the superior frontal region, known to be involved in working memory [Courtney, S. M., Petit, L., Maisog, J. M., Ungerleider, L. G., & Haxby, J. V. (1998). An area specialized for spatial working memory in human frontal cortex. Science, 279, 1347--1351], and distinct from the frontal eye fields, that control spatial shifts of attention, was specifically involved in inefficient search. Activity modulations correlated with subjects' behavior best in the extrastriate cortical areas, where the amount of activity depended on the number of distracting elements in the display. Such a correlation was not observed in the parietal and frontal regions, usually assumed as being involved in spatial attention processing. These results can be interpreted in two ways: the most likely is that visual search does not require serial processing, otherwise we must assume the existence of a serial searchlight that operates in the extrastriate cortex but differs from the visuospatial shifts of attention involving the parietal and frontal regions.

[Executive functions and stressful characteristics of children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: influence on behavioral problems during adolescence].

PubMed

Colomer-Diago, Carla; Miranda-Casas, Ana; Herdoiza-Arroyo, Paulina; Presentación-Herrero, M Jesús

2012-02-29

The identification of possible factors that are influencing the course of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) will allow the development of more effective early intervention strategies. AIMS. This research, which used a longitudinal and correlational design, set out to examine the temporal consistency of the primary symptoms and ADHD associated problems. In addition, the relationships and predictive power of working memory, inhibition and stressful characteristics of children with ADHD on the disorder symptoms and behavioral problems in adolescence was analyzed. This study included 65 families with children diagnosed with ADHD. In phase 1 children performed verbal working memory, visuo-spatial and inhibition tests, and information from parents about stressful characteristics of children was collected. In phase 1 and in the follow-up phase, which took place three years later, parents and teachers reported on the primary symptoms of ADHD and behavioral problems. Inattention symptoms as well as most behavioral problems were stable over time, while hyperactivity/impulsivity symptoms decreased. Moreover, neither working memory nor inhibition showed power to predict the central manifestations of ADHD or behavioral problems, while stressful characteristics of demandingness, low adaptability and negative mood had a moderate predictive capacity. These results confirm the role of stressful child characteristics as a risk factor in the course of ADHD.

Working memory operates over the same representations as attention

PubMed Central

Xie, Jiushu; Xia, Tiansheng; Mo, Lei

2017-01-01

A recent study observed a working memory (WM) Stroop effect with a magnitude equivalent to that of the classic Stroop effect, indicating that WM operates over the same representations as attention. However, more research is needed to examine this proposal. One unanswered question is whether the WM Stroop effect occurs when the WM item and the perceptual task do not have an overlapping response set. We addressed this question in Experiment 1 by conducting an attentional word-color task and a WM word-color task. The results showed that a WM Stroop effect also occurred in that condition, as a word that only indirectly evoked a color representation could interfere with the color judgement in both the attentional task and WM task. In Experiment 2, we used a classic Simon task and a WM Simon task to examine whether holding visuo-spatial information rather than verbal information in WM could interfere with perceptual judgment as well. We observed a WM Simon effect of equivalent magnitude to that of the classic Simon effect. The well-known stimulus-response compatibility effect also existed in the WM domain. The two experiments together demonstrated that WM operates over the same representations as attention, which sheds new light on the hypothesis that working memory is internally directed attention. PMID:28604840

Working memory operates over the same representations as attention.

PubMed

Chen, Ke; Ye, Yanyan; Xie, Jiushu; Xia, Tiansheng; Mo, Lei

2017-01-01

A recent study observed a working memory (WM) Stroop effect with a magnitude equivalent to that of the classic Stroop effect, indicating that WM operates over the same representations as attention. However, more research is needed to examine this proposal. One unanswered question is whether the WM Stroop effect occurs when the WM item and the perceptual task do not have an overlapping response set. We addressed this question in Experiment 1 by conducting an attentional word-color task and a WM word-color task. The results showed that a WM Stroop effect also occurred in that condition, as a word that only indirectly evoked a color representation could interfere with the color judgement in both the attentional task and WM task. In Experiment 2, we used a classic Simon task and a WM Simon task to examine whether holding visuo-spatial information rather than verbal information in WM could interfere with perceptual judgment as well. We observed a WM Simon effect of equivalent magnitude to that of the classic Simon effect. The well-known stimulus-response compatibility effect also existed in the WM domain. The two experiments together demonstrated that WM operates over the same representations as attention, which sheds new light on the hypothesis that working memory is internally directed attention.

Visuo–spatial working memory is an important source of domain-general vulnerability in the development of arithmetic cognition

PubMed Central

Ashkenazi, Sarit; Rosenberg-Lee, Miriam; Metcalfe, Arron W.S.; Swigart, Anna G.; Menon, Vinod

2014-01-01

The study of developmental disorders can provide a unique window into the role of domain-general cognitive abilities and neural systems in typical and atypical development. Mathematical disabilities (MD) are characterized by marked difficulty in mathematical cognition in the presence of preserved intelligence and verbal ability. Although studies of MD have most often focused on the role of core deficits in numerical processing, domain-general cognitive abilities, in particular working memory (WM), have also been implicated. Here we identify specific WM components that are impaired in children with MD and then examine their role in arithmetic problem solving. Compared to typically developing (TD) children, the MD group demonstrated lower arithmetic performance and lower visuo-spatial working memory (VSWM) scores with preserved abilities on the phonological and central executive components of WM. Whole brain analysis revealed that, during arithmetic problem solving, left posterior parietal cortex, bilateral dorsolateral and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, cingulate gyrus and precuneus, and fusiform gyrus responses were positively correlated with VSWM ability in TD children, but not in the MD group. Additional analyses using a priori posterior parietal cortex regions previously implicated in WM tasks, demonstrated a convergent pattern of results during arithmetic problem solving. These results suggest that MD is characterized by a common locus of arithmetic and VSWM deficits at both the cognitive and functional neuroanatomical levels. Unlike TD children, children with MD do not use VSWM resources appropriately during arithmetic problem solving. This work advances our understanding of VSWM as an important domain-general cognitive process in both typical and atypical mathematical skill development. PMID:23896444

Spatiotemporal encoding of search strategies by prefrontal neurons.

PubMed

Chiang, Feng-Kuei; Wallis, Joni D

2018-05-08

Working memory is capacity-limited. In everyday life we rarely notice this limitation, in part because we develop behavioral strategies that help mitigate the capacity limitation. How behavioral strategies are mediated at the neural level is unclear, but a likely locus is lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC). Neurons in LPFC play a prominent role in working memory and have been shown to encode behavioral strategies. To examine the role of LPFC in overcoming working-memory limitations, we recorded the activity of LPFC neurons in animals trained to perform a serial self-ordered search task. This task measured the ability to prospectively plan the selection of unchosen spatial search targets while retrospectively tracking which targets were previously visited. We found that individual LPFC neurons encoded the spatial location of the current search target but also encoded the spatial location of targets up to several steps away in the search sequence. Neurons were more likely to encode prospective than retrospective targets. When subjects used a behavioral strategy of stereotyped target selection, mitigating the working-memory requirements of the task, not only did the number of selection errors decrease but there was a significant reduction in the strength of spatial encoding in LFPC. These results show that LPFC neurons have spatiotemporal mnemonic fields, in that their firing rates are modulated both by the spatial location of future selection behaviors and the temporal organization of that behavior. Furthermore, the strength of this tuning can be dynamically modulated by the demands of the task.

Semantic contribution to verbal short-term memory: are pleasant words easier to remember than neutral words in serial recall and serial recognition?

PubMed

Monnier, Catherine; Syssau, Arielle

2008-01-01

In the four experiments reported here, we examined the role of word pleasantness on immediate serial recall and immediate serial recognition. In Experiment 1, we compared verbal serial recall of pleasant and neutral words, using a limited set of items. In Experiment 2, we replicated Experiment 1 with an open set of words (i.e., new items were used on every trial). In Experiments 3 and 4, we assessed immediate serial recognition of pleasant and neutral words, using item sets from Experiments 1 and 2. Pleasantness was found to have a facilitation effect on both immediate serial recall and immediate serial recognition. This study supplies some new supporting arguments in favor of a semantic contribution to verbal short-term memory performance. The pleasantness effect observed in immediate serial recognition showed that, contrary to a number of earlier findings, performance on this task can also turn out to be dependent on semantic factors. The results are discussed in relation to nonlinguistic and psycholinguistic models of short-term memory.

The role of cognitive training in the neurorehabilitation of a patient who survived a lightning strike. A case study.

PubMed

Tánczos, Tímea; Zádori, Dénes; Jakab, Katalin; Hnyilicza, Zsuzsanna; Klivényi, Péter; Keresztes, László; Engelhardt, József; Németh, Dezső; Vécsei, László

2014-01-01

Lightning-related injuries most often involve impairment of the functions of the central and peripheral nervous systems, usually including cognitive dysfunctions. We evaluated the cognitive deficit of a patient who had survived a lightning strike and measured the improvement after her cognitive training. This therapeutic method appears to be a powerful tool in the neurorehabilitation treatment. The aim of this case study was to prove the beneficial effects of cognitive training as part of the neurorehabilitation after a lightning strike. Six neuropsychological functions were examined in order to test the cognitive status of the patient before and after the 2-month cognitive training: phonological short-term memory (digit span test and word repetitions test), visuo-spatial short-term memory (Corsi Block Tapping Test), working memory (backward digit span test and listening span test), executive functions (letter and semantic fluencies), language functions (non-word repetition test, Pléh-Palotás-Lörik (PPL) test and sentence repetition test) and episodic memory (Rivermead Behavioral Memory Test and Mini Mental State Examination). We also utilized these tests in aged-matched healthy individuals so as to be able to characterize the domains of the observed improvements more precisely. The patient exhibited a considerable improvement in the backward digit span, semantic fluency, non-word repetition, PPL, sentence repetition and Rivermead Behavioral Memory tests. The cognitive training played an important role in the neurorehabilitation treatment of this lightning injury patient. It considerably improved her quality of life through the functional recovery.

Profile of Executive and Memory Function Associated with Amphetamine and Opiate Dependence

PubMed Central

Ersche, Karen D; Clark, Luke; London, Mervyn; Robbins, Trevor W; Sahakian, Barbara J

2007-01-01

Cognitive function was assessed in chronic drug users on neurocognitive measures of executive and memory function. Current amphetamine users were contrasted with current opiate users, and these two groups were compared with former users of these substances (abstinent for at least one year). Four groups of participants were recruited: amphetamine-dependent individuals, opiate-dependent individuals, former users of amphetamines, and/or opiates and healthy non-drug taking controls. Participants were administered the Tower of London (TOL) planning task and the 3D-IDED attentional set-shifting task to assess executive function, and Paired Associates Learning and Delayed Pattern Recognition Memory tasks to assess visual memory function. The three groups of substance users showed significant impairments on TOL planning, Pattern Recognition Memory and Paired Associates Learning. Current amphetamine users displayed a greater degree of impairment than current opiate users. Consistent with previous research showing that healthy men are performing better on visuo-spatial tests than women, our male controls remembered significantly more paired associates than their female counterparts. This relationship was reversed in drug users. While performance of female drug users was normal, male drug users showed significant impairment compared to both their female counterparts and male controls. There was no difference in performance between current and former drug users. Neither years of drug abuse nor years of drug abstinence were associated with performance. Chronic drug users display pronounced neuropsychological impairment in the domains of executive and memory function. Impairment persists after several years of drug abstinence and may reflect neuropathology in frontal and temporal cortices. PMID:16160707

Short-Term Memory Stages in Sign vs. Speech: The Source of the Serial Span Discrepancy

PubMed Central

Hall, Matthew L.

2011-01-01

Speakers generally outperform signers when asked to recall a list of unrelated verbal items. This phenomenon is well established, but its source has remained unclear. In this study, we evaluate the relative contribution of the three main processing stages of short-term memory – perception, encoding, and recall – in this effect. The present study factorially manipulates whether American Sign Language (ASL) or English was used for perception, memory encoding, and recall in hearing ASL-English bilinguals. Results indicate that using ASL during both perception and encoding contributes to the serial span discrepancy. Interestingly, performing recall in ASL slightly increased span, ruling out the view that signing is in general a poor choice for short-term memory. These results suggest that despite the general equivalence of sign and speech in other memory domains, speech-based representations are better suited for the specific task of perception and memory encoding of a series of unrelated verbal items in serial order through the phonological loop. This work suggests that interpretation of performance on serial recall tasks in English may not translate straightforwardly to serial tasks in sign language. PMID:21450284

Synaptic augmentation in a cortical circuit model reproduces serial dependence in visual working memory

PubMed Central

D’Esposito, Mark

2017-01-01

Recent work has established that visual working memory is subject to serial dependence: current information in memory blends with that from the recent past as a function of their similarity. This tuned temporal smoothing likely promotes the stability of memory in the face of noise and occlusion. Serial dependence accumulates over several seconds in memory and deteriorates with increased separation between trials. While this phenomenon has been extensively characterized in behavior, its neural mechanism is unknown. In the present study, we investigate the circuit-level origins of serial dependence in a biophysical model of cortex. We explore two distinct kinds of mechanisms: stable persistent activity during the memory delay period and dynamic “activity-silent” synaptic plasticity. We find that networks endowed with both strong reverberation to support persistent activity and dynamic synapses can closely reproduce behavioral serial dependence. Specifically, elevated activity drives synaptic augmentation, which biases activity on the subsequent trial, giving rise to a spatiotemporally tuned shift in the population response. Our hybrid neural model is a theoretical advance beyond abstract mathematical characterizations, offers testable hypotheses for physiological research, and demonstrates the power of biological insights to provide a quantitative explanation of human behavior. PMID:29244810

Multisensory Cues Capture Spatial Attention Regardless of Perceptual Load

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Santangelo, Valerio; Spence, Charles

2007-01-01

We compared the ability of auditory, visual, and audiovisual (bimodal) exogenous cues to capture visuo-spatial attention under conditions of no load versus high perceptual load. Participants had to discriminate the elevation (up vs. down) of visual targets preceded by either unimodal or bimodal cues under conditions of high perceptual load (in…

Relationship between Spatial Abilities, Mental Rotation and Functional Anatomy Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guillot, Aymeric; Champely, Stephane; Batier, Christophe; Thiriet, Patrice; Collet, Christian

2007-01-01

This study investigated the relationship between visuo-spatial representation, mental rotation (MR) and functional anatomy examination results. A total of 184 students completed the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT), Mental Rotation Test (MRT) and Gordon Test of Visual Imagery Control. The time spent on personal assignment was also considered.…

Forgetting in Immediate Serial Recall: Decay, Temporal Distinctiveness, or Interference?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oberauer, Klaus; Lewandowsky, Stephan

2008-01-01

Three hypotheses of forgetting from immediate memory were tested: time-based decay, decreasing temporal distinctiveness, and interference. The hypotheses were represented by 3 models of serial recall: the primacy model, the SIMPLE (scale-independent memory, perception, and learning) model, and the SOB (serial order in a box) model, respectively.…

Association between Abacus Training and Improvement in Response Inhibition: A Case-control Study

PubMed Central

Na, Kyoung-Sae; Lee, Soyoung Irene; Park, Jun-Ho; Jung, Han-Yong; Ryu, Jung-Hee

2015-01-01

Objective The abacus, first used in Asian countries more than 800 years ago, enables efficient arithmetic calculation via visuo-spatial configuration. We investigated whether abacus-trained children performed better on cognitive tasks and demonstrated higher levels of arithmetic abilities compared to those without such training. Methods We recruited 75 elementary school children (43 abacus-trained and 32 not so trained). Attention, memory, and arithmetic abilities were measured, and we compared the abacus with the control group. Results Children who had learned to use an abacus committed fewer commission errors and showed better arithmetic ability than did controls. We found no significant differences between children with and without abacus training in other areas of attention. Conclusion We speculate that abacus training improves response inhibition via neuroanatomical alterations of the areas that regulate such functions. Further studies are needed to confirm the association between abacus training and better response inhibition. PMID:26243843

Dementia of frontal lobe type.

PubMed Central

Neary, D; Snowden, J S; Northen, B; Goulding, P

1988-01-01

A significant proportion of patients with presenile dementia due to primary cerebral atrophy do not have Alzheimer's disease. One form of non-Alzheimer dementia may be designated as dementia of frontal lobe type (DFT), on the basis of a characteristic neuropsychological picture suggestive of frontal lobe disorder, confirmed by findings on single photon emission tomography. The case histories of seven patients exemplify the disorder: a presentation of social misconduct and personality change, unconcern and disinhibition, in the presence of physical well-being and few neurological signs. Assessment revealed economic and concrete speech with verbal stereotypes, variable memory impairment, and marked abnormalities on tasks sensitive to frontal lobe function. Visuo-spatial disorder was invariably absent. Comparisons of DFT and Alzheimer patients revealed qualitative differences in clinical presentation, neurological signs, profile of psychological disability, electroencephalography, single photon emission tomography and demography. DFT, which may represent forms of Pick's disease, may be more common than is often recognised. PMID:3258902

Mental additions and verbal-domain interference in children with developmental dyscalculia.

PubMed

Mammarella, Irene C; Caviola, Sara; Cornoldi, Cesare; Lucangeli, Daniela

2013-09-01

This study examined the involvement of verbal and visuo-spatial domains in solving addition problems with carrying in a sample of children diagnosed with developmental dyscalculia (DD) divided into two groups: (i) those with DD alone and (ii) those with DD and dyslexia. Age and stage matched typically developing (TD) children were also studied. The addition problems were presented horizontally or vertically and associated with verbal or visuo-spatial information. Study results showed that DD children's performance on mental calculation tasks was more impaired when they tackled horizontally presented addition problems compared to vertically presented ones that are associated to verbal domain involvement. The performance pattern in the two DD groups was found to be similar. The theoretical, clinical and educational implications of these findings are discussed. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Is there "neural efficiency" during the processing of visuo-spatial information in male humans? An EEG study.

PubMed

Capotosto, Paolo; Perrucci, M Gianni; Brunetti, Marcella; Del Gratta, Cosimo; Doppelmayr, Michael; Grabner, Roland H; Klimesch, Wolfgang; Neubauer, Aljoscha; Neuper, Christa; Pfurtscheller, Gert; Romani, Gian Luca; Babiloni, Claudio

2009-12-28

More intelligent persons (high IQ) typically present a higher cortical activity during tasks requiring the encoding of visuo-spatial information, namely higher alpha (about 10 Hz) event-related desynchronization (ERD; Doppelmayr et al., 2005). The opposite is true ("neural efficiency") during the retrieval of the encoded information, as revealed by both lower alpha ERD and/or lower theta (about 5 Hz) event-related synchronization (ERS; Grabner et al., 2004). To reconcile these contrasting results, here we evaluated the working hypothesis that more intelligent male subjects are characterized by a high cortical activity during the encoding phase. This deep encoding would explain the relatively low cortical activity for the retrieval of the encoded information. To test this hypothesis, electroencephalographic (EEG) data were recorded in 22 healthy young male volunteers during visuo-spatial information processing (encoding) and short-term retrieval of the encoded information. Cortical activity was indexed by theta ERS and alpha ERD. It was found that the higher the subjects' total IQ, the stronger the frontal theta ERS during the encoding task. Furthermore, the higher the subjects' total IQ, the lower the frontal high-frequency alpha ERD (about 10-12 Hz) during the retrieval task. This was not true for parietal counterpart of these EEG rhythms. These results reconcile previous contrasting evidence confirming that more intelligent persons do not ever show event-related cortical responses compatible with "neural efficiency" hypothesis. Rather, their cortical activity would depend on flexible and task-adapting features of frontal activation.

Design fluency and neuroanatomical correlates in 54 neurosurgical patients with lesions to the right hemisphere.

PubMed

Marin, Dario; Madotto, Eleonora; Fabbro, Franco; Skrap, Miran; Tomasino, Barbara

2017-10-01

We addressed the neuroanatomical correlates of 54 right-brain-damaged neurosurgical patients on visuo-spatial design fluency, which is a measure of the ability to generate/plan a series of new abstract combinations in a flexible way. 22.2% of the patients were impaired. They failed the task because they did not use strategic behavior, in particular they used rotational strategy to a significantly lower extent and produced a significantly higher rate of perseverative errors. Overall performance did not correlate with neuropsychological tests, suggesting that proficient performance was independent of other cognitive domains. Performance significantly correlated with use of rotational strategy. Tasks related to executive functions such as psychomotor speed and capacity to shift were positively correlated to the number of strategies used to solve the task. Lesion analysis showed that the maximum density of the patients' lesions-obtained by subtracting the overlap of lesions of spared patients from the overlap of lesions of impaired patients-overlaps with the precentral gyrus, rolandic operculum/insula, superior/middle temporal gyrus/hippocampus and, at subcortical level, with part of the superior longitudinal fasciculus, external capsule, retrolenticular part of the internal capsule and sagittal stratum (inferior longitudinal fasciculus and inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus). These areas are part of the fronto-parietal-temporal network known to be involved in top-down control of visuo-spatial attention, suggesting that the mechanisms and the strategies needed for proficient performance are essentially visuo-spatial in nature.

Line and word bisection in right-brain-damaged patients with left spatial neglect.

PubMed

Veronelli, Laura; Vallar, Giuseppe; Marinelli, Chiara V; Primativo, Silvia; Arduino, Lisa S

2014-01-01

Right-brain-damaged patients with left unilateral spatial neglect typically set the mid-point of horizontal lines to the right of the objective center. By contrast, healthy participants exhibit a reversed bias (pseudoneglect). The same effect has been described also when bisecting orthographic strings. In particular, for this latter kind of stimulus, some recent studies have shown that visuo-perceptual characteristics, like stimulus length, may contribute to both the magnitude and the direction bias of the bisection performance (Arduino et al. in Neuropsychologia 48:2140-2146, 2010). Furthermore, word stress was shown to modulate reading performances in both healthy participants, and patients with left spatial neglect and neglect dyslexia (Cubelli and Beschin in Brain Lang 95:319-326, 2005; Rusconi et al. in Neuropsychology 18:135-140, 2004). In Experiment I, 22 right-brain-damaged patients (11 with left visuo-spatial neglect) and 11 matched neurologically unimpaired control participants were asked to set the subjective mid-point of word letter strings, and of lines of comparable length. Most patients exhibited an overall disproportionate rightward bias, sensitive to stimulus length, and similar for words and lines. Importantly, in individual patients, biases differed according to stimulus type (words vs. lines), indicating that at least partly different mechanisms may be involved. In Experiment II, the putative effects on the bisection bias of ortho-phonological information (i.e., word stress endings), arising from the non-neglected right hand side of the stimulus were investigated. The orthographic cue induced a rightward shift of the perceived mid-point in both patients and controls, with short words stressed on the antepenultimate final sequence inducing a smaller rightward deviation with respect to short words stressed on the penultimate final sequence. In conclusion, partly different mechanisms, including both visuo-spatial and lexical factors, may support line and word bisection performance of right-brain-damaged patients with left spatial neglect, and healthy participants.

Working memory and executive functions in transient global amnesia.

PubMed

Quinette, Peggy; Guillery, Bérengère; Desgranges, Béatrice; de la Sayette, Vincent; Viader, Fausto; Eustache, Francis

2003-09-01

Transient global amnesia (TGA) is usually considered to produce a profound impairment of long-term episodic memory, while at the same time sparing working memory. However, this neuropsychological dissociation has rarely been examined in detail. While a few studies have assessed some components of working memory in TGA, the results that have been obtained are far from conclusive. To clarify this issue, we carried out a comprehensive investigation of working memory in 10 patients during a TGA attack. In the first study, we report the results from three patients examined with a battery of neuropsychological tests designed to assess each of the three subcomponents of Baddeley's model of working memory. In a second study, seven different patients underwent neuropsychological investigations that focused specifically on the central executive system, using a protocol derived from a study by Miyake and colleagues. Our findings showed that subcomponents of working memory, such as the phonological loop and visuo-spatial sketch pad, were spared in TGA patients. Specific executive functions that entailed inhibitory control, dual task performance, updating and shifting mechanisms were also found to be normal. However, we found significantly impaired performance for the Brown-Peterson test, and that TGA patients were significantly impaired in the recollection of their episodic memories. They also made reduced numbers of 'remember' compared with 'know' judgments in the episodic memory test several days after TGA. On the basis of our findings, it would appear that the episodic memory deficit during TGA is not related to elementary aspects of executive functioning. Our data also highlight the nature of the cognitive mechanisms involved in the Brown-Peterson task, which may well depend on long-term memory (such as the process of semantic encoding). Lastly, the selective deficit in recollective episodic memories observed in TGA may be principally related to medial temporal lobe abnormalities that have been reported in this syndrome.

Memory deficits in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis are not exclusively caused by executive dysfunction: a comparative neuropsychological study of amnestic mild cognitive impairment.

PubMed

Machts, Judith; Bittner, Verena; Kasper, Elisabeth; Schuster, Christina; Prudlo, Johannes; Abdulla, Susanne; Kollewe, Katja; Petri, Susanne; Dengler, Reinhard; Heinze, Hans-Jochen; Vielhaber, Stefan; Schoenfeld, Mircea A; Bittner, Daniel M

2014-06-30

Recent work suggests that ALS and frontotemporal dementia can occur together and share at least in part the same underlying pathophysiology. However, it is unclear at present whether memory deficits in ALS stem from a temporal lobe dysfunction, or are rather driven by frontal executive dysfunction. In this study we sought to investigate the nature of memory deficits by analyzing the neuropsychological performance of 40 ALS patients in comparison to 39 amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) patients and 40 healthy controls (HC). The neuropsychological battery tested for impairment in executive functions, as well as memory and visuo-spatial skills, the results of which were compared across study groups. In addition, we calculated composite scores for memory (learning, recall, recognition) and executive functions (verbal fluency, cognitive flexibility, working memory). We hypothesized that the nature of memory impairment in ALS will be different from those exhibited by aMCI patients. Patient groups exhibited significant differences in their type of memory deficit, with the ALS group showing impairment only in recognition, whereas aMCI patients showed short and delayed recall performance deficits as well as reduced short-term capacity. Regression analysis revealed a significant impact of executive function on memory performance exclusively for the ALS group, accounting for one fifth of their memory performance. Interestingly, merging all sub scores into a single memory and an executive function score obscured these differences. The presented results indicate that the interpretation of neuropsychological scores needs to take the distinct cognitive profiles in ALS and aMCI into consideration. Importantly, the observed memory deficits in ALS were distinctly different from those observed in aMCI and can be explained only to some extent in the context of comorbid (coexisting) executive dysfunction. These findings highlight the qualitative differences in temporal lobe dysfunction between ALS and aMCI patients, and support temporal lobe dysfunction as a mechanism underlying the distinct cognitive impairments observed in ALS.

Memory monitoring by animals and humans

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, J. D.; Shields, W. E.; Allendoerfer, K. R.; Washburn, D. A.; Rumbaugh, D. M. (Principal Investigator)

1998-01-01

The authors asked whether animals and humans would use similarly an uncertain response to escape indeterminate memories. Monkeys and humans performed serial probe recognition tasks that produced differential memory difficulty across serial positions (e.g., primacy and recency effects). Participants were given an escape option that let them avoid any trials they wished and receive a hint to the trial's answer. Across species, across tasks, and even across conspecifics with sharper or duller memories, monkeys and humans used the escape option selectively when more indeterminate memory traces were probed. Their pattern of escaping always mirrored the pattern of their primary memory performance across serial positions. Signal-detection analyses confirm the similarity of the animals' and humans' performances. Optimality analyses assess their efficiency. Several aspects of monkeys' performance suggest the cognitive sophistication of their decisions to escape.

Short- and long-term memory contributions to immediate serial recognition: evidence from serial position effects.

PubMed

Purser, Harry; Jarrold, Christopher

2010-04-01

A long-standing body of research supports the existence of separable short- and long-term memory systems, relying on phonological and semantic codes, respectively. The aim of the current study was to measure the contribution of long-term knowledge to short-term memory performance by looking for evidence of phonologically and semantically coded storage within a short-term recognition task, among developmental samples. Each experimental trial presented 4-item lists. In Experiment 1 typically developing children aged 5 to 6 years old showed evidence of phonologically coded storage across all 4 serial positions, but evidence of semantically coded storage at Serial Positions 1 and 2. In a further experiment, a group of individuals with Down syndrome was investigated as a test case that might be expected to use semantic coding to support short-term storage, but these participants showed no evidence of semantically coded storage and evidenced phonologically coded storage only at Serial Position 4, suggesting that individuals with Down syndrome have a verbal short-term memory capacity of 1 item. Our results suggest that previous evidence of semantic effects on "short-term memory performance" does not reflect semantic coding in short-term memory itself, and provide an experimental method for researchers wishing to take a relatively pure measure of verbal short-term memory capacity, in cases where rehearsal is unlikely.

Seeing and Feeling for Self and Other: Proprioceptive Spatial Location Determines Multisensory Enhancement of Touch

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cardini, Flavia; Haggard, Patrick; Ladavas, Elisabetta

2013-01-01

We have investigated the relation between visuo-tactile interactions and the self-other distinction. In the Visual Enhancement of Touch (VET) effect, non-informative vision of one's own hand improves tactile spatial perception. Previous studies suggested that looking at "another"person's hand could also enhance tactile perception, but did not…

Association of Chronic Subjective Tinnitus with Neuro- Cognitive Performance.

PubMed

Gudwani, Sunita; Munjal, Sanjay K; Panda, Naresh K; Kohli, Adarsh

2017-12-01

Chronic subjective tinnitus is associated with cognitive disruptions affecting perception, thinking, language, reasoning, problem solving, memory, visual tasks (reading) and attention. To evaluate existence of any association between tinnitus parameters and neuropsychological performance to explain cognitive processing. Study design was prospective, consisting 25 patients with idiopathic chronic subjective tinnitus and gave informed consent before planning their treatment. Neuropsychological profile included (i) performance on verbal information, comprehension, arithmetic and digit span; (ii) non-verbal performance for visual pattern completion analogies; (iii) memory performance for long-term, recent, delayed-recall, immediate-recall, verbal-retention, visualretention, visual recognition; (iv) reception, interpretation and execution for visual motor gestalt. Correlation between tinnitus onset duration/ loudness perception with neuropsychological profile was assessed by calculating Spearman's coefficient. Findings suggest that tinnitus may interfere with cognitive processing especially performance on digit span, verbal comprehension, mental balance, attention & concentration, immediate recall, visual recognition and visual-motor gestalt subtests. Negative correlation between neurocognitive tasks with tinnitus loudness and onset duration indicated their association. Positive correlation between tinnitus and visual-motor gestalt performance indicated the brain dysfunction. Tinnitus association with non-auditory processing of verbal, visual and visuo-spatial information suggested neuroplastic changes that need to be targeted in cognitive rehabilitation.

Efficacy of working memory training in children and adolescents with learning disabilities: A review study and meta-analysis.

PubMed

Peijnenborgh, Janneke C A W; Hurks, Petra M; Aldenkamp, Albert P; Vles, Johan S H; Hendriksen, Jos G M

2016-10-01

The effectiveness of working memory (WM) training programmes is still a subject of debate. Previous reviews were heterogeneous with regard to participant characteristics of the studies included. To examine whether these programmes are of added value for children with learning disabilities (LDs), a systematic meta-analytic review was undertaken focusing specifically on LDs. Thirteen randomised controlled studies were included, with a total of 307 participants (age range = 5.5-17, Mean age across studies = 10.61, SD = 1.77). Potential moderator variables were examined, i.e., age, type of LD, training programme, training dose, design type, and type of control group. The meta-analysis indicated reliable short-term improvements in verbal WM, visuo-spatial WM, and word decoding in children with LDs after training (effect sizes ranged between 0.36 and 0.63), when compared to the untrained control group. These improvements sustained over time for up to eight months. Furthermore, children > 10 years seemed to benefit more in terms of verbal WM than younger children, both immediately after training as well as in the long-term. Other moderator variables did not have an effect on treatment efficacy.

The Dynamics of Access to Groups in Working Memory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farrell, Simon; Lelievre, Anna

2012-01-01

The finding that participants leave a pause between groups when attempting serial recall of temporally grouped lists has been taken to indicate access to a hierarchical representation of the list in working memory. An alternative explanation is that the dynamics of serial recall solely reflect output (rather than memorial) processes, with the…

Delayed memory effects after intense stress in Special Forces candidates: exploring path processes between cortisol secretion and memory recall.

PubMed

Taverniers, John; Taylor, Marcus K; Smeets, Tom

2013-05-01

The aim of this paper is twofold. First, it explores delayed effects of high endogenously evoked cortisol concentrations on visuo-spatial declarative memory. Subsequently, it applies multiple mediation (MM) analyses to reveal path processes between stress and cognitive performance in a sample of 24 male Special Forces (SF) candidates (mean age = 27.0 years, SD = 4.1). The SF candidates were randomly assigned to a control (n = 12) or an intense stress group (n = 12), and cortisol secretion for the intense stress condition was triggered by a brusque 60 min prisoner of war exercise. Stress exposure provoked robust increases in cortisol concentrations and a significant decline in immediate recall performance, measured with the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure (ROCF). The relative retrieval differences in regard to the ROCF persisted even after a recovery period of 24 h, as both groups showed similar levels of memory decline over 24 h. Next, the study applied a MM design that involved distribution-independent asymptotic and resampling strategies to extend traditional bivariate analyses. MM results showed that ROCF performance was mediated by increases in cortisol concentrations. Considering the studied variables, the current analysis was the first to provide statistical support for the generally accepted thesis that cortisol secretion in itself, rather than subjective strain or the experimental treatment, affects cognitive performance. The revelation of such path processes is important because it establishes process identification and may refine existing paradigms.

Working memory capacity and controlled serial memory search.

PubMed

Mızrak, Eda; Öztekin, Ilke

2016-08-01

The speed-accuracy trade-off (SAT) procedure was used to investigate the relationship between working memory capacity (WMC) and the dynamics of temporal order memory retrieval. High- and low-span participants (HSs, LSs) studied sequentially presented five-item lists, followed by two probes from the study list. Participants indicated the more recent probe. Overall, accuracy was higher for HSs compared to LSs. Crucially, in contrast to previous investigations that observed no impact of WMC on speed of access to item information in memory (e.g., Öztekin & McElree, 2010), recovery of temporal order memory was slower for LSs. While accessing an item's representation in memory can be direct, recovery of relational information such as temporal order information requires a more controlled serial memory search. Collectively, these data indicate that WMC effects are particularly prominent during high demands of cognitive control, such as serial search operations necessary to access temporal order information from memory. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The riddle of style changes in the visual arts after interference with the right brain.

PubMed

Blanke, Olaf; Pasqualini, Isabella

2011-01-01

We here analyze the paintings and films of several visual artists, who suffered from a well-defined neuropsychological deficit, visuo-spatial hemineglect, following vascular stroke to the right brain. In our analysis we focus in particular on the oeuvre of Lovis Corinth and Luchino Visconti as both major artists continued to be highly productive over many years after their right brain damage. We analyzed their post-stroke paintings and films, indicate several aspects that differ from their pre-stroke work (omissions, use of color, perseveration, deformation), and propose-although both artists come from different times, countries, genres, and styles-that their post-stroke oeuvre reveals important similarities in style. We argue that these changes may be associated with visuo-spatial hemineglect and the right brain. We discuss future avenues of how the neuropsychological investigation of visual artists with and without neglect may allow us to investigate the relationship between brain and art.

How Visuo-Spatial Mental Imagery Develops: Image Generation and Maintenance

PubMed Central

Wimmer, Marina C.; Maras, Katie L.; Robinson, Elizabeth J; Doherty, Martin J; Pugeault, Nicolas

2015-01-01

Two experiments examined the nature of visuo-spatial mental imagery generation and maintenance in 4-, 6-, 8-, 10-year old children and adults (N = 211). The key questions were how image generation and maintenance develop (Experiment 1) and how accurately children and adults coordinate mental and visually perceived images (Experiment 2). Experiment 1 indicated that basic image generation and maintenance abilities are present at 4 years of age but the precision with which images are generated and maintained improves particularly between 4 and 8 years. In addition to increased precision, Experiment 2 demonstrated that generated and maintained mental images become increasingly similar to visually perceived objects. Altogether, findings suggest that for simple tasks demanding image generation and maintenance, children attain adult-like precision younger than previously reported. This research also sheds new light on the ability to coordinate mental images with visual images in children and adults. PMID:26562296

Visuo-spatial processing in autism--testing the predictions of extreme male brain theory.

PubMed

Falter, Christine M; Plaisted, Kate C; Davis, Greg

2008-03-01

It has been hypothesised that autism is an extreme version of the male brain, caused by high levels of prenatal testosterone (Baron-Cohen 1999). To test this proposal, associations were assessed between three visuo-spatial tasks and prenatal testosterone, indexed in second-to-fourth digit length ratios (2D:4D). The study included children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, ASD (N = 28), and chronological as well as mental age matched typically-developing children (N = 31). While the group with ASD outperformed the control group at Mental Rotation and Figure-Disembedding, these group differences were not related to differences in prenatal testosterone level. Previous findings of an association between Targeting and 2D:4D were replicated in typically-developing children and children with ASD. The implications of these results for the extreme male brain (EMB) theory of autism are discussed.

Hearing visuo-tactile synchrony - Sound-induced proprioceptive drift in the invisible hand illusion.

PubMed

Darnai, Gergely; Szolcsányi, Tibor; Hegedüs, Gábor; Kincses, Péter; Kállai, János; Kovács, Márton; Simon, Eszter; Nagy, Zsófia; Janszky, József

2017-02-01

The rubber hand illusion (RHI) and its variant the invisible hand illusion (IHI) are useful for investigating multisensory aspects of bodily self-consciousness. Here, we explored whether auditory conditioning during an RHI could enhance the trisensory visuo-tactile-proprioceptive interaction underlying the IHI. Our paradigm comprised of an IHI session that was followed by an RHI session and another IHI session. The IHI sessions had two parts presented in counterbalanced order. One part was conducted in silence, whereas the other part was conducted on the backdrop of metronome beats that occurred in synchrony with the brush movements used for the induction of the illusion. In a first experiment, the RHI session also involved metronome beats and was aimed at creating an associative memory between the brush stroking of a rubber hand and the sounds. An analysis of IHI sessions showed that the participants' perceived hand position drifted more towards the body-midline in the metronome relative to the silent condition without any sound-related session differences. Thus, the sounds, but not the auditory RHI conditioning, influenced the IHI. In a second experiment, the RHI session was conducted without metronome beats. This confirmed the conditioning-independent presence of sound-induced proprioceptive drift in the IHI. Together, these findings show that the influence of visuo-tactile integration on proprioceptive updating is modifiable by irrelevant auditory cues merely through the temporal correspondence between the visuo-tactile and auditory events. © 2016 The British Psychological Society.

Intake of Wild Blueberry Powder Improves Episodic-Like and Working Memory during Normal Aging in Mice.

PubMed

Beracochea, Daniel; Krazem, Ali; Henkouss, Nadia; Haccard, Guillaume; Roller, Marc; Fromentin, Emilie

2016-08-01

The number of Americans older than 65 years old is projected to more than double in the next 40 years. Cognitive changes associated to aging can affect an adult's day-to-day functioning. Among these cognitive changes, reasoning, episodic memory, working memory, and processing speed decline gradually over time. Early memory changes include a decline in both working and episodic memory. The aim of the present study was to determine whether chronic (up to 75 days) daily administration of wild blueberry extract or a wild blueberry full spectrum powder would help prevent memory failure associated with aging in tasks involving various forms of memory. Both blueberry ingredients were used in a study comparing young mice (6 months old) to aged mice (18 months old). At this age, mice exhibit memory decline due to aging, which is exacerbated first by a loss in working and contextual (episodic-like) memory. Contextual memory (episodic-like memory) was evaluated using the contextual serial discrimination test. Working and spatial memory were evaluated using the Morris-Water maze test and the sequential alternation test. Statistical analysis was performed using an ANOVA with the Bonferroni post-hoc test. Supplementation with wild blueberry full spectrum powder and wild blueberry extract resulted in significant improvement of contextual memory, while untreated aged mice experienced a decline in such memory. Only the wild blueberry full spectrum powder significantly contributed to an improvement of spatial and working memory versus untreated aged mice. These improvements of cognitive performance may be related to brain oxidative status, acetylcholinesterase activity, neuroprotection, or attenuation of immunoreactivity. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Assessing Working Memory in Mild Cognitive Impairment with Serial Order Recall.

PubMed

Emrani, Sheina; Libon, David J; Lamar, Melissa; Price, Catherine C; Jefferson, Angela L; Gifford, Katherine A; Hohman, Timothy J; Nation, Daniel A; Delano-Wood, Lisa; Jak, Amy; Bangen, Katherine J; Bondi, Mark W; Brickman, Adam M; Manly, Jennifer; Swenson, Rodney; Au, Rhoda

2018-01-01

Working memory (WM) is often assessed with serial order tests such as repeating digits backward. In prior dementia research using the Backward Digit Span Test (BDT), only aggregate test performance was examined. The current research tallied primacy/recency effects, out-of-sequence transposition errors, perseverations, and omissions to assess WM deficits in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Memory clinic patients (n = 66) were classified into three groups: single domain amnestic MCI (aMCI), combined mixed domain/dysexecutive MCI (mixed/dys MCI), and non-MCI where patients did not meet criteria for MCI. Serial order/WM ability was assessed by asking participants to repeat 7 trials of five digits backwards. Serial order position accuracy, transposition errors, perseverations, and omission errors were tallied. A 3 (group)×5 (serial position) repeated measures ANOVA yielded a significant group×trial interaction. Follow-up analyses found attenuation of the recency effect for mixed/dys MCI patients. Mixed/dys MCI patients scored lower than non-MCI patients for serial position 3 (p < 0.003) serial position 4 (p < 0.002); and lower than both group for serial position 5 (recency; p < 0.002). Mixed/dys MCI patients also produced more transposition errors than both groups (p < 0.010); and more omissions (p < 0.020), and perseverations errors (p < 0.018) than non-MCI patients. The attenuation of a recency effect using serial order parameters obtained from the BDT may provide a useful operational definition as well as additional diagnostic information regarding working memory deficits in MCI.

A Revised Model of Short-Term Memory and Long-Term Learning of Verbal Sequences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burgess, Neil; Hitch, Graham J.

2006-01-01

The interaction between short- and long-term memory is studied within a model in which phonemic and (temporal) contextual information have separate influences on immediate verbal serial recall via connections with short- and long-term plasticity [Burgess, N., & Hitch, G.J. (1999). Memory for serial order: a network model of the phonological loop…

Sleep and memory consolidation: motor performance and proactive interference effects in sequence learning.

PubMed

Borragán, Guillermo; Urbain, Charline; Schmitz, Rémy; Mary, Alison; Peigneux, Philippe

2015-04-01

That post-training sleep supports the consolidation of sequential motor skills remains debated. Performance improvement and sensitivity to proactive interference are both putative measures of long-term memory consolidation. We tested sleep-dependent memory consolidation for visuo-motor sequence learning using a proactive interference paradigm. Thirty-three young adults were trained on sequence A on Day 1, then had Regular Sleep (RS) or were Sleep Deprived (SD) on the night after learning. After two recovery nights, they were tested on the same sequence A, then had to learn a novel, potentially competing sequence B. We hypothesized that proactive interference effects on sequence B due to the prior learning of sequence A would be higher in the RS condition, considering that proactive interference is an indirect marker of the robustness of sequence A, which should be better consolidated over post-training sleep. Results highlighted sleep-dependent improvement for sequence A, with faster RTs overnight for RS participants only. Moreover, the beneficial impact of sleep was specific to the consolidation of motor but not sequential skills. Proactive interference effects on learning a new material at Day 4 were similar between RS and SD participants. These results suggest that post-training sleep contributes to optimizing motor but not sequential components of performance in visuo-motor sequence learning. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Working Memory Training for Healthy Older Adults: The Role of Individual Characteristics in Explaining Short- and Long-Term Gains

PubMed Central

Borella, Erika; Carbone, Elena; Pastore, Massimiliano; De Beni, Rossana; Carretti, Barbara

2017-01-01

Objective: The aim of the present study was to explore whether individual characteristics such as age, education, vocabulary, and baseline performance in a working memory (WM) task—similar to the one used in the training (criterion task)—predict the short- and long-term specific gains and transfer effects of a verbal WM training for older adults. Method: Four studies that adopted the Borella et al. (2010) verbal WM training procedure were found eligible for our analysis as they included: healthy older adults who attended either the training sessions (WM training group), or alternative activities (active control group); the same measures for assessing specific gains (on the criterion WM task), and transfer effects (nearest on a visuo-spatial WM task, near on short-term memory tasks and far on a measure of fluid intelligence, a measure of processing speed and two inhibitory measures); and a follow-up session. Results: Linear mixed models confirmed the overall efficacy of the training, in the short-term at least, and some maintenance effects. In the trained group, the individual characteristics considered were found to contribute (albeit only modestly in some cases) to explaining the effects of the training. Conclusions: Overall, our findings suggest the importance of taking individual characteristics and individual differences into account when examining WM training gains in older adults. PMID:28381995

From brief gaps to very long pauses: temporal isolation does not benefit serial recall.

PubMed

Nimmo, Lisa M; Lewandowsky, Stephan

2005-12-01

Theoretical explanations of short-term memory for serial order can be classified on the basis of whether or not they invoke time as a causal variable. According to time-based accounts, such as temporal distinctiveness theories, there is an intimate link between time and memory. Event-based theories, by contrast, postulate processes such as interference or rehearsal to account for seemingly temporal phenomena in short-term memory. We report an experiment that examined whether extended temporal isolation benefits serial recall performance. Regardless of whether the participants were quiet or performed articulatory suppression during list presentation, temporal isolation did not benefit memory even if items were separated from their neighbors by up to 7 sec. These findings challenge time-based theories of short-term memory.

Short-term memory loss over time without retroactive stimulus interference.

PubMed

Cowan, Nelson; AuBuchon, Angela M

2008-02-01

A key question in cognitive psychology is whether information in short-term memory is lost as a function of time. Lewandowsky, Duncan, and Brown (2004) argued against that memory loss because forgetting in serial recall occurred to the same extent across serial positions regardless of the rate of recall. However, we believe Lewandowsky et al. (2004) only prevented one of two types of rehearsal; they did not prevent nonarticulatory rehearsal via attention. To prevent articulatory and nonarticulatory rehearsal without introducing interference, we presented unevenly timed stimuli for serial recall and, on some trials, required that the timing of stimuli be reproduced in the response. In those trials only, evidence of memory loss over time emerged. Further research is needed to identify whether this memory loss is decay or lost distinctiveness.

Digitally programmable signal generator and method

DOEpatents

Priatko, G.J.; Kaskey, J.A.

1989-11-14

Disclosed is a digitally programmable waveform generator for generating completely arbitrary digital or analog waveforms from very low frequencies to frequencies in the gigasample per second range. A memory array with multiple parallel outputs is addressed; then the parallel output data is latched into buffer storage from which it is serially multiplexed out at a data rate many times faster than the access time of the memory array itself. While data is being multiplexed out serially, the memory array is accessed with the next required address and presents its data to the buffer storage before the serial multiplexing of the last group of data is completed, allowing this new data to then be latched into the buffer storage for smooth continuous serial data output. In a preferred implementation, a plurality of these serial data outputs are paralleled to form the input to a digital to analog converter, providing a programmable analog output. 6 figs.

Digitally programmable signal generator and method

DOEpatents

Priatko, Gordon J.; Kaskey, Jeffrey A.

1989-01-01

A digitally programmable waveform generator for generating completely arbitrary digital or analog waveforms from very low frequencies to frequencies in the gigasample per second range. A memory array with multiple parallel outputs is addressed; then the parallel output data is latched into buffer storage from which it is serially multiplexed out at a data rate many times faster than the access time of the memory array itself. While data is being multiplexed out serially, the memory array is accessed with the next required address and presents its data to the buffer storage before the serial multiplexing of the last group of data is completed, allowing this new data to then be latched into the buffer storage for smooth continuous serial data output. In a preferred implementation, a plurality of these serial data outputs are paralleled to form the input to a digital to analog converter, providing a programmable analog output.

Crossmodal representation of a functional robotic hand arises after extensive training in healthy participants.

PubMed

Marini, Francesco; Tagliabue, Chiara F; Sposito, Ambra V; Hernandez-Arieta, Alejandro; Brugger, Peter; Estévez, Natalia; Maravita, Angelo

2014-01-01

The way in which humans represent their own bodies is critical in guiding their interactions with the environment. To achieve successful body-space interactions, the body representation is strictly connected with that of the space immediately surrounding it through efficient visuo-tactile crossmodal integration. Such a body-space integrated representation is not fixed, but can be dynamically modulated by the use of external tools. Our study aims to explore the effect of using a complex tool, namely a functional prosthesis, on crossmodal visuo-tactile spatial interactions in healthy participants. By using the crossmodal visuo-tactile congruency paradigm, we found that prolonged training with a mechanical hand capable of distal hand movements and providing sensory feedback induces a pattern of interference, which is not observed after a brief training, between visual stimuli close to the prosthesis and touches on the body. These results suggest that after extensive, but not short, training the functional prosthesis acquires a visuo-tactile crossmodal representation akin to real limbs. This finding adds to previous evidence for the embodiment of functional prostheses in amputees, and shows that their use may also improve the crossmodal combination of somatosensory feedback delivered by the prosthesis with visual stimuli in the space around it, thus effectively augmenting the patients' visuomotor abilities. © 2013 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Domain Specific Changes in Cognition at High Altitude and Its Correlation with Hyperhomocysteinemia

PubMed Central

Sharma, Vijay K.; Das, Saroj K.; Dhar, Priyanka; Hota, Kalpana B.; Mahapatra, Bidhu B.; Vashishtha, Vivek; Kumar, Ashish; Hota, Sunil K.; Norboo, Tsering; Srivastava, Ravi B.

2014-01-01

Though acute exposure to hypobaric hypoxia is reported to impair cognitive performance, the effects of prolonged exposure on different cognitive domains have been less studied. The present study aimed at investigating the time dependent changes in cognitive performance on prolonged stay at high altitude and its correlation with electroencephalogram (EEG) and plasma homocysteine. The study was conducted on 761 male volunteers of 25–35 years age who had never been to high altitude and baseline data pertaining to domain specific cognitive performance, EEG and homocysteine was acquired at altitude ≤240 m mean sea level (MSL). The volunteers were inducted to an altitude of 4200–4600 m MSL and longitudinal follow-ups were conducted at durations of 03, 12 and 18 months. Neuropsychological assessment was performed for mild cognitive impairment (MCI), attention, information processing rate, visuo-spatial cognition and executive functioning. Total homocysteine (tHcy), vitamin B12 and folic acid were estimated. Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) showed temporal increase in the percentage prevalence of MCI from 8.17% on 03 months of stay at high altitude to 18.54% on 18 months of stay. Impairment in visuo-spatial executive, attention, delayed recall and procedural memory related cognitive domains were detected following prolonged stay in high altitude. Increase in alpha wave amplitude in the T3, T4 and C3 regions was observed during the follow-ups which was inversely correlated (r = −0.68) to MMSE scores. The tHcy increased proportionately with duration of stay at high altitude and was correlated with MCI. No change in vitamin B12 and folic acid was observed. Our findings suggest that cognitive impairment is progressively associated with duration of stay at high altitude and is correlated with elevated tHcy in the plasma. Moreover, progressive MCI at high altitude occurs despite acclimatization and is independent of vitamin B12 and folic acid. PMID:24988417

Assessment of the effects of sex and sex hormones on spatial cognition in adult rats using the Barnes maze.

PubMed

Locklear, M N; Kritzer, M F

2014-07-01

Although sex differences and hormone effects on spatial cognition are observed in humans and animals, consensus has not been reached regarding exact impact on spatial working or reference memory. Recent studies in rats suggest that stress and/or reward, which are often different in tasks used to assess spatial cognition, can contribute to the inconsistencies in the literature. To minimize the impact of these sex- and sex hormone-sensitive factors, we used the Barnes maze to compare spatial working memory, spatial reference memory and spatial learning strategy in adult male, female, gonadectomized (GDX) male, and GDX male rats supplemented with 17β-estradiol (E) or testosterone propionate (TP). Rats received four acquisition trials, four trials 24h later, and a single retention trial one week after. Males and females acquired the task during the first four trials and retained the task thereafter. In contrast, GDX rats took longer to acquire the task and showed retention deficits at 1week. All deficits were attenuated similarly by TP and E. Assessment of search patterns also showed that strategies in the males transitioned from random to spatially focused and eventually direct approaches to the goal. However, this transition was faster in control and GDX-TP than in GDX and GDX-E rats. In contrast, the females almost invariantly followed the maze edge in thigmotactic, serial searches. Thus, while Barnes maze reveals activational, in part estrogenic effects on spatial cognition in males, its amenability to animals' use of multiple strategies may limit its ability to resolve mnemonic differences across sex. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effects of Orthographic and Phonological Word Length on Memory for Lists Shown at RSVP and STM Rates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coltheart, Veronika; Mondy, Stephen; Dux, Paul E.; Stephenson, Lisa

2004-01-01

This article reports 3 experiments in which effects of orthographic and phonological word length on memory were examined for short lists shown at rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) and short-term memory (STM) rates. Only visual-orthographic length reduced RSVP serial recall, whereas both orthographic and phonological length lowered recall for…

Ascent to moderate altitude impairs overnight memory improvements.

PubMed

Tesler, Noemi; Latshang, Tsogyal D; Lo Cascio, Christian M; Stadelmann, Katrin; Stoewhas, Anne-Christin; Kohler, Malcolm; Bloch, Konrad E; Achermann, Peter; Huber, Reto

2015-02-01

Several studies showed beneficial effects of sleep on memory performance. Slow waves, the electroencephalographic characteristic of deep sleep, reflected on the neuronal level by synchronous slow oscillations, seem crucial for these benefits. Traveling to moderate altitudes decreases deep sleep. In a randomized cross-over design healthy male subjects performed a visuo-motor learning task in Zurich (490 m) and at Davos Jakobshorn (2590 m) in random order. Memory performance was assessed immediately after learning, before sleep, and in the morning after a night of sleep. Sleep EEG recordings were performed during the nights. Our findings show an altitude induced reduction of sleep dependent memory performance. Moreover, this impaired sleep dependent memory performance was associated with reduced slow wave derived measures of neuronal synchronization. Our results are consistent with a critical role of slow waves for the beneficial effects of sleep on memory that is susceptible to natural environmental influences. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Visual similarity in short-term recall for where and when.

PubMed

Jalbert, Annie; Saint-Aubin, Jean; Tremblay, Sébastien

2008-03-01

Two experiments examined the effects of visual similarity on short-term recall for where and when in the visual spatial domain. A series of squares of similar or dissimilar colours were serially presented at various locations on the screen. At recall, all coloured squares were simultaneously presented in a random order at the bottom of the screen, and the locations used for presentation were indicated by white squares. Participants were asked to place the colours at their appropriate location in their presentation order. Performance for location (where) and order (when) was assessed separately. Results revealed that similarity severely hinders both memory for what was where and memory for what was when, under quiet and articulatory suppression conditions. These results provide further evidence that similarity has a major impact on processing relational information in memory.

Enhanced visual statistical learning in adults with autism

PubMed Central

Roser, Matthew E.; Aslin, Richard N.; McKenzie, Rebecca; Zahra, Daniel; Fiser, József

2014-01-01

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are often characterized as having social engagement and language deficiencies, but a sparing of visuo-spatial processing and short-term memory, with some evidence of supra-normal levels of performance in these domains. The present study expanded on this evidence by investigating the observational learning of visuospatial concepts from patterns of covariation across multiple exemplars. Child and adult participants with ASD, and age-matched control participants, viewed multi-shape arrays composed from a random combination of pairs of shapes that were each positioned in a fixed spatial arrangement. After this passive exposure phase, a post-test revealed that all participant groups could discriminate pairs of shapes with high covariation from randomly paired shapes with low covariation. Moreover, learning these shape-pairs with high covariation was superior in adults with ASD than in age-matched controls, while performance in children with ASD was no different than controls. These results extend previous observations of visuospatial enhancement in ASD into the domain of learning, and suggest that enhanced visual statistical learning may have arisen from a sustained bias to attend to local details in complex arrays of visual features. PMID:25151115

Effects of cannabis on cognition in patients with MS: a psychometric and MRI study.

PubMed

Pavisian, Bennis; MacIntosh, Bradley J; Szilagyi, Greg; Staines, Richard W; O'Connor, Paul; Feinstein, Anthony

2014-05-27

To determine functional and structural neuroimaging correlates of cognitive dysfunction associated with cannabis use in multiple sclerosis (MS). In a cross-sectional study, 20 subjects with MS who smoked cannabis and 19 noncannabis users with MS, matched on demographic and neurologic variables, underwent fMRI while completing a test of working memory, the N-Back. Resting-state fMRI and structural MRI data (lesion and normal-appearing brain tissue volumes, diffusion tensor imaging metrics) were also collected. Neuropsychological data pertaining to verbal (Selective Reminding Test Revised) and visual (10/36 Spatial Recall Test) memory, information processing speed (Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test [2- and 3-second versions] and Symbol Digit Modalities Test), and attention (Word List Generation) were obtained. The cannabis group performed more poorly on the more demanding of the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test tasks (i.e., 2-second version) (p < 0.02) and the 10/36 Spatial Recall Test (p < 0.03). Cannabis users had more diffuse cerebral activation across all N-Back trials and made more errors on the 2-Back task (p < 0.006), during which they displayed increased activation relative to nonusers in parietal (p < 0.007) and anterior cingulate (p < 0.001) regions implicated in working memory. No group differences in resting-state networks or structural MRI variables were found. Patients with MS who smoke cannabis are more cognitively impaired than nonusers. Cannabis further compromises cerebral compensatory mechanisms, already faulty in MS. These imaging data boost the construct validity of the neuropsychological findings and act as a cautionary note to cannabis users and prescribers. © 2014 American Academy of Neurology.

Vestibular stimulation, spatial hemineglect and dysphasia, selective effects.

PubMed

Vallar, G; Papagno, C; Rusconi, M L; Bisiach, E

1995-09-01

The selectivity of the effects of vestibular stimulation was investigated in a left brain-damaged patient suffering from right visuo-spatial hemineglect and severe dysplasia. Vestibular stimulation temporarily improved the former but not the latter disorder. These results support the view that this treatment improves hemineglect by a specific effect, running counter the rightward distortion of egocentric co-ordinates, rather than by a general hemispheric activation.

Short-term memory for order but not for item information is impaired in developmental dyslexia.

PubMed

Hachmann, Wibke M; Bogaerts, Louisa; Szmalec, Arnaud; Woumans, Evy; Duyck, Wouter; Job, Remo

2014-07-01

Recent findings suggest that people with dyslexia experience difficulties with the learning of serial order information during the transition from short- to long-term memory (Szmalec et al. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition 37(5): 1270-1279, 2011). At the same time, models of short-term memory increasingly incorporate a distinction of order and item processing (Majerus et al. Cognition 107: 395-419, 2008). The current study is aimed to investigate whether serial order processing deficiencies in dyslexia can be traced back to a selective impairment of short-term memory for serial order and whether this impairment also affects processing beyond the verbal domain. A sample of 26 adults with dyslexia and a group of age and IQ-matched controls participated in a 2 × 2 × 2 experiment in which we assessed short-term recognition performance for order and item information, using both verbal and nonverbal material. Our findings indicate that, irrespective of the type of material, participants with dyslexia recalled the individual items with the same accuracy as the matched control group, whereas the ability to recognize the serial order in which those items were presented appeared to be affected in the dyslexia group. We conclude that dyslexia is characterized by a selective impairment of short-term memory for serial order, but not for item information, and discuss the integration of these findings into current theoretical views on dyslexia and its associated dysfunctions.

Serial consolidation of orientation information into visual short-term memory.

PubMed

Liu, Taosheng; Becker, Mark W

2013-06-01

Previous research suggests that there is a limit to the rate at which items can be consolidated in visual short-term memory (VSTM). This limit could be due to either a serial or a limited-capacity parallel process. Historically, it has proven difficult to distinguish between these two types of processes. In the present experiment, we took a novel approach that allowed us to do so. Participants viewed two oriented gratings either sequentially or simultaneously and reported one of the gratings' orientation via method of adjustment. Performance was worse for the simultaneous than for the sequential condition. We fit the data with a mixture model that assumes performance is limited by a noisy memory representation plus random guessing. Critically, the serial and limited-capacity parallel processes made distinct predictions regarding the model's guessing and memory-precision parameters. We found strong support for a serial process, which implies that one can consolidate only a single orientation into VSTM at a time.

Functionally segregated neural substrates for arbitrary audiovisual paired-association learning.

PubMed

Tanabe, Hiroki C; Honda, Manabu; Sadato, Norihiro

2005-07-06

To clarify the neural substrates and their dynamics during crossmodal association learning, we conducted functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) during audiovisual paired-association learning of delayed matching-to-sample tasks. Thirty subjects were involved in the study; 15 performed an audiovisual paired-association learning task, and the remainder completed a control visuo-visual task. Each trial consisted of the successive presentation of a pair of stimuli. Subjects were asked to identify predefined audiovisual or visuo-visual pairs by trial and error. Feedback for each trial was given regardless of whether the response was correct or incorrect. During the delay period, several areas showed an increase in the MRI signal as learning proceeded: crossmodal activity increased in unimodal areas corresponding to visual or auditory areas, and polymodal responses increased in the occipitotemporal junction and parahippocampal gyrus. This pattern was not observed in the visuo-visual intramodal paired-association learning task, suggesting that crossmodal associations might be formed by binding unimodal sensory areas via polymodal regions. In both the audiovisual and visuo-visual tasks, the MRI signal in the superior temporal sulcus (STS) in response to the second stimulus and feedback peaked during the early phase of learning and then decreased, indicating that the STS might be key to the creation of paired associations, regardless of stimulus type. In contrast to the activity changes in the regions discussed above, there was constant activity in the frontoparietal circuit during the delay period in both tasks, implying that the neural substrates for the formation and storage of paired associates are distinct from working memory circuits.

The Integration of Realistic Episodic Memories Relies on Different Working Memory Processes: Evidence from Virtual Navigation.

PubMed

Plancher, Gaën; Gyselinck, Valérie; Piolino, Pascale

2018-01-01

Memory is one of the most important cognitive functions in a person's life as it is essential for recalling personal memories and performing many everyday tasks. Although a huge number of studies have been conducted in the field, only a few of them investigated memory in realistic situations, due to methodological issues. The various tools that have been developed using virtual environments (VEs) have gained popularity in cognitive psychology and neuropsychology because they enable to create naturalistic and controlled situations, and are thus particularly adapted to the study of episodic memory (EM), for which an ecological evaluation is of prime importance. EM is the conscious recollection of personal events combined with their phenomenological and spatiotemporal encoding contexts. Using an original paradigm in a VE, the objective of the present study was to characterize the construction of episodic memories. While the concept of working memory has become central in the understanding of a wide range of cognitive functions, its role in the integration of episodic memories has seldom been assessed in an ecological context. This experiment aimed at filling this gap by studying how EM is affected by concurrent tasks requiring working memory resources in a realistic situation. Participants navigated in a virtual town and had to memorize as many elements in their spatiotemporal context as they could. During learning, participants had either to perform a concurrent task meant to prevent maintenance through the phonological loop, or a task aimed at preventing maintenance through the visuospatial sketchpad, or no concurrent task. EM was assessed in a recall test performed after learning through various scores measuring the what, where and when of the memories. Results showed that, compared to the control condition with no concurrent task, the prevention of maintenance through the phonological loop had a deleterious impact only on the encoding of central elements. By contrast, the prevention of visuo-spatial maintenance interfered both with the encoding of the temporal context and with the binding. These results suggest that the integration of realistic episodic memories relies on different working memory processes that depend on the nature of the traces.

Nicotinic alpha 7 receptor agonists EVP-6124 and BMS-933043, attenuate scopolamine-induced deficits in visuo-spatial paired associates learning.

PubMed

Weed, Michael R; Polino, Joseph; Signor, Laura; Bookbinder, Mark; Keavy, Deborah; Benitex, Yulia; Morgan, Daniel G; King, Dalton; Macor, John E; Zaczek, Robert; Olson, Richard; Bristow, Linda J

2017-01-01

Agonists at the nicotinic acetylcholine alpha 7 receptor (nAChR α7) subtype have the potential to treat cognitive deficits in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) or schizophrenia. Visuo-spatial paired associates learning (vsPAL) is a task that has been shown to reliably predict conversion from mild cognitive impairment to AD in humans and can also be performed by nonhuman primates. Reversal of scopolamine-induced impairment of vsPAL performance may represent a translational approach for the development of nAChR α7 agonists. The present study investigated the effect of treatment with the acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, donepezil, or three nAChR α7 agonists, BMS-933043, EVP-6124 and RG3487, on vsPAL performance in scopolamine-treated cynomolgus monkeys. Scopolamine administration impaired vsPAL performance accuracy in a dose- and difficulty- dependent manner. The impairment of eventual accuracy, a measure of visuo-spatial learning during the task, was significantly ameliorated by treatment with donepezil (0.3 mg/kg, i.m.), EVP-6124 (0.01 mg/kg, i.m.) or BMS-933043 (0.03, 0.1 and 0.3 mg/kg, i.m.). Both nAChR α7 agonists showed inverted-U shaped dose-effect relationships with EVP-6124 effective at a single dose only whereas BMS-933043 was effective across at least a 10 fold dose/exposure range. RG3487 was not efficacious in this paradigm at the dose range examined (0.03-1 mg/kg, i.m.). These results are the first demonstration that the nAChR α7 agonists, EVP-6124 and BMS-933043, can ameliorate scopolamine-induced cognitive deficits in nonhuman primates performing the vsPAL task.

Nicotinic alpha 7 receptor agonists EVP-6124 and BMS-933043, attenuate scopolamine-induced deficits in visuo-spatial paired associates learning

PubMed Central

Polino, Joseph; Signor, Laura; Bookbinder, Mark; Keavy, Deborah; Benitex, Yulia; Morgan, Daniel G.; King, Dalton; Macor, John E.; Zaczek, Robert; Olson, Richard; Bristow, Linda J.

2017-01-01

Agonists at the nicotinic acetylcholine alpha 7 receptor (nAChR α7) subtype have the potential to treat cognitive deficits in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) or schizophrenia. Visuo-spatial paired associates learning (vsPAL) is a task that has been shown to reliably predict conversion from mild cognitive impairment to AD in humans and can also be performed by nonhuman primates. Reversal of scopolamine-induced impairment of vsPAL performance may represent a translational approach for the development of nAChR α7 agonists. The present study investigated the effect of treatment with the acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, donepezil, or three nAChR α7 agonists, BMS-933043, EVP-6124 and RG3487, on vsPAL performance in scopolamine-treated cynomolgus monkeys. Scopolamine administration impaired vsPAL performance accuracy in a dose- and difficulty- dependent manner. The impairment of eventual accuracy, a measure of visuo-spatial learning during the task, was significantly ameliorated by treatment with donepezil (0.3 mg/kg, i.m.), EVP-6124 (0.01 mg/kg, i.m.) or BMS-933043 (0.03, 0.1 and 0.3 mg/kg, i.m.). Both nAChR α7 agonists showed inverted-U shaped dose-effect relationships with EVP-6124 effective at a single dose only whereas BMS-933043 was effective across at least a 10 fold dose/exposure range. RG3487 was not efficacious in this paradigm at the dose range examined (0.03–1 mg/kg, i.m.). These results are the first demonstration that the nAChR α7 agonists, EVP-6124 and BMS-933043, can ameliorate scopolamine-induced cognitive deficits in nonhuman primates performing the vsPAL task. PMID:29261656

Visuo-spatial orienting during active exploratory behavior: Processing of task-related and stimulus-related signals.

PubMed

Macaluso, Emiliano; Ogawa, Akitoshi

2018-05-01

Functional imaging studies have associated dorsal and ventral fronto-parietal regions with the control of visuo-spatial attention. Previous studies demonstrated that the activity of both the dorsal and the ventral attention systems can be modulated by many different factors, related both to the stimuli and the task. However, the vast majority of this work utilized stereotyped paradigms with simple and repeated stimuli. This is at odd with any real life situation that instead involve complex combinations of different types of co-occurring signals, thus raising the question of the ecological significance of the previous findings. Here we investigated how the brain responds to task-related and stimulus-related signals using an innovative approach that involved active exploration of a virtual environment. This enabled us to study visuo-spatial orienting in conditions entailing a dynamic and coherent flow of visual signals, to some extent analogous to real life situations. The environment comprised colored/textured spheres and cubes, which allowed us to implement a standard feature-conjunction search task (task-related signals), and included one physically salient object that served to track the processing of stimulus-related signals. The imaging analyses showed that the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) activated when the participants' gaze was directed towards the salient-objects. By contrast, the right inferior partial cortex was associated with the processing of the target-objects and of distractors that shared the target-color and shape, consistent with goal-directed template-matching operations. The study highlights the possibility of combining measures of gaze orienting and functional imaging to investigate the processing of different types of signals during active behavior in complex environments. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Response control networks are selectively modulated by attention to rare events and memory load regardless of the need for inhibition.

PubMed

Wijeakumar, Sobanawartiny; Magnotta, Vincent A; Buss, Aaron T; Ambrose, Joseph P; Wifall, Timothy A; Hazeltine, Eliot; Spencer, John P

2015-10-15

Recent evidence has sparked debate about the neural bases of response selection and inhibition. In the current study, we employed two reactive inhibition tasks, the Go/Nogo (GnG) and Simon tasks, to examine questions central to these debates. First, we investigated whether a fronto-cortical-striatal system was sensitive to the need for inhibition per se or the presentation of infrequent stimuli, by manipulating the proportion of trials that do not require inhibition (Go/Compatible trials) relative to trials that require inhibition (Nogo/Incompatible trials). A cortico-subcortical network composed of insula, putamen, and thalamus showed greater activation on salient and infrequent events, regardless of the need for inhibition. Thus, consistent with recent findings, key parts of the fronto-cortical-striatal system are engaged by salient events and do not appear to play a selective role in response inhibition. Second, we examined how the fronto-cortical-striatal system is modulated by working memory demands by varying the number of stimulus-response (SR) mappings. Right inferior parietal lobule showed decreasing activation as the number of SR mappings increased, suggesting that a form of associative memory - rather than working memory - might underlie performance in these tasks. A broad motor planning and control network showed similar trends that were also modulated by the number of motor responses required in each task. Finally, bilateral lingual gyri were more robustly engaged in the Simon task, consistent with the role of this area in shifts of visuo-spatial attention. The current study sheds light on how the fronto-cortical-striatal network is selectively engaged in reactive control tasks and how control is modulated by manipulations of attention and memory load. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The death of recency: Relationship between end-state comfort and serial position effects in serial recall: Logan and Fischman (2011) revisited.

PubMed

Logan, Samuel W; Fischman, Mark G

2015-12-01

Two experiments examined the dynamic interaction between cognitive resources in short-term memory and bimanual object manipulation by extending recent research by Logan and Fischman (2011). In Experiment 1, 16 participants completed a bimanual end-state comfort task and a memory task requiring serial recall of 12 words or pictures. The end-state comfort task involved moving two glasses between two shelves. Participants viewed the items, performed the end-state comfort task, and then serially recalled the items. Recall was evaluated by the presence or absence of primacy and recency effects. The end-state comfort effect (ESCE) was assessed by the percentage of initial hand positions that allowed the hands to end comfortably. The main findings indicated that the ESCE was disrupted; the primacy effect remained intact; and the recency effect disappeared regardless of the type of memory item recalled. In Experiment 2, 16 participants viewed six items, performed an end-state comfort task, viewed another six items, and then serially recalled all 12 items. Results were essentially the same as in Experiment 1. Findings suggest that executing a bimanual end-state comfort task, regardless of when it is completed during a memory task, diminishes the recency effect irrespective of the type of memory item. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Syntactic Recursion Facilitates and Working Memory Predicts Recursive Theory of Mind

PubMed Central

Arslan, Burcu; Hohenberger, Annette; Verbrugge, Rineke

2017-01-01

In this study, we focus on the possible roles of second-order syntactic recursion and working memory in terms of simple and complex span tasks in the development of second-order false belief reasoning. We tested 89 Turkish children in two age groups, one younger (4;6–6;5 years) and one older (6;7–8;10 years). Although second-order syntactic recursion is significantly correlated with the second-order false belief task, results of ordinal logistic regressions revealed that the main predictor of second-order false belief reasoning is complex working memory span. Unlike simple working memory and second-order syntactic recursion tasks, the complex working memory task required processing information serially with additional reasoning demands that require complex working memory strategies. Based on our results, we propose that children’s second-order theory of mind develops when they have efficient reasoning rules to process embedded beliefs serially, thus overcoming a possible serial processing bottleneck. PMID:28072823

Examining the Effect of Interference on Short-Term Memory Recall of Arabic Abstract and Concrete Words Using Free, Cued, and Serial Recall Paradigms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alduais, Ahmed Mohammed Saleh; Almukhaizeem, Yasir Saad

2015-01-01

Purpose: To see if there is a correlation between interference and short-term memory recall and to examine interference as a factor affecting memory recalling of Arabic and abstract words through free, cued, and serial recall tasks. Method: Four groups of undergraduates in King Saud University, Saudi Arabia participated in this study. The first…

Pupil Size Tracks Attentional Performance In Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

PubMed

Wainstein, G; Rojas-Líbano, D; Crossley, N A; Carrasco, X; Aboitiz, F; Ossandón, T

2017-08-15

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis is based on reported symptoms, which carries the potential risk of over- or under-diagnosis. A biological marker that helps to objectively define the disorder, providing information about its pathophysiology, is needed. A promising marker of cognitive states in humans is pupil size, which reflects the activity of an 'arousal' network, related to the norepinephrine system. We monitored pupil size from ADHD and control subjects, during a visuo-spatial working memory task. A sub group of ADHD children performed the task twice, with and without methylphenidate, a norepinephrine-dopamine reuptake inhibitor. Off-medication patients showed a decreased pupil diameter during the task. This difference was no longer present when patients were on-medication. Pupil size correlated with the subjects' performance and reaction time variability, two vastly studied indicators of attention. Furthermore, this effect was modulated by medication. Through pupil size, we provide evidence of an involvement of the noradrenergic system during an attentional task. Our results suggest that pupil size could serve as a biomarker in ADHD.

Too little or too much? Parafoveal preview benefits and parafoveal load costs in dyslexic adults.

PubMed

Silva, Susana; Faísca, Luís; Araújo, Susana; Casaca, Luis; Carvalho, Loide; Petersson, Karl Magnus; Reis, Alexandra

2016-07-01

Two different forms of parafoveal dysfunction have been hypothesized as core deficits of dyslexic individuals: reduced parafoveal preview benefits ("too little parafovea") and increased costs of parafoveal load ("too much parafovea"). We tested both hypotheses in a single eye-tracking experiment using a modified serial rapid automatized naming (RAN) task. Comparisons between dyslexic and non-dyslexic adults showed reduced parafoveal preview benefits in dyslexics, without increased costs of parafoveal load. Reduced parafoveal preview benefits were observed in a naming task, but not in a silent letter-finding task, indicating that the parafoveal dysfunction may be consequent to the overload with extracting phonological information from orthographic input. Our results suggest that dyslexics' parafoveal dysfunction is not based on strict visuo-attentional factors, but nevertheless they stress the importance of extra-phonological processing. Furthermore, evidence of reduced parafoveal preview benefits in dyslexia may help understand why serial RAN is an important reading predictor in adulthood.

The Riddle of Style Changes in the Visual Arts after Interference with the Right Brain

PubMed Central

Blanke, Olaf; Pasqualini, Isabella

2011-01-01

We here analyze the paintings and films of several visual artists, who suffered from a well-defined neuropsychological deficit, visuo-spatial hemineglect, following vascular stroke to the right brain. In our analysis we focus in particular on the oeuvre of Lovis Corinth and Luchino Visconti as both major artists continued to be highly productive over many years after their right brain damage. We analyzed their post-stroke paintings and films, indicate several aspects that differ from their pre-stroke work (omissions, use of color, perseveration, deformation), and propose–although both artists come from different times, countries, genres, and styles–that their post-stroke oeuvre reveals important similarities in style. We argue that these changes may be associated with visuo-spatial hemineglect and the right brain. We discuss future avenues of how the neuropsychological investigation of visual artists with and without neglect may allow us to investigate the relationship between brain and art. PMID:22232586

The Network Architecture of Cortical Processing in Visuo-spatial Reasoning

PubMed Central

Shokri-Kojori, Ehsan; Motes, Michael A.; Rypma, Bart; Krawczyk, Daniel C.

2012-01-01

Reasoning processes have been closely associated with prefrontal cortex (PFC), but specifically emerge from interactions among networks of brain regions. Yet it remains a challenge to integrate these brain-wide interactions in identifying the flow of processing emerging from sensory brain regions to abstract processing regions, particularly within PFC. Functional magnetic resonance imaging data were collected while participants performed a visuo-spatial reasoning task. We found increasing involvement of occipital and parietal regions together with caudal-rostral recruitment of PFC as stimulus dimensions increased. Brain-wide connectivity analysis revealed that interactions between primary visual and parietal regions predominantly influenced activity in frontal lobes. Caudal-to-rostral influences were found within left-PFC. Right-PFC showed evidence of rostral-to-caudal connectivity in addition to relatively independent influences from occipito-parietal cortices. In the context of hierarchical views of PFC organization, our results suggest that a caudal-to-rostral flow of processing may emerge within PFC in reasoning tasks with minimal top-down deductive requirements. PMID:22624092

The network architecture of cortical processing in visuo-spatial reasoning.

PubMed

Shokri-Kojori, Ehsan; Motes, Michael A; Rypma, Bart; Krawczyk, Daniel C

2012-01-01

Reasoning processes have been closely associated with prefrontal cortex (PFC), but specifically emerge from interactions among networks of brain regions. Yet it remains a challenge to integrate these brain-wide interactions in identifying the flow of processing emerging from sensory brain regions to abstract processing regions, particularly within PFC. Functional magnetic resonance imaging data were collected while participants performed a visuo-spatial reasoning task. We found increasing involvement of occipital and parietal regions together with caudal-rostral recruitment of PFC as stimulus dimensions increased. Brain-wide connectivity analysis revealed that interactions between primary visual and parietal regions predominantly influenced activity in frontal lobes. Caudal-to-rostral influences were found within left-PFC. Right-PFC showed evidence of rostral-to-caudal connectivity in addition to relatively independent influences from occipito-parietal cortices. In the context of hierarchical views of PFC organization, our results suggest that a caudal-to-rostral flow of processing may emerge within PFC in reasoning tasks with minimal top-down deductive requirements.

The magnetic touch illusion: A perceptual correlate of visuo-tactile integration in peripersonal space.

PubMed

Guterstam, Arvid; Zeberg, Hugo; Özçiftci, Vedat Menderes; Ehrsson, H Henrik

2016-10-01

To accurately localize our limbs and guide movements toward external objects, the brain must represent the body and its surrounding (peripersonal) visual space. Specific multisensory neurons encode peripersonal space in the monkey brain, and neurobehavioral studies have suggested the existence of a similar representation in humans. However, because peripersonal space lacks a distinct perceptual correlate, its involvement in spatial and bodily perception remains unclear. Here, we show that applying brushstrokes in mid-air at some distance above a rubber hand-without touching it-in synchrony with brushstrokes applied to a participant's hidden real hand results in the illusory sensation of a "magnetic force" between the brush and the rubber hand, which strongly correlates with the perception of the rubber hand as one's own. In eight experiments, we characterized this "magnetic touch illusion" by using quantitative subjective reports, motion tracking, and behavioral data consisting of pointing errors toward the rubber hand in an intermanual pointing task. We found that the illusion depends on visuo-tactile synchrony and exhibits similarities with the visuo-tactile receptive field properties of peripersonal space neurons, featuring a non-linear decay at 40cm that is independent of gaze direction and follows changes in the rubber hand position. Moreover, the "magnetic force" does not penetrate physical barriers, thus further linking this phenomenon to body-specific visuo-tactile integration processes. These findings provide strong support for the notion that multisensory integration within peripersonal space underlies bodily self-attribution. Furthermore, we propose that the magnetic touch illusion constitutes a perceptual correlate of visuo-tactile integration in peripersonal space. Copyright © 2016 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Regularization in Short-Term Memory for Serial Order

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Botvinick, Matthew; Bylsma, Lauren M.

2005-01-01

Previous research has shown that short-term memory for serial order can be influenced by background knowledge concerning regularities of sequential structure. Specifically, it has been shown that recall is superior for sequences that fit well with familiar sequencing constraints. The authors report a corresponding effect pertaining to serial…

Insight into the precuneus: a novel seizure semiology in a child with epilepsy arising from the right posterior precuneus.

PubMed

Mailo, Janette; Tang-Wai, Richard

2015-09-01

To date, there is limited understanding of the role of the precuneus. fMRI studies have suggested its involvement in a wide spectrum of highly integrated tasks, including spatially-guided behaviour, visuo-spatial imagery, and consciousness. We present a patient with intractable parietal lobe epilepsy arising from a lesion localized to the right precuneus. Two seizure types with distinct semiologies were captured on video-EEG monitoring. The first type consisted of an urge described as a "feeling of wanting to move". On video analysis, the patient is seen to turn his head and body to his left. He remains conscious, he is able to answer questions and when asked, he can look to his right. This seizure was associated with an ictal pattern localized to the right parieto-occipital region. The second seizure type consisted of reading-induced visual distortion with macropsia and micropsia. Interictally, intermittent rhythmic slowing and spikes were seen and localized to the parietal midline and the right parieto-occipital regions. Our patient's seizures are positive phenomena of the right precuneus and its related processing network. They represent unique seizure semiologies that offer further insight into the role of the precuneus in spatial awareness, visuo-spatial processing and consciousness.

Effects of language dominance on item and order memory in free recall, serial recall and order reconstruction.

PubMed

Francis, Wendy S; Baca, Yuzeth

2014-01-01

Spanish-English bilinguals (N = 144) performed free recall, serial recall and order reconstruction tasks in both English and Spanish. Long-term memory for both item and order information was worse in the less fluent language (L2) than in the more fluent language (L1). Item scores exhibited a stronger disadvantage for the L2 in serial recall than in free recall. Relative order scores were lower in the L2 for all three tasks, but adjusted scores for free and serial recall were equivalent across languages. Performance of English-speaking monolinguals (N = 72) was comparable to bilingual performance in the L1, except that monolinguals had higher adjusted order scores in free recall. Bilingual performance patterns in the L2 were consistent with the established effects of concurrent task performance on these memory tests, suggesting that the cognitive resources required for processing words in the L2 encroach on resources needed to commit item and order information to memory. These findings are also consistent with a model in which item memory is connected to the language system, order information is processed by separate mechanisms and attention can be allocated differentially to these two systems.

Comparing different instructed-refreshing schedules: evidence for cumulative, forward-order refreshing of verbal lists.

PubMed

Vergauwe, Evie

2018-04-23

Refreshing is one of the mechanisms proposed to maintain information in human working memory. The mechanism is assumed to operate serially, boosting the items of a memory list one after the other. In the current study, we test the most straightforward implementation of serial refreshing, by which refreshing spontaneously reproduces the order of presentation, starting with the first memory item and cycling through the list in a forward fashion, to support short-term memory of a list. Therefore, we examined verbal serial recall performance under different instructed-refreshing schedules that varied in their similarity to cumulative, forward-order refreshing. This was done by manipulating whether instructed refreshing started with the first memory item, and whether instructed refreshing proceeded in forward order through the list. We expected recall performance to be poorer as participants were required to think of the list items in a way that was more dissimilar to what they would have done spontaneously. However, across four experiments, we observed that recall performance was not drastically affected by the nature of instructed refreshing and thus, we did not find any evidence that cumulative, forward-order refreshing supports serial verbal WM performance. © 2018 New York Academy of Sciences.

The predictive value of cerebrospinal fluid tap-test in normal pressure hydrocephalus.

PubMed

Damasceno, B P; Carelli, E F; Honorato, D C; Facure, J J

1997-06-01

Eighteen patients (mean age of 66.5 years) with normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) underwent a ventriculo-peritoneal shunt surgery. Prior to operation a cerebrospinal fluid tap-test (CSF-TT) was performed with measurements of gait pattern and psychometric functions (memory, visuo-motor speed and visuo-constructive skills) before and after the removal of 50 ml CSF by lumbar puncture (LP). Fifteen patients improved and 3 were unchanged after surgery. Short duration of disease, gait disturbance preceding mental deterioration, wide temporal horns and small sulci on CT-scan were associated with good outcome after shunting. There was a good correlation between the results of CSF-TT and shunt surgery (chi 2 = 4.11, phi = 0.48, p < 0.05), with gait test showing highest correlation (r = 0.99, p = 0.01). In conclusion, this version of CSF-TT proved to be an effective test to predict improvement after shunting in patients with NPH.

The Importance of Encoding-Related Neural Dynamics in the Prediction of Inter-Individual Differences in Verbal Working Memory Performance

PubMed Central

Majerus, Steve; Salmon, Eric; Attout, Lucie

2013-01-01

Studies of brain-behaviour interactions in the field of working memory (WM) have associated WM success with activation of a fronto-parietal network during the maintenance stage, and this mainly for visuo-spatial WM. Using an inter-individual differences approach, we demonstrate here the equal importance of neural dynamics during the encoding stage, and this in the context of verbal WM tasks which are characterized by encoding phases of long duration and sustained attentional demands. Participants encoded and maintained 5-word lists, half of them containing an unexpected word intended to disturb WM encoding and associated task-related attention processes. We observed that inter-individual differences in WM performance for lists containing disturbing stimuli were related to activation levels in a region previously associated with task-related attentional processing, the left intraparietal sulcus (IPS), and this during stimulus encoding but not maintenance; functional connectivity strength between the left IPS and lateral prefrontal cortex (PFC) further predicted WM performance. This study highlights the critical role, during WM encoding, of neural substrates involved in task-related attentional processes for predicting inter-individual differences in verbal WM performance, and, more generally, provides support for attention-based models of WM. PMID:23874935

Change in the relative contributions of habit and working memory facilitates serial reversal learning expertise in rhesus monkeys.

PubMed

Hassett, Thomas C; Hampton, Robert R

2017-05-01

Functionally distinct memory systems likely evolved in response to incompatible demands placed on learning by distinct environmental conditions. Working memory appears adapted, in part, for conditions that change frequently, making rapid acquisition and brief retention of information appropriate. In contrast, habits form gradually over many experiences, adapting organisms to contingencies of reinforcement that are stable over relatively long intervals. Serial reversal learning provides an opportunity to simultaneously examine the processes involved in adapting to rapidly changing and relatively stable contingencies. In serial reversal learning, selecting one of the two simultaneously presented stimuli is positively reinforced, while selection of the other is not. After a preference for the positive stimulus develops, the contingencies of reinforcement reverse. Naïve subjects adapt to such reversals gradually, perseverating in selection of the previously rewarded stimulus. Experts reverse rapidly according to a win-stay, lose-shift response pattern. We assessed whether a change in the relative control of choice by habit and working memory accounts for the development of serial reversal learning expertise. Across three experiments, we applied manipulations intended to attenuate the contribution of working memory but leave the contribution of habit intact. We contrasted performance following long and short intervals in Experiments 1 and 2, and we interposed a competing cognitive load between trials in Experiment 3. These manipulations slowed the acquisition of reversals in expert subjects, but not naïve subjects, indicating that serial reversal learning expertise is facilitated by a shift in the control of choice from passively acquired habit to actively maintained working memory.

Contextual and Serial Discriminations: A New Learning Paradigm to Assess Simultaneously the Effects of Acute Stress on Retrieval of Flexible or Stable Information in Mice

PubMed Central

Célérier, Aurélie; Piérard, Christophe; Rachbauer, Dagmar; Sarrieau, Alain; Béracochéa, Daniel

2004-01-01

The present study was aimed at simultaneously determining on the same subject, the effects of stress on retrieval of flexible (contextual or temporal) or stable (spatial) information. Three behavioral paradigms carried out in a four-hole board were designed as follows: (1) Simple Discrimination (SD), in which mice learned a single discrimination; (2) Contextual and Serial Discriminations (CSD), in which mice learned two successive discriminations on two different internal contexts; (3) Spatial Serial Discriminations (SSD), in which mice learned two successive discriminations on an identical internal context. The stressor (three inescapable electric footshocks) was delivered 5 min before retention, occurring 5 min or 24 h after acquisition. Results showed that this stressor increased plasmatic corticosterone levels and fear reactivity in an elevated-plus-maze, as compared with nonstressed mice. The stressor reversed the normal pattern of retrieval observed in nonstressed controls in the CSD task, this effect being context dependent, as it was not observed in the SSD task. Overall, our study shows that stress affected the retrieval of flexible and old information, but spared the retrieval of stable or recent ones. Therefore, these behavioral paradigms allow us to study simultaneously, on the same animal, the effects of stress on distinct forms of memory retrieval. PMID:15054135

Motor Skill Learning in Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bo, Jin; Lee, Chi-Mei

2013-01-01

Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) are characterized as having motor difficulties and learning impairment that may last well into adolescence and adulthood. Although behavioral deficits have been identified in many domains such as visuo-spatial processing, kinesthetic perception, and cross-modal sensory integration, recent…

Bilateral Hippocampal Dysfunction in Schizophrenia

PubMed Central

Hanlon, Faith M.; Houck, Jon M.; Pyeatt, Clinton J.; Lundy, S. Laura; Euler, Matthew J.; Weisend, Michael P.; Thoma, Robert J.; Bustillo, Juan R.; Miller, Gregory A.; Tesche, Claudia D.

2014-01-01

The hippocampus has long been known to be important for memory, with the right hippocampus particularly implicated in nonverbal/visuo-spatial memory and left in verbal/narrative or episodic memory. Despite this hypothesized lateralized functional difference, there has not been a single task that has been shown to activate both the right and left hippocampus differentially, dissociating the two, using neuroimaging. The transverse patterning (TP) task is a strong candidate for this purpose, as it has been shown in human and nonhuman animal studies to theoretically and empirically depend on the hippocampus. In TP, participants choose between stimuli presented in pairs, with the correct choice being a function of the specific pairing. In this project, TP was used to assess lateralized hippocampal function by varying its dependence on verbal material, with the goal of dissociating the two hippocampi. Magnetoencephalographic (MEG) data were collected while controls performed verbal and nonverbal versions of TP in order to verify and validate lateralized activation within the hippocampi. Schizophrenia patients were evaluated to determine whether they exhibited a lateralized hippocampal deficit. As hypothesized, patients’ mean level of behavioral performance was poorer than controls’ on both verbal and nonverbal TP. In contrast, patients had no decrement in performance on a verbal and nonverbal non-hippocampal-dependent matched control task. Also, controls but not patients showed more right hippocampal activation during nonverbal TP and more left hippocampal activation during verbal TP. These data demonstrate the capacity to assess lateralized hippocampal function and suggest a bilateral hippocampal behavioral and activation deficit in schizophrenia. PMID:21763438

Short-Term Memory and Aphasia: From Theory to Treatment.

PubMed

Minkina, Irene; Rosenberg, Samantha; Kalinyak-Fliszar, Michelene; Martin, Nadine

2017-02-01

This article reviews existing research on the interactions between verbal short-term memory and language processing impairments in aphasia. Theoretical models of short-term memory are reviewed, starting with a model assuming a separation between short-term memory and language, and progressing to models that view verbal short-term memory as a cognitive requirement of language processing. The review highlights a verbal short-term memory model derived from an interactive activation model of word retrieval. This model holds that verbal short-term memory encompasses the temporary activation of linguistic knowledge (e.g., semantic, lexical, and phonological features) during language production and comprehension tasks. Empirical evidence supporting this model, which views short-term memory in the context of the processes it subserves, is outlined. Studies that use a classic measure of verbal short-term memory (i.e., number of words/digits correctly recalled in immediate serial recall) as well as those that use more intricate measures (e.g., serial position effects in immediate serial recall) are discussed. Treatment research that uses verbal short-term memory tasks in an attempt to improve language processing is then summarized, with a particular focus on word retrieval. A discussion of the limitations of current research and possible future directions concludes the review. Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

Short-Term Memory and Aphasia: From Theory to Treatment

PubMed Central

Minkina, Irene; Rosenberg, Samantha; Kalinyak-Fliszar, Michelene; Martin, Nadine

2018-01-01

This article reviews existing research on the interactions between verbal short-term memory and language processing impairments in aphasia. Theoretical models of short-term memory are reviewed, starting with a model assuming a separation between short-term memory and language, and progressing to models that view verbal short-term memory as a cognitive requirement of language processing. The review highlights a verbal short-term memory model derived from an interactive activation model of word retrieval. This model holds that verbal short-term memory encompasses the temporary activation of linguistic knowledge (e.g., semantic, lexical, and phonological features) during language production and comprehension tasks. Empirical evidence supporting this model, which views short-term memory in the context of the processes it subserves, is outlined. Studies that use a classic measure of verbal short-term memory (i.e., number of words/digits correctly recalled in immediate serial recall) as well as those that use more intricate measures (e.g., serial position effects in immediate serial recall) are discussed. Treatment research that uses verbal short-term memory tasks in an attempt to improve language processing is then summarized, with a particular focus on word retrieval. A discussion of the limitations of current research and possible future directions concludes the review. PMID:28201834

Long-Term Phonological Knowledge Supports Serial Ordering in Working Memory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nakayama, Masataka; Tanida, Yuki; Saito, Satoru

2015-01-01

Serial ordering mechanisms have been investigated extensively in psychology and psycholinguistics. It has also been demonstrated repeatedly that long-term phonological knowledge contributes to serial ordering. However, the mechanisms that contribute to serial ordering have yet to be fully understood. To understand these mechanisms, we demonstrate…

The dynamics of access to groups in working memory.

PubMed

Farrell, Simon; Lelièvre, Anna

2012-11-01

The finding that participants leave a pause between groups when attempting serial recall of temporally grouped lists has been taken to indicate access to a hierarchical representation of the list in working memory. An alternative explanation is that the dynamics of serial recall solely reflect output (rather than memorial) processes, with the temporal pattern at input merely suggesting a basis for the pattern of output buffering. Three experiments are presented here that disentangle input structure from output buffering in serial recall. In Experiment 1, participants were asked to recall a subset of visually presented digits from a temporally grouped list in their original order, where either within-group position or group position was kept constant. In Experiment 2, participants performed more standard serial recall of spoken digits, and input and output position were dissociated by asking participants to initiate recall from a post-cued position in the list. In Experiment 3, participants were asked to serially recall temporally grouped lists of visually presented digits where the grouping structure was unpredictable, under either articulatory suppression or silent conditions. The 3 experiments point to a tight linkage between implied memorial structures (i.e., the pattern of grouping at encoding) and the output structure implied by retrieval times and call into question a purely motoric account of the dynamics of recall.

Effect of prism adaptation on left dichotic listening deficit in neglect patients: glasses to hear better?

PubMed

Jacquin-Courtois, S; Rode, G; Pavani, F; O'Shea, J; Giard, M H; Boisson, D; Rossetti, Y

2010-03-01

Unilateral neglect is a disabling syndrome frequently observed following right hemisphere brain damage. Symptoms range from visuo-motor impairments through to deficient visuo-spatial imagery, but impairment can also affect the auditory modality. A short period of adaptation to a rightward prismatic shift of the visual field is known to improve a wide range of hemispatial neglect symptoms, including visuo-manual tasks, mental imagery, postural imbalance, visuo-verbal measures and number bisection. The aim of the present study was to assess whether the beneficial effects of prism adaptation may generalize to auditory manifestations of neglect. Auditory extinction, whose clinical manifestations are independent of the sensory modalities engaged in visuo-manual adaptation, was examined in neglect patients before and after prism adaptation. Two separate groups of neglect patients (all of whom exhibited left auditory extinction) underwent prism adaptation: one group (n = 6) received a classical prism treatment ('Prism' group), the other group (n = 6) was submitted to the same procedure, but wore neutral glasses creating no optical shift (placebo 'Control' group). Auditory extinction was assessed by means of a dichotic listening task performed three times: prior to prism exposure (pre-test), upon prism removal (0 h post-test) and 2 h later (2 h post-test). The total number of correct responses, the lateralization index (detection asymmetry between the two ears) and the number of left-right fusion errors were analysed. Our results demonstrate that prism adaptation can improve left auditory extinction, thus revealing transfer of benefit to a sensory modality that is orthogonal to the visual, proprioceptive and motor modalities directly implicated in the visuo-motor adaptive process. The observed benefit was specific to the detection asymmetry between the two ears and did not affect the total number of responses. This indicates a specific effect of prism adaptation on lateralized processes rather than on general arousal. Our results suggest that the effects of prism adaptation can extend to unexposed sensory systems. The bottom-up approach of visuo-motor adaptation appears to interact with higher order brain functions related to multisensory integration and can have beneficial effects on sensory processing in different modalities. These findings should stimulate the development of therapeutic approaches aimed at bypassing the affected sensory processing modality by adapting other sensory modalities.

Coping with Memory Effect and Serial Correlation when Estimating Reliability in a Longitudinal Framework

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Laenen, Annouschka; Alonso, Ariel; Molenberghs, Geert; Vangeneugden, Tony; Mallinckrodt, Craig H.

2010-01-01

Longitudinal studies are permeating clinical trials in psychiatry. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to study the psychometric properties of rating scales, frequently used in these trials, within a longitudinal framework. However, intrasubject serial correlation and memory effects are problematic issues often encountered in longitudinal data.…

Cross-Linguistic Differences in the Immediate Serial Recall of Consonants versus Vowels

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kissling, Elizabeth M.

2012-01-01

The current study investigated native English and native Arabic speakers' phonological short-term memory for sequences of consonants and vowels. Phonological short-term memory was assessed in immediate serial recall tasks conducted in Arabic and English for both groups. Participants (n = 39) heard series of six consonant-vowel syllables and wrote…

A Rational Analysis of the Effects of Memory Biases on Serial Reproduction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Xu, Jing; Griffiths, Thomas L.

2010-01-01

Many human interactions involve pieces of information being passed from one person to another, raising the question of how this process of information transmission is affected by the cognitive capacities of the agents involved. Bartlett (1932) explored the influence of memory biases on the "serial reproduction" of information, in which one…

Modelling Transposition Latencies: Constraints for Theories of Serial Order Memory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farrell, Simon; Lewandowsky, Stephan

2004-01-01

Several competing theories of short-term memory can explain serial recall performance at a quantitative level. However, most theories to date have not been applied to the accompanying pattern of response latencies, thus ignoring a rich and highly diagnostic aspect of performance. This article explores and tests the error latency predictions of…

Linguistic Familiarity in Short-Term Memory: A Role for (Co-)Articulatory Fluency?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Woodward, Amelia J.; Macken, William J.; Jones, Dylan M.

2008-01-01

Enhanced serial recall for linguistically familiar material is usually attributed to a process of item redintegration. The possibility tested here is that familiarity influences memory at the sequence level by enhancing the fluency with which items may be assembled into sequences. Experiment 1 showed that with practice, serial recall of nonwords…

Neurocognitive complaints and functional status among patients with chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia.

PubMed

Schmaling, Karen B; Betterton, Karran L

2016-05-01

The purpose of this study was to conduct a longitudinal examination of cognitive complaints and functional status in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) alone and those who also had fibromyalgia (CFS/FM). A total of 93 patients from a tertiary care fatigue clinic were evaluated on four occasions, each 6 months apart. Each evaluation included a tender point assessment, and self-reported functional status and cognitive complaints. Patients with CFS/FM reported significantly worse physical functioning, more bodily pain, and more cognitive difficulties (visuo-perceptual ability and verbal memory) than patients with CFS alone. Over time, bodily pain decreased only for participants with CFS alone. Verbal memory problems were associated with more bodily pain for both patient groups, whereas visuo-perceptual problems were associated with worse functional status for patients with CFS alone. This study adds to the literature on functional status, longitudinal course, and cognitive difficulties among patients with CFS and those with CFS and FM. The results suggest that patients with CFS/FM are more disabled, have more cognitive complaints, and improve more slowly over time than patients with CFS alone. Specific cognitive difficulties are related to worse functional status, which supports the addition of cognitive difficulties to the FM case criteria.

Visual and Analytic Strategies in Geometry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kospentaris, George; Vosniadou, Stella; Kazic, Smaragda; Thanou, Emilian

2016-01-01

We argue that there is an increasing reliance on analytic strategies compared to visuospatial strategies, which is related to geometry expertise and not on individual differences in cognitive style. A Visual/Analytic Strategy Test (VAST) was developed to investigate the use of visuo-spatial and analytic strategies in geometry in 30 mathematics…

A Plea for Right Brain Usage.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lord, Thomas R.

1984-01-01

The visuo-spatial centers of the right brain are crucial to being able to problem solve or conceptualize (two abilities necessary for success in understanding science). Yet, current educational format is almost exclusively a left-brain undertaking. Reasons why educators should emphasize right-brain understanding in educational curricula at all…

Pseudoneglect in Back Space

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cocchini, Gianna; Watling, Rosamond; Della Sala, Sergio; Jansari, Ashok

2007-01-01

Successful interaction with the environment depends upon our ability to retain and update visuo-spatial information of both front and back egocentric space. Several studies have observed that healthy people tend to show a displacement of the egocentric frame of reference towards the left. However representation of space behind us (back space) has…

A Rehabilitation Protocol for Empowering Spatial Orientation in MCI. A Pilot Study.

PubMed

Gadler, Erminia; Grassi, Alessandra; Riva, Giuseppe

2009-01-01

Spatial navigation is among the first cognitive functions to be impaired in Alzheimer's disease [1] and deficit in this domain is detectable earlier in patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment [2]. Since efficacy of cognitive training in persons with MCI was successfully assessed [3], we developed a multitasking training protocol using virtual environments for stimulating attention, perception and visuo-spatial cognition in order to empower spatial orientation in MCI. Two healthy elders were exposed to the training over a period of four weeks and both showed improved performances in attention and orientation after the end of the intervention.

A remember-know analysis of the semantic serial position function.

PubMed

Kelley, Matthew R; Neath, Ian; Surprenant, Aimée M

2014-01-01

Did the serial position functions observed in certain semantic memory tasks (e.g., remembering the order of books or films) arise because they really tapped episodic memory? To address this issue, participants were asked to make "remember-know" judgments as they reconstructed the release order of the 7 Harry Potter books and 2 sets of movies. For both classes of stimuli, the "remember" and "know" serial position functions were indistinguishable, and all showed the characteristic U-shape with marked primacy and recency effects. These results are inconsistent with a multiple memory systems view, which predicts recency effects only for "remember" responses and no recency effects for "know" responses. However, the data were consistent with a general memory principle account: the relative distinctiveness principle. According to this view, performance on both episodic and semantic memory tasks arises from the same type of processing: Items that are more separated from their close neighbors in psychological space at the time of recall will be better remembered.

The 10 to the 8th power bit solid state spacecraft data recorder. [utilizing bubble domain memory technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Murray, G. W.; Bohning, O. D.; Kinoshita, R. Y.; Becker, F. J.

1979-01-01

The results are summarized of a program to demonstrate the feasibility of Bubble Domain Memory Technology as a mass memory medium for spacecraft applications. The design, fabrication and test of a partially populated 10 to the 8th power Bit Data Recorder using 100 Kbit serial bubble memory chips is described. Design tradeoffs, design approach and performance are discussed. This effort resulted in a 10 to the 8th power bit recorder with a volume of 858.6 cu in and a weight of 47.2 pounds. The recorder is plug reconfigurable, having the capability of operating as one, two or four independent serial channel recorders or as a single sixteen bit byte parallel input recorder. Data rates up to 1.2 Mb/s in a serial mode and 2.4 Mb/s in a parallel mode may be supported. Fabrication and test of the recorder demonstrated the basic feasibility of Bubble Domain Memory technology for such applications. Test results indicate the need for improvement in memory element operating temperature range and detector performance.

Domain-Generality of Timing-Based Serial Order Processes in Short-Term Memory: New Insights from Musical and Verbal Domains

PubMed Central

Kowialiewski, Benjamin; Majerus, Steve

2016-01-01

Several models in the verbal domain of short-term memory (STM) consider a dissociation between item and order processing. This view is supported by data demonstrating that different types of time-based interference have a greater effect on memory for the order of to-be-remembered items than on memory for the items themselves. The present study investigated the domain-generality of the item versus serial order dissociation by comparing the differential effects of time-based interfering tasks, such as rhythmic interference and articulatory suppression, on item and order processing in verbal and musical STM domains. In Experiment 1, participants had to maintain sequences of verbal or musical information in STM, followed by a probe sequence, this under different conditions of interference (no-interference, rhythmic interference, articulatory suppression). They were required to decide whether all items of the probe list matched those of the memory list (item condition) or whether the order of the items in the probe sequence matched the order in the memory list (order condition). In Experiment 2, participants performed a serial order probe recognition task for verbal and musical sequences ensuring sequential maintenance processes, under no-interference or rhythmic interference conditions. For Experiment 1, serial order recognition was not significantly more impacted by interfering tasks than was item recognition, this for both verbal and musical domains. For Experiment 2, we observed selective interference of the rhythmic interference condition on both musical and verbal order STM tasks. Overall, the results suggest a similar and selective sensitivity to time-based interference for serial order STM in verbal and musical domains, but only when the STM tasks ensure sequential maintenance processes. PMID:27992565

Domain-Generality of Timing-Based Serial Order Processes in Short-Term Memory: New Insights from Musical and Verbal Domains.

PubMed

Gorin, Simon; Kowialiewski, Benjamin; Majerus, Steve

2016-01-01

Several models in the verbal domain of short-term memory (STM) consider a dissociation between item and order processing. This view is supported by data demonstrating that different types of time-based interference have a greater effect on memory for the order of to-be-remembered items than on memory for the items themselves. The present study investigated the domain-generality of the item versus serial order dissociation by comparing the differential effects of time-based interfering tasks, such as rhythmic interference and articulatory suppression, on item and order processing in verbal and musical STM domains. In Experiment 1, participants had to maintain sequences of verbal or musical information in STM, followed by a probe sequence, this under different conditions of interference (no-interference, rhythmic interference, articulatory suppression). They were required to decide whether all items of the probe list matched those of the memory list (item condition) or whether the order of the items in the probe sequence matched the order in the memory list (order condition). In Experiment 2, participants performed a serial order probe recognition task for verbal and musical sequences ensuring sequential maintenance processes, under no-interference or rhythmic interference conditions. For Experiment 1, serial order recognition was not significantly more impacted by interfering tasks than was item recognition, this for both verbal and musical domains. For Experiment 2, we observed selective interference of the rhythmic interference condition on both musical and verbal order STM tasks. Overall, the results suggest a similar and selective sensitivity to time-based interference for serial order STM in verbal and musical domains, but only when the STM tasks ensure sequential maintenance processes.

Working memory in children assessed with serial chaining and Simon tasks.

PubMed

Parrish, Audrey E; Perdue, Bonnie M; Kelly, Andrew J; Beran, Michael J

2018-06-06

In the serial chaining task, participants are required to produce a sequence of responses to stimuli in the correct order, and sometimes must determine the sequence at trial outset if stimuli are masked after the first response is made. Similarly, the Simon memory span task presents a participant with a sequence of colors, and the participant must recreate the sequence after the full series is shown. In efforts to directly link the comparative literature on sequential planning behavior and working memory span with the developmental literature, we presented preschool children with the serial chaining task using masked Arabic numerals (N = 44) and the Simon memory span task (N = 65). Older children outperformed younger children in each task, sequencing a longer string of numbers in the serial chaining task and remembering a greater number of items in the Simon task. Controlling for the role of age, there was a significant positive relationship between task scores. These results highlight the emergence of working memory skills that might underlie planning capacities in children using a task developed for nonhuman animals, and the results indicate that improvement in general executive functions could be measured using either or both of these tasks among human children and nonhuman species. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Reading Time Allocation Strategies and Working Memory Using Rapid Serial Visual Presentation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Busler, Jessica N.; Lazarte, Alejandro A.

2017-01-01

Rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) is a useful method for controlling the timing of text presentations and studying how readers' characteristics, such as working memory (WM) and reading strategies for time allocation, influence text recall. In the current study, a modified version of RSVP (Moving Window RSVP [MW-RSVP]) was used to induce…

Verbal Working Memory and Language Production: Common Approaches to the Serial Ordering of Verbal Information

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Acheson, Daniel J.; MacDonald, Maryellen C.

2009-01-01

Verbal working memory (WM) tasks typically involve the language production architecture for recall; however, language production processes have had a minimal role in theorizing about WM. A framework for understanding verbal WM results is presented here. In this framework, domain-specific mechanisms for serial ordering in verbal WM are provided by…

What does a patient with semantic dementia remember in verbal short-term memory? Order and sound but not words.

PubMed

Majerus, Steve; Norris, Dennis; Patterson, Karalyn

2007-03-01

In this study, we explored capacities for three different aspects of short-term verbal memory in patients with semantic dementia. As expected, the two patients had poor recall for lexico-semantic item information, as assessed by immediate serial recall of word lists. In contrast, their short-term memory for phonological information was preserved, as evidenced by normal performance for immediate serial recall of nonword lists, with normal or increased nonword phonotactic-frequency effects, and increased sensitivity to phonological lures in a delayed probe recognition task. Furthermore, the patients appeared to have excellent memory for the serial order of the words in a list. These data provide further support for the proposal that language knowledge is a major determining factor of verbal STM capacity, but they also highlight the necessary distinction of processes involved in item and order recall, as proposed by recent models of STM.

Serial position effects in semantic memory: reconstructing the order of verses of hymns.

PubMed

Maylor, Elizabeth A

2002-12-01

Serial position effects (primacy and recency) have been consistently demonstrated in both short- and long-term episodic memory tasks. The search for corresponding effects in semantic memory tasks (e.g., reconstructing the order of U.S. presidents) has been confounded by factors such as differential exposure to stimuli. In the present study, the stimuli were six-verse hymns that would have been sung from the first to the last verse by churchgoers on numerous occasions. Participants were presented with the verses of each hymn in random order and were required to reconstruct the correct order. Primacy and recency effects were significantly more evident for churchgoers than for nonchurchgoers. Moreover, error gradients were steeper than chance for churchgoers but not for nonchurchgoers; in other words, churchgoers' errors were more likely to be close to the correct position than further away. These findings provide the first unequivocal demonstration of serial position effects in semantic memory.

Classification of non-demented patients attending a memory clinic using the new diagnostic criteria for Alzheimer's disease with disease-related biomarkers.

PubMed

Ivanoiu, Adrian; Dricot, Laurence; Gilis, Nathalie; Grandin, Cécile; Lhommel, Renaud; Quenon, Lisa; Hanseeuw, Bernard

2015-01-01

New diagnostic criteria for predemential Alzheimer's disease (AD) advocate the use of biomarkers. However, the benefit of using biomarkers has not been clearly demonstrated in clinical practice. To investigate whether a combination of biomarkers may be helpful in classifying a population of non-demented patients attending a Memory Clinic. Sixty non-demented patients were compared with 31 healthy elderly subjects. All subjects underwent a neuropsychological examination, brain 3T magnetic resonance imaging, [F18]-fluorodeoxyglucose and [F18]-flutemetamol positron emission tomography. According to their performance on memory, language, executive, and visuo-spatial domains, the patients were classified as mild cognitive impairment (amnestic, non-amnestic, single, or multiple domain) or subjective cognitive impairment. Patients were then classified according to the National Institute on Aging-Alzheimer's Association (NIA-AA) criteria, using the normalized mean hippocampal volume (Freesurfer), [F18]-FDG PALZAD, and [F18]-flutemetamol standard uptake value ratio (SUVr) (cut-off at the 10th percentile of controls). The standard of truth was the clinical status at study entry (patient versus control). The sensitivity/specificity of the clinical classification was 65/84%. The NIA-AA criteria were applicable in 85% of patients and 87% of controls. For biomarkers the best sensitivity (72%) at a fixed specificity of 84% was achieved by a combination of the three biomarkers. The clinical diagnosis was reconsidered in more than one third of the patients (42%) as a result of including the biomarker results. Application of the new NIA-AA AD diagnostic criteria based on biomarkers in an unselected sample of non-demented patients attending a Memory Clinic was useful in allowing for a better classification of the subjects.

Effects of inhibitory theta burst TMS to different brain sites involved in visuospatial attention - a combined neuronavigated cTBS and behavioural study.

PubMed

Platz, Thomas; Schüttauf, Johannes; Aschenbach, Julia; Mengdehl, Christine; Lotze, Martin

2016-01-01

The study sought to alter visual spatial attention in young healthy subjects by a neuronavigated inhibitory rTMS protocol (cTBS-600) to right brain areas thought to be involved in visual attentional processes, i.e. the temporoparietal junction (TPJ) and the posterior middle frontal gyrus (pMFG), and to test the reversibility of effects by an additional consecutive cTBS to the homologue left brain cortical areas. Healthy subjects showed a leftward bias of the egocentric perspective for both visual-perceptive and visual-exploratory tasks specifically for items presented in the left hemifield. cTBS to the right TPJ, and less systematically to the right pMFG reduced this bias for visuo-spatial and exploratory visuo-motor behaviour. Further, a consecutive cTBS to the left TPJ changed the bias again towards the left for a visual-perceptive task. The evidence supports the notion of an involvement of the right TPJ (and pMFG) in spatial visual attention. The observations further indicate that inhibitory non-invasive brain stimulation (cTBS) to the left TPJ has a potential for reversing a rightward bias of spatial attention when the right TPJ is dysfunctional. Accordingly, the findings could have implications for therapeutic rTMS development for right brain damaged patients with visual neglect.

Serial Dependence across Perception, Attention, and Memory.

PubMed

Kiyonaga, Anastasia; Scimeca, Jason M; Bliss, Daniel P; Whitney, David

2017-07-01

Information that has been recently perceived or remembered can bias current processing. This has been viewed as both a corrupting (e.g., proactive interference in short-term memory) and stabilizing (e.g., serial dependence in perception) phenomenon. We hypothesize that this bias is a generally adaptive aspect of brain function that leads to occasionally maladaptive outcomes. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Lexical Learning in Bilingual Adults: The Relative Importance of Short-Term Memory for Serial Order and Phonological Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Majerus, Steve; Poncelet, Martine; Van der Linden, Martial; Weekes, Brendan S.

2008-01-01

Studies of monolingual speakers have shown a strong association between lexical learning and short-term memory (STM) capacity, especially STM for serial order information. At the same time, studies of bilingual speakers suggest that phonological knowledge is the main factor that drives lexical learning. This study tested these two hypotheses…

On the Function of Stress Rhythms in Speech: Evidence of a Link with Grouping Effects on Serial Memory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boucher, Victor J.

2006-01-01

Language learning requires a capacity to recall novel series of speech sounds. Research shows that prosodic marks create grouping effects enhancing serial recall. However, any restriction on memory affecting the reproduction of prosody would limit the set of patterns that could be learned and subsequently used in speech. By implication, grouping…

Retroactive Effects of Irrelevant Speech on Serial Recall From Short-Term Memory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Norris, Dennis; Baddeley, Alan D.; Page, Michael P. A.

2004-01-01

The authors report 5 serial-recall experiments. In 4 of the 5 experiments, they show that irrelevant sound (IS) has a retroactive effect on material already in memory. In Experiment 1, IS presented during a filled retention interval had a reliable effect on list recall. Four further experiments, 3 of which used retroactive IS, showed that IS…

Auditory Serial Position Effects in Story Retelling for Non-Brain-Injured Participants and Persons with Aphasia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brodsky, Martin B.; McNeil, Malcolm R.; Doyle, Patrick J.; Fossett, Tepanata R. D.; Timm, Neil H.

2003-01-01

Using story retelling as an index of language ability, it is difficult to disambiguate comprehension and memory deficits. Collecting data on the serial position effect (SPE), however, illuminates the memory component. This study examined the SPE of the percentage of information units (%IU) produced in the connected speech samples of adults with…

Sequential dependencies in recall of sequences: filling in the blanks.

PubMed

Farrell, Simon; Hurlstone, Mark J; Lewandowsky, Stephan

2013-08-01

Sequential dependencies can provide valuable information about the processes supporting memory, particularly memory for serial order. Earlier analyses have suggested that anticipation errors-reporting items ahead of their correct position in the sequence-tend to be followed by recall of the displaced item, consistent with primacy gradient models of serial recall. However, a more recent analysis instead suggests that anticipation errors are followed by further anticipation errors, consistent with chaining models. We report analyses of 21 conditions from published serial recall data sets, in which we observed a systematic pattern whereby anticipations tended to be followed by the "filling in" of displaced items. We note that cases where a different pattern held tended to apply to recall of longer lists under serial learning conditions or to conditions where participants were free to skip over items. Although the different patterns that can be observed might imply a dissociation (e.g., between short- and long-term memory), we show that these different patterns are naturally predicted by Farrell's (Psychological Review 119:223-271, 2012) model of short-term and episodic memory and relate to whether or not spontaneously formed groups of items can be skipped over during recall.

Right-hemispheric dominance for visual remapping in humans.

PubMed

Pisella, L; Alahyane, N; Blangero, A; Thery, F; Blanc, S; Pelisson, D

2011-02-27

We review evidence showing a right-hemispheric dominance for visuo-spatial processing and representation in humans. Accordingly, visual disorganization symptoms (intuitively related to remapping impairments) are observed in both neglect and constructional apraxia. More specifically, we review findings from the intervening saccade paradigm in humans--and present additional original data--which suggest a specific role of the asymmetrical network at the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) in the right hemisphere in visual remapping: following damage to the right dorsal posterior parietal cortex (PPC) as well as part of the corpus callosum connecting the PPC to the frontal lobes, patient OK in a double-step saccadic task exhibited an impairment when the second saccade had to be directed rightward. This singular and lateralized deficit cannot result solely from the patient's cortical lesion and, therefore, we propose that it is due to his callosal lesion that may specifically interrupt the interhemispheric transfer of information necessary to execute accurate rightward saccades towards a remapped target location. This suggests a specialized right-hemispheric network for visuo-spatial remapping that subsequently transfers target location information to downstream planning regions, which are symmetrically organized.

Two speed factors of visual recognition independently correlated with fluid intelligence.

PubMed

Tachibana, Ryosuke; Namba, Yuri; Noguchi, Yasuki

2014-01-01

Growing evidence indicates a moderate but significant relationship between processing speed in visuo-cognitive tasks and general intelligence. On the other hand, findings from neuroscience proposed that the primate visual system consists of two major pathways, the ventral pathway for objects recognition and the dorsal pathway for spatial processing and attentive analysis. Previous studies seeking for visuo-cognitive factors of human intelligence indicated a significant correlation between fluid intelligence and the inspection time (IT), an index for a speed of object recognition performed in the ventral pathway. We thus presently examined a possibility that neural processing speed in the dorsal pathway also represented a factor of intelligence. Specifically, we used the mental rotation (MR) task, a popular psychometric measure for mental speed of spatial processing in the dorsal pathway. We found that the speed of MR was significantly correlated with intelligence scores, while it had no correlation with one's IT (recognition speed of visual objects). Our results support the new possibility that intelligence could be explained by two types of mental speed, one related to object recognition (IT) and another for manipulation of mental images (MR).

Manipulation of Pre-Target Activity on the Right Frontal Eye Field Enhances Conscious Visual Perception in Humans

PubMed Central

Chanes, Lorena; Chica, Ana B.; Quentin, Romain; Valero-Cabré, Antoni

2012-01-01

The right Frontal Eye Field (FEF) is a region of the human brain, which has been consistently involved in visuo-spatial attention and access to consciousness. Nonetheless, the extent of this cortical site’s ability to influence specific aspects of visual performance remains debated. We hereby manipulated pre-target activity on the right FEF and explored its influence on the detection and categorization of low-contrast near-threshold visual stimuli. Our data show that pre-target frontal neurostimulation has the potential when used alone to induce enhancements of conscious visual detection. More interestingly, when FEF stimulation was combined with visuo-spatial cues, improvements remained present only for trials in which the cue correctly predicted the location of the subsequent target. Our data provide evidence for the causal role of the right FEF pre-target activity in the modulation of human conscious vision and reveal the dependence of such neurostimulatory effects on the state of activity set up by cue validity in the dorsal attentional orienting network. PMID:22615759

Right-hemispheric dominance for visual remapping in humans

PubMed Central

Pisella, L.; Alahyane, N.; Blangero, A.; Thery, F.; Blanc, S.; Pelisson, D.

2011-01-01

We review evidence showing a right-hemispheric dominance for visuo-spatial processing and representation in humans. Accordingly, visual disorganization symptoms (intuitively related to remapping impairments) are observed in both neglect and constructional apraxia. More specifically, we review findings from the intervening saccade paradigm in humans—and present additional original data—which suggest a specific role of the asymmetrical network at the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) in the right hemisphere in visual remapping: following damage to the right dorsal posterior parietal cortex (PPC) as well as part of the corpus callosum connecting the PPC to the frontal lobes, patient OK in a double-step saccadic task exhibited an impairment when the second saccade had to be directed rightward. This singular and lateralized deficit cannot result solely from the patient's cortical lesion and, therefore, we propose that it is due to his callosal lesion that may specifically interrupt the interhemispheric transfer of information necessary to execute accurate rightward saccades towards a remapped target location. This suggests a specialized right-hemispheric network for visuo-spatial remapping that subsequently transfers target location information to downstream planning regions, which are symmetrically organized. PMID:21242144

A constrained rasch model of trace redintegration in serial recall.

PubMed

Roodenrys, Steven; Miller, Leonie M

2008-04-01

The notion that verbal short-term memory tasks, such as serial recall, make use of information in long-term as well as in short-term memory is instantiated in many models of these tasks. Such models incorporate a process in which degraded traces retrieved from a short-term store are reconstructed, or redintegrated (Schweickert, 1993), through the use of information in long-term memory. This article presents a conceptual and mathematical model of this process based on a class of item-response theory models. It is demonstrated that this model provides a better fit to three sets of data than does the multinomial processing tree model of redintegration (Schweickert, 1993) and that a number of conceptual accounts of serial recall can be related to the parameters of the model.

Examining the relationship between free recall and immediate serial recall: the serial nature of recall and the effect of test expectancy.

PubMed

Bhatarah, Parveen; Ward, Geoff; Tan, Lydia

2008-01-01

In two experiments, we examined the relationship between free recall and immediate serial recall (ISR), using a within-subjects (Experiment 1) and a between-subjects (Experiment 2) design. In both experiments, participants read aloud lists of eight words and were precued or postcued to respond using free recall or ISR. The serial position curves were U-shaped for free recall and showed extended primacy effects with little or no recency for ISR, and there was little or no difference between recall for the precued and the postcued conditions. Critically, analyses of the output order showed that although the participants started their recall from different list positions in the two tasks, the degree to which subsequent recall was serial in a forward order was strikingly similar. We argue that recalling in a serial forward order is a general characteristic of memory and that performance on ISR and free recall is underpinned by common memory mechanisms.

Short-term memory for serial order supports vocabulary development: new evidence from a novel word learning paradigm.

PubMed

Majerus, Steve; Boukebza, Claire

2013-12-01

Although recent studies suggest a strong association between short-term memory (STM) for serial order and lexical development, the precise mechanisms linking the two domains remain to be determined. This study explored the nature of these mechanisms via a microanalysis of performance on serial order STM and novel word learning tasks. In the experiment, 6- and 7-year-old children were administered tasks maximizing STM for either item or serial order information as well as paired-associate learning tasks involving the learning of novel words, visual symbols, or familiar word pair associations. Learning abilities for novel words were specifically predicted by serial order STM abilities. A measure estimating the precision of serial order coding predicted the rate of correct repetitions and the rate of phoneme migration errors during the novel word learning process. In line with recent theoretical accounts, these results suggest that serial order STM supports vocabulary development via ordered and detailed reactivation of the novel phonological sequences that characterize new words. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Functional size of human visual area V1: a neural correlate of top-down attention.

PubMed

Verghese, Ashika; Kolbe, Scott C; Anderson, Andrew J; Egan, Gary F; Vidyasagar, Trichur R

2014-06-01

Heavy demands are placed on the brain's attentional capacity when selecting a target item in a cluttered visual scene, or when reading. It is widely accepted that such attentional selection is mediated by top-down signals from higher cortical areas to early visual areas such as the primary visual cortex (V1). Further, it has also been reported that there is considerable variation in the surface area of V1. This variation may impact on either the number or specificity of attentional feedback signals and, thereby, the efficiency of attentional mechanisms. In this study, we investigated whether individual differences between humans performing attention-demanding tasks can be related to the functional area of V1. We found that those with a larger representation in V1 of the central 12° of the visual field as measured using BOLD signals from fMRI were able to perform a serial search task at a faster rate. In line with recent suggestions of the vital role of visuo-spatial attention in reading, the speed of reading showed a strong positive correlation with the speed of visual search, although it showed little correlation with the size of V1. The results support the idea that the functional size of the primary visual cortex is an important determinant of the efficiency of selective spatial attention for simple tasks, and that the attentional processing required for complex tasks like reading are to a large extent determined by other brain areas and inter-areal connections. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Audio-Visual, Visuo-Tactile and Audio-Tactile Correspondences in Preschoolers.

PubMed

Nava, Elena; Grassi, Massimo; Turati, Chiara

2016-01-01

Interest in crossmodal correspondences has recently seen a renaissance thanks to numerous studies in human adults. Yet, still very little is known about crossmodal correspondences in children, particularly in sensory pairings other than audition and vision. In the current study, we investigated whether 4-5-year-old children match auditory pitch to the spatial motion of visual objects (audio-visual condition). In addition, we investigated whether this correspondence extends to touch, i.e., whether children also match auditory pitch to the spatial motion of touch (audio-tactile condition) and the spatial motion of visual objects to touch (visuo-tactile condition). In two experiments, two different groups of children were asked to indicate which of two stimuli fitted best with a centrally located third stimulus (Experiment 1), or to report whether two presented stimuli fitted together well (Experiment 2). We found sensitivity to the congruency of all of the sensory pairings only in Experiment 2, suggesting that only under specific circumstances can these correspondences be observed. Our results suggest that pitch-height correspondences for audio-visual and audio-tactile combinations may still be weak in preschool children, and speculate that this could be due to immature linguistic and auditory cues that are still developing at age five.

Nonverbal Short-Term Serial Order Memory in Autism Spectrum Disorder

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

To clarify the role of item and order memory in the serial recall of adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), we carried out 2 experiments in which adults with ASD and comparison participants matched on chronological age and verbal IQ saw sequences of 7 dots appear sequentially in a 3 × 4 grid. In Experiment 1 (serial recall), they had to recall the locations and the presentation order of the dots by tapping locations on an empty grid. In Experiment 2, (order reconstruction) the studied dots were provided at test and participants had to touch them in their order of appearance at study. Experiment 1 revealed diminished item and order recall in the ASD group; Experiment 2 revealed diminished order recall only when verbal IQ was controlled. The results support the view that people with ASD have particular difficulty with serial order recall but may use their language ability to achieve better serial recall performance. PMID:27732024

Memory factors in Rey AVLT: Implications for early staging of cognitive decline.

PubMed

Fernaeus, Sven-Erik; Ostberg, Per; Wahlund, Lars-Olof; Hellström, Ake

2014-12-01

Supraspan verbal list learning is widely used to assess dementia and related cognitive disorders where declarative memory deficits are a major clinical sign. While the overall learning rate is important for diagnosis, serial position patterns may give insight into more specific memory processes in patients with cognitive impairment. This study explored these patterns in a memory clinic clientele. One hundred eighty three participants took the Rey Auditory-Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT). The major groups were patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), Vascular Dementia (VD), Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), and Subjective Cognitive Impairment (SCI) as well as healthy controls (HC). Raw scores for the five trials and five serial partitions were factor analysed. Three memory factors were found and interpreted as Primacy, Recency, and Resistance to Interference. AD and MCI patients had impaired scores in all factors. SCI patients were significantly impaired in the Resistance to Interference factor, and in the Recency factor at the first trial. The main conclusion is that serial position data from word list testing reflect specific memory capacities which vary with levels of cognitive impairment. © 2014 Scandinavian Psychological Associations and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Learning and serial effects on verbal memory in mild cognitive impairment.

PubMed

Campos-Magdaleno, María; Díaz-Bóveda, Rosalía; Juncos-Rabadán, Onésimo; Facal, David; Pereiro, Arturo X

2016-01-01

The objective of this study was to examine different patterns of learning and episodic memory in 3 mild cognitive impairment (MCI) groups and a control group by administering the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT) and using serial position effect as a principal variable. The study sample included 3 groups of patients with MCI (n = 90) divided into single-domain amnestic, multiple-domain amnestic, and multiple-domain nonamnestic MCI and a group of healthy controls (n = 60). We compared the performance of each group on several CVLT measures used in previous research, and we included a new measure that provides specific information about the serial effect. Data showed a similar pattern of learning and memory impairment in both amnestic MCI groups (i.e., no differences between the multiple-domain and single-domain subtypes); the recency effect was significantly higher in both amnestic MCI groups than in all other groups, and the primacy effect was only lower in the multiple-domain amnestic MCI subtype. Verbal learning and memory profiles of patients with amnestic MCI were very similar, independent of the presence of deficits in cognitive domains other than episodic memory. Results are discussed in light of the unitary-store model of memory.

Does the Integration of Haptic and Visual Cues Reduce the Effect of a Biased Visual Reference Frame on the Subjective Head Orientation?

PubMed Central

Gueguen, Marc; Vuillerme, Nicolas; Isableu, Brice

2012-01-01

Background The selection of appropriate frames of reference (FOR) is a key factor in the elaboration of spatial perception and the production of robust interaction with our environment. The extent to which we perceive the head axis orientation (subjective head orientation, SHO) with both accuracy and precision likely contributes to the efficiency of these spatial interactions. A first goal of this study was to investigate the relative contribution of both the visual and egocentric FOR (centre-of-mass) in the SHO processing. A second goal was to investigate humans' ability to process SHO in various sensory response modalities (visual, haptic and visuo-haptic), and the way they modify the reliance to either the visual or egocentric FORs. A third goal was to question whether subjects combined visual and haptic cues optimally to increase SHO certainty and to decrease the FORs disruption effect. Methodology/Principal Findings Thirteen subjects were asked to indicate their SHO while the visual and/or egocentric FORs were deviated. Four results emerged from our study. First, visual rod settings to SHO were altered by the tilted visual frame but not by the egocentric FOR alteration, whereas no haptic settings alteration was observed whether due to the egocentric FOR alteration or the tilted visual frame. These results are modulated by individual analysis. Second, visual and egocentric FOR dependency appear to be negatively correlated. Third, the response modality enrichment appears to improve SHO. Fourth, several combination rules of the visuo-haptic cues such as the Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE), Winner-Take-All (WTA) or Unweighted Mean (UWM) rule seem to account for SHO improvements. However, the UWM rule seems to best account for the improvement of visuo-haptic estimates, especially in situations with high FOR incongruence. Finally, the data also indicated that FOR reliance resulted from the application of UWM rule. This was observed more particularly, in the visual dependent subject. Conclusions: Taken together, these findings emphasize the importance of identifying individual spatial FOR preferences to assess the efficiency of our interaction with the environment whilst performing spatial tasks. PMID:22509295

Grounded Learning Experience: Helping Students Learn Physics through Visuo-Haptic Priming and Instruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Shih-Chieh Douglas

In this dissertation, I investigate the effects of a grounded learning experience on college students' mental models of physics systems. The grounded learning experience consisted of a priming stage and an instruction stage, and within each stage, one of two different types of visuo-haptic representation was applied: visuo-gestural simulation (visual modality and gestures) and visuo-haptic simulation (visual modality, gestures, and somatosensory information). A pilot study involving N = 23 college students examined how using different types of visuo-haptic representation in instruction affected people's mental model construction for physics systems. Participants' abilities to construct mental models were operationalized through their pretest-to-posttest gain scores for a basic physics system and their performance on a transfer task involving an advanced physics system. Findings from this pilot study revealed that, while both simulations significantly improved participants' mental modal construction for physics systems, visuo-haptic simulation was significantly better than visuo-gestural simulation. In addition, clinical interviews suggested that participants' mental model construction for physics systems benefited from receiving visuo-haptic simulation in a tutorial prior to the instruction stage. A dissertation study involving N = 96 college students examined how types of visuo-haptic representation in different applications support participants' mental model construction for physics systems. Participant's abilities to construct mental models were again operationalized through their pretest-to-posttest gain scores for a basic physics system and their performance on a transfer task involving an advanced physics system. Participants' physics misconceptions were also measured before and after the grounded learning experience. Findings from this dissertation study not only revealed that visuo-haptic simulation was significantly more effective in promoting mental model construction and remedying participants' physics misconceptions than visuo-gestural simulation, they also revealed that visuo-haptic simulation was more effective during the priming stage than during the instruction stage. Interestingly, the effects of visuo-haptic simulation in priming and visuo-haptic simulation in instruction on participants' pretest-to-posttest gain scores for a basic physics system appeared additive. These results suggested that visuo-haptic simulation is effective in physics learning, especially when it is used during the priming stage.

Serial Position Functions in General Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kelley, Matthew R.; Neath, Ian; Surprenant, Aimée M.

2015-01-01

Serial position functions with marked primacy and recency effects are ubiquitous in episodic memory tasks. The demonstrations reported here explored whether bow-shaped serial position functions would be observed when people ordered exemplars from various categories along a specified dimension. The categories and dimensions were: actors and age;…

Syntax and serial recall: How language supports short-term memory for order.

PubMed

Perham, Nick; Marsh, John E; Jones, Dylan M

2009-07-01

The extent to which familiar syntax supports short-term serial recall of visually presented six-item sequences was shown by the superior recall of lists in which item pairs appeared in the order of "adjective-noun" (items 1-2, 3-4, 5-6)--congruent with English syntax--compared to when the order of items within pairs was reversed. The findings complement other evidence suggesting that short-term memory is an assemblage of language processing and production processes more than it is a bespoke short-term memory storage system.

Acquisition and Processing of Information During States of Rapid Eye Movement (REM) Sleep and Slow-Wave Sleep

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-07-01

sleep to favor one set of material in preference to others. This could apply to skill learning as well as declarative memory with considerable potential...not be advantageous for an organism to store a large number of specific memories , specific records of the many experiences of each day of its lifetime...be stored in real time in a sequential representation, as on a serial computer tape. Access to this "episodic" memory would be by serial order, by time

Save the last dance for me: unwanted serial position effects in jury evaluations.

PubMed

Bruine de Bruin, Wändi

2005-03-01

Whenever competing options are considered in sequence, their evaluations may be affected by order of appearance. Such serial position effects would threaten the fairness of competitions using jury evaluations. Randomization cannot reduce potential order effects, but it does give candidates an equal chance of being assigned to preferred serial positions. Whether, or what, serial position effects emerge may depend on the cognitive demands of the judgment task. In end-of-sequence procedures, final scores are not given until all candidates have performed, possibly burdening judges' memory. If judges' evaluations are based on how well they remember performances, serial position effects may resemble those found with free recall. Candidates may also be evaluated step-by-step, immediately after each performance. This procedure should not burden memory, though it may produce different serial position effects. Yet, this paper reports similar serial position effects with end-of-sequence and step-by-step procedures used for the Eurovision Song Contest: Ratings increased with serial position. The linear order effect was replicated in the step-by-step judgments of World and European Figure Skating Contests. It is proposed that, independent of the evaluation procedure, judges' initial impressions of sequentially appearing candidates may be formed step-by-step, yielding serial position effects.

Differentiation of neuropsychological features between posterior cortical atrophy and early onset Alzheimer's disease.

PubMed

Li, Jieying; Wu, Liyong; Tang, Yi; Zhou, Aihong; Wang, Fen; Xing, Yi; Jia, Jianping

2018-05-10

Posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) is a group of clinical syndromes characterized by visuospatial and visuoperceptual impairment, with memory relatively preserved. Although PCA is pathologically almost identical to Alzheimer's disease (AD), they have different cognitive features. Those differences have only rarely been reported in any Chinese population. The purpose of the study is to establish neuropsychological tests that distinguish the clinical features of PCA from early onset AD (EOAD). Twenty-one PCA patients, 20 EOAD patients, and 20 healthy controls participated in this study. Patients had disease duration of ≤4 years. All participants completed a series of neuropsychological tests to evaluate their visuospatial, visuoperceptual, visuo-constructive, language, executive function, memory, calculation, writing, and reading abilities. The cognitive features of PCA and EOAD were compared. All the neuropsychological test scores showed that both the PCA and EOAD patients were significantly more impaired than people in the control group. However, PCA patients were significantly more impaired than EOAD patients in visuospatial, visuoperceptual, and visuo-constructive function, as well as in handwriting, and reading Chinese characters. The profile of neuropsychological test results highlights cognitive features that differ between PCA and EOAD. One surprising result is that the two syndromes could be distinguished by patients' ability to read and write Chinese characters. Tests based on these characteristics could therefore form a brief PCA neuropsychological examination that would improve the diagnosis of PCA.

Cognitive demand of human sensorimotor performance during an extended space mission: a dual-task study.

PubMed

Bock, Otmar; Weigelt, Cornelia; Bloomberg, Jacob J

2010-09-01

Two previous single-case studies found that the dual-task costs of manual tracking plus memory search increased during a space mission, and concluded that sensorimotor deficits during spaceflight may be related to cognitive overload. Since dual-task costs were insensitive to the difficulty of memory search, the authors argued that the overload may reflect stress-related problems of multitasking, rather than a scarcity of specific cognitive resources. Here we expand the available database and compare different types of concurrent task. Three subjects were repeatedly tested before, during, and after an extended mission on the International Space Station (ISS). They performed an unstable tracking task and four reaction-time tasks, both separately and concurrently. Inflight data could only be obtained during later parts of the mission. The tracking error increased from pre- to in flight by a factor of about 2, both under single- and dual-task conditions. The dual-task costs with a reaction-time task requiring rhythm production was 2.4 times higher than with a reaction-time task requiring visuo-spatial transformations, and 8 times higher than with a regular choice reaction-time task. Long-term sensorimotor deficits during spaceflight may reflect not only stress, but also a scarcity of resources related to complex motor programming; possibly those resources are tied up by sensorimotor adaptation to the space environment.

Amnesia, rehearsal, and temporal distinctiveness models of recall.

PubMed

Brown, Gordon D A; Della Sala, Sergio; Foster, Jonathan K; Vousden, Janet I

2007-04-01

Classical amnesia involves selective memory impairment for temporally distant items in free recall (impaired primacy) together with relative preservation of memory for recency items. This abnormal serial position curve is traditionally taken as evidence for a distinction between different memory processes, with amnesia being associated with selectively impaired long-term memory. However recent accounts of normal serial position curves have emphasized the importance of rehearsal processes in giving rise to primacy effects and have suggested that a single temporal distinctiveness mechanism can account for both primacy and recency effects when rehearsal is considered. Here we explore the pattern of strategic rehearsal in a patient with very severe amnesia. When the patient's rehearsal pattern is taken into account, a temporal distinctiveness model can account for the serial position curve in both amnesic and control free recall. The results are taken as consistent with temporal distinctiveness models of free recall, and they motivate an emphasis on rehearsal patterns in understanding amnesic deficits in free recall.

A comparison of serial order short-term memory effects across verbal and musical domains.

PubMed

Gorin, Simon; Mengal, Pierre; Majerus, Steve

2018-04-01

Recent studies suggest that the mechanisms involved in the short-term retention of serial order information may be shared across short-term memory (STM) domains such as verbal and visuospatial STM. Given the intrinsic sequential organization of musical material, the study of STM for musical information may be particularly informative about serial order retention processes and their domain-generality. The present experiment examined serial order STM for verbal and musical sequences in participants with no advanced musical expertise and experienced musicians. Serial order STM for verbal information was assessed via a serial order reconstruction task for digit sequences. In the musical domain, serial order STM was assessed using a novel melodic sequence reconstruction task maximizing the retention of tone order information. We observed that performance for the verbal and musical tasks was characterized by sequence length as well as primacy and recency effects. Serial order errors in both tasks were characterized by similar transposition gradients and ratios of fill-in:infill errors. These effects were observed for both participant groups, although the transposition gradients and ratios of fill-in:infill errors showed additional specificities for musician participants in the musical task. The data support domain-general serial order STM effects but also suggest the existence of additional domain-specific effects. Implications for models of serial order STM in verbal and musical domains are discussed.

Fatty Acid Synthase as a Factor Required for Exercise-Induced Cognitive Enhancement and Dentate Gyrus Cellular Proliferation

PubMed Central

Chorna, Nataliya E.; Santos-Soto, Iván J.; Carballeira, Nestor M.; Morales, Joan L.; de la Nuez, Janneliz; Cátala-Valentin, Alma; Chornyy, Anatoliy P.; Vázquez-Montes, Adrinel; De Ortiz, Sandra Peña

2013-01-01

Voluntary running is a robust inducer of adult hippocampal neurogenesis. Given that fatty acid synthase (FASN), the key enzyme for de novo fatty acid biosynthesis, is critically involved in proliferation of embryonic and adult neural stem cells, we hypothesized that FASN could mediate both exercise-induced cell proliferation in the subgranular zone (SGZ) of the dentate gyrus (DG) and enhancement of spatial learning and memory. In 20 week-old male mice, voluntary running-induced hippocampal-specific upregulation of FASN was accompanied also by hippocampal-specific accumulation of palmitate and stearate saturated fatty acids. In experiments addressing the functional role of FASN in our experimental model, chronic intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) microinfusions of C75, an irreversible FASN inhibitor, and significantly impaired exercise-mediated improvements in spatial learning and memory in the Barnes maze. Unlike the vehicle-injected mice, the C75 group adopted a non-spatial serial escape strategy and displayed delayed escape latencies during acquisition and memory tests. Furthermore, pharmacologic blockade of FASN function with C75 resulted in a significant reduction, compared to vehicle treated controls, of the number of proliferative cells in the DG of running mice as measured by immunoreactive to Ki-67 in the SGZ. Taken together, our data suggest that FASN plays an important role in exercise-mediated cognitive enhancement, which might be associated to its role in modulating exercise-induced stimulation of neurogenesis. PMID:24223732

Working memory still needs verbal rehearsal.

PubMed

Lucidi, Annalisa; Langerock, Naomi; Hoareau, Violette; Lemaire, Benoît; Camos, Valérie; Barrouillet, Pierre

2016-02-01

The causal role of verbal rehearsal in working memory has recently been called into question. For example, the SOB-CS (Serial Order in a Box-Complex Span) model assumes that there is no maintenance process for the strengthening of items in working memory, but instead a process of removal of distractors that are involuntarily encoded and create interference with memory items. In the present study, we tested the idea that verbal working memory performance can be accounted for without assuming a causal role of the verbal rehearsal process. We demonstrate in two experiments using a complex span task and a Brown-Peterson paradigm that increasing the number of repetitions of the same distractor (the syllable ba that was read aloud at each of its occurrences on screen) has a detrimental effect on the concurrent maintenance of consonants whereas the maintenance of spatial locations remains unaffected. A detailed analysis of the tasks demonstrates that accounting for this effect within the SOB-CS model requires a series of unwarranted assumptions leading to undesirable further predictions contradicted by available experimental evidence. We argue that the hypothesis of a maintenance mechanism based on verbal rehearsal that is impeded by concurrent articulation still provides the simplest and most compelling account of our results.

A New Look to a Classic Issue: Reasoning and Academic Achievement at Secondary School

PubMed Central

Gómez-Veiga, Isabel; Vila Chaves, José O.; Duque, Gonzalo; García Madruga, Juan A.

2018-01-01

Higher-order thinking abilities such as abstract reasoning and meaningful school learning occur sequentially. The fulfillment of these tasks demands that people activate and use all of their working memory resources in a controlled and supervised way. The aims of this work were: (a) to study the interplay between two new reasoning measures, one mathematical (Cognitive Reflection Test) and the other verbal (Deductive Reasoning Test), and a third classical visuo-spatial reasoning measure (Raven Progressive Matrices Test); and (b) to investigate the relationship between these measures and academic achievement. Fifty-one 4th grade secondary school students participated in the experiment and completed the three reasoning tests. Academic achievement measures were the final numerical scores in seven basic subjects. The results demonstrated that cognitive reflection, visual, and verbal reasoning are intimately related and predicts academic achievement. This work confirms that abstract reasoning constitutes the most important higher-order cognitive ability that underlies academic achievement. It also reveals the importance of dual processes, verbal deduction and metacognition in ordinary teaching and learning at school. PMID:29643823

Interaction of cerebral hemispheres and artistic thinking

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nikolaenko, Nikolay N.

1998-07-01

Study of drawings by patients with local lesions of the right or left hemisphere allows to understand how artistic thinking is supported by brain structures. The role of the right hemisphere is significant at the early stage of creative process. The right hemisphere is a generator of nonverbal visuo-spatial thinking. It operates with blurred nonverbal images and arrange them in a visual space. With the help of iconic signs the right hemisphere reflects the world and creates perceptive visual standards which are stored in the long-term right hemisphere memory. The image, which appeared in the `inner' space, should be transferred into a principally different language, i.e. a left hemispheric sign language. This language operates with a number of discrete units, logical succession and learned grammar rules. This process can be explained by activation (information) transfer from the right hemisphere to the left one. Thus, natural and spontaneous creative process, which is finished by a conscious effort, can be understood as an activation impulse transfer from the right hemisphere to the left one and back.

A New Look to a Classic Issue: Reasoning and Academic Achievement at Secondary School.

PubMed

Gómez-Veiga, Isabel; Vila Chaves, José O; Duque, Gonzalo; García Madruga, Juan A

2018-01-01

Higher-order thinking abilities such as abstract reasoning and meaningful school learning occur sequentially. The fulfillment of these tasks demands that people activate and use all of their working memory resources in a controlled and supervised way. The aims of this work were: (a) to study the interplay between two new reasoning measures, one mathematical (Cognitive Reflection Test) and the other verbal (Deductive Reasoning Test), and a third classical visuo-spatial reasoning measure (Raven Progressive Matrices Test); and (b) to investigate the relationship between these measures and academic achievement. Fifty-one 4th grade secondary school students participated in the experiment and completed the three reasoning tests. Academic achievement measures were the final numerical scores in seven basic subjects. The results demonstrated that cognitive reflection, visual, and verbal reasoning are intimately related and predicts academic achievement. This work confirms that abstract reasoning constitutes the most important higher-order cognitive ability that underlies academic achievement. It also reveals the importance of dual processes, verbal deduction and metacognition in ordinary teaching and learning at school.

Midsagittal brain variation and MRI shape analysis of the precuneus in adult individuals.

PubMed

Bruner, Emiliano; Rangel de Lázaro, Gizéh; de la Cuétara, José Manuel; Martín-Loeches, Manuel; Colom, Roberto; Jacobs, Heidi I L

2014-04-01

Recent analyses indicate that the precuneus is one of the main centres of integration in terms of functional and structural processes within the human brain. This neuroanatomical element is formed by different subregions, involved in visuo-spatial integration, memory and self-awareness. We analysed the midsagittal brain shape in a sample of adult humans (n = 90) to evidence the patterns of variability and geometrical organization of this area. Interestingly, the major brain covariance pattern within adult humans is strictly associated with the relative proportions of the precuneus. Its morphology displays a marked individual variation, both in terms of geometry (mostly in its longitudinal dimensions) and anatomy (patterns of convolution). No patent differences are evident between males and females, and the allometric effect of size is minimal. However, in terms of morphology, the precuneus does not represent an individual module, being influenced by different neighbouring structures. Taking into consideration the apparent involvement of the precuneus in higher-order human brain functions and evolution, its wide variation further stresses the important role of these deep parietal areas in modern neuroanatomical organization. © 2014 Anatomical Society.

High spatial resolution infrared camera as ISS external experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eckehard, Lorenz; Frerker, Hap; Fitch, Robert Alan

High spatial resolution infrared camera as ISS external experiment for monitoring global climate changes uses ISS internal and external resources (eg. data storage). The optical experiment will consist of an infrared camera for monitoring global climate changes from the ISS. This technology was evaluated by the German small satellite mission BIRD and further developed in different ESA projects. Compared to BIRD the presended instrument uses proven sensor advanced technologies (ISS external) and ISS on board processing and storage capabili-ties (internal). The instrument will be equipped with a serial interfaces for TM/TC and several relay commands for the power supply. For data processing and storage a mass memory is re-quired. The access to actual attitude data is highly desired to produce geo referenced maps-if possible by an on board processing.

Brief Report: Eye Movements during Visual Search Tasks Indicate Enhanced Stimulus Discriminability in Subjects with PDD

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kemner, Chantal; van Ewijk, Lizet; van Engeland, Herman; Hooge, Ignace

2008-01-01

Subjects with PDD excel on certain visuo-spatial tasks, amongst which visual search tasks, and this has been attributed to enhanced perceptual discrimination. However, an alternative explanation is that subjects with PDD show a different, more effective search strategy. The present study aimed to test both hypotheses, by measuring eye movements…

Subitizing Reflects Visuo-Spatial Object Individuation Capacity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Piazza, Manuela; Fumarola, Antonia; Chinello, Alessandro; Melcher, David

2011-01-01

Subitizing is the immediate apprehension of the exact number of items in small sets. Despite more than a 100 years of research around this phenomenon, its nature and origin are still unknown. One view posits that it reflects a number estimation process common for small and large sets, which precision decreases as the number of items increases,…

Visualisierungen im Lehr-Lern-Process (Visualizations in the Process of Teaching and Learning).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schnotz, Wolfgang; Zink, Thomas; Pfeiffer, Michael

1996-01-01

Discusses the role of visualization of information in learning. Theorizes that the comprehension of visualizations is a process of structure mapping between a visuo-spatial configuration and a mental model. Tests the model and finds differences in the use of text and picture information to answer different kinds of text questions. (DSK)

Early Learning and Adaptive Behaviour in Toddlers with Down Syndrome: Evidence for an Emerging Behavioural Phenotype?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fidler, Deborah; Hepburn, Susan; Rogers, Sally

2006-01-01

Background: Though the Down syndrome behavioural phenotype has been described as involving relative strengths in visuo-spatial processing and sociability, and relative weaknesses in verbal skills and motor planning, the early emergence of this phenotypic pattern of strengths and weaknesses has not yet been fully explored. Method: In this study, we…

The neural substrates of deliberative decision making: contrasting effects of hippocampus lesions on performance and vicarious trial-and-error behavior in a spatial memory task and a visual discrimination task

PubMed Central

Bett, David; Allison, Elizabeth; Murdoch, Lauren H.; Kaefer, Karola; Wood, Emma R.; Dudchenko, Paul A.

2012-01-01

Vicarious trial-and-errors (VTEs) are back-and-forth movements of the head exhibited by rodents and other animals when faced with a decision. These behaviors have recently been associated with prospective sweeps of hippocampal place cell firing, and thus may reflect a rodent model of deliberative decision-making. The aim of the current study was to test whether the hippocampus is essential for VTEs in a spatial memory task and in a simple visual discrimination (VD) task. We found that lesions of the hippocampus with ibotenic acid produced a significant impairment in the accuracy of choices in a serial spatial reversal (SR) task. In terms of VTEs, whereas sham-lesioned animals engaged in more VTE behavior prior to identifying the location of the reward as opposed to repeated trials after it had been located, the lesioned animals failed to show this difference. In contrast, damage to the hippocampus had no effect on acquisition of a VD or on the VTEs seen in this task. For both lesion and sham-lesion animals, adding an additional choice to the VD increased the number of VTEs and decreased the accuracy of choices. Together, these results suggest that the hippocampus may be specifically involved in VTE behavior during spatial decision making. PMID:23115549

The effect of concurrent semantic categorization on delayed serial recall.

PubMed

Acheson, Daniel J; MacDonald, Maryellen C; Postle, Bradley R

2011-01-01

The influence of semantic processing on the serial ordering of items in short-term memory was explored using a novel dual-task paradigm. Participants engaged in 2 picture-judgment tasks while simultaneously performing delayed serial recall. List material varied in the presence of phonological overlap (Experiments 1 and 2) and in semantic content (concrete words in Experiment 1 and 3; nonwords in Experiments 2 and 3). Picture judgments varied in the extent to which they required accessing visual semantic information (i.e., semantic categorization and line orientation judgments). Results showed that, relative to line-orientation judgments, engaging in semantic categorization judgments increased the proportion of item-ordering errors for concrete lists but did not affect error proportions for nonword lists. Furthermore, although more ordering errors were observed for phonologically similar relative to dissimilar lists, no interactions were observed between the phonological overlap and picture-judgment task manipulations. These results demonstrate that lexical-semantic representations can affect the serial ordering of items in short-term memory. Furthermore, the dual-task paradigm provides a new method for examining when and how semantic representations affect memory performance.

The Effect of Concurrent Semantic Categorization on Delayed Serial Recall

PubMed Central

Acheson, Daniel J.; MacDonald, Maryellen C.; Postle, Bradley R.

2010-01-01

The influence of semantic processing on the serial ordering of items in short-term memory was explored using a novel dual-task paradigm. Subjects engaged in two picture judgment tasks while simultaneously performing delayed serial recall. List material varied in the presence of phonological overlap (Experiments 1 and 2) and in semantic content (concrete words in Experiment 1 and 3; nonwords in Experiments 2 and 3). Picture judgments varied in the extent to which they required accessing visual semantic information (i.e., semantic categorization and line orientation judgments). Results showed that, relative to line orientation judgments, engaging in semantic categorization judgments increased the proportion of item ordering errors for concrete lists but did not affect error proportions for nonword lists. Furthermore, although more ordering errors were observed for phonologically similar relative to dissimilar lists, no interactions were observed between the phonological overlap and picture judgment task manipulations. These results thus demonstrate that lexical-semantic representations can affect the serial ordering of items in short-term memory. Furthermore, the dual-task paradigm provides a new method for examining when and how semantic representations affect memory performance. PMID:21058880

Story retelling and language ability in school-aged children with cerebral palsy and speech impairment.

PubMed

Nordberg, Ann; Dahlgren Sandberg, Annika; Miniscalco, Carmela

2015-01-01

Research on retelling ability and cognition is limited in children with cerebral palsy (CP) and speech impairment. To explore the impact of expressive and receptive language, narrative discourse dimensions (Narrative Assessment Profile measures), auditory and visual memory, theory of mind (ToM) and non-verbal cognition on the retelling ability of children with CP and speech impairment. Fifteen speaking children with speech impairment (seven girls, eight boys) (mean age = 11 years, SD = 1;4 years), and different types of CP and different levels of gross motor and cognitive function participated in the present study. Story retelling skills were tested and analysed with the Bus Story Test (BST) and the Narrative Assessment Profile (NAP). Receptive language ability was tested with the Test for Reception of Grammar-2 (TROG-2) and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test - IV (PPVT-IV). Non-verbal cognitive level was tested with the Raven's coloured progressive matrices (RCPM), memory functions assessed with the Corsi block-tapping task (CB) and the Digit Span from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-III. ToM was assessed with the false belief items of the two story tests "Kiki and the Cat" and "Birthday Puppy". The children had severe problems with retelling ability corresponding to an age-equivalent of 5;2-6;9 years. Receptive and expressive language, visuo-spatial and auditory memory, non-verbal cognitive level and ToM varied widely within and among the children. Both expressive and receptive language correlated significantly with narrative ability in terms of NAP total scores, so did auditory memory. The results suggest that retelling ability in the children with CP in the present study is dependent on language comprehension and production, and memory functions. Consequently, it is important to examine retelling ability together with language and cognitive abilities in these children in order to provide appropriate support. © 2015 Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.

Brain training game boosts executive functions, working memory and processing speed in the young adults: a randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Nouchi, Rui; Taki, Yasuyuki; Takeuchi, Hikaru; Hashizume, Hiroshi; Nozawa, Takayuki; Kambara, Toshimune; Sekiguchi, Atsushi; Miyauchi, Carlos Makoto; Kotozaki, Yuka; Nouchi, Haruka; Kawashima, Ryuta

2013-01-01

Do brain training games work? The beneficial effects of brain training games are expected to transfer to other cognitive functions. Yet in all honesty, beneficial transfer effects of the commercial brain training games in young adults have little scientific basis. Here we investigated the impact of the brain training game (Brain Age) on a wide range of cognitive functions in young adults. We conducted a double-blind (de facto masking) randomized controlled trial using a popular brain training game (Brain Age) and a popular puzzle game (Tetris). Thirty-two volunteers were recruited through an advertisement in the local newspaper and randomly assigned to either of two game groups (Brain Age, Tetris). Participants in both the Brain Age and the Tetris groups played their game for about 15 minutes per day, at least 5 days per week, for 4 weeks. Measures of the cognitive functions were conducted before and after training. Measures of the cognitive functions fell into eight categories (fluid intelligence, executive function, working memory, short-term memory, attention, processing speed, visual ability, and reading ability). Our results showed that commercial brain training game improves executive functions, working memory, and processing speed in young adults. Moreover, the popular puzzle game can engender improvement attention and visuo-spatial ability compared to playing the brain training game. The present study showed the scientific evidence which the brain training game had the beneficial effects on cognitive functions (executive functions, working memory and processing speed) in the healthy young adults. Our results do not indicate that everyone should play brain training games. However, the commercial brain training game might be a simple and convenient means to improve some cognitive functions. We believe that our findings are highly relevant to applications in educational and clinical fields. UMIN Clinical Trial Registry 000005618.

Brain Training Game Boosts Executive Functions, Working Memory and Processing Speed in the Young Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial

PubMed Central

Nouchi, Rui; Taki, Yasuyuki; Takeuchi, Hikaru; Hashizume, Hiroshi; Nozawa, Takayuki; Kambara, Toshimune; Sekiguchi, Atsushi; Miyauchi, Carlos Makoto; Kotozaki, Yuka; Nouchi, Haruka; Kawashima, Ryuta

2013-01-01

Background Do brain training games work? The beneficial effects of brain training games are expected to transfer to other cognitive functions. Yet in all honesty, beneficial transfer effects of the commercial brain training games in young adults have little scientific basis. Here we investigated the impact of the brain training game (Brain Age) on a wide range of cognitive functions in young adults. Methods We conducted a double-blind (de facto masking) randomized controlled trial using a popular brain training game (Brain Age) and a popular puzzle game (Tetris). Thirty-two volunteers were recruited through an advertisement in the local newspaper and randomly assigned to either of two game groups (Brain Age, Tetris). Participants in both the Brain Age and the Tetris groups played their game for about 15 minutes per day, at least 5 days per week, for 4 weeks. Measures of the cognitive functions were conducted before and after training. Measures of the cognitive functions fell into eight categories (fluid intelligence, executive function, working memory, short-term memory, attention, processing speed, visual ability, and reading ability). Results and Discussion Our results showed that commercial brain training game improves executive functions, working memory, and processing speed in young adults. Moreover, the popular puzzle game can engender improvement attention and visuo-spatial ability compared to playing the brain training game. The present study showed the scientific evidence which the brain training game had the beneficial effects on cognitive functions (executive functions, working memory and processing speed) in the healthy young adults. Conclusions Our results do not indicate that everyone should play brain training games. However, the commercial brain training game might be a simple and convenient means to improve some cognitive functions. We believe that our findings are highly relevant to applications in educational and clinical fields. Trial Registration UMIN Clinical Trial Registry 000005618. PMID:23405164

Not That Heart-Stopping After All: Visuo-Cardiac Synchrony Does Not Boost Self-Face Attribution

PubMed Central

Porciello, Giuseppina; Daum, Moritz M.; Menghini, Cristina; Brugger, Peter; Lenggenhager, Bigna

2016-01-01

Recent experimental evidence and theoretical models suggest that an integration of exteroceptive and interoceptive signals underlies several key aspects of the bodily self. While it has been shown that self-attribution of both the hand and the full-body are altered by conflicting extero-exteroceptive (e.g. visuo-tactile) and extero-interoceptive (e.g. visuo-cardiac) information, no study has thus far investigated whether self-attribution of the face might be altered by visuo-cardiac stimulation similarly to visuo-tactile stimulation. In three independent groups of participants we presented ambiguous (i.e. morphed with a stranger's face) self-faces flashing synchronously or asynchronously with the participants’ heartbeat. We then measured the subjective percentages of self-face attribution of morphed stimuli. To control for a potential effect of visuo-cardiac synchrony on familiarity, a task assessing the attribution of a familiar face was introduced. Moreover, different durations of visuo-cardiac flashing and different degrees of asynchronicity were used. Based on previous studies showing that synchronous visuo-cardiac stimulation generally increases self-attribution of the full-body and the hand, and that synchronous visuo-tactile stimulation increases self-face attribution, we predicted higher self-face attribution during the synchronous visuo-cardiac flashing of the morphed stimuli. In contrast to this hypothesis, the results showed no difference between synchronous and asynchronous stimulation on self-face attribution in any of the three studies. We thus conclude that visuo-cardiac synchrony does not boost self-attribution of the face as it does that of hand and full-body. PMID:27541587

Not That Heart-Stopping After All: Visuo-Cardiac Synchrony Does Not Boost Self-Face Attribution.

PubMed

Porciello, Giuseppina; Daum, Moritz M; Menghini, Cristina; Brugger, Peter; Lenggenhager, Bigna

2016-01-01

Recent experimental evidence and theoretical models suggest that an integration of exteroceptive and interoceptive signals underlies several key aspects of the bodily self. While it has been shown that self-attribution of both the hand and the full-body are altered by conflicting extero-exteroceptive (e.g. visuo-tactile) and extero-interoceptive (e.g. visuo-cardiac) information, no study has thus far investigated whether self-attribution of the face might be altered by visuo-cardiac stimulation similarly to visuo-tactile stimulation. In three independent groups of participants we presented ambiguous (i.e. morphed with a stranger's face) self-faces flashing synchronously or asynchronously with the participants' heartbeat. We then measured the subjective percentages of self-face attribution of morphed stimuli. To control for a potential effect of visuo-cardiac synchrony on familiarity, a task assessing the attribution of a familiar face was introduced. Moreover, different durations of visuo-cardiac flashing and different degrees of asynchronicity were used. Based on previous studies showing that synchronous visuo-cardiac stimulation generally increases self-attribution of the full-body and the hand, and that synchronous visuo-tactile stimulation increases self-face attribution, we predicted higher self-face attribution during the synchronous visuo-cardiac flashing of the morphed stimuli. In contrast to this hypothesis, the results showed no difference between synchronous and asynchronous stimulation on self-face attribution in any of the three studies. We thus conclude that visuo-cardiac synchrony does not boost self-attribution of the face as it does that of hand and full-body.

Visuo-oculomotor skills related to the visual demands of sporting environments.

PubMed

Ceyte, Hadrien; Lion, Alexis; Caudron, Sébastien; Perrin, Philippe; Gauchard, Gérome C

2017-01-01

The aim of this study was to assess the visuo-oculomotor skills of gaze orientation in selected sport activities relative to visual demands of the sporting environment. Both temporal and spatial demands of the sporting environment were investigated: The latency and accuracy of horizontal saccades and the gain of the horizontal smooth pursuit of the sporting environment were investigated in 16 fencers, 19 tennis players, 12 gymnasts, 9 swimmers and 18 sedentary participants. For the saccade test, two sequences were tested: In the fixed sequence, participants knew in advance the time interval between each target, as well as the direction and the amplitude of its reappearance; in the Freyss sequence however, the spatial changes of the target (direction and amplitude) were known in advance by participants but the time interval between each target was unknown. For the smooth-pursuit test, participants were instructed to smoothly track a target moving in a predictable sinusoidal, horizontal way without corrective ocular saccades, nor via anticipation or head movements. The results showed no significant differences between specificities of selected sporting activities via the saccade latency (although shorter than in non-athletes), contrary to saccade accuracy and the gain of smooth pursuit. Higher saccade accuracy was observed overall in fencers compared to non-athletes and all other sportsmen with the exception of tennis players. In the smooth-pursuit task, only tennis players presented a significantly higher gain compared to non-athletes and gymnasts. These sport-specific characteristics of the visuo-oculomotor skills are discussed with regard to the different cognitive skills such as attentional allocation and cue utilization ability as well as with regard to the difference in motor preparation.

The Effect of Concurrent Semantic Categorization on Delayed Serial Recall

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Acheson, Daniel J.; MacDonald, Maryellen C.; Postle, Bradley R.

2011-01-01

The influence of semantic processing on the serial ordering of items in short-term memory was explored using a novel dual-task paradigm. Participants engaged in 2 picture-judgment tasks while simultaneously performing delayed serial recall. List material varied in the presence of phonological overlap (Experiments 1 and 2) and in semantic content…

Linking memory and language: Evidence for a serial-order learning impairment in dyslexia.

PubMed

Bogaerts, Louisa; Szmalec, Arnaud; Hachmann, Wibke M; Page, Mike P A; Duyck, Wouter

2015-01-01

The present study investigated long-term serial-order learning impairments, operationalized as reduced Hebb repetition learning (HRL), in people with dyslexia. In a first multi-session experiment, we investigated both the persistence of a serial-order learning impairment as well as the long-term retention of serial-order representations, both in a group of Dutch-speaking adults with developmental dyslexia and in a matched control group. In a second experiment, we relied on the assumption that HRL mimics naturalistic word-form acquisition and we investigated the lexicalization of novel word-forms acquired through HRL. First, our results demonstrate that adults with dyslexia are fundamentally impaired in the long-term acquisition of serial-order information. Second, dyslexic and control participants show comparable retention of the long-term serial-order representations in memory over a period of 1 month. Third, the data suggest weaker lexicalization of newly acquired word-forms in the dyslexic group. We discuss the integration of these findings into current theoretical views of dyslexia. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Influence of Visual Ability on Learning and Memory Performance in 13 Strains of Mice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Richard E.; Wong, Aimee A.

2007-01-01

We calculated visual ability in 13 strains of mice (129SI/Sv1mJ, A/J, AKR/J, BALB/cByJ, C3H/HeJ, C57BL/6J, CAST/EiJ, DBA/2J, FVB/NJ, MOLF/EiJ, SJL/J, SM/J, and SPRET/EiJ) on visual detection, pattern discrimination, and visual acuity and tested these and other mice of the same strains in a behavioral test battery that evaluated visuo-spatial…

Nonverbal short-term serial order memory in autism spectrum disorder.

PubMed

Bowler, Dermot M; Poirier, Marie; Martin, Jonathan S; Gaigg, Sebastian B

2016-10-01

To clarify the role of item and order memory in the serial recall of adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), we carried out 2 experiments in which adults with ASD and comparison participants matched on chronological age and verbal IQ saw sequences of 7 dots appear sequentially in a 3 × 4 grid. In Experiment 1 (serial recall), they had to recall the locations and the presentation order of the dots by tapping locations on an empty grid. In Experiment 2, (order reconstruction) the studied dots were provided at test and participants had to touch them in their order of appearance at study. Experiment 1 revealed diminished item and order recall in the ASD group; Experiment 2 revealed diminished order recall only when verbal IQ was controlled. The results support the view that people with ASD have particular difficulty with serial order recall but may use their language ability to achieve better serial recall performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Serial reconstruction of order and serial recall in verbal short-term memory.

PubMed

Quinlan, Philip T; Roodenrys, Steven; Miller, Leonie M

2017-10-01

We carried out a series of experiments on verbal short-term memory for lists of words. In the first experiment, participants were tested via immediate serial recall, and word frequency and list set size were manipulated. With closed lists, the same set of items was repeatedly sampled, and with open lists, no item was presented more than once. In serial recall, effects of word frequency and set size were found. When a serial reconstruction-of-order task was used, in a second experiment, robust effects of word frequency emerged, but set size failed to show an effect. The effects of word frequency in order reconstruction were further examined in two final experiments. The data from these experiments revealed that the effects of word frequency are robust and apparently are not exclusively indicative of output processes. In light of these findings, we propose a multiple-mechanisms account in which word frequency can influence both retrieval and preretrieval processes.

Digit-color synaesthesia only enhances memory for colors in a specific context: A new method of duration thresholds to measure serial recall.

PubMed

Teichmann, A Lina; Nieuwenstein, Mark R; Rich, Anina N

2017-08-01

For digit-color synaesthetes, digits elicit vivid experiences of color that are highly consistent for each individual. The conscious experience of synaesthesia is typically unidirectional: Digits evoke colors but not vice versa. There is an ongoing debate about whether synaesthetes have a memory advantage over non-synaesthetes. One key question in this debate is whether synaesthetes have a general superiority or whether any benefit is specific to a certain type of material. Here, we focus on immediate serial recall and ask digit-color synaesthetes and controls to memorize digit and color sequences. We developed a sensitive staircase method manipulating presentation duration to measure participants' serial recall of both overlearned and novel sequences. Our results show that synaesthetes can activate digit information to enhance serial memory for color sequences. When color sequences corresponded to ascending or descending digit sequences, synaesthetes encoded these sequences at a faster rate than their non-synaesthetes counterparts and faster than non-structured color sequences. However, encoding color sequences is approximately 200 ms slower than encoding digit sequences directly, independent of group and condition, which shows that the translation process is time consuming. These results suggest memory advantages in synaesthesia require a modified dual-coding account, in which secondary (synaesthetically linked) information is useful only if it is more memorable than the primary information to be recalled. Our study further shows that duration thresholds are a sensitive method to measure subtle differences in serial recall performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Comparing Psychology Undergraduates' Performance in Probabilistic Reasoning under Verbal-Numerical and Graphical-Pictorial Problem Presentation Format: What Is the Role of Individual and Contextual Dimensions?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Agus, Mirian; Peró-Cebollero, Maribel; Penna, Maria Pietronilla; Guàrdia-Olmos, Joan

2015-01-01

This study aims to investigate about the existence of a graphical facilitation effect on probabilistic reasoning. Measures of undergraduates' performances on problems presented in both verbal-numerical and graphical-pictorial formats have been related to visuo-spatial and numerical prerequisites, to statistical anxiety, to attitudes towards…

Item and Error Analysis on Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices in Williams Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Herwegen, Jo; Farran, Emily; Annaz, Dagmara

2011-01-01

Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices (RCPM) is a standardised test that is commonly used to obtain a non-verbal reasoning score for children. As the RCPM involves the matching of a target to a pattern it is also considered to be a visuo-spatial perception task. RCPM is therefore frequently used in studies in Williams Syndrome (WS), in order to…

Mnemonic neuronal activity in somatosensory cortex.

PubMed Central

Zhou, Y D; Fuster, J M

1996-01-01

Single-unit activity was recorded from the hand areas of the somatosensory cortex of monkeys trained to perform a haptic delayed matching to sample task with objects of identical dimensions but different surface features. During the memory retention period of the task (delay), many units showed sustained firing frequency change, either excitation or inhibition. In some cases, firing during that period was significantly higher after one sample object than after another. These observations indicate the participation of somatosensory neurons not only in the perception but in the short-term memory of tactile stimuli. Neurons most directly implicated in tactile memory are (i) those with object-selective delay activity, (ii) those with nondifferential delay activity but without activity related to preparation for movement, and (iii) those with delay activity in the haptic-haptic delayed matching task but no such activity in a control visuo-haptic delayed matching task. The results indicate that cells in early stages of cortical somatosensory processing participate in haptic short-term memory. PMID:8927629

Spatial Autocorrelation Approaches to Testing Residuals from Least Squares Regression.

PubMed

Chen, Yanguang

2016-01-01

In geo-statistics, the Durbin-Watson test is frequently employed to detect the presence of residual serial correlation from least squares regression analyses. However, the Durbin-Watson statistic is only suitable for ordered time or spatial series. If the variables comprise cross-sectional data coming from spatial random sampling, the test will be ineffectual because the value of Durbin-Watson's statistic depends on the sequence of data points. This paper develops two new statistics for testing serial correlation of residuals from least squares regression based on spatial samples. By analogy with the new form of Moran's index, an autocorrelation coefficient is defined with a standardized residual vector and a normalized spatial weight matrix. Then by analogy with the Durbin-Watson statistic, two types of new serial correlation indices are constructed. As a case study, the two newly presented statistics are applied to a spatial sample of 29 China's regions. These results show that the new spatial autocorrelation models can be used to test the serial correlation of residuals from regression analysis. In practice, the new statistics can make up for the deficiencies of the Durbin-Watson test.

Two Speed Factors of Visual Recognition Independently Correlated with Fluid Intelligence

PubMed Central

Tachibana, Ryosuke; Namba, Yuri; Noguchi, Yasuki

2014-01-01

Growing evidence indicates a moderate but significant relationship between processing speed in visuo-cognitive tasks and general intelligence. On the other hand, findings from neuroscience proposed that the primate visual system consists of two major pathways, the ventral pathway for objects recognition and the dorsal pathway for spatial processing and attentive analysis. Previous studies seeking for visuo-cognitive factors of human intelligence indicated a significant correlation between fluid intelligence and the inspection time (IT), an index for a speed of object recognition performed in the ventral pathway. We thus presently examined a possibility that neural processing speed in the dorsal pathway also represented a factor of intelligence. Specifically, we used the mental rotation (MR) task, a popular psychometric measure for mental speed of spatial processing in the dorsal pathway. We found that the speed of MR was significantly correlated with intelligence scores, while it had no correlation with one’s IT (recognition speed of visual objects). Our results support the new possibility that intelligence could be explained by two types of mental speed, one related to object recognition (IT) and another for manipulation of mental images (MR). PMID:24825574

Sex differences in neural efficiency: Are they due to the stereotype threat effect?☆

PubMed Central

Dunst, Beate; Benedek, Mathias; Bergner, Sabine; Athenstaedt, Ursula; Neubauer, Aljoscha C.

2013-01-01

The neural efficiency hypothesis postulates a more efficient use of brain resources in more intelligent people as compared to less intelligent ones. However, this relationship was found to be moderated by sex and task content. While the phenomenon of neural efficiency was previously supported for men when performing visuo-spatial tasks it occurred for women only when performing verbal tasks. One possible explanation for this finding could be provided by the well-studied phenomenon called stereotype threat. Stereotype threat arises when a negative stereotype of one’s own group is made salient and can result in behavior that confirms the stereotype. Overall, 32 boys and 31 girls of varying intellectual ability were tested with a mental rotation task, either under a stereotype exposure or a no-stereotype exposure condition while measuring their EEG. The behavioral results show that an activated negative stereotype not necessarily hampers the performance of girls. Physiologically, a confirmation of the neural efficiency phenomenon was only obtained for boys working under a no-stereotype exposure condition. This result pattern replicates previous findings without threat and thus suggests that sex differences in neural efficiency during visuo-spatial tasks may not be due to the stereotype threat effect. PMID:24092950

Perception of biological motion from size-invariant body representations.

PubMed

Lappe, Markus; Wittinghofer, Karin; de Lussanet, Marc H E

2015-01-01

The visual recognition of action is one of the socially most important and computationally demanding capacities of the human visual system. It combines visual shape recognition with complex non-rigid motion perception. Action presented as a point-light animation is a striking visual experience for anyone who sees it for the first time. Information about the shape and posture of the human body is sparse in point-light animations, but it is essential for action recognition. In the posturo-temporal filter model of biological motion perception posture information is picked up by visual neurons tuned to the form of the human body before body motion is calculated. We tested whether point-light stimuli are processed through posture recognition of the human body form by using a typical feature of form recognition, namely size invariance. We constructed a point-light stimulus that can only be perceived through a size-invariant mechanism. This stimulus changes rapidly in size from one image to the next. It thus disrupts continuity of early visuo-spatial properties but maintains continuity of the body posture representation. Despite this massive manipulation at the visuo-spatial level, size-changing point-light figures are spontaneously recognized by naive observers, and support discrimination of human body motion.

Repetition Learning in the Immediate Serial Recall of Visual and Auditory Materials

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Page, Mike P. A.; Cumming, Nick; Norris, Dennis; Hitch, Graham J.; McNeil, Alan M.

2006-01-01

In 5 experiments, a Hebb repetition effect, that is, improved immediate serial recall of an (unannounced) repeating list, was demonstrated in the immediate serial recall of visual materials, even when use of phonological short-term memory was blocked by concurrent articulation. The learning of a repeatedly presented letter list in one modality…

Increased distractibility in schizotypy: Independent of individual differences in working memory capacity?

PubMed

Marsh, John E; Vachon, François; Sörqvist, Patrik

2017-03-01

Individuals with schizophrenia typically show increased levels of distractibility. This has been attributed to impaired working memory capacity (WMC), since lower WMC is typically associated with higher distractibility, and schizophrenia is typically associated with impoverished WMC. Here, participants performed verbal and spatial serial recall tasks that were accompanied by to-be-ignored speech tokens. For the few trials wherein one speech token was replaced with a different token, impairment was produced to task scores (a deviation effect). Participants subsequently completed a schizotypy questionnaire and a WMC measure. Higher schizotypy scores were associated with lower WMC (as measured with operation span, OSPAN), but WMC and schizotypy scores explained unique variance in relation to the mean magnitude of the deviation effect. These results suggest that schizotypy is associated with heightened domain-general distractibility, but that this is independent of its relationship with WMC.

Does pointing facilitate the recall of serial positions in visuospatial working memory?

PubMed

Spataro, Pietro; Marques, Valeria R S; Longobardi, Emiddia; Rossi-Arnaud, Clelia

2015-09-01

The present study examined the question of whether pointing enhances the serial recall of visuospatial positions. Thirty-six participants were presented with 40 target arrays varying in length from five to eight items, with each position appearing sequentially in red for 1 s. The task was to reproduce the order of presentation of the positions on a blank matrix. Results showed that, for five-, six-, and seven-item arrays, order memory was significantly better in the passive view than in the pointing condition, and the serial position curves displayed both recency and priority effects. Interestingly, the advantage of the passive-view condition was more pronounced in the early than in the late positions. For eight-item arrays, no significant differences were found between the passive view and the pointing conditions. Overall, the present data provide no evidence in support of the view that pointing facilitates the recall of serial positions.

New learning following reactivation in the human brain: targeting emotional memories through rapid serial visual presentation.

PubMed

Wirkner, Janine; Löw, Andreas; Hamm, Alfons O; Weymar, Mathias

2015-03-01

Once reactivated, previously consolidated memories destabilize and have to be reconsolidated to persist, a process that might be altered non-invasively by interfering learning immediately after reactivation. Here, we investigated the influence of interference on brain correlates of reactivated episodic memories for emotional and neutral scenes using event-related potentials (ERPs). To selectively target emotional memories we applied a new reactivation method: rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP). RSVP leads to enhanced implicit processing (pop out) of the most salient memories making them vulnerable to disruption. In line, interference after reactivation of previously encoded pictures disrupted recollection particularly for emotional events. Furthermore, memory impairments were reflected in a reduced centro-parietal ERP old/new difference during retrieval of emotional pictures. These results provide neural evidence that emotional episodic memories in humans can be selectively altered through behavioral interference after reactivation, a finding with further clinical implications for the treatment of anxiety disorders. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Diabetes and Cognitive Decline in Older Adults: The Ginkgo Evaluation of Memory Study.

PubMed

Palta, Priya; Carlson, Michelle C; Crum, Rosa M; Colantuoni, Elizabeth; Sharrett, A Richey; Yasar, Sevil; Nahin, Richard L; DeKosky, Steven T; Snitz, Beth; Lopez, Oscar; Williamson, Jeff D; Furberg, Curt D; Rapp, Stephen R; Golden, Sherita Hill

2017-12-12

Previous studies have shown that individuals with diabetes exhibit accelerated cognitive decline. However, methodological limitations have limited the quality of this evidence. Heterogeneity in study design, cognitive test administration, and methods of analysis of cognitive data have made it difficult to synthesize and translate findings to practice. We analyzed longitudinal data from the Ginkgo Evaluation of Memory Study to test our hypothesis that older adults with diabetes have greater test-specific and domain-specific cognitive declines compared to older adults without diabetes. Tests of memory, visuo-spatial construction, language, psychomotor speed, and executive function were administered. Test scores were standardized to z-scores and averaged to yield domain scores. Linear random effects models were used to compare baseline differences and changes over time in test and domain scores among individuals with and without diabetes. Among the 3,069 adults, aged 72-96 years, 9.3% reported diabetes. Over a median follow-up of 6.1 years, participants with diabetes exhibited greater baseline differences in a test of executive function (trail making test, Part B) and greater declines in a test of language (phonemic verbal fluency). For the composite cognitive domain scores, participants with diabetes exhibited lower baseline executive function and global cognition domain scores, but no significant differences in the rate of decline. Identifying cognitive domains most affected by diabetes can lead to targeted risk modification, possibly in the form of lifestyle interventions such as diet and physical activity, which we know to be beneficial for improving vascular risk factors, such as diabetes, and therefore may reduce the risk of executive dysfunction and possible dementia. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Combined Socio-Behavioral Evaluation Improves the Differential Diagnosis Between the Behavioral Variant of Frontotemporal Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease: In Search of Neuropsychological Markers.

PubMed

Dodich, Alessandra; Cerami, Chiara; Cappa, Stefano F; Marcone, Alessandra; Golzi, Valeria; Zamboni, Michele; Giusti, Maria Cristina; Iannaccone, Sandro

2018-01-01

Current diagnostic criteria for behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) and typical Alzheimer's disease (AD) include a differential pattern of neuropsychological impairments (episodic memory deficit in typical AD and dysexecutive syndrome in bvFTD). There is, however, large evidence of a frequent overlap in neuropsychological features, making the differential diagnosis extremely difficult. In this retrospective study, we evaluated the diagnostic value of different cognitive and neurobehavioral markers in bvFTD and AD patient groups. We included 95 dementia patients with a clinical and biomarker evidence of bvFTD (n = 48) or typical AD (n = 47) pathology. A clinical 2-year follow-up confirmed clinical classification. Performances at basic cognitive tasks (memory, executive functions, visuo-spatial, language) as well as social cognition skills and neurobehavioral profiles have been recorded. A stepwise logistic regression model compared the neuropsychological profiles between groups and assessed the accuracy of cognitive and neurobehavioral markers in discriminating bvFTD from AD. Statistical comparison between patient groups proved social cognition and episodic memory impairments as main cognitive signatures of bvFTD and AD neuropsychological profiles, respectively. Only half of bvFTD patients showed attentive/executive deficits, questioning their role as cognitive marker of bvFTD. Notably, the large majority of bvFTD sample (i.e., 70%) poorly performed at delayed recall tasks. Logistic regression analysis identified social cognition performances, Frontal Behavioral Inventory and Mini-Mental State Examination scores as the best combination in distinguishing bvFTD from AD. Social cognition tasks and socio-behavioral questionnaires are recommended in clinical settings to improve the accuracy of early diagnosis of bvFTD.

Searching for the Hebb effect in Down syndrome: evidence for a dissociation between verbal short-term memory and domain-general learning of serial order.

PubMed

Mosse, E K; Jarrold, C

2010-04-01

The Hebb effect is a form of repetition-driven long-term learning that is thought to provide an analogue for the processes involved in new word learning. Other evidence suggests that verbal short-term memory also constrains now vocabulary acquisition, but if the Hebb effect is independent of short-term memory, then it may be possible to demonstrate its preservation in a sample of individuals with Down syndrome, who typically show a verbal short-term memory deficit alongside surprising relative strengths in vocabulary. In two experiments, individuals both with and without Down syndrome (matched for receptive vocabulary) completed immediate serial recall tasks incorporating a Hebb repetition paradigm in either verbal or visuospatial conditions. Both groups demonstrated equivalent benefit from Hebb repetition, despite individuals with Down syndrome showing significantly lower verbal short-term memory spans. The resultant Hebb effect was equivalent across verbal and visuospatial domains. These studies suggest that the Hebb effect is essentially preserved within Down syndrome, implying that explicit verbal short-term memory is dissociable from potentially more implicit Hebb learning. The relative strength in receptive vocabulary observed in Down syndrome may therefore be supported by largely intact long-term as opposed to short-term serial order learning. This in turn may have implications for teaching methods and interventions that present new phonological material to individuals with Down syndrome.

Serial recall of colors: Two models of memory for serial order applied to continuous visual stimuli.

PubMed

Peteranderl, Sonja; Oberauer, Klaus

2018-01-01

This study investigated the effects of serial position and temporal distinctiveness on serial recall of simple visual stimuli. Participants observed lists of five colors presented at varying, unpredictably ordered interitem intervals, and their task was to reproduce the colors in their order of presentation by selecting colors on a continuous-response scale. To control for the possibility of verbal labeling, articulatory suppression was required in one of two experimental sessions. The predictions were derived through simulation from two computational models of serial recall: SIMPLE represents the class of temporal-distinctiveness models, whereas SOB-CS represents event-based models. According to temporal-distinctiveness models, items that are temporally isolated within a list are recalled more accurately than items that are temporally crowded. In contrast, event-based models assume that the time intervals between items do not affect recall performance per se, although free time following an item can improve memory for that item because of extended time for the encoding. The experimental and the simulated data were fit to an interference measurement model to measure the tendency to confuse items with other items nearby on the list-the locality constraint-in people as well as in the models. The continuous-reproduction performance showed a pronounced primacy effect with no recency, as well as some evidence for transpositions obeying the locality constraint. Though not entirely conclusive, this evidence favors event-based models over a role for temporal distinctiveness. There was also a strong detrimental effect of articulatory suppression, suggesting that verbal codes can be used to support serial-order memory of simple visual stimuli.

Fine motor movements while drawing during the encoding phase of a serial verbal recall task reduce working memory performance.

PubMed

Tindle, Richard; Longstaff, Mitchell G

2016-02-01

The time-based resource-sharing (TBRS) model of working memory indicates that secondary tasks that capture attention for relatively long periods can result in the interference of working memory processing and maintenance. The current study investigates if discrete and continuous movements have differing effects on a concurrent, verbal serial recall task. In the listening condition, participants were asked to recall spoken words presented in lists of six. In the drawing conditions, participants performed the same task while producing discrete (star) or continuous (circle) movements. As hypothesised, participants recalled more words overall in the listening condition compared to the combined drawing conditions. The prediction that the continuous movement condition would reduce recall compared to listening was also supported. Fine-grained analysis at each serial position revealed significantly more words were recalled at mid serial positions in the listening condition, with worst recall for the continuous condition at position 5 compared to the listening and discrete conditions. Kinematic analysis showed that participants increased the size and speed of the continuous movements resulting in a similar duration and number of strokes for each condition. The duration of brief pauses in the discrete condition was associated with the number of words recalled. The results indicate that fine motor movements reduced working memory performance; however, it was not merely performing a movement but the type of the movement that determined how resources were diverted. In the context of the TBRS, continuous movements could be capturing attention for longer periods relative to discrete movements, reducing verbal serial recall. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Role of serial order in the impact of talker variability on short-term memory: testing a perceptual organization-based account.

PubMed

Hughes, Robert W; Marsh, John E; Jones, Dylan M

2011-11-01

In two experiments, we examined the impact of the degree of match between sequential auditory perceptual organization processes and the demands of a short-term memory task (memory for order vs. item information). When a spoken sequence of digits was presented so as to promote its perceptual partitioning into two distinct streams by conveying it in alternating female (F) and male (M) voices (FMFMFMFM)--thereby disturbing the perception of true temporal order--recall of item order was greatly impaired (as compared to recall of item identity). Moreover, an order error type consistent with the formation of voice-based streams was committed more quickly in the alternating-voice condition (Exp. 1). In contrast, when the perceptual organization of the sequence mapped well onto an optimal two-group serial rehearsal strategy--by presenting the two voices in discrete clusters (FFFFMMMM)--order, but not item, recall was enhanced (Exp. 2). The results are consistent with the view that the degree of compatibility between perceptual and deliberate sequencing processes is a key determinant of serial short-term memory performance. Alternative accounts of talker variability effects in short-term memory, based on the concept of a dedicated phonological short-term store and a capacity-limited focus of attention, are also reviewed.

Left neglect dyslexia: Perseveration and reading error types.

PubMed

Ronchi, Roberta; Algeri, Lorella; Chiapella, Laura; Gallucci, Marcello; Spada, Maria Simonetta; Vallar, Giuseppe

2016-08-01

Right-brain-damaged patients may show a reading disorder termed neglect dyslexia. Patients with left neglect dyslexia omit letters on the left-hand-side (the beginning, when reading left-to-right) part of the letter string, substitute them with other letters, and add letters to the left of the string. The aim of this study was to investigate the pattern of association, if any, between error types in patients with left neglect dyslexia and recurrent perseveration (a productive visuo-motor deficit characterized by addition of marks) in target cancellation. Specifically, we aimed at assessing whether different productive symptoms (relative to the reading and the visuo-motor domains) could be associated in patients with left spatial neglect. Fifty-four right-brain-damaged patients took part in the study: 50 out of the 54 patients showed left spatial neglect, with 27 of them also exhibiting left neglect dyslexia. Neglect dyslexic patients who showed perseveration produced mainly substitution neglect errors in reading. Conversely, omissions were the prevailing reading error pattern in neglect dyslexic patients without perseveration. Addition reading errors were much infrequent. Different functional pathological mechanisms may underlie omission and substitution reading errors committed by right-brain-damaged patients with left neglect dyslexia. One such mechanism, involving the defective stopping of inappropriate responses, may contribute to both recurrent perseveration in target cancellation, and substitution errors in reading. Productive pathological phenomena, together with deficits of spatial attention to events taking place on the left-hand-side of space, shape the manifestations of neglect dyslexia, and, more generally, of spatial neglect. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Explaining the Modality Effect in Multimedia Learning: Is It Due to a Lack of Temporal Contiguity with Written Text and Pictures?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schuler, Anne; Scheiter, Katharina; Rummer, Ralf; Gerjets, Peter

2012-01-01

The study examined whether the modality effect is caused by either high visuo-spatial load or a lack of temporal contiguity when processing written text and pictures. Students (N = 147) viewed pictures on the development of tornados, which were accompanied by either spoken or written explanations presented simultaneously with, before, or after the…

Relationship between Reading/Writing Skills and Cognitive Abilities among Japanese Primary-School Children: Normal Readers versus Poor Readers (Dyslexics)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Uno, Akira; Wydell, Taeko N.; Haruhara, Noriko; Kaneko, Masato; Shinya, Naoko

2009-01-01

Four hundred and ninety-five Japanese primary-school children aged from 8 (Grade-2) to 12 (Grade-6) were tested for their abilities to read/write in Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji, for their size of vocabulary and for other cognitive abilities including arithmetic, visuo-spatial and phonological processing. Percentages of the children whose…

Near-Independent Capacities and Highly Constrained Output Orders in the Simultaneous Free Recall of Auditory-Verbal and Visuo-Spatial Stimuli

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cortis Mack, Cathleen; Dent, Kevin; Ward, Geoff

2018-01-01

Three experiments examined the immediate free recall (IFR) of auditory-verbal and visuospatial materials from single-modality and dual-modality lists. In Experiment 1, we presented participants with between 1 and 16 spoken words, with between 1 and 16 visuospatial dot locations, or with between 1 and 16 words "and" dots with synchronized…

A parallel implementation of an off-lattice individual-based model of multicellular populations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harvey, Daniel G.; Fletcher, Alexander G.; Osborne, James M.; Pitt-Francis, Joe

2015-07-01

As computational models of multicellular populations include ever more detailed descriptions of biophysical and biochemical processes, the computational cost of simulating such models limits their ability to generate novel scientific hypotheses and testable predictions. While developments in microchip technology continue to increase the power of individual processors, parallel computing offers an immediate increase in available processing power. To make full use of parallel computing technology, it is necessary to develop specialised algorithms. To this end, we present a parallel algorithm for a class of off-lattice individual-based models of multicellular populations. The algorithm divides the spatial domain between computing processes and comprises communication routines that ensure the model is correctly simulated on multiple processors. The parallel algorithm is shown to accurately reproduce the results of a deterministic simulation performed using a pre-existing serial implementation. We test the scaling of computation time, memory use and load balancing as more processes are used to simulate a cell population of fixed size. We find approximate linear scaling of both speed-up and memory consumption on up to 32 processor cores. Dynamic load balancing is shown to provide speed-up for non-regular spatial distributions of cells in the case of a growing population.

Spatial Autocorrelation Approaches to Testing Residuals from Least Squares Regression

PubMed Central

Chen, Yanguang

2016-01-01

In geo-statistics, the Durbin-Watson test is frequently employed to detect the presence of residual serial correlation from least squares regression analyses. However, the Durbin-Watson statistic is only suitable for ordered time or spatial series. If the variables comprise cross-sectional data coming from spatial random sampling, the test will be ineffectual because the value of Durbin-Watson’s statistic depends on the sequence of data points. This paper develops two new statistics for testing serial correlation of residuals from least squares regression based on spatial samples. By analogy with the new form of Moran’s index, an autocorrelation coefficient is defined with a standardized residual vector and a normalized spatial weight matrix. Then by analogy with the Durbin-Watson statistic, two types of new serial correlation indices are constructed. As a case study, the two newly presented statistics are applied to a spatial sample of 29 China’s regions. These results show that the new spatial autocorrelation models can be used to test the serial correlation of residuals from regression analysis. In practice, the new statistics can make up for the deficiencies of the Durbin-Watson test. PMID:26800271

Man-Machine Interaction Design and Analysis System (MIDAS): Memory Representation and Procedural Implications for Airborne Communication Modalities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Corker, Kevin M.; Pisanich, Gregory M.; Lebacqz, Victor (Technical Monitor)

1996-01-01

The Man-Machine Interaction Design and Analysis System (MIDAS) has been under development for the past ten years through a joint US Army and NASA cooperative agreement. MIDAS represents multiple human operators and selected perceptual, cognitive, and physical functions of those operators as they interact with simulated systems. MIDAS has been used as an integrated predictive framework for the investigation of human/machine systems, particularly in situations with high demands on the operators. Specific examples include: nuclear power plant crew simulation, military helicopter flight crew response, and police force emergency dispatch. In recent applications to airborne systems development, MIDAS has demonstrated an ability to predict flight crew decision-making and procedural behavior when interacting with automated flight management systems and Air Traffic Control. In this paper we describe two enhancements to MIDAS. The first involves the addition of working memory in the form of an articulatory buffer for verbal communication protocols and a visuo-spatial buffer for communications via digital datalink. The second enhancement is a representation of multiple operators working as a team. This enhanced model was used to predict the performance of human flight crews and their level of compliance with commercial aviation communication procedures. We show how the data produced by MIDAS compares with flight crew performance data from full mission simulations. Finally, we discuss the use of these features to study communications issues connected with aircraft-based separation assurance.

Improving working memory in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: the separate and combined effects of incentives and stimulant medication.

PubMed

Strand, Michael T; Hawk, Larry W; Bubnik, Michelle; Shiels, Keri; Pelham, William E; Waxmonsky, James G

2012-10-01

Working memory (WM) is considered a core deficit in Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), with numerous studies demonstrating impaired WM among children with ADHD. We tested the degree to which WM in children with ADHD was improved by performance-based incentives, an analog of behavioral intervention. In two studies, WM performance was assessed using a visuo-spatial n-back task. Study 1 compared children (ages 9-12 years) with ADHD-Combined type (n = 24) to a group of typically developing (TD) children (n = 32). Study 1 replicated WM deficits among children with ADHD. Incentives improved WM, particularly among children with ADHD. The provision of incentives reduced the ADHD-control group difference by approximately half but did not normalize WM. Study 2 examined the separate and combined effects of incentives and stimulant medication among 17 children with ADHD-Combined type. Both incentives and a moderate dose of long-acting methylphenidate (MPH; ~0.3 mg/kg t.i.d. equivalent) robustly improved WM relative to the no-incentive, placebo condition. The combination of incentives and medication improved WM significantly more than either incentives or MPH alone. These studies indicate that contingencies markedly improve WM among children with ADHD-Combined type, with effect sizes comparable to a moderate dose of stimulant medication. More broadly, this work calls attention to the role of motivation in studying cognitive deficits in ADHD and in testing multifactorial models of ADHD.

Neurobehavioral consequences of continuous spike and waves during slow sleep (CSWS) in a pediatric population: A pattern of developmental hindrance.

PubMed

De Giorgis, Valentina; Filippini, Melissa; Macasaet, Joyce Ann; Masnada, Silvia; Veggiotti, Pierangelo

2017-09-01

Continuous spike and waves during slow sleep (CSWS) is a typical EEG pattern defined as diffuse, bilateral and recently also unilateral or focal localization spike-wave occurring in slow sleep or non-rapid eye movement sleep. Literature results so far point out a progressive deterioration and decline of intellectual functioning in CSWS patients, i.e. a loss of previously normally acquired skills, as well as persistent neurobehavioral disorders, beyond seizure and EEG control. The objective of this study was to shed light on the neurobehavioral impact of CSWS and to identify the potential clinical risk factors for development. We conducted a retrospective study involving a series of 16 CSWS idiopathic patients age 3-16years, considering the entire duration of epilepsy from the onset to the outcome, i.e. remission of CSWS pattern. All patients were longitudinally assessed taking into account clinical (sex, age at onset, lateralization and localization of epileptiform abnormalities, spike wave index, number of antiepileptic drugs) and behavioral features. Intelligent Quotient (IQ) was measured in the whole sample, whereas visuo-spatial attention, visuo-motor skills, short term memory and academic abilities (reading and writing) were tested in 6 out of 16 patients. Our results showed that the most vulnerable from an intellectual point of view were those children who had an early-onset of CSWS whereas those with later onset resulted less affected (p=0.004). Neuropsychological outcome was better than the behavioral one and the lexical-semantic route in reading and writing resulted more severely affected compared to the phonological route. Cognitive deterioration is one but not the only consequence of CSWS. Especially with respect to verbal skills, CSWS is responsible of a pattern of consequences in terms of developmental hindrance, including slowing of development and stagnation, whereas deterioration is rare. Behavioral and academic problems tend to persist beyond epilepsy resolution. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The contribution to immediate serial recall of rehearsal, search speed, access to lexical memory, and phonological coding: an investigation at the construct level.

PubMed

Tehan, Gerald; Fogarty, Gerard; Ryan, Katherine

2004-07-01

Rehearsal speed has traditionally been seen to be the prime determinant of individual differences in memory span. Recent studies, in the main using young children as the participant population, have suggested other contributors to span performance. In the present research, we used structural equation modeling to explore, at the construct level, individual differences in immediate serial recall with respect to rehearsal, search, phonological coding, and speed of access to lexical memory. We replicated standard short-term phenomena; we showed that the variables that influence children's span performance influence adult performance in the same way; and we showed that speed of access to lexical memory and facility with phonological codes appear to be more potent sources of individual differences in immediate memory than is either rehearsal speed or search factors.