Search results for "Working memory"
showing 10 items of 315 documents
Chemotherapy disrupts learning, neurogenesis and theta activity in the adult brain
2012
Chemotherapy, especially if prolonged, disrupts attention, working memory and speed of processing in humans. Most cancer drugs that cross the blood–brain barrier also decrease adult neurogenesis. Because new neurons are generated in the hippocampus, this decrease may contribute to the deficits in working memory and related thought processes. The neurophysiological mechanisms that underlie these deficits are generally unknown. A possible mediator is hippocampal oscillatory activity within the theta range (3–12 Hz). Theta activity predicts and promotes efficient learning in healthy animals and humans. Here, we hypothesized that chemotherapy disrupts learning via decreases in hippocampal adult…
Human brain ages with hierarchy-selective attenuation of prediction errors
2020
Abstract From the perspective of predictive coding, our brain embodies a hierarchical generative model to realize perception, which proactively predicts the statistical structure of sensory inputs. How are these predictive processes modified as we age? Recent research suggested that aging leads to decreased weighting of sensory inputs and increased reliance on predictions. Here we investigated whether this age-related shift from sensorium to predictions occurs at all levels of hierarchical message passing. We recorded the electroencephalography responses with an auditory local–global paradigm in a cohort of 108 healthy participants from 3 groups: seniors, adults, and adolescents. The detect…
Abnormal functioning of the left temporal lobe in language-impaired children
2014
Specific language impairment is associated with enduring problems in language-related functions. We followed the spatiotemporal course of cortical activation in SLI using magnetoencephalography. In the experiment, children with normal and impaired language development heard spoken real words and pseudowords presented only once or two times in a row. In typically developing children, the activation in the bilateral superior temporal cortices was attenuated to the second presentation of the same word. In SLI children, this repetition effect was nearly nonexistent in the left hemisphere. Furthermore, the activation was equally strong to words and pseudowords in SLI children whereas in the typi…
Cognitive control in auditory working memory is enhanced in musicians
2010
Musical competence may confer cognitive advantages that extend beyond processing of familiar musical sounds. Behavioural evidence indicates a general enhancement of both working memory and attention in musicians. It is possible that musicians, due to their training, are better able to maintain focus on task-relevant stimuli, a skill which is crucial to working memory. We measured the blood oxygenation-level dependent (BOLD) activation signal in musicians and non-musicians during working memory of musical sounds to determine the relation among performance, musical competence and generally enhanced cognition. All participants easily distinguished the stimuli. We tested the hypothesis that mus…
Analysis of Personal and Family Factors in the Persistence of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Results of a Prospective Follow-Up Study in C…
2015
Objectives To study the course of ADHD during childhood and analyze possible personal and family predictor variables of the results. Method Sixty-one children with ADHD who were between 6 and 12 years old at the baseline assessment were evaluated 30 months later (mean age at baseline: 8.70 ± 1.97; mean age at follow-up: 10.98 ± 2.19). Status of ADHD in follow-up was identified as persistent (met DSM-IV-TR criteria according to parents’ and teachers’ ratings), contextually persistent (met ADHD criteria according to one informant, and there was functional impairment) and remitted ADHD (with subthreshold clinical symptomatology). Associated psychological disorders of the three groups were anal…
Effect of cholinergic stimulation in early Alzheimer's disease - functional imaging during a recognition memory task.
2011
Treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD) with acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (AChEI) enhances cholinergic activity and alleviates clinical symptoms. In the present functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, we investigated the effect of the AChEI rivastigmine on cognitive function and brain activation patterns during a face recognition memory task. Twenty patients with newly-diagnosed mild AD were administered a single oral dose of placebo, a single dose of rivastigmine (acute), and twice-daily treatment with rivastigmine for 4 weeks (chronic). After each treatment, the patients underwent a facial recognition task during fMRI. The prefrontal areas known to be involved in face recogni…
The bilateral field advantage effect in memory precision.
2018
Previous research has demonstrated that visual working memory performance is better when visual items are allocated in both left and right visual fields than within only one hemifield. This phenomenon is called the bilateral field advantage (BFA). The BFA is thought to be driven by an enhanced probability of storage, rather than by greater precision. In the present experiments, we sought to test whether the BFA can also extend to precision when the parameters of the task are modified. Using a moderate number of to-be-remembered items and 400 ms presentation time, we found better precision in the bilateral condition than in the unilateral condition. The classic BFA was still found in the for…
The role of pregnenolone sulphate in spatial orientation-acquisition and retention: An interplay between cognitive potentiation and mood regulation
2013
Abstract Neurosteroids can alter neuronal excitability interacting with specific neurotransmitter receptors, thus affecting several functions such as cognition and emotionality. In this study, we investigated, in adult male rats, the effects of the acute administration of pregnenolone-sulfate (PREGS) (10 mg/Kg, s. c.) on cognitive processes using the Can test, a non aversive spatial/visual task which allows the assessment of spatial information-acquisition during the baseline training, and of memory retention in the longitudinal study. Furthermore, on the basis of PREGS pharmacological profile, the modulation of depressive-like behaviour was also evaluated in the forced swim test (FST). Our…
Do mental processes share a domain-general resource?
2010
What determines success and failure in dual-task situations? Many theories propose that the extent to which two activities can be performed concurrently depends on the nature of the information involved in the activities. In particular, verbal and visuospatial activities are thought to be fueled by distinct resources, so that interference occurs between two verbal activities or two visuospatial activities, but little or no interference occurs between verbal and visuospatial activities. The current study examined trade-offs in four dual-task situations in which participants maintained verbal or visuospatial information while concurrently processing either verbal or visuospatial information.…
Maintenance of item and order information in verbal working memory
2017
International audience; Although verbal recall of item and order information is well-researched in short-term memory paradigms, there is relatively little research concerning item and order recall from working memory. The following study examined whether manipulating the opportunity for attentional refreshing and articulatory rehearsal in a complex span task differently affected the recall of item- and order-specific information of the memoranda. Five experiments varied the opportunity for articulatory rehearsal and attentional refreshing in a complex span task, but the type of recall was manipulated between experiments (item and order, order only, and item only recall). The results showed …