Search results for "working memory"

2016

Current research demonstrates increased learning rates in differencial learning (DL) compared to repetitive training. To date, little is known on the underlying neurophysiological processes in DL that contribute to superior performance over repetitive practice. In the present study, we measured electroencephalographic (EEG) brain activation patterns after DL and repetitive badminton serve training. Twenty-four semi-professional badminton players performed badminton serves in a DL and repetitive training schedule in a within-subjects design. EEG activity was recorded from nineteen electrodes according to the 10-20 system before and immediately after each 20-minute exercise. Increased theta a…

Dimensions of executive functioning: Evidence from children

2003

This study investigated dimensions of executive functioning in 8- to 13-year-old children. Three tasks from the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB), two tasks from the NEPSY battery and some additional executive function (EF) tests were administered to 108 children. In line with earlier work, modest correlations among EF measures were obtained (r < .4). Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses yielded three interrelated factors, which resembled those obtained by Miyake et al. (2000) and which were—with some reservations—labelled Working Memory (WM), Inhibition and Shifting. Age correlated with performance on most individual EF measures as well as Shifting a…

Inhibition of adult hippocampal neurogenesis disrupts contextual learning but spares spatial working memory, long-term conditional rule retention and…

2009

Neurogenesis in the adult dentate gyrus (DG) of the hippocampus has been implicated in neural plasticity and cognition but the specific functions contributed by adult-born neurons remain controversial. Here, we have explored the relationship between adult hippocampal neurogenesis and memory function using tasks which specifically require the participation of the DG. In two separate experiments several groups of rats were exposed to fractionated ionizing radiation (two sessions of 7 Gy each on consecutive days) applied either to the whole brain or focally, aiming at a region overlying the hippocampus. The immunocytochemical assays showed that the radiation significantly reduced the expressio…

Working Memory Alterations Plays an Essential Role in Developing Global Neuropsychological Impairment in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

2021

BackgroundNeuropsychological profile of Indian Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) subjects remains unidentified and needs to be evaluated.MethodsA total of 69 DMD and 66 controls were subjected to detailed intelligence and neuropsychological assessment. The factor indexes were derived from various components of Malin’s Intelligence Scale for Indian Children (MISIC) and Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT).ResultsPoor verbal and visual memory profiles were demonstrated by DMDs, which include RAVLT-immediate recall (IR) (p = 0.042), RAVLT-delayed recall (DR) (p = 0.009), Rey–Osterrieth complex figure test (RCFT)-IR (p = 0.001), and RCFT-DR (p = 0.001). RAVLT-memory efficiency index demons…

Lesion load may predict long-term cognitive dysfunction in multiple sclerosis patients

2015

Background: Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) techniques provided evidences into the understanding of cognitive impairment (CIm) in Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Objectives: To investigate the role of white matter (WM) and gray matter (GM) in predicting long-term CIm in a cohort of MS patients. Methods: 303 out of 597 patients participating in a previous multicenter clinical-MRI study were enrolled (49.4% were lost at follow-up). The following MRI parameters, expressed as fraction (f) of intracranial volume, were evaluated: cerebrospinal fluid (CSF-f), WM-f, GM-f and abnormal WM (AWM-f), a measure of lesion load. Nine years later, cognitive status was assessed in 241 patients using the Symbol Dig…

Early handling effect on female rat spatial and non-spatial learning and memory

2014

This study aims at providing an insight into early handling procedures on learning and memory performance in adult female rats. Early handling procedures were started on post-natal day 2 until 21, and consisted in 15 min, daily separations of the dams from their litters. Assessment of declarative memory was carried out in the novel-object recognition task; spatial learning, reference- and working memory were evaluated in the Morris water maze (MWM). Our results indicate that early handling induced an enhancement in: (1) declarative memory, in the object recognition task, both at 1h and 24h intervals; (2) reference memory in the probe test and working memory and behavioral flexibility in the…

Attention and Planning in Older Adults

1997

In a study with 48 adults between 65 and 97 years of age, we examined the influence of working memory, inhibitory efficiency, and attentional flexibility on the ability to solve efficiently a complex planning task: 26 of the subjects were living independently in their own home, and 22 subjects were recruited from nursing homes. Subjects first participated in a number of cognitive ability tests. They then had to plan a trip for a group of 20 people. The results indicate that inhibitory efficiency combined with the flexible use of attentional resources can account for substantial amounts of variance in the planning task. The results support the view that chronological age does not necessaril…

Surviving task interruptions: Investigating the implications of long-term working memory theory

2006

Typically, we have several tasks at hand, some of which are in interrupted state while others are being carried out. Most of the time, such interruptions are not disruptive to task performance. Based on the theory of Long-Term Working Memory (LTWM; Ericsson, K.A., Kintsch, W., 1995. Long-term working memory. Psychological Review, 102, 211-245), we posit that unless there are enough mental skills and resources to encode task representations to retrieval structures in long-term memory, the resulting memory traces will not enable reinstating the information, which can lead to memory losses. However, once encoded to LTWM, they are virtually safeguarded. Implications of the theory were tested in…

Resolving reading disability : Childhood predictors and adult-age outcomes

2018

We examined frequency of adult-age reading disability (RD) and its childhood predictors among 48 adults (20 to 39 years) with documented childhood RD, and contrasted their cognitive skills, education, and employment with 37 matched controls. Among individuals with childhood RD, more than half had improved in their reading fluency to the level where the set criterion for adult-age RD was not met anymore. More fluent rapid naming, less severe childhood RD, and multiple support providers in childhood together predicted improvement of reading fluency. More fluent naming differentiated the childhood RD participants whose reading fluency had improved by adult-age from those participants whose RD …

The challenge of forgetting: Neurobiological mechanisms of auditory directed forgetting

2017

Directed forgetting (DF) is considered an adaptive mechanism to cope with unwanted memories. Understanding it is crucial to develop treatments for disorders in which thought control is an issue. With an item-method DF paradigm in an auditory form, the underlying neurocognitive processes that support auditory DF were investigated. Subjects were asked to perform multi-modal encoding of word-stimuli before knowing whether to remember or forget each word. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we found that DF is subserved by a right frontal-parietal-cingulate network. Both qualitative and quantitative analyses of the activation of this network show converging evidence suggesting that DF …