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Dennis NA, Carpenter CM, Becker A. Examining the neural basis of unitization: A review. COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2024; 24:389-401. [PMID: 38413465 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-024-01170-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/01/2024] [Indexed: 02/29/2024]
Abstract
Associative memory refers to the ability to form and remember associations between individual pieces of information rather than memory for a single object or word. Encoding associations in memory tends to be a more difficult task than item (only) encoding, because associative memory requires encoding multiple items as well as the specific links amongst the items. Accordingly, researchers have worked to identify interventions and strategies to reduce the effort and neural resources required for successful associative memory processing. Unitization is one such strategy that has traditionally been defined as the process by which two or more discrete items are processed, or encoded, such that they are perceived as a single ensemble. The current review explores the neural research on unitization while considering the behavioral benefits that accompany the process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nancy A Dennis
- The Pennsylvania State University, 450 Moore Building, State College, PA, 16801, USA.
| | - Catherine M Carpenter
- The Pennsylvania State University, 450 Moore Building, State College, PA, 16801, USA
| | - Alexa Becker
- The Pennsylvania State University, 450 Moore Building, State College, PA, 16801, USA
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Aashat S, D'Angelo MC, Rosenbaum RS, Ryan JD. Effects of extended practice and unitization on relational memory in older adults and neuropsychological lesion cases. NEUROPSYCHOLOGY, DEVELOPMENT, AND COGNITION. SECTION B, AGING, NEUROPSYCHOLOGY AND COGNITION 2024:1-36. [PMID: 38415694 DOI: 10.1080/13825585.2024.2319892] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2023] [Accepted: 02/09/2024] [Indexed: 02/29/2024]
Abstract
Unitization - the fusion of objects into a single unit through an action/consequence sequence - can mitigate relational memory impairments, but the circumstances under which unitization is effective are unclear. Using transverse patterning (TP), we compared unitization (and its component processes of fusion, motion, and action/consequence) with extended practice on relational learning and transfer in older adults and neuropsychological cases with lesions (to varying extents) in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) or hippocampus/medial temporal lobe (HC/MTL). The latter included a person with bilateral HC lesions primarily within the dentate gyrus. For older adults, TP accuracy increased, and transfer benefits were observed, with extended practice and unitization. Broadly, the lesion cases did not benefit from either extended practice or unitization, suggesting the mPFC and dentate gyrus play important roles in relational memory and in unitization. The results suggest that personalized strategy interventions must align with the cognitive and neural profiles of the user.
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Affiliation(s)
- Supreet Aashat
- The Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Academy for Research and Education, Toronto, Canada
- Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Maria C D'Angelo
- The Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Academy for Research and Education, Toronto, Canada
| | - R Shayna Rosenbaum
- The Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Academy for Research and Education, Toronto, Canada
- Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, Canada
| | - Jennifer D Ryan
- The Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Academy for Research and Education, Toronto, Canada
- Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
- Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
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Frick A, Besson G, Salmon E, Delhaye E. Perirhinal cortex is associated with fine-grained discrimination of conceptually confusable objects in Alzheimer's disease. Neurobiol Aging 2023; 130:1-11. [PMID: 37419076 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2023.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2022] [Revised: 06/01/2023] [Accepted: 06/03/2023] [Indexed: 07/09/2023]
Abstract
The perirhinal cortex (PrC) stands among the first brain areas to deteriorate in Alzheimer's disease (AD). This study tests to what extent the PrC is involved in representing and discriminating confusable objects based on the conjunction of their perceptual and conceptual features. To this aim, AD patients and control counterparts performed 3 tasks: a naming, a recognition memory, and a conceptual matching task, where we manipulated conceptual and perceptual confusability. A structural MRI of the antero-lateral parahippocampal subregions was obtained for each participant. We found that the sensitivity to conceptual confusability was associated with the left PrC volume in both AD patients and control participants for the recognition memory task, while it was specifically associated with the volume of the left PrC in AD patients for the conceptual matching task. This suggests that a decreased volume of the PrC is related to the ability to disambiguate conceptually confusable items. Therefore, testing recognition memory or conceptual matching of easily conceptually confusable items can provide a potential cognitive marker of PrC atrophy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aurélien Frick
- GIGA-CRC In Vivo Imaging, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium; Psychology and Neuroscience of Cognition Research Unit, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium.
| | - Gabriel Besson
- CINEICC, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Eric Salmon
- GIGA-CRC In Vivo Imaging, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
| | - Emma Delhaye
- GIGA-CRC In Vivo Imaging, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium; Psychology and Neuroscience of Cognition Research Unit, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
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Bastin C, Delhaye E. Targeting the function of the transentorhinal cortex to identify early cognitive markers of Alzheimer's disease. COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2023:10.3758/s13415-023-01093-5. [PMID: 37024735 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-023-01093-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/19/2023] [Indexed: 04/08/2023]
Abstract
Initial neuropathology of early Alzheimer's disease accumulates in the transentorhinal cortex. We review empirical data suggesting that tasks assessing cognitive functions supported by the transenthorinal cortex are impaired as early as the preclinical stages of Alzheimer's disease. These tasks span across various domains, including episodic memory, semantic memory, language, and perception. We propose that all tasks sensitive to Alzheimer-related transentorhinal neuropathology commonly rely on representations of entities supporting the processing and discrimination of items having perceptually and conceptually overlapping features. In the future, we suggest a screening tool that is sensitive and specific to very early Alzheimer's disease to probe memory and perceptual discrimination of highly similar entities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christine Bastin
- GIGA-Cyclotron Research Centre-In Vivo Imaging, University of Liège, Allée du 6 Août, B30, 4000, Liège, Belgium.
| | - Emma Delhaye
- GIGA-Cyclotron Research Centre-In Vivo Imaging, University of Liège, Allée du 6 Août, B30, 4000, Liège, Belgium
- CICPSI, Faculdade de Psicologia, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
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Sousa AE, Pochiet G, Ryan JD, Lepage M. The Relational Trip Task, a novel ecological measure of relational memory: data from a schizophrenia sample. Cogn Neuropsychiatry 2021; 26:421-440. [PMID: 34633280 DOI: 10.1080/13546805.2021.1987870] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Relational memory (RM) is severely impaired in schizophrenia. Unitisation can circumvent RM impairments in clinical populations as measured by the transverse-patterning (TP) task, a well-established measure of RM capacity. We compared memory performance on a new ecological RM measure, the Relational Trip Task (RTT), to that of TP at baseline and examined the effects of a unitisation intervention in RTT performance. RTT involves learning relational information of real-life stimuli, such as the relationship between people and places or objects. METHODS TP and RTT performances were examined in 45 individuals with schizophrenia. TP-impaired participants (n = 22) were randomised to either the intervention or an active control group. TP and RTT were administered again after unitisation training. Task validity and reliability were assessed. Intervention group's pre- and post-RTT accuracies were compared and contrasted to that in the control group. RESULTS RTT and TP were moderately correlated. TP non-learners had inferior performance in RTT at baseline. Improvement in RTT performance after unitisation training was observed in the intervention group; no pre-post improvement was observed in the control group. CONCLUSION RTT has an acceptable criterion validity and excellent alternate-form reliability. Unitisation seemed to be successfully generalized to support associations of real-life stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Elisa Sousa
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, QC, Canada.,Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Gabrielle Pochiet
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, QC, Canada.,Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Jennifer D Ryan
- Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest; Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Martin Lepage
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, QC, Canada.,Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
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Emotional arousal impairs association memory: roles of prefrontal cortex regions. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2021; 28:76-81. [PMID: 33593925 PMCID: PMC7888235 DOI: 10.1101/lm.052480.120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2020] [Accepted: 11/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
The brain processes underlying impairing effects of emotional arousal on associative memory were previously attributed to two dissociable routes using high-resolution fMRI of the MTL (Madan et al. 2017). Extrahippocampal MTL regions supporting associative encoding of neutral pairs suggested unitization; conversely, associative encoding of negative pairs involved compensatory hippocampal activity. Here, whole-brain fMRI revealed prefrontal contributions: dmPFC was more involved in hippocampal-dependent negative pair learning and vmPFC in extrahippocampal neutral pair learning. Successful encoding of emotional memory associations may require emotion regulation/conflict resolution (dmPFC), while neutral memory associations may be accomplished by anchoring new information to prior knowledge (vmPFC).
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Snytte J, Elshiekh A, Subramaniapillai S, Manning L, Pasvanis S, Devenyi GA, Olsen RK, Rajah MN. The ratio of posterior–anterior medial temporal lobe volumes predicts source memory performance in healthy young adults. Hippocampus 2020; 30:1209-1227. [DOI: 10.1002/hipo.23251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2019] [Revised: 07/02/2020] [Accepted: 07/10/2020] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Jamie Snytte
- Integrated Program in Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine McGill University Montreal Quebec Canada
| | - Abdelhalim Elshiekh
- Integrated Program in Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine McGill University Montreal Quebec Canada
| | | | - Lyssa Manning
- Massachusetts General Hospital Boston Massachusetts USA
| | - Stamatoula Pasvanis
- Cerebral Imaging Centre Douglas Mental Health University Institute Montreal Quebec Canada
| | - Gabriel A. Devenyi
- Cerebral Imaging Centre Douglas Mental Health University Institute Montreal Quebec Canada
- Department of Psychiatry McGill University Montreal Quebec Canada
| | - Rosanna K. Olsen
- Department of Psychology University of Toronto Toronto Ontario Canada
- Rotman Research Institute Baycrest Health Sciences Toronto Ontario Canada
| | - Maria Natasha Rajah
- Cerebral Imaging Centre Douglas Mental Health University Institute Montreal Quebec Canada
- Department of Psychiatry McGill University Montreal Quebec Canada
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Barker GRI, Warburton EC. Multi-level analyses of associative recognition memory: the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2020; 32:80-87. [PMID: 32617383 PMCID: PMC7323598 DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2020.02.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Associative recognition memory depends on the integration of information concerning an item and the spatio-temporal context in which it was encountered. Such an integration depends on dynamic interactions across a brain-wide memory network. Here we discuss evidence from multiple levels of analysis, behavioural, cellular and synaptic which demonstrating the existence of multiple overlapping, subnetworks embedded within these large-scale networks. Recent advances have revealed that of these subnetworks, a distinct hippocampal-prefrontal networks are engaged by different representations (object-spatial or object temporal). Other subnetworks are recruited by distinct processing demands, such as encoding and retrieval which are supported by distinct cellular and synaptic processes. One challenge to multi-level investigations of memory continues to be that conclusions are drawn from correlations of effects rather than from direct evidence of causation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gareth RI Barker
- School of Physiology, Pharmacology andNeuroscience University of Bristol University Walk, Bristol BS8 1TD, United Kingdom
| | - Elizabeth Clea Warburton
- School of Physiology, Pharmacology andNeuroscience University of Bristol University Walk, Bristol BS8 1TD, United Kingdom
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