1
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Musfeld P, Dutli J, Oberauer K, Bartsch LM. Grouping in working memory guides chunk formation in long-term memory: Evidence from the Hebb effect. Cognition 2024; 248:105795. [PMID: 38669793 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2024.105795] [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: 01/31/2024] [Revised: 04/05/2024] [Accepted: 04/15/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024]
Abstract
The Hebb effect refers to the improvement in immediate memory performance on a repeated list compared to unrepeated lists. That is, participants create a long-term memory representation over repetitions, on which they can draw in working memory tests. These long-term memory representations are likely formed by chunk acquisition: The whole list becomes integrated into a single unified representation. Previous research suggests that the formation of such chunks is rather inflexible and only occurs when at least the beginning of the list repeats across trials. However, recent work has shown that repetition learning strongly depends on participants recognizing the repeated information. Hence, successful chunk formation may depend on the recognizability of the repeated part of a list, and not on its position in the list. Across six experiments, we compared these two alternatives. We tested immediate serial recall of eight-letter lists, some of which partially repeated across trials. We used different partial-repetition structures, such as repeating only the first half of a list, or only every second item. We manipulated the salience of the repeating structure by spatially grouping and coloring the lists according to the repetition structure. We found that chunk formation is more flexible than previously assumed: Participants learned contiguous repeated sequences regardless of their position within the list, as long as they were able to recognize the repeated structure. Even when the repeated sequence occurred at varying positions over repetitions, learning was preserved when the repeated sequence was made salient by the spatial grouping. These findings suggest that chunk formation requires recognition of which items constitute a repeating group, and demonstrate a close link between grouping of information in working memory, and chunk formation in long-term memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philipp Musfeld
- University of Zurich, Department of Psychology, Cognitive Psychology Unit, Binzmühlestrasse 14, Box 22, CH-8050 Zurich.
| | - Joscha Dutli
- University of Zurich, Department of Psychology, Cognitive Psychology Unit, Binzmühlestrasse 14, Box 22, CH-8050 Zurich.
| | - Klaus Oberauer
- University of Zurich, Department of Psychology, Cognitive Psychology Unit, Binzmühlestrasse 14, Box 22, CH-8050 Zurich.
| | - Lea M Bartsch
- University of Zurich, Department of Psychology, Cognitive Psychology Unit, Binzmühlestrasse 14, Box 22, CH-8050 Zurich.
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2
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Ftaïta M, Guida A, Fartoukh M, Mathy F. Spatial-positional associations in short-term memory can vanish in long-term memory. Mem Cognit 2024:10.3758/s13421-024-01577-w. [PMID: 38867003 DOI: 10.3758/s13421-024-01577-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/22/2024] [Indexed: 06/14/2024]
Abstract
Studies on the SPoARC effect have shown that serial information is spatially processed in working memory. However, it remains unknown whether these spatial-positional associations are durable or only temporary. This study aimed at investigating whether spatialization would persist when a sequence presented repeatedly is expected to be chunked. If chunked, the items could be unified spatially and their spatialization could vanish. Thirty-seven participants performed a spatialization task which was remotely inspired by the Hebb repetition paradigm. A sequence of four stimuli presented individually in the middle of a computer screen was repeated throughout the task. After each sequence, participants had to decide whether a probe belonged to the series using two lateralized response keys. The results showed no spatialization for these repetitive sequences, on average. Moreover, further analysis revealed that the effect was detectable at the beginning of the task, suggesting that the more the sequence was repeated, the less participants spatialized information from left to right. These findings show that associations created in working memory between items and space can vanish in repeated sequences: we discuss the idea that working memory progressively saves on spatialization once a sequence is chunked in long-term memory.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Fabien Mathy
- BCL, CNRS, Université Côte d'Azur, Nice, France.
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3
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Osth AF, Zhang L. Integrating word-form representations with global similarity computation in recognition memory. Psychon Bull Rev 2024; 31:1000-1031. [PMID: 37973762 PMCID: PMC11192833 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-023-02402-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/04/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023]
Abstract
In recognition memory, retrieval is thought to occur by computing the global similarity of the probe to each of the studied items. However, to date, very few global similarity models have employed perceptual representations of words despite the fact that false recognition errors for perceptually similar words have consistently been observed. In this work, we integrate representations of letter strings from the reading literature with global similarity models. Specifically, we employed models of absolute letter position (slot codes and overlap models) and relative letter position (closed and open bigrams). Each of the representations was used to construct a global similarity model that made contact with responses and RTs at the individual word level using the linear ballistic accumulator (LBA) model (Brown & Heathcote Cognitive Psychology, 57 , 153-178, 2008). Relative position models were favored in three of the four datasets and parameter estimates suggested additional influence of the initial letters in the words. When semantic representations from the word2vec model were incorporated into the models, results indicated that orthographic representations were almost equally consequential as semantic representations in determining inter-item similarity and false recognition errors, which undermines previous suggestions that long-term memory is primarily driven by semantic representations. The model was able to modestly capture individual word variability in the false alarm rates, but there were limitations in capturing variability in the hit rates that suggest that the underlying representations require extension.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam F Osth
- University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
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4
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Zhang Y, Taft M, Tang J, Li L. Neural correlates of semantic-driven syntactic parsing in sentence comprehension. Neuroimage 2024; 289:120543. [PMID: 38369168 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2024.120543] [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: 08/25/2023] [Revised: 02/13/2024] [Accepted: 02/14/2024] [Indexed: 02/20/2024] Open
Abstract
For sentence comprehension, information carried by semantic relations between constituents must be combined with other information to decode the constituent structure of a sentence, due to atypical and noisy situations of language use. Neural correlates of decoding sentence structure by semantic information have remained largely unexplored. In this functional MRI study, we examine the neural basis of semantic-driven syntactic parsing during sentence reading and compare it with that of other types of syntactic parsing driven by word order and case marking. Chinese transitive sentences of various structures were investigated, differing in word order, case making, and agent-patient semantic relations (i.e., same vs. different in animacy). For the non-canonical unmarked sentences without usable case marking, a semantic-driven effect triggered by agent-patient ambiguity was found in the left inferior frontal gyrus opercularis (IFGoper) and left inferior parietal lobule, with the activity not being modulated by naturalness factors of the sentences. The comparison between each type of non-canonical sentences with canonical sentences revealed that the non-canonicity effect engaged the left posterior frontal and temporal regions, in line with previous studies. No extra neural activity was found responsive to case marking within the non-canonical sentences. A word order effect across all types of sentences was also found in the left IFGoper, suggesting a common neural substrate between different types of parsing. The semantic-driven effect was also observed for the non-canonical marked sentences but not for the canonical sentences, suggesting that semantic information is used in decoding sentence structure in addition to case marking. The current findings illustrate the neural correlates of syntactic parsing with semantics, and provide neural evidence of how semantics facilitates syntax together with other information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yun Zhang
- Center for the Cognitive Science and Language, Beijing Language and Culture University, Beijing 100083, PR China
| | - Marcus Taft
- Center for the Cognitive Science and Language, Beijing Language and Culture University, Beijing 100083, PR China; School of Psychology, UNSW Sydney, Australia
| | - Jiaman Tang
- Center for the Cognitive Science and Language, Beijing Language and Culture University, Beijing 100083, PR China
| | - Le Li
- Center for the Cognitive Science and Language, Beijing Language and Culture University, Beijing 100083, PR China.
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5
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Moore IL, Long NM. Semantic associations restore neural encoding mechanisms. Learn Mem 2024; 31:a053996. [PMID: 38503491 PMCID: PMC11000581 DOI: 10.1101/lm.053996.124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2024] [Accepted: 02/19/2024] [Indexed: 03/21/2024]
Abstract
Lapses in attention can negatively impact later memory of an experience. Attention and encoding resources are thought to decline as more experiences are encountered in succession, accounting for the primacy effect in which memory is better for items encountered early compared to late in a study list. However, accessing prior knowledge during study can facilitate subsequent memory, suggesting a potential avenue to counteract this decline. Here, we investigated the extent to which semantic associations-shared meaning between experiences-can counteract declines in encoding resources. Our hypothesis is that semantic associations restore neural encoding mechanisms, which in turn improves memory. We recorded scalp electroencephalography (EEG) while male and female human participants performed a delayed free recall task. Half of the items from late in each study list were semantically associated with an item presented earlier in the list. We find that semantic associations improve memory specifically for late list items and selectively modulate the neural signals engaged during the study of late list items. Relative to other recalled items, late list items that are subsequently semantically clustered-recalled consecutively with their semantic associate-elicit increased high-frequency activity and decreased low-frequency activity, a hallmark of successful encoding. Our findings demonstrate that semantic associations restore neural encoding mechanisms and improve later memory. More broadly, these findings suggest that prior knowledge modulates the orientation of attention to influence encoding mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabelle L Moore
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22904, USA
| | - Nicole M Long
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22904, USA
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6
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Logan GD, Cox GE, Lilburn SD, Ulrich JE. No position-specific interference from prior lists in cued recognition: A challenge for position coding (and other) theories of serial memory. Cogn Psychol 2024; 149:101641. [PMID: 38377823 DOI: 10.1016/j.cogpsych.2024.101641] [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: 09/13/2023] [Revised: 02/02/2024] [Accepted: 02/05/2024] [Indexed: 02/22/2024]
Abstract
Position-specific intrusions of items from prior lists are rare but important phenomena that distinguish broad classes of theory in serial memory. They are uniquely predicted by position coding theories, which assume items on all lists are associated with the same set of codes representing their positions. Activating a position code activates items associated with it in current and prior lists in proportion to their distance from the activated position. Thus, prior list intrusions are most likely to come from the coded position. Alternative "item dependent" theories based on associations between items and contexts built from items have difficulty accounting for the position specificity of prior list intrusions. We tested the position coding account with a position-cued recognition task designed to produce prior list interference. Cuing a position should activate a position code, which should activate items in nearby positions in the current and prior lists. We presented lures from the prior list to test for position-specific activation in response time and error rate; lures from nearby positions should interfere more. We found no evidence for such interference in 10 experiments, falsifying the position coding prediction. We ran two serial recall experiments with the same materials and found position-specific prior list intrusions. These results challenge all theories of serial memory: Position coding theories can explain the prior list intrusions in serial recall and but not the absence of prior list interference in cued recognition. Item dependent theories can explain the absence of prior list interference in cued recognition but cannot explain the occurrence of prior list intrusions in serial recall.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gordon D Logan
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37240, USA.
| | - Gregory E Cox
- Department of Psychology, University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, NY 12222, USA
| | - Simon D Lilburn
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37240, USA
| | - Jana E Ulrich
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37240, USA
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7
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Zhang L, Osth AF. Modelling orthographic similarity effects in recognition memory reveals support for open bigram representations of letter coding. Cogn Psychol 2024; 148:101619. [PMID: 38043466 DOI: 10.1016/j.cogpsych.2023.101619] [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: 07/11/2023] [Revised: 11/17/2023] [Accepted: 11/19/2023] [Indexed: 12/05/2023]
Abstract
A variety of letter string representations has been proposed in the reading literature to account for empirically established orthographic similarity effects from masked priming studies. However, these similarity effects have not been explored in episodic memory paradigms and very few memory models have employed orthographic representation of words. In the current work, through two recognition memory experiments employing word and pseudoword stimuli respectively, we empirically established a set of key orthographic similarity effects for the first time in recognition memory - namely the substitution effect, transposition effect and reverse effect in recognition memory of words and pseudowords, and a start-letter importance in recognition memory of words. Subsequently, we compared orthographic representations from the reading literature including slot coding, closed-bigram, open-bigram and the overlap model. Each of these representations was situated in a global matching model and fitted to recognition performance via Luce's choice rule in a hierarchical Bayesian framework. Model selection results showed support for the open-bigram representation in both experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lyulei Zhang
- University of Melbourne, Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, Australia.
| | - Adam F Osth
- University of Melbourne, Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, Australia
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8
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Shafaghat Ardebili A, Liu YS, Caplan JB. The emergence of all-or-none retrieval of chunks in verbal serial recall. Mem Cognit 2024; 52:352-372. [PMID: 37801193 DOI: 10.3758/s13421-023-01464-w] [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] [Accepted: 08/30/2023] [Indexed: 10/07/2023]
Abstract
People often subdivide a list into smaller pieces, called chunks. Some theories of serial recall assume memories are stored hierarchically, with all-or-none retrieval of chunks, but most mathematical models avoid hierarchical assumptions. Johnson (Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 8(6), 725-731, 1969) found steep drops in errors following correct recalls (transitional-error probabilities) within putative chunks during multi-trial letter-list learning, and viewed this as evidence for all-or-none retrieval. Here we test whether all-or-none retrieval occurs in lists studied only once. In serial recall of six-word lists (Experiment 1), transitional-error probabilities were inconsistent with all-or-none retrieval, both when participants were instructed to subdivide and when temporal grouping induced subdivision. Curiously, the same analysis of previous temporally grouped nine-letter lists produced compelling evidence for all-or-none retrieval, which may result from recoding rather than the formation of chunks. In Experiment 2, participants were pre-trained on three-word chunks. For nine-word lists constructed from those trained chunks, transitional-error probabilities exhibited more pronounced evidence of all-or-none retrieval. Nearly all effects reversed with post-cued backward recall, suggesting mechanisms that play out over the course of recall rather than encoding of the list. In sum, subdivided lists do not result in hierarchical memories after a single study trial, although they may emerge in lists formed from chunks that are previously learned as such. This suggests a continuous transition from non-hierarchical subdivision of lists to all-or-none retrieval over the course of chunk formation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Yang S Liu
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2R3, Canada
| | - Jeremy B Caplan
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E1, Canada.
- Department of Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E9, Canada.
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9
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Couvignou M, Tillmann B, Caclin A, Kolinsky R. Do developmental dyslexia and congenital amusia share underlying impairments? Child Neuropsychol 2023; 29:1294-1340. [PMID: 36606656 DOI: 10.1080/09297049.2022.2162031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2022] [Accepted: 12/19/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Developmental dyslexia and congenital amusia have common characteristics. Yet, their possible association in some individuals has been addressed only scarcely. Recently, two converging studies reported a sizable comorbidity rate between these two neurodevelopmental disorders (Couvignou et al., Cognitive Neuropsychology 2019; Couvignou & Kolinsky, Neuropsychologia 2021). However, the reason for their association remains unclear. Here, we investigate the hypothesis of shared underlying impairments between dyslexia and amusia. Fifteen dyslexic children with amusia (DYS+A), 15 dyslexic children without amusia (DYS-A), and two groups of 25 typically developing children matched on either chronological age (CA) or reading level (RL) were assessed with a behavioral battery aiming to investigate phonological and pitch processing capacities at auditory memory, perceptual awareness, and attentional levels. Overall, our results suggest that poor auditory serial-order memory increases susceptibility to comorbidity between dyslexia and amusia and may play a role in the development of the comorbid phenotype. In contrast, the impairments observed in the DYS+A children for auditory item memory, perceptual awareness, and attention might be a consequence of their reduced reading experience combined with weaker musical skills. Comparing DYS+A and DYS-A children suggests that the latter are more resourceful and/or have more effective compensatory strategies, or that their phenotype results from a different developmental trajectory. We will discuss the relevance of these findings for delving into the etiology of these two developmental disorders and address their implications for future research and practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manon Couvignou
- Unité de Recherche en Neurosciences Cognitives (Unescog), Center for Research in Cognition & Neurosciences (CRCN), Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Barbara Tillmann
- Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, CNRS, UMR 5292, INSERM, U1028, Lyon, France
- University Lyon 1, Lyon, France
| | - Anne Caclin
- Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, CNRS, UMR 5292, INSERM, U1028, Lyon, France
- University Lyon 1, Lyon, France
| | - Régine Kolinsky
- Unité de Recherche en Neurosciences Cognitives (Unescog), Center for Research in Cognition & Neurosciences (CRCN), Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
- Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique-FNRS (FRS-FNRS), Brussels, Belgium
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10
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Querella P, Majerus S. Sequential syntactic knowledge supports item but not order recall in verbal working memory. Mem Cognit 2023:10.3758/s13421-023-01476-6. [PMID: 37872468 DOI: 10.3758/s13421-023-01476-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/04/2023] [Indexed: 10/25/2023]
Abstract
Previous studies have shown that psycholinguistic effects such as lexico-semantic knowledge effects mainly determine item recall in verbal working memory (WM). However, we may expect that syntactic knowledge, involving knowledge about word-level sequential aspects of language, should also impact serial-order aspects of recall in WM. Evidence for this assumption is scarce and inconsistent and has been conducted in language with deterministic syntactic rules. In languages such as French, word position is determined in a probabilistic manner: an adjective is placed before or after a noun, depending on its lexico-semantic properties. We exploited this specificity of the French language for examining the impact of syntactic positional knowledge on both item and serial order recall in verbal WM. We presented lists with adjective-noun pairs for immediate serial recall, the adjectives being in regular or irregular position relative to the nouns. We observed increased recall performance when adjectives occurred in regular position; this effect was observed for item recall but not order recall scores. We propose an integration of verbal WM and syntactic processing models to account for this finding by assuming that the impact of syntactic knowledge on serial-order WM recall is indirect and mediated via syntax-dependent item-retrieval processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pauline Querella
- Department of Psychology, Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience Research Unit, University of Liège, Place des Orateurs 1 (B33), 4000, Liège, Belgium.
| | - Steve Majerus
- Department of Psychology, Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience Research Unit, University of Liège, Place des Orateurs 1 (B33), 4000, Liège, Belgium
- National Fund for Scientific Research, Brussels, Belgium
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11
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Logan GD, Lilburn SD, Ulrich JE. Serial attention to serial memory: The psychological refractory period in forward and backward cued recall. Cogn Psychol 2023; 145:101583. [PMID: 37429216 DOI: 10.1016/j.cogpsych.2023.101583] [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: 01/11/2023] [Revised: 06/18/2023] [Accepted: 06/21/2023] [Indexed: 07/12/2023]
Abstract
Guided by the conjecture that memory retrieval is attention turned inward, we examined serial attention in serial memory, combining the psychological refractory period (PRP) procedure from attention research with cued recall of two items from brief six-item lists. We report six experiments showing robust PRP effects in cued recall from memory (1-4) and cued report from perceptual displays (5-6), which suggest that memory retrieval requires the same attentional bottleneck as "retrieval" from perception. There were strong direction effects in each memory experiment. Response time (RT) was shorter and accuracy was higher when the cues occurred in the forward direction (left-to-right, top-to-bottom, first-to-last), replicating differences between forward and backward serial recall. Cue positions had strong effects on RT and accuracy in the memory experiments (1-4). The pattern suggested that subjects find cued items in memory by stepping through the list from the beginning or the end, with a preference for starting at the beginning. The perceptual experiments (5-6) showed weak effects of position that were more consistent with direct access. In all experiments, the distance between the cues in the list (lag) had weak effects, suggesting that subjects searched for each cue from the beginning or end of the list more often than they moved through the list from the first cue to the second. Direction, distance, and lag effects on RT and inter-response interval changed with SOA in a manner that suggested they affect bottleneck or pre-bottleneck processes that create and execute a plan for successive retrievals. We conclude that sequential retrieval from memory and sequential attention to perception engage the same computations and we show how computational models of memory can be interpreted as models of attention focused on memory.
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12
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Efecto de la contigüidad espacial sobre el aprendizaje de secuencias de posiciones. ACTA COLOMBIANA DE PSICOLOGIA 2022. [DOI: 10.14718/acp.2023.26.1.8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Cuatro condiciones de contigüidad espacial de posiciones fueron empleadas para evaluar el aprendizaje de secuencias. Se emplearon dos secuencias de 16 y 25 posiciones presentadas en dos matrices de 4×4 y 5×5, respectivamente. Dentro de cada matriz, 4 (en la matriz de 4×4) o 6 posiciones (en la matriz de 5×5) presentaron contigüidad espacial. Entre grupos, se varió el punto de la secuencia en el que se presentaron las posiciones contiguas. De este modo, la contigüidad espacial de las 4 o 6 posiciones se presentó al inicio de la secuencia (Grupo 1), en la parte media (Grupo 2), al final de la secuencia (Grupo 3), o bien, se presentó una secuencia en la que todas las posiciones ocurrieron sin contigüidad espacial (Grupo 4). Participaron 28 estudiantes de licenciatura. Los resultados no mostraron diferencias entre grupos en cuanto al número de ensayos requeridospara reproducir la secuencia correctamente. El número de errores fue menor cuando las posiciones contiguas se presentaron al inicio de la secuencia. Los hallazgos se explican a partir de un posible efecto de acentuación de la primacía, dado por la ocurrencia de posiciones contiguas al inicio de la secuencia.
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13
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Sequential versus simultaneous presentation of memoranda in verbal working memory: (How) does it matter? Mem Cognit 2022; 50:1756-1771. [PMID: 35167048 DOI: 10.3758/s13421-022-01284-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
To-be-memorized information in verbal working memory (WM) can be presented sequentially, like in oral language, and simultaneously, like in written language. Few studies have addressed the importance and implications for verbal WM processing of these two presentation modes. While sequential presentation may favor discrete, temporal encoding processes, simultaneous presentation may favor spatial encoding processes. We compared immediate serial recall tasks for sequential versus simultaneous word list presentation with a specific focus on serial position curves of recall performance, transposition gradients, and the nature of serial order errors. First, we observed higher recall performance in the simultaneous compared to the sequential conditions, with a particularly large effect at end-of-list items. Moreover, results showed more transposition errors between non-adjacent items for the sequential condition, as well as more omission errors especially for start-of-list items. This observation can be explained in terms of differences in refreshing opportunities for start-of-list items during encoding between conditions. This study shows that the presentation mode of sequential material can have a significant impact on verbal WM performance, with an advantage for simultaneous encoding of sequence information.
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14
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Oscillatory delta and theta frequencies differentially support multiple items encoding to optimize memory performance during the digit span task. Neuroimage 2022; 263:119650. [PMID: 36167270 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119650] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2022] [Revised: 08/29/2022] [Accepted: 09/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The human brain has limited storage capacity often challenging the encoding and recall of a long series of multiple items. Different encoding strategies are therefore employed to optimize performance in memory processes such as chunking where particular items are 'grouped' to reduce the number of items to store artificially. Additionally, related to the position of an item within a series, there is a tendency to remember the first and last items on the list better than the middle ones, which calls the "serial position effect". Although relatively well-established in behavioral research, the neuronal mechanisms underlying such encoding strategies and memory effects remain poorly understood. Here, we used event-related EEG oscillation analyses to unravel the neuronal substrates of serial encoding strategies and effects during the behaviorally controlled execution of the digit span task. We recorded EEG in forty-four healthy young-adult participants during a backward digit span (ds) task with two difficulty levels (i.e., 3-ds and 5-ds). Participants were asked to recall the digits in reverse order after the presentation of each set. We analyzed the pattern of event-related delta and theta oscillatory power in the time-frequency domain over fronto-central and parieto-occipital areas during the item (digit) list encoding, focusing on how these oscillatory responses changed with each subsequent digit being encoded in the series. Results showed that the development of event-related delta power evoked by digits in each series matched the 'serial position curve', with higher delta power being present during the first, and especially last, digits as compared to digits presented in the middle of a set, for both difficulty levels. Event-related theta power, in contrast, rather resembled a neural correlate of a chunking pattern where, during the 5-ds encoding, a clear change in event-related theta occurred around the third/fourth positions, with decreasing power values for later digits. This suggests that different oscillatory mechanisms linked to different frequency bands may code for the different encoding strategies and effects in serial item presentation. Furthermore, recall-EEG correlations suggested that participants with higher fronto-central delta responses during digit encoding showed also higher recall scores. The here presented findings contribute to our understanding of the neural oscillatory mechanisms underlying multiple item encoding, directly informing recent efforts towards memory enhancement through targeted oscillation-based neuromodulation.
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15
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Guitard D, Cowan N. Attention allocation between item and order information in short-term memory. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2022; 76:1391-1409. [PMID: 35899857 PMCID: PMC10029108 DOI: 10.1177/17470218221118451] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
In immediate memory for verbal lists, recently it has been shown that participants can choose to carry out encoding that prioritises readiness for an item test at some cost to order information or, conversely, that prioritises readiness for an order test at a cost to item information. Here, we ask whether participants can control attention to items and order in a graded fashion. We examined this issue by manipulating the percentage of order or item test trials participants would receive in a block (for each type of test, 25%, 50%, 75%, or 100% of the trials in a block). Overall, the results revealed that participants were able to allocate their attention in a fine-grained manner that took into account the trial distribution within the block. However, there was a difference between the effects of allocating attention to item versus order. Divided attention, compared with full attention to one attribute, had an asymmetry, such that divided attention impaired order performance more than item performance. The exact point at which this asymmetry could be seen differed between two experiments, which included different item tests (fragment completion vs. free recall). The results suggest a common resource for item and order encoding and/or retention in working memory, which can be voluntarily allocated to different mixtures of these two attributes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dominic Guitard
- Université de Moncton, Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada
- University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
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16
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Chiou SC. Effects of spatiotemporal (dis)continuity on working memory for human movements. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2022; 230:103719. [PMID: 36027709 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2022.103719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2022] [Revised: 07/20/2022] [Accepted: 08/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Human movements are dynamic and continuous in nature. However, how the spatiotemporal continuity influences working memory for movements is still unclear. Specifically, spatiotemporal continuity of movements may facilitate integrative processing ("integration") and enhance memory performance by optimizing the encoding process, but it may also diminish memory benefits from distinctive processing ("separation"). In this study, we manipulated the continuity state (continuous/discontinuous) (Experiment 1) and its predictability (Experiment 2) of whole-body movement sequences and tested participants' working memory for observed movements with a single-probe recognition task. We formulated potential influence from spatiotemporal (dis)continuity by two opposite forces - integration vs. separation, and demonstrated a conflict between these two processes across space and time. Moreover, we found that the seemingly stimulus-driven perceptual effects from spatiotemporal (dis)continuity might be supported by a prediction-based mechanism, which guided the selection of an optimal processing strategy. Overall, our finding illustrates an interweaving relationship between spatial and temporal processing during action observation and highlights the importance of considering the dynamic and continuous nature of human movements in visual perception and working memory research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shiau-Chuen Chiou
- Neurocognition and Action Research Group, Center for Cognitive Interaction Technology (CITEC), Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany; Faculty of Psychology and Sports Science, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany.
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17
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Cristoforetti G, Majerus S, Sahan MI, van Dijck JP, Fias W. Neural Patterns in Parietal Cortex and Hippocampus Distinguish Retrieval of Start versus End Positions in Working Memory. J Cogn Neurosci 2022; 34:1230-1245. [PMID: 35556132 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01860] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Coding serial order of information is a fundamental ability of our cognitive system, and still, little is known about its neural substrate. This study examined the neural substrates involved in the retrieval of information that is serially stored in verbal working memory task using a sensitive multivariate analysis approach. We compared neural activity for memorized items stemming from the beginning versus the end of a memory list assessing the degree of neural pattern discordance between order positions (beginning vs. end). The present results confirmed and refined the role of the intraparietal sulcus in the processing of serial order information in working memory. An important finding is that the hippocampus showed sensitivity to serial order information. Our results indicate that the representation of serial order information relies on a broader set of neural areas and highlight the role of the intraparietal sulcus and the hippocampus, in addition to the supramarginal gyrus and the SMA. The contribution of different neural regions might reflect the involvement of distinct levels of serial order coding (i.e., spatial, attentional, temporal) that support the representation of serial order information.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Steve Majerus
- Université de Liège, Belgium.,Fund for Scientific Research FNRS, Brussels, Belgium
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18
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Lin HY, Oberauer K. An interference model for visual working memory: Applications to the change detection task. Cogn Psychol 2022; 133:101463. [PMID: 35151184 DOI: 10.1016/j.cogpsych.2022.101463] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2020] [Revised: 01/11/2022] [Accepted: 01/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Most studies of visual-working memory employ one of two experimental paradigms: change-detection or continuous-stimulus reproduction. In this study, we extended the Interference Model (IM; Oberauer & Lin, 2017), which was designed for continuous reproduction, to the single-probe change-detection task. In continuous reproduction, participants occasionally report the non-target items instead of the target. The presence of non-target response is predicted by the Interference Model, which relies in part on the interference of non-target items to explain the set-size effect. By presenting a probe matching a non-target item, we can investigate the amount of interference from non-target items in change detection. As predicted by the Interference Model, we observed poorer performance in rejecting a probe matching a non-target item compared to a new probe (i.e., a cost due to intrusions from non-targets). We fitted the IM along with the Variable Precision, the Slot-Averaging, and the Neural-Population model to the data from two change-detection experiments. The models were equipped with a Bayesian decision rule based on the one used in Keshvari, van den Berg, and Ma (2013). The Interference Model and the Neural-Population model successfully predicted the set-size effect and the non-target intrusion cost, whereas the Variable Precision (VP) and Slot-Averaging (SA) models failed to predict the intrusion cost at all. Even with additional assumptions enabling VP and SA to produce intrusion costs, the IM still performed better than the competing models quantitatively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hsuan-Yu Lin
- Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Switzerland, University of Bremen, Germany.
| | - Klaus Oberauer
- Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Switzerland
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19
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Pu Y, Kong XZ, Ranganath C, Melloni L. Event boundaries shape temporal organization of memory by resetting temporal context. Nat Commun 2022; 13:622. [PMID: 35110527 PMCID: PMC8810807 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-28216-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2020] [Accepted: 01/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
In memory, our continuous experiences are broken up into discrete events. Boundaries between events are known to influence the temporal organization of memory. However, how and through which mechanism event boundaries shape temporal order memory (TOM) remains unknown. Across four experiments, we show that event boundaries exert a dual role: improving TOM for items within an event and impairing TOM for items across events. Decreasing event length in a list enhances TOM, but only for items at earlier local event positions, an effect we term the local primacy effect. A computational model, in which items are associated to a temporal context signal that drifts over time but resets at boundaries captures all behavioural results. Our findings provide a unified algorithmic mechanism for understanding how and why event boundaries affect TOM, reconciling a long-standing paradox of why both contextual similarity and dissimilarity promote TOM. Our memory is temporally organized, but our internal clock can be distorted. The authors demonstrate how environmental changes (termed event boundaries) affect memory for event order, and provide a computational model to explain these effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Pu
- Department of Neuroscience, Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
| | - Xiang-Zhen Kong
- Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
| | - Charan Ranganath
- UC Davis Center for Neuroscience, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.,Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Lucia Melloni
- Department of Neuroscience, Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. .,Department of Neurology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York City, NY, USA.
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20
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Guitard D, Saint-Aubin J, Cowan N. Tradeoffs between Item and Order Information in Short-Term Memory. JOURNAL OF MEMORY AND LANGUAGE 2022; 122:104300. [PMID: 36061403 PMCID: PMC9435734 DOI: 10.1016/j.jml.2021.104300] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
Recently, Guitard et al. (2021) used a two-list procedure and varied the kind of encoding carried out for each list (item or order encoding). They found dual-list impairment on an order test was consistently greater when the other list was also encoded for an order test, compared to when it was in the presence of another list encoded for an item test. They also found a dual-list cost relative to one list for both order and item information. Here we address the bases of the interference costs with a novel task in which, prior to each list presentation, participants are instructed to expect an item fragment completion test, an order reconstruction test, or either type of test. In five experiments, we contrast two competing accounts of item and order processing, the conflicting representation hypothesis and the common resource hypothesis. An asymmetry with larger dual-attention costs on order compared to item tests was found, with the effect magnitude changing with task conditions. Our results support a version of the common resource hypothesis in which both item and order processing occur no matter which test is expected, but in which additional processing is divided between item and order codes in a manner that depends on task demands.
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21
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The distinct contribution of verbal and visuospatial short-term memory abilities to arithmetic development. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2021.101139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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22
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Cheung CN. When A is greater than B: Interactions between magnitude and serial order. Conscious Cogn 2021; 97:103259. [PMID: 34971865 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2021.103259] [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: 03/14/2021] [Revised: 12/02/2021] [Accepted: 12/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Processing ordinal information is an important aspect of cognitive ability, yet the nature of such ordinal representations remains largely unclear. Previously, it has been suggested that ordinal position is coded as magnitude, but this claim has not yet received direct empirical support. This study examined the nature of ordinal representations using a Stroop-like letter order judgment task. If ordinal position is coded as magnitude, then letter ordering and font size should interact. Experiments 1 and 2 identified a significant interaction between letter size and ordering. Specifically, a facilitation effect was observed for alphabetically ordered sequences with decreasing font size (e.g., B C D). This suggests an overlap in the mechanisms for order and magnitude processing. The finding also suggests that earlier ranks may be represented as "more" in such a magnitude-based code, and vice versa for later ranks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chi-Ngai Cheung
- Department of Psychology and Criminal Justice, Middle Georgia State University, USA; Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health, Georgia Southern University, USA; Department of Psychology, University of South Florida, USA.
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23
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The domain-specificity of serial order working memory. Mem Cognit 2021; 50:941-961. [PMID: 34961910 DOI: 10.3758/s13421-021-01260-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Making a turn while driving is simple: turn on the indicator, check for cars, then turn. Two types of information are required to perform this sequence of events: information about the items (e.g., the correct indicator), and the serial order of those items (e.g., checking before turning rather than vice-versa). Previous research has found distinct working memory capacities (WMCs) for item and serial order information in both verbal and nonverbal domains. The current study investigates whether the serial order WMC is shared for sequences from different content domains. One hundred and fifty-three participants performed sequence matching tasks with verbal (letters and words) and nonverbal (locations and arrows) stimuli. The accuracy of detecting mismatched item-identity and serial order information in sequences was used to operationalize item and order WMC. Using structural equation modeling analyses, we directly compared models that included either domain-specific or domain-general serial order WMC latent variables, finding that models with domain-specific serial order WMC latent variables for verbal and nonverbal materials fit the data better than models with domain-general latent variables. The findings support the hypothesis that there are separate capacities for serial order working memory depending on the type of material being ordered.
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24
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Gorin S. Temporal grouping effects in verbal and musical short-term memory: Is serial order representation domain-general? Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2021; 75:1603-1627. [PMID: 34698553 PMCID: PMC9329764 DOI: 10.1177/17470218211057466] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
The question of the domain-general versus domain-specific nature of the serial order mechanisms involved in short-term memory is currently under debate. The present study aimed at addressing this question through the study of temporal grouping effects in short-term memory tasks with musical material, a domain which has received little interest so far. The goal was to determine whether positional coding-currently the best account of grouping effect in verbal short-term memory-represents a viable mechanism to explain grouping effects in the musical domain. In a first experiment, non-musicians performed serial reconstruction of 6-tone sequences, where half of the sequences was grouped by groups of three items and the other half presented at a regular pace. The overall data pattern suggests that temporal grouping exerts on tone sequences reconstruction the same effects as in the verbal domain, except for ordering errors which were not characterised by the typical increase of interpositions. This pattern has been replicated in two additional experiments with verbal material, using the same grouping structure as in the musical experiment. The findings support that verbal and musical short-term memory domains are characterised by similar temporal grouping effects for the recall of 6-item lists grouped by three, but it also suggests the existence of boundary condition to observe an increase in interposition errors predicted by positional theories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon Gorin
- Faculté de Psychologie et des Sciences de l'Éducation, Université de Genève, Genève, Switzerland.,Faculty of Psychology, UniDistance Suisse, Brigue, Switzerland
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25
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Eye-movements reveal the serial position of the attended item in verbal working memory. Psychon Bull Rev 2021; 29:530-540. [PMID: 34582030 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-021-02005-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/31/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The problem of how the mind can retain sequentially organized information has a long research tradition that remains unresolved. While various computational models propose a mechanism of binding serial order information to position markers, the representational nature and processes that operate on these position markers are not clear. Recent behavioral work suggests that space is used to mark positions in serial order and that this process is governed by spatial attention. Based on the assumption that brain areas controlling spatial attention are also involved in saccadic planning, we continuously tracked the eye-movements as a direct measure of the spatial attention during retrieval from a verbal WM sequence. Participants memorized a sequence of auditory numbers. During retention, they heard a number-cue that did or did not belong to the memorized set. After this number-cue, a target-beep could be presented to which they had to respond if the number-cue belonged to the memorized sequence. In Experiment 1, the target-beep was either presented to the left or right ear, and in Experiment 2 bilaterally (removing any spatial aspect). We tested the hypothesis that systematic eye-movements are made when people retrieve items of sequences of auditory words and found that the retrieval of begin items resulted in leftward eye-movements and the retrieval of end items in rightward eye-movements. These observations indicate that the oculomotor system is also involved in the serial order processes in verbal WM thereby providing a promising novel approach to get insight into abstract cognitive processes.
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26
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Early is left and up: Saccadic responses reveal horizontal and vertical spatial associations of serial order in working memory. Cognition 2021; 217:104908. [PMID: 34543935 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2021.104908] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2021] [Revised: 09/11/2021] [Accepted: 09/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Maintaining serial order in working memory is crucial for cognition. Recent theories propose that serial information is achieved by positional coding of items on a spatial frame of reference. In line with this, an early-left and late-right spatial-positional association of response code (SPoARC) effect has been established. Various theoretical accounts have been put forward to explain the SPoARC effect (the mental whiteboard hypothesis, conceptual metaphor theory, polarity correspondence, or the indirect spatial-numerical association effect). Crucially, while all these accounts predict a left-to-right orientation of the SPoARC effect, they make different predictions regarding the direction of a possible vertical SPoARC effect. In this study, we therefore investigated SPoARC effects along the horizontal and vertical spatial dimension by means of saccadic responses. We replicated the left-to-right horizontal SPoARC effect and established for the first time an up-to-down vertical SPoARC effect. The direction of the vertical SPoARC effect was in contrast to that predicted by metaphor theory, polarity correspondence, or by the indirect spatial-numerical association effect. Rather, our results support the mental whiteboard-hypothesis, according to which positions can be flexibly coded on an internal space depending on the task demands. We also found that the strengths of the horizontal and vertical SPoARC effects were correlated, showing that some people are more prone than others to use spatial references for position coding. Our results therefore suggest that context templates used for position marking are not necessarily spatial in nature but depend on individual strategy preferences.
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27
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Kowialiewski B, Lemaire B, Majerus S, Portrat S. Can activated long-term memory maintain serial order information? Psychon Bull Rev 2021; 28:1301-1312. [PMID: 33765248 PMCID: PMC8367891 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-021-01902-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The maintenance of serial order information is a core component of working memory (WM). Many theoretical models assume the existence of specific serial order mechanisms. Those are considered to be independent from the linguistic system supporting maintenance of item information. This is based on studies showing that psycholinguistic factors strongly affect the ability to maintain item information, while leaving order recall relatively unaffected. Recent language-based accounts suggest, however, that the linguistic system could provide mechanisms that are sufficient for serial order maintenance. A strong version of these accounts postulates serial order maintenance as emerging from the pattern of activation occurring in the linguistic system. In the present study, we tested this assumption via a computational modeling approach by implementing a purely activation-based architecture. We tested this architecture against several experiments involving the manipulation of semantic relatedness, a psycholinguistic variable that has been shown to interact with serial order processing in a complex manner. We show that this activation-based architecture struggles to account for interactions between semantic knowledge and serial order processing. This study fails to support activated long-term memory as an exclusive mechanism supporting serial order maintenance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Kowialiewski
- Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Binzmühlestrasse 14, 8050, Zürich, Switzerland.
- University of Liège, Liège, Belgium.
- Laboratoire de Psychologie et NeuroCognition (LPNC), Université Grenoble Alpes, Bâtiment Michel Dubois prev. BSHM, 1251 Avenue Centrale, 38400, Saint-Martin-d'Hères, France.
| | | | - Steve Majerus
- University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
- Fund for Scientific Research - F.R.S.-FNRS, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Sophie Portrat
- Fund for Scientific Research - F.R.S.-FNRS, Brussels, Belgium
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28
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Abstract
Immediate recall of lists of items in random serial order has been examined in thousands of studies throughout the history of experimental psychology. In most studies, though, there have been no repetitions of items within a list, or occasionally a single repetition. These stimuli differ from the common uses of item series, which often include multiple repetitions (e.g., identification numbers; orders of people at a restaurant table). To begin to understand such cases we presented lists that, in some trial blocks, were constructed with no restrictions on repetitions. Specifically, we examined immediate serial recall of visually-presented, nine-digit lists, either spatially separated into three separate groups of three digits (Experiment 1) or undivided (Experiment 2). Many of the lists included single or multiple repetitions of digits, with repeated digits either adjacent or non-adjacent in an unpredictable manner. We assessed theoretical expectations derived from prior research. Effects of repetition were often helpful but, when repetitions favoured a grouping that conflicted with the presented grouping into threes in Experiment 1, repetition was disadvantageous. We suggest a theoretical analysis in which participants can use presented grouping cues or, when those cues are absent, create their own groupings to exploit repetitions among the stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nelson Cowan
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
| | - Kyle O Hardman
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
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29
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Gotcha: Working memory prioritization from automatic attentional biases. Psychon Bull Rev 2021; 29:415-429. [PMID: 34131892 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-021-01958-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Attention is an important resource for prioritizing information in working memory (WM), and it can be deployed both strategically and automatically. Most research investigating the relationship between WM and attention has focused on strategic efforts to deploy attentional resources toward remembering relevant information. However, such voluntary attentional control represents a mere subset of the attentional processes that select information to be encoded and maintained in WM (Theeuwes, Journal of Cognition, 1[1]: 29, 1-15, 2018). Here, we discuss three ways in which information becomes prioritized automatically in WM-physical salience, statistical learning, and reward learning. This review integrates findings from perception and working memory studies to propose a more sophisticated understanding of the relationship between attention and working memory.
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30
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Kalm K, Norris D. Sequence learning recodes cortical representations instead of strengthening initial ones. PLoS Comput Biol 2021; 17:e1008969. [PMID: 34029315 PMCID: PMC8177667 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1008969] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2020] [Revised: 06/04/2021] [Accepted: 04/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
We contrast two computational models of sequence learning. The associative learner posits that learning proceeds by strengthening existing association weights. Alternatively, recoding posits that learning creates new and more efficient representations of the learned sequences. Importantly, both models propose that humans act as optimal learners but capture different statistics of the stimuli in their internal model. Furthermore, these models make dissociable predictions as to how learning changes the neural representation of sequences. We tested these predictions by using fMRI to extract neural activity patterns from the dorsal visual processing stream during a sequence recall task. We observed that only the recoding account can explain the similarity of neural activity patterns, suggesting that participants recode the learned sequences using chunks. We show that associative learning can theoretically store only very limited number of overlapping sequences, such as common in ecological working memory tasks, and hence an efficient learner should recode initial sequence representations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristjan Kalm
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Dennis Norris
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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31
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Parish G, Michelmann S, Hanslmayr S, Bowman H. The Sync-Fire/deSync model: Modelling the reactivation of dynamic memories from cortical alpha oscillations. Neuropsychologia 2021; 158:107867. [PMID: 33905757 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2021.107867] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2020] [Revised: 04/19/2021] [Accepted: 04/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
We propose a neural network model to explore how humans can learn and accurately retrieve temporal sequences, such as melodies, movies, or other dynamic content. We identify target memories by their neural oscillatory signatures, as shown in recent human episodic memory paradigms. Our model comprises three plausible components for the binding of temporal content, where each component imposes unique limitations on the encoding and representation of that content. A cortical component actively represents sequences through the disruption of an intrinsically generated alpha rhythm, where a desynchronisation marks information-rich operations as the literature predicts. A binding component converts each event into a discrete index, enabling repetitions through a sparse encoding of events. A timing component - consisting of an oscillatory "ticking clock" made up of hierarchical synfire chains - discretely indexes a moment in time. By encoding the absolute timing between discretised events, we show how one can use cortical desynchronisations to dynamically detect unique temporal signatures as they are reactivated in the brain. We validate this model by simulating a series of events where sequences are uniquely identifiable by analysing phasic information, as several recent EEG/MEG studies have shown. As such, we show how one can encode and retrieve complete episodic memories where the quality of such memories is modulated by the following: alpha gate keepers to content representation; binding limitations that induce a blink in temporal perception; and nested oscillations that provide preferential learning phases in order to temporally sequence events.
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Affiliation(s)
- George Parish
- School of Psychology and Centre for Human Brain Health, University of Birmingham, UK.
| | | | - Simon Hanslmayr
- Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology & Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, University of Glasgow, UK
| | - Howard Bowman
- School of Psychology and Centre for Human Brain Health, University of Birmingham, UK; School of Computing, University of Kent, UK
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32
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How do recall requirements affect decision-making in free recall initiation? A linear ballistic accumulator approach. Mem Cognit 2021; 49:968-983. [PMID: 33528805 PMCID: PMC7852469 DOI: 10.3758/s13421-020-01117-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/11/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Models of free recall describe free recall initiation as a decision-making process in which items compete to be retrieved. Recently, Osth and Farrell (Psychological Review, 126, 578–609, 2019) applied evidence accumulation models to complete RT distributions and serial positions of participants’ first recalls in free recall, which resulted in some novel conclusions about primacy and recency effects. Specifically, the results of the modeling favored an account in which primacy was due to reinstatement of the start-of-the-list, and recency was found to be exponential in shape. In this work, we examine what happens when participants are given alternative recall instructions. Prior work has demonstrated weaker primacy and greater recency when fewer items are required to report (Ward & Tan, Memory & Cognition, 2019), and a key question is whether this change in instructions qualitatively changes the nature of the recall process, or merely changes the parameters of the recall competition. We conducted an experiment where participants studied six- or 12-item lists and were post-cued as to whether to retrieve a single item, or as many items as possible. Subsequently, we applied LBA models with various assumptions about primacy and recency, implemented using hierarchical Bayesian techniques. While greater recency was observed when only one item was required for output, the model selection did not suggest that there were qualitative differences between the two conditions. Specifically, start-of-list reinstatement and exponential recency functions were favored in both conditions.
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Rasoulzadeh V, Sahan MI, van Dijck JP, Abrahamse E, Marzecova A, Verguts T, Fias W. Spatial Attention in Serial Order Working Memory: An EEG Study. Cereb Cortex 2020; 31:2482-2493. [DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaa368] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2020] [Revised: 11/10/2020] [Accepted: 11/10/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Theoretical models explaining serial order processing link order information to specified position markers. However, the precise characteristics of position marking have remained largely elusive. Recent studies have shown that space is involved in marking serial position of items in verbal working memory (WM). Furthermore, it has been suggested, but not proven, that accessing these items involves horizontal shifts of spatial attention. We used continuous electroencephalography recordings to show that memory search in serial order verbal WM involves spatial attention processes that share the same electrophysiological signatures as those operating on the visuospatial WM and external space. Accessing an item from a sequence in verbal WM induced posterior “early directing attention negativity” and “anterior directing attention negativity” contralateral to the position of the item in mental space (i.e., begin items on the left; end items on the right). In the frequency domain, we observed posterior alpha suppression contralateral to the position of the item. Our results provide clear evidence for the involvement of spatial attention in retrieving serial information from verbal WM. Implications for WM models are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vesal Rasoulzadeh
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Gent 9000, Belgium
| | | | - Jean-Philippe van Dijck
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Gent 9000, Belgium
- Department of Applied Psychology, Thomas More University College, Antwerpen B-2018, Belgium
| | - Elger Abrahamse
- Department of Communication and Cognition, Tilburg University, 5000 LE Tilburg, the Netherlands
| | - Anna Marzecova
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Gent 9000, Belgium
| | - Tom Verguts
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Gent 9000, Belgium
| | - Wim Fias
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Gent 9000, Belgium
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Abstract
In the field of verbal short-term memory (STM), numerous theoretical models have been proposed to explain how serial order information is processed and represented. Evidence suggests that serial order is represented through associations between items and a varying contextual signal coding the position of each item in a sequence, but the nature of this contextual signal is still a matter of debate (i.e., event-based vs. time-based varying signal). According to event-based models of serial order, the contextual signal coding serial order is not sensitive to temporal manipulations, as it is the case in irregularly timed sequences. Up to now, the study of the temporal factors influencing serial order STM has been limited to temporal grouping and temporal isolation effects. The goal of the present study is to specify in more detail the role played by temporal factors in serial order STM tasks. To accomplish this, we compared recall performance and error patterns for sequences presenting items at a regular or an irregular and unpredictable timing in three experiments. The results showed that irregular timing does not affect serial recall nor the pattern of errors. These data clearly favour the view that serial order in verbal STM is represented with event-based rather than time-based codes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon Gorin
- Department of Cognitive Development, Université de Genève, Genève, Switzerland
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35
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Do serial order short-term memory and long-term learning abilities predict spelling skills in school-age children? Cognition 2020; 206:104479. [PMID: 33157381 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2020.104479] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2020] [Revised: 09/14/2020] [Accepted: 09/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Compared to most human language abilities, the cognitive mechanisms underlying spelling have not been as intensively investigated as reading and therefore remain to this day less well understood. The current study aims to address this shortcoming by investigating the contribution of serial order short-term memory (STM) and long-term learning (LTL) abilities to emerging spelling skills. Indeed, although there are several reasons to assume associations between serial order memory and spelling abilities, this relationship has hardly been investigated empirically. In this study, we hypothesized that serial order STM plays an important role in spelling novel words, for which children are supposed to rely on a sequential nonlexical spelling procedure. Serial order LTL was hypothesized to be involved in the creation of more stable orthographic representations allowing children to spell (regular and irregular) words by using a lexical spelling strategy based on the direct access to orthographic representations stored in long-term memory. To assess these hypotheses, we conducted a longitudinal study in which we tested a sample of 116 French-speaking children at first grade and two years later at third grade of primary school. At first grade, we administered tasks that were specifically designed to maximize STM and LTL abilities for serial order information. At third grade, we assessed spelling abilities using irregular word, regular word, and pseudoword writing-to-dictation tasks. Bayesian regression analyses showed that pseudoword, but also irregular word spelling was best predicted by serial order STM, while regular word spelling was similarly predicted by both serial order STM and LTL.
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Guida A, Mosinski F, Cipora K, Mathy F, Noël Y. Spatialization in working memory: can individuals reverse the cultural direction of their thoughts? Ann N Y Acad Sci 2020; 1477:113-125. [PMID: 32978800 DOI: 10.1111/nyas.14499] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2020] [Revised: 08/31/2020] [Accepted: 09/01/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
A recent study based on the SPoARC effect (spatial position association response codes) showed that culture heavily shapes cognition and more specifically the way thought is organized; when Western adults are asked to keep in mind a sequence of colors, they mentally organize them from left to right, whereas right-to-left reading/writing adults spatialize them in the opposite direction. Here, we investigate if the spontaneous direction of spatialization in Westerners can be reversed. Lists of five consonants were presented auditorily at a rate of 3 s per item, participants were asked to mentally organize the memoranda from right to left. Each list was followed by a probe. Participants had to indicate whether the probe was part of the sequence by pressing a "yes" key or a "no" key with the left or right index finger. Left/right-hand key assignment was switched after half of the trials were completed. The results showed a reverse SPoARC effect that was comparable in magnitude to the spontaneous left-to-right SPoARC effect found in a previous study. Overall, our results suggest that individuals can reverse the cultural direction of their thoughts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandro Guida
- Laboratoire de Psychologie, Comportement, Cognition et Communication, Department of Psychology, Université Rennes, Rennes, France
| | - Francis Mosinski
- Department of Life Sciences and the Environment, Université Rennes, Rennes, France
| | - Krzysztof Cipora
- Centre for Mathematical Cognition, Loughborough University, Loughborough, United Kingdom
| | - Fabien Mathy
- Bases Corpus Langage UMR 7320 CNRS, Université Côte d'Azur, Nice, France
| | - Yvonnick Noël
- Laboratoire de Psychologie, Comportement, Cognition et Communication, Department of Psychology, Université Rennes, Rennes, France
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Read ML, Lissaman R. Commentary: Stimulation of the Posterior Cingulate Cortex Impairs Episodic Memory Encoding. Front Hum Neurosci 2020; 14:334. [PMID: 33005136 PMCID: PMC7483653 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2020.00334] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2020] [Accepted: 07/29/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Marie-Lucie Read
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre, School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
| | - Rikki Lissaman
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre, School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
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Guitard D, Saint-Aubin J, Cowan N. Asymmetrical interference between item and order information in short-term memory. J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn 2020; 47:243-263. [PMID: 32833467 DOI: 10.1037/xlm0000956] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
To recall a list of items just after the end of the presentation, participants must encode both the items and the order in which they were presented. Despite a long history of studying item and order information, little is known regarding the relation between them. Here, we examined this issue with a novel task in which participants saw two 4- or 6-item lists on each trial, along with specific instructions for each list to be encoded for subsequent item information retrieval or order reconstruction. In Experiments 1, 2, and 5, words were used for both item and order lists, whereas in Experiments 3 and 4, words were used for one list and characters for the other. An item recognition task was used in Experiments 1-4, and item reconstruction from a fragment was used in Experiment 5. The general finding was that order retention was hindered when both lists required order reconstruction compared to when one list required item information only. In certain circumstances, retention of items in the first list was impaired when the second list also required item retention. We address the pattern of results with a new theoretical account in which overwriting occurs for similar materials and in which there is a capacity limit specific to order information. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Nelson Cowan
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri
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39
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Abstract
In four experiments pupillary responses were used to examine attention allocation and encoding dynamics in free recall. In Experiment 1, pupillary responses increased (and then decreased) across serial position suggesting that attention was increasingly allocated to items during learning until working memory was overloaded. In Experiment 2, manipulating presentation duration resulted in larger and more sustained pupillary responses with increased presentation duration, suggesting that participants were likely engaging in more elaborative and attention-demanding processes. In Experiment 3a, manipulating list-length resulted in decreased pupillary responses across serial position suggesting that participants were prioritizing early list items and less attention was allocated to later items. In Experiment 3b, when list-length was known, pupillary responses in the long-list length condition tended to decrease across serial position whereas pupillary responses in the short list-length condition tended to increase and decrease across serial positon. These results suggest that participants flexibly allocate attention to items during encoding depending on the nature of the task and the types of processes that are engaged in. These results further suggest the potential of utilizing pupillary responses to track attention allocation during learning.
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Dijck J, Abrahamse E, Fias W. Do preliterate children spontaneously employ spatial coding for serial order in working memory? Ann N Y Acad Sci 2020; 1477:91-99. [DOI: 10.1111/nyas.14430] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2020] [Revised: 05/25/2020] [Accepted: 06/15/2020] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Jean‐Philippe Dijck
- Department of Applied Psychology Thomas More University of Applied Sciences Antwerp Belgium
- Department of Experimental Psychology Ghent University Ghent Belgium
| | - Elger Abrahamse
- Department of Communication and Cognition Tilburg University Tilburg the Netherlands
| | - Wim Fias
- Department of Experimental Psychology Ghent University Ghent Belgium
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41
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Guida A, Fartoukh M, Mathy F. The development of working memory spatialization revealed by using the cave paradigm in a two-alternative spatial choice. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2020; 1477:54-70. [PMID: 32713019 DOI: 10.1111/nyas.14433] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2020] [Revised: 06/04/2020] [Accepted: 06/17/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
When Western participants are asked to keep in mind a sequence of verbal items, they tend to associate the first items to the left and the last items to the right. This phenomenon, known as the spatial-positional association response codes effect, has been interpreted as showing that individuals spatialize the memoranda by creating a left-to-right mental line with them. One important gap in our knowledge concerns the development of this phenomenon: when do Western individuals start organizing their thought from left to right? To answer this question, 274 participants in seven age groups were tested (kindergarten, Grades 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, and adults). We used a new protocol meant to be child-friendly, which involves associating two caves with two animals using a two-alternative spatial forced choice. Participants had to guess in which cave a specific animal could be hidden. Results showed that it is from Grade 3 on that participants spatialize information in working memory in a left-to-right fashion like adults.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Michaël Fartoukh
- Bases Corpus Langage UMR 7320 CNRS, Université Côte d'Azur, Nice, France
| | - Fabien Mathy
- Bases Corpus Langage UMR 7320 CNRS, Université Côte d'Azur, Nice, France
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42
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Abstract
When lists are presented with temporal pauses between groups of items, participants' response times reiterate those pauses. Accuracy is also increased, especially at particular serial positions. By comparing forward with backward serial recall, we tested whether the influence of temporal grouping is primarily a function of serial position or output position. Results favored the latter, both when recall direction was known to participants prior to (Experiment 2) or only after (Experiment 2) studying each list. Alongside fits of variants of a temporal distinctiveness-based model, our findings suggest that the influence of temporal grouping is not just a consequence of grouping information stored during the study phase. Rather, it critically depends on participants cueing with within-chunk position during recall, combined with response suppression.
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43
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Issa JB, Tocker G, Hasselmo ME, Heys JG, Dombeck DA. Navigating Through Time: A Spatial Navigation Perspective on How the Brain May Encode Time. Annu Rev Neurosci 2020; 43:73-93. [PMID: 31961765 PMCID: PMC7351603 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-neuro-101419-011117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Interval timing, which operates on timescales of seconds to minutes, is distributed across multiple brain regions and may use distinct circuit mechanisms as compared to millisecond timing and circadian rhythms. However, its study has proven difficult, as timing on this scale is deeply entangled with other behaviors. Several circuit and cellular mechanisms could generate sequential or ramping activity patterns that carry timing information. Here we propose that a productive approach is to draw parallels between interval timing and spatial navigation, where direct analogies can be made between the variables of interest and the mathematical operations necessitated. Along with designing experiments that isolate or disambiguate timing behavior from other variables, new techniques will facilitate studies that directly address the neural mechanisms that are responsible for interval timing.
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Affiliation(s)
- John B Issa
- Department of Neurobiology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, USA;
| | - Gilad Tocker
- Department of Neurobiology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, USA;
| | - Michael E Hasselmo
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA
| | - James G Heys
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, USA
| | - Daniel A Dombeck
- Department of Neurobiology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, USA;
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44
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Zhao Y, Chen C, Qian X. The Role of Hand Movement in Spatial Serial Order Memory. Multisens Res 2020; 33:313-335. [PMID: 31794960 DOI: 10.1163/22134808-20191350] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2018] [Accepted: 10/15/2019] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Research on serial order memory has traditionally used tasks where participants passively view the items. A few studies that included hand movement showed that such movement interfered with serial order memory. In the present study of three experiments, we investigated whether and how hand movements improved spatial serial order memory. Experiment 1 showed that manual tracing (i.e., hand movements that traced the presentation of stimuli on the modified eCorsi block tapping task) improved the performance of backward recall as compared to no manual tracing (the control condition). Experiment 2 showed that the facilitation effect resulted from voluntary hand movements and could not be achieved via passive viewing of another person's manual tracing. Experiment 3 showed that it was the temporal, not the spatial, signal within manual tracing that facilitated spatial serial memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yangke Zhao
- 1Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University, P. R. China
| | - Chuansheng Chen
- 2Department of Psychological Science, University of California Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Xiuying Qian
- 1Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University, P. R. China
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45
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Bezdicek O, Ballarini T, Albrecht F, Libon DJ, Lamar M, Růžička F, Roth J, Hurlstone MJ, Mueller K, Schroeter ML, Jech R. SERIAL-ORDER recall in working memory across the cognitive spectrum of Parkinson's disease and neuroimaging correlates. J Neuropsychol 2020; 15:88-111. [PMID: 32394540 DOI: 10.1111/jnp.12208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2019] [Revised: 11/26/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
We sought to determine if Parkinson's disease (PD) with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is associated with a greater SERIAL-ORDER (mental manipulation) than ANY-ORDER (auditory span, storage) deficit in working memory (WM). We investigated WM combining neuropsychological measures with the study of brain functional connectivity. A cohort of 160 patients with idiopathic PD, classified as PD-MCI (n = 87) or PD with normal cognition (PD-NC; n = 73), and 70 matched healthy controls were studied. Verbal WM was assessed with the Backward Digit Span Task (BDT; Lamar et al., 2007, Neuropsychologia, 45, 245), measuring SERIAL-ORDER and ANY-ORDER recall. Resting-state MRI data were collected for 15 PD-MCI, 15 PD-NC and 30 controls. Hypothesis-driven seed-based functional connectivity of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) was compared between the three groups and correlated with BDT performance. We found the main effect of the test (impairment in SERIAL ORDER > ANY ORDER) and group ((NC = PD-NC) > PD-MCI) in BDT performance that was even more pronounced in SERIAL ORDER when controlling for ANY ORDER variability but not vice versa. Furthermore, PD-MCI compared to other groups were characterized by the functional disconnection between the bilateral DLPFC and the cerebellum. In functional correlations, DLPFC connectivity was positively related to both SERIAL- and ANY-ORDER performance. In conclusion, PD-MCI patients evidenced greater SERIAL-ORDER (manipulation and cognitive control) than ANY-ORDER (storage) working memory impairment than PD-NC and controls with a disrupted DLPFC resting-state connectivity that was also related to the verbal WM performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ondrej Bezdicek
- Department of Neurology and Centre of Clinical Neuroscience, First Faculty of Medicine, General University Hospital, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Tommaso Ballarini
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Franziska Albrecht
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - David J Libon
- School of Osteopathic Medicine, New Jersey Institute for Successful Aging, Departments of Geriatric, Gerontology, and Psychology, Rowan University, Stratford, New Jersey, USA
| | - Melissa Lamar
- Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Filip Růžička
- Department of Neurology and Centre of Clinical Neuroscience, First Faculty of Medicine, General University Hospital, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Jan Roth
- Department of Neurology and Centre of Clinical Neuroscience, First Faculty of Medicine, General University Hospital, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Mark J Hurlstone
- School of Psychology, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Karsten Mueller
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Matthias L Schroeter
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.,Clinic for Cognitive Neurology, University Clinic, Leipzig, Germany.,FTLD Consortium, Ulm, Germany
| | - Robert Jech
- Department of Neurology and Centre of Clinical Neuroscience, First Faculty of Medicine, General University Hospital, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
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46
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Guida A, Abrahamse E, Dijck J. About the interplay between internal and external spatial codes in the mind: implications for serial order. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2020; 1477:20-33. [DOI: 10.1111/nyas.14341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2019] [Revised: 02/28/2020] [Accepted: 03/10/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Elger Abrahamse
- Communication and Cognition Tilburg University Tilburg the Netherlands
| | - Jean‐Philippe Dijck
- Department of Experimental Psychology Ghent University Ghent Belgium
- Deparment of Applied Psychology Thomas More Antwerp Belgium
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47
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Hachmann WM, Cashdollar N, Postiglione F, Job R. The relationship of domain-general serial order memory and reading ability in school children with and without dyslexia. J Exp Child Psychol 2020; 193:104789. [PMID: 32007625 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2019.104789] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2019] [Revised: 11/21/2019] [Accepted: 12/09/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Recent evidence suggests that reading development when learning alphabetic languages is related to the underlying cognitive ability to maintain the serial order of information in short-term memory (STM). However, it remains unclear at which time point in reading development serial order STM is most important. Here, we established a crucial link between the reading development of primary school children and their serial order STM performance for both verbal and nonverbal materials. In a large cohort study of 113 Italian-speaking elementary school children in Grades 1-4, we investigated this relationship by implementing a novel double-probe design. In Experiment 1, we found that serial order STM performance was related to children's reading abilities, especially in Grades 2 and 3, corresponding to the training phase of grapheme-phoneme decoding skills. In Experiment 2, we assessed children with developmental dyslexia (DD) and found that their serial order STM performance was significantly lower than that of chronological age-matched controls (CA). It also differed from that of reading age-matched controls when accounting for individual reading performance. Furthermore, the CA group displayed an implicit serial order facilitation for item memory, whereas this implicit recruitment of serial order abilities was completely absent in children with DD. Our results suggest that the domain-general cognitive ability to maintain the serial order of information interacts with the development of reading competency, especially during a middle training phase of word reading, and this particular relationship is markedly impaired in children with DD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wibke Maria Hachmann
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, 38068 Rovereto, Trentino, Italy.
| | - Nathan Cashdollar
- Center of Mind and Brain Science, University of Trento, 38068 Rovereto, Trentino, Italy
| | - Francesca Postiglione
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, 38068 Rovereto, Trentino, Italy
| | - Remo Job
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, 38068 Rovereto, Trentino, Italy
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48
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Attout L, Grégoire C, Majerus S. How robust is the link between working memory for serial order and lexical skills in children? COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2020.100854] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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49
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Lee ACH, Thavabalasingam S, Alushaj D, Çavdaroğlu B, Ito R. The hippocampus contributes to temporal duration memory in the context of event sequences: A cross-species perspective. Neuropsychologia 2019; 137:107300. [PMID: 31836410 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2019.107300] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2019] [Revised: 12/04/2019] [Accepted: 12/06/2019] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Although a large body of research has implicated the hippocampus in the processing of memory for temporal duration, there is an exigent degree of inconsistency across studies that obfuscates the precise contributions of this structure. To shed light on this issue, the present review article surveys both historical and recent cross-species evidence emanating from a wide variety of experimental paradigms, identifying areas of convergence and divergence. We suggest that while factors such as time-scale (e.g. the length of durations involved) and the nature of memory processing (e.g. prospective vs. retrospective memory) are very helpful in the interpretation of existing data, an additional important consideration is the context in which the duration information is experienced and processed, with the hippocampus being preferentially involved in memory for durations that are embedded within a sequence of events. We consider the mechanisms that may underpin temporal duration memory and how the same mechanisms may contribute to memory for other aspects of event sequences such as temporal order.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andy C H Lee
- Department of Psychology (Scarborough), University of Toronto, Toronto, M1C 1A4, Canada; Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Centre, Toronto, M6A 2E1, Canada.
| | | | - Denada Alushaj
- Department of Psychology (Scarborough), University of Toronto, Toronto, M1C 1A4, Canada
| | - Bilgehan Çavdaroğlu
- Department of Psychology (Scarborough), University of Toronto, Toronto, M1C 1A4, Canada
| | - Rutsuko Ito
- Department of Psychology (Scarborough), University of Toronto, Toronto, M1C 1A4, Canada; Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, M5S 3G5, Canada
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50
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Radović T, Manzey D. The Impact of a Mnemonic Acronym on Learning and Performing a Procedural Task and Its Resilience Toward Interruptions. Front Psychol 2019; 10:2522. [PMID: 31781008 PMCID: PMC6851171 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2019] [Accepted: 10/24/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The present study examines the potential impact of a mnemonic acronym on the learning, the execution, the resilience toward interruptions, and the mental representation of an eight-step procedural task with sequential constraints. 65 participants were required to learn a sequential task, including eight different steps which had to be carried out in a predefined sequence. 33 participants were provided with the acronym “WORTKLAU” as a mnemonic to support the learning and execution of the task and the other 32 participants had to learn and execute the task without such support. Each letter of the acronym coded one step of the task, involving a binary decision about a certain property of the complex stimulus. In 60 out of 72 trials of the task, participants were interrupted between different steps, and had to perform a 2-back interruption task for 6 or 30 s, after which they had to resume the procedural task as quickly as possible at the correct step. Learning times, performance in uninterrupted trials, and post-interruption performance measures were analyzed. Results of Experiment 1 suggest that the mnemonic acronym enhanced learning of the task sequence, and provide some evidence for a hierarchical mental representation of the task, resulting in faster resumption times at certain steps of the procedure after an interruption. In Experiment 2 the internal structure of the acronym was even emphasized by a hyphen at the borders of the two words included in the acronym (WORT-KLAU). This improved the resilience toward interruptions at the border step of the procedure significantly. Our results provide evidence for beneficial effects of mnemonic acronym particularly for the learning of a sequential procedural task. In addition, they suggest that the structure of mnemonic acronym directly impacts the mental representation of a task. Finally, they show that mnemonic acronyms could be used to improve the resilience toward detrimental effect of interruptions, at least at certain task steps of a procedural task.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tara Radović
- Institute of Psychology and Ergonomics, Berlin Institute of Technology, Berlin, Germany
| | - Dietrich Manzey
- Institute of Psychology and Ergonomics, Berlin Institute of Technology, Berlin, Germany
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