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Scherer D, Wentura D. Effects of evaluative homogeneity in working memory. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2022; 230:103752. [DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2022.103752] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2022] [Revised: 09/16/2022] [Accepted: 09/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
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Smith ET, Skolasinska P, Qin S, Sun A, Fishwick P, Park DC, Basak C. Cognitive and structural predictors of novel task learning, and contextual predictors of time series of daily task performance during the learning period. Front Aging Neurosci 2022; 14:936528. [PMID: 36212037 PMCID: PMC9540228 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2022.936528] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2022] [Accepted: 08/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Investigation into methods of addressing cognitive loss exhibited later in life is of paramount importance to the field of cognitive aging. The field continues to make significant strides in designing efficacious cognitive interventions to mitigate cognitive decline, and the very act of learning a demanding task has been implicated as a potential mechanism of augmenting cognition in both the field of cognitive intervention and studies of cognitive reserve. The present study examines individual-level predictors of complex skill learning and day-to-day performance on a gamified working memory updating task, the BirdWatch Game, intended for use as a cognitive intervention tool in older adults. A measure of verbal episodic memory and the volume of a brain region involved in verbal working memory and cognitive control (the left inferior frontal gyrus) were identified as predictors of learning rates on the BirdWatch Game. These two neuro-cognitive measures were more predictive of learning when considered in conjunction than when considered separately, indicating a complementary effect. Additionally, auto-regressive time series forecasting analyses were able to identify meaningful daily predictors (that is, mood, stress, busyness, and hours of sleep) of performance-over-time on the BirdWatch Game in 50% of cases, with the specific pattern of contextual influences on performance being highly idiosyncratic between participants. These results highlight the specific contribution of language processing and cognitive control abilities to the learning of the novel task examined in this study, as well as the variability of subject-level influences on task performance during task learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evan T. Smith
- Center for Vital Longevity, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, TX, United States
- Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, United States
| | - Paulina Skolasinska
- Center for Vital Longevity, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, TX, United States
- Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, United States
| | - Shuo Qin
- Center for Vital Longevity, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, TX, United States
| | - Andrew Sun
- Center for Vital Longevity, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, TX, United States
| | - Paul Fishwick
- School of Arts and Technology, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, United States
| | - Denise C. Park
- Center for Vital Longevity, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, TX, United States
- Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, United States
| | - Chandramallika Basak
- Center for Vital Longevity, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, TX, United States
- Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, United States
- *Correspondence: Chandramallika Basak
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Dewey C. Metacognitive control in single- vs. dual-process theory. THINKING & REASONING 2022. [DOI: 10.1080/13546783.2022.2047106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Caleb Dewey
- Department of Philosophy, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
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4
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Bahle B, Thayer DD, Mordkoff JT, Hollingworth A. The architecture of working memory: Features from multiple remembered objects produce parallel, coactive guidance of attention in visual search. J Exp Psychol Gen 2020; 149:967-983. [PMID: 31589068 PMCID: PMC7136148 DOI: 10.1037/xge0000694] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Theories of working memory (WM) differ in their claims about the number of items that can be maintained in a state that directly interacts with other, ongoing cognitive operations (termed the focus of attention). A similar debate has arisen in the literature on visual working memory (VWM), focused on the number of items that can simultaneously interact with attentional priority. In 3 experiments, we used a redundancy-gain paradigm to provide a comprehensive test of the latter question. Participants searched for 2 cued features (e.g., a color and a shape) within a search array. The cued feature values changed on a trial-by-trial basis, requiring VWM. The target (when present) could match 1 of the cued features (single-target trials) or both cued features (redundant-target trials). We tested whether response time distributions contained a substantial proportion of trials with redundant-target responses that were faster than predicted by 2 independent guidance processes operating in parallel (i.e., violations of the race-model inequality). Violations are consistent with a coactive architecture in which both cued values guide attention in parallel and sum on the priority map. Robust violations were observed in all cases predicted by the hypothesis that multiple items in VWM can guide attention simultaneously, and these results were inconsistent with the hypothesis that guidance is limited to a single item simultaneously. When considered in the larger context of the literature on VWM and attention, the present results are consistent with a model of WM architecture in which the focus of attention can maintain multiple, independent representations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
- Brett Bahle
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences
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Human R, Henry M, Jacobs WJ, Thomas KGF. Elevated Cortisol Leaves Working Memory Unaffected in Both Men and Women. Front Hum Neurosci 2018; 12:299. [PMID: 30087603 PMCID: PMC6066520 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2018.00299] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2017] [Accepted: 07/10/2018] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis (as might occur, for example, when the organism encounters a threat to allostatic balance) leads to the release of cortisol into the bloodstream and, ultimately, to altered neural functioning in particular brain regions (e.g., the prefrontal cortex (PFC)). Although previous studies suggest that exposure to acute psychosocial stress (and hence, presumably, elevation of circulating cortisol levels) enhances male performance on PFC-based working memory (WM) tasks, few studies have adequately investigated female performance on WM tasks under conditions of elevated cortisol. Hence, we compared associations between elevated (relative to baseline) levels of circulating cortisol and n-back performance in a South African sample (38 women in the late luteal phase of their menstrual cycle, 38 men). On Day 1, participants completed practice n-back tasks. On Day 2, some completed the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), whereas others experienced a relaxation period, before completing 1-back and 3-back tasks. We measured self-reported anxiety and salivary cortisol at baseline, post-manipulation and end of session. We reconstituted group assignment so that all women with elevated cortisol were in one group (EC-Women; n = 17), all men with elevated cortisol were in another (EC-Men; n = 19), all women without elevated cortisol were in a third (NoEC-Women; n = 21), and all men without elevated cortisol were in a fourth (NoEC-Men; n = 19) group. Analyses suggested this reconstitution was effective: in EC, but not NoEC, groups cortisol levels rose significantly from baseline to post-manipulation. Analyses of n-back data detected significant relations to task load (i.e., better performance on 1-back than on 3-back tasks), but no significant relations to sex, performance accuracy/speed, or cortisol variation. The data patterns are inconsistent with reports describing sex differences in effects of stress on WM performance. We speculate that cross-study methodological differences account for these inconsistencies, and, particularly, that between-study variation in the magnitude of baseline cortisol levels might affect outcomes. For instance, diurnal cortisol rhythms of South African samples might have flatter curves, and lower baseline values, than predominantly Caucasian samples from the United States and western Europe due to greater prenatal and lifetime stress, more socioeconomic disadvantage and faster ancestral life history (LH) strategies. We describe ways to disconfirm this hypothesis, and urge further cross-national research exploring these possibilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robyn Human
- ACSENT Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa
| | - Michelle Henry
- ACSENT Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa.,Academic Development Programme, Centre for Higher Education Development, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa
| | - W Jake Jacobs
- Anxiety Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
| | - Kevin G F Thomas
- ACSENT Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa
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6
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Scherer D, Wentura D. Combining the Post-Cue Task and the Perceptual Identification Task to Assess Parallel Activation and Mutual Facilitation of Related Primes and Targets. Exp Psychol 2018; 65:84-97. [PMID: 29631519 DOI: 10.1027/1618-3169/a000396] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Abstract. Recent theories assume a mutual facilitation in case of semantic overlap for concepts being activated simultaneously. We provide evidence for this claim using a semantic priming paradigm. To test for mutual facilitation of related concepts, a perceptual identification task was employed, presenting prime-target pairs briefly and masked, with an SOA of 0 ms (i.e., prime and target were presented concurrently, one above the other). Participants were instructed to identify the target. In Experiment 1, a cue defining the target was presented at stimulus onset, whereas in Experiment 2 the cue was not presented before the offset of stimuli. Accordingly, in Experiment 2, a post-cue task was merged with the perceptual identification task. We obtained significant semantic priming effects in both experiments. This result is compatible with the view that two concepts can both be activated in parallel and can mutually facilitate each other if they are related.
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Affiliation(s)
- Demian Scherer
- Institute for Psychology in Education, University of Münster, Germany
| | - Dirk Wentura
- Department of Psychology, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany
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Temporal Expectations Guide Dynamic Prioritization in Visual Working Memory through Attenuated α Oscillations. J Neurosci 2017; 37:437-445. [PMID: 28077721 PMCID: PMC5242399 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2272-16.2016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2016] [Revised: 09/08/2016] [Accepted: 09/16/2016] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Although working memory is generally considered a highly dynamic mnemonic store, popular laboratory tasks used to understand its psychological and neural mechanisms (such as change detection and continuous reproduction) often remain relatively “static,” involving the retention of a set number of items throughout a shared delay interval. In the current study, we investigated visual working memory in a more dynamic setting, and assessed the following: (1) whether internally guided temporal expectations can dynamically and reversibly prioritize individual mnemonic items at specific times at which they are deemed most relevant; and (2) the neural substrates that support such dynamic prioritization. Participants encoded two differently colored oriented bars into visual working memory to retrieve the orientation of one bar with a precision judgment when subsequently probed. To test for the flexible temporal control to access and retrieve remembered items, we manipulated the probability for each of the two bars to be probed over time, and recorded EEG in healthy human volunteers. Temporal expectations had a profound influence on working memory performance, leading to faster access times as well as more accurate orientation reproductions for items that were probed at expected times. Furthermore, this dynamic prioritization was associated with the temporally specific attenuation of contralateral α (8–14 Hz) oscillations that, moreover, predicted working memory access times on a trial-by-trial basis. We conclude that attentional prioritization in working memory can be dynamically steered by internally guided temporal expectations, and is supported by the attenuation of α oscillations in task-relevant sensory brain areas. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT In dynamic, everyday-like, environments, flexible goal-directed behavior requires that mental representations that are kept in an active (working memory) store are dynamic, too. We investigated working memory in a more dynamic setting than is conventional, and demonstrate that expectations about when mnemonic items are most relevant can dynamically and reversibly prioritize these items in time. Moreover, we uncover a neural substrate of such dynamic prioritization in contralateral visual brain areas and show that this substrate predicts working memory retrieval times on a trial-by-trial basis. This places the experimental study of working memory, and its neuronal underpinnings, in a more dynamic and ecologically valid context, and provides new insights into the neural implementation of attentional prioritization within working memory.
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Kimura T, Kaneko F, Nagahata K, Shibata E, Aoki N. Working Memory Training Improves Dual-Task Performance on Motor Tasks. J Mot Behav 2016; 49:388-397. [DOI: 10.1080/00222895.2016.1219306] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Takehide Kimura
- Graduate School of Health Science, Sapporo Medical University, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
- Department of Rehabilitation, Shinoro Orthopedic Hospital, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
| | - Fuminari Kaneko
- Laboratory of Sensory Motor Science and Sports NeuroScience, First Division of Physical Therapy, Sapporo Medical University, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
- Development Research Group for Advanced Neuroscience-based Rehabilitation, Sapporo Medical University, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
| | - Keita Nagahata
- Japan Community Health Care Organization Noboribetsu Hospital, Noboribetsu, Hokkaido, Japan
| | - Eriko Shibata
- Laboratory of Sensory Motor Science and Sports NeuroScience, First Division of Physical Therapy, Sapporo Medical University, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
- Development Research Group for Advanced Neuroscience-based Rehabilitation, Sapporo Medical University, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
| | - Nobuhiro Aoki
- Second Division of Physical Therapy, Sapporo Medical University, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
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Basak C, O'Connell MA. To Switch or Not to Switch: Role of Cognitive Control in Working Memory Training in Older Adults. Front Psychol 2016; 7:230. [PMID: 26973554 PMCID: PMC4774648 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00230] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2015] [Accepted: 02/04/2016] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
It is currently not known what are the best working memory training strategies to offset the age-related declines in fluid cognitive abilities. In this randomized clinical double-blind trial, older adults were randomly assigned to one of two types of working memory training – one group was trained on a predictable memory updating task (PT) and another group was trained on a novel, unpredictable memory updating task (UT). Unpredictable memory updating, compared to predictable, requires greater demands on cognitive control (Basak and Verhaeghen, 2011a). Therefore, the current study allowed us to evaluate the role of cognitive control in working memory training. All participants were assessed on a set of near and far transfer tasks at three different testing sessions – before training, immediately after the training, and 1.5 months after completing the training. Additionally, individual learning rates for a comparison working memory task (performed by both groups) and the trained task were computed. Training on unpredictable memory updating, compared to predictable, significantly enhanced performance on a measure of episodic memory, immediately after the training. Moreover, individuals with faster learning rates showed greater gains in this episodic memory task and another new working memory task; this effect was specific to UT. We propose that the unpredictable memory updating training, compared to predictable memory updating training, may a better strategy to improve selective cognitive abilities in older adults, and future studies could further investigate the role of cognitive control in working memory training.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chandramallika Basak
- Center for Vital Longevity, School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson TX, USA
| | - Margaret A O'Connell
- Center for Vital Longevity, School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson TX, USA
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10
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Pelegrina S, Lechuga MT, García-Madruga JA, Elosúa MR, Macizo P, Carreiras M, Fuentes LJ, Bajo MT. Normative data on the n-back task for children and young adolescents. Front Psychol 2015; 6:1544. [PMID: 26500594 PMCID: PMC4597481 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01544] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2015] [Accepted: 09/24/2015] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The n-back task is a frequently used measure of working memory (WM) in cognitive neuroscience research contexts, and it has become widely adopted in other areas over the last decade. This study aimed to obtain normative data for the n-back task from a large sample of children and adolescents. To this end, a computerized verbal n-back task with three levels of WM load (1-back, 2-back, and 3-back) was administered to 3722 Spanish school children aged 7–13 years. Results showed an overall age-related increase in performance for the different levels of difficulty. This trend was less pronounced at 1-back than at 2-back when hits were considered. Gender differences were also observed, with girls outperforming boys although taking more time to respond. The theoretical implications of these results are discussed. Normative data stratified by age and gender for the three WM load levels are provided.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Juan A García-Madruga
- Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, National University of Distance Education , Madrid, Spain
| | - M Rosa Elosúa
- Department of Basic Psychology, National University of Distance Education , Madrid, Spain
| | - Pedro Macizo
- Research Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior, University of Granada , Granada, Spain
| | - Manuel Carreiras
- Basque Center of Cognition, Brain and Language , San Sebastián-Donostia, Spain
| | - Luis J Fuentes
- Department of Basic Psychology and Methodology, University of Murcia , Murcia, Spain
| | - M Teresa Bajo
- Research Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior, University of Granada , Granada, Spain
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Kidd GR, Humes LE. Keeping track of who said what: Performance on a modified auditory n-back task with young and older adults. Front Psychol 2015; 6:987. [PMID: 26257666 PMCID: PMC4510348 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00987] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2015] [Accepted: 06/29/2015] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
A modified auditory n-back task was used to examine the ability of young and older listeners to remember the content of spoken messages presented from different locations. The messages were sentences from the Coordinative Response Measure (CRM) corpus, and the task was to judge whether a target word on the current trial was the same as in the most recent presentation from the same location (left, center, or right). The number of trials between comparison items (the number back) was varied while keeping the number of items to be held in memory (the number of locations) constant. Three levels of stimulus uncertainty were evaluated. Low- and high-uncertainty conditions were created by holding the talker (voice) and nontarget words constant, or varying them unpredictably across trials. In a medium-uncertainty condition, each location was associated with a specific talker, thus increasing predictability and ecological validity. Older listeners performed slightly worse than younger listeners, but there was no significant difference in response times (RT) for the two groups. An effect of the number back (n) was seen for both PC and RT; PC decreased steadily with n, while RT was fairly constant after a significant increase from n = 1 to n = 2. Apart from the lower PC for the older group, there was no effect involving age for either PC or RT. There was an effect of target word location (faster RTs with a late-occurring target) and an effect of uncertainty (faster RTs with a constant talker-location mapping, relative to the high-uncertainty condition). A similar pattern of performance was observed with a group of elderly hearing-impaired listeners (with and without shaping to ensure audibility), but RTs were substantially slower and the effect of uncertainty was absent. Apart from the observed overall slowing of RTs, these results provide little evidence for an effect of age-related changes in cognitive abilities on this task.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gary R Kidd
- Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, Indiana University Bloomington, IN, USA
| | - Larry E Humes
- Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, Indiana University Bloomington, IN, USA
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12
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Does working memory training have to be adaptive? PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2015; 80:181-94. [PMID: 25716189 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-015-0655-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2014] [Accepted: 02/17/2015] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
This study tested the common assumption that, to be most effective, working memory (WM) training should be adaptive (i.e., task difficulty is adjusted to individual performance). Indirect evidence for this assumption stems from studies comparing adaptive training to a condition in which tasks are practiced on the easiest level of difficulty only [cf. Klingberg (Trends Cogn Sci 14:317-324, 2010)], thereby, however, confounding adaptivity and exposure to varying task difficulty. For a more direct test of this hypothesis, we randomly assigned 130 young adults to one of the three WM training procedures (adaptive, randomized, or self-selected change in training task difficulty) or to an active control group. Despite large performance increases in the trained WM tasks, we observed neither transfer to untrained structurally dissimilar WM tasks nor far transfer to reasoning. Surprisingly, neither training nor transfer effects were modulated by training procedure, indicating that exposure to varying levels of task difficulty is sufficient for inducing training gains.
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López-Frutos JM, Poch C, García-Morales I, Ruiz-Vargas JM, Campo P. Working memory retrieval differences between medial temporal lobe epilepsy patients and controls: a three memory layer approach. Brain Cogn 2013; 84:90-6. [PMID: 24333830 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2013.11.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2013] [Revised: 09/18/2013] [Accepted: 11/11/2013] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Multi-store models of working memory (WM) have given way to more dynamic approaches that conceive WM as an activated subset of long-term memory (LTM). The resulting framework considers that memory representations are governed by a hierarchy of accessibility. The activated part of LTM holds representations in a heightened state of activation, some of which can reach a state of immediate accessibility according to task demands. Recent neuroimaging studies have studied the neural basis of retrieval information with different states of accessibility. It was found that the medial temporal lobe (MTL) was involved in retrieving information within immediate access store and outside this privileged zone. In the current study we further explored the contribution of MTL to WM retrieval by analyzing the consequences of MTL damage to this process considering the state of accessibility of memory representations. The performance of a group of epilepsy patients with left hippocampal sclerosis in a 12-item recognition task was compared with that of a healthy control group. We adopted an embedded model of WM that distinguishes three components: the activated LTM, the region of direct access, and a single-item focus of attention. Groups did not differ when retrieving information from single-item focus, but patients were less accurate retrieving information outside focal attention, either items from LTM or items expected to be in the WM range. Analyses focused on items held in the direct access buffer showed that consequences of MTL damage were modulated by the level of accessibility of memory representations, producing a reduced capacity.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Claudia Poch
- Department of Biological and Health Psychology, Autonoma University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Irene García-Morales
- University Hospital of San Carlos, Epilepsy Unit, Neurology Department, Madrid, Spain; Hospital Ruber Internacional, Epilepsy Unit, Neurology Department, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Pablo Campo
- Department of Basic Psychology, Autonoma University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
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14
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von Bastian CC, Oberauer K. Effects and mechanisms of working memory training: a review. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2013; 78:803-20. [PMID: 24213250 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-013-0524-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 169] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2013] [Accepted: 10/19/2013] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Can cognitive abilities such as reasoning be improved through working memory training? This question is still highly controversial, with prior studies providing contradictory findings. The lack of theory-driven, systematic approaches and (occasionally serious) methodological shortcomings complicates this debate even more. This review suggests two general mechanisms mediating transfer effects that are (or are not) observed after working memory training: enhanced working memory capacity, enabling people to hold more items in working memory than before training, or enhanced efficiency using the working memory capacity available (e.g., using chunking strategies to remember more items correctly). We then highlight multiple factors that could influence these mechanisms of transfer and thus the success of training interventions. These factors include (1) the nature of the training regime (i.e., intensity, duration, and adaptivity of the training tasks) and, with it, the magnitude of improvements during training, and (2) individual differences in age, cognitive abilities, biological factors, and motivational and personality factors. Finally, we summarize the findings revealed by existing training studies for each of these factors, and thereby present a roadmap for accumulating further empirical evidence regarding the efficacy of working memory training in a systematic way.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia C von Bastian
- Department of Psychology, University Research Priority Program "Dynamics of Healthy Aging", University of Zurich, Binzmühlestrasse 14/22, 8050, Zurich, Switzerland,
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15
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Lee TW, Liu HL, Wai YY, Ko HJ, Lee SH. Abnormal neural activity in partially remitted late-onset depression: an fMRI study of one-back working memory task. Psychiatry Res 2013; 213:133-41. [PMID: 23154094 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2012.04.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2010] [Revised: 11/29/2011] [Accepted: 04/22/2012] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Only half of the geriatric patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) can reach full remission after treatment of half a year. This study was designed to examine the neural responses in the partial responders of late-onset MDD. We used 3-Tesla functional magnetic resonance imaging to assess the patterns of cerebral activation/deactivation in the performance of a one-back version of the n-back working memory task. We recruited 14 major depressive patients who reached partial remission after at least half a year of pharmacological intervention, compared with 14 non-depressive controls. There were no significant between-group differences in the demographical profiles and working memory performance, which was true for both accuracy and reaction time. Brain masks encompassing the neural responses of activation/deactivation were constructed from the non-depressive controls. The depressive group shows enhanced activities at left middle frontal and left parietal regions, and reduced deactivation at several temporal regions and left amygdala within the masks. Besides, the depressive group activates extra neural nodes at middle frontal and middle temporal regions outside the masks. The neural responses in the left amygdala are significantly correlated with the severity of depression and comorbid anxiety. The loss of deactivation in the left amygdala and the temporal areas in cognitive endeavor may be related to the refractoriness to treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tien-Wen Lee
- Department of Psychiatry, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan County, Taiwan, ROC
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16
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Salminen T, Strobach T, Schubert T. On the impacts of working memory training on executive functioning. Front Hum Neurosci 2012; 6:166. [PMID: 22685428 PMCID: PMC3368385 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2012.00166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2011] [Accepted: 05/23/2012] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent studies have reported improvements in a variety of cognitive functions following sole working memory (WM) training. In spite of the emergence of several successful training paradigms, the scope of transfer effects has remained mixed. This is most likely due to the heterogeneity of cognitive functions that have been measured and tasks that have been applied. In the present study, we approached this issue systematically by investigating transfer effects from WM training to different aspects of executive functioning. Our training task was a demanding WM task that requires simultaneous performance of a visual and an auditory n-back task, while the transfer tasks tapped WM updating, coordination of the performance of multiple simultaneous tasks (i.e., dual-tasks) and sequential tasks (i.e., task switching), and the temporal distribution of attentional processing. Additionally, we examined whether WM training improves reasoning abilities; a hypothesis that has so far gained mixed support. Following training, participants showed improvements in the trained task as well as in the transfer WM updating task. As for the other executive functions, trained participants improved in a task switching situation and in attentional processing. There was no transfer to the dual-task situation or to reasoning skills. These results, therefore, confirm previous findings that WM can be trained, and additionally, they show that the training effects can generalize to various other tasks tapping on executive functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tiina Salminen
- Department of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, Germany
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17
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Pelegrina S, Borella E, Carretti B, Lechuga MT. Similarity-Based Interference in a Working Memory Numerical Updating Task. Exp Psychol 2012; 59:183-9. [DOI: 10.1027/1618-3169/a000142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Similarity among representations held simultaneously in working memory (WM) is a factor which increases interference and hinders performance. The aim of the current study was to investigate age-related differences between younger and older adults in a working memory numerical updating task, in which the similarity between information held in WM was manipulated. Results showed a higher susceptibility of older adults to similarity-based interference when accuracy, and not response times, was considered. It was concluded that older adults’ WM difficulties appear to be due to the availability of stored information, which, in turn, might be related to the ability to generate distinctive representations and to the process of binding such representations to their context when similar information has to be processed in WM.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Erika Borella
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Italy
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18
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Souza AS, Oberauer K, Gade M, Druey MD. Processing of representations in declarative and procedural working memory. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2012; 65:1006-33. [DOI: 10.1080/17470218.2011.640403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
Abstract
The article investigates the relation between declarative and procedural working memory (WM; Oberauer, 2009). Two experiments test the assumption that representations in the two subsystems are selected for processing in analogous ways. Participants carried out a series of decisions on memorized lists of digits. For each decision, they had to select declarative and procedural representations. Regarding declarative representations, participants selected a memory set and a digit within this set as the input to each decision. With respect to the procedural representations, they selected a task set to be applied to the selected digit and a response within that task set. We independently manipulated the number of lists and the number of tasks to be switched among (one, two, or three; Experiment 1) and preparation time for a list switch (Experiment 2). For three effects commonly observed in task-switch studies, analogues in declarative WM were found: list-switch costs, mixing costs, and residual switch costs. List- and task-switch costs were underadditive, suggesting that declarative and procedural representations are selected separately and in parallel. The findings support the hypothesis of two analogous WM subsystems.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Klaus Oberauer
- Department of Psychology, Cognitive Psychology Unit, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Miriam Gade
- Department of Psychology, Cognitive Psychology Unit, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Michel D. Druey
- Department of Psychology, Cognitive Psychology Unit, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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Trautmann M, Zepf FD. Attentional performance, age and scholastic achievement in healthy children. PLoS One 2012; 7:e32279. [PMID: 22479316 PMCID: PMC3315543 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0032279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2011] [Accepted: 01/24/2012] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Attentional processes in children play a critical role in daily school demands and accomplishments. Studies on the association of attentional processes with school achievement and age in healthy school children are scarce. The aim of the present study was to identify correlations between dimensions of attentional performance, scholastic achievement and age. Methodology/Principal Findings An extensive testing battery was used to assess a wide range of attentional dimensions. A principal component analysis revealed three factors that are related to attentional performance (distractibility, lapses of attention, cognitive speed). Age was negatively associated with distractibility, lapses of attention and cognitive speed, indicating that distractibility and lapses of attention decreased with age in healthy children and resulted in lower cognitive speed. Conclusions/Significance Attentional processes in healthy children should be measured in relation to distractibility, lapses of attention and cognitive speed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mireille Trautmann
- Department of Psychology, Albert Ludwigs University, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany.
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20
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Zhang Y, Verhaeghen P, Cerella J. Working memory at work: how the updating process alters the nature of working memory transfer. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2012; 139:77-83. [PMID: 22105718 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2011.10.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2011] [Revised: 08/04/2011] [Accepted: 10/24/2011] [Indexed: 10/15/2022] Open
Abstract
In three N-Back experiments, we investigated components of the process of working memory (WM) updating, more specifically access to items stored outside the focus of attention and transfer from the focus to the region of WM outside the focus. We used stimulus complexity as a marker. We found that when WM transfer occurred under full attention, it was slow and highly sensitive to stimulus complexity, much more so than WM access. When transfer occurred in conjunction with access, however, it was fast and no longer sensitive to stimulus complexity. Thus the updating context altered the nature of WM processing: The dual-task situation (transfer in conjunction with access) drove memory transfer into a more efficient mode, indifferent to stimulus complexity. In contrast, access times consistently increased with complexity, unaffected by the processing context. This study reinforces recent reports that retrieval is a (perhaps the) key component of working memory functioning.
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Gilchrist AL, Cowan N. Can the focus of attention accommodate multiple, separate items? J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn 2011; 37:1484-502. [PMID: 21767065 DOI: 10.1037/a0024352] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Researchers of working memory currently debate capacity limits of the focus of attention, the proposed mental faculty in which items are most easily accessed. Cowan (1999) suggested that its capacity is about 4 chunks, whereas others have suggested that its capacity is only 1 chunk. Recently, Oberauer and Bialkova (2009) found evidence that 2 items could reside in the focus of attention, but only because they were combined into a single chunk. We modified their experimental procedure, which depends on a pattern of switch costs, to obtain a situation in which chunking was not likely to occur (i.e., each item remained a separate chunk) and still obtained results consistent with a capacity of at least 2 items. Therefore, either the focus of attention can hold multiple chunks or the switch cost logic must be reconsidered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda L Gilchrist
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA.
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22
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Basak C, Verhaeghen P. Aging and switching the focus of attention in working memory: age differences in item availability but not in item accessibility. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 2011; 66:519-26. [PMID: 21571704 DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gbr028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To investigate age differences in working memory processing, specifically the accuracy of retrieval of items stored outside the immediate focus of attention. METHODS Younger and older adults were tested on a modified N-Back task with probes presented in an unpredictable order (implying also that some trials necessitated a switch in the focus of attention and others that did not). RESULTS Older adults showed intact item accessibility, that is, after taking general slowing into account, older adults were as fast as younger adults in locating the item in working memory. We found age differences, however, in item availability: Older adults were less likely to correctly retrieve items stored outside the focus of attention. Smaller age differences in availability were also found for items stored inside the focus of attention. DISCUSSION These results strongly suggest that item availability is a cognitive primitive that is not reducible to more basic constructs such as item accessibility or simple speed of processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chandramallika Basak
- Department of Psychology, Rice University, 472 Sewall Hall, MS-25, Houston, TX 77251, USA.
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23
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Basak C, Verhaeghen P. Three layers of working memory: Focus-switch costs and retrieval dynamics as revealed by the N-count task. JOURNAL OF COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY 2011; 23:204-219. [PMID: 25821579 DOI: 10.1080/20445911.2011.481621] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Two experiments explored the process of switching items in and out of the focus of attention using a new paradigm, the N count task (adapted from Garavan, 1998; N varied from 1 to 4). This task yielded a focus size of one, indicated by a substantial focus switch cost for 2 count. Additionally, the focus switch costs in response time increased with working memory load, indicating an effortful search process occurring at a speed of about 240 ms/item. Maintaining and switching to and from a passive load did not increase the focus switch costs or decrease memory accuracy, indicating that there is no crosstalk between passive and active items. The results support a concentric theory of working memory: a small focus at its core, a surrounding area of (at least) three readily available items referred to as the outer store, and a still wider region of passive storage, possibly more long term memory than working memory.
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Rosen MA, Salas E, Pavlas D, Jensen R, Fu D, Lampton D. Demonstration-based training: a review of instructional features. HUMAN FACTORS 2010; 52:596-609. [PMID: 21186739 DOI: 10.1177/0018720810381071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE This article reviews instructional features used in demonstration-based training (DBT). BACKGROUND The need for fast and effective training and performance support that can be accessed from anywhere is a growing need for organizations. DBT programs are one method to address these needs, but a better understanding of how to maximize the effectiveness of DBT activities is needed. Specifically, beyond the content of the demonstration (i.e., the dynamic example of task performance), what instructional features (i.e., information and activities in addition to the demonstration) can be used to improve the effectiveness of DBT interventions? METHOD The authors conducted a systematic review of the applied and basic science literatures relevant to DBT. RESULTS Instructional features in DBT can be categorized according to the degree to which they encourage active learner involvement (i.e., active vs. passive), when they occur relative to viewing the demonstration (i.e., pre-, during-, and postdemonstration conditions), and the observational learning process they are intended to augment. Five categories of instructional features are described: passive guidance or support, preparatory activities, concurrent activities, retrospective activities, and prospective activities. CONCLUSION There is a wide variety of instructional features used in DBT, but more systematic research is needed to understand the conditions under which each is most effective as well as to outline a method for sequencing of demonstration with other delivery methods, such as practice opportunities. APPLICATION The framework presented in this article can help guide the systematic development of training systems incorporating DBT as well as provide a direction for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael A Rosen
- University of Central Florida-Institute for Simulation and Training, 3100 Technology Parkway, Orlando, FL 32826, USA
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25
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Guidance of visual attention from working memory contents depends on stimulus attributes. Neurosci Lett 2010; 486:202-6. [PMID: 20884328 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2010.09.052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2010] [Revised: 08/21/2010] [Accepted: 09/20/2010] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Recent work shows that items maintained in working memory could guide the orienting of attention in visual search, demonstrating an interesting interaction between working memory and attention. For such guidance effect, some studies emphasize the importance of search task type: for fixed-target search, task-irrelevant memory items stay inside the attentional focus and guides attention; for varied-target search, these items stay outside attentional focus and do not guide attention. With two experiments, we showed that stimulus attribute of items held in working memory can play an important role in attentional guidance. The first behavioral experiment duplicated a previous fixed-target search paradigm demonstrating robust guidance effect but failed to find such effect when the stimuli was simply changed from colored shapes to complex artificial shapes. The second event-related potential experiment duplicated a previous varied-target search paradigm that used complex shapes but did not observe any guidance effect. A clear guidance effect was found when we changed the stimuli to colored shapes. The results suggest that attentional guidance from working memory depends on stimulus attributes of the items held in working memory. When effective attribute is used, task-irrelevant items that stay outside the attentional focus are still able to guide attention.
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26
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Liu Z, Guo C, Luo L. Attention and available long-term memory in an activation-based model. SCIENCE CHINA. LIFE SCIENCES 2010; 53:743-752. [PMID: 20602278 DOI: 10.1007/s11427-010-4012-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2009] [Accepted: 10/13/2009] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
The influence of attention on memorizing related items and on available long-term memory (ALTM) was explored, showing that N400 of no-memory items was more negative than that of the memory item. The results of the category comparison task indicated that information processing under attention-driven in WM determined the availability of related long-term memory, i.e., specific content, which was formerly concerned or ignored, yielding different indirect semantic priming effects. These indicate that the orientation of conceptual attention leads the related representations of LTM to diverse activation patterns, supporting the activation-based model.
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Affiliation(s)
- ZhaoMin Liu
- School of Sociology, China University of Political Science and Law, Beijing, 102249, China
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27
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28
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Lange EB, Verhaeghen P, Cerella J. Dual representation of item positions in verbal short-term memory: Evidence for two access modes. THE EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY 2010; 22:463-479. [PMID: 25821349 PMCID: PMC4376017 DOI: 10.1080/09541440903155658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Memory sets of N = 1~5 digits were exposed sequentially from left-to-right across the screen, followed by N recognition probes. Probes had to be compared to memory list items on identity only (Sternberg task) or conditional on list position. Positions were probed randomly or in left-to-right order. Search functions related probe response times to set size. Random probing led to ramped, "Sternbergian" functions whose intercepts were elevated by the location requirement. Sequential probing led to flat search functions-fast responses unaffected by set size. These results suggested that items in STM could be accessed either by a slow search-on-identity followed by recovery of an associated location tag, or in a single step by following item-to-item links in study order. It is argued that this dual coding of location information occurs spontaneously at study, and that either code can be utilised at retrieval depending on test demands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elke B Lange
- School of Psychology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Paul Verhaeghen
- School of Psychology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - John Cerella
- Center for Health and Behaviour and Department of Psychology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA
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29
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Abstract
When people hold several objects (such as digits or words) in working memory and select one for processing, switching to a new object takes longer than selecting the same object as that on the preceding processing step. Similarly, selecting a new task incurs task- switching costs. This work investigates the selection of objects and of tasks in working memory using a combination of object-switching and task-switching paradigms. Participants used spatial cues to select one digit held in working memory and colour cues to select one task (addition or subtraction) to apply to it. Across four experiments the mapping between objects and their cues and the mapping between tasks and their cues were varied orthogonally. When mappings varied from trial to trial for both objects and tasks, switch costs for objects and tasks were additive, as predicted by sequential selection or resource sharing. When at least one mapping was constant across trials, allowing learning of long-term associations, switch costs were underadditive, as predicted by partially parallel selection. The number of objects in working memory affected object-switch costs but not task-switch costs, counter to the notion of a general resource of executive attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Risse
- Department of Psychology, Allgemeine Psychologie I, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany.
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30
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Janczyk M, Wienrich C, Kunde W. On the costs of refocusing items in working memory: a matter of inhibition or decay? Memory 2008; 16:374-85. [PMID: 18432482 DOI: 10.1080/09658210801941742] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
The present study investigates the mental processes that are applied to previously attended items of working memory. In an object-switching task, participants counted the number of sequentially presented objects. In Experiment 1 the processing time increased when the object category switched from the prior trial compared to a repetition. More importantly, the further in the past the last instance of a current category was presented, the more processing time was necessary - an observation suggesting passive decay rather than inhibition of previously attended items. However, results differed when only two object categories were employed. Experiment 2 suggests that the lack of a clear indication of decay with small numbers of categories was due to participants' expectancy of category switches rather than repetitions. Taken together, the results suggest that working memory items become less accessible the longer they have not been attended to, when strategic processes are controlled.
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Affiliation(s)
- Markus Janczyk
- Department of Psychology, Dortmund University of Technology, Dortmund, Germany.
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31
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Saults JS, Cowan N. A central capacity limit to the simultaneous storage of visual and auditory arrays in working memory. J Exp Psychol Gen 2008; 136:663-84. [PMID: 17999578 DOI: 10.1037/0096-3445.136.4.663] [Citation(s) in RCA: 139] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
If working memory is limited by central capacity (e.g., the focus of attention; N. Cowan, 2001), then storage limits for information in a single modality should apply also to the simultaneous storage of information from different modalities. The authors investigated this by combining a visual-array comparison task with a novel auditory-array comparison task in 5 experiments. Participants were to remember only the visual, only the auditory (unimodal memory conditions), or both arrays (bimodal memory conditions). Experiments 1 and 2 showed significant dual-task tradeoffs for visual but not for auditory capacity. In Experiments 3-5, the authors eliminated modality-specific memory by using postperceptual masks. Dual-task costs occurred for both modalities, and the number of auditory and visual items remembered together was no more than the higher of the unimodal capacities (visual: 3-4 items). The findings suggest a central capacity supplemented by modality- or code-specific storage and point to avenues for further research on the role of processing in central storage.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Scott Saults
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, MO 65211. USA.
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32
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Abstract
The past 10 years have brought near-revolutionary changes in psychological theories about short-term memory, with similarly great advances in the neurosciences. Here, we critically examine the major psychological theories (the "mind") of short-term memory and how they relate to evidence about underlying brain mechanisms. We focus on three features that must be addressed by any satisfactory theory of short-term memory. First, we examine the evidence for the architecture of short-term memory, with special attention to questions of capacity and how--or whether--short-term memory can be separated from long-term memory. Second, we ask how the components of that architecture enact processes of encoding, maintenance, and retrieval. Third, we describe the debate over the reason about forgetting from short-term memory, whether interference or decay is the cause. We close with a conceptual model tracing the representation of a single item through a short-term memory task, describing the biological mechanisms that might support psychological processes on a moment-by-moment basis as an item is encoded, maintained over a delay with some forgetting, and ultimately retrieved.
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Affiliation(s)
- John Jonides
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA.
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