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Donnelly S, Rowland C, Chang F, Kidd E. A Comprehensive Examination of Prediction-Based Error as a Mechanism for Syntactic Development: Evidence From Syntactic Priming. Cogn Sci 2024; 48:e13431. [PMID: 38622981 DOI: 10.1111/cogs.13431] [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] [Received: 02/01/2023] [Revised: 02/20/2024] [Accepted: 03/04/2024] [Indexed: 04/17/2024]
Abstract
Prediction-based accounts of language acquisition have the potential to explain several different effects in child language acquisition and adult language processing. However, evidence regarding the developmental predictions of such accounts is mixed. Here, we consider several predictions of these accounts in two large-scale developmental studies of syntactic priming of the English dative alternation. Study 1 was a cross-sectional study (N = 140) of children aged 3-9 years, in which we found strong evidence of abstract priming and the lexical boost, but little evidence that either effect was moderated by age. We found weak evidence for a prime surprisal effect; however, exploratory analyses revealed a protracted developmental trajectory for verb-structure biases, providing an explanation as for why prime surprisal effects are more elusive in developmental populations. In a longitudinal study (N = 102) of children in tightly controlled age bands at 42, 48, and 54 months, we found priming effects emerged on trials with verb overlap early but did not observe clear evidence of priming on trials without verb overlap until 54 months. There was no evidence of a prime surprisal effect at any time point and none of the effects were moderated by age. The results relating to the emergence of the abstract priming and lexical boost effects are consistent with prediction-based models, while the absence of age-related effects appears to reflect the structure-specific challenges the dative presents to English-acquiring children. Overall, our complex pattern of findings demonstrates the value of developmental data sets in testing psycholinguistic theory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seamus Donnelly
- School of Medicine and Psychology, The Australian National University
- Language Development Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics
- ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language
| | - Caroline Rowland
- Language Development Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics
- ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Neuroscience, Nijmegen
| | - Franklin Chang
- ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language
- Department of English Studies, Kobe City University for Foreign Studies
| | - Evan Kidd
- Language Development Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics
- ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language
- School of Literature, Languages and Linguistics, The Australian National University
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2
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Zinszer BD, Hannon J, Hu A, Kouadio AÉ, Akpé H, Tanoh F, Wang M, Qi Z, Jasińska K. Statistical learning and children's emergent literacy in rural Côte d'Ivoire. Dev Sci 2023:e13448. [PMID: 37743565 PMCID: PMC10960734 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13448] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2022] [Revised: 08/04/2023] [Accepted: 08/27/2023] [Indexed: 09/26/2023]
Abstract
Studies of non-linguistic statistical learning (SL) have often linked performance in SL tasks with differences in language outcomes. Most of these studies have focused on Western and high-income educational contexts, but children worldwide learn in radically different educational systems and communities, and often in a second language. In the west African nation of Côte d'Ivoire, children enter fifth grade (CM-1) with widely varying ages and literacy skills. Across three iteratively-developed experiments, 157 children, age 8-15 years, in rural communities in the greater-Adzópe region of Côte d'Ivoire watched sequences of cartoon images with embedded triplet patterns on touchscreen tablets, while performing a target-detection task. We assessed these tablet-based adaptations of non-linguistic visual SL and asked whether the children's individual differences in performance on the SL tasks were related to their first and second language and literacy skills. We found group-level evidence that children used the statistical regularities in the image sequence to gradually decrease their response times, but their responses on post-test discrimination did not reflect this learning. When evaluating the correlation between SL and language skills, individual differences related to other task demands predicted oral language skills shared by first and second languages, while SL better predicted second language print skills. These findings suggest that non-linguistic SL paradigms can measure similar skills in Ivorian children as previous samples, but they also echo recent calls for further cross-cultural validation, greater internal reliability, and tests for confounding variables (such as processing speed) in studies of individual differences in statistical learning. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: We iteratively adapted three visual statistical learning studies for children in rural Côte d'Ivoire. Group-level analyses indicates that the children learn the underlying statistical regularities. Individual-differences analyses reveal some evidence that the statistical learning measure is also correlated with task demands that may be driven by cross-cultural differences. Like previous research, statistical learning is correlated with second language literacy, but we did not find a relationship between SL and oral language skills in first and second languages.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Anqi Hu
- University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
| | | | - Hermann Akpé
- Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
| | - Fabrice Tanoh
- Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
- Université Peleforo Gon Coulibaly, Korhogo, Côte d’Ivoire
| | | | | | - Kaja Jasińska
- University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada & Haskins Laboratories, New Haven, CT, USA
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3
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Xie C, Fong MCM, Ma MKH, Wang J, Wang WS. The retrogenesis of age-related decline in declarative and procedural memory. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1212614. [PMID: 37575428 PMCID: PMC10413564 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1212614] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2023] [Accepted: 07/05/2023] [Indexed: 08/15/2023] Open
Abstract
The retrogenesis hypothesis proposes that the order of breakdown of cognitive abilities in older adults is the reverse of the developmental order of children. Declarative and procedural memory systems, however, have been empirically understudied regarding this issue. The current study aimed to investigate whether retrogenesis occurs in the developmental and decline order of the declarative and procedural memory systems. Besides, we further investigated whether retrogenesis occurs in declarative memory, which was tested through the recognition of familiar and unfamiliar items. Both questions were investigated by looking at 28 Chinese younger adults and 27 cognitively healthy Chinese older adults. The recognition memory task and the Serial Reaction Time Task were administered on two consecutive days in order to measure their declarative and procedural memory, respectively. The results showed older adults performed significantly worse than younger adults for both tasks on both days, suggesting a decline in both declarative and procedural memory. Moreover, older adults exhibited relatively preserved declarative memory compared to procedural memory. This does not follow the expectations of the retrogenesis hypothesis. However, older adults demonstrated superior performance and a steeper rate of forgetting for recognizing familiar items than unfamiliar items. This reverses the developmental order of different patterns in the declarative memory system. Overall, we conclude that retrogenesis occurs in the declarative memory system, while does not in the decline order of the two memory systems; this understanding can better help inform our broader understanding of memory aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chenwei Xie
- Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies, Research Centre for Language, Cognition, and Neuroscience, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Manson Cheuk-Man Fong
- Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies, Research Centre for Language, Cognition, and Neuroscience, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China
- Research Institute for Smart Ageing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Matthew King-Hang Ma
- Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies, Research Centre for Language, Cognition, and Neuroscience, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Juliahna Wang
- Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies, Research Centre for Language, Cognition, and Neuroscience, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - William Shiyuan Wang
- Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies, Research Centre for Language, Cognition, and Neuroscience, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China
- Research Institute for Smart Ageing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China
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4
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Yuan H, Ocansey M, Adu-Afarwuah S, Sheridan M, Hamoudi A, Okronipa H, Kumordzie SM, Oaks BM, Prado E. Evaluation of a tablet-based assessment tool for measuring cognition among children 4-6 years of age in Ghana. Brain Behav 2022; 12:e2749. [PMID: 36086855 PMCID: PMC9575601 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.2749] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2021] [Revised: 07/27/2022] [Accepted: 08/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To investigate several basic psychometric properties, including construct, convergent and discriminant validity, of the tablet-based Rapid Assessment of Cognitive and Emotional Regulation (RACER) among children aged 4-6 years in Ghana. METHODS We investigated whether RACER tasks administered to children in Ghana could successfully reproduce expected patterns of performance previously found in high-income countries on similar tasks assessing inhibitory control (e.g., slower responses on inhibition trials), declarative memory (e.g., higher accuracy on previously seen items), and procedural memory (e.g., faster responses on sequence blocks). Next, we assessed the validity of declarative memory and inhibitory control scores by examining associations of these scores with corresponding paper-based test scores and increasing child age. Lastly, we examined whether RACER was more sensitive than paper-based tests to environmental risk factors common in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). RESULTS Of the 966 children enrolled, more than 96% completed the declarative memory and inhibitory control tasks; however, around 30% of children were excluded from data analysis on the procedural memory task due to missing more than half of trials. The performance of children in Ghana replicated previously documented patterns of performance. RACER inhibitory control accuracy score was significantly correlated with child age (r (929) = .09, p = .007). However, our findings did not support other hypotheses. CONCLUSIONS The high task completion rates and replication of expected patterns support that certain RACER sub-tasks are feasible for measuring child cognitive development in LMIC settings. However, this study did not provide evidence to support that RACER is a valid tool to capture meaningful individual differences among children aged 4-6 years in Ghana.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haiying Yuan
- Institute for Global Nutrition, Department of Nutrition, University of California, Davis, California
| | - Maku Ocansey
- Institute for Global Nutrition, Department of Nutrition, University of California, Davis, California
| | - Seth Adu-Afarwuah
- Department of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
| | - Margaret Sheridan
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
| | - Amar Hamoudi
- Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
| | - Harriet Okronipa
- Institute for Global Nutrition, Department of Nutrition, University of California, Davis, California
| | - Sika M Kumordzie
- Institute for Global Nutrition, Department of Nutrition, University of California, Davis, California
| | - Brietta M Oaks
- Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, University of Rhode Island, Kingstown, Rhode Island
| | - Elizabeth Prado
- Institute for Global Nutrition, Department of Nutrition, University of California, Davis, California
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5
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Lum JAG, Clark GM. Implicit manual and oculomotor sequence learning in developmental language disorder. Dev Sci 2021; 25:e13156. [PMID: 34240500 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13156] [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: 01/13/2021] [Revised: 06/01/2021] [Accepted: 06/24/2021] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Procedural memory functioning in developmental language disorder (DLD) has largely been investigated by examining implicit sequence learning by the manual motor system. This study examined whether poor sequence learning in DLD is present in the oculomotor domain. Twenty children with DLD and 20 age-matched typically developing (TD) children were presented with a serial reaction time (SRT) task. On the task, a visual stimulus repeatedly appears in different positions on a computer display which prompts a manual response. The children were unaware that on the first three blocks and final block of trials, the visual stimulus followed a sequence. On the fourth block, the stimulus appeared in random positions. Manual reaction times (RT) and saccadic amplitudes were recorded, which assessed sequence learning in the manual and oculomotor domains, respectively. Manual RT were sensitive to sequence learning for the TD group, but not the DLD group. For the TD group, manual RT increased when the random block was presented. This was not the case for the DLD group. In the oculomotor domain, sequence learning was present in both groups. Specifically, sequence learning was found to modulate saccadic amplitudes resulting in both DLD and TD children being able to anticipate the location of the visual stimulus. Overall, the study indicates that not all aspects of the procedural memory system are equally impaired in DLD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jarrad A G Lum
- Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, School of Psychology, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria, Australia
| | - Gillian M Clark
- Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, School of Psychology, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria, Australia
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6
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Bobrowicz K, Lindström F, Lindblom Lovén M, Psouni E. Flexibility in Problem Solving: Analogical Transfer of Tool Use in Toddlers Is Immune to Delay. Front Psychol 2020; 11:573730. [PMID: 33123052 PMCID: PMC7573132 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.573730] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2020] [Accepted: 09/16/2020] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Solving problems that are perceptually dissimilar but require similar solutions is a key skill in everyday life. In adults, this ability, termed analogical transfer, draws on memories of relevant past experiences that partially overlap with the present task at hand. Thanks to this support from long-term memory, analogical transfer allows remarkable behavioral flexibility beyond immediate situations. However, little is known about the interaction between long-term memory and analogical transfer in development as, to date, they have been studied separately. Here, for the first time, effects of age and memory on analogical transfer were investigated in 2–4.5-olds in a simple tool-use setup. Children attempted to solve a puzzle box after training the correct solution on a different looking box, either right before the test or 24 h earlier. We found that children (N = 105) could transfer the solution regardless of the delay and a perceptual conflict introduced in the tool set. For children who failed to transfer (N = 54) and repeated the test without a perceptual conflict, the odds of success did not improve. Our findings suggest that training promoted the detection of functional similarities between boxes and, thereby, flexible transfer both in the short and the long term.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katarzyna Bobrowicz
- Department of Psychology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.,Public Higher Medical Professional School, Opole, Poland.,Department of Philosophy and Cognitive Science, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | | | | | - Elia Psouni
- Department of Psychology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
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7
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Weinberger AB, Gallagher NM, Warren ZJ, English GA, Moghaddam FM, Green AE. Implicit pattern learning predicts individual differences in belief in God in the United States and Afghanistan. Nat Commun 2020; 11:4503. [PMID: 32908145 PMCID: PMC7481241 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-18362-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2019] [Accepted: 08/13/2020] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Most humans believe in a god, but many do not. Differences in belief have profound societal impacts. Anthropological accounts implicate bottom-up perceptual processes in shaping religious belief, suggesting that individual differences in these processes may help explain variation in belief. Here, in findings replicated across socio-religiously disparate samples studied in the U.S. and Afghanistan, implicit learning of patterns/order within visuospatial sequences (IL-pat) in a strongly bottom-up paradigm predict 1) stronger belief in an intervening/ordering god, and 2) increased strength-of-belief from childhood to adulthood, controlling for explicit learning and parental belief. Consistent with research implicating IL-pat as a basis of intuition, and intuition as a basis of belief, mediation models support a hypothesized effect pathway whereby IL-pat leads to intuitions of order which, in turn, lead to belief in ordering gods. The universality and variability of human IL-pat may thus contribute to the global presence and variability of religious belief.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam B Weinberger
- Georgetown University, Washington, DC, 20057, USA.
- University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA.
| | - Natalie M Gallagher
- Georgetown University, Washington, DC, 20057, USA
- Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Zachary J Warren
- Georgetown University, Washington, DC, 20057, USA
- The Asia Foundation, 1779 Massachusetts Ave NW #815, Washington, DC, 20036, USA
| | - Gwendolyn A English
- Georgetown University, Washington, DC, 20057, USA
- ETH Zurich, 8092, Zurich, CH-8092, Switzerland
| | | | - Adam E Green
- Georgetown University, Washington, DC, 20057, USA.
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8
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Lee JC, Nopoulos PC, Tomblin JB. Procedural and declarative memory brain systems in developmental language disorder (DLD). BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2020; 205:104789. [PMID: 32240854 PMCID: PMC7161705 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2020.104789] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2019] [Revised: 02/24/2020] [Accepted: 03/03/2020] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
The aim of the current study was to examine microstructural differences in white matter relevant to procedural and declarative memory between adolescents/young adults with and without Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). The findings showed atypical age-related changes in white matter structures in the corticostriatal system, in the corticocerebellar system, and in the medial temporal region in individuals with DLD. Results highlight the importance of considering the age factor in research on DLD. Future studies are needed to examine the developmental relationship between long-term memory and individual differences in language development and learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joanna C Lee
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, United States
| | - Peggy C Nopoulos
- Department of Psychiatry, The University of Iowa, The Roy J and Lucille A Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA 52242, United States
| | - J Bruce Tomblin
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, United States
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9
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Koch FS, Sundqvist A, Thornberg UB, Nyberg S, Lum JA, Ullman MT, Barr R, Rudner M, Heimann M. Procedural memory in infancy: Evidence from implicit sequence learning in an eye-tracking paradigm. J Exp Child Psychol 2020; 191:104733. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2019.104733] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2019] [Revised: 10/17/2019] [Accepted: 10/18/2019] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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10
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Bouyeure A, Noulhiane M. Memory: Normative development of memory systems. HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL NEUROLOGY 2020; 173:201-213. [PMID: 32958174 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-444-64150-2.00018-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
During the past decades, abundant behavioral, clinical, and neuroimaging data have shown several memory systems in the brain. A memory system is a type of memory that processes a particular type of information, using specific mechanisms, with distinct neural correlates. What we call memory is therefore not a unitary capacity but a collection of distinct systems. From a developmental perspective, each memory system has its own developmental course. This explains the heterogeneity of children's mnemonic competencies: for example, 3-year-olds learn many new words and concepts every day but have trouble recalling in detail an event that happened the week before. In this chapter, we sum up major findings regarding the development from infancy to early adulthood of the main memory systems. Specifically, we report recent data regarding the development of declarative memory (i.e., episodic and semantic memory), and the relationship between the maturation of their neural correlates and the phenomena of infantile and childhood amnesia. We conclude by indicating some of the possible avenues for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antoine Bouyeure
- Translational and Applicative Neuroimaging Research Unit, NeuroSpin, Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives, Université Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Marion Noulhiane
- Translational and Applicative Neuroimaging Research Unit, NeuroSpin, Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives, Université Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
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Zwart FS, Vissers CTWM, Kessels RPC, Maes JHR. Procedural learning across the lifespan: A systematic review with implications for atypical development. J Neuropsychol 2017; 13:149-182. [DOI: 10.1111/jnp.12139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2017] [Revised: 09/06/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Fenny S. Zwart
- Donders Institute for Brain Cognition and Behaviour; Radboud University; Nijmegen The Netherlands
| | - Constance Th. W. M. Vissers
- Behavioural Science Institute; Nijmegen The Netherlands
- Royal Dutch Kentalis; Sint-Michielsgestel The Netherlands
| | - Roy P. C. Kessels
- Donders Institute for Brain Cognition and Behaviour; Radboud University; Nijmegen The Netherlands
- Department of Medical Psychology; Radboud University Medical Center; Nijmegen The Netherlands
- Vincent van Gogh Institute for Psychiatry; Venray The Netherlands
| | - Joseph H. R. Maes
- Donders Institute for Brain Cognition and Behaviour; Radboud University; Nijmegen The Netherlands
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12
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Maternal multiple micronutrient supplementation and other biomedical and socioenvironmental influences on children's cognition at age 9–12 years in Indonesia: follow-up of the SUMMIT randomised trial. LANCET GLOBAL HEALTH 2017; 5:e217-e228. [DOI: 10.1016/s2214-109x(16)30354-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2016] [Revised: 11/07/2016] [Accepted: 11/11/2016] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
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13
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Acquisition of Motor and Cognitive Skills through Repetition in Typically Developing Children. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0158684. [PMID: 27384671 PMCID: PMC4934913 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0158684] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2016] [Accepted: 06/20/2016] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Procedural memory allows acquisition, consolidation and use of motor skills and cognitive routines. Automation of procedures is achieved through repeated practice. In children, improvement in procedural skills is a consequence of natural neurobiological development and experience. Methods The aim of the present research was to make a preliminary evaluation and description of repetition-based improvement of procedures in typically developing children (TDC). Ninety TDC children aged 6–12 years were asked to perform two procedural learning tasks. In an assembly learning task, which requires predominantly motor skills, we measured the number of assembled pieces in 60 seconds. In a mirror drawing learning task, which requires more cognitive functions, we measured time spent and efficiency. Participants were tested four times for each task: three trials were consecutive and the fourth trial was performed after a 10-minute nonverbal interference task. The influence of repeated practice on performance was evaluated by means of the analysis of variance with repeated measures and the paired-sample test. Correlation coefficients and simple linear regression test were used to examine the relationship between age and performance. Results TDC achieved higher scores in both tasks through repetition. Older children fitted more pieces than younger ones in assembling learning and they were faster and more efficient at the mirror drawing learning task. Conclusions These findings indicate that three consecutive trials at a procedural task increased speed and efficiency, and that age affected basal performance in motor-cognitive procedures.
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14
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Barker LA. Working Memory in the Classroom: An Inside Look at the Central Executive. APPLIED NEUROPSYCHOLOGY-CHILD 2016; 5:180-93. [DOI: 10.1080/21622965.2016.1167493] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
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15
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Finn AS, Kalra PB, Goetz C, Leonard JA, Sheridan MA, Gabrieli JDE. Developmental dissociation between the maturation of procedural memory and declarative memory. J Exp Child Psychol 2015; 142:212-20. [PMID: 26560675 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2015.09.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2015] [Revised: 09/25/2015] [Accepted: 09/26/2015] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Declarative memory and procedural memory are known to be two fundamentally different kinds of memory that are dissociable in their psychological characteristics and measurement (explicit vs. implicit) and in the neural systems that subserve each kind of memory. Declarative memory abilities are known to improve from childhood through young adulthood, but the developmental maturation of procedural memory is largely unknown. We compared 10-year-old children and young adults on measures of declarative memory and working memory capacity and on four measures of procedural memory that have been strongly dissociated from declarative memory (mirror tracing, rotary pursuit, probabilistic classification, and artificial grammar). Children had lesser declarative memory ability and lesser working memory capacity than adults, but children exhibited learning equivalent to adults on all four measures of procedural memory. Therefore, declarative memory and procedural memory are developmentally dissociable, with procedural memory being adult-like by age 10years and declarative memory continuing to mature into young adulthood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy S Finn
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G3, Canada; Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
| | - Priya B Kalra
- Harvard University Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Calvin Goetz
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Julia A Leonard
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Margaret A Sheridan
- Department of Developmental Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - John D E Gabrieli
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Harvard University Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
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16
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Lum JAG, Conti-Ramsden G, Morgan AT, Ullman MT. Procedural learning deficits in specific language impairment (SLI): a meta-analysis of serial reaction time task performance. Cortex 2014; 51:1-10. [PMID: 24315731 PMCID: PMC3989038 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2013.10.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 120] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2013] [Revised: 07/19/2013] [Accepted: 10/31/2013] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Meta-analysis and meta-regression were used to evaluate whether evidence to date demonstrates deficits in procedural memory in individuals with specific language impairment (SLI), and to examine reasons for inconsistencies of findings across studies. The Procedural Deficit Hypothesis (PDH) proposes that SLI is largely explained by abnormal functioning of the frontal-basal ganglia circuits that support procedural memory. It has also been suggested that declarative memory can compensate for at least some of the problems observed in individuals with SLI. A number of studies have used Serial Reaction Time (SRT) tasks to investigate procedural learning in SLI. In this report, results from eight studies that collectively examined 186 participants with SLI and 203 typically-developing peers were submitted to a meta-analysis. The average mean effect size was .328 (CI95: .071, .584) and was significant. This suggests SLI is associated with impairments of procedural learning as measured by the SRT task. Differences among individual study effect sizes, examined with meta-regression, indicated that smaller effect sizes were found in studies with older participants, and in studies that had a larger number of trials on the SRT task. The contributions of age and SRT task characteristics to learning are discussed with respect to impaired and compensatory neural mechanisms in SLI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jarrad A G Lum
- School of Psychology, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Gina Conti-Ramsden
- School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
| | | | - Michael T Ullman
- Department of Neuroscience, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., USA
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Lum JAG, Ullman MT, Conti-Ramsden G. Procedural learning is impaired in dyslexia: evidence from a meta-analysis of serial reaction time studies. RESEARCH IN DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES 2013; 34:3460-76. [PMID: 23920029 PMCID: PMC3784964 DOI: 10.1016/j.ridd.2013.07.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 129] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2013] [Revised: 07/04/2013] [Accepted: 07/09/2013] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
A number of studies have investigated procedural learning in dyslexia using serial reaction time (SRT) tasks. Overall, the results have been mixed, with evidence of both impaired and intact learning reported. We undertook a systematic search of studies that examined procedural learning using SRT tasks, and synthesized the data using meta-analysis. A total of 14 studies were identified, representing data from 314 individuals with dyslexia and 317 typically developing control participants. The results indicate that, on average, individuals with dyslexia have worse procedural learning abilities than controls, as indexed by sequence learning on the SRT task. The average weighted standardized mean difference (the effect size) was found to be 0.449 (CI95: .204, .693), and was significant (p<.001). However, moderate levels of heterogeneity were found between study-level effect sizes. Meta-regression analyses indicated that studies with older participants that used SRT tasks with second order conditional sequences, or with older participants that used sequences that were presented a large number of times, were associated with smaller effect sizes. These associations are discussed with respect to compensatory and delayed memory systems in dyslexia.
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Lum JAG, Kidd E. An examination of the associations among multiple memory systems, past tense, and vocabulary in typically developing 5-year-old children. JOURNAL OF SPEECH, LANGUAGE, AND HEARING RESEARCH : JSLHR 2012; 55:989-1006. [PMID: 22232393 DOI: 10.1044/1092-4388(2011/10-0137)] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Considerable research has investigated the role of verbal working memory in language development in children with and without language problems. Much less is currently known about the relationship between language and the declarative and procedural memory systems. This study examined whether these 2 memory systems were related to typically developing children's past tense and lexical knowledge. METHOD Fifty-eight typically developing children approximately 5 years of age completed a battery of linguistic and nonlinguistic tasks, including tests of vocabulary, past tense production, and procedural and declarative memory. RESULTS The results showed that declarative and procedural memory were not correlated with either regular or irregular past tense use. A significant correlation was observed between declarative memory and vocabulary. CONCLUSIONS The results of the study were not consistent with the view that the declarative and procedural memory systems support children's use of the regular and irregular past tense. However, evidence was found suggesting that declarative memory supports vocabulary in this age group.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jarrad A G Lum
- Deakin University Australia, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
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Kidd E, Kirjavainen M. Investigating the contribution of procedural and declarative memory to the acquisition of past tense morphology: Evidence from Finnish. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2011. [DOI: 10.1080/01690965.2010.493735] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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Heaven PCL. 2010 in review. AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY 2010. [DOI: 10.1080/00049530.2010.513960] [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]
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