Performance on tasks of visuospatial memory and ability: A cross-sectional study in 330 adolescents aged 11 to 20

The development of self-initiated visuo-spatial working memory

Studies on the development of visuo-spatial working memory (VSWM) have focused almost exclusively on memory tasks in which children had no control over the content of the representations they memorized. In contrast, in everyday life children often select the items that they encode in memory. In the current study, we used two modified span tasks to explore the development of this aspect of memory, termed self-initiated (SI) VSWM, in children aged 7 to 10 years. In Experiment 1 participants memorized sequences of spatial locations, whereas in Experiment 2 participants memorized sequences of pictures of real-world objects and the spatial locations of the targets were irrelevant for task performance. In both experiments, participants either selected the targets they memorized themselves or memorized randomly selected targets that were provided to them. Previous studies in adults have shown that efficient processing in the SI condition in both tasks entails the construction of spatially structured representations. The results of the two experiments revealed that children constructed spatially structured representations with short paths between successive locations in the spatial sequences, fewer path crossings, and more linear shapes compared with the provided representations. Self-initiation benefited overall performance, especially in Experiment 1 where the memory task was more demanding. This study shows that 7- to 10-year-old children have access to the metacognitive knowledge on the spatial structure of VSWM and strategically impose structure during encoding to benefit memory performance. More generally, SI VSWM highlights an important aspect of behavior, demonstrating how children shape their environment to facilitate functioning.

Effects of high-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on reach-to-grasp performance in individuals with Parkinson's disease: a preliminary study

Individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) have deficits in reach-to-grasp (RTG) execution and visuospatial processing which may be a result of dopamine deficiency in two brain regions: primary motor cortex (M1) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). We hypothesized that improvement following M1 stimulation would be the result of a direct impact on motor execution; whereas, DLPFC stimulation would improve the role of DLPFC in visuospatial processing. The aim of pilot study was to investigate the effects of HF-rTMS on RTG performance by stimulating either M1 or DLPFC. Thirty individuals with PD participated (H&Y stages I-III). All of them were more affected on the right side. Participants were allocated into three groups. The DLPFC group received HF-rTMS over left DLPFC; while, the M1 group received HF-rTMS over left M1 of extensor digitorum communis representational area. The control group received HF-rTMS over the vertex. Before and immediately post HF-rTMS, right-hand RTG performance was measured under no barrier and barrier conditions. Additionally, TMS measures including motor-evoked-potential (MEP) amplitude and cortical silent period (CSP) were determined to verify the effects of HF-rTMS. For the results, there were no significant differences among the three groups. However, only the M1 group showed a significant decrease in movement time immediately after HF-rTMS for a barrier condition. Moreover, the M1 group showed a near-significant increase in hand opening and transport velocity. As for the DLPFC group, there was a near-significant increase in temporal transport-grasp coordination and a significant increase in velocity. Increased MEP amplitudes and a significantly longer CSP in the M1 and DLPFC groups confirmed the effects of HF-rTMS. Regarding non-significant results among the three groups, it is still inconclusive whether there were different effects of the rTMS on the two stimulation areas. This is a preliminary study demonstrating that HF-rTMS to M1 may improve RTG execution; whereas, HF-rTMS to DLPFC may improve visuospatial processing demands of RTG.

Developmental changes in visual search are determined by changing visuospatial abilities and task repetition: A longitudinal study in adolescents

Using a longitudinal study design, a group of 94 adolescents participated in a visual search task and a visuospatial ability task yearly for four consecutive years. We analyzed the association between changes in visuospatial ability and changes in visual search performance and behavior and estimated additional effects of age and task repetition. Visuospatial ability was measured with the Design Organization Test (DOT). Search performance was analyzed in terms of reaction time and response accuracy. Search behavior was analyzed in terms of the number of fixations per trial, the saccade amplitude, and the distribution of fixations over different types of elements. We found that both the increase in age and the yearly repetition of the DOT had a positive effect on visuospatial ability. We show that the acceleration of visual search during childhood can be explained by the increase in visuospatial abilities with age during adolescence. With the yearly task repetition, visual search became faster and more accurate, while fewer fixations were made with larger saccade amplitudes. The combination of increasing visuospatial ability and task repetition makes visual search more effective and might increase the performance of many daily tasks during adolescence.

Eight-year-olds, but not six-year-olds, perform just as well as adults when playing Concentration: Resolving the enigma?

Anecdotal reports suggest that children often outperform adults when playing Concentration. This is surprising as cognitive processes tend to develop progressively throughout childhood. To date, very few studies have examined this apparent paradox, and with mixed results. In the present study, the ability of 6-year-olds (n = 34), 8-year-olds (n = 48), and adults (n = 38) to play Concentration was examined in a controlled computer-based setup involving eye tracking. The main dependent variables were the number of moves and time in seconds to finish the first nine (out of 12) matching pairs. The results revealed that while 6-year-olds were outperformed by older children and adults, 8-year-olds performed just as well as adults. It is suggested that Concentration may represent a cognitive challenge rarely encountered in the real world, and when playing Concentration, adults seem to use strategies that are effective in real life situations, but may be less appropriate when playing the game.