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Atkinson AL, Waterman AH, Allen RJ. Does value-based prioritization at working memory enhance long-term memory? Mem Cognit 2024:10.3758/s13421-024-01532-9. [PMID: 38378883 DOI: 10.3758/s13421-024-01532-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/26/2024] [Indexed: 02/22/2024]
Abstract
Research has demonstrated that individuals can direct their attention to valuable information in both working memory and long-term memory tasks with observable effects on performance. However, it is currently unclear whether prioritising an item for a working memory task automatically translates into a boost at long-term memory. This was examined in two experiments using relatively short (250 ms per item; Experiment 1) and longer (500 ms per item; Experiment 2) encoding times. Participants first completed a visual working memory task, in which they were presented with series of photographs of everyday objects. Following a brief delay (1,000 ms), they completed a four-alternative forced-choice test. Prior to encoding, participants were informed of the point values associated with each item. In some trials, the first item in the sequence was worth more points than the rest. In other trials, all items were equally valuable. After a filled delay, participants completed a surprise long-term memory task. At working memory, a value effect was reliably observed on recognition accuracy, along with some evidence of faster response times for high-value items. However, there was little consistent evidence of this effect automatically persisting into long-term memory. Thus, the benefits of attentional prioritization in working memory do not always translate into longer-term performance. More broadly, this provides further evidence that manipulations that enhance working memory performance do not necessarily enhance long-term memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- A L Atkinson
- Department of Psychology, Lancaster University, Bailrigg, Lancaster, UK.
- School of Psychology, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
| | - A H Waterman
- School of Psychology, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - R J Allen
- School of Psychology, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
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2
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Castel AD. Memory selectivity in older age. Curr Opin Psychol 2024; 55:101744. [PMID: 38043146 PMCID: PMC10842126 DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2023.101744] [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: 08/28/2023] [Revised: 10/30/2023] [Accepted: 11/13/2023] [Indexed: 12/05/2023]
Abstract
Memory often declines with age, but older adults can off-set memory challenges by selectively remembering important information. When encountering large amounts of information and knowing that memory is limited, older adults may choose to focus on what is most important and forget less relevant details. Prioritizing what to remember becomes essential when memory is limited, and influences what information can be off-loaded. While forgetting can be frustrating and consequential, a lifetime of these experiences may help older adults learn to focus on strategically remembering important information and life events. Curiosity and emotion may also guide what older adults remember, such that selective remembering can be an adaptive way to use memory efficiently in older age.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alan D Castel
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, 1285 Psychology Building, Box 951563, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1563, USA.
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Mondragón-Maya A, Flores-Medina Y, González-Sánchez D, Hernández-Echeagaray E. Similarities in cognitive impairment between recent- onset and chronic schizophrenia patients: a consideration for the neurodevelopmental hypothesis. ACTAS ESPANOLAS DE PSIQUIATRIA 2023; 51:176-183. [PMID: 37817737 PMCID: PMC10803867] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2023] [Accepted: 07/01/2023] [Indexed: 10/12/2023]
Abstract
Impairment in attention, memory, processing speed and executive functions have been described in patients with schizophrenia. Such impairments can be observed in early stages of the disease and in chronic patients; discrepancy in findings regarding the cognitive deficits at different stages of the illness keeps the debate about schizophrenia as a neurodegenerative condition which courses with continuous deterioration, or if deficits remain stable, as the neurodevelopmental hypothesis suggests.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Yvonne Flores-Medina
- Laboratorio de Neuromodulación Instituto Nacionalde Psiquiatría Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz
| | - Daniel González-Sánchez
- Laboratorio de Neurofisiología del desarrollo y la Neurodegeneración, UBIMED, FES-I, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
| | - Elizabeth Hernández-Echeagaray
- Laboratorio de Neurofisiología del desarrollo y la Neurodegeneración, UBIMED, FES-I, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
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Nicholls LAB, Stewart ME. Autistic traits are associated with enhanced working memory capacity for abstract visual stimuli. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2023; 236:103905. [PMID: 37086664 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2023.103905] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2022] [Revised: 03/03/2023] [Accepted: 04/10/2023] [Indexed: 04/24/2023] Open
Abstract
We tested whether the association between autistic traits and enhanced performance in visual-perceptual tasks extends to visual working memory capacity. We predicted that any positive effect of autistic traits on visual working memory performance would be greatest during domain-specific tasks, in which visual resources must be relied upon. We used a visual 'matrix' task, involving recall of black-and-white chequered patterns which increased in size, to establish participants' capacity (span). We assessed 144 young adults' (M = 22.0 years, SD = 2.5) performance on abstract, 'low semantic' versus 'high semantic' task versions. The latter offered multimodal coding due to the availability of long-term memory resources that could supplement visual working memory. Participants also completed measures of autistic traits and trait anxiety. Autistic traits, especially Attention to Detail, Attention Switching, and Communication, positively predicted visual working memory capacity, specifically in the low semantic task, which relies on visual working memory resources. Autistic traits are therefore associated with enhanced processing and recall of visual information. The benefit is removed, however, when multimodal coding may be incorporated, emphasising the visual nature of the benefit. Strengths in focused attention to detail therefore appear to benefit domain-specific visual working memory task performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Louise A Brown Nicholls
- School of Psychological Sciences & Health, University of Strathclyde, 40 George Street, Glasgow, G1 1QE, UK.
| | - Mary E Stewart
- Centre for Applied Behavioural Sciences, Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, EH14 4AS, UK.
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Visual working memory phenomena based on categorical tasks replicate using a continuous measure: A simple interpretation and some methodological considerations. Atten Percept Psychophys 2023:10.3758/s13414-023-02656-x. [PMID: 36754918 PMCID: PMC10372120 DOI: 10.3758/s13414-023-02656-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/09/2023] [Indexed: 02/10/2023]
Abstract
An increasingly popular method for investigating visuospatial working memory assumes stored features of objects such as color and orientation vary along continua subject to internal noise. It adapts the stimulus adjustment procedure from perceptual psychophysics to assess the precision with which stored features are represented in memory. This contrasts with methods using discrete, categorical measures of feature retention. The current study examined the replicability of some phenomena documented using conventional methodology when assessed using a continuous measure of feature recall. These concern memory for a short series of objects and include effects of recency, prioritizing an individual object, and presenting an irrelevant additional object after the last item (a poststimulus 'suffix'). In two experiments we find broadly similar results using a continuous measure of color-orientation binding to those obtained previously using categorical measures, with small differences we regard as minor. We interpret the convergence between methods in terms of a simple analogy between categorical memory and categorical perception whereby categorical retrieval involves the application of a discrete criterion to an underlying continuum of stored feature information. We conclude by discussing some of the advantages and limitations of continuous and categorical measures of retention.
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Johnson AJ, Allen RJ. Intentional and incidental odour-colour binding in working memory. Memory 2023; 31:92-107. [PMID: 36131618 DOI: 10.1080/09658211.2022.2124273] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
Abstract
The question of how features are bound together in working memory has become a topic of much research in recent years. However, this is typically focused on visual and/or auditory stimuli. The purpose of this study is to apply established feature binding procedures to investigate odour binding in working memory. Across three experiments, memory for intentionally and incidentally formed odour-colour pairings was tested. Experiment 1 showed that following explicit instruction to remember the odour-colour combinations, young adults can recall lists of 3-pairings at levels above that of chance and exhibit a recency advantage for the last pairing. In Experiment 2 participants were asked to prioritise the first pairing in the list or treat all pairings equally. We observed only limited evidence of prioritisation affecting the serial position function. Experiment 3 explored incidental odour-colour binding. Using a yes/no recognition procedure, accuracy did not differ for positive test probes presented in the same (bound) or different (unbound) colour to encoding. This study is one of the first to examine odour-colour binding in working memory and, taking the evidence together, suggests that odour-colour bindings can be formed in working memory; however, functionality may be limited compared to that of visual feature binding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew J Johnson
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Science & Technology, Bournemouth University, Poole, UK
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Atkinson AL, Oberauer K, Allen RJ, Souza AS. Why does the probe value effect emerge in working memory? Examining the biased attentional refreshing account. Psychon Bull Rev 2022; 29:891-900. [PMID: 35091995 PMCID: PMC9166884 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-022-02056-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
People are able to prioritize more valuable information in working memory. The current study examined whether this value effect is due to the items of greater value being refreshed more than lower-value items during maintenance. To assess this possibility, we combined a probe value manipulation with a guided-refreshing procedure. Arrays of colored shapes were presented, and after a brief delay, participants reported the color of one randomly probed shape on a continuous color wheel. To manipulate probe value, one item was indicated as more valuable than the rest prior to encoding (i.e., worth more notional points), or all items were indicated as equally valuable. To guide refreshing, in some trials, two arrows were presented during maintenance, each arrow cueing the spatial location of one item. Participants were told to "think of" (i.e., refresh) the cued item. If value boosts are driven by attentional refreshing, cueing an item to be refreshed should enhance performance for items that are of low or equal value, but not items of high value, as these items would be refreshed regardless of the cue. This pattern of outcomes was observed, providing support for the hypothesis that attentional refreshing at least partially accounts for probe value effects in working memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy L Atkinson
- Department of Psychology, Lancaster University, Bailrigg, Lancaster, LA1 4YW, UK.
- School of Psychology, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK.
- School of Languages, Cultures and Societies, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK.
| | - Klaus Oberauer
- Department of Psychology, Cognitive Psychology Unit, University of Zurich, Binzmühlestrasse 14/22, 8050, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Richard J Allen
- School of Psychology, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
| | - Alessandra S Souza
- Department of Psychology, Cognitive Psychology Unit, University of Zurich, Binzmühlestrasse 14/22, 8050, Zurich, Switzerland
- Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, University of Porto, Rua Alfredo Allen, 4200-135, Porto, Portugal
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Udale R, Tran MT, Manohar S, Husain M. Dynamic in-flight shifts of working memory resources across saccades. J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform 2022; 48:21-36. [PMID: 35073141 PMCID: PMC8785606 DOI: 10.1037/xhp0000960] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2020] [Revised: 08/06/2021] [Accepted: 08/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Little is known about how memory resources are allocated in natural vision across sequential eye movements and fixations, as people actively extract information from the visual environment. Here, we used gaze-contingent eye tracking to examine how such resources are dynamically reallocated from old to new information entering working memory. As participants looked sequentially at items, we interrupted the process at different times by extinguishing the display as a saccade was initiated. After a brief interval, participants were probed on one of the items that had been presented. Paradoxically, across all experiments, the final (unfixated) saccade target was recalled more precisely when more items had previously been fixated, that is, with longer rather than shorter saccade sequences. This result is difficult to explain on current models of working memory because recall error, even for the final item, is typically higher as memory load increases. The findings could however be accounted for by a model that describes how resources are dynamically reallocated on a moment-by-moment basis. During each saccade, the target is encoded by consuming a proportion of currently available resources from a limited working memory, as well as by reallocating resources away from previously encoded items. These findings reveal how working memory resources are shifted across memoranda in active vision. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
- Rob Udale
- Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield
| | - Moc Tram Tran
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford
| | - Sanjay Manohar
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford
| | - Masud Husain
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford
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Knowlton BJ, Castel AD. Memory and Reward-Based Learning: A Value-Directed Remembering Perspective. Annu Rev Psychol 2021; 73:25-52. [PMID: 34587778 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-psych-032921-050951] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The ability to prioritize valuable information is critical for the efficient use of memory in daily life. When information is important, we engage more effective encoding mechanisms that can better support retrieval. Here, we describe a dual-mechanism framework of value-directed remembering in which both strategic and automatic processes lead to differential encoding of valuable information. Strategic processes rely on metacognitive awareness of effective deep encoding strategies that allow younger and healthy older adults to selectively remember important information. In contrast, some high-value information may also be encoded automatically in the absence of intention to remember, but this may be more impaired in older age. These different mechanisms are subserved by different neural substrates, with left-hemisphere semantic processing regions active during the strategic encoding of high-value items, and automatic enhancement of encoding of high-value items may be supported by activation of midbrain dopaminergic projections to the hippocampal region. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Psychology, Volume 73 is January 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara J Knowlton
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA;
| | - Alan D Castel
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA;
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The Association between the Binding Processes of Working Memory and Vascular Risk Profile in Adults. Brain Sci 2021; 11:brainsci11091140. [PMID: 34573162 PMCID: PMC8467480 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11091140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2021] [Revised: 08/23/2021] [Accepted: 08/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Episodic buffer (EB), a key component of working memory, seems to have a rather complicated function as part of binding processes. Recent papers on the field claim that binding processes of working memory (WM) are assisted by attention and executive functions. On the same page, vascular pathology is gaining more ground as the main underlying cause for many brain pathologies. Hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, obesity, diabetes, lack of exercise and smoking are the most common risk factors that people of all ages suffer from and constitute the main vascular risk factors responsible for a possible decline in executive functions and attention. Thus, this research is an attempt to examine the relation between the binding functions of WM and the existence of vascular risk factors via a computerized test focusing on feature binding. The study comprised adults (n = 229) with and without vascular risk factors. The main tools used were a biomarker questionnaire and a feature binding test (FBT). The results showed that participants who report suffering from one or more vascular risk factors had significantly lower performance on specific subtasks of the FBT in comparison to the participants who were healthy. This allows us to assume that there might be a positive association between feature binding and a vascular risk profile in adults, and such a test could be a useful diagnostic tool for early cognitive impairment due to incipient vascular pathology.
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