Working memory test battery for young adults: Computerized working memory assessment

OpenWMB: An open-source and automated working memory task battery for OpenSesame

Working memory capacity (WMC) has been measured with a plethora of cognitive tasks. Several preeminent automated batteries of working memory (WM) tasks have been developed recently. However, despite all their advantages, most batteries were programmed in paid platforms and/or only included a single WM paradigm. To address these issues, we developed the OpenWMB, an automated battery comprising seven tasks from three distinct paradigms (complex spans, updating tasks, and binding tasks) that tap into several functional aspects of WM (simultaneous storage and processing, updating, and binding). The battery runs on open-source software (OpenSesame) and is freely available online in a ready-to-download format. The OpenWMB possesses flexible features and includes a data processing script (that converts data into a format ready for statistical analysis). The instrument is available in Portuguese and English. However, we only assessed the psychometric properties of the former version. The Portuguese version presented good internal consistency and considerable internal and predictive validity: all tasks loaded into a single factor. Additionally, the WMC estimate was strongly correlated with a fluid intelligence factor. This study also tried to contribute to the ongoing debate regarding the best method to assess WMC. We computed a permutation analysis to compare the amount of variance shared between a fluid intelligence factor and (1) each WM task, (2) homogenous WMC factors (based on multiple tasks from the same paradigm), and (3) heterogeneous WMC factors (derived from triplets of tasks from different paradigms). Our results suggested that heterogeneous factors provided the best estimates of WMC.

Differential associations between scale-free neural dynamics and different levels of cognitive ability

As indicators of cognitive function, scale-free neural dynamics are gaining increasing attention in cognitive neuroscience. Although the functional relevance of scale-free dynamics has been extensively reported, one fundamental question about its association with cognitive ability remains unanswered: is the association universal across a wide spectrum of cognitive abilities or confined to specific domains? Based on dual-process theory, we designed two categories of tasks to analyze two types of cognitive processes-automatic and controlled-and examined their associations with scale-free neural dynamics characterized from resting-state electroencephalography (EEG) recordings obtained from a large sample of human adults (N = 102). Our results showed that resting-state scale-free neural dynamics did not predict individuals' behavioral performance in tasks that primarily engaged the automatic process but did so in tasks that primarily engaged the controlled process. In addition, by fitting the scale-free parameters separately in different frequency bands, we found that the cognitive association of scale-free dynamics was more strongly manifested in higher-band EEG spectrum. Our findings indicate that resting-state scale-free dynamics are not universal neural indicators for all cognitive abilities but are mainly associated with high-level cognition that entails controlled processes. This finding is compatible with the widely claimed role of scale-free dynamics in reflecting properties of complex dynamic systems.

Playing a Video Game and Learning to Think: What’s the Connection?

The present study examines whether playing a video game can help improve cognitive skills needed for successful performance on cognitive tasks, such as updating, which involves continuous monitoring of incoming information that results in rapid addition or deletion of information in working memory. For example, in the n-back task, the participant sees a series of rapidly presented letters on a screen and must press a key each time the current letter is the same as one presented n trials previously (e.g., 3 trials back). Young adults were randomly assigned to play CrushStations (a desktop game the authors designed to teach updating skill) or Bookworm (a commercially available word search game used as a control) for 4 30-min sessions spread over 9 days. Consistent with specific transfer theory, CrushStations players improved on performing the target skill in the game context across the four sessions (the highest level achieved). Consistent with specific transfer of general skill theory, CrushStations players outscored Bookworm players on a posttest involving accurately performing the target skill in a non-game context (n-back task). In contrast to general transfer theory, CrushStations players did not differ from Bookworm players on posttests measuring skills not directly targeted in the game (visuospatial memory task). These results show the benefits of designing educational games in line with the cognitive theory of game-based training (Parong et al., 2020).

Cognitive and skill performance of individuals at sitting versus standing workstations: a quasi-experimental study

Objectives. This study aimed to assess cognitive and skill performance at sitting and standing workstations among students from Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. Methods. Forty students (20 females and 20 males) participated in this quasi-experimental study. Tests were performed among randomly selected participants over two consecutive days: day 1, the Beck depression inventory and Beck anxiety inventory were used to assess the severity of depression and anxiety in the study participants, respectively, and Raven's general intelligence test was used to measure intelligence quotient; day 2, five performance assessment tests (cognitive performance assessment tests 'n-back', 'Stroop' and 'advanced reaction time'; skill performance assessment tests 'two-arm coordination' and 'Purdue pegboard') were randomly selected and presented to individuals at each workstation (sitting and standing workstations). At the end of each sitting and standing position, the comfort of the workstation was measured using a visual analog scale. Results. No statistically significant difference was shown between sitting and standing positions in terms of 'n-back', 'Stroop', 'advanced reaction time', 'two-arm coordination' and 'Purdue pegboard'. Participants were more comfortable in sitting positions and more easily distracted in standing positions. Conclusions. Sitting and standing positions had no significant effects on participants' cognitive and skill performance.

The feasibility and acceptability of assessing inhibitory control and working memory among adolescents via an ecological momentary assessment approach

Early adolescence is a critical period for the development of executive function (EF). EF deficits are associated with increased engagement in multiple health risk behaviors and may be influenced by momentary factors, such as state mindfulness and physical activity. Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) leverages the increasing ubiquity of smart-phones to assess moment-to-moment changes in neurocognition and behavior with minimal recall bias and high ecological validity. As such, EMA is a promising method for delivering performance-based EF tasks and assessing the degree to which EF is influenced by momentary variation in its putative antecedents (e.g. state mindfulness and PA). This study adapts the (1) State Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale, (2) physical activity/sedentary behavior recall items, (3) complex symmetry span working memory task, and (4) the child flanker inhibitory control task into an EMA tool delivered via iPhone using Inquisit Web. This tool was piloted with a sample of 32 seventh graders over a 72 h period. Participants' posttest survey responses indicated that they found these study activities to be enjoyable, non-burdensome, not overly difficult, and preferable to pencil-and-paper instruments. Baseline correlations between flanker task performance and both BRIEF inhibitory control (σ = .23) and working memory subscales (σ = .34) were moderate. Correlations between symmetry span working memory task performance and BRIEF inhibitory control (σabsolute = .28; σpartial = .16) and working memory subscales (σabsolute = .19; σpartial = .15) were slightly lower, demonstrating associations consistent with previous studies. This study supports the feasibility and acceptability of administering two common performance-based EF tasks to adolescents via an EMA approach.