Working memory span tasks: A methodological review and user’s guide

Immediate and delayed effects of fantastical content on children's executive functions and mental transformation

Watching fantastical content has been shown to negatively affect young children's executive function (EF) skills. No study has investigated how long these negative effects persist and whether they extend to other cognitive skills. The current experimental study aimed to (1) detect how long fantastical content affects children's EF performance and (2) examine whether watching fantastical content negatively affects children's other (non-EF) cognitive task performance, namely mental transformation. A total of 120 5- and 6-year-old children (M = 66 months, SD = 5.52) were randomly assigned to one of the four following conditions: (a) immediate testing after watching an 8-min non-fantastical cartoon, (b) immediate testing after watching an 8-min fantastical cartoon, (c) 10-min delayed testing after watching a fantastical cartoon, and (d) immediate testing after an 8-min free play (control condition). After exposure to each condition, children were tested on EF and mental transformation measures. Results showed that children watching a fantastical cartoon performed worse on working memory and inhibitory control tasks than children watching a non-fantastical cartoon or playing. However, the 10-min delay between the watching and testing sessions eliminated the negative impact observed on inhibitory control. Groups did not differ on cognitive flexibility and mental transformation. As in previous studies, watching fantastical content negatively affected children's EFs, but this negative impact disappeared in a few minutes and seems unique to EFs. These results suggest that fantastical content may temporarily affect attentional and information processing systems related to EFs.

Mental time travel in the rat

I outline the perspective that searching the contents of memory is a form of mental time travel (MTT) in non-humans that is relatively tractable because it focuses on the contents of memory. I propose that an animal model of MTT requires three elements: (i) the animal remembers multiple events using episodic memory, (ii) the order of events in time is included in the representation, and (iii) the sequence of events can be searched to find a target that occurred at a particular time. I review experiments suggesting that rats represent multiple items in episodic memory (element 1) in order of occurrence (element 2) and engage in memory replay to search representations in episodic memory in sequential order to find information at particular points in the sequence (element 3). The cognitive building blocks needed for MTT may be quite old in the evolutionary timescale.This article is part of the theme issue 'Elements of episodic memory: lessons from 40 years of research'.

A randomized clinical trial to evaluate feasibility, tolerability, and preliminary target engagement for a novel executive working memory training in adolescents with ADHD

OBJECTIVE

Working memory training for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has focused on increasing working memory capacity, with inconclusive evidence for its effectiveness. Alternative training targets are executive working memory (EWM) processes that promote flexibility or bolster stability of working memory contents to guide behavior via selective attention. This randomized, placebo-controlled study was designed to assess feasibility, tolerability, and behavioral target engagement of a novel EWM training for ADHD.

METHOD

62 ADHD-diagnosed adolescents (12-18 years) were randomized to EWM training or placebo arms for 20 remotely coached sessions conducted over 4-5 weeks. Primary outcome measures were behavioral changes on EWM tasks. Secondary outcomes were intervention tolerability, trial retention, and responsiveness to adaptive training difficulty manipulations.

RESULTS

Linear regression analyses found intervention participants showed medium effect size improvements, many of which were statistically significant, on Shifting and Filtering EWM task accuracy and Shifting and Updating reaction time measures. Intervention participants maintained strong self-rated motivation, mood, and engagement and progressed through the adaptive difficulty measures, which was further reflected in high trial retention.

CONCLUSIONS

The results suggest that these EWM processes show promise as training targets for ADHD. The subsequent NIMH R33-funded extension clinical trial will seek to replicate and extend these findings.

The magic, memory, and curiosity fMRI dataset of people viewing magic tricks

Videos of magic tricks offer lots of opportunities to study the human mind. They violate the expectations of the viewer, causing prediction errors, misdirect attention, and elicit epistemic emotions. Herein we describe and share the Magic, Memory, and Curiosity (MMC) Dataset where 50 participants watched 36 magic tricks filmed and edited specifically for functional magnetic imaging (fMRI) experiments. The MMC Dataset includes a contextual incentive manipulation, curiosity ratings for the magic tricks, and incidental memory performance tested a week later. We additionally measured individual differences in working memory and constructs relevant to motivated learning. fMRI data were acquired before, during, and after learning. We show that both behavioural and fMRI data are of high quality, as indicated by basic validation analysis, i.e., variance decomposition as well as intersubject correlation and seed-based functional connectivity, respectively. The richness and complexity of the MMC Dataset will allow researchers to explore dynamic cognitive and motivational processes from various angles during task and rest.

Openness to experience predicts eye movement behavior during scene viewing

Individuals' abilities to perform goal-directed spatial deployments of attention are distinguishable from their broader preferences for how they use spatial attention when circumstances do not compel a specific deployment strategy. Although these preferences are likely to play a major role in how we interact with the visual world during daily life, they remain relatively understudied. This exploratory study investigated two key questions about these preferences: firstly, are individuals consistent in their preferences for how they deploy their spatial attention when making shifts of attention versus adopting an attentional breadth? Secondly, which other factors are associated with these preferences? Across two experiments, we measured how participants preferred to deploy both attentional breadth (using an adapted Navon task) and eye movements (using a free-viewing task). We also measured participants' working memory capacities (Experiment 1), and their personalities and world beliefs (Experiment 2). In both experiments, there were consistent individual differences in preference for attentional breadth and eye movement characteristics, but these two kinds of preference were unrelated to each other. Working memory capacity was not linked to these preferences. Conversely, the personality trait of Openness to Experience robustly predicted two aspects of eye movement behavior preference, such that higher levels of Openness predicted smaller saccades and shorter scan paths. This suggests that personality dimensions may predict preferences for more absorbed engagement with visual information. However, it appears that individuals' preferences for shifts of attention during scene viewing do not necessarily relate to the breadth of attention they choose to adopt.

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.

A meta-analysis on the relationship between subjective cognitive failures as measured by the cognitive failures questionnaire (CFQ) and objective performance on executive function tasks

The Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ) has been widely used as a measure of subjective cognitive function in everyday life for decades. However, the evidence on how it relates to objective performance on executive function tasks is mixed. One possible reason for these mixed results is that the CFQ has selective relationships with some aspects of executive function and not others. Here, therefore, we classified tasks according to an influential framework of executive functions-switching, updating, inhibition, and we also considered the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART) as a category because it was custom designed to gauge cognitive failures. We synthesized a large body of available evidence and performed four Bayesian meta-analyses on the relationship between CFQ scores and objective performance on executive function tasks in these four categories. Results suggested that CFQ scores were associated with objective performance on SART (18 effect sizes, μ = -.19, BF10 = 18.03, i.e., 18.03 times more evidence of a relationship versus no relationship), updating working memory (49 effect sizes, μ = -.06, BF10 = 17.80), and inhibition tasks (41 effect sizes, μ = -.07, BF10 = 15.40), whereas there was not definitive evidence regarding switching (34 effect sizes, μ = -.06, BF10 = .50, i.e., two times greater evidence for no relationship). This suggests that subjective cognitive function can predict objective performance on at least some executive function tasks. We discuss methodological and theoretical factors that constrain the maximum observable correlation and consider the relative insights that subjective measures versus task performance provide.

Connecting working and long-term memory: Bayesian-hierarchical multinomial model-based analyses reveal storage next to retrieval differences

Individual differences in working memory capacity (WMC) are correlated with long-term memory (LTM) differences. Whether this is because high-WMC individuals encode more effectively, resulting in better LTM storage, or because they better retrieve information from LTM is debated. In two experiments, we used Bayesian-hierarchical multinomial modeling to correlate participant-level storage and retrieval processes from LTM recall to WMC abilities estimated from operation and symmetry complex span tasks. In Experiment 1, we presented participants with 20 consecutive words, including semantically associated pairs (e.g., knife and fork), to assess LTM processes. Participants received standard (n = 242) or associative-storage instructions (n = 222) and then completed a free recall task. In Experiment 2, we instructed participants (N = 239) to memorize 40 cue-target words as pairs before completing free and cued recall tasks. Correlations with WMC emerged with storage and retrieval processes and only when an associative storage strategy was instructed (Experiment 1). When associative processing was inherent to the task (Experiment 2), only the associative storage, not the retrieval advantage, replicated. The strategy reports suggest that high-WMC individuals use associative encoding strategies more effectively, resulting in better storage in LTM.

The Relationship Between Auditory and Cognitive Processing Abilities in Children With Specific Learning Disorders

PURPOSE

Specific learning disorder (SLD) refers to a pattern of learning difficulties characterized by problems with reading, writing, or mathematics that are not solely due to intellectual disabilities, sensory deficits, or other neurological or medical conditions. It is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects the processing and organizing of information. Auditory and cognitive processing is affected in most children with SLD, although to a varying degree. However, it is still unclear whether there exists any relationship between auditory and cognitive processing disorders in children with SLD.

METHOD

We tested 1,259 children, of whom 77 were diagnosed as SLD and 30 age- and gender-matched typically developing (TD) children were selected. Auditory processing abilities were assessed for auditory discrimination, pattern perception, closure, temporal processing, binaural integration, and separation using standardized tests and procedures. Cognitive processing was measured using working memory, short-term memory, and attention tasks.

RESULTS

The test data of the TD children were taken as the norm. Based on the normative range, children with SLD were divided into those with auditory processing disorder (APD; n = 31) and those without APD (n = 46). A regression model highlighted a robust positive relationship between APD and cognitive processing, particularly pronounced in SLD with APD children. The results are discussed, supporting the information-processing theory of learning disability and highlighting a complex loop between auditory and cognitive deficits in children with SLD.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings underscore the critical role of both auditory and cognitive abilities in children with SLD. Tailoring the intervention to break the loop is recommended, which may improve learning abilities more effectively.

Brain correlates of attentional load processing reflect degree of bilingual engagement: Evidence from EEG

The present study uses electroencephalography (EEG) with an N-back task (0-, 1-, and 2-back) to investigate if and how individual bilingual experiences modulate brain activity and cognitive processes. The N-back is an especially appropriate task given recent proposals situating bilingual effects on neurocognition within the broader attentional control system (Bialystok and Craik, 2022). Beyond its working memory component, the N-Back task builds in complexity incrementally, progressively taxing the attentional system. EEG, behavioral and language/social background data were collected from 60 bilinguals. Two cognitive loads were calculated: low (1-back minus 0-back) and high (2-back minus 0-back). Behavioral performance and brain recruitment were modeled as a function of individual differences in bilingual engagement. We predicted task performance as modulated by bilingual engagement would reflect cognitive demands of increased complexity: slower reaction times and lower accuracy, and increase in theta, decrease in alpha and modulated N2/P3 amplitudes. The data show no modulation of the expected behavioral effects by degree of bilingual engagement. However, individual differences analyses reveal significant correlations between non-societal language use in Social contexts and alpha in the low cognitive load condition and age of acquisition of the L2/2L1 with theta in the high cognitive load. These findings lend some initial support to Bialystok and Craik (2022), showing how certain adaptations at the brain level take place in order to deal with the cognitive demands associated with variations in bilingual language experience and increases in attentional load. Furthermore, the present data highlight how these effects can play out differentially depending on cognitive testing/modalities - that is, effects were found at the TFR level but not behaviorally or in the ERPs, showing how the choice of analysis can be deterministic when investigating bilingual effects.

Evidence for separate backward recall and n-back working memory factors: a large-scale latent variable analysis

Multiple studies have explored the factor structure of working memory (WM) tasks, yet few have done so controlling for both the domain and category of the memory items in a single study. In the current pre-registered study, we conducted a large-scale latent variable analysis using variant forms of n-back and backward recall tasks to test whether they measured a single underlying construct, or were distinguished by stimuli-, domain-, or paradigm-specific factors. Exploratory analyses investigated how the resulting WM factor(s) were linked to fluid intelligence. Participants (N = 703) completed a fluid reasoning test and multiple n-back and backward recall tasks containing memoranda that varied across (spatial or verbal material) and within (verbal digits or letters) domain, allowing the variance specific to task content and paradigm to be assessed. Two distinct but related backward recall and n-back constructs best captured the data, in comparison to other plausible model constructions (single WM factor, two-factor domain, and three-factor materials models). Common variance associated with WM was a stronger predictor of fluid reasoning than a residual n-back factor, but the backward recall factor predicted fluid reasoning as strongly as the common WM factor. These data emphasise the distinctiveness between backward recall and n-back tasks.

Does the extension of free time trigger spontaneous elaborative strategies in working memory?

Elaboration has emerged as a potential maintenance mechanism involved in the substantial contribution of long-term memory (LTM) to working memory (WM) performance. The objective of the current study was to determine whether elaborative strategies could be spontaneously implemented under favorable conditions. Across four experiments, the distribution of free-time periods was manipulated in a complex span task, while keeping the total amount of free time and cognitive load constant. As elaboration requires time to be set up, Experiment 1 elicited better WM performance in a condition with fewer long free-time periods compared to a condition with many short free-time periods. However, because this benefit did not persist during delayed recall, the following experiments aimed to further investigate this effect by manipulating factors supposed to modulate elaboration. In Experiment 2, half of the participants received no specific instructions regarding strategies whereas the other half were encouraged to use elaborative strategies. In Experiment 3, the to-be-maintained stimuli did or did not have LTM representations that are essential for elaboration (i.e., words or pseudowords). Finally, the last experiment used a self-strategy report to better understand the nature of the WM maintenance strategies spontaneously employed by participants. Despite a consistent effect of free time manipulation on WM recall, the explanatory assumption of elaboration was challenged by the unexpected lack of effect on LTM recall and on the type of strategy reported. Alternative explanations stemming from well-known factors influencing WM performance are discussed, and emphasis is placed on the potential contribution of direct semantic maintenance in WM.

The effects of working memory training on working memory, self-regulation, and analogical reasoning of preschool children

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

This study examined the effects of working memory training (WMT) on WM and fluid intelligence. A novel four-pronged model of mediated learning, cognitive functions, task characteristics and metacognition is presented as a conceptual basis for the Modifiability of a Working Memory Program (MWMP). Our basic assumption is that increasing WM depends on a synchronized combination of the four components.

SAMPLE

A group of typically developed preschool children (n = 62) participated in the experimental group, receiving the MWMP. They were compared with a control group (n = 56) of preschool children who engaged in a substitute program. This comparison allowed us to discern the specific effects of the MWMP.

METHODS

All participants received tests of WM, self-regulation and analogical reasoning before and after the intervention. The MWMP was administered to children in the experimental group for 10 weekly sessions, each lasting 40 minutes, in small groups of two children. The children in the control group engaged in didactic activities that were part of a school curriculum routine for kindergartners for the same length of time.

RESULTS

We used ANCOVA analysis to compare the Treatment x Time with age and socioeconomic status as covariates. The findings revealed a higher improvement in some WM and self-regulation tests among children in the experimental group compared to those in the control group. However, no significant transfer effects were observed in analogical thinking.

CONCLUSION

The findings confirm the effectiveness of a non-computerized WMT among kindergartners and support our four-pronged theoretical model. We also discuss earlier findings on far-transfer effects and educational implications. We suggest that future WM studies adopt the following: (1) the development of training methods that are theoretically anchored; (2) training procedures should not rely heavily on computerized exercises but can be adapted to group characteristics, educational settings and cost-effectiveness aspects; (3) varying the task characteristics and training strategies to stimulate task-intrinsic motivation; (4) identifying training strategies to produce cognitive improvements underlying WM; (5) intervention should target individuals in early development as much as possible; (6) development of training procedures that facilitate motivation; and (7) providing empirical evidence of far-transfer effects for WM training. The empirical evidence should link gains in WM capacity and achievements in academic and other life domains.

Mental counters as an online tool for assessing working memory capacity

Working memory capacity (WMC) describes an individual's ability to focus their attention in the face of interference which allows them to actively maintain and manipulate information in immediate memory. Individual differences in WMC predict a wide range of psychological constructs. The development of online measures can enable data collection from broader, more diverse samples than those typically collected in person in laboratory settings. In addition, logistical challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic have mandated the need for reliable and valid remote assessments of individual differences that are both culture-fair and less susceptible to cheating. This study reports details of a new online version of a Mental Counters task that takes only 10 min to collect and provides evidence for its reliability and convergent validity with other measures including Picture Span and Paper Folding.

Frontoparietal Brain Network Plays a Crucial Role in Working Memory Capacity during Complex Cognitive Task

Recent neurophysiological studies provide inconsistent results of frontoparietal network (FPN) stimulation for altering working memory (WM) capacity. This study aimed to boost WM capacity by manipulating the activity of the FPN via dual-site high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation. Forty-eight participants were randomly assigned to three stimulation groups, receiving either simultaneous anodal stimulation of the frontal and parietal areas (double stimulation), or stimulation of the frontal area only (single stimulation), or the placebo stimulation (sham) to frontal and parietal areas. After the stimulation, we used an operation span task to test memory accuracy, mathematical accuracy, time of calculation and memorizing, and recall response time across the three groups. The results revealed an enhancement of memory accuracy and a reduction of time of calculation in the double stimulation group compared with that in others. In addition, recall response time was significantly decreased in the double and single stimulation groups compared with that in sham. No differences in mathematical accuracy were observed. Our results confirm the pivotal role of the FPN in WM and suggest its functional dissociation, with the frontal component more implicated in the retrieval stage and the parietal component in the processing and retention stages.

Age-related changes in brain oscillatory patterns during an n-back task in children and adolescents

The development of brain oscillatory responses and their possible role in the working memory (WM) performance of children, adolescents and young adults was investigated. A set of 0- and 1-back tasks with letter stimuli were administered to a final sample of 131 subjects (between 6 and 20 years of age). A decrease in response times (RTs) and an increase of the sensitivity index d-prime (d') were seen with increased age. RTs increased and d' decreased with load, indicating higher difficulty for higher loads. Event-related synchronization (ERS) and event-related desynchronization (ERD) were obtained by the convolution of Morlet wavelets on the recorded EEG. Statistical analyses were performed of the absolute and relative power of brain oscillations defined by topography, frequency and latency. Posterior alpha and beta ERD, and frontocentral theta ERS, were induced by the stimuli presented during the n-back task. While relative theta ERS increased with age, absolute theta ERS, absolute and relative alpha and, absolute beta ERD, decreased with age. Age-related improvement in behavioral performance was mediated by relative theta. Alpha and beta ERD were more pronounced for the most difficult task (1-back) and for the target condition. Globally, there was high consistency of the effects of target type and task load across development. Theta ERS maturation is a crucial step for improving WM performance during development, while alpha and beta ERD maturation seem to be less critical for behavioral performance improvement with age, possibly due to a sufficient level of alpha-beta ERD for good performance in young children.

Inter-individual variability (but intra-individual stability) of overt versus covert rehearsal strategies in a digital Corsi task

The Corsi (block-tapping) paradigm is a classic and well-established visuospatial working memory task in humans involving internal computations (memorizing of item sequences, organizing and updating the memorandum, and recall processes), as well as both overt and covert shifts of attention to facilitate rehearsal, serving to maintain the Corsi sequences during the retention phase. Here, we introduce a novel digital version of a Corsi task in which i) the difficulty of the memorandum (using sequence lengths ranging from 3 to 8) was controlled, ii) the execution of overt and/or covert attention as well as the visuospatial working memory load during the retention phase was manipulated, and iii) shifts of attention were quantified in all experimental phases. With this, we present behavioral data that demonstrate, characterize, and classify the individual effects of overt and covert strategies used as a means of encoding and rehearsal. In a full within-subject design, we tested 28 participants who had to solve three different Corsi conditions. While in condition A neither of the two strategies were restricted, in condition B the overt and in condition C the overt as well as the covert strategies were suppressed. Analyzing Corsi span, (eye) exploration index, and pupil size (change), data clearly show a continuum between overt and covert strategies over all participants (indicating inter-individual variability). Further, all participants showed stable strategy choice (indicating intra-individual stability), meaning that the preferred strategy was maintained in all three conditions, phases, and sequence lengths of the experiment.

Positive correlation between working memory and face-to-face social interaction in everyday life

Working memory (WM) plays a crucial role in various cognitive tasks from language comprehension to problem-solving. However, its influence on social activities has remained largely unexplored. The current two studies on individual differences, a pilot (N = 329) and a pre-registered direct replication (N = 338) study, investigated the relationship between WM and outside-the-lab social interaction by using a listening span task and three social network questionnaires (e.g., how many people a participant had contacted in the past month). The consistent patterns in the two studies were (a) WM recall was positively correlated with social network size, (b) WM recall remained positively correlated with social network size even when accounting for online interactions on WhatsApp and Facebook, and (c) WM recall was positively correlated with social network size by face-to-face interaction. These novel findings would suggest connections between WM and face-to-face social interaction. It was, however, acknowledged that the obtained effect sizes were small, and that further investigation is indeed necessary. In light of this, we also clarify future directions for understanding the relationship between WM and social interaction.

Low neurocognitive performance and problematic contexts: interaction influences in predicting adolescent externalizing behaviors within a community sample

Research has identified neurocognitive and contextual risk factors of externalizing behaviors. However, fewer studies have examined the interaction among neurocognitive and other risk factors in predicting externalizing behaviors. The goal of the current study was to examine the relation between neurocognitive and contextual factors in predicting externalizing behaviors in a community sample of adolescents. Participants were 84 adolescents, aged 11-17 (M = 13.39, SD = 1.82), recruited as part of a larger study. Separate moderated multiple regression models were utilized in which neurocognitive variables (intellectual functioning, short-term memory/attention, disinhibition) were added as predictors and contextual variables (family dysfunction and parental depression, anxiety, and stress) were added as moderators in step 1, and their interaction was added in step 2. Externalizing behaviors served as criterion variables (hyperactivity/impulsivity and oppositional defiant disorder symptom severity, reactive and proactive aggression). Overall, results suggest that higher levels of problematic contextual factors exacerbate the significant negative associations among neurocognitive functioning and externalizing behaviors. Importantly, this pattern was shown across neurocognitive domains and contextual factors. Findings suggest that contextual factors should be targeted for the treatment or prevention of youth externalizing behaviors, particularly for adolescents with neurocognitive vulnerabilities.

Test-retest reliability, practice effects and estimates of change: A study on the Mindmore digital cognitive assessment tool

The present study aimed to establish test-retest reliability and investigate practice effects of the Mindmore cognitive assessment tool, a digital adaptation of traditional pencil and paper tests designed for self-administration. Additionally, normative change scores for the most frequently used tests were derived. A total of 149 healthy Swedish adults (aged 20-79) completed the test battery twice, 1 month apart. The battery assessed attention and processing speed, memory, language, visuospatial functions, and executive functions. Test-retest reliability, measured by ICC and Spearman coefficients, and practice effects were estimated for 22 main-scores and 33 sub-scores. Regression models were used to assess change in performance while controlling for demographics, computer equipment, testing location (online or in-laboratory) and baseline performance for 12 main-scores and nine sub-scores. Test-retest reliability was good for 11 main-scores (≥0.70), satisfactory for five (0.60-0.69), and minimal for six (<0.60) albeit three having satisfactory sub-scores. Practice effects were observed for tests with a major speed component, but not for reaction time, sustained attention, verbal memory and naming (alternate forms), nor visuospatial functions. Trackpad negatively influenced change for one test. Demographics and testing location did not significantly affect the change scores. Our study provides support for test-retest reliability and practice effects of the Mindmore cognitive assessment tool which were comparable to those of traditional tests. These findings, together with the normative change scores, can aid researchers and clinicians in interpreting test results and distinguishing between normal variations in performance and changes indicative of clinical impairment.

Impact of inflammation on cognitive function in patients with highly inflammatory rheumatoid arthritis

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate cognitive function in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and inflammatory activity.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We performed a cross-sectional study of a cohort of patients with RA initiating their first biological treatment due to moderate-to-high inflammation and a healthy control group (no inflammatory diseases) matched for age, sex and educational level. All participants underwent a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment, with cognitive impairment defined as a Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score<26. Additional assessments included various cognitive tests (STROOP, forward and backward digit spans), anxiety and depression scales (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), quality of life measures (Quality of Life-Rheumatoid Arthritis) and average inflammatory activity according to the 28-joint Disease Activity Score (DAS28)-C-reactive protein (CRP) into high activity (DAS28≥3.2) and low activity (DAS28<3.2) groups, also CRP levels and interleukin 6 (IL-6) levels were measured using an ELISA.

RESULTS

The study population comprised 140 participants, 70 patients with RA and 70 controls. Patients more frequently experienced cognitive impairment than controls (60% vs 40%; p=0.019) and had lower mean (SD) values in the MoCA (23.6 (3.9) vs 25.1 (3.4); p=0.019. As for subtests of the MoCA, involvement was more marked in patients than in controls for the visuospatial-executive (p=0.030), memory (p=0.026) and abstraction (p=0.039) domains. Additionally, patients scored lower on executive function, as assessed by the backward digit span test (4.0 (1.7) vs 4.7 (1.9); p=0.039). Cognitive impairment is associated with age and a lower educational level in the general population, and among patients with RA with educational level, obesity and average inflammatory activity (DAS28, CRP, and IL-6).

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with RA with high inflammatory activity are more susceptible to cognitive impairment, which specifically affects the domains of visuospatial, memory, abstraction and executive function.

The effects of age and gender and elite levels on perceptual-cognitive skills of adolescent badminton athletes

Introduction

This study aimed to examine perceptual-cognitive skills across age, gender and elite levels of badminton adolescent athletes.

Methods

A total of 57 badminton athletes divided into junior high school athletes (age = 13.36 ± 1.14 years, females = 22, males = 11) and senior high school athletes (age = 16.25 ± 0.84 years, females = 11, males = 13) were evaluated using a cognitive component skills approach. Elite levels were classified as semi-elite (n = 29, score = 3.23) and competitive elite (n = 28, score = 5.84) levels. Each group completed a cognitive test, including an evaluation of their capacity for Corsi block-tapping (CCT) and spatial priming tasks (SPT).

Results

No gender effects were found in the perceptual skills of the adolescent players, and the age effect was consistent across gender. For the elite levels, the perceptual-cognitive skills of SPT of reaction time was performed equally in the groups of semi-elite and competitive players, however, in the CCT Span of working-memory (WM), competitive-elite players outperformed semi-elite players.

Conclusion

We found that perceptual-cognitive skills of WM play crucial roles in the open-skill sports of badminton. Thus, when developing advanced skills to higher elite levels in adolescent players, perceptual-cognitive skills should be considered.

Further unpacking individual differences in mind wandering: The role of emotional valence and awareness

Previous work has established a link between executive attention ability and mind wandering propensity, these studies typically collapse thought reports into a single category of task-unrelated thoughts (TUTs). We have shown that these TUTs can be differentiated by the emotional valence of their content. Awareness of TUTs might also be an important to consider, yet little work has been done on this front. The current study conceptually replicated and extended previous work by investigating the relationship between individual differences in executive attention, emotional valence and awareness of TUTs. Latent variable models indicated that Executive Attention was differentially correlated with emotional valence TUTs. However, only Attention Control was related to frequency of mind wandering with awareness. Intra-individual analyses indicated that negatively valenced TUTs and TUTs that occurred without awareness were associated with worse performance. Considering different dimensions of TUTs can provide a more complete picture of individual differences in mind wandering.

What does the Developmental Neuropsychological Assessment-II (NEPSY-II) measure in children ages 7 to 12? A structural and psychometric analysis

The Developmental Neuropsychological Assessment - II (NEPSY-II) is a widely used assessment battery in pediatric settings, but its internal structure has not been adequately examined. This study employed a rational, empirical approach to examine the construct validity of 23 NEPSY-II subtest scores from children ages 7-12 (M = 9.99, SD = 2.76) in the NEPSY-II norming sample (N = 600; 50% girls). Competing higher-order models based on prior research, hypothesized NEPSY-II domains, and conceptual subtest classifications were evaluated via confirmatory factor analysis and a sequential approach to model comparisons. The results supported the multidimensionality of NEPSY-II subtests and the organization of subtests by hypothesized neuropsychological domains. The best fitting model included a general factor and four first-order factors. Factor loadings from the general factor to first-order factors were very strong. However, general factor loadings for most subtests were less than .50 (range = .21-.69, M = .44), and domain-specific effects for all subtests, independent of the general factor, were even lower (range = .00-.45, M = .44). Interestingly, all subtests demonstrated strong subtest-specific effects, but it is not clear what construct(s) the subtest-specific effects represent. Findings support NEPSY-II authors' emphasis on subtest-level interpretations rather than composite-level interpretations and highlight that NEPSY-II subtest scores should be interpreted carefully and with caution.

Individual differences in working memory impact the trajectory of non-native speech category learning

What is the role of working memory over the course of non-native speech category learning? Prior work has predominantly focused on how working memory might influence learning assessed at a single timepoint. Here, we substantially extend this prior work by examining the role of working memory on speech learning performance over time (i.e., over several months) and leverage a multifaceted approach that provides key insights into how working memory influences learning accuracy, maintenance of knowledge over time, generalization ability, and decision processes. We found that the role of working memory in non-native speech learning depends on the timepoint of learning and whether individuals learned the categories at all. Among learners, across all stages of learning, working memory was associated with higher accuracy as well as faster and slightly more cautious decision making. Further, while learners and non-learners did not have substantially different working memory performance, learners had faster evidence accumulation and more cautious decision thresholds throughout all sessions. Working memory may enhance learning by facilitating rapid category acquisition in initial stages and enabling faster and slightly more careful decision-making strategies that may reduce the overall effort needed to learn. Our results have important implications for developing interventions to improve learning in naturalistic language contexts.

The effects of irrelevant speech on physiological stress, cognitive performance, and subjective experience - Focus on heart rate variability

Irrelevant speech impairs cognitive performance, especially in tasks requiring verbal short-term memory. Working on these tasks during irrelevant speech can also cause a physiological stress reaction. The aim of this study was to examine heart rate variability (HRV) as a non-invasive and easy-to-use stress measure in an irrelevant speech paradigm. Thirty participants performed cognitive tasks (n-back and serial recall) during two sound conditions: irrelevant speech (50 dB) and quiet (33 dB steady-state noise). The influence of conditions as well as presentation orders of conditions were examined on performance, subjective experience, and physiological stress. Working during irrelevant speech compared to working during quiet reduced performance, namely accuracy, in the serial recall task. It was more annoying, heightened the perceived workload, and lowered acoustic satisfaction. It was related to higher physiological stress by causing faster heart rate and changes in HRV frequency-domain analysis (LF, HF and LF/HF). The order of conditions showed some additional effects. When speech was the first condition, 3-back performance was less accurate, and serial recall response times were longer, heart rate was faster, and successive heart beats had less variability (lower RMSSD) during speech than during quiet. When quiet was the first condition, heart rate was faster and reaction times in 3-back were slower during quiet than during speech. The negative effect of irrelevant speech was clear in experience, performance, and physiological stress. The study shows that HRV can be used as a physiological stress measure in irrelevant speech studies.

Mapping the Memory Structure of High-Knowledge Students: A Longitudinal Semantic Network Analysis

Standard learning assessments like multiple-choice questions measure what students know but not how their knowledge is organized. Recent advances in cognitive network science provide quantitative tools for modeling the structure of semantic memory, revealing key learning mechanisms. In two studies, we examined the semantic memory networks of undergraduate students enrolled in an introductory psychology course. In Study 1, we administered a cumulative multiple-choice test of psychology knowledge, the Intro Psych Test, at the end of the course. To estimate semantic memory networks, we administered two verbal fluency tasks: domain-specific fluency (naming psychology concepts) and domain-general fluency (naming animals). Based on their performance on the Intro Psych Test, we categorized students into a high-knowledge or low-knowledge group, and compared their semantic memory networks. Study 1 (N = 213) found that the high-knowledge group had semantic memory networks that were more clustered, with shorter distances between concepts-across both the domain-specific (psychology) and domain-general (animal) categories-compared to the low-knowledge group. In Study 2 (N = 145), we replicated and extended these findings in a longitudinal study, collecting data near the start and end of the semester. In addition to replicating Study 1, we found the semantic memory networks of high-knowledge students became more interconnected over time, across both domain-general and domain-specific categories. These findings suggest that successful learners show a distinct semantic memory organization-characterized by high connectivity and short path distances between concepts-highlighting the utility of cognitive network science for studying variation in student learning.

Working memory and inhibitory control deficits in children with ADHD: an experimental evaluation of competing model predictions

Introduction

Children with ADHD demonstrate difficulties on many different neuropsychological tests. However, it remains unclear whether this pattern reflects a large number of distinct deficits or a small number of deficit(s) that broadly impact test performance. The current study is among the first experiments to systematically manipulate demands on both working memory and inhibition, with implications for competing conceptual models of ADHD pathogenesis.

Method

A clinically evaluated, carefully phenotyped sample of 110 children with ADHD, anxiety disorders, or co-occurring ADHD+anxiety (Mage=10.35, 44 girls; 69% White Not Hispanic/Latino) completed a counterbalanced, double dissociation experiment, with two tasks each per inhibition (low vs. high) x working memory (low vs. high) condition.

Results

Bayesian and frequentist models converged in indicating that both manipulations successfully increased demands on their target executive function (BF10>5.33x108, p<.001). Importantly, occupying children's limited capacity working memory system produced slower response times and reduced accuracy on inhibition tasks (BF10>317.42, p<.001, d=0.67-1.53). It also appeared to differentially reduce inhibition (and non-inhibition) accuracy for children with ADHD relative to children with anxiety (BF10=2.03, p=.02, d=0.50). In contrast, there was strong evidence against models that view working memory deficits as secondary outcomes of underlying inhibition deficits in ADHD (BF01=18.52, p=.85).

Discussion

This pattern indicates that working memory broadly affects children's ability to inhibit prepotent tendencies and maintain fast/accurate performance, and may explain the errors that children with ADHD make on inhibition tests. These findings are broadly consistent with models describing working memory as a causal mechanism that gives rise to secondary impairments. In contrast, these findings provide evidence against models that view disinhibition as a cause of working memory difficulties or view working memory as a non-causal correlate or epiphenomenon in ADHD.

A critical review of hot executive functioning in youth attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: Methodological limitations, conceptual considerations, and future directions

Hot executive functioning (EF) - EF under emotionally or motivationally salient conditions - is a putative etiology of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), disruptive behavior problems (DBPs), and their related impairments. Despite two decades of research, the present study is the first review of the construct in youth ADHD, with a particular focus on the role of task design, age, and DBPs, as well as relevant conceptual and methodological considerations. While certain hot EF tasks have been investigated extensively (e.g., choice impulsivity), substantial inconsistency in measurement of the broader construct remains, severely limiting conclusions. Future research should a) consider the extent to which various hot EF tasks relate to one another, a higher order factor, and other related constructs; b) further investigate task design, particularly the elicitation of emotion or motivation and its anticipated effect on EF; and c) incorporate multiple levels of analysis to validate similarities and differences among tasks with regard to the affective experiences and cognitive demands they elicit. With improved measurement and conceptual clarity, hot EF has potential to advance the literature on etiological pathways to ADHD, DBPs and associated impairments and, more broadly, may represent a useful tool for understanding the influence of emotion and motivation on cognition.

An examination of individual differences in levels of processing

The present study examined individual differences in levels of processing. Participants completed a cued recall task in which they made either rhyme or semantic judgements on pairs of items. Pupillary responses during encoding were recorded as a measure of the allocation of attentional effort and participants completed multiple measures of working and long-term memory. The results suggested levels of processing effect in both accuracy and pupillary responses with deeper levels of processing demonstrating higher accuracy and larger pupillary responses than shallower levels of processing. Most participants demonstrated levels of processing effect, but there was substantial variability in the size of the effect. Variation in levels of processing was positively related to individual differences in long-term memory and the magnitude of the pupillary levels of processing effect, but not working memory. These results suggest that some of the variation in levels of processing is likely due to individual differences in the allocation of attentional effort (particularly to items processed deeply) during encoding.

Does Anxiety Systematically Bias Estimates of Executive Functioning Deficits in Pediatric Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder?

Growing evidence suggests that childhood ADHD is associated with larger impairments in working memory relative to inhibition. However, most studies have not considered the role of co-occurring anxiety on these estimates - a potentially significant confound given prior evidence that anxiety may increase working memory difficulties but decrease inhibition difficulties for these children. The current study extends prior work to examine the extent to which co-occurring anxiety may be systematically affecting recent estimates of the magnitude of working memory/inhibitory control deficits in ADHD. The carefully-phenotyped sample included 197 children with ADHD and 142 children without ADHD between the ages of 8 and 13 years (N = 339; Mage = 10.31, SD = 1.39; 144 female participants). Results demonstrated that ADHD diagnosis predicted small impairments in inhibitory control (d = 0.31) and large impairments in working memory (d = 0.99). However, child trait anxiety assessed dimensionally across multiple informants (child, parent, teacher) did not uniquely predict either executive function, nor did it moderate estimates of ADHD-related working memory/inhibition deficits. When evaluating anxiety categorically and controlling for ADHD, anxiety diagnosis predicted slightly better working memory (d = 0.19) but not inhibitory control for clinically evaluated children generally. Findings from the current study indicate that trait anxiety, measured dimensionally or categorically, does not differentially affect estimates of executive dysfunction in pediatric ADHD. Further, results suggest that trait anxiety is generally not associated with executive dysfunction above and beyond the impact of co-occurring ADHD. Future research is needed to further assess the role of anxiety in ADHD behavioral symptomatology, neurocognitive functioning, and mechanisms underlying these relations.

A seasonal comparison of a 14-day swing on cognitive function and psycho-physiological responses in mine service workers

This study assessed the effect of season on cognitive function and psycho-physiological responses during a 14-day swing in mine-service workers. Cognitive function, thermal sensation and comfort, rating of perceived exertion, fatigue, hydration, core temperature and heart rate were assessed throughout a shift, on three separate days over a swing. Working memory and processing efficiency did not differ between seasons (p > 0.05), however counting and recall latencies improved throughout the swing (p < 0.05). Participants reported greater fatigue post-shift compared to pre-shift (p < 0.05). Thermal sensation, thermal comfort, and hydration were significantly elevated in summer compared to winter (p < 0.05). Specifically, workers were significantly/minimally dehydrated in summer/winter (urinary specific gravity = 1.025 ± 0.007/1.018 ± 0.007). Although cognitive function and thermal strain were not impaired in summer compared to winter, it is essential to reinforce worker's knowledge regarding hydration requirements. Additional education and/or incorporating scheduled rest breaks for hydration should be considered to ensure the health and safety of mine workers.

ENIGMA: A Web Application for Running Online Artificial Grammar Learning Experiments

Artificial grammar learning (AGL) is an experimental paradigm frequently adopted to investigate the unconscious and conscious learning and application of linguistic knowledge. This paper will introduce ENIGMA ( https://enigma-lang.org ) as a free, flexible, and lightweight Web-based tool for running online AGL experiments. The application is optimized for desktop and mobile devices with a user-friendly interface, which can present visual and aural stimuli and elicit judgment responses with RT measures. Without limits in time and space, ENIGMA could help collect more data from participants with diverse personal and language backgrounds and variable cognitive skills. Such data are essential to explain complex factors influencing learners' performance in AGL experiments and answer various research questions regarding L1/L2 acquisition. The introduction of the core features in ENIGMA is followed by an example study that partially replicated Chen (Lang Acquis 27(3):331-361, 2020) to illustrate possible experimental designs and examine the quality of the collected data.

Cognitive-motor interference during walking with modified leg mechanics: a dual-task walking study

Background

The use of mobile exoskeletons as assistive walking devices has the potential to affect the biomechanics of the musculoskeletal system due to their weight and restricted range of motion. This may result in physical and cognitive load for the user. Understanding how lower extremity loading affects cognitive-motor interference is crucial for the design of wearable devices, including powered exoskeletons, and the development of effective training interventions.

Objective

This study aims to examine the effects of modified leg mechanics on cognitive-motor interference in dual-task walking. Gait variability, as an indicator of motor control, was analyzed to investigate its relation to cognitive task difficulty and to determine whether lower extremity loading modifies this relationship. Additionally, the impact on the gait pattern, as represented by the mean values of spatio-temporal gait parameters were investigated.

Method

Fifteen healthy young adults walked on a treadmill with and without weight cuffs bilaterally attached to their thighs and shanks while performing a visual-verbal Stroop test (simple task) and a serial subtraction task (difficult task). Dependent variables include mean values and variability (coefficients of variation) of step length, step width, stride time and double support time. Additionally, secondary task performance as correct response rates and perceived workload were assessed.

Results

Double support time variability decreased during dual-task walking, but not during walking with modified leg mechanics while performing the difficult secondary task. Walking with modified leg mechanics resulted in increased gait variability compared to normal walking, regardless of cognitive load. During walking with modified leg mechanics, step length, step width, and stride time increased, while double support time decreased. The secondary tasks did not affect the gait pattern.

Conclusion

The interplay between an external focus of attention and competition for attentional resources may influence the variability of double support time. The findings suggest that walking with modified leg mechanics could increase cognitive-motor interference for healthy young adults in demanding dual-task situations. Therefore, it is important to analyze the underlying mechanisms of cognitive-motor interference in the context of human-exoskeleton interaction.

Evidence for a competitive relationship between executive functions and statistical learning

The ability of the brain to extract patterns from the environment and predict future events, known as statistical learning, has been proposed to interact in a competitive manner with prefrontal lobe-related networks and their characteristic cognitive or executive functions. However, it remains unclear whether these cognitive functions also possess a competitive relationship with implicit statistical learning across individuals and at the level of latent executive function components. In order to address this currently unknown aspect, we investigated, in two independent experiments (NStudy1 = 186, NStudy2 = 157), the relationship between implicit statistical learning, measured by the Alternating Serial Reaction Time task, and executive functions, measured by multiple neuropsychological tests. In both studies, a modest, but consistent negative correlation between implicit statistical learning and most executive function measures was observed. Factor analysis further revealed that a factor representing verbal fluency and complex working memory seemed to drive these negative correlations. Thus, the antagonistic relationship between implicit statistical learning and executive functions might specifically be mediated by the updating component of executive functions or/and long-term memory access.

Working and short-term memory in children with ADHD: an examination of prefrontal cortical functioning using functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS)

Working memory impairments are an oft-reported deficit among children with ADHD, and complementary neuroimaging studies implicate reductions in prefrontal cortex (PFC) structure and function as a neurobiological explanation. Most imaging studies, however, rely on costly, movement-intolerant, and/or invasive methods to examine cortical differences. This is the first study to use a newer neuroimaging tool that overcomes these limitations, functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS), to investigate hypothesized prefrontal differences. Children (aged 8-12) with ADHD (N = 22) and typically developing (N = 18) children completed phonological working memory (PHWM) and short-term memory (PHSTM) tasks. Children with ADHD evinced poorer performance on both tasks, with greater differences observed in PHWM (Hedges' g = 0.67) relative to PHSTM (g = 0.39). fNIRS revealed reduced hemodynamic response among children with ADHD in the dorsolateral PFC while completing the PHWM task, but not within the anterior or posterior PFC. No between-group fNIRS differences were observed during the PHSTM task. Findings suggest that children with ADHD exhibit an inadequate hemodynamic response in a region of the brain that underlies PHWM abilities. The study also highlights the use of fNIRS as a cost-effective, noninvasive neuroimaging technique to localize/quantify neural activation patterns associated with executive functions.

Working memory training improves episodic memory in older people: transfer based on controlled retrieval processes

Introduction

The results of working memory (WM) training to improve episodic memory in older people are inconsistent. This inconsistency could be due to the fact that the episodic memory tests used do not share the same cognitive resources as the trained WM task. The aim of this study was to assess whether performance on an episodic memory test will improve only when this test requires controlled processes of retrieval of information from secondary memory or recollection, similar to the processes exercised during WM training.

Method

Fifty-five people over 60 years of age participated in the study: 27 were randomly assigned to the experimental group (EG) and the rest to the control group (CG). The EG was trained in complex span tasks. Before and after training, both groups were tested on episodic memory tests (a verbal and a visuospatial recognition test) and WM span tasks (reading, digit and spatial location).

Results

ANOVAs revealed a greater improvement of recollection estimates in the EG than in the CG for both verbal recognition (p = 0.023) and visuospatial recognition (p = 0.014).

Discussion

Our results provide support for a cognitive mechanism whose shared presence favored transfer from training on a WM task to a test of episodic memory. Consistent with our predictions, training on complex span tasks improved performance on recognition tests only when recall required a controlled search process in secondary memory, or recollection. We therefore stress the importance of identifying other cognitive resources that are susceptible to transfer from a training task to other untrained tasks. A better understanding of the phenomenon of transfer is crucial for the design of increasingly effective intervention programs for older people.

The visual familiarity effect on attentional working memory maintenance

Attentional refreshing has been described as an attention-based, domain-general maintenance mechanism in working memory. It is thought to operate via focusing executive attention on information held in working memory, protecting it from temporal decay and interference. Although attentional refreshing has attracted a lot of research, its functioning is still debated. At least one conception of refreshing supposes that it relies on semantic long-term memory representations to reconstruct working memory traces. Although investigations in the verbal domain found evidence against this hypothesis, a different pattern could emerge in visuospatial working memory in which absence of refreshing evidence has been observed for stimuli with minimal associated long-term knowledge. In a series of four experiments, the current study investigated the hypothesis of an involvement of semantic long-term representations in the functioning of attentional refreshing in the visuospatial domain. Both cognitive and memory load effects have been proposed as indexes of attentional refreshing. Therefore, we investigated the interaction between the effects of visual familiarity (a long-term memory effect) and cognitive load on recall performance (Experiments 1A and 1B), as well as the interaction between the effects of visual familiarity and memory load on the response times in a concurrent processing task (Experiments 2A and 2B). Results were consistent across experiments and go against the hypothesis of the involvement of semantic long-term memory in the functioning of attentional refreshing in visuospatial working memory. As such, this study corroborates the results found in the verbal domain. Implications for attentional refreshing and working memory are discussed.

The Effect of Background Noise, Bilingualism, Socioeconomic Status, and Cognitive Functioning on Primary School Children's Narrative Listening Comprehension

PURPOSE

This study focuses on 7- to 9-year-old children attending primary school in Swedish areas of low socioeconomic status, where most children's school language is their second language. The aim was to better understand what factors influence these children's narrative listening comprehension both in an ideal listening condition (in quiet) and for the primary school classroom, a typical listening condition (with multitalker babble noise).

METHOD

A total of 86 typically developing 7- to 9-year-olds performed a narrative listening comprehension test (Lyssna, Förstå och Minnas [LFM]; English translation: Listen, Comprehend, and Remember) in two listening conditions: quiet and multitalker babble noise. They also performed the crosslinguistic nonword repetition test and a digit span backwards (DSB) test. A predictive statistical model including these factors, the children's degree of school language exposure, parental education level, and age was derived.

RESULTS

Listening condition had the strongest predictive value for LFM performance, followed by school language exposure and nonword repetition accuracy. Parental education level was also a significant predictor. There was a significant three-way interaction effect between listening condition, age, and DSB performance.

CONCLUSIONS

Multitalker babble noise has a negative effect on children's narrative listening comprehension. The effect of multitalker babble noise could be explained by age differences in the ability to allocate working memory capacity during the narrative listening comprehension task, suggesting that younger children may be more vulnerable for missing information when listening in background noise than their older peers.

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL

https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.25209248.

The "Starting-Small" Effect in Phonology: Evidence From Biased Learning of Opaque and Transparent Vowel Harmony

The starting-small effect is a cognitive advantage in language acquisition when learners begin by generalizing on regularities from structurally simple and shorter tokens in a skewed input distribution. Our study explored this effect as a potential explanation for the biased learning of opaque and transparent vowel harmony. In opaque vowel harmony, feature agreement occurs strictly between adjacent vowels, and an intervening "neutral vowel" blocks long-distance vowel harmony. Thus, opaque vowel harmony could be acquired even if learners start with structurally simpler and more frequent disyllabic tokens. Alternatively, transparent vowel harmony can only be observed in longer tokens demonstrating long-distance agreement by skipping a neutral vowel. Opaque vowel harmony is predicted to be learned more efficiently due to its compatibility with local dependency acquired via starting-small learning. In two artificial grammar learning experiments, learners were exposed to both vowel harmony patterns embedded in an equal number of disyllabic and trisyllabic tokens or a skewed distribution with twice as many disyllabic tokens. In Exp I, learners' test performance suggests the consistently biased learning of local and opaque vowel harmony with starting-small learning. Furthermore, in Exp II, the acquired vowel harmony patterns varied significantly by working memory capacity with a balanced but not skewed input distribution, presumably because of the ease of cognitive demand with starting-small learning.

An item response theory approach to the measurement of working memory capacity

Complex span tasks are perhaps the most widely used paradigm to measure working memory capacity (WMC). Researchers assume that all types of complex span tasks assess domain-general WM. However, most research supporting this claim comes from factor analysis approaches that do not examine task performance at the item level, thus not allowing comparison of the characteristics of verbal and spatial complex span tasks. Item response theory (IRT) can help determine the extent to which different complex span tasks assess domain-general WM. In the current study, spatial and verbal complex span tasks were examined using IRT. The results revealed differences between verbal and spatial tasks in terms of item difficulty and block difficulty, and showed that most subjects with below-average ability were able to answer most items correctly across all tasks. In line with previous research, the findings suggest that examining domain-general WM by using only one task might elicit skewed scores based on task domain. Further, visuospatial complex span tasks should be prioritized as a measure of WMC if resources are limited.

Identifying Links Between Latent Memory and Speech Recognition Factors

OBJECTIVES

The link between memory ability and speech recognition accuracy is often examined by correlating summary measures of performance across various tasks, but interpretation of such correlations critically depends on assumptions about how these measures map onto underlying factors of interest. The present work presents an alternative approach, wherein latent factor models are fit to trial-level data from multiple tasks to directly test hypotheses about the underlying structure of memory and the extent to which latent memory factors are associated with individual differences in speech recognition accuracy. Latent factor models with different numbers of factors were fit to the data and compared to one another to select the structures which best explained vocoded sentence recognition in a two-talker masker across a range of target-to-masker ratios, performance on three memory tasks, and the link between sentence recognition and memory.

DESIGN

Young adults with normal hearing (N = 52 for the memory tasks, of which 21 participants also completed the sentence recognition task) completed three memory tasks and one sentence recognition task: reading span, auditory digit span, visual free recall of words, and recognition of 16-channel vocoded Perceptually Robust English Sentence Test Open-set sentences in the presence of a two-talker masker at target-to-masker ratios between +10 and 0 dB. Correlations between summary measures of memory task performance and sentence recognition accuracy were calculated for comparison to prior work, and latent factor models were fit to trial-level data and compared against one another to identify the number of latent factors which best explains the data. Models with one or two latent factors were fit to the sentence recognition data and models with one, two, or three latent factors were fit to the memory task data. Based on findings with these models, full models that linked one speech factor to one, two, or three memory factors were fit to the full data set. Models were compared via Expected Log pointwise Predictive Density and post hoc inspection of model parameters.

RESULTS

Summary measures were positively correlated across memory tasks and sentence recognition. Latent factor models revealed that sentence recognition accuracy was best explained by a single factor that varied across participants. Memory task performance was best explained by two latent factors, of which one was generally associated with performance on all three tasks and the other was specific to digit span recall accuracy at lists of six digits or more. When these models were combined, the general memory factor was closely related to the sentence recognition factor, whereas the factor specific to digit span had no apparent association with sentence recognition.

CONCLUSIONS

Comparison of latent factor models enables testing hypotheses about the underlying structure linking cognition and speech recognition. This approach showed that multiple memory tasks assess a common latent factor that is related to individual differences in sentence recognition, although performance on some tasks was associated with multiple factors. Thus, while these tasks provide some convergent assessment of common latent factors, caution is needed when interpreting what they tell us about speech recognition.

Replication and extension of the toolbox approach to measuring attention control

There is an increasing consensus among researchers that traditional attention tasks do not validly index the attentional mechanisms that they are often used to assess. We recently tested and validated several existing, modified, and new tasks and found that accuracy-based and adaptive tasks were more reliable and valid measures of attention control than traditional ones, which typically rely on speeded responding and/or contrast comparisons in the form of difference scores (Draheim et al. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 150(2), 242-275, 2021). With these improved measures, we found that attention control fully mediated the working memory capacity-fluid intelligence relationship, a novel finding that we argued has significant theoretical implications. The present study was both a follow-up and extension to this "toolbox approach" to measuring attention control. Here, we tested updated versions of several attention control tasks in a new dataset (N = 301) and found, with one exception, that these tasks remain strong indicators of attention control. The present study also replicated two important findings: (1) that attention control accounted for nearly all the variance in the relationship between working memory capacity and fluid intelligence, and (2) that the strong association found between attention control and other cognitive measures is not because the attention control tasks place strong demands on processing speed. These findings show that attention control can be measured as a reliable and valid individual differences construct, and that attention control shares substantial variance with other executive functions.

Designing and evaluating tasks to measure individual differences in experimental psychology: a tutorial

Experimental psychology is witnessing an increase in research on individual differences, which requires the development of new tasks that can reliably assess variations among participants. To do this, cognitive researchers need statistical methods that many researchers have not learned during their training. The lack of expertise can pose challenges not only in designing good, new tasks but also in evaluating tasks developed by others. To bridge the gap, this article provides an overview of test psychology applied to performance tasks, covering fundamental concepts such as standardization, reliability, norming and validity. It provides practical guidelines for developing and evaluating experimental tasks, as well as for combining tasks to better understand individual differences. To further address common misconceptions, the article lists 11 prevailing myths. The purpose of this guide is to provide experimental psychologists with the knowledge and tools needed to conduct rigorous and insightful studies of individual differences.

Persisting inhibition biases efficient rule inference under uncertainty

Introduction

Task set inhibition supports optimal switching among tasks by actively suppressing the interference from recently executed competing task sets. It is typically studied in cued task-switching paradigms where there is no uncertainty about the task set or rule to prepare for on each trial. While inhibition has been shown to influence the speed and the accuracy of task execution, affecting task set retrieval, preparation, or implementation in conditions of task set switching, it remains uninvestigated whether it also affects rule selection under uncertainty.

Methods

We implemented an ad-hoc four-rule card sorting task and categorized the rules selected by participants after a rule shift according to the recency of their last usage. We included a measure of working memory capacity (WMC) to control for its involvement in the rule selection process.

Results

Participants exhibited a reduced preference for recently abandoned rules than less recently abandoned ones. Furthermore, we found that such a preference was not associated with WMC.

Discussion

The results suggest that decision-making processes underlying rule inference and selection may be influenced by task-set inhibition, configuring as a conflict adjustment mechanism to the sequential history of rules application.

Naturalistic assessments in virtual reality and in real life help resolve the age-prospective memory paradox

 Cognitive aging researchers have long reported "paradoxical" age differences in prospective memory (PM), with age deficits in laboratory settings and age benefits (or no deficits) in real-world settings. We propose a theoretical account that explains this "age-PM-paradox" as a consequence of both methodological factors and developmental changes in cognitive abilities and personality traits. To test this account, young  and older  adults   performed a series of naturalistic PM tasks in the lab and real world. Age-related PM deficits were observed in both lab-based tasks where demands were implemented using virtual reality and in-person role-playing. In contrast, older adults performed equal to or better than young adults on both real-world tasks, where demands were implemented in participants' daily lives. Consistent with our proposed account, an index of these "paradoxical" effects was partially predicted by age-related differences in working memory, vigilance, agreeableness, and neuroticism, whose predictive utility varied across task settings.

Exploring the Association Between Physical Activity and Cognitive Function Among People Living with Dementia

Background

Physical activity preserves cognitive function in people without dementia, but the relationship between physical activity and cognitive domains among people living with dementia is unclear.

Objective

The objective of this study was to explore the association between physical activity and cognition domains among people living with dementia.

Methods

Participants living with dementia in residential care facilities (complete case analysis: n = 24/42) completed a battery of cognitive tests (global cognition: Montreal Cognitive Assessment; executive function: Trail-Making Test, Digit Span Forward Test; perception and orientation: Benton Judgement of Line Orientation Test; language: Boston Naming Test; learning and memory: Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test; complex attention: Digit Symbol Substitution Test). Participants wore an actigraphy monitor on their non-dominant wrist over seven days. We conducted a linear regression for total physical activity (independent variable) with race (white/black), fall risk (Morse Fall Scale), and the number of comorbidities (Functional Comorbidities Index) as covariates, and cognitive tests as variables of interest.

Results

Participants were primarily male (75%), white (87.5%), and 50%had unspecified dementia (Alzheimer's disease: 33%). Greater physical activity was associated with poorer global cognition, better executive function, and better learning and memory (ps <  0.05). Physical activity was not related to visuospatial perception, language, or complex attention.

Conclusions

Physical activity may preserve executive function and learning and memory among people living with dementia. Wandering is more common in later stages of dementia, which may explain greater physical activity observed with lower global cognition. Regularly assessing physical activity may be useful in screening and monitoring cognitive changes.

Exploring Working Memory Capacity and Efficiency Processes to Understand Working Memory Training Outcomes in Primary School Children

Despite the abundance of research evaluating working memory training outcomes in children, few studies have examined the underlying cognitive mechanisms. This study aimed to contribute understanding by exploring whether working memory capacity (maximum span) and/or efficiency (basic and cognitive processing speeds), two proposed cognitive mechanisms, are associated with children's working memory performance immediately and 6-months post-intervention. We used data from a previous trial in primary school children (7-11 years) who completed working memory training (n = 52) or an active control (n = 36), comprising 10 sessions (each 20-minutes) in class over two weeks. Children completed five working memory measures at baseline, immediately and 6-months post-intervention: two Backwards Span and two Following Instructions measures (same paradigms as training activities), and one n-back measure (different paradigm). Maximum span, basic and cognitive processing speeds, and performance were calculated for each measure. Associations between change in maximum span, processing speeds and change in performance on the working memory measures from baseline to immediately and 6-months post-intervention did not differ between groups (all p < .05). Maximum span, processing speeds and performance on working memory measures did not differ between groups. Findings provide little evidence that the studied capacity or efficiency processes contribute to understanding working memory training outcomes in primary school children. Furthermore, working memory training did not have benefits for children's working capacity, efficiency or performance up to 6-months post-intervention. It is of interest for future studies to explore cognitive mechanisms, including strategy use, maximum span and information processing, in datasets where training effects are observed.

Inattention symptom severity and cognitive processes in children at risk of ADHD: the moderating role of separation anxiety

Impairments in cognitive processes and their associations with dimensional measures of inattention, hyperactivity-impulsivity and anxiety were examined in children at risk of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Children referred by teachers for exhibiting ADHD-type problems (n = 116; 43 meeting full diagnostic criteria for ADHD; 4-8 years) completed computerized tasks measuring episodic memory, response inhibition, visuomotor control and sustained attention, while parents were interviewed (DAWBA) to assess ADHD and anxiety symptoms. Of the 116 children assessed, 72% exhibited impaired cognitive processes; 47% had impaired visuomotor control, 37% impaired response inhibition, and 35% had impaired episodic memory. Correlational and hierarchical regression analyses using our final analytic sample (i.e., children who completed all cognitive tasks and a vocabulary assessment, n = 114) showed that poorer task performance and greater within-subject variability were significantly associated with more severe inattention symptoms but not with hyperactivity-impulsivity severity. Symptoms of separation anxiety, which were reported in over half of the sample, moderated associations between inattention and episodic memory, and between inattention and inhibition. Only children without separation anxiety showed significant correlations between ADHD symptoms and poor performance. However, separation anxiety had no moderating effect on associations between inattention and visuomotor control or sustaining attention. Children exhibiting signs of ADHD show impairments across a range of cognitive tasks. Further research to improve our understanding of these processes may be useful in the development of early interventions. Our results suggest that separation anxiety should be taken into account when considering interventions to address emerging neuropsychological deficits associated with this disorder.

[Formula: see text] Neurocognition in children with cognitive disengagement syndrome: accurate but slow

Cognitive disengagement syndrome (CDS), previously termed sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT), is characterized by excessive daydreaming, mental confusion, and slowed behavior or thinking. Prior research has found inconsistent relations between CDS and neurocognition, though most studies have used small or ADHD-defined samples, non-optimal measures of CDS, and/or examined limited neurocognitive domains. Accordingly, this study examined the association of parent- and teacher-reported CDS symptoms using a comprehensive neurocognitive battery in a sample of 263 children (aged 8-12) selected with a range of CDS symptomatology. Parents and teachers provided ratings of CDS and ADHD inattentive (ADHD-IN) symptoms. Path analyses were conducted to examine CDS and ADHD-IN as unique predictors of neurocognitive functioning after covarying for age, sex, and family income. CDS symptoms were uniquely associated with slower performance across a range of cognitive domains, including verbal inhibition, rapid naming/reading, planning, divided attention, and set shifting. In contrast, ADHD-IN symptoms were uniquely associated with poorer performance on a Go/NoGo task (inhibition/distractibility), visual scanning and discrimination, and interference control. Findings from the current study, amongst the first to recruit children based on levels of CDS symptomatology, provide the strongest evidence to date that the neurocognitive phenotype of CDS is characterized by slowed cognitive processing, and add to its validity as a separate syndrome from ADHD. If replicated, these findings have implications for assessment, treatment, and school accommodations for CDS. Neuroimaging studies exploring the neurobiological basis of CDS are also needed.