Value-directed retrieval: The effects of divided attention at encoding and retrieval on memory selectivity and retrieval dynamics

Value-directed remembering refers to the tendency to best remember important information at the expense of less valuable information, and this ability may draw on strategic attentional processes. In six experiments, we investigated the role of attention in value-directed remembering by examining memory for important information under conditions of divided attention during encoding and retrieval. We presented participants with lists of words of varying objective or subjective value and compared participants completing the study phase under full or divided attention, in addition to participants completing the testing phase under full or divided attention. Results revealed that certain forms of selectivity were impaired when attention was divided during encoding but not when attention was divided during retrieval. Participants initiated recall (i.e., probability of first recall [PFR]) with high-value words as well as with words they subjectively deemed important; these value-mediated PFR retrieval dynamics resisted influence from reduced attentional resources during encoding and retrieval. Thus, while value-directed remembering involves both strategic encoding and retrieval operations, attentional resources during encoding appear crucial for subsequent recollection of valuable and important information; however, attentional resources during retrieval may be less influential in strategic selective memory. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Take a load off: examining partial and complete cognitive offloading of medication information

Although cognitive offloading, or the use of physical action to reduce internal cognitive demands, is a commonly used strategy in everyday life, relatively little is known about the conditions that encourage offloading and the memorial consequences of different offloading strategies for performance. Much of the extant work in this domain has focused on laboratory-based tasks consisting of word lists, letter strings, or numerical stimuli and thus makes little contact with real-world scenarios under which engaging in cognitive offloading might be likely. Accordingly, the current work examines offloading choice behavior and potential benefits afforded by offloading health-related information. Experiment 1 tests for internal memory performance for different pieces of missing medication interaction information. Experiment 2 tests internal memory and offloading under full offloading and partial offloading instructions for interaction outcomes that are relatively low severity (e.g., sweating). Experiment 3 extends Experiment 2 by testing offloading behavior and benefit in low-severity, medium-severity (e.g., backache), and high-severity interaction outcomes (e.g., heart attack). Here, we aimed to elucidate the potential benefits afforded by partial offloading and to examine whether there appears to be a preference for choosing to offload (i) difficult-to-remember information across outcomes that vary in severity, as well as (ii) information from more severe interaction outcomes. Results suggest that partial offloading benefits performance compared to relying on internal memory alone, but full offloading is more beneficial to performance than partial offloading.

Value-directed memory selectivity relies on goal-directed knowledge of value structure prior to encoding in young and older adults

People are generally able to selectively attend and remember high-value over low-value information. Here, we investigated whether young and older adults would display typical value-based memory selectivity effects for to-be-learned item-value associations when goal-directed information about the meaning of associated values was presented before and after encoding. In two experiments, both young and older adults were presented with one (Experiment 1) or multiple (Experiment 2) lists of words that were arbitrarily paired with different numerical values (e.g., "door-8") or font colors (e.g., "door" presented in red), which indicated each word's value. In Experiment 1, participants were told that the numerical value indicated the relative importance of each item either before they studied the list (preencoding), after they studied it (postencoding), or not at all (no value control instructions). Older adults were significantly more selective in the preencoding condition relative to the other conditions, whereas younger adults were not selective in any condition on this single-list (numerical) value task of Experiment 1. In Experiment 2, young and older adults were tested on four additional lists of both pre- and postencoding trials each after studying and recalling four lists of words without any value instructions. Results from Experiment 2 revealed that both young and older adults selectively prioritized high-value words on the preencoding trials, but not on postencoding trials, on this color-based categorical (low-medium-high) value task. The present study highlights a critical role of goal-directed knowledge of value-based instructions prior to encoding to facilitate typically observed value-directed memory selectivity for important information. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

An own-race bias in the categorisation and recall of associative information

ABSTRACTPeople tend to better remember same-race faces relative to other-race faces (an "own-race" bias). We examined whether the own-race bias extends to associative memory, particularly in the identification and recall of information paired with faces. In Experiment 1, we presented white participants with own- and other-race faces which either appeared alone or accompanied by a label indicating whether the face was a "criminal" or a "victim". Results revealed an own-race facial recognition advantage regardless of the presence of associative information. In Experiment 2, we again paired same- and other-race faces with either "criminal" or "victim" labels, but rather than a recognition test, participants were asked to identify whether each face had been presented as a criminal or a victim. White criminals were better categorised than Black criminals, but race did not influence the categorisation of victims. In Experiment 3, white participants were presented with same- and other-race faces and asked to remember where the person was from, their occupation, and a crime they committed. Results revealed a recall advantage for the associative information paired with same-race faces. Collectively, these findings suggest that the own-race bias extends to the categorisation and recall of information in associative memory.

Selective memory disrupted in intra-modal dual-task encoding conditions

Given natural memory limitations, people can generally attend to and remember high-value over low-value information even when cognitive resources are depleted in older age and under divided attention during encoding, representing an important form of cognitive control. In the current study, we examined whether tasks requiring overlapping processing resources may impair the ability to selectively encode information in dual-task conditions. Participants in the divided-attention conditions of Experiment 1 completed auditory tone-distractor tasks that required them to discriminate between tones of different pitches (audio-nonspatial) or auditory channels (audio-spatial), while studying items in different locations in a grid (visual-spatial) differing in reward value. Results indicated that, while reducing overall memory accuracy, neither cross-modal auditory distractor task influenced participants' ability to selectively encode high-value items relative to a full attention condition, suggesting maintained cognitive control. Participants in Experiment 2 studied the same important visual-spatial information while completing demanding color (visual-nonspatial) or pattern (visual-spatial) discrimination tasks during study. While the cross-modal visual-nonspatial task did not influence memory selectivity, the intra-modal visual-spatial secondary task eliminated participants' sensitivity to item value. These results add novel evidence of conditions of impaired cognitive control, suggesting that the effectiveness of top-down, selective encoding processes is attenuated when concurrent tasks rely on overlapping processing resources.

Is the Future Bright or Bleak? Assessing Past and Future Outlooks Across the Adult Lifespan

An individual's outlook on society can change over time and can be related to both their physical and mental health. Here, we developed an instrument to measure outlooks on the past and future in relation to the present in 413 adults ranging in age from 18 to 80 years. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted on independent samples and test-retest reliability was assessed in a subset of participants. Construct validity of the two past and future scales was assessed by relating them to 1) pre-existing scales measuring related constructs, and 2) beliefs and safety behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. The final Bright or Bleak Scale (BOBS) consists of a past and future scale, each with two factors measuring societal and personal outlooks. Brighter future societal and personal outlooks were positively associated with longer future time perspectives, while self-reporting a higher likelihood of already having contracted COVID-19 was related to bleaker past societal and personal outlooks.

Younger and Older Adults' Mood and Expectations Regarding Aging During COVID-19

The 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has broadly impacted our daily lives. Here, we used a longitudinal approach to investigate older adults' mood and expectations regarding aging before and during the global pandemic (Study 1). We also examined age differences in mood, expectations regarding aging, COVID-19 attitudes, and loneliness using a cross-sectional approach (Study 2). In Study 1, older adults completed a mood and expectations regarding aging survey up to 2 years prior to the pandemic and again in April, 2020 (during the pandemic). Participants also completed surveys regarding COVID-19 attitudes and loneliness. In Study 2, a United States sample of younger and older adults completed these surveys during the pandemic. Older adults' mood and expectations regarding aging remained fairly constant, and younger adults showed lower mood and expectations regarding aging than did older adults, despite older adults showing greater concern about COVID-19. Overall, we find that some older adults seem to be resilient with respect to their mood and expectations regarding aging. These findings reveal important preliminary implications for how older adults may be impacted as a result of lifestyle changes necessary for well-being and the well-being of society.

The Evolution of Color Pattern in Butterflyfishes (Chaetodontidae)

Coral reef fishes constitute one of the most diverse assemblages of vertebrates on the planet. Color patterns are known to serve a number of functions including intra- and inter-specific signaling, camouflage, mimicry, and defense. However, the relative importance of these and other factors in shaping color pattern evolution is poorly understood. Here we conduct a comparative phylogenetic analysis of color pattern evolution in the butterflyfishes (Chaetodontidae). Using recently developed tools for quantifying color pattern geometry as well as machine learning approaches, we investigate the tempo of evolution of color pattern elements and test whether ecological variables relating to defense, depth, and social behavior predict color pattern evolution. Butterflyfishes exhibit high diversity in measures of chromatic conspicuousness and the degrees of fine versus gross scale color patterning. Surprisingly, most diversity in color pattern was not predicted by any of the measures of ecology in our study, although we did find a significant but weak relationship between the level of fine scale patterning and some aspects of defensive morphology. We find that the tempo of color pattern diversification in butterflyfishes has increased toward the present and suggest that rapid evolution, presumably in response to evolutionary pressures surrounding speciation and lineage divergence, has effectively decoupled color pattern geometry from some aspects of ecology. Machine learning classification of color pattern appears to rely on a set of features that are weakly correlated with current color pattern geometry descriptors, but that may be better suited for the detection of discrete components of color pattern. A key challenge for future studies lies in determining whether rapid evolution has generally decoupled color patterns from ecology, or whether convergence in function produces convergence in color pattern at phylogenetic scales.

A longitudinal study of neurobiological mechanisms in boys with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: preliminary findings

BACKGROUND

The stability and developmental variation of several neurobiological measures in boys with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were examined.

METHODS

The prolactin (PRL) response to fenfluramine (FEN) challenge was used to assess central serotonergic (5-HT) functioning in 10 8-11-year-old boys with ADHD. In addition, platelet 5-HT, as well as plasma levels of the catecholamine metabolites 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG) and homovanillic acid were ascertained. These neurobiological variables were reassessed in the same children 2-3 years later using the identical procedures.

RESULTS

The PRL response to FEN challenge was the only measure found to be stable across the evaluations (r = .58), although the magnitude of the response decreased significantly with age. Plasma MHPG level significantly increased with age.

CONCLUSIONS

Central 5-HT function, as measured by the PRL response to FEN, may represent a stable trait. The importance of considering developmental factors when interpreting neurobiological data is discussed.

Serotonin, aggression, and parental psychopathology in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder

OBJECTIVE

To explore the relationship between central serotonergic (5-HT) function and history of parental aggression in aggressive and nonaggressive boys with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

METHOD

History of psychiatric symptoms was assessed in the biological parents of 41 boys with ADHD. The relationship between 5-HT function in aggressive and nonaggressive probands, as assessed via the prolactin response to fenfluramine (FEN) challenge, and parental history of aggression was examined.

RESULTS

Aggressive boys with a parental history of aggressive behavior had a significantly lower prolactin response to FEN challenge than aggressive boys without a parental history of aggression. Nonaggressive boys had a prolactin response midway between those of the two aggressive subgroups, and their prolactin response did not vary as a function of parental aggression. Children subdivided on the basis of parental history of other psychiatric symptoms did not differ in their response to the FEN challenge.

CONCLUSIONS

These data indicate an association between parent aggressive behavior and lower 5-HT function in aggressive boys with ADHD but do not indicate the extent to which this association is environmentally and/or genetically transmitted. There may be different neurochemical mechanisms in familial and nonfamilial aggressive children, which have clinical implications for pharmacological interventions.

Age-related changes in the association between serotonergic function and aggression in boys with ADHD

The results of several studies have indicated an inverse relationship between central serotonergic (5-HT) mechanisms and aggression in animals and adults, but studies in children have yielded conflicting results. This study assessed 5-HT function, using a fenfluramine (FEN) challenge procedure, in an attempt to replicate a previously reported enhancement of the prolactin (PRL) response to FEN in aggressive relative to nonaggressive ADHD boys. The study failed to replicate the previous finding. Samples from both studies were then examined to reconcile the discrepant findings. The samples differed significantly in age. The entire group (n = 50) was then divided into older and younger subgroups and reanalyzed using a two-way (age-group x aggression) analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) controlling for plasma medication level. The ANCOVA generated a significant age-group x aggression interaction. Young aggressive boys had a significantly greater PRL response to FEN than young nonaggressive boys, but no such difference existed in the older age-group. These findings raise the possibility of different developmental trajectories in 5-HT function between aggressive and nonaggressive boys.

Changes in plasma prolactin and catecholamine metabolite levels following acute needle stick in children

Changes in plasma levels of prolactin (PRL), homovanillic acid (HVA), and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG) following insertion of an indwelling catheter into a forearm vein were assessed in 11 boys with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Results indicated decreases in plasma PRL and HVA, but not MHPG, from the time of needle stick until 105 min post-insertion. These data indicate a significant increase in plasma PRL and HVA in children following needle stick which gradually decreases over a 1.5-2-h period. These stress-induced changes indicate that values obtained immediately after needle insertion cannot be assumed to accurately reflect baseline levels.

Serotonergic function in aggressive and nonaggressive boys with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

OBJECTIVE

This study was designed to assess central serotonergic (5-HT) function in aggressive and nonaggressive boys with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

METHOD

Prolactin response to a challenge dose of the 5-HT agonist d,l-fenfluramine was assessed in 25 7-11-year-old boys with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder who were divided into aggressive and nonaggressive subgroups. In addition, the subgroups were compared on plasma catecholamine metabolites and platelet 5-HT.

RESULTS

The aggressive group had a significantly greater prolactin response to the fenfluramine challenge than the nonaggressive subgroup. The groups did not differ on peripheral measures of neurotransmitter function.

CONCLUSIONS

These data suggest that aggressive and nonaggressive children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder differ in central 5-HT functioning.

Cutaneous oxalosis after long-term hemodialysis

A 27-year-old woman undergoing long-term hemodialysis developed cutaneous calcifications on her fingers. A skin biopsy specimen showed that the deposits were calcium oxalate. To our knowledge, only one previous article has reported pathologic and crystallographic studies on calcifications of the skin resulting from dialysis oxalosis. We speculate that vitamin C supplements, liberal tea consumption, an increased serum ionized calcium concentration, and the long duration of hemodialysis contributed to the production of these deposits.

Polysplenia complex and duodenal atresia. A case report

The association between splenic abnormalities, congenital heart defects, and abnormalities in the location and shape of other viscera is well established in the literature. Intestinal atresia is rarely found with either the polysplenia or asplenia syndromes. We studied a case of polysplenia syndrome accompanied by duodenal atresia; we believe that duodenal atresia is a rare but predictable complication of the polysplenia complex.