A Dynamic Method, Analysis, and Model of Short-Term Memory for Serial Order with Clinical Applications

Sophia Cheng,Alex S Cohen,Terje B Holmlund,Peter W Foltz,Jian Cheng,Jared C Bernstein,Elizabeth P Rosenfeld,Brita Elvevåg

doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113494

Abstract

This study examined the robustness of a traditional memory task when moved out of controlled traditional settings. A letter recall task was designed to be self-administered via a smart-device which assessed recall by participants’ writing their responses on the device. This enabled collection of both the letter recalled and the timing of this recall such that the temporal dynamics could be examined. Participants were patients with mental illness (n=71) and healthy volunteers (n=103). Temporal dynamics were examined using a new mechanism that measured memory retrieval time precisely. Data were analyzed for accuracy, time and their relationships. The classic memory phenomena and associated effects were replicated. In terms of temporal dynamics, this is the first demonstration of primacy and recency effects in time domain variables, as well as phonological similarity effects as evident by the inverted U-shaped curves in time. The speed of short-term memory processes affects accuracy, error types and timing. The robustness of these memory effects and new approach to temporal dynamics suggest this framework may be suitable for clinical applications, notably for the long-term monitoring of cognition in patients with mental illness.

Highlights

Memory is at the core of our daily lives
Short-term memory (STM) is needed for a wide variety of behaviors in humans, and understanding the mechanism behind poorer recall promises to improve our under standing of serious mental illness
The current study focused on the processing, storage and retrieval of sequential information in STM, which has been a topic of intense in vestigation for more than a century (e.g., Botvinick & Plaut, 2006; Ebbinghaus, 1885; Nipher, 1876; Thomas et al, 2003)

Summary

Introduction

Memory is at the core of our daily lives. Short-term memory (STM) is needed for a wide variety of behaviors in humans, and understanding the mechanism behind poorer recall promises to improve our under standing of serious mental illness. The phono logical similarity effect (Conrad & Hull, 1964) is another core finding in STM research, wherein items that are phonologically non-confusable (e.g., M,J,H,Z,Q,Y) are recollected far better than items that are phonologically confusable (e.g., P,T,D,G,V,C). Many theories have been proposed to account for recall patterns (e.g., Botvinick & Plaut, 2006; Brown et al, 2007; Farrell, 2006; Farrell & Lewandowsky, 2002; Henson, 1998; Page & Norris, 1998), and a variety of mechanisms have been proposed to account for information loss, including interference and time (e.g., Cowan & AuBuchon, 2008; Jonides et al, 2008; Lewandowsky et al, 2004; Oberauer & Lewandowsky, 2008). The mechanisms underlying STM and the role of time in the performance pattern are still hotly

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion