Working memory and proactive interference: Developmental effects in 8-13 year old healthy children

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Event Abstract Back to Event Working memory and proactive interference: Developmental effects in 8-13 year old healthy children Sandra Loosli1*, Johanna Posth1, Benjamin Rahm2, Josef M. Unterrainer3, Irina Mader4, Cornelius Weiller1 and Christoph P. Kaller1 1 University of Freiburg, Department of Neurology, Germany 2 University of Frankfurt/Main, Institute of Medical Psychology, Germany 3 University of Mainz, Department of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, Germany 4 University of Freiburg, Department of Neuroradiology, Germany Working memory (WM) refers to a dynamic processing system for the maintenance and manipulation of information. It is essential for higher-order processes such as language comprehension, planning, problem solving or fluid intelligence and is also related directly to school performance, such as reading ability or mathematical skills. An important factor determining WM capacity is the ability to suppress proactive interference (PI). PI refers to impaired recall due to interference from material presented previously. Resistance to PI in WM increases considerably during childhood, however, the associated neuronal processes still remain elusive. Studies involving the Recent-Probes-Task have shown that in adults suppression of PI goes along with activations in the left inferior-frontal gyrus (LIFG). Here, adults as well as 8-9 and 12-13 year old children were compared in an event-related fMRI-study to investigate the course of PI development. Behavioral results revealed effects of PI across all subjects, i.e. participants responded slower and made more errors when the current stimulus was already presented one trial before. Resistance to PI improved gradually with age but was associated with higher costs in reaction times in older subjects. Compared with the non-recent-condition, the recent-condition activated stronger the LIFG pars triangularis and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). This activation increased with age, hence corresponding to the developmental effects in the behavioral data. These results show that effects of PI change during childhood and that they may be partially modulated by the activity of the LIFG. In future studies, an application with respect to educational settings lies for instance in the conduction of WM training studies which focus especially on interference processes. By means of training, susceptibility to PI could possibly be reduced and lead potentially to improvements in WM and scholastic abilities. Conference: EARLI SIG22 - Neuroscience and Education, Zurich, Switzerland, 3 Jun - 5 Jun, 2010. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: General cognitive abilities Citation: Loosli S, Posth J, Rahm B, Unterrainer JM, Mader I, Weiller C and Kaller CP (2010). Working memory and proactive interference: Developmental effects in 8-13 year old healthy children. Front. Neurosci. Conference Abstract: EARLI SIG22 - Neuroscience and Education. doi: 10.3389/conf.fnins.2010.11.00051 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 31 May 2010; Published Online: 31 May 2010. * Correspondence: Sandra Loosli, University of Freiburg, Department of Neurology, Freiburg, Germany, sandra.loosli@uniklinik-freiburg.de Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Sandra Loosli Johanna Posth Benjamin Rahm Josef M Unterrainer Irina Mader Cornelius Weiller Christoph P Kaller Google Sandra Loosli Johanna Posth Benjamin Rahm Josef M Unterrainer Irina Mader Cornelius Weiller Christoph P Kaller Google Scholar Sandra Loosli Johanna Posth Benjamin Rahm Josef M Unterrainer Irina Mader Cornelius Weiller Christoph P Kaller PubMed Sandra Loosli Johanna Posth Benjamin Rahm Josef M Unterrainer Irina Mader Cornelius Weiller Christoph P Kaller Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.