Memory Research Articles

Multitrial free recall for evaluating memory.

Much of our knowledge concerning the neural basis of human memory derives from lab-based verbal recall tasks. Outside of the lab, clinicians use validated and normed neuropsychological tests to assess patients' memory function and to evaluate clinical interventions. Here we sought to establish the clinical validity of examining memory through multitrial free recall of semantically organized and unrelated word lists. We compare memory performance in multitrial free recall tasks with the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test and the California Verbal Learning Test, two common neuropsychological tests aimed at evaluating memory function in clinical settings. We compare predictive validity between the tasks by evaluating deficits in a patient sample and examining age-related declines in memory. We additionally compare test-retest reliability, establish convergent validity, and show the emergence of common recall dynamics between the tasks. We demonstrate that both laboratory free recall tasks have better predictive validity and test-retest reliability than the established neuropsychological tests. We further show that all tasks have good convergent validity and reveal core memory processes, including temporal and semantic organization. However, we also demonstrate the benefits of repeated trials for evaluating the dynamics of memory search and their neuropsychological sequelae. These results provide evidence for the clinical validity of lab-based multitrial free recall tasks and highlight their psychometric benefits over neuropsychological measures. Based on these results, we discuss the need to bridge the gap between clinical understanding of putative mechanisms underlying memory disorders and neuroscientific findings obtained using lab-based free recall tasks. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

МОДЕЛІ УКРАЇНСЬКОГО ПЕРЕКЛАДУ АНГЛІЙСЬКОМОВНИХ ЦІЛЬНИХ КОНСТРУКЦІЙ (НА МАТЕРІЯЛІ ЗАГОЛОВКІВ ТЕКСТІВ НОВИН)

The aim of the article is to identify the patterns of Ukrainian translation of English item-based constructions in the BBC headlines. Item-based constructions are a combination of form and function/meaning that is fixed within a particular language being entrenched in the long-term human memory. This aim is achieved by the application of constructionist methodology comprising three stages: selection & comparing, classification and correlation. The method of comparative translational analysis is meant to correlate the item-based constructions of the original with those in the translation as well as to single out translational patterns into Ukrainian. The novelty of the paper consists in the findings that the translation of itembased constructions of English BBC News headlines into Ukrainian follows four main patterns: lowering the status of the Latinized item-based construction in translation; expanding a Latinized construction in rendering; lexicalization or grammaticalization of its Cyrillic equivalent in translation. Within the lowering pattern, a Latinized item-based construction of the original is moved in the translation to the lead or various sections of the news text without any changes. The pattern of expanding the Latinized item-based construction of the original in the translation means that it remains unchanged in the translation being supplemented with one or more components represented by a proper name or an apposition. According to the lexicalization pattern, the Ukrainian equivalent of the original item-based construction is supplemented by one changeable component, usually represented by the anthroponym denoting oa celebrity or replaced by a lexicalized construction with a generalized meaning. According to the grammaticalization pattern, the item-based construction of the original, performing a classifying function unavailable on the BBC Ukraine is translated by a grammaticalized equivalent evoking the CONTAINER image-schema.

Human Relationships and Memory in Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day: A Critical Analysis

This study offers a critical analysis of Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day, and focuses on its portrayal of human relationships, specifically those associated with the main character, Stevens. Ishiguro, a well-known figure in contemporary English literature, is known for his insightful exploration of missed opportunities, a theme central to this novel. Within the narrative, Stevens inability to express his love for Miss Kenton, represents one of these missed chances. Like Ishiguro’s other novels, this one shows a large interest in the relationship between individual and collective memory. This study adopts a character analysis approach to examine Stevens' personality throughout his life career at Darlington Hall. The analysis aims to highlight the complexities he encounters in his relationships and demonstrate how he becomes aware of them by the end of the novel. This self-awareness develops as Stevens reflects on his past, helping him identify the errors he made in his relationships. This paper is structured into three sections. It starts with an introduction which addresses Ishiguro’s status as a novelist, with special attention on his main novels, including The Remains of the Day. The second part discusses the relationships in the novel by conducting a textual analysis of its important passages. Finally, the paper ends with the conclusion which sums up the findings.

The mind online: Can digital technologies affect how we think?

The internet and its applications have changed how we seek, process and share information. The paper addresses the question of how the digital expansion of the mind can affect cognition and has two key aims: The first is to explore whether and how our cognitive processes differ when we are online and when offline. The second is to focus on the impact of digital technologies on human attention, memory, decision-making, and problem-solving. We attempt to explain and discuss phenomena, such as multitasking and task switching, use of the internet to support and extend our memory, the development and use of a variety of heuristic-based strategies to search for information online, and making judgements about the credibility of information, among others.

WARTOK: NETWORKED SOUNDSCAPES OF MEMETIC WARFARE

This panel investigates the networked soundscapes of memetic warfare on TikTok, a platform crucial in mediating the ongoing war in Ukraine since February 2022. Introduced to the public as a unique form of war programming during the first week of Russia's full-scale military invasion (Mobilio 2022), WarTok—a portmanteau of ‘TikTok’ and ‘war’—signifies "the war of super-empowered individuals armed only with smartphones" (Friedmann 2022). Producing headlines such as "TikTok's Amazing Russian-Ukraine War Videos," (Figure 1) the term necessitates critical and ethical scrutiny, not only for its sensationalist stance but also for the collapse of contexts it entails. Integrated into a platform that thrives on remixing, WarTok seamlessly intertwines on-the-ground war reporting with war propaganda—an aspect explored across all panel contributions through the lens of music. Networked Soundscapes The choice for sound as the primary step in our exploration not only derives from the platform’s logic of content creation, it also acknowledges music’s affective impact and its historical role in propaganda (Thompson & Biddle 2013). Music on TikTok serves as both an affective mediator and a highly templatable networker. Recent studies highlight the templatability of TikTok sounds, offering insights into content creators' attention-grabbing techniques (Abidin & Kaye 2021), logics of trend dilution (Bainotti et al., 2022), issue-specific remix cultures (Primig et al. 2023), and infrastructural meme collection (Rogers & Giorgi 2023). Aural linkages between templates can intersect with other platform-native modalities of expression, producing networked soundscapes. A soundscape, as we approach it by leaning into TikTok’s logic of indexing “listed” and “original” sounds, foregrounds audio as the main memetic stratifier, opening up different paths for navigating content (Geboers et al., forthcoming). Hashtags and sounds, for example, can turn into a source of mutual amplification or may remain disengaged even when united through technical means (Pilipets 2023). Feeding into contested attentional dynamics of digital media (Boler & Davis 2021), propaganda by means of TikTok sharing takes on a new dimension in a highly contested space, which is said to “raise memes to the level of infrastructure” (Zulli & Zulli 2021). Memetic Warfare Often driven by a cynical hunt for eyeballs, memetic warfare on social media taps into humor and mockery, inviting playful participation (Divon 2022), channeling disinformation (Bösch 2023), and using agitainment to captivate publics beyond the explicitly political (Tuters and Noordenbos forthcoming). In the context of war propaganda, memes become central agents of partisan bonding through recognizable templates and inscribed in-group cues (Arkenbout & Scherz 2022). TikTok music expands the toolbox of crafting memes, opening up new venues of boundary work and populist instrumentalization (Boichak & Hoskins 2022). TikTok is renowned for its ability to implant short video earworms, perceived as stickier than complete songs (Vizcaíno-Verdú & Abidin 2022). Some attribute this phenomenon to the cognitive principle that human memory retains unfinished tasks more effectively than completed ones, generating affective tension (Carson 2022). Walter J. Ong’s “secondary orality”, a concept revived by Venturini (2022), is one way to address this tension in online spaces where written words often become spoken words and where evanescence is ingrained into the logic of engagement. Foregrounding the memetic function of TikTok, the panel sets out to explore how the ultra-nationalist landscape of Russian WarTok and the tactics of pro-Ukrainian hijacking intertwine in a complex ecology of imitation and attention hijacking. THE SOUND OF DISINFORMATION: TIKTOK, COMPUTATIONAL PROPAGANDA AND THE INVASION OF UKRAINE Tom Divon and Marcus Bösch “ДОБРОГО ВЕЧОРА WHERE ARE YOU FROM”: MEMETIC REVERSAL, CULTURAL APPROPRIATION, AND SOUND HIJACKING Daria Delavar-Kasmai AMBIENT PROPAGANDA: THE DARK REFRAIN OF WARTOK Marc Tuters and Boris Noordenbos WHAT IF THEY ATTACK? КАТЮША AND THE COUNTERMOBILIZATION OF SOUND ON WARTOK Elena Pilipets and Marloes Geboers AMBIGUOUS STANCE-TAKING AND OPPOSITIONAL SOUND PUBLICS ON DOUYIN DURING THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR Richard Rogers and Xiaoke Zhang

A comparative analysis of the Flutter and React Native frameworks

The article describes a comparative analysis of the resource usage performance of mobile applications developed using Flutter and React Native frameworks. The purpose of this study was to see which technology is more efficient. The study consisted in creating two mobile apps with the same functionalities and then comparing usage of the following resources: Virtual Memory (VIRT), Shared Memory (SHR), Central Processing Unit (CPU), Resident Set Size (RES) and Memory (MEM). The functionality of the application consisted of actions on the GUI. The test was conducted on a Huawei P20 Lite smartphone, using the Android Debug Bridge (ADB) tool and custom scripts in the Bash shell language. The results do not clearly indicate which technology is more efficient.

Mechanism of Caffeine and Challenges of Caffeine Dependence

By binding to adenosine A1 and A2A receptors, caffeine inhibits adenosine's inhibitory effect on neurons, thereby increasing alertness and improving concentration. At the same time, caffeine also stimulates the release of adrenaline and norepinephrine, further enhancing the sense of wakefulness. Caffeine also induces the release of dopamine and glutamate in the nucleus accumbens. They regulate human emotions, reward mechanisms, and memory. However, caffeine dependence can cause side effects such as insomnia, anxiety, heart palpitations, digestive problems, headaches, fatigue, and difficulty concentrating. To reduce dependency on caffeine, individuals can gradually decrease their intake, opt for decaffeinated tea or coffee, and ensure they have sufficient and restful sleep by adjusting sleep patterns. Maintaining overall health, a balanced diet, moderate exercise and effective coping with stress can help increase natural energy levels and reduce the need for caffeine. Seeking the help and guidance of a professional medical or mental health professional is also recommended for reducing caffeine dependence.

Kajian Neoropsikology: Strategi Mnemonic Untuk Meningkatkan Kinerja Memori Dalam Pembelajaran di Sekolah Dasar

Human memory has a large capacity and unlimited capabilities. Humans use memory to store information important for survival. Mnemonics is a strategy to improve memory performance by encoding information with associations between new information and previously learned information in long-term memory. This research uses a qualitative research method, the Systematic Literature Review (SLR) model with the PRISMA approach with stages Identification, Screening, Eligibility, Included. Identification of literature review data was taken from publish or perish, Google Scholar, Researchgate, and ScienceDirect and 141 articles were obtained which were searched based on keywords, then in second selection they were selected based on more sensitive issues and 19 learning articles were obtained using mnemonic strategies. In the 3rd stage of selection, a study was carried out on the methodology and research results by 2 reviewers so that appropriate articles were obtained and in accordance with the SLR protocol. There were 5 relevant articles containing the issue of neuropsychological studies of learning with memory strategies that can be applied to education in elementary schools. From the results of the analysis, it was found that mnemonics are a fun learning approach strategy with a high success rate and are able to strengthen retention in long-term memory. Menmonic also improves memory performance in the part of the brain Pre Frontal Cortex.

Mathematical modeling of human memory.

The mathematical study of human memory is still an open challenge. Cognitive psychology and neuroscience have given a big contribution to understand how the human memory is structured and works. Cognitive psychologists developed experimental paradigms, conceived quantitative measures of performance in memory tasks for both healthy people and patients with memory disorders, but in terms of mathematical modeling human memory there is still a lot to do. There are many ways to mathematically model human memory, for example, by using mathematical analysis, linear algebra, statistics, and artificial neural networks. The aim of this study is to provide the reader with a description of some prominent models, involving mathematical analysis and linear algebra, designed to describe how memory works by predicting the results of psychological experiments. We have ordered the models from a chronological point of view and, for each model, we have emphasized what are, in our opinion, the strong and weak points. We are aware that this study covers just a part of human memory modeling as well as that we have made a personal selection, which is arguable. Nevertheless, our hope is to help scientists to modeling human memory and its diseases.

Optimizing the methodology of human sleep and memory research

Optimizing the methodology of human sleep and memory research

Antigen-specific memory NK cell responses against HIV and influenza use the NKG2/HLA-E axis.

Multiple studies have broadened the roles of natural killer (NK) cells functioning as purely innate lymphocytes by demonstrating that they are capable of putative antigen-specific immunological memory against multiple infectious agents including HIV-1 and influenza. However, the mechanisms underlying antigen specificity remain unknown. Here, we demonstrate that antigen-specific human NK cell memory develops upon exposure to both HIV and influenza, unified by a conserved and epitope-specific targetable mechanism largely dependent on the activating CD94/NKG2C receptor and its ligand HLA-E. We validated the permanent acquisition of antigen specificity by individual memory NK cells by single-cell cloning. We identified elevated expression of KLRG1, α4β7, and NKG2C as biomarkers of antigen-specific NK cell memory through complex immunophenotyping. Last, we uncovered individual HLA-E-restricted peptides that may constitute the dominant NK cell response in HIV-1- and influenza-infected persons in vivo. Our findings clarify the mechanisms contributing to antigen-specific memory NK cell responses and suggest that they could be potentially targeted therapeutically for vaccines or other therapeutic interventions.

A new metal ion chelator attenuates human tau accumulation-induced neurodegeneration and memory deficits in mice

Neuronal neurofibrillary tangles containing Tau hyperphosphorylation proteins are a typical pathological marker of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The level of tangles in neurons correlates positively with severe dementia. However, how Tau induces cognitive dysfunction is still unknown, which leads to a lack of effective treatments for AD. Metal ions deposition occurs with tangles in AD brain autopsy. Reduced metal ion can improve the pathology of AD. To explore whether abnormally phosphorylated Tau causes metal ion deposition, we overexpressed human full-length Tau (hTau) in the hippocampal CA3 area of mice and primary cultured hippocampal neurons (CPHN) and found that Tau accumulation induced iron deposition and activated calcineurin (CaN), which dephosphorylates glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta (GSK3β), mediating Tau hyperphosphorylation. Simultaneous activation of CaN dephosphorylates cyclic-AMP response binding protein (CREB), leading to synaptic deficits and memory impairment, as shown in our previous study; this seems to be a vicious cycle exacerbating tauopathy. In the current study, we developed a new metal ion chelator that displayed a significant inhibitory effect on Tau phosphorylation and memory impairment by chelating iron ions in vivo and in vitro. These findings provide new insight into the mechanism of memory impairment induced by Tau accumulation and develop a novel potential treatment for tauopathy in AD.

Endel Tulving (1927-2023).

Explorer, innovator, and theorist of human memory.

T-cell receptor sequencing reveals selected donor-reactive CD8+ T cell clones resist antithymocyte globulin depletion after kidney transplantation

High frequencies of donor-reactive memory T cells in the periphery of transplant candidates prior to transplantation are linked to the development of posttransplant acute rejection episodes and reduced allograft function. Rabbit antithymocyte globulin (rATG) effectively depletes naïve CD4+ and CD8+ T cells for >6 months posttransplant, but rATG’s effects on human donor-reactive T cells have not been carefully determined. To address this, we performed T cell receptor β-chain sequencing on peripheral blood mononuclear cells aliquots collected pretransplant and serially posttransplant in 7 kidney transplant recipients who received rATG as induction therapy. We tracked the evolution of the donor-reactive CD4+ and CD8+ T cell repertoires and identified stimulated pretransplant, CTV-(surface dye)-labeled, peripheral blood mononuclear cells from each patient with donor cells or third-party cells. Our analyses showed that while rATG depleted CD4+ T cells in all tested subjects, a subset of donor-reactive CD8+ T cells that were present at high frequencies pretransplant, consistent with expanded memory cells, resisted rATG depletion, underwent posttransplant expansion and were functional. Together, our data support the conclusion that a subset of human memory CD8+ T cells specifically reactive to donor antigens expand in vivo despite induction therapy with rATG and thus have the potential to mediate allograft damage.

10 Things Software Developers Should Learn about Learning

Understanding how human memory and learning works, the differences between beginners and experts, and practical steps developers can take to improve their learning, training, and recruitment.

The giant leap to humankind

Penny (2009) urges that biologists stress more strongly the biological continuity between great apes and humans. Besides stressing genetic similarities, he suggests that great apes also share psychological capacities, including language and tool use. I argue that he underestimates the psychological differences. There is no evidence that great apes have anything approaching human language, or human technological capacity. A main ingredient of human cognition is recursion, which lifted communication to true combinatorial language and simple tool use to advanced combinatorial technology. Recursion may also explain the combinatorial structure of human memory, imagination, and theory of mind. Part of the key, as Penny recognises, may lie in the trajectory of human brain growth, but there is still much to understand in how micro-tweaking of the genome achieved such dramatic differences between ape and human.

Bonobos and chimpanzees remember familiar conspecifics for decades.

Recognition and memory of familiar conspecifics provides the foundation for complex sociality and is vital to navigating an unpredictable social world [Tibbetts and Dale, Trends Ecol. Evol. 22, 529-537 (2007)]. Human social memory incorporates content about interactions and relationships and can last for decades [Sherry and Schacter, Psychol. Rev. 94, 439-454 (1987)]. Long-term social memory likely played a key role throughout human evolution, as our ancestors increasingly built relationships that operated across distant space and time [Malone et al., Int. J. Primatol. 33, 1251-1277 (2012)]. Although individual recognition is widespread among animals and sometimes lasts for years, little is known about social memory in nonhuman apes and the shared evolutionary foundations of human social memory. In a preferential-looking eye-tracking task, we presented chimpanzees and bonobos (N = 26) with side-by-side images of a previous groupmate and a conspecific stranger of the same sex. Apes' attention was biased toward former groupmates, indicating long-term memory for past social partners. The strength of biases toward former groupmates was not impacted by the duration apart, and our results suggest that recognition may persist for at least 26 y beyond separation. We also found significant but weak evidence that, like humans, apes may remember the quality or content of these past relationships: apes' looking biases were stronger for individuals with whom they had more positive histories of social interaction. Long-lasting social memory likely provided key foundations for the evolution of human culture and sociality as they extended across time, space, and group boundaries.

The Dark and Dry Well: Hidden Psychotic Disorders in Murakami Haruki’s Novel

The personal secrets of humans are just as though a deep and dark well. The peculiarities that occur within human beings not only attract numerous psychiatrists to unravel them but also captivate a Japanese writer, Haruki Murakami. In his novel entitled The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, he conveys subjective experiences through his main character. The novel tells the story of Toru Okada’s subconscious journey. It is where human memories connect with various ancient subconscious thoughts, strange illusions appear, and unheard voices manifest to ordinary humans. These are common indications of schizophrenia symptoms. The research reveals the challenge in identifying this syndrome, as affected individuals become detached from the “true reality.” Consequently, a more structured approach is deemed necessary to facilitate their reintegration. With the assistance of mythology, wherein this narrative serves as a collectively recognized storyline, those trapped within their fantastical worlds can effectively communicate and establish connections with those residing in the “true reality.

Artificial Consciousness: Misconception(s) of a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Nobody Wants

The rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has produced prophets and prophecies announcing that the age of artificial consciousness is near. Not only does the mere idea that any machine could ever possess the full potential of human consciousness suggest that AI could replace the role of God in the future, it also puts into question the fundamental human right to freedom and dignity. This position paper takes the stand that, in the light of all we currently know about brain evolution and the never-stopping formation of adaptive neural circuitry for learning, memory, decision making and, ultimately, fully conscious reasoning and creativity in the human species, the idea of an artificial consciousness appears misconceived. The paper highlights some of the major reasons why. While awareness to external stimuli for processes such as perception, recognition, and operational problem solving is under the direct control of functionally specific brain networks associated with sensory and cognitive functions across animal species, consciousness is a unique property of the human mind. Potentiated by brain evolution, consciousness has come to be when humans became able to represent, and reflect on, the Self in relation to past, present and future, and to project these representations into possible worlds by drawing and other forms of conceptual and creative expression. Epigenetically determined, shaped by experience, capable of representing real and non-real world states, consciousness is enabled by context-dependent adaptive brain circuits that have evolved on the grounds of self-organizing functional interactions at different levels of integration in a from-local-to global functional brain design. The evolution of the latter being continuous, the limits of consciousness are unpredictable. If cracking the computational code to human consciousness were possible, the resulting algorithms would have to be able to generate temporal activity patterns simulating long-distance signal reverberation across the brain and the de-correlation of spatial signal contents from their temporal signatures. In the light of scientific evidence for complex interactions between implicit (non-conscious) and explicit (conscious) representations in learning, memory, and the construction of conscious representation, the code would have to be capable of making all implicit processing explicit. Algorithms would have to be capable of a progressive, less and less arbitrary selection of temporal activity patterns in a continuously developing neural network structure akin to that of the human brain, from synapses to higher cognitive functional integration. The code would have to possess the self-organizing capacities that generate the brain signatures of phenomenal consciousness. In the biological brain, consolidation or extinction of these temporal brain signatures is driven by external event probabilities according to the principles of Hebbian learning. Consciousness is constantly fed by such learning, capable of generating stable representations despite an incommensurable amount of variability in input data, across time and across individuals, for life-long integration of experience data. Artificial consciousness would require probabilistic adaptive computations capable of emulating all the dynamics of human learning and memory that enable human intelligence and creativity. No AI is likely to ever have such potential.

Human VH4-34 antibodies derived from B1 cells are more frequently autoreactive than VH4-34 antibodies derived from memory cells.

Human B1 cells produce natural antibodies characterized by overutilization of heavy chain variable region VH4-34 in comparison to other B cell populations. VH4-34-containing antibodies have been reported to be autoreactive and to be associated with lupus and other autoimmune dyscrasias. However, it has been unclear to what extent VH4-34 antibodies manifest autoreactivity in B1 cells or other B cell populations-in other words, are VH4-34 containing antibodies autoreactive wherever found, or mainly within the B1 cell population? To address this issue we sort purified single human B1 and memory B cells and then amplified, sequenced, cloned and expressed VH4-34-containing antibodies from 76 individual B cells. Each of these antibodies was tested for autoreactivity by HEp-2 IFA and autoantigen ELISA. Antibodies were scored as autoreactive if positive by either assay. We found VH4-34 antibodies rescued from B1 cells were much more frequently autoreactive (14/48) than VH4-34 antibodies rescued from memory B cells (2/28). Among B1 cell antibodies, 4 were HEp-2+, 6 were dsDNA+ and 4 were positive for both. Considering only HEp-2+ antibodies, again these were found more frequently among B1 cell VH4-34 antibodies (8/48) than memory B cell VH4-34 antibodies (1/28). We found autoreactivity was associated with greater CDR3 length, as expected; however, we found no association between autoreactivity and a previously described FR1 "hydrophobic patch". Our results indicate that autoreactive VH4-34-containing antibodies tend to reside within the human B1 cell population.