Verbal Information In Working Memory Research Articles

Can children and adolescents with ADHD use attention to maintain verbal information in working memory?

Children and adolescents with attentional-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) present deficits in working memory (WM), but accounts for this phenomenon are still lacking. In this study, we used two variations of a complex-span task to test whether a specific WM mechanism, attentional refreshing, causes these deficits. Attentional refreshing is a maintenance strategy based on the sequential switch of attention between maintaining and processing information in WM. Its use is evidenced by a decrease in recall performance proportional to the distraction of attention away from the memoranda. In this study, we designed two experiments requiring children and adolescents with ADHD symptoms to maintain sequences of letters for subsequent recall, while performing a distracting task. In Experiment 1, the distracting task consisted of reading digits aloud. In Experiment 2, it consisted in making spatial judgements. The pace of the distracting tasks was varied to manipulate the level of attentional distraction. We observed that recall in ADHD participants was higher in the distracting conditions that give attention more opportunity to refresh letters. Moreover, ADHD participants had a similar recall performance to their age-matched typically developing peers. This study shows first evidence that individuals with ADHD can use attention to maintain verbal information in WM and calls for more research to understand their WM development.

The semantic relatedness effect in serial recall: Deconfounding encoding and recall order

The ability to store information in verbal working memory (WM) closely interacts with our linguistic knowledge. For instance, we can hold semantically related words (e.g., “cat, dog, bird”) better in our WM than unrelated ones (e.g., “desk, pillow, mouse”). This study investigates boundary conditions of the beneficial effect of semantic relatedness of words on immediate memory for lists. Independently varying the encoding and recall order for lists of related words, we unraveled several mechanistic explanations of the semantic relatedness effect. We first tested a semantic cueing mechanism, according to which the recall of an item facilitates the recall of other semantically related items. We next disentangled an interactive activation versus feature overlap account of semantic relatedness. Whereas the former predicts that the semantic relatedness effect emerges from the temporal co-activation of related items, the latter predicts that it emerges from the superposition of semantic features bound to similar contexts. Our results demonstrate that semantic relatedness affects WM performance at the encoding stage of WM processing, which rules out semantic cueing as a plausible mechanism. Further, the temporal order in which words are presented was the most important determinant of the semantic relatedness effect, in agreement with the interactive activation account. This study supports a model in which semantic relatedness supports WM through interactive activation occurring in semantic long-term memory.

Sequential versus simultaneous presentation of memoranda in verbal working memory: (How) does it matter?

To-be-memorized information in verbal working memory (WM) can be presented sequentially, like in oral language, and simultaneously, like in written language. Few studies have addressed the importance and implications for verbal WM processing of these two presentation modes. While sequential presentation may favor discrete, temporal encoding processes, simultaneous presentation may favor spatial encoding processes. We compared immediate serial recall tasks for sequential versus simultaneous word list presentation with a specific focus on serial position curves of recall performance, transposition gradients, and the nature of serial order errors. First, we observed higher recall performance in the simultaneous compared to the sequential conditions, with a particularly large effect at end-of-list items. Moreover, results showed more transposition errors between non-adjacent items for the sequential condition, as well as more omission errors especially for start-of-list items. This observation can be explained in terms of differences in refreshing opportunities for start-of-list items during encoding between conditions. This study shows that the presentation mode of sequential material can have a significant impact on verbal WM performance, with an advantage for simultaneous encoding of sequence information.

Can valuable information be prioritized in verbal working memory?

Though there is substantial evidence that individuals can prioritize more valuable information in visual working memory (WM), little research has examined this in the verbal domain. Four experiments were conducted to investigate this and the conditions under which effects emerge. In each experiment, participants listened to digit sequences and then attempted to recall them in the correct order. At the start of each block, participants were either told that all items were of equal value, or that an item at a particular serial position was worth more points. Recall was enhanced for these higher value items (Experiment 1a), a finding that was replicated while rejecting an alternative account based on distinctiveness (Experiment 1b). Thus, valuable information can be prioritized in verbal WM. Two further experiments investigated whether these boosts remained when participants completed a simple concurrent task disrupting verbal rehearsal (Experiment 2), or a complex concurrent task disrupting verbal rehearsal and executive resources (Experiment 3). Under simple concurrent task conditions, prioritization boosts were observed, but with increased costs to the less valuable items. Prioritization effects were also observed under complex concurrent task conditions, although this was accompanied by chance-level performance at most of the less valuable positions. A substantial recency advantage was also observed for the final item in each sequence, across all conditions. Taken together, this indicates that individuals can prioritize valuable information in verbal WM even when rehearsal and executive resources are disrupted, though they do so by neglecting or abandoning other items in the sequence. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

The phonological loop: is speech special?

It has been proposed that the maintenance of phonological information in verbal working memory (vWM) is carried by a domain-specific short-term storage center-the phonological loop-which is composed of a phonological store and an articulatory rehearsal system. Several brain regions including the left posterior inferior frontal gyrus (pIFG) and anterior supramarginal gyri (aSMG) are thought to support these processes. However, recent behavioral evidence suggests that verbal and non-verbal auditory information may be processed as part of a unique domain general short-term storage center instead of through specialized subsystems such as the phonological loop. In the current study, we used a single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)-delayed priming paradigm with speech (syllables) and acoustically complex non-speech sounds (bird songs) to examine whether the pIFG and aSMG are involved in the processing of verbal information or, alternatively, in the processing of any complex auditory information. Our results demonstrate that TMS delivered to both regions had an effect on performance for speech and non-speech stimuli, but the nature of the effect was different. That is, priming was reduced for the speech sounds because TMS facilitated the detection of different but not identical stimuli, and accuracy was decreased for non-speech sounds. Since TMS interfered with both speech and non-speech sounds, these findings support the existence of an auditory short-term storage center located within the dorsal auditory stream.

A dual architecture for the cognitive control of language: Evidence from functional imaging and language production

The relation between language processing and the cognitive control of thought and action is a widely debated issue in cognitive neuroscience. While recent research suggests a modular separation between a ‘language system’ for meaningful linguistic processing and a ‘multiple-demand system’ for cognitive control, other findings point to more integrated perspectives in which controlled language processing emerges from a division of labor between (parts of) the language system and (parts of) the multiple-demand system. We test here a dual approach to the cognitive control of language predicated on the notion of cognitive control as the combined contribution of a semantic control network (SCN) and a working memory network (WMN) supporting top-down manipulation of (lexico-)semantic information and the monitoring of information in verbal working memory, respectively. We reveal these networks in a large-scale coordinate-based meta-analysis contrasting functional imaging studies of verbal working memory vs. active judgments on (lexico-)semantic information and show the extent of their overlap with the multiple-demand system and the language system. Testing these networks' involvement in a functional imaging study of object naming and verb generation, we then show that SCN specializes in top-down retrieval and selection of (lexico-)semantic representations amongst competing alternatives, while WMN intervenes at a more general level of control modulated in part by the amount of competing responses available for selection. These results have implications in conceptualizing the neurocognitive architecture of language and cognitive control.

Working memory operates over the same representations as attention.

A recent study observed a working memory (WM) Stroop effect with a magnitude equivalent to that of the classic Stroop effect, indicating that WM operates over the same representations as attention. However, more research is needed to examine this proposal. One unanswered question is whether the WM Stroop effect occurs when the WM item and the perceptual task do not have an overlapping response set. We addressed this question in Experiment 1 by conducting an attentional word-color task and a WM word-color task. The results showed that a WM Stroop effect also occurred in that condition, as a word that only indirectly evoked a color representation could interfere with the color judgement in both the attentional task and WM task. In Experiment 2, we used a classic Simon task and a WM Simon task to examine whether holding visuo-spatial information rather than verbal information in WM could interfere with perceptual judgment as well. We observed a WM Simon effect of equivalent magnitude to that of the classic Simon effect. The well-known stimulus-response compatibility effect also existed in the WM domain. The two experiments together demonstrated that WM operates over the same representations as attention, which sheds new light on the hypothesis that working memory is internally directed attention.

Maintenance of item and order information in verbal working memory

ABSTRACTAlthough verbal recall of item and order information is well-researched in short-term memory paradigms, there is relatively little research concerning item and order recall from working memory. The following study examined whether manipulating the opportunity for attentional refreshing and articulatory rehearsal in a complex span task differently affected the recall of item- and order-specific information of the memoranda. Five experiments varied the opportunity for articulatory rehearsal and attentional refreshing in a complex span task, but the type of recall was manipulated between experiments (item and order, order only, and item only recall). The results showed that impairing attentional refreshing and articulatory rehearsal similarly affected recall regardless of whether the scoring procedure (Experiments 1 and 4) or recall requirements (Experiments 2, 3, and 5) reflected item- or order-specific recall. This implies that both mechanisms sustain the maintenance of item and order information, and suggests that the common cumulative functioning of these two mechanisms to maintain items could be at the root of order maintenance.

Editorial: Turning the Mind's Eye Inward: The Interplay Between Selective Attention and Working Memory.

Editorial: Turning the Mind's Eye Inward: The Interplay Between Selective Attention and Working Memory.

Dissociative contributions of semantic and lexical-phonological information to immediate recognition.

Several neuropsychological studies have reported that patients with memory deficits exhibit a dissociation of effects attributed to semantic and lexical-phonological information in verbal working memory (e.g., Reilly, Martin, & Grossman, 2005; Romani & Martin, 1999). The present study reports on 3 experiments conducted with individuals without memory problems to examine the dissociation between the word imageability effect (WIE) and the word frequency effect (WFE). Experiment 1 used a modified semantic recognition task, in which participants were presented with 10-item lists and selected synonyms of list words from among 5 words. This task led to a significant WIE but no WFE. On the other hand, Experiment 2 used a modified recognition task in which targets were homophones, to promote the usage of phonological information while minimizing the potential impact of semantic information. There was no WIE but a significant WFE in Experiment 2. Experiment 3 replicated the results of Experiment 1 using 5-item lists and a 2-alternative forced choice procedure. Taken together, these results systematically replicate the double dissociation observed in neuropsychological studies. These findings suggest that semantic information can contribute to successful retrieval from verbal working memory without mediation from lexical-phonological information.

The role of working memory in spatial S-R correspondence effects.

This study investigates the impact of working memory (WM) load on response conflicts arising from spatial (non) correspondence between irrelevant stimulus location and response location (Simon effect). The dominant view attributes the Simon effect to automatic processes of location-based response priming. The automaticity view predicts insensitivity of the Simon effect to manipulations of processing load. Four experiments investigated the role of spatial and verbal WM in horizontal and vertical Simon tasks by using a dual-task approach. Participants maintained different amounts of spatial or verbal information in WM while performing a horizontal or vertical Simon task. Results showed that high load generally decreased, and sometimes eliminated, the Simon effect. It is interesting to note that spatial load had a larger impact than verbal load on the horizontal Simon effect, whereas verbal load had a larger impact than spatial load on the vertical Simon effect. The results highlight the role of WM as the perception-action interface in choice-response tasks. Moreover, the results suggest spatial coding of horizontal stimulus-response (S-R) tasks, and verbal coding of vertical S-R tasks.

Teaching and Learning Guide for: Mirror Neurons, the Motor System, and Language – From the Motor Theory to Embodied Cognition and Beyond

Teaching and Learning Guide for: Mirror Neurons, the Motor System, and Language – From the Motor Theory to Embodied Cognition and Beyond

How do the efficiencies of reading subcomponents relate to looking back in text?

The compensatory-encoding model of reading suggests that experienced readers compensate metacognitively for inefficient reading subcomponents or cognitive resource limitations. For instance, readers with less efficient access to information in working memory are predicted to look back in text more than those with more efficient access to information in working memory. Both groups of readers still have good comprehension. One hundred nine adult readers were measured on the efficiencies of selected reading subcomponents. Texts were read from a computer screen 1 sentence at a time. The extent to which readers looked back in text (reread sentences) was noted. Those with more efficient access to information in verbal working memory looked back less, consistent with the model. Theoretical and educational implications are discussed.