Proactive Interference In Working Memory Research Articles

Hippocampal subfield volumes contribute to working memory interference control in aging: Evidence from longitudinal associations over 5 years

In memory, familiar but no longer relevant information may disrupt encoding and retrieval of to-be-learned information. While it has been demonstrated that the ability to resolve proactive interference (PI) in working memory (WM) is reduced in aging, the neuroanatomical components of this decline have yet to be determined. Hippocampal (HC) involvement in age-related decline in control of PI is currently not known. In particular, the association between HC subfield volumes and control of PI in WM has not been examined previously. Here we investigate the associations between mean level and 5-year trajectories of gray matter subfield volumes and PI in WM across the adult life span (N = 157). Longitudinal analyses over 5-years across all participants revealed that reduced volume in the subiculum was related to impaired control of PI. Age-stratified analyses showed that this association was most pronounced in older adults. Furthermore, we found that in older adults the effect of age on PI was mediated by GM volume in the HC. The current results show that HC volume is associated with the ability to control PI in WM, and that these associations are modulated by age.

Automatic and effortful control of interference in working memory can be distinguished by unique behavioral and functional brain representations

Goal-irrelevant information in working memory (WM) may enter the focus of attention (FOA) during a task and cause proactive interference (PI). In the current study we used fMRI to test several hypotheses concerning the boundary conditions of PI in WM using a modified verbal 2-back task. Temporal distance between item and lure presentation was manipulated to evaluate potential differences among hypothesized states of FOA, short-term memory and long-term memory. PI was present for the most proximal 3-back lures but dissipated with lure distance along with increased activation in brain regions critical for memory recollection, such as right prefrontal cortex, parietal cortex, and hippocampus. Reduced PI and less IFG activation were also observed after repeated item presentation, supporting the notion that a rehearsed encoding of item-context information reduces the need for interference control. Moreover, a trial-by-trial approach revealed activity in ACC, insula, IFG, and parietal cortex with increasing lure trial interference regardless of distance. The current results are first evidence for an observable transition of cognitive control, to include MTL regions involved in recalling task-relevant information from outside the FOA when resolving PI in WM.

The locus of proactive interference in visual working memory.

Recent studies showed that proactive interference (PI) impairs visual working memory (WM), as performance is better when the memory items are unique rather than repeated throughout the experiment. To scrutinize the mechanisms driving this effect, we tested how it affects the stages of encoding, retention, and testing. Experiment 1 instructed participants to make speeded responses and found that reaction time was slower in the repeated than in the unique condition, suggesting memory source confusion during testing. Experiment 2 showed that a retention interval manipulation did not affect the magnitude of the PI effect. Finally, Experiment 3 found that the PI effect did not increase when the encoding interval was short. Instead, the difference between the repeated and unique conditions was reduced, probably because the increased familiarity with the memory items in the repeated condition facilitated consolidation. Taken together, these results suggest that the main locus of PI in visual WM is during testing and that encoding and retaining information in visual WM are hardly affected by no longer needed information. Consequently, these data support the involvement of long-term memory in the effect. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Effects of proactive interference on non-verbal working memory.

Working memory (WM) is a cognitive system responsible for actively maintaining and processing relevant information and is central to successful cognition. A process critical to WM is the resolution of proactive interference (PI), which involves suppressing memory intrusions from prior memories that are no longer relevant. Most studies that have examined resistance to PI in a process-pure fashion used verbal material. By contrast, studies using non-verbal material are scarce, and it remains unclear whether the effect of PI is domain-general or whether it applies solely to the verbal domain. The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of PI in visual WM using both objects with high and low nameability. Using a Directed-Forgetting paradigm, we varied discriminability between WM items on two dimensions, one verbal (high-nameability vs. low-nameability objects) and one perceptual (colored vs. gray objects). As in previous studies using verbal material, effects of PI were found with object stimuli, even after controlling for verbal labels being used (i.e., low-nameability condition). We also found that the addition of distinctive features (color, verbal label) increased performance in rejecting intrusion probes, most likely through an increase in discriminability between content-context bindings in WM.

Age differences in proactive interference in verbal and visuospatial working memory

The current study examined the benefit of reducing proactive interference in verbal and visuospatial working memory tasks in young (25–30 years), young–old (65–75 years), and old–old (older than 75 years) adults. To reduce proactive interference, the verbal and visuospatial working memory tasks were administered in an ascending (the shortest lists presented first) or in descending (the longest lists presented first) format. Results showed that whereas old–old adults benefit from decreased exposure to proactive interference in working memory independently from the task content, young–old adults benefited only in the verbal task, and young adults did not show any benefit. Overall, these findings suggest that the ability to resist proactive interference in working memory tasks depends on the task content and is particularly impaired in late adulthood.

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

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.