Recall Conditions Research Articles

Effects of memory training or task design? A Commentary on "Neural evidence for the use of digit-image mnemonic in a superior memorist: an fMRI study".

Mathematical experts generally fall in two broad categories: they may be individuals gifted with specific skills, but with deficits in social or other intellectual domains (savants) (Treffert, 2009), or people with mathematical and memory abilities within the normal range, who devote significant amounts of time and energy in practicing specific problems (e.g., memorizing digit sequences, practicing calendrical calculations). Importantly, they can be highly idiosyncratic in their problem solving approaches, and their exceptional abilities in maths do not generalize in other cognitive domains. Yin et al. in this issue offer a rare insight of a gifted memorist (CL), who holds the Guinness World Record for reciting 67,890 digits of π since 2005 (Yin et al., 2015). Building on behavioral data from CL collected in 2006, the current study presents imaging data that shed light on the effects of the memory training on CL's brain networks several years after his intense preparation for breaking the record. CL is a strategy memorizer who encodes two-digit groups as images (fixed associations for numbers 0–99, based on number shape or phonemic encoding, see Table 1A in Hu and Ericsson, 2012), and creates vivid stories with associations that connect them to each other and/or to physical locations (Hu and Ericsson, 2012). In spite of his exceptional memory for digits in π, he has average visual digit span memory (Hu et al., 2009). Crucially, the behavioral tasks employed by Yin et al. were designed to keep CL's performance similar to that of control participants, and do not tap into his ability for serial information memorization. Although CL's accuracy performance in memorizing six two-digit numbers (study phase), and then judging which of two appeared earlier (recall phase) was indistinguishable from that of the control group, fMRI data revealed neural differences during study and recall for CL relative to controls. Specifically, during the encoding phase, bilateral frontal poles, left superior parietal lobule, left premotor cortex, insula, and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex were more active compared to controls, while left middle and inferior frontal gyrus were less active. During the recall phase, there was higher activity in frontal, parietal and visual areas for CL relative to controls. The authors highlight the finding of frontal pole engagement in CL in the two-digit study and recall conditions and interpret it in terms of retrieval of the practiced digit-image associations. However, based on results from single unit and lesion experiments, one would not expect the pair associates to be represented in prefrontal (Rainer et al., 1999; Sigala et al., 2008), but rather in temporal cortex areas (Miyashita, 1988; Takeda et al., 2005). Prefrontal areas though are important for top-down modulation of posterior sensory and memory areas (Hasegawa et al., 1998; Hon et al., 2009). Crucially, the frontopolar (FP) engagement in the two-digit task was also found in control participants during the recall phase. Perhaps then the FP activation is not best explained by the digit-image mnemonic training, but by the fact that the task required holding the study phase information in working memory and making self-generated decisions in the recall phase, in agreement with FP cell activity patterns reported by Tsujimoto et al. (2010). Unlike neurons in other prefrontal areas, FP cells specifically encode goals that require synthesis of sensory instruction and cognitive processing, and monitor the current status of each goal, e.g., as completed or impending (Tsujimoto et al., 2011). The participants in Yin et al. not only needed to maintain the serial order of the two-digits presented, but also had to judge which digits appeared earlier twice in the recall phase. This required them to keep the digit order and two judgment goals in mind at the same time, before they had to study a new array of six two-digit numbers a few seconds later. Overall, given the rarity of the data from such unique individuals and their quirky approaches to problem solving, it is useful to have neural evidence that intense training changes brain network recruitment even in the context of different tasks and is evident several years after the training intensity has eased. It would be ideal to complement the univariate analysis with a multivariate approach (e.g., Minati and Sigala, 2013). In this recent study of an expert calculator, a multivariate analysis (graph-based mapping of effective connectivity), but not the univariate analysis, showed distinct cortical hubs in occipital and temporal areas involved in processing well-practiced problems. In contrast, hubs in frontal areas (prefrontal, orbitofrontal, and anterior cingulate) were associated with processing less-practiced problems. This combination overcomes the limitations inherent in the localization approaches, and offers insights in the network architecture and neural context within these cognitive processes take place, as well as in the problem solving strategies used by experts.

Redintegration, task difficulty, and immediate serial recall tasks.

While current theoretical models remain somewhat inconclusive in their explanation of short-term memory (STM), many theories suggest at least a contribution of long-term memory (LTM) to the short-term system. A number of researchers refer to this process as redintegration (e.g., Schweickert, 1993). Under short-term recall conditions, the current study investigated the effects of redintegration and task difficulty in order to extend research conducted by Neale and Tehan (2007). Thirty participants in Experiment 1 and 26 participants in Experiment 2 completed a serial recall task in which retention interval, presentation rate, and articulatory suppression were used to modify task difficulty. Redintegration was examined by manipulating the characteristics of the to-be-remembered items; lexicality in Experiment 1 and wordlikeness in Experiment 2. Responses were scored based on correct-in-position recall, item scoring, and order accuracy scoring. In line with the Neale and Tehan results, as the difficulty of the task increased so did the effects of redintegration. This was evident in that the advantage for words in Experiment 1 and wordlikeness in Experiment 2 decreased as task difficulty increased. This relationship was observed for item but not order memory, and findings were discussed in relation to the theory of redintegration.

Inert gas narcosis disrupts encoding but not retrieval of long term memory

Exposure to increased ambient pressure causes inert gas narcosis of which one symptom is long-term memory (LTM) impairment. Narcosis is posited to impair LTM by disrupting information encoding, retrieval (self-guided search), or both. The effect of narcosis on the encoding and retrieval of LTM was investigated by testing the effect of learning–recall pressure and levels of processing (LoP) on the free-recall of word lists in divers underwater. All participants (n=60) took part in four conditions in which words were learnt and then recalled at either low pressure (1.4–1.9atm/4–9msw) or high pressure (4.4–5.0atm/34–40msw), as manipulated by changes in depth underwater: low–low (LL), low–high(LH), high–high (HH), and high–low (HL). In addition, participants were assigned to either a deep or shallow processing condition, using LoP methodology. Free-recall memory ability was significantly impaired only when words were initially learned at high pressure (HH & HL conditions). When words were learned at low pressure and then recalled at low pressure (LL condition) or high pressure (LH condition) free-recall was not impaired. Although numerically superior in several conditions, deeper processing failed to significantly improve free-recall ability in any of the learning–recall conditions. This pattern of results support the hypothesis that narcosis disrupts encoding of information into LTM, while retrieval appears to be unaffected. These findings are discussed in relation to similar effects reported by some memory impairing drugs and the practical implications for workers in pressurised environments.

Specificity of the bilingual advantage for memory: examining cued recall, generalization, and working memory in monolingual, bilingual, and trilingual toddlers.

The specificity of the bilingual advantage in memory was examined by testing groups of monolingual, bilingual, and trilingual 24-month-olds on tasks tapping cued recall, memory generalization and working memory. For the cued recall and memory generalization conditions, there was a 24-h delay between time of encoding and time of retrieval. In addition to the memory tasks, parent-toddler dyads completed a picture-book reading task, in order to observe emotional responsiveness, and a parental report of productive vocabulary. Results indicated no difference between language groups on cued recall, working memory, emotional responsiveness, or productive vocabulary, but a significant difference was found in the memory generalization condition with only the bilingual group outperforming the baseline control group. These results replicate and extend results from past studies (Brito and Barr, 2012, 2014; Brito et al., 2014) and suggest a bilingual advantage specific to memory generalization.

Why do participants initiate free recall of short lists of words with the first list item? Toward a general episodic memory explanation.

Participants who are presented with a short list of words for immediate free recall (IFR) show a strong tendency to initiate their recall with the 1st list item and then proceed in forward serial order. We report 2 experiments that examined whether this tendency was underpinned by a short-term memory store, of the type that is argued by some to underpin recency effects in IFR. In Experiment 1, we presented 3 groups of participants with lists of between 2 and 12 words for IFR, delayed free recall, and continuous-distractor free recall. The to-be-remembered words were simultaneously spoken and presented visually, and the distractor task involved silently solving a series of self-paced, visually presented mathematical equations (e.g., 3 + 2 + 4 = ?). The tendency to initiate recall at the start of short lists was greatest in IFR but was also present in the 2 other recall conditions. This finding was replicated in Experiment 2, where the to-be-remembered items were presented visually in silence and the participants spoke aloud their answers to computer-paced mathematical equations. Our results necessitate that a short-term buffer cannot be fully responsible for the tendency to initiate recall from the beginning of a short list; rather, they suggest that the tendency represents a general property of episodic memory that occurs across a range of time scales.

Improving multiplication fact fluency by choosing between competing answers

Developing fluency in arithmetic facts is instrumental to mathematics learning. This study compares the effects of two practice conditions on children's fluency in simple multiplication facts. Third and fourth graders in the Netherlands (N = 282) practised in either a conventional recall condition where they produced answers to problems, or a choice condition where they had to choose between competing answers that included common multiplication errors. Practice in the choice condition was faster and as accurate as recall practice but was not more beneficial to performance on speed tests of practised facts. For more experienced students, recall practice led to greater improvement on a conventional recall fluency test. Differential effects of practice conditions on test performance are explained in terms of practice-to-test transfer demands. The relative merits of recall and choice tasks in multiplication fact learning are discussed.

A-61 * Four-Hour Delayed Recall of Logical Memory

Objective: Routine neuropsychological assessment rarely includes delayed recall intervals over 30-minutes in duration, but recent studies have found that individuals with temporal lobe epilepsy may only show abnormal forgetting when longer intervals have been reached. The current study examined whether there is value in adding a 4-hour delayed recall condition to the neuropsychological assessment. Method: In the context of a private neuropsychology practice, a consecutive series of examinees with TBI ranging from mild to severe (n = 43) or with brain damage due to other causes (n = 12) were administered a full neuropsychological assessment. Four hours after the delayed recall condition, examinees were asked to recall the Logical Memory subtest of the Wechsler Memory Scale-III (WMS-III) for a third time. Results: As a percent retention score of 30-minute delayed recall, the mean 4-hour delayed recall for the entire group was 83%, (SD = 16%). There was no correlation of 4-hour retention with immediate or 30-minute delayed recall scores, or with brain injury severity. Seven individuals had 4-hour retention scores of less than 60%. This group consisted of one individual with a left hemisphere stroke, one individual with probable AD, one with a learning disability, three with mild-complicated brain injuries, and one with a mild brain injury. Conclusion(s): There is a stable retention rate for stories at a 4-hour delay, and scores falling below that level may indicate problems that would not have been detected in a routine neuropsychological assessment.

Central coherence in adolescents with bulimia nervosa spectrum eating disorders.

Weak central coherence-a tendency to process details at the expense of the gestalt-has been observed among adults with bulimia nervosa (BN) and is a potential candidate endophenotype for eating disorders (EDs). However, as BN behaviors typically onset during adolescence it is important to assess central coherence in this younger age group to determine whether the findings in adults are likely a result of BN or present earlier in the evolution of the disorder. This study examines whether the detail-oriented and fragmented cognitive inefficiency observed among adults with BN is observable among adolescents with shorter illness duration, relative to healthy controls. The Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (RCFT) was administered to a total of 47 adolescents with DSM5 BN, 42 with purging disorder (PD), and 25 healthy controls (HC). Performance on this measure was compared across the three groups. Those with BN and PD demonstrated significantly worse accuracy scores compared to controls in the copy and delayed recall condition with a moderate effect size. These findings were exacerbated when symptoms of BN increased. Poorer accuracy scores reflect a fragmented and piecemeal strategy that interferes with visual-spatial integration in BN spectrum disorders. This cognitive inefficiency likely contributes to broad difficulties in executive functioning in this population especially in the context of worsening bulimic symptoms. The findings of this study support the hypothesis that poor global integration may constitute a cognitive endophenotype for BN.

The Delay Before Recall Changes the Remembered Duration of 15‐minute Video Sequences

SummaryThe aim of this study was to determine if the passage of time changes the memory of the duration of joyful or sad events. Participants were asked to look at a series of brief videos lasting 15 minutes and to estimate retrospectively and verbally (with chronometric units) the duration of this 15‐minute period. There were two independent variables: the emotion conditions (joy, sadness and neutral) and the recall conditions (immediately after the presentation of videos, 1 week later or 1 month later). The results show that the estimated time is largely overestimated in the 1‐week and 1‐month condition but not when the recall is immediate. This effect applies to each emotional condition, but there was no significant difference between the emotion conditions. The effect of emotion on the estimation of long intervals judged retrospectively seems minimal in comparison with the cognitive effect associated with the passage of time. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Optimizing group collaboration to improve later retention

In educational settings, collaborative learning and recall are often encouraged and sometimes required. Yet, we know very little about the cognitive processes that operate during collaboration, and how they can be optimized to improve later individual retention. The current study aimed to address this gap by testing how the operations of three cognitive processes during collaboration: (1) retrieval disruption, (2) re-exposure and (3) cross-cuing, influence the formation of individual and group recall strategies. Across two experiments, 252 undergraduates studied a word list and recalled it in a Collaborative–Collaborative–Individual–Individual (CCII), an Individual–Collaborative–Individual–Individual (ICII), or an Individual–Individual–Individual–Individual (IIII) sequence. A 40-min delay was inserted early (CC-delay-II, IC-delay-II and II-delay-II; Experiment 1) or later in the recall sequence (CCI-delay-I, ICI-delay-I and III-delay-I; Experiment 2) to assess the differential benefits of different recall sequences. Regardless of where the delay occurred in the recall sequence, both collaboration conditions (CC and IC) benefited later individual recall to a greater extent than the individual recall condition (CCII>III and ICII>IIII). Repeated collaboration (CC) generated greater post-collaborative recall benefits than single collaboration (IC) when the delay was inserted early in the recall sequence (CC-delay-II>IC-delay-II), but the benefits were equivalent when the delay was inserted later in the recall sequence (CCI-delay-I–ICI-delay-I). Implications for future research and educational applications are discussed.

The nature of dual-task interference during gait in incident Parkinson’s disease

Dual-task interference during gait is a common phenomenon in older adults and people with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Dual-task performance is driven by cognitive processes involving executive function, attention and working memory which underpin resource capacity and allocation. The underlying processes that contribute to dual-task interference are poorly understood, and confounded by methodological differences. The aim of this study was to explore the nature of dual-task interference in PD with respect to age-matched controls. We examined 121 people with early PD and 189 controls and controlled for baseline task demand on both tasks allowing between-group differences to be attributed to dual-task interference rather than differences in baseline performance. We also compared a wide range of gait characteristics to evaluate the pattern of interference. Participants walked for two minutes at a preferred pace under single- and dual-task (test of working memory capacity−digit span recall) conditions. In a subgroup task demand was increased (digit span+1) (n=55 control, n=44 PD) to assess the influence of resource capacity. Finally the association between dual-task interference with motor and cognitive characteristics was examined to evaluate resource capacity and allocation. PD and controls responded similarly to the dual-task for all gait characteristics except for step width and step width variability and this was the same when task demand increased (dual+1). Control participants took wider steps (p=0.006) and step width variability increased significantly for controls (p=0.001) but not PD. Interference was specific to the gait characteristic rather than a global pattern of impairment. Digit span error rates were not significantly different between groups during dual-task performance. There were no significant correlations with dual-task interference and global cognition, motor deficit, and executive function for either group. Effects of dual-tasks on gait performance are twofold and specific to the gait characteristic. They reflect an age-related reduction in gait performance (especially forward progression) in PD and controls possibly due to reduced resource capacity; and secondly, show postural stability during walking in early PD is disproportionately affected highlighting a PD-specific dual-task co-ordination deficit. Further work is required to identify the cognitive, executive and motor correlates of dual-task interference from which inferences about underlying cognitive processes can be made. These findings inform an understanding of dual-task impairment in early PD and suggest that management should target postural control under dual-task conditions from the early stages.

Memory consolidation in children with epilepsy: Does sleep matter?

IntroductionChildren with epilepsy have frequent sleep disturbance and challenges in learning and memory. There is little research on the consolidation of memory during sleep in this population. The goal of this pilot study was to determine whether children with epilepsy are able to consolidate memories better after a sleep versus wake period as has been demonstrated in typically developing children. MethodsThis study was a prospective evaluation of children with epilepsy to determine if sleep improved episodic memory (using word lists) as compared with memory following a wake period of similar duration. The study was conducted in patients in the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit at a single academic health science center. In the sleep recall condition, the learning trials were presented in the evening, and delayed recall of the words was tested in the morning. In the wake condition, the learning took place in the morning, and the delayed recall took place later in the day. Subjects wore an actigraph to evaluate sleep/wake patterns. Data regarding the children's epilepsy, antiepileptic medications, and frequency of interictal epileptiform discharges were also documented. ResultsTen children (agd 8–17years) participated in the study. For the entire sample, recall after sleep was better than recall after awake (p=0.03), and 7 of the 10 children showed this effect. However, reanalyses removing an outlier showed no difference between the two recall conditions. The mean number of interictal epileptiform discharges was 8.8 during the recall after sleep and 7.8 during the recall after awake. Three children had seizures during the evaluation. ConclusionIn this pilot study, we demonstrated that a small cohort of children with epilepsy, with similar interictal epileptiform discharges during sleep and wake, showed no advantage in memory for a word list after a period of sleep than after a period of being awake. This finding requires further study in a larger cohort. Poor memory consolidation during sleep may contribute to the cognitive deficits in children with epilepsy.

Compound cuing in free recall.

According to the retrieved context theory of episodic memory, the cue for recall of an item is a weighted sum of recently activated cognitive states, including previously recalled and studied items as well as their associations. We show that this theory predicts there should be compound cuing in free recall. Specifically, the temporal contiguity effect should be greater when the 2 most recently recalled items were studied in contiguous list positions. A meta-analysis of published free recall experiments demonstrates evidence for compound cuing in both conditional response probabilities and interresponse times. To help rule out a rehearsal-based account of these compound cuing effects, we conducted an experiment with immediate, delayed, and continual-distractor free recall conditions. Consistent with retrieved context theory but not with a rehearsal-based account, compound cuing was present in all conditions, and was not significantly influenced by the presence of interitem distractors.

Road work on memory lane—Functional and structural alterations to the learning and memory circuit in adults born very preterm

Very preterm (VPT) birth is considered a risk factor not only for neurological impairment, but also for reduced function in several cognitive domains in childhood and later in life. Individuals who were born VPT are more likely to demonstrate learning and memory difficulties compared to term-born controls. These problems contribute to more VPT-born children repeating grades and underachieving in school. This, in turn, affects their prospects in adult life. Here we aimed to 1) study how the VPT-born adult brain functionally recruited specific areas during learning, i.e. encoding and recall across four repeated blocks of verbal stimuli, and to investigate how these patterns of activation differed from term-born subjects; and 2) probe the microstructural differences of white-matter tracts connecting these areas to other parts of the learning and memory network. To investigate these functional–structural relationships we analyzed functional and diffusion-weighted MRI. Functional-MRI and a verbal paired associate learning (VPAL) task were used to extract Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent (BOLD) activity in 21 VPT-born adults (<33weeks of gestation) (mean age: 19.68 years±0.85; IQ: 99.86±11.20) and 10 term-born controls (mean age: 19.87 years±2.04; IQ: 108.9±13.18). Areas in which differences in functional activation were observed between groups were used as seed regions for tractography. Fractional anisotropy (FA) of the tract-skeleton was then compared between groups on a voxel-wise basis. Results of functional MRI analysis showed a significantly different pattern of activation between groups during encoding in right anterior cingulate–caudate body, and during retrieval in left thalamus, hippocampus and parts of left posterior parahippocampal gyrus. The number of correctly recalled word pairs did not statistically differ between individuals who were born VPT and controls. The VPT-born group was found to have reduced FA in tracts passing through the thalamic/hippocampal region that was differently activated during the recall condition, with the hippocampal fornix, inferior longitudinal fasciculus and inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus particularly affected.Young adults who were born very preterm display a strikingly different pattern of activation during the process of learning in key structures of the learning and memory network, including anterior cingulate and caudate body during encoding and thalamus/parahippocampal gyrus during cued recall. Altered activation in thalamus/parahippocampal gyrus may be explained by reduced connections between these areas and the hippocampus, which may be a direct consequence of neonatal hypoxic/ischemic injury.These results could reflect the effect of adaptive plastic processes associated with high-order cognitive functions, at least when the cognitive load remains relatively low, as ex-preterm young adults displayed unimpaired performance in completing the verbal paired associate learning task.

The effects of immediate recall on eyewitness accuracy and susceptibility to misinformation

Eyewitnesses can be influenced by misinformation that they encounter when discussing the event with a co-witness. Some studies have found that an immediate recall of the event can inoculate eyewitnesses against such misinformation; others have found that it increases susceptibility to misinformation. These different findings may be due to methodological factors, so the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of three different recall conditions. An immediate cued recall, free recall or no recall was given to 88 participants after they watched a crime video. They then discussed the video with a confederate who introduced correct and incorrect information about the video. Accuracy and amount of recall was tested one week later. It was found that the immediate-recall questionnaire did not make participants more susceptible to misinformation in comparison to no-recall participants, indeed the data trended the other way, suggesting that immediate-recall inoculated participants against misinformation. Furthermore, the provision of correct post-event information increased memory accuracy, especially after immediate recall.

Associations between Basal Cortisol Levels and Memory Retrieval in Healthy Young Individuals

Cortisol is known to affect memory processes. On the one hand, stress-induced or pharmacologically induced elevations of cortisol levels enhance memory consolidation. On the other hand, such experimentally induced elevations of cortisol levels have been shown to impair memory retrieval. However, the effects of individual differences in basal cortisol levels on memory processes remain largely unknown. Here we tested whether individual differences in cortisol levels predict picture learning and recall in a large sample. A total of 1225 healthy young women and men viewed two different sets of emotional and neutral pictures on two consecutive days. Both sets were recalled after a short delay (10 min). On Day 2, the pictures seen on Day 1 were additionally recalled, resulting in a long-delay (20 hr) recall condition. Cortisol levels were measured three times on Days 1 and 2 via saliva samples before encoding, between encoding and recall as well as after recall testing. We show that stronger decreases in cortisol levels during retrieval testing were associated with better recall performance of pictures, regardless of emotional valence of the pictures or length of the retention interval (i.e., 10 min vs. 20 hr). In contrast, average cortisol levels during retrieval were not related to picture recall. Remarkably during encoding, individual differences in average cortisol levels as well as changes in cortisol did not predict memory recall. Our results support previous findings indicating that higher cortisol levels during retrieval testing hinders recall of episodic memories and extend this view onto interindividual changes in basal cortisol levels.

The Power of the Spoken Word: Can Spoken-Recall Enhance Eyewitness Evidence?

Research suggests that immediate, high-quality recall can consolidate witness memory for the event. However, these studies have employed written-recall, which presumes a level of literacy that some eyewitnesses may not possess. In the research presented here, we investigate the utility of spoken immediate recall. Participants viewed a crime video and completed an immediate spoken-recall, written-recall or no-recall response. Participants returned a week later and were exposed to both correct and incorrect post-event information before being interviewed. Immediate recall was comparable in the spoken and written conditions, but spoken-recall was faster and participants reported it was less effortful than written-recall. One week later, participants in the spoken and written conditions reported less misinformation than participants in the no recall condition. These results suggest that spoken immediate recall may be a viable alternative to written immediate recall.

Attentional and executive functions are differentially affected by post-traumatic stress disorder and trauma

BackgroundAmong the neurocognitive impairments observed in patients with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), attentional and executive dysfunctions appear to correlate with negative effects on education, work, daily life activities, and social relations, as well as the re-experiencing, avoidance, and hyperarousal symptoms of PTSD. However, there is no consensus regarding which aspects of attentional and executive functions are impaired in PTSD patients. MethodsAttentional and executive functions were assessed using the digit span (WAIS-III) and spatial span (WMS-III) tests under forward and backward recall conditions, the Stroop Test, and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). Our sample was composed of victims of urban violence who developed PTSD (PTSD+) (n = 81), victims of urban violence who did not develop PTSD (PTSD−) (n = 70), and healthy controls not exposed to trauma (HC) (n = 50). ResultsThe PTSD+ group had poorer performance on the spatial span forward subtest (p = 0.023; eta2 = 0.038) and poorer execution time (p = 0.023; eta2 = 0.042) and accuracy (p = 0.019; eta2 = 0.044) on the Stroop Test compared to HC. ConclusionsThese data suggest that there are few differences between the PTSD+ and HC groups, which are restricted to less complex measures of attentional and executive functional processes (short term capacity, selective attention, processing speed, and inhibitory control) and are related to visual stimuli. Therefore, cognitive impairments directly correlated with the manifestation of PTSD.

The Influence of Childhood Aerobic Fitness on Learning and Memory

IntroductionThere is a growing trend of inactivity among children, which may not only result in poorer physical health, but also poorer cognitive health. Previous research has shown that lower fitness has been related to decreased cognitive function for tasks requiring perception, memory, and cognitive control as well as lower academic achievement.PurposeTo investigate the relationship between aerobic fitness, learning, and memory on a task that involved remembering names and locations on a fictitious map. Different learning strategies and recall procedures were employed to better understand fitness effects on learning novel material.MethodsForty-eight 9–10 year old children (n = 24 high fit; HF and n = 24 low fit; LF) performed a task requiring them to learn the names of specific regions on a map, under two learning conditions in which they only studied (SO) versus a condition in which they were tested during study (TS). The retention day occurred one day after initial learning and involved two different recall conditions: free recall and cued recall.ResultsThere were no differences in performance at initial learning between higher fit and lower fit participants. However, during the retention session higher fit children outperformed lower fit children, particularly when the initial learning strategy involved relatively poor recall performance (i.e., study only versus test-study strategy).ConclusionsWe interpret these novel data to suggest that fitness can boost learning and memory of children and that these fitness-associated performance benefits are largest in conditions in which initial learning is the most challenging. Such data have important implications for both educational practice and policy.

No effects of eye movements on the encoding of the visuospatial sketchpad and the phonological loop in healthy participants: Possible implications for eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy

Horizontal eye movement is an essential component of the psychological intervention “eye movement desensitization and reprocessing” (EMDR) used in posttraumatic stress disorder. A hypothesized mechanism of action is an overload of the visuospatial sketchpad and/or the phonological loop of the working memory.The aim is to explore how eye movements affect the information encoding of the visuospatial sketchpad and the phonological loop.Fifty healthy young adults performed two immediate recall tasks from the Wechsler Memory Scale: “Corsi Cubes” and “Digits”. Using a within-participants design, up to 16 repetitions of eight seconds of eye-movement and an eye-rest condition were performed.There were no statistically significant differences between the eye movement and eye rest conditions for either recall task.In our sample of healthy participants, eye movements did not improve the immediate auditory and visual consolidation memory, undermining this hypothesized mechanism of action of EMDR. However, these findings might also be explained by our exclusion of tests that would stimulate autobiographical memory and our use of a non-clinical sample.