Role Of Verbal Memory Research Articles

Unilateral hippocampal sparing during whole brain radiotherapy for multiple brain metastases: narrative and critical review.

The landscape of brain metastases radiotherapy is evolving, with a shift away from whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT) toward targeted stereotactic approaches aimed at preserving neurocognitive functions and maintaining overall quality of life. For patients with multiple metastases, especially in cases where targeted radiotherapy is no longer feasible due to widespread dissemination, the concept of hippocampal sparing radiotherapy (HA_WBRT) gains prominence. In this narrative review we explore the role of the hippocampi in memory formation and the implications of their postradiotherapy lateral damage. We also consider the potential advantages of selectively sparing one hippocampus during whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT). Additionally, by systematic evaluation of relevant papers published on PubMed database over last 20 years, we provide a comprehensive overview of the various changes that can occur in the left or right hippocampus as a consequence of radiotherapy. While it is important to note that various neurocognitive functions are interconnected throughout the brain, we can discern certain specialized roles of the hippocampi. The left hippocampus appears to play a predominant role in verbal memory, whereas the right hippocampus is associated more with visuospatial memory. Additionally, the anterior part of the hippocampus is more involved in episodic memory and emotional processing, while the posterior part is primarily responsible for spatial memory and pattern separation. Notably, a substantial body of evidence demonstrates a significant correlation between post-radiotherapy changes in the left hippocampus and subsequent cognitive decline in patients. In the context of individualized palliative radiotherapy, sparing the unilateral (specifically, the left, which is dominant in most individuals) hippocampus could expand the repertoire of strategies available for adapted WBRT in cases involving multiple brain metastases where stereotactic radiotherapy is not a viable option. Prospective ongoing studies assessing various memory-sparing radiotherapy techniques will define new standard of radiotherapy care of patients with multiple brain metastases.

Non-arbitrary mappings between size and sound of English words: Form typicality effects during lexical access and memory.

A century of research has provided evidence of limited size sound symbolism in English, that is, certain vowels are non-arbitrarily associated with words denoting small versus large referents (e.g., /i/ as in teensy and /ɑ/ as in tall). In the present study, we investigated more extensive statistical regularities between surface form properties of English words and ratings of their semantic size, that is, form typicality, and its impact on language and memory processing. Our findings provide the first evidence of significant word form typicality for semantic size. In five empirical studies using behavioural megastudy data sets of performance on written and auditory lexical decision, reading aloud, semantic decision, and recognition memory tasks, we show that form typicality for size is a stronger and more consistent predictor of lexical access during word comprehension and production than semantic size, in addition to playing a significant role in verbal memory. The empirical results demonstrate that statistical information about non-arbitrary form-size mappings is accessed automatically during language and verbal memory processing, unlike semantic size that is largely dependent on task contexts that explicitly require participants to access size knowledge. We discuss how a priori knowledge about non-arbitrary form-meaning associations in the lexicon might be incorporated in models of language processing that implement Bayesian statistical inference.

A-201 Attention Span, Verbal Memory, and Spatial Memory as Variables in Neuropsychological Test Performance

Abstract Objective: We investigated (a) the role of attention span, verbal, and spatial memory in performance on widely used neuropsychological tests, and; (b) the impact of anxiety and depression on tests of attention span and verbal and spatial memory. Participants and Method: 579 referrals to memory disorders clinic, 60% women, 84% white non-Hispanic, average age 59.8±15.7 and education 14.9±2.9 years. Referred to help diagnose symptoms of forgetfulness, distractibility, and/or word finding difficulties. Used comprehensive battery (HRNES-R) and protocols were screened for performance invalidity. Results: Ten measures of attention and memory were factor analyzed (PCA/Varimax) yielding three factors: Spatial Recall (SR), Verbal Recall (VR), and Attention Span (AS). Age, not education, was related to AS (-.34) and SR (-.32), ps<.001, but not to VR. AS and SR were respectively predictive of performance on Category Test (rs=.37,.41), Trails B (.32,.48), TPT-Total Time (.35,.53), Coding (.31,.29), Block Design (.31,.37) and the Average Impairment Scale (AIS) (.45,.68), all ps<.001. In contrast, VR was less predictive across all measures. Levels of anxiety (MMPI-2 ANX) and depression (DEP) were not predictive of AS (-.01,.00), SR (.02,.02), or VR (.03,.02), n.s. Conclusions: After controlling for “incomplete effort”, attention span and spatial memory play a significant role in performance on widely used neuropsychological tests that tap multiple cognitive domains. The role of verbal memory in performance on these tests, while statistically significant, was less predictive. In general, findings suggest that when protocols are screened for performance invalidity, MMPI-2 levels of anxiety and depression have no relation to attention span or verbal/spatial memory test performance.

Encoding in a social feedback context enhances and biases behavioral and electrophysiological correlates of long-term recognition memory

Encoding often occurs in social contexts, yet research has hardly addressed their role in verbal memory. In three experiments, we investigated the behavioral and neural effects of encoding context on memory for positive, negative, and neutral adjectives, contrasting a social-feedback group (N = 24) with an explicit verbal-learning (N = 24) and a levels-of-processing group (N = 24). Participants in the social-feedback group were not aware of a recognition session one week later, but their memory was better than the explicit learning or the levels-of-processing groups'. However, they also exhibited the strongest response bias, particularly for positive words. Brain event-related potentials (ERPs) revealed largest early negativities (EPN) and late positivities (LPP) in the social-feedback group. Only in the subsequent slow-wave did the explicit learning group show higher amplitudes than the other two groups, suggesting reliance on strategic rather than automatic processes. Still, context-driven incidental encoding outweighed explicit instructions, specifying a decisive role of social factors in memory.

Differential associations of visual memory with hippocampal subfields in subjective cognitive decline and amnestic mild cognitive impairment

BackgroundAlthough previous studies have demonstrated that the hippocampus plays a role in verbal memory, the role of hippocampal subfields in visual memory is uncertain, especially in those with preclinical Alzheimer's disease (AD). This study aimed to examine relationships between hippocampal subfield volumes and visual memory in SCD (subjective cognitive decline) and aMCI (amnestic mild cognitive impairment).MethodsThe study sample included 47 SCD patients, 62 aMCI patients, and 51 normal controls (NCs) and was recruited from Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital. Visual memory was measured by the subtests of BVMT-R (Brief Visuospatial Memory Test-Revised), PLT (Pictorial Learning Test), DMS (Delayed Matching to Sample), and PAL (Paired Associates Learning). Hippocampal subfield volumes were estimated using FreeSurfer software (version 6.0). We modeled the association between visual memory and relative hippocampal subfield volumes (dividing by estimated total intracranial volume) using Pearson's correlation and linear regression.ResultsCompared with the NC group, patients with SCD did not find any relative hippocampal subregion atrophy, and the aMCI group found atrophy in CA1, molecular layer, subiculum, GC-ML-DG, CA4, and CA3. After adjusting for covariates (age, sex, and APOE ε4 status) and FDR (false discovery rate) correction of p (q values) < 0.05, in NC group, DMS delay matching scores were significant and negatively associated with presubiculum (r = -0.399, FDR q = 0.024); in SCD group, DMS delay matching scores were negatively associated with CA3 (r = -0.378, FDR q = 0.048); in the aMCI group, BVMT-R immediate recall scores were positively associated with CA1, molecular layer, subiculum, and GC-ML-DG (r = 0.360–0.374, FDR q < 0.036). Stepwise linear regression analysis confirmed the association.ConclusionsOur results indicate a different and specific correction of visual memory with relative hippocampal subfield volumes between SCD and aMCI. The correlations involved different and more subfields as cognitive decline. Whether these associations predict future disease progression needs dynamic longitudinal studies.

Voxel-Mirrored Homotopic Connectivity Associated With Change of Cognitive Function in Chronic Pontine Stroke.

Recent neuroimaging studies have shown the possibility of cognitive impairment after pontine stroke. In this study, we aimed to use voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC) to investigate changes in the cognitive function in chronic pontine stroke. Functional MRI (fMRI) and behavioral assessments of cognitive function were obtained from 56 patients with chronic pontine ischemic stroke [28 patients with left-sided pontine stroke (LP) and 28 patients with right-sided pontine stroke (RP)] and 35 matched healthy controls (HC). The one-way ANOVA test was performed for the three groups after the VMHC analysis. Results showed that there were significant decreases in the bilateral lingual gyrus (Lingual_L and Lingual_R) and the left precuneus (Precuneus_L) in patients with chronic pontine ischemic stroke compared to HCs. However, in a post-hoc multiple comparison test, this difference remained only between the HC and RP groups. Moreover, we explored the relationship between the decreased z-values in VMHC and the behavior-task scores using a Pearson's correlation test and found that both scores of short-term memory and long-term memory in the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test were positively correlated with z-values of the left lingual gyrus (Lingual_L), the right lingual gyrus (Lingual_R), and the left precuneus (Precuneus_L) in VMHC. Besides that, the z-values of Precuneus_L in VMHC were also negatively correlated with the reaction time for correct responses in the Flanker task and the spatial memory task. In conclusion, first, the lingual gyrus played an important role in verbal memory. Second, the precuneus influenced the working memory, both auditory-verbal memory and visual memory. Third, the right-sided stroke played a greater role in the results of this study. This study provides a basis for further elucidation of the characteristics and mechanisms of cognitive impairment after pontine stroke.

The longitudinal effect of antipsychotic burden on psychosocial functioning in first-episode psychosis patients: the role of verbal memory.

Previous literature supports antipsychotics' (AP) efficacy in acute first-episode psychosis (FEP) in terms of symptomatology and functioning but also a cognitive detrimental effect. However, regarding functional recovery in stabilised patients, these effects are not clear. Therefore, the main aim of this study is to investigate dopaminergic/anticholinergic burden of (AP) on psychosocial functioning in FEP. We also examined whether cognitive impairment may mediate these effects on functioning. A total of 157 FEP participants were assessed at study entry, and at 2 months and 2 years after remission of the acute episode. The primary outcomes were social functioning as measured by the functioning assessment short test (FAST). Cognitive domains were assessed as potential mediators. Dopaminergic and anticholinergic AP burden on 2-year psychosocial functioning [measured with chlorpromazine (CPZ) and drug burden index] were independent variables. Secondary outcomes were clinical and socio-demographic variables. Mediation analysis found a statistical but not meaningful contribution of dopaminergic receptor blockade burden to worse functioning mediated by cognition (for every 600 CPZ equivalent points, 2-year FAST score increased 1.38 points). Regarding verbal memory and attention, there was an indirect effect of CPZ burden on FAST (b = 0.0045, 95% CI 0.0011-0.0091) and (b = 0.0026, 95% CI 0.0001-0.0006) respectively. However, only verbal memory post hoc analyses showed a significant indirect effect (b = 0.009, 95% CI 0.033-0.0151) adding premorbid IQ as covariate. We did not find significant results for anticholinergic burden. CPZ dose effect over functioning is mediated by verbal memory but this association appears barely relevant.

P108 Remediation of cognitive impairment due to sleep deprivation: A rTMS pilot study

Introduction The lack of sleep is associated with diminished cognitive performance. rTMS has been applied in sleep deprived subjects, showing a decrease in response times (upper middle occipital gyrus); but this effect is no longer found after recovery ( Luber et al., 2008 ). Objectives To explore the effects of high frequency stimulation in different areas. Patients & methods 6 healthy right-handed subjects were randomly assigned to one stimulation group: medial frontal gyrus, medial occipital gyrus or SHAM. Subjects completed one initial fMRI session and another final session (post 24 h sleep deprivation & stimulation). Letters were presented for 500 ms in 5 min blocks (300 letters & 60 targets). Stimulation consisted of a 20-min session at 5 Hz in the left hemisphere at 100% of the MT. Mood (VAS) and sensation (1:10) were measured. For 1-back, accuracy increased for MFG (3.33%) and for 2-back increased in MOG (25%). MOG group showed shorter response times in 1-back (5.05%) and 2-back (18.32%). Sensation scale measure was 3(±1.9), subjects were not able to distinguish whether it was true or false stimulation. VAS results are shown in Fig. 1 Download : Download high-res image (455KB) Download : Download full-size image (0: minimum value and 10: maximum value). MFG group: activation increased was found for both contrasts (1 & 2-back) especially in areas related to frontal lobes. MOG group: activation decreased in frontal lobes (1-back). SHAM group: increment at parietal lobe, prefrontal cortex, cingulate gyrus and temporal lobe for both contrasts (Fig. 2 Download : Download high-res image (618KB) Download : Download full-size image ). Conclusion Stimulation has a positive effect in the perception of symptoms related to SD. In MOG group, subjects showed better accuracy and response times. These findings may be caused by the stimulation of parietal-temporal-occipital association area (in charge of focusing specific objects and rejecting others, attention in spatial loctralization and plays an important role in verbal memory); located near MOG ( Rhoades, 2009 ). Results indicate that there are differences between the different sites of stimulation, so it will be interesting to further explore these areas with a larger size population.

The role of verbal memory in regressions during reading

During reading, participants generally move their eyes rightward on the line. A number of eye movements, called regressions, are made leftward, to words that have already been fixated. In the present study, we investigated the role of verbal memory during regressions. In Experiment 1, participants were asked to read sentences for comprehension. After reading, they were asked to make a regression to a target word presented auditorily. The results revealed that their regressions were guided by memory, as they differed from those of a control group who did not read the sentences. The role of verbal memory during regressions was then investigated by combining the reading task with articulatory suppression (Exps. 2 and 3). The results showed that articulatory suppression affected the size and the accuracy of the initial regression but had a minimal effect on corrective saccades. This suggests that verbal memory plays an important role in determining the location of the initial saccade during regressions.

The advantage of reading over listening text comprehension in Down syndrome: What is the role of verbal memory?

The current study was designed to investigate the role played by verbal memory in the advantage shown by individuals with Down syndrome in reading over listening text comprehension (Roch & Levorato, 2009). Two different aspects of verbal memory were analyzed: processing load and coding modality. Participants were 20 individuals with Down syndrome, aged between 11 and 26 years who were matched for reading comprehension with a group of 20 typically developing children aged between 6;3 and 7;3 years. The two groups were presented with a listening comprehension test and four verbal memory tasks in which the degree of processing load and the coding modality were manipulated. The results of the study confirmed the advantage of reading over listening comprehension for individuals with Down syndrome. Furthermore, it emerged that different aspects of verbal memory were related respectively to reading and to listening comprehension: visual memory with low processing load was related to the former and oral memory with high processing load to the latter. Finally, it was demonstrated that verbal memory contributed to explain the advantage of reading over listening comprehension in Down syndrome. The results are discussed in light of their theoretical relevance and practical implications.

Right temporal lobe plays a role in verbal memory

<title/>Objectives: Comparison of preoperative and postoperative neurological functions in patients undergoing resection of brain tumors, in combination with data from diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies, can provide direct evidence of anatomical localization of brain function. The goal of the present study was to use these techniques to characterize memory function of the right temporal lobe in five patients with right temporal lobe brain tumors.Methods: Memory function was tested using the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised (WMS-R) before and after surgery in five patients with right temporal lobe brain tumors. Preoperative DTI was performed in four of five cases.Results: In all cases, general and verbal memory, including verbal paired association, significantly improved after surgery (P<0·05). The right inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF) was compressed by the tumor in all cases.Conclusion: These results suggest that the right temporal lobe plays a role in verbal memory and that this function may be associated with the right ILF.

MDMA (ecstasy) use is associated with reduced BOLD signal change during semantic recognition in abstinent human polydrug users: a preliminary fMRI study

3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) users have impaired verbal memory, and voxel-based morphometry has shown decreased grey matter in Brodmann area (BA) 18, 21 and 45. Because these regions play a role in verbal memory, we hypothesized that MDMA users would show altered brain activation in these areas during performance of a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) task that probed semantic verbal memory. Polysubstance users enriched for MDMA exposure participated in a semantic memory encoding and recognition fMRI task that activated left BA 9, 18, 21/22 and 45. Primary outcomes were percent blood oxygen level-dependent signal change in left BA 9, 18, 21/22 and 45, accuracy and response time. During semantic recognition, lifetime MDMA use was associated with decreased activation in left BA 9, 18 and 21/22 but not 45. This was partly influenced by contributions from cannabis and cocaine use. MDMA exposure was not associated with accuracy or response time during the semantic recognition task. During semantic recognition, MDMA exposure was associated with reduced regional brain activation in regions mediating verbal memory. These findings partially overlap with previous structural evidence for reduced grey matter in MDMA users and may, in part, explain the consistent verbal memory impairments observed in other studies of MDMA users.

Non‐verbal learning is impaired in very mild Alzheimer's disease (CDR 0.5): Normative data from the learning version of the Rey–Osterrieth Complex Figure Test

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a transitional state between normal aging and dementia. Although there have been some studies on the role of verbal memory in learning ability, there have been no reports on the part played by visual memory. In the present study, the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (RCFT) was given to healthy subjects and to those with MCI to determine if visual memory was maintained in these two groups. Additionally, normative data from the learning version of the RCFT for Japanese subjects were examined, for purpose of reference. The participants consisted of 381 clinical dementia rating (CDR) 0 subjects and 137 CDR 0.5 subjects who could perform the full set of RCFT tasks. The CDR 0 group had significantly higher scores than the CDR 0.5 group in all trials. The CDR 0 participants also showed a significant step-by-step learning effect, while the CDR 0.5 participants did not show a significant learning effect. These results suggest that the CDR 0 participants maintained intact learning abilities of encoding and retrieval, while the CDR 0.5 participants did not do so; but further studies will be needed to clarify these findings.