Verbal Short-term Memory Research Articles

The structure of preliteracy competence in children aged five to seven years

Children´s early literacy development is a key contributor to later literacy skills and overall academic achievement. We have developed a set of tests that assesses preliteracy competence based on well-established foreign and Slovenian instruments or tools. A sample of 307 children aged from five to seven years were tested. A high Cronbach alpha coefficient (alpha = 0.87) indicates that the design instrument is an internally reliable instrument. This paper showcases and describes the differences in the development of preliteracy competence in different age group. The results show that children between 5 and 7 show the greatest development of the abilities to discern the initial sound, to analyse the sound, to notice the removal of sounds or syllables from a meaningless word, and to recall words on a given phoneme. Exploratory factor analysis with oblimin rotation revealed that preliteracy competence is best understood as a four-dimensional construct among children aged five to seven years. The first dimension is defined by higher-level phonological awareness, verbal memory, and rapid automatic naming, so it is metaphonology. The second factor, named perceptual language structure, expresses macro-linguistic structure (syllable, rhymes) and discrimination of words that sound similar. The third factor, named vocabulary, is saturated mostly by syllable analysis, vocabulary and word comprehension. The fourth factor is visual processing and capturing, which enable storage and refreshing of non-verbal information and the discrimination of symbols. The differences in development of preliteracy competency indicate intervention in the following areas: phonological awareness, verbal short-term memory, visual processing (discrimination and short-term memory) and vocabulary knowledge.

Chunking and data compression in verbal short-term memory

Short-term verbal memory is improved when words can be chunked into larger units. Miller (1956) suggested that the capacity of verbal short-term memory is determined by the number of chunks that can be stored in memory, rather than by the number of items or the amount of information. But how does the improvement due to chunking come about, and is memory really determined by the number of chunks? One possibility is that chunking is a form of data compression. It allows more information to be stored in the available capacity. An alternative is that chunking operates primarily by redintegration. Chunks exist only in long-term memory, and enable the corresponding items in short-term memory to be reconstructed more reliably from a degraded trace. We review the data favoring each of these views and discuss the implications of treating chunking as data compression. Contrary to Miller, we suggest that memory capacity is primarily determined both by the amount of information that can be stored but also by the underlying representational vocabulary of the memory system. Given the limitations on the representations that can be stored in verbal short-term memory, chunking can sometimes allow the information capacity of short-term memory to be exploited more efficiently. (202 words).

QOL-20. IMPACT OF RADIATION DOSE AND VOLUME ON MEMORY FUNCTIONING IN CHILDREN WITH MEDULLOBLASTOMA: A REPORT FROM CHILDREN’S ONCOLOGY GROUP (COG) ACNS0331

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVESWe examined longitudinal verbal and visual memory functioning in children treated for medulloblastoma on COG protocol ACNS0331.METHODSChildren with medulloblastoma participated in neuropsychological testing at three timepoints over a 6-year period. Children aged 3–7 years were randomized to receive craniospinal irradiation (CSI) of either 23.4Gy (standard dose; SDCSI) or 18Gy (lower dose; LDCSI). Children aged 8+ received SDCSI. All children were also randomized to receive either a reduced radiation boost to the involved field (IFRT) or a standard boost to the whole posterior fossa (PFRT). Memory functioning was evaluated an average of 0.67(T1), 2.95(T2), and 4.90(T3) years post-diagnosis.RESULTSOf 464 eligible patients enrolled on ACNS0331, 354 (76%; 65.3% male, 83.1% white) completed some neuropsychological testing. Mean age at diagnosis was 9.1 years (range=3–19). Verbal and visual short-term memory and learning were broadly within the average range for the overall sample at all three timepoints. However, a large percentage of children exhibited scores ≥1SD below the mean on tasks of verbal learning both immediately (43.4%) and after a delay (40.7%) at T3. In addition, 58.6% of children randomized to SDCSI exhibited impairment in verbal learning after a delay compared to 34.8% of children randomized to LDSCI, and 35.0% of those aged ≥8 at diagnosis receiving SDCSI.CONCLUSIONSYounger children receiving SDCSI have particularly high rates of memory impairment five years after diagnosis of medulloblastoma. Limiting CSI dose and/or volume in young children treated for this diagnosis may improve outcomes for memory functioning.

The relationship between executive function, risky behaviour and HIV in young women from the HPTN 068 study in rural South Africa

ABSTRACT Executive function (EF) may predict sexual risk-taking and HIV risk in young women in rural South Africa. We tested associations between EF and seven risky behavioural outcomes: binge drinking, illicit substance use, unprotected vaginal sex, concurrent sexual relationships, transactional sex, herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) infection, and HIV infection. We compared EF in young women with HIV to matched controls. 1080 young women underwent cognitive assessments. Better verbal short-term memory was associated with a lower risk of HSV-2 (OR 0.77; 95% CI 0.69, 0.86; p < 0.001). Uncorrected trends (p < 0.05) were better verbal working memory being associated with a lower risk of concurrency, better planning with a lower risk of illicit drug use, and better affective inhibition with a lower risk of transactional sex. 78 participants with sexually acquired HIV were matched with 153 HIV-negative controls and had poorer verbal working memory than controls (Hedge’s g = −0.38; 95% CI −0.66, −0.10; p = 0.0076), but this was non-significant after adjustment. EF’s contribution to young women’s risky behaviour in this context does not hold when stringent statistical corrections are applied, with only verbal short term memory reaching statistical significance as predictor. Replication in other samples is recommended.

Working, Declarative, and Procedural Memory in Children With Developmental Language Disorder.

Purpose Previous research into the working, declarative, and procedural memory systems in children with developmental language disorder (DLD) has yielded inconsistent results. The purpose of this research was to profile these memory systems in children with DLD and their typically developing peers. Method One hundred four 5- to 8-year-old children participated in the study. Fifty had DLD, and 54 were typically developing. Aspects of the working memory system (verbal short-term memory, verbal working memory, and visual-spatial short-term memory) were assessed using a nonword repetition test and subtests from the Working Memory Test Battery for Children. Verbal and visual-spatial declarative memory were measured using the Children's Memory Scale, and an audiovisual serial reaction time task was used to evaluate procedural memory. Results The children with DLD demonstrated significant impairments in verbal short-term and working memory, visual-spatial short-term memory, verbal declarative memory, and procedural memory. However, verbal declarative memory and procedural memory were no longer impaired after controlling for working memory and nonverbal IQ. Declarative memory for visual-spatial information was unimpaired. Conclusions These findings indicate that children with DLD have deficits in the working memory system. While verbal declarative memory and procedural memory also appear to be impaired, these deficits could largely be accounted for by working memory skills. The results have implications for our understanding of the cognitive processes underlying language impairment in the DLD population; however, further investigation of the relationships between the memory systems is required using tasks that measure learning over long-term intervals. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.13250180.

Comorbid Learning Difficulties in Reading and Mathematics: The Role of Intelligence and In-Class Attentive Behavior.

The goal was to identify the domain-general cognitive abilities and academic attitudes that are common and unique to reading and mathematics learning difficulties that in turn will have implications for intervention development. Across seventh and eighth grade, 315 (155 boys) adolescents (M age = 12.75 years) were administered intelligence, verbal short-term and working memory, and visuospatial memory, attention, and ability measures, along with measures of English and mathematics attitudes and mathematics anxiety. Teachers reported on students’ in-class attentive behavior. A combination of Bayesian and multi-level models revealed that intelligence and in-class attentive behavior were common predictors of reading accuracy, reading fluency, and mathematics achievement. Verbal short-term memory was more critical for reading accuracy and fluency, whereas spatial ability and mathematics self-efficacy were more critical for mathematics achievement. The combination of intelligence and in-class attentive behavior discriminated typically achieving students from students with comorbid (D = 2.44) or mathematics (D = 1.59) learning difficulties, whereas intelligence, visuospatial attention, and verbal short-term memory discriminated typically achieving students from students with reading disability (D = 1.08). The combination of in-class attentive behavior, verbal short-term memory, and mathematics self-efficacy discriminated students with mathematics difficulties from their peers with reading difficulties (D = 1.16). Given the consistent importance of in-class attentive behavior, we conducted post hoc follow-up analyses. The results suggested that students with poor in-class attentive behavior were disengaging from academic learning which in turn contributed to their risk of learning difficulties.

Verbalna memorija u bolesnika nakon operacije rupturirane i nerupturirane cerebralne aneurizme

A cerebral aneurysm is a bulge in the wall of a brain blood vessel with a risk to rupture. It occurs in about 2% of the population, somewhat more often in women. Most aneurysms are located in the anterior circulation area. Aneurysm rupture is relatively rare and accounts for 5% of all cerebrovascular brain incidents. Ruptured and asymptomatic/unruptured aneurysms are often treated surgically at the Department of Neurosurgery, Medical School University of Zagreb. The study included 134 patients after cerebral aneurysm surgery during the last 10 years, and neuropsychological testing was performed on average 77 days after surgery. The average age was 52 years and they completed an average of 12 years of education. In the group of patients included in this study, 40.3% of them were operated after ruptured, and 59.7% for unruptured cerebral aneurysm. Most aneurysms were located in the middle cerebral and anterior communicating arteries. With regard to lateralization, there was an equal number of aneurysms located in the right and left hemisphere and bilaterally (on the anterior communicating artery). As part of regular neuropsychological assessment, tests of verbal learning and memory (numerical, logical and mechanical memory) were applied. The aims of the study were to find out whether patients operated for ruptured cerebral aneurysms show greater verbal memory impairments than patients operated for unruptured cerebral aneurysms and whether there was the significant effect of lateralization of aneurysm (to check the interaction effect of both rupture and lateralization on those functions). The results obtained show that, even though there are no statistically significant differences between groups of patients that underwent surgery for ruptured and unruptured brain aneurysm, patients show a trend of somewhat better results on most of the verbal memory functions after surgery for unruptured brain aneurysm. The results show statistically significant difference between groups of patients that underwent surgery for ACoA aneurysm and those with right lateralized cerebral aneurysms on most of the trails on AVLT test. Also, patients with operated ACoA aneurysm have significantly worse scores in learning process (AVLT 3 and AVLT 4) and especially on short-term and long-term verbal memory than the patients who were operated for left or right lateralized aneurysm.

Electrophysiological differences in older and younger adults\u2019 anaphoric but not cataphoric pronoun processing in the absence of age-related behavioural slowdown

This study reports on an event-related potentials experiment to uncover whether per-millisecond electrophysiological brain activity and analogous behavioural responses are age-sensitive when comprehending anaphoric (referent-first) and cataphoric (pronoun-first) pronouns. Two groups of French speakers were recruited (young n = 18; aged 19–35 and older adults n = 15; aged 57–88) to read sentences where the anaphoric/cataphoric pronouns and their potential referents either matched or mismatched in gender. Our findings indicate that (1) the older adults were not less accurate or slower in their behavioural responses to the mismatches than the younger adults, (2) both anaphoric and cataphoric conditions evoked a central/parietally distributed P600 component with similar timing and amplitude in both the groups. Importantly, mean amplitudes of the P600 effect were modulated by verbal short-term memory span in the older adults but not in the younger adults, (3) nevertheless, the older but not the younger adults displayed an additional anterior negativity emerging on the frontal regions in response to the anaphoric mismatches. These results suggest that pronoun processing is resilient in healthy ageing individuals, but that functional recruitment of additional brain regions, evidenced with the anterior negativity, compensates for increased processing demands in the older adults’ anaphora processing.

Cognitive correlates of dyslexia, dyscalculia and comorbid dyslexia/dyscalculia: Effects of numerical magnitude processing and phonological processing

Specific learning disorders (i.e., dyscalculia and dyslexia) are common, as is their comorbidity. It has been suggested that the core cognitive deficit in dyscalculia is an impairment in numerical magnitude processing; similarly, in dyslexia, phonological processing deficits are considered to be the main cognitive deficit. Cognitive theories on comorbid dyslexia/dyscalculia have suggested a number of hypotheses about which cognitive deficits underlie the comorbidity. However, few studies have thus far directly compared the abovementioned cognitive correlates of dyscalculia and dyslexia.In this study, we assessed symbolic and non-symbolic numerical magnitude and three subcomponents of phonological processing (phonological awareness, lexical access and verbal short-term memory). In addition, we investigated children’s domain-general spatial and verbal skills. The effect of these cognitive correlates on dyscalculia, dyslexia and their comorbidity was explored.We did not find differences between children with and without dyscalculia on numerical magnitude processing. On the other hand, children with dyscalculia had significantly lower spatial skills compared to children without dyscalculia. Children with dyslexia performed significantly lower on all subcomponents of phonological processing. Finally, we found an additive effect for comorbid dyslexia/dyscalculia: impairments in children with co-occurring dyslexia and dyscalculia were similar to the sum of the impairments in the isolated dyslexia and isolated dyscalculia groups. The strongest unique predictor of isolated dyscalculia and comorbid dyslexia/dyscalculia was spatial skills, the strongest unique predictor of isolated dyslexia was phonological awareness. As only a limited number of cognitive variables were assessed in this study and the sample sizes were very small, we should be cautious when interpreting these results.

Accelerated long-term forgetting in children with genetic generalized epilepsy: The temporal trajectory and contribution of executive skills

PurposeLong-term memory, which is critical for social and vocational functioning, is impaired in children with genetic generalized epilepsy (GGE). In this study, we examined the relationship between the temporal pattern of long-term forgetting for visual and verbal materials and executive skills in children with GGE. MethodThirty-two children, 17 with GGE and 25 typically developing age-matched controls completed standardized tests of short-term memory (recall after a 30-minute delay), executive skills, and experimental long-term memory tasks (one verbal and one visual) involving recall after one short (30-minute), and two long (1-day, 2-week) delays. ResultsOn the long-term visual memory task, children with GGE performed comparably with typically developing children at a 30-minute delay (p = .298), although obtained lower object placement accuracy score, at 1 day (p = .039) and at 2 weeks (p = .022) relative to typically developing children. On the verbal task, the between-group difference was not significant at any delay. In children with GGE, poorer object placement accuracy at two weeks correlated with lower visuospatial short-term memory (r = −0.624, p = .005) and verbal working memory (r = −0.448, p = .041). ConclusionsThis study provided several novel findings. For the first time, accelerated long-term forgetting (ALF) was found in long-term visual memory in children with GGE, despite comparable learning and recall at 30 min. Study results indicated that deficits in long-term visual memory are present after one day, increase over time, and may relate to reduced executive skills. Our findings can be used to inform our understanding of the temporal trajectory of ALF and contribution of executive skills.

Effects of developmental language disorder and bilingualism on children’s executive functioning: A longitudinal study

BackgroundChildren’s executive functioning (EF) is often negatively associated with a developmental language disorder (DLD) and positively related to bilingualism. However, both regarding children with DLD and bilingual children, findings are mixed and few studies have investigated the combination of DLD and bilingualism in relation to EF. AimsThis study investigated the effects of DLD and bilingualism on children’s EF development. MethodsMonolingual and bilingual children with DLD and typical development (TD; N = 32 in each group) were tested three times with yearly intervals (MAGE = 71 months at time 1). Verbal and visuospatial working memory, selective attention, and inhibition were assessed. ResultsMonolinguals and bilinguals with DLD had weak working memory and inhibition skills at each time point compared to TD peers, which could partly be explained by verbal short-term memory limitations. Positive effects of bilingualism emerged when controlling for Dutch vocabulary and morphology skills, and were most pronounced at time 1. ConclusionsMonolinguals and bilinguals with DLD have similar and persistent EF deficits, which are partly secondary to verbal short-term memory weaknesses. Bilinguals performed better on EF than monolinguals when Dutch language knowledge was controlled for. This effect was found regardless of DLD and was most prominent at age 5–6 years.

A Novel Locus and Candidate Gene for Familial Developmental Dyslexia on Chromosome 4q.

Objective: Developmental dyslexia is a highly heritable specific reading and writing disability. To identify a possible new locus and candidate gene for this disability, we investigated a four-generation pedigree where transmission of dyslexia is consistent with an autosomal dominant inheritance pattern. Methods: We performed genome wide array-based SNP genotyping and parametric linkage analysis and sequencing analysis of protein-coding exons, exon-intron boundaries and conserved extragenic regions within the haplotype cosegregating with dyslexia in DNA from one affected and one unaffected family member. Cosegregation was confirmed by sequencing all available family members. Additionally, we analyzed 96 dyslexic individuals who had previously shown positive LOD scores on chromosome 4q28 as well as an even larger sample (n = 2591). Results: We found a single prominent linkage interval on chromosome 4q, where sequence analysis revealed a nucleotide variant in the 3' UTR of brain expressed SPRY1 in the dyslexic family member that cosegregated with dyslexia. This sequence alteration might affect the binding efficiency of the IGF2BP1 RNA-binding protein and thus influence the expression level of the SPRY1 gene product. An analysis of 96 individuals from a cohort of dyslexic individuals revealed a second heterozygous variant in this gene, which was absent in the unaffected sister of the proband. An investigation of the region in a much larger sample further found a nominal p-value of 0.0016 for verbal short-term memory (digit span) in 2,591 individuals for a neighboring SNV. After correcting for the local number of analyzed SNVs, and after taking into account linkage disequilibrium, we found this corresponds to a p-value of 0.0678 for this phenotype. Conclusions: We describe a new locus for familial dyslexia and discuss the possibility that SPRY1 might play a role in the etiology of a monogenic form of dyslexia.

The articulatory determinants of verbal sequence learning.

Two experiments (N = 154 in total) using the Hebb repetition effect-the enhancement of serial recall performance for a repeated sequence in among otherwise nonrepeated sequences-reveal a key role for active articulatory-planning processes in verbal sequence learning, contrary to a prominent, phonological-store based, model (Burgess & Hitch, 2006). First, Hebb sequence learning was attenuated when articulatory planning of the to-be-remembered sequence was restricted by articulatory suppression. This was less the case with auditory sequences, however, suggesting that passive perceptual organization processes operating independently of articulation also contribute to the learning of sequences presented auditorily. Second, sequence learning was enhanced for phonologically similar compared to dissimilar items when that learning was particularly reliant on articulatory planning (i.e., with visual sequences). That this enhanced learning was eliminated when articulatory planning was restricted also points to an articulatory basis for this 'phonological' similarity effect. Third, an inconsistent temporal grouping of items across instances of the repeating sequence also abolished learning but only when that grouping-based on independent evidence from output response-times during serial recall-was instantiated within an articulatory plan. These results are the first to suggest that verbal sequence learning, and not only verbal serial short-term memory (STM) performance, may be explicable by recourse to general-purpose articulatory and perceptual processes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Fatal Suicidal Attempt by Deliberate Ingestion of Nicotine-containing Solution in Childhood-onset Depression Mediated through Internet Suicide Guideline: A Case Report

Nicotine is one of the most easily accessible, commonly abused drugs worldwide and if taken in overdose can cause serious clinical presentation, including cardiac arrhythmias and neurotoxicity mediated through oxidative stress. Its toxicity though rare can cause sudden deaths by cardiovascular arrest, respiratory muscle paralysis, and/or central respiratory failure. Here, we describe a case of intentional fatal ingestion of nicotine sulfate decoction used as a mean for fatal suicidal attempt by a 15-year-old adolescent male who was suffering from childhood-onset depression since about 3 months. He developed drooling of saliva, syncopal attacks, paroxysmal episodes of hematemesis, abdominal pain, signs and symptoms of hypoxia, nonfatal atrial tachycardia, and encephalopathy after ingestion of heavy dose of nicotine-containing concoction; however, he recovered successfully within 24–48 hours without any significant cardiac, respiratory, or neurological deficits (except short-term verbal memory). Authors discussed the details of management and reasons behind the reversible encephalopathy and molecular mechanism of nicotine toxicity.How to cite this articleKamble A, Khairkar P, Kalantri SP, Babhulkar S. Fatal Suicidal Attempt by Deliberate Ingestion of Nicotine-containing Solution in Childhood-onset Depression Mediated through Internet Suicide Guideline: A Case Report. Indian J Crit Care Med 2020;24(8):719–721.

Sentence repetition with bilinguals with and without DLD: Differential effects of memory, vocabulary, and exposure

AbstractThough previous research has shown that sentence repetition (SR) is an informative tool for identifying developmental language disorder (DLD) in bilinguals, little is understood about the skills that underlie children's performance on the task. With a population of 136 school-age Spanish–English bilinguals, the present study explores the contribution of verbal short-term memory, vocabulary, and language exposure on two SR tasks developed in English and Spanish. Results indicate that these skills may differentially underlie SR in typical versus disordered populations. Whereas the strongest predictors of English SR performance for typical bilingual children were expressive vocabulary and language exposure, bilingual children with DLD relied most heavily on verbal short-term memory. ROC curves to determine the classification accuracy of SR were conducted. Classification accuracy was excellent, with area under the curve reaching .92 for the English SR task and .87 for Spanish SR.

The relation between the intelligibility of irrelevant speech and cognitive performance-A revised model based on laboratory studies.

Irrelevant background speech causes dissatisfaction and impairs cognitive performance in open-plan offices. The model of Hongisto (2005, Indoor Air, 15, 458-468) predicts the relation between cognitive performance and the intelligibility of speech described with an objectively measured quantity, the Speech Transmission Index (STI). The model has impacted research in psychology and room acoustics as well as the acoustic design guidelines of offices. However, the model was based on scarce empirical data. The aim of this study was to revise the model based on a systematic literature review, focusing on laboratory experiments manipulating the STI of speech by wide-band steady-state noise. Fourteen studies reporting altogether 34 tests of the STI-performance relation were included. According to Model 1 that includes all tests, performance begins to decrease approximately above STI=0.21 while the maximum decrease is reached at STI=0.44. Verbal short-term memory tasks were most strongly and very consistently affected by the STI of speech. The model for these tasks showed a deterioration in performance between STI 0.12 and 0.51. Some evidence of an STI-performance relation was found in verbal working memory tasks and limited evidence in complex verbal tasks. Further research is warranted, particularly concerning task-specific effects.

A-166 The Role of Apathy on Executive Functioning After Stroke

Abstract Objective This study examined the role of apathy on performance of an executive functioning task. Method The data for this study was derived from the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center’s Uniform Data Set containing neuropsychological information for stroke patients (n = 317) who completed the Neuropsychiatric Inventory-Questionnaire (NPI-Q) and the Trail Making Test (Part B). The sample was divided into two groups. One which endorsed feelings of apathy in the last month (n = 102; mean age = 84,SD = 8.33) and a second group which denied feelings of apathy within the last month (n = 215; mean age = 86, SD = 8.02). Results After controlling for depression [as measured by the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS)], age, gender, and motor impairment, the results of an ANCOVA showed that those who reported apathy performed significantly slower on the Trail Making Test—Part B than those who did not report it [F(1,312 = 6.01, p = .02]. Conclusions It has previously been found that cognitive performance can be impacted by depression on stroke patients. However, recently, it has been identified that apathy specifically, can have an effect on cognitive domains such as verbal learning, short-term, and long-term memory. The present study further supports that apathy may play a role in overall cognitive performance. Therefore, even if patients do not meet criteria for depression, the presence of apathy should still be taken into account. Future research should examine other possible contributing factors such as processing speed should be taken into account as they could be affecting the scores. Finally, researchers should utilize additional measures of executive functioning as only one was available for this study.

Correlations between Syntactic Development and Verbal Memory in the Spoken Language of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Down Syndrome: Comparison with Typically Developing Children

Correlations between syntactic development and verbal memory of children with intellectual disabilities (ID) are not well understood. These correlations were investigated in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) with intellectual disabilities and children with Down Syndrome (DS). Thirty-seven children with ID (11 with ASD, 16 with DS, and 10 with ID not falling under ASD or DS) and a control group of typically developing (TD) children (N = 58) participated. Their verbal short-term memory was assessed using the digit span tasks. Verbal long-term memory was assessed using Rey’s Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT) and syntactic understanding and expression tasks. Syntactic understanding and expression scores of the disability groups were significantly lower than TD children of the same mental age (MA). AVLT’s immediate recall scores were significantly lower in children with ASD, whereas, in children with DS, the digit span forward scores and immediate and delayed recall AVLT scores were significantly lower than in TD children of the same MA. Verbal short-term memory assessed by AVLT in children with ASD and the small capacity of verbal short-term memory in children with DS are correlated with syntactic development.

The unique role of verbal memory, vocabulary, concentration and self-efficacy in children’s listening comprehension in upper elementary grades

Listening comprehension is important for daily communication and at school, yet relatively little is known about the variables contributing to listening comprehension, especially in the upper elementary years. The aim of this study was to explore whether vocabulary, verbal memory, but also self-efficacy and self-reported concentration contribute to listening comprehension. The authors assessed oral text comprehension, as well as the concurrent contributors vocabulary, verbal short- and long-term memory, self-efficacy and concentration in a sample of 442 upper elementary school children (9- to 12-year-olds). Structural equation models were used to test for direct and indirect associations. The best-fitting model was an indirect model in which verbal short-term memory and self-efficacy were positively associated with children’s vocabulary. Vocabulary, in turn, was positively associated with children’s listening comprehension. Using bias-corrected bootstrap procedures, however, vocabulary appeared to mediate the association between academic self-efficacy and listening comprehension. The indirect association between verbal short-term memory and listening comprehension through vocabulary just missed significance. The findings relate to models of listening comprehension that state a dominant role for vocabulary, also in the upper elementary years. They imply that the models could extend to evaluating broader student-related resources, such as academic self-efficacy. Furthermore, the findings on general cognitive resources fit the pattern of mixed findings in previous research. Together, the results motivate further research into contributors to listening comprehension throughout the elementary years.

The influence of rhythm on short-term memory for serial order.

In the field of verbal short-term memory (STM), numerous theoretical models have been proposed to explain how serial order information is processed and represented. Evidence suggests that serial order is represented through associations between items and a varying contextual signal coding the position of each item in a sequence, but the nature of this contextual signal is still a matter of debate (i.e., event-based vs. time-based varying signal). According to event-based models of serial order, the contextual signal coding serial order is not sensitive to temporal manipulations, as it is the case in irregularly timed sequences. Up to now, the study of the temporal factors influencing serial order STM has been limited to temporal grouping and temporal isolation effects. The goal of the present study is to specify in more detail the role played by temporal factors in serial order STM tasks. To accomplish this, we compared recall performance and error patterns for sequences presenting items at a regular or an irregular and unpredictable timing in three experiments. The results showed that irregular timing does not affect serial recall nor the pattern of errors. These data clearly favour the view that serial order in verbal STM is represented with event-based rather than time-based codes.