Visual Working Memory Test Research Articles

How Mobile Touch Devices Foster Cognitive Offloading in the Elderly: The Effects of Input and Feedback

When the elderly have a working memory burden, the cognitive burden can be transferred to mobile touch devices. However, the decline of physical function and cognitive ability affects the ability of the elderly to interact with mobile devices. Optimizing the interaction of mobile touch devices is one of the effective ways to reduce the cognitive burden of the elderly. This study intended to investigate the effects of the input and feedback methods on mobile touch devices on cognitive offloading behaviors in older adults. The experiment adopts a 3 × 3 within-subject design, and the independent variables include 3 input methods (mouse, direct touch, and stylus) and 3 feedback methods (visual feedback, auditory feedback, and combined audiovisual feedback). Thirty elderly participants were invited to complete a visual working memory test and subjective preference questionnaires. The results of the study show that (i) the input methods have a significant effect on the cognitive offloading of the elderly, who, under the stylus condition, have the most offloaded working memory and lower cognitive load; (ii) the feedback methods have a significant effect on the cognitive offloading of the elderly, among which they, under the combined visual and auditory feedback, offload working memory more frequently and have lower cognitive load; and (iii) in terms of subjective evaluation, both the input and feedback methods affect the satisfaction of the elderly: among the 3 input methods, the elderly displayed the highest satisfaction with the stylus, and among the 3 feedback methods, the elderly have the highest satisfaction with the combined audio-visual feedback. Studies have shown that the input and feedback methods of mobile touch devices are important factors affecting the cognitive offloading behavior and subjective evaluation of the elderly. The conclusions of this research provide an important reference for designing interactive methods suitable for the elderly.

The Effects of Spirulina maxima Extract on Memory Improvement in Those with Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial.

Spirulina maxima is a marine microalga that has been promoted worldwide as a super food. This study was conducted to evaluate its ability to improve memory in the older adults using Spirulina maxima 70% ethanol extract (SM70EE). This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial comprised 80 volunteers recruited from Jeonbuk National University Hospital in Jeonju, Republic of Korea, who were randomly assigned to two groups. The participants received either 1 g/day of SM70EE or a placebo without otherwise changing their diet or physical activity. The participants were examined at baseline and after a 12-week interval to determine whether there were changes in their results for visual learning, visual working memory, and verbal learning tests from the Korean version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, brain-derived neurotrophic factor and beta-amyloid levels, and total antioxidant capacity. Compared to the placebo group, the treatment group showed a significant improvement in visual learning and visual working memory test results and enhanced vocabulary. SM70EE use was shown to improve memory, with no adverse effects. Its efficacy in alleviating Alzheimer’s disease symptoms was verified for the first time through this clinical trial. SM70EE could play a role in the management of patients with dementia. This trial is registered with registration number of clinical research information service (CRIS: KCT0006161).

Dissociable causal roles of the frontal and parietal cortices in the effect of object location on object identity detection: a TMS study.

According to the spatial congruency advantage, individuals exhibit higher accuracy and shorter reaction times during the visual working memory (VWM) task when VWM test stimuli appear in spatially congruent locations, relative to spatially incongruent locations, during the encoding phase. Functional magnetic resonance imaging studies have revealed changes in right inferior frontal gyrus (rIFG) and right supra-marginal gyrus (rSMG) activity as a function of object location stability. Nevertheless, it remains unclear whether these regions play a role in active object location repositioning or passive early perception of object location stability, and demonstrations of causality are lacking. In this study, we adopted an object identity change-detection task, involving a short train of 10-Hz online repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulations (rTMS) applied at the rIFG or rSMG concurrently with the onset of VWM test stimuli. In two experimental cohorts, we observed an improved accuracy in spatially incongruent high VWM load conditions when the 10Hz-rTMS was applied at the rIFG compared with that in TMS control conditions, whereas these modulatory effects were not observed for the rSMG. Our results suggest that the rIFG and rSMG play dissociable roles in the spatial congruency effect, whereby the rIFG is engaged in active object location repositioning, while the rSMG is engaged in passive early perception of object location stability.

Extended Visual Sequence Learning Leaves a Local Trace in the Spontaneous EEG.

We have previously demonstrated that, in rested subjects, extensive practice in a motor learning task increased both electroencephalographic (EEG) theta power in the areas involved in learning and improved the error rate in a motor test that shared similarities with the task. A nap normalized both EEG and performance changes. We now ascertain whether extensive visual declarative learning produces results similar to motor learning. Thus, during the morning, we recorded high-density EEG in well rested young healthy subjects that learned the order of different visual sequence task (VSEQ) for three one-hour blocks. Afterward, a group of subjects took a nap and another rested quietly. Between each VSEQ block, we recorded spontaneous EEG (sEEG) at rest and assessed performance in a motor test and a visual working memory test that shares similarities with VSEQ. We found that after the third block, VSEQ induced local theta power increases in the sEEG over a right temporo-parietal area that was engaged during the task. This local theta increase was preceded by increases in alpha and beta power over the same area and was paralleled by performance decline in the visual working memory test. Only after the nap, VSEQ learning rate improved and performance in the visual working memory test was restored, together with partial normalization of the local sEEG changes. These results suggest that intensive learning, like motor learning, produces local theta power increases, possibly reflecting local neuronal fatigue. Sleep may be necessary to resolve neuronal fatigue and its effects on learning and performance.

Older Adults Who Meditate Regularly Perform Better on Neuropsychological Functioning and Visual Working Memory Tests: A Three-month Waitlist Control Design Study with a Cohort of Seniors in Assisted Living Facilities

ABSTRACTBackground: Neuropsychological functioning and visual working memory are vulnerable to age-related decline. This investigation examines the impact of meditation on the said outcomes for older adults in assisted living facilities. Older adults (N = 136) from four assisted living facilities in Mumbai and Pretoria were randomized into intervention and waitlist control groups.Method: The Repeatable Battery for Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) was used as a screening instrument for recruitment (cutoff total index score = 86 ± 4). RBANS, the Simple Object Span Test (SOST), and the Picture Span Test (PST) were used to assess the outcomes. The intervention group underwent a 90-day meditation training complemented with self-practice.Results: Posttest scores of the intervention group were higher. Older adult men, with college degree, middle class, widowed, in fair health, with no diagnosed psychiatric conditions, who attended at least 70 (out of 90) meditation lessons and who self-practiced at least 70 times, gained more from the meditation intervention. Intervention compliance had the strongest effect on posttest outcomes as well as sex and psychiatric morbidities.Conclusion: Meditation intervention needs some refinements for older adult women, with high school education, upper class, currently married, in poor health, with diagnosed anxiety/depression/drug dependence, who attended fewer meditation lessons and self-practiced infrequently.

How to say no in recognition tests of visual working memory: Testing unidimensional and two-dimensional models with continuous or discrete memory states.

We constructed 4 working memory recognition models to predict behavior in the local recognition task (also called change detection), in which both content (e.g., color) and context (e.g., location) information are necessary to make correct recognition decisions. The theoretical assumptions incorporated in the models come from crossing 2 contrasts: One is the contrast between discrete-state models with continuous-strength models. The other contrast pertains to the dimensionality of information involved in the recognition process: either unidimensional (as in single-process recognition models) or two-dimensional (as in dual-process models). We compared the models to data from three local-recognition experiments using sequentially presented visual materials. All three experiments revealed intrusion costs (i.e., higher false alarms to probes matching a list element in the wrong context than to new probes) and U-shaped serial-position curves for all probe types. The two-dimensional continuous-strength model predicted these results best both qualitatively and quantitatively. The unidimensional and two-dimensional discrete-state models were able to predict the qualitative pattern of serial-position curves but failed to predict a sufficient amount of intrusion cost. The unidimensional continuous-strength model failed even to predict the qualitative pattern of the serial position effects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Cognitive function, depression, and anxiety in patients undergoing radical prostatectomy with and without adjuvant treatment.

BackgroundProstate cancer (PC) is one of the most common malignant tumors in developed countries. Both PC and treatment for PC have an adverse impact on physical and mental well-being, and are associated with decreased quality of life. The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between neuropsychological symptoms and clinical course in PC patients undergoing radical prostatectomy with or without adjunct therapy.MethodsThe cohort comprised 100 patients aged 50–77 years who underwent radical, laparoscopic prostatectomy for PC. Twenty-three patients with a more advanced clinical stage also received adjuvant therapy (radiotherapy and hormonotherapy). Clinical evaluation included self-report assessment, physical examination, and biochemical tests (testosterone and prostate-specific antigen). In addition, the presence and intensity of sexual dysfunction, urinary dysfunction, anxiety-depressive symptoms, and cognitive dysfunction were assessed.ResultsThe group of patients undergoing complex therapy was characterized by a significantly worse result of deferred memory (p=0.04). A significant correlation was found between post-surgery erectile function and scores for the visual working memory test (correct answers; VWMT-C; p=0.006) and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale depression (p=0.045) and anxiety scores (p=0.02). A trend toward significance was also observed for simple reaction time (correct answers; p=0.09). A significant correlation was found between results for the delayed verbal memory test and all physical symptoms (International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-total, p=0.02; International Index of Erectile Function-5, p=0.006). Similarly, a significant correlation was found between the VWMT-C and score for sexual dysfunction (p=0.003).ConclusionPatients undergoing both surgical and adjunct therapy for PC are at risk for psychological burden and cognitive disorders. In the present cohort, physical complications of therapy were associated with depression, anxiety, and delayed memory dysfunction. Furthermore, this study has proven that fewer complications after surgery are associated with better psychological and cognitive functioning. Appropriate neuropsychological and psychiatric care can improve compliance and quality of life among patients after prostatectomy.

SMR Neurofeedback Training Facilitates Working Memory Performance in Healthy Older Adults: A Behavioral and EEG Study.

Cognitive aging has become a major concern because life expectancy has increased and elderly populations are socially and economically active. Neurofeedback is a technique of neuromodulation through operant conditioning paradigm that uses a computer interface to provide real-time information about brain activity to increase individual self-perception and assist in modulation. The sensorimotor rhythm (SMR) training protocol is known to enhance attention and has been applied to improve cognitive performance, primarily for attention and memory gains. The aim of this study is to test if the SMR protocol can improve working memory performance in an aging population and consequently favor cognitive reserve. Seventeen older adults (12 females) took part in a randomized placebo-controlled study. They completed a visual working memory test, Delayed Matching to Sample Task (DMTS), before and after the SMR neurofeedback protocol in order to compare their visual working memory performance. Moreover, a 19-channels EEG was collected while they perform the DMTS pre- and post-training. The experimental group showed an improvement in their working memory performance after the training with similar activation power, mainly in theta and beta frequency band at frontal and alpha at temporal regions. The sham group showed some variations in the score of working memory after the training, but were not statistically significant and their power spectrum demonstrate enhancement in alpha and beta band frontal and temporal. The group that did not receive neurofeedback training did not show a change in their working memory performance, neither in their EEG spectrum. The results suggest that neurofeedback can benefit brain reserve in an aging population because individuals enhanced their working memory performance after training and have their EEG activation changed according to expected in working memory tasks.

F91. ASSOCIATION BETWEEN SYMPTOM DIMENSIONS AND EXECUTIVE FUNCTION IN SCHIZOPHRENIA

BackgroundImpaired executive function is a core cognitive deficit in schizophrenia and strongly associated with functional outcomes. Understand the relationship between clinical symptoms and executive function may help the clinician to better manage the cognitive impairment and inform prognosis. The main objective of the present study was to investigate the association between symptom dimensions and executive function in schizophrenia.MethodsOne-hundred and two patients with schizophrenia were recruited from the schizophrenia outpatient clinic from Universidade Federal de São Paulo (PROESQ/UNIFESP). Diagnosis was confirmed through the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID-I) and dimensional psychopathology was assessed by the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). The PANSS items were grouped in five factors: positive, negative, disorganized/cognitive, mood/depression and excitement/hostility factors. The cognitive battery included the following tests: Plus–Minus Task, Number–Letter Task, Trail Making Test - Part B, Keep Track Task, Letter Memory Task, Visual Working Memory Test – MTV, Stroop Test, Semantic Generation Task and The Tower of London Test – TOL. All tasks were computerized and assessed by the software Cronos. A single latent variable for executive function was derived through Confirmatory factor analysis and yield good model fits (CFI: 0.997; TLI: 0.996; RMSEA: 0.017; SRMR: 0.041).ResultsWhen the factors were entered individually, negative (df=121, r=0,35, p <0.001) and disorganized (df= 121; r=-0.48, p <0.001) factors were significant predictors of EF. In a multivariate regression analysis, including all the factors and correcting for age, gender and duration of illness, only the disorganized factor remained significant (r2=0,21,p<0.001).DiscussionThe disorganized factor was the symptomatic dimension more strongly associated with EF. The potential use of disorganized dimension as indicator of poor executive function and related outcomes, i.e., treatment resistant schizophrenia, should be further investigated.

Effects of the Extremely Low Frequency Electromagnetic Fields on NMDA-Receptor Gene Expression and Visual Working Memory in Male Rhesus Macaques

Introduction:The present research aimed to examine Visual Working Memory (VWM) test scores, as well as hormonal, genomic, and brain anatomic changes in the male rhesus macaques exposed to Extremely Low Frequency Magnetic Field (ELF-MF).Methods:Four monkeys were exposed to two different ELF-MF frequencies: 1 Hz (control) and 12 Hz (experiment) with 0.7 μT (magnitude) 4 h/d for 30 consecutive days. Before and after the exposure, VWM test was conducted using a coated devise on a movable stand. About 10 mL of the animals’ blood was obtained from their femoral vain and used to evaluate their melatonin concentration. Blood lymphocytes were used for assaying the expressions of N-Methyl-D-aspartate NMDA-receptor genes expression before and after ELF exposure. Anatomical changes of hippocampus size were also assessed using MRI images.Results:Results indicated that VWM scores in primates exposed to 12 Hz frequency ELF increased significantly. Plasma melatonin level was also increased in these animals. However, these variables did not change in the animals exposed to 1 Hz ELF. At last, expression of the NMDA receptors increased at exposure to 12 Hz frequency. However, hippocampal volume did not increase significantly in the animals exposed to both frequencies.Conclusion:In short, these results indicate that ELF (12 Hz) may have a beneficial value for memory enhancement (indicated by the increase in VWM scores). This may be due to an increase in plasma melatonin and or expression of NMDA glutamate receptors. However, direct involvement of the hippocampus in this process needs more research.

PP.29.27] EXAGGERATED BLOOD PRESSURE VARIABILITY IN BOTH OFFICE AND AMBULATORY BLOOD PRESSURE MONITORING ARE ASSOCIATED WITH COGNITIVE DYSFUNCTION IN EXTREMELY ELDERLY PATIENTS

Objective: The objective of this study is to assess the association between cognitive dysfunction and blood pressure (BP) variability in extremely elderly patients, over 80 years. Design and method: This cross-sectional study were performed on 520 extremely very elderly outpatients (mean age: 83.2 ± 3.2 years, 44.0% male). These patients had normal activities of daily living. We evaluated cognitive function, office BP values during 1 year and BP values measured by 24-hour ambulatory BP monitoring. Cognitive function was evaluated by a visual working memory test consisted of three figures. The number of figures recalled was counted as the test score. We divided patients into two groups, 0 or 1 score as group 1, and 2 or 3 score as group 2. We used standard deviation (SD), coefficient of variation (CV), weighted SD, average real variability (ARV) and the maximum and minimum BP difference (MMD) to assess the BP variability. Results: A total of 70 patients (mean age: 84.0 ± 3.6 years, 35.7% male) constituted group 1, while the remaining 450 patients (mean age: 83.0 ± 3.1 years, 45.3% male) constituted group 2. There were no significant differences in office and 24-hour ambulatory systolic/diastolic BP levels between two groups. However, visit-to-visit systolic BP variability and all 24-hour ambulatory systolic/diastolic BP variability parameters in group 1 were significantly higher than those in group 2 even after adjusting for age (Table 1). Conclusions: Exaggerated visit-to-visit BP variability and 24-hour ambulatory BP variability were related to cognitive dysfunction in extremely elderly patients.

SA32. Cognitive Functions in Schizophrenia and Schizoaffective Disorder Patients: A Comparative Study

Abstract Background: Schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder patients tend to exhibit cognitive decline related to the diagnosis. However, little is known about the differences or similarities in their cognitive profile. The aim of the study was to compare the cognitive functions of schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder patients. Methods: Thirty-four participants were assessed and divided into 3 groups—schizophrenia (SC, n = 16), schizoaffective (SA, n = 7), and healthy controls (HC, n = 11). The MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery, Central and South America version, was used to assess cognition. All participants signed an informed consent. Clinically stabilized outpatients were identified by psychiatrists at the National Institute of Psychiatry “Ramon de la Fuente” (INPRF) in Mexico City. The neuropsychological assessment was performed by trained psychologists at the same institution. HC were similar in age and gender to both clinical groups. They were captured at universities. Results: Preliminary results show that SC had significant lower performance in most tests when compared to HC. Differences between SC and HC were observed in processing speed, verbal learning, verbal working memory, reasoning, and attention tests. HC scored significantly higher in the visual working memory test when compared to both clinical groups. EA achieved middle scores between SC and HC in most tests, although no statistical differences were found. Conclusion: SC patients exhibit a more pronounced cognitive decline than SA patients. SA patients achieved middle scores between HC and SC in most neuropsychological tests. Interestingly, SA showed a pronounced decline in visual working memory, similar to the one observed in SC patients.

In search of the focus of attention in working memory: 13years of the retro-cue effect.

The concept of attention has a prominent place in cognitive psychology. Attention can be directed not only to perceptual information, but also to information in working memory (WM). Evidence for an internal focus of attention has come from the retro-cue effect: Performance in tests of visual WM is improved when attention is guided to the test-relevant contents of WM ahead of testing them. The retro-cue paradigm has served as a test bed to empirically investigate the functions and limits of the focus of attention in WM. In this article, we review the growing body of (behavioral) studies on the retro-cue effect. We evaluate the degrees of experimental support for six hypotheses about what causes the retro-cue effect: (1) Attention protects representations from decay, (2) attention prioritizes the selected WM contents for comparison with a probe display, (3) attended representations are strengthened in WM, (4) not-attended representations are removed from WM, (5) a retro-cue to the retrieval target provides a head start for its retrieval before decision making, and (6) attention protects the selected representation from perceptual interference. The extant evidence provides support for the last four of these hypotheses.

Visual working memory representations guide the detection of emotional faces: An ERP study

We investigated the correlates of the influences exerted by visual working memory (VWM) on attentional selection of emotional faces using electrophysiological method. Participants performed a search task to detect happy or angry faces among groups of neutral faces while simultaneously keeping in VWM a colour cue presented initially. A visual working memory test was required at last to ensure that the cue had been maintained in VWM. Happy faces elicited a larger amplitude N2pc ERP component when VWM features matched the target face (valid condition) and a smaller amplitude when VWM features matched a distractor face (invalid condition), compared with the neutral condition (wherein VWM features did not match any face in the search array). Additionally, angry faces elicited a greater N2pc amplitude in valid trials than in neutral and invalid trials. Although VWM could guide the attentional deployment of angry and happy faces, the guidance was subject to an anger superiority effect.

Working Memory in Spanish–English and Chinese–English Bilinguals

Many researchers demonstrated the causal effect of bilingualism for working memory ability; bilinguals have higher executive functions in maintaining higher working memory ability. The present research examined the effect of different language types college bilinguals—Chinese–English (two dispersed languages) and Spanish–English (two similar languages) bilinguals for their working memory abilities. Chinese–English and Spanish–English bilinguals have been compared in many studies. Spanish–English bilinguals are superior learning English with similar consonant, vowel, alphabetic orthographic system and phonetic structure. Therefore, they are outperformed in many language-related tasks because they use less switching and transferring cost in both languages. On the other hand, learning English for Chinese-English bilinguals is much challenging because of the greater language structure differences. They need to visually practice in Chinese logograph and English alphabetic orthographic system to achieve high levels of competencies in both languages. Hence, it implies Chinese–English bilinguals acquire a higher working memory ability to deal with languages and daily tasks than those Spanish–English bilinguals who exercise working memory less in languages. To evaluate how language can shape on human’s working memory ability without language proficiency issue, a visual working memory (Paper Folding Test) was presented. By comparing the visual working memory test scores, Chinese–English bilinguals scored statistically higher than Spanish–English bilinguals, while controlling for gender and self-reported English level. Further research should investigate the relationship between bilingualism and working memory, and continuously assess the definitions on very shared languages and very dispersed languages.

Reading Comprehension and Working Memory Capacity in Children with Hearing Loss and Cochlear Implants or Hearing AIDS

Reading comprehension and three aspects of working memory—general, visuospatial and phonological—was assessed in 41 children with hearing loss: 23 with cochlear implants and 18 with hearing aids. Performance on these tests was compared between the two groups of children with hearing loss and also related to that of 55 children with typical hearing. All children were between 6 and 14 years of age. The children with hearing aids performed significantly more poorly on the reading comprehension test than the children with typical hearing but this difference was not significant between the children with cochlear implants and the children with typical hearing. In the group of children with cochlear implants, the results from the reading test and the results from all three working memory tests correlated significantly, whereas in the group of children with hearing aids there was no correlation between the reading test and the visual working memory test. The reading test results from the children with typical hearing correlated significantly with the results from the phonological working memory test but not with the other working memory tests. The authors concluded that the children with cochlear implants might have developed orthographic decoding earlier than the children with hearing aids due to their more profound hearing loss. (Less)

The FAS fluency test in Brazilian children and teenagers: executive demands and the effects of age and gender

The FAS Verbal Fluency Test is widely used in neuropsychological clinical services and research. This study investigated the contributions of different executive functions, age and gender to FAS test performance in a sample of children and teenagers divided into two groups: G1 comprised 263 children aged 6-10 years, and G2 comprised 150 teenagers aged 10-14 years. All participants were assessed using the Cancellation Attention Test, the Auditory Working Memory Test, the Visual Working Memory Test, the Semantic Generation Test, and the Trail Making Test, in addition to the FAS test. For G1, age, auditory working memory and shifting were predictors of FAS performance. For G2, gender, auditory working memory, shifting and inhibition comprised the FAS explanatory model. The study contributed to our understanding of which are the best predictor variables for the FAS test in a Brazilian sample and how executive demands change with age.

The Study of Working Memory and Academic Performance of Faculty of Health Sciences Students

The objective of this study was to determine the difference of working memory between gender, program, year of study, supplement intake, memorizing technique, study styles and sleep hours and also the association between working memory and Cumulative Grade Point Assessment (CGPA) among students in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). Altogether 157 students were given questionnaires that consisted of two sections which contained demographic data and working memory standard test such as Visual Working Memory Test and Arithmetic Test. Most of the students had the medium level of working memory score (40% to 70%). Almost 24% students had excellent working memory score (exceeds 70%) while 17% students scored poorly (less than 20%) in the tests. There was no significant (p>0.05) differences of working memory score among gender, year and program. While sleeping hours, memorizing technique and study style also showed not significantly (p>0.05) difference to student's working memory. The result also showed that there was no significantly (p>0.05) correlation between working memory score and CGPA.

대학생의 학업성취도에 따른 시각적 작동 기억 차이: 기능적 자기공명영상법

It was well known that working memory highly related with academic achievement. The aim of this study was to investigate the differences of brain activation which visually evoked working memory(encoding and retrieval) through functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging(fMRI) in Higher Academic Achievement Group(HAAG) and Lower Academic Achievement Group(LAAG) of college students. 20 assigned college students participated in fMRI studies. They underwent totally 210 seconds repeated paradigm. Stimulation paradigm composed with resting time and encoding and retrieval seeing the figures from the mirror with head coil. The brain activation maps and their quantification were analyzed by the statistical parametric mapping(SPM99) program from level of significance 95%. HAAG was more significantly higher than LAAG in bilateral prefrontal lobe(brodmann 46) associated with working memory, inferior parietal lobe associated with attention, and visual association area in encoding figures test. Right dosoprefrontal lobe(BA 44), right fusiform gyrus associated with decision of figure and, lingual gyrus were more activated in retrieval test with HAAG. On the other hand, LAAG was more significantly higher than HAAG in cingulate gyrus during encoding test. Thalamus, basal ganglia, cerebellum were more activated in retrieval test. Consequently, We could guess from these results HAAG more effectively executed than LAAG in visual working memory test.

Executive demands of the Tower of London task in Brazilian teenagers.

Some executive tasks may require diverse abilities to solve, having implications for the comprehension of an individual’s performance. This study investigated the processes involved in the resolution of a complex test of executive function (EF): the Tower of London (ToL) task. One hundred twenty-four healthy teenagers, 11–14 years old (M = 12.5, SD = 1.14) participated in the study. They were tested using the Auditory Working Memory Test, Visual Working Memory Test, Computerized Stroop Test, Semantic Generation Test, Cancellation Attention Test, and Trail Making Test B, in addition to the ToL. Multivariate analysis showed significant effects of age on visual and auditory working memory, interference control, and planning, with a marginal effect on selective attention. A gender effect was found only on visual working memory where boys scored higher than girls. Significant correlations were found between EF measures despite their low and moderate magnitudes. Performance on the ToL task was correlated with some executive ability measures. The most difficult problems that required four and five moves were more correlated with EF measures than the easier problems that required two and three moves. Regression analyses revealed that only auditory working memory integrated the ToL explanation model after controlling for age. However, the explained variability was very modest, suggesting that other abilities not analyzed in this study may participate in the ToL solution. In conclusion, this investigation highlighted the modest role of auditory working memory in ToL scores in a sample of teenagers.