Verbal Memory Abilities Research Articles

Memory-related brain potentials for visual objects in early AD show impairment and compensatory mechanisms.

Impaired episodic memory is the primary feature of early Alzheimer's disease (AD), but not all memories are equally affected. Patients with AD and amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI) remember pictures better than words, to a greater extent than healthy elderly. We investigated neural mechanisms for visual object recognition in 30 patients (14AD, 16 aMCI) and 36 cognitively unimpaired healthy (19 in the "preclinical" stage of AD). Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were recorded while participants performed a visual object recognition task. Hippocampal occupancy (integrity), amyloid (florbetapir) PET, and neuropsychological measures of verbal & visual memory, executive function were also collected. A right-frontal ERP recognition effect (500-700ms post-stimulus) was seen in cognitively unimpaired participants only, and significantly correlated with memory and executive function abilities. A later right-posterior negative ERP effect (700-900ms) correlated with visual memory abilities across participants with low verbal memory ability, and may reflect a compensatory mechanism. A correlation of this retrieval-related negativity with right hippocampal occupancy (r = 0.55), implicates the hippocampus in the engagement of compensatory perceptual retrieval mechanisms. Our results suggest that early AD patients are impaired in goal-directed retrieval processing, but may engage compensatory perceptual mechanisms which rely on hippocampal function.

A new test for evaluation of marginal cognitive function deficits in idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus through expressing texture recognition by sound symbolic words.

The number of dementia patients is increasing with population aging. Preclinical detection of dementia in patients is essential for access to adequate treatment. In previous studies, dementia patients showed texture recognition difficulties. Onomatopoeia or sound symbolic words (SSW) are intuitively associated with texture impressions and are less likely to be affected by aphasia and description of material perception can be easily obtained. In this study, we aimed to create a test of texture recognition ability expressed by SSW to detect the presence of mild cognitive disorders. The sound symbolic words texture recognition test (SSWTRT) is constructed from 12 close-up photos of various materials and participants were to choose the best SSW out of 8 choices to describe surface texture in the images in Japanese. All 102 participants seen in Juntendo University Hospital from January to August 2023 had a diagnosis of possible iNPH (age mean 77.9, SD 6.7). The answers were scored on a comprehensive scale of 0 to 1. Neuropsychological assessments included MMSE, FAB, and the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT), Pegboard Test, and Stroop Test from the EU-iNPH Grading Scale (GS). In study 1 the correlation between SSWTRT and the neuropsychological tests were analyzed. In study 2, participants were divided into two groups: the Normal Cognition group (Group A, n = 37) with MMSE scores of 28 points or above, and the Mild Cognitive Impairment group (Group B, n = 50) with scores ranging from 22 to 27 points, and its predictability were analyzed. In study 1, the total SSWTRT score had a moderate correlation with the neuropsychological test results. In study 2, there were significant differences in the SSWTRT scores between groups A and B. ROC analysis results showed that the SSWTR test was able to predict the difference between the normal and mildly impaired cognition groups. The developed SSWTRT reflects the assessment results of neuropsychological tests in cognitive deterioration and was able to detect early cognitive deficits. This test not only relates to visual perception but is likely to have an association with verbal fluency and memory ability, which are frontal lobe functions.

Similar gaze behaviour during dialogue perception in congenitally deaf children with cochlear Implants and normal hearing children.

Perceptual and speech production abilities of children with cochlear implants (CIs) are usually tested by word and sentence repetition or naming tests. However, these tests are quite far apart from daily life linguistic contexts. Here, we describe a way of investigating the link between language comprehension and anticipatory verbal behaviour promoting the use of more complex listening situations. The setup consists in watching the audio-visual dialogue of two actors. Children's gaze switches from one speaker to the other serve as a proxy of their prediction abilities. Moreover, to better understand the basis and the impact of anticipatory behaviour, we also measured children's ability to understand the dialogue content, their speech perception and memory skills as well as their rhythmic skills, that also require temporal predictions. Importantly, we compared children with CI performances with those of an age-matched group of children with normal hearing (NH). While children with CI revealed poorer speech perception and verbal working memory abilities than NH children, there was no difference in gaze anticipatory behaviour. Interestingly, in children with CI only, we found a significant correlation between dialogue comprehension, perceptual skills and gaze anticipatory behaviour. Our results extend to a dialogue context of previous findings showing an absence of predictive deficits in children with CI. The current design seems an interesting avenue to provide an accurate and objective estimate of anticipatory language behaviour in a more ecological linguistic context also with young children. What is already known on the subject Children with cochlear implants seem to have difficulties extracting structure from and learning sequential input patterns, possibly due to signal degradation and auditory deprivation in the first years of life. They also seem to have a reduced use of contextual information and slow language processing among children with hearing loss. What this paper adds to existing knowledge Here we show that when adopting a rather complex linguistic context such as watching a dialogue of two individuals, children with cochlear implants are able to use the speech and language structure to anticipate gaze switches to the upcoming speaker. What are the clinical implications of this work? The present design seems an interesting avenue to provide an accurate and objective estimate of anticipatory behaviour in a more ecological and dynamic linguistic context. Importantly, this measure is implicit and it has been previously used with very young (normal-hearing) children, showing that they spontaneously make anticipatory gaze switches by age two. Thus, this approach may be of interest to refine the speech comprehension assessment at a rather early age after cochlear implantation where explicit behavioural tests are not always reliable and sensitive.

Two are better than one: Differences in cortical EEG patterns during auditory and visual verbal working memory processing between Unilateral and Bilateral Cochlear Implanted children

Despite the proven effectiveness of cochlear implant (CI) in the hearing restoration of deaf or hard-of-hearing (DHH) children, to date, extreme variability in verbal working memory (VWM) abilities is observed in both unilateral and bilateral CI user children (CIs). Although clinical experience has long observed deficits in this fundamental executive function in CIs, the cause to date is still unknown. Here, we have set out to investigate differences in brain functioning regarding the impact of monaural and binaural listening in CIs compared with normal hearing (NH) peers during a three-level difficulty n-back task undertaken in two sensory modalities (auditory and visual). The objective of this pioneering study was to identify electroencephalographic (EEG) marker pattern differences in visual and auditory VWM performances in CIs compared to NH peers and possible differences between unilateral cochlear implant (UCI) and bilateral cochlear implant (BCI) users. The main results revealed differences in theta and gamma EEG bands. Compared with hearing controls and BCIs, UCIs showed hypoactivation of theta in the frontal area during the most complex condition of the auditory task and a correlation of the same activation with VWM performance. Hypoactivation in theta was also observed, again for UCIs, in the left hemisphere when compared to BCIs and in the gamma band in UCIs compared to both BCIs and NHs. For the latter two, a correlation was found between left hemispheric gamma oscillation and performance in the audio task. These findings, discussed in the light of recent research, suggest that unilateral CI is deficient in supporting auditory VWM in DHH. At the same time, bilateral CI would allow the DHH child to approach the VWM benchmark for NH children. The present study suggests the possible effectiveness of EEG in supporting, through a targeted approach, the diagnosis and rehabilitation of VWM in DHH children.

Post-stroke cognitive impairment remains highly prevalent and disabling despite state-of-the-art stroke treatment.

State-of-the-art stroke treatment significantly reduces lesion size and stroke severity, but it remains unclear whether these therapeutic advances have diminished the burden of post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI). In a cohort of patients receiving modern state-of-the-art stroke care including endovascular therapy, we assessed the frequency of PSCI and the pattern of domain-specific cognitive deficits, identified risk factors for PSCI, and determined the impact of acute PSCI on stroke outcome. In this prospective monocentric cohort study, we examined patients with first-ever anterior circulation ischemic stroke without pre-stroke cognitive decline, using a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment ⩽10 days after symptom onset. Normative data were stratified by demographic variables. We defined PSCI as at least moderate (<1.5 standard deviation) deficits in ⩾2 cognitive domains. Multivariable regression analysis was applied to define risk factors for PSCI. We analyzed 329 non-aphasic patients admitted from December 2020 to July 2023 (67.2 ± 14.4 years old, 41.3% female, 13.1 ± 2.7 years of education). Although most patients had mild stroke (median National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) 24 h = 1.00 (0.00; 3.00); 87.5% with NIHSS ⩽ 5), 69.3% of them presented with PSCI 2.7 ± 2.0 days post-stroke. The most severely and often affected cognitive domains were verbal learning, episodic memory, executive functions, selective attention, and constructive abilities (39.1%-51.2% of patients), whereas spatial neglect was less frequent (18.5%). The risk of PSCI was reduced with more years of education (odds ratio (OR) = 0.47, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.23-0.99) and right hemisphere lesions (OR = 0.47, 95% CI = 0.26-0.84), and increased with stroke severity (NIHSS 24 h, OR = 4.19, 95% CI = 2.72-6.45), presence of hyperlipidemia (OR = 1.93, 95% CI = 1.01-3.68), but was not influenced by age. After adjusting for stroke severity and depressive symptoms, acute PSCI was associated with poor functional outcome (modified Rankin Scale > 2, F = 13.695, p < 0.001) and worse global cognition (Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score, F = 20.069, p < 0.001) at 3 months post-stroke. Despite modern stroke therapy and many strokes having mild severity, PSCI in the acute stroke phase remains frequent and associated with worse outcome. The most prevalent were learning and memory deficits. Cognitive reserve operationalized as years of education independently protects post-stroke cognition.

Do verbal and nonverbal declarative memory tasks in second language research measure the same abilities?

AbstractA growing body of evidence demonstrates that individual differences in declarative memory may be an important predictor of second language (L2) abilities. However, the evidence comes from studies using different declarative memory tasks that vary in their reliance on verbal abilities and task demands, which preclude estimating the size of the relationship between declarative memory and L2 learning. To address these concerns, we examined the relationship between verbal and nonverbal declarative memory abilities within the same task while controlling for task demands and stimulus modality, to estimate the upper bound of the relationship between verbal and nonverbal declarative memory. Results indicate that when task demands and stimulus modality are controlled, verbal and nonverbal declarative memory abilities shared a medium-to-large amount of underlying variance. However, future studies should exercise caution in appraising associations between declarative memory abilities and L2 learning until a more precise understanding of the underlying mechanisms is achieved.

Effects of working memory and visual search skill on Chinese reading comprehension: examining the simple view of reading

AbstractTo investigate the longitudinal effects of two domain-general cognitive abilities, namely verbal working memory and visual search skill, on Chinese reading comprehension. To evaluate whether decoding and linguistic comprehension mediate such effects. A total of 202 first-grade Chinese-speaking children from mainland China (Mage = 86 months, SD = 4.9 months; 126 boys) completed tasks that measured verbal working memory, visual search, expressive vocabulary, morphological awareness, Chinese character recognition, and word reading fluency. One year later, they completed a passage comprehension task and a nonverbal intelligence test. Structural equation modeling was conducted with decoding and linguistic comprehension being included as latent variables and mediating factors explaining the effects of working memory and visual search. The children with better verbal working memory and visual search skill exhibited better reading comprehension performance. The effect of working memory on reading comprehension was fully mediated by linguistic comprehension (captured by vocabulary and morphological awareness) but not decoding (measured by word reading accuracy and fluency). However, decoding fully mediated the impact of visual search skill. Our findings suggest that the reading comprehension ability of beginning Chinese readers is associated with verbal working memory and visual search ability. These general cognitive abilities influence reading comprehension through distinct pathways. In line with the simple view of reading theory, decoding and linguistic comprehension skills explain such impacts. This research underlines the value of simultaneously examining general cognitive abilities and exploring their interconnectedness with linguistic skills in the context of reading comprehension.

A Longitudinal Study on Cognitive Training for Cognitively Preserved Adults in Liguria, Italy

In this study, we examined the effects of memory training on cognitive function and depressive symptoms in a cohort of 794 healthy adults aged 50 years or older. Participants were divided into an active intervention group and a passive intervention group, with various cognitive measures assessed over a one-year period. Univariate analysis revealed that the active intervention group consistently outperformed the passive group in measures of memory self-perception (Memory Complaint Questionnaire—MACQ), depressive symptoms (Geriatric Depression Scale—GDS-4), verbal memory and recall ability (A3LP), and verbal fluency (VF). Significant differences in MACQ scores were observed between the two groups at all time points, indicating enhanced memory self-perception in the active group. GDS-4 scores consistently favored the active group, suggesting a reduction in depressive symptoms. A3LP scores demonstrated that the active group had better verbal memory and recall abilities. VF scores consistently favored the active group, indicating superior language skills and cognitive flexibility. Linear regression model and mixed linear regression model reinforced these findings, with highly significant interaction effects observed between the active/passive group, gender, age, education, and time. These effects were particularly pronounced for MACQ and A3LP scores, indicating the combined impact of these factors on memory self-perception and verbal memory. This study highlights the positive impact of memory training intervention on cognitive function and depressive symptoms in older adults and underscores the importance of considering gender, age, and education in cognitive interventions. Notably, these benefits persist for up to six months from the end of the program. The results provide valuable insights into cognitive changes in aging populations and suggest that tailored memory training programs can yield significant improvements.

Neural underpinnings of memory encoding and retrieval: Validation of a novel ecologically valid fMRI paradigm

Cognitive impairment is prevalent in affective disorders. Currently, there is a lack of effective treatment options, which is partly due to limited insight into their neural underpinnings and poor transfer to everyday life. Integrating neuroimaging measures in cognition trials to identify neurocircuitry biomarkers is crucial for treatment development. We pooled baseline data from two clinical trials to validate a novel functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) paradigm simulating real-life verbal learning and memory tasks. Healthy participants with no psychiatric history (n = 34) underwent fMRI and an ecologically valid virtual reality-based verbal memory task. During fMRI, they performed an ecologically valid paradigm involving encoding and recognition of a grocery shopping list. Whole-brain analyses assessed task-related activation in key neural networks. Neural underpinnings of memory encoding involved the hippocampus, prefrontal, temporal, occipital, and parietal regions, and caudate. Recognition task activation encompassed a network of frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital regions. Positive associations were found between encoding-related activity in the inferior temporal gyrus and lateral occipital cortex and the number of correctly recalled grocery items. This study introduces and validates a novel fMRI paradigm for assessing real-life verbal learning and memory abilities. The identified neural underpinnings highlight the involvement of diverse brain regions in encoding and recognition processes that may be implemented in future investigations of the neural correlates of memory impairment and improvement.

Children build their vocabularies in noisy environments: The necessity of a cross-disciplinary approach to understand word learning.

Research within the language sciences has informed our understanding of how children build vocabulary knowledge especially during early childhood and the early school years. However, to date, our understanding of word learning in children is based primarily on research in quiet laboratory settings. The everyday environments that children inhabit such as schools, homes, and day cares are typically noisy. To better understand vocabulary development, we need to understand the effects of background noise on word learning. To gain this understanding, a cross-disciplinary approach between researchers in the language and hearing sciences in partnership with parents, educators, and clinicians is ideal. Through this approach we can identify characteristics of effective vocabulary instruction that take into account the background noise present in children's learning environments. Furthermore, we can identify characteristics of children who are likely to struggle with learning words in noisy environments. For example, differences in vocabulary knowledge, verbal working memory abilities, and attention skills will likely influence children's ability to learn words in the presence of background noise. These children require effective interventions to support their vocabulary development which subsequently should support their ability to process and learn language in noisy environments. Overall, this cross-disciplinary approach will inform theories of language development and inform educational and intervention practices designed to support children's vocabulary development. This article is categorized under: Psychology > Language Psychology > Learning Psychology > Theory and Methods.

29 Predictors of Verbal Memory Performance Following Brain Injury Among Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence

Objective:Numerous survivors of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) experience physical violence to the head and neck areas, placing them at high risk of sustaining a brain injury (BI). Studies report that the prevalence of traumatic BI among IPV survivors ranges from 35% to as much as 80%. IPV-related BIs can have debilitating long-term consequences on survivors’ quality of life and overall functioning. One important factor impacting quality of life following TBI is verbal memory abilities. Given the link between verbal memory abilities and functional status, identifying predictors of verbal memory performance has important implications for directing support and rehabilitative efforts for survivors of IPV-related BIs. The current aim of the study was to investigate predictors of verbal memory performance following TBI among survivors of IPV.Participants and Methods:A modified HELPS Brain Injury (BI) screener was administered to women receiving services for IPV through community organizations and shelters in two urban, Midwestern cities. Women who screened positive for IPV-related BI (n=32) were invited to complete a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation including the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test. The delayed recall score of the RAVLT was used as a measure of verbal memory performance. BI history and characteristics were based on survivors’ responses to the modified HELPS screener. Multiple regression was used to determine significant predictors of verbal performance with RAVLT-Delayed Recall scores serving as the criterion, and education, age, number of reported injuries, number of injuries that left participants feeling dazed/confused, following provider recommendations, and childhood history of injury all entered as predictors.Results:The model indicated that a large percentage of the variability (R2 = .378) in delayed recall performance could be attributed to the combination of predictors in the model (F (6, 25) = 2.828, p = .047). Examination of the regression coefficients indicated that only following provider recommendations (ß = .420, p = .019), and number of injuries that induced disorientation/confusion (ß = -.592, p = .004) were significantly related to delayed recall after controlling for all other variables in the model.Conclusions:The results of this study suggest that injury severity and adhering to medical recommendations after IPV-related TBI play a significant role in predicting cognitive functioning. Consistent with existing literature, our findings show that injury characteristics of severity and repetition are closely associated with memory functioning. These findings have implications for guiding screening procedures that may be more sensitive to functional outcome in survivors of IPV who are at risk for BI. Furthermore, our findings highlight a need to increase awareness of IPV-related BI in medical professionals, and to support these front-line staff in providing medical care and psychoeducation about BI to IPV survivors.

9 Connecting memory and functional brain networks in older adults: a resting state fMRI study

Objective:Nonpathological aging has been linked to decline in both verbal and visuospatial memory abilities in older adults. Disruptions in resting-state functional connectivity within well-characterized, higherorder cognitive brain networks have also been coupled with poorer memory functioning in healthy older adults and in older adults with dementia. However, there is a paucity of research on the association between higherorder functional connectivity and verbal and visuospatial memory performance in the older adult population. The current study examines the association between resting-state functional connectivity within the cingulo-opercular network (CON), frontoparietal control network (FPCN), and default mode network (DMN) and verbal and visuospatial learning and memory in a large sample of healthy older adults. We hypothesized that greater within-network CON and FPCN functional connectivity would be associated with better immediate verbal and visuospatial memory recall. Additionally, we predicted that within-network DMN functional connectivity would be associated with improvements in delayed verbal and visuospatial memory recall. This study helps to glean insight into whether within-network CON, FPCN, or DMN functional connectivity is associated with verbal and visuospatial memory abilities in later life.Participants and Methods:330 healthy older adults between 65 and 89 years old (mean age = 71.6 ± 5.2) were recruited at the University of Florida (n = 222) and the University of Arizona (n = 108). Participants underwent resting-state fMRI and completed verbal memory (Hopkins Verbal Learning Test - Revised [HVLT-R]) and visuospatial memory (Brief Visuospatial Memory Test - Revised [BVMT-R]) measures. Immediate (total) and delayed recall scores on the HVLT-R and BVMT-R were calculated using each test manual’s scoring criteria. Learning ratios on the HVLT-R and BVMT-R were quantified by dividing the number of stimuli (verbal or visuospatial) learned between the first and third trials by the number of stimuli not recalled after the first learning trial. CONN Toolbox was used to extract average within-network connectivity values for CON, FPCN, and DMN. Hierarchical regressions were conducted, controlling for sex, race, ethnicity, years of education, number of invalid scans, and scanner site.Results:Greater CON connectivity was significantly associated with better HVLT-R immediate (total) recall (ß = 0.16, p = 0.01), HVLT-R learning ratio (ß = 0.16, p = 0.01), BVMT-R immediate (total) recall (ß = 0.14, p = 0.02), and BVMT-R delayed recall performance (ß = 0.15, p = 0.01). Greater FPCN connectivity was associated with better BVMT-R learning ratio (ß = 0.13, p = 0.04). HVLT-R delayed recall performance was not associated with connectivity in any network, and DMN connectivity was not significantly related to any measure.Conclusions:Connectivity within CON demonstrated a robust relationship with different components of memory function as well across verbal and visuospatial domains. In contrast, FPCN only evidenced a relationship with visuospatial learning, and DMN was not significantly associated with memory measures. These data suggest that CON may be a valuable target in longitudinal studies of age-related memory changes, but also a possible target in future non-invasive interventions to attenuate memory decline in older adults.

13 Verbal Memory and Learning Strategies in an Autistic Sample Using the CVLT

Objective:The present study aims to better understand learning strategies and difficulties in autistic youth. Previous studies have found that autistic youth have difficulties with executive function skills and poorer performance in memory and learning tasks, especially those that require spontaneous retrieval of information compared to memory tasks that provide external retrieval cues. Additionally, it has been theorized that autistic youth employ a serial approach rather than a semantic approach to learning. The current study hypothesized that the autistic sample will have (a) significant difficulties in learning and memory, (b) employ a serial approach more frequently and a semantic approach less frequently than the CVLT normative sample, and (c) will benefit significantly when provided with external retrieval cues.Participants and Methods:Archival data from a mixed clinical and research database were examined for this study. Participants include 740 autistic individuals between the ages of 5.50 and 24.3 (M = 10.90, SD = 2.98). The sample consisted of 22.2% girls and 34.0% Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC). All individuals had a FSIQ &gt; 70 (M = 99.91, SD = 16.09) and were clinically diagnosed with autism using DSM-IV-TR or DSM-V criteria by a clinician at an autism diagnostic center. Participants completed the age-appropriate California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT, Delis et al. 1987) which is a neuropsychological measure that examines verbal memory and learning. One-sample t-tests were used to examine the sample's verbal memory abilities and their learning strategies. A paired sample t-test was used to evaluate the sample's performance before and after an external retrieval cue was given.Results:Results from the one-sample t-tests indicate that the autistic sample performed worse than the CVLT normative data with a large effect size (t(739)= -9.440, p &lt;.001, Cohen's d = 1.292). Secondly, the autistic sample was less likely to use a semantic learning approach (t(739) = -1.841, p = .033, Cohen's d = 1.234), but not more likely to use a serial approach (t(739)=-.040, p=.484) compared to the normative sample. Lastly, the paired sample t-test results show that the sample performed significantly better after receiving the external retrieval cue (t(739)=-2.570, p=.005, Cohen's d = .770).Conclusions:The data supported the first hypothesis; autistic individuals have increased difficulties with learning and verbal memory. However, the data only partially support the second hypothesis. The sample was less likely to use a semantic approach to learning but was not more likely to use serial learning. This finding is opposed to the Weak Central Coherence (WCC) theory, which suggests that autistic individuals are more likely to have detail-oriented, bottom-up cognitive thinking styles, consistent with a serial learning strategy. Lastly, data showed improvement when autistic individuals received a retrieval cue. This result supports the Task Support Hypothesis (TSH) and indicates that autistic individuals benefit from cues for memory recall, particularly those that capitalize on their areas of strength. This study did not use a control group and is limited in ethno-racial diversity; therefore, these are preliminarily findings that require further replication.

Cognitive aging and experience of playing a musical instrument.

Musical instrument training has been found to be associated with higher cognitive performance in older age. However, it is not clear whether this association reflects a reduced rate of cognitive decline in older age (differential preservation), and/or the persistence of cognitive advantages associated with childhood musical training (preserved differentiation). It is also unclear whether this association is consistent across different cognitive domains. Our sample included 420 participants from the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936. Between ages 70 and 82, participants had completed the same 13 cognitive tests (every 3 years), measuring the cognitive domains of verbal ability, verbal memory, processing speed, and visuospatial ability. At age 82, participants reported their lifetime musical experiences; 40% had played a musical instrument, mostly in childhood and adolescence. In minimally adjusted models, participants with greater experience playing a musical instrument tended to perform better across each cognitive domain at age 70 and this association persisted at subsequent waves up to age 82. After controlling for additional covariates (childhood cognitive ability, years of education, socioeconomic status, and health variables), only associations with processing speed (β = 0.131, p = .044) and visuospatial ability (β = 0.154, p = .008) remained statistically significant. Participants with different amounts of experience playing a musical instrument showed similar rates of decline across each cognitive domain between ages 70 and 82. These results suggest a preserved differentiation effect: Cognitive advantages (in processing speed and visuospatial ability) associated with experience playing a musical instrument (mostly earlier in life) are preserved during older age. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

48 Associations Between Cognitive Function and Social Networks in Older Adults: Quality and not Quantity?

Objective:Larger social networks are linked to better cognitive function. However, little is known about the association of cognitive function with the composition of these networks in terms of the varying levels of closeness and supportive relationships. The present study explored whether social network size at different levels was differentially associated with cognitive function in a group of community-dwelling older adults.Participants and Methods:119 older adults (Mage= 70.71) from the Maine Aging Behavior Learning Enrichment Study completed a neuropsychological test battery measuring language, verbal memory, visuospatial memory, working memory, executive function, and processing speed abilities. The number and closeness of participants' relationships was measured using a Hierarchical Mapping Technique based on the Social Convoy model, in which participants included the names of people in their relational network within inner (closest), middle (close), and outer concentric circles.Results:Correlational analyses found that social network size at the total and middle-to-outer levels were statistically associated with education and better performance on measures of language, verbal memory, visuospatial memory, and executive function. However, no relationship emerged between the size of the innermost network level and cognitive function. Furthermore, statistically significant findings did not survive adjustments for the effect of education.Conclusions:Broader levels of support, rather than greater intimacy, were statistically associated with better cognitive performance. Consistent with previous research, greater education was associated with larger social networks. Future research is needed to understand whether higher levels of education or other factors mediate the observed relationship.

73 Examining the Associations Between Sentence Repetition and Other Cognitive Abilities in a Clinical Sample of School-Aged Children

Objective:Sentence repetition (SR) task performance is related to various cognitive abilities and not just learning and memory, as is commonly considered (e.g., Baron, 2018). Bartlett (2018) was the first to examine the associations among SR performance and other cognitive abilities within a single study, using a normative sample. Bartlett (2018) found that SR performance was predicted by language, auditory verbal working memory, processing speed, and nonverbal cognitive ability of which only language abilities and auditory verbal memory significantly added to the prediction. However, no study to date has examined the associations between SR and other cognitive abilities in a clinical sample of school-aged children. The present study sought to determine the extent to which language, working memory, nonverbal abilities (visuospatial processing and fluid reasoning), and processing speed predict children’s SR in a clinical sample.Participants and Methods:Children 6 to 14 years of age (N = 191; 65% males) were included in the present study. Participants were drawn from two separate archival data populations of children referred for neuropsychological assessment in southwestern Ontario. SR scores were obtained from performance on Benton’s (1965) sentence repetition task. Language, working memory, fluid reasoning, visual perception, and processing speed were measured with Index scores from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (5th edition). The association of each of these cognitive domains with SR was determined by multiple linear regression. The effects of age and sex on SR were also examined (N = 226; 64% males).Results:A multiple linear regression model including the five independent variables significantly predicted SR performance, F(5, 185) = 30.306, p &lt; .001., adj. R2 = .435. Only language and working memory added significantly to the prediction, p &lt; .05. A mediation analysis demonstrated that processing speed indirectly predicted SR performance through working memory, b=.0241, [95% BCa [CI .0132, .0355]. A moderate positive correlation was found between age and SR performance, r(226) = .416, p &lt; .001. Sex was unrelated to SR performance.Conclusions:The findings from this study are consistent with other studies indicating that SR taps multiple cognitive abilities. In a large and representative clinical sample of children referred for assessment due to academic or other learning difficulties, language plays as significant a role in SR performance as does auditory verbal attention and working memory. An advantage of the present study was the use of clinically relevant summary measures of cognitive domains associated with intelligence testing.

2 Examining Gender Differences in the Serial Position Effect and its Relationship to Memory Outcomes

Objective:There are gender-related disparities in age of diagnosis of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) or dementia, with women often receiving delayed diagnoses compared to men. These delays may be related to the general female advantage in episodic verbal memory across aging. Thus, it is important to identify methods of examining memory performance that can help to reduce disparities in diagnosis. The serial position effect, a pattern where individuals tend to remember more words at the beginning (primacy) and end (recency) of a list, is predictive of dementia and may provide an avenue for this endeavor. Whereas healthy adults tend to exhibit a prototypical U-shaped serial position profile, those with MCI or dementia tend to show reduced primacy relative to recency (i.e., a J-shaped profile). To date, few studies have examined gender differences in the serial position effect. There is some evidence to suggest that older, cognitively healthy women perform better than men on middle and recency, but more research is needed to clarify the relationship between gender and the serial position effect, which was the focus of this study.Participants and Methods:We utilized data across three archival datasets, which included a total of 338 participants (67.5% female; Mage=66.9, SDage=9.4) divided into three age groups (50-64, 65-75, 76+). Scores on the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) immediate and delayed memory indices (IMI and DMI, respectively) were used to assess verbal episodic memory abilities. Performances across learning trials of the List Learning task were utilized to examine the serial position effect. ANCOVA analyses were conducted and utilized regional scoring of list learning performance, which examined the percentage of correctly recalled words in each portion of the list (primacy, middle, and recency). We also calculated the relative strength of primacy to list learning to examine the relationship between J-curve performance and gender. Years of education was included as a covariate in all analyses.Results:Consistent with prior literature, men performed worse performance on both IMI F(1, 331)=17.20, p&lt;.001, and DMI, F(1, 331)=6.87, p=.009, across aging. Repeated measured GLM showed that the serial position effect was seen across the full sample, F(1.93, 639.874)=5.66, p=.004, and interacted with gender, F(1.933, 639.874)=5.70, p=.004, and education, F(1.933, 639.874)=6.13, p = .003. Although men and women did not differ in primacy, p = .67, women performed better in middle, p &lt; .001, and recency, p = .03, performance. Higher education was associated with better primacy, but not middle or recency, performance. Additionally, 23.1% of the sample exhibited a J-curve pattern, and there was a main effect of J-curve pattern for both IMI, F(1, 334)=12.33, p&lt;.001, and DMI, F(1, 334)=15.62, p&lt;.001, with those showing a J=curve having worse memory performance.Conclusions:Our finding of no gender difference in primacy suggests that focusing on primacy performance in verbal list learning may help to address gender-related disparities in MCI or dementia diagnosis. Additionally, given evidence of education being associated with primacy, but not middle or recency, performance, future research should investigate the development of education-based normative data for primacy performance.

1 Examining Gender Invariance in Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status Learning Ratio

Objective:Process-based measures of verbal learning, such as the recently described learning ratio (LR; Hammers et al., 2022) may add valuable data to neuropsychological assessment. Women tend to have higher episodic verbal memory ability compared to men at all ages, including older adulthood (Golchert et al., 2019; Maitland et al., 2004). However, it is unclear whether gender is related to the process of learning, as quantified through measures of learning slope and ratio. To date only one study has examined this, with Hammers et al. (2021) finding no gender differences on LR in the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS); therefore, further study is necessary. We examined whether men and women differed in LR, learning over time (LOT), and raw learning slope (RLS) in a healthy older adult sample, as well as whether these learning process variables predicted delayed memory equally for men and women.Participants and Methods:203 cognitively healthy community-dwelling adults aged 50 and above (mean age 67.7; 133 women) were taken from a larger archival database; all were administered the RBANS in the context of other studies. LR, LOT, and RLS were calculated from the List Learning task. We examined whether men and women differed in these learning process measures. We then examined whether process measures differentially predicted performance on list recall and delayed memory index (DMI) of the RBANS for men and women.Results:Men and women did not differ in age or years of education. After accounting for age and education, there were no gender differences on LR (p=.455) or RLS (p=.502) but LOT was lower in women (p=.013).LR was equally predictive of list recall across genders (p&lt;.001 for LR; p=.21 for gender). Correlations between LR and list recall were r=.65 (p&lt;.001) for men and r=.56 (p&lt;.001) for women. Both LR (p&lt;.001) and gender (p=.008) predicted DMI but the interaction was nonsignificant. Correlations between LR and DMI were r=.52 for men (p&lt;.001) and r=.46 for women (p&lt;.001).RLS predicted list recall equally across genders (p&lt;.001 for RLS; p=.07 for gender; p=.18 for interaction). Correlations between RLS and list recall were r=.43 for men (p&lt;.001) and r=.23 for women (p=.008). RLS (p&lt;.001) and gender (p=.002; p=.19 for interaction) predicted DMI scores. Correlations between RLS and DMI were r=.31 for men (p=.008) and r=.21 for women (p=.015).LOT predicted list recall equally across genders (p&lt;.001; p=.97 for gender; p=.80 for interaction). Correlations between LOT and list recall were r=-.50 for men (p&lt;.001) and r=-.60 for women (p&lt;.001). LOT also predicted DMI equally across genders (p&lt;.001; p=.084 for gender; p=.159 for interaction). Correlations between LOT and DMI were r=-.46 for men (p&lt;.001) and r=-.49 for women (p&lt;.001).Conclusions:Of the three process variables, LR was the only one that did not show gender differences and was related to delayed memory outcomes with medium to large effect across both genders. Results suggest that LR can be used consistently across genders. As this sample consisted of healthy, independently-living older adults, future study should examine LR by gender in MCI and dementia samples.

The Efficacy of Cognitive Training on Neuropsychological Outcomes in Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Meta-Analysis.

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or mild neurocognitive disorder is an intermediate stage of cognitive impairment between normal cognitive aging and dementia. Given the absence of effective pharmacological treatments for MCI, increasing numbers of studies are attempting to understand how cognitive training (CT) could benefit MCI. This meta-analysis aims to update and assess the efficacy of CT on specific neuropsychological test performance (global cognitive functioning, short-term verbal memory, long-term verbal memory, generativity, working memory, and visuospatial abilities) in individuals diagnosed with MCI, as compared to MCI control groups. After searching electronic databases for randomized controlled trials, 31 studies were found including 2496 participants. Results showed that CT significantly improved global cognitive functioning, short-term and long-term verbal memory, generativity, working memory, and visuospatial abilities. However, no significant effects were observed for shifting, abstraction ability/concept formation, processing speed, and language. The mode of CT had a moderating effect on abstraction ability/concept formation. The findings provide specific insights into the cognitive functions influenced by CT and guide the development of tailored interventions for MCI. While CT holds promise, further research is needed to address certain cognitive deficits and assess long-term effects on dementia progression.

Gesture production at encoding supports narrative recall

Existing research is inconsistent regarding the effects of gesture production on narrative recall. Most studies have examined the effects of gesture production during a recall phase, not during encoding, and findings regarding gesture’s effects are mixed. The present study examined whether producing gestures at encoding could benefit an individual’s narrative recall and whether this effect is moderated by verbal memory and spatial ability. This study also investigated whether producing certain types of gesture is most beneficial to recalling details of a narrative. Participants read a narrative aloud while producing their own gestures at pre-specified phrases in the narrative (Instructed Gesture condition), while placing both their hands behind their backs (No Gesture condition) or with no specific instructions regarding gesture (Spontaneous Gesture condition). Participants completed measures of spatial ability and verbal memory. Recall was measured through both free recall, and specific recall questions related to particular phrases in the narrative. Spontaneous gesture production at encoding benefited free recall, while instructed gestures provided the greatest benefit for recall of specific phrases where gesture had been prompted during encoding. Conversely, for recall of specific phrases where gesture had not been prompted during encoding, instructions to either gesture or not gesture suppressed recall for those higher in verbal memory. Finally, producing iconic and deictic gestures provided benefits for narrative recall, whilst beat gestures had no effect. Gestures play an important role in how we encode and subsequently recall information, providing an opportunity to support cognitive capacity.