Involvement Of Working Memory Research Articles

The role of facial distinctiveness in the prioritisation of targets in disjunctive dual-target face search.

Two experiments explored the search for pairs of faces in a disjunctive dual-target face search (DDTFS) task for unfamiliar face targets. The distinctiveness of the target was manipulated such that both faces were typical or distinctive or contained one typical and one distinctive target. Targets were searched for in arrays of eight faces. In Experiment 1, participants completed a DDTFS block with targets learnt over the block of trials. In Experiment 2, the dual-target block was preceded by two training blocks of single-target trials. Participants also completed the upright and inverted long-form Cambridge Face Memory Test (CFMT+). The results showed that searching for two typical faces leads to one target being prioritised at the expense of the other. The ability to search for non-prioritised typical faces was associated with scores on the CFMT+. This association disappeared when faces were learnt before completing DDTFS. We interpret the findings in terms of the impact of typicality on face learning, individual differences in the ability to learn faces, and the involvement of capacity-limited working memory in the search for unfamiliar faces. The findings have implications for security-related situations where agents must search for multiple unfamiliar faces having been shown their images.

Complementary cognitive roles for D2-MSNs and D1-MSNs during interval timing.

The role of striatal pathways in cognitive processing is unclear. We studied dorsomedial striatal cognitive processing during interval timing, an elementary cognitive task that requires mice to estimate intervals of several seconds and involves working memory for temporal rules as well as attention to the passage of time. We harnessed optogenetic tagging to record from striatal D2-dopamine receptor-expressing medium spiny neurons (D2-MSNs) in the indirect pathway and from D1-dopamine receptor-expressing MSNs (D1-MSNs) in the direct pathway. We found that D2-MSNs and D1-MSNs exhibited distinct dynamics over temporal intervals as quantified by principal component analyses and trial-by-trial generalized linear models. MSN recordings helped construct and constrain a four-parameter drift-diffusion computational model. This model predicted that disrupting either D2-MSNs or D1-MSNs would increase interval timing response times and alter MSN firing. In line with this prediction, we found that optogenetic inhibition or pharmacological disruption of either D2-MSNs or D1-MSNs increased interval timing response times. Pharmacologically disrupting D2-MSNs or D1-MSNs also changed MSN dynamics and degraded trial-by-trial temporal decoding. Together, our findings demonstrate that D2-MSNs and D1-MSNs make complementary contributions to interval timing despite opposing dynamics, implying that striatal direct and indirect pathways work together to shape temporal control of action. These data provide novel insight into basal ganglia cognitive operations beyond movement and have implications for human striatal diseases and therapies targeting striatal pathways.

The role of general cognitive skills in integrating visual and linguistic information during sentence comprehension: individual differences across the lifespan

Individuals exhibit massive variability in general cognitive skills that affect language processing. This variability is partly developmental. Here, we recruited a large sample of participants (N = 487), ranging from 9 to 90 years of age, and examined the involvement of nonverbal processing speed (assessed using visual and auditory reaction time tasks) and working memory (assessed using forward and backward Digit Span tasks) in a visual world task. Participants saw two objects on the screen and heard a sentence that referred to one of them. In half of the sentences, the target object could be predicted based on verb-selectional restrictions. We observed evidence for anticipatory processing on predictable compared to non-predictable trials. Visual and auditory processing speed had main effects on sentence comprehension and facilitated predictive processing, as evidenced by an interaction. We observed only weak evidence for the involvement of working memory in predictive sentence comprehension. Age had a nonlinear main effect (younger adults responded faster than children and older adults), but it did not differentially modulate predictive and non-predictive processing, nor did it modulate the involvement of processing speed and working memory. Our results contribute to delineating the cognitive skills that are involved in language-vision interactions.

An Exploratory Study of Large-Scale Brain Networks during Gambling Using SEEG.

Decision-making is a cognitive process involving working memory, executive function, and attention. However, the connectivity of large-scale brain networks during decision-making is not well understood. This is because gaining access to large-scale brain networks in humans is still a novel process. Here, we used SEEG (stereoelectroencephalography) to record neural activity from the default mode network (DMN), dorsal attention network (DAN), and frontoparietal network (FN) in ten humans while they performed a gambling task in the form of the card game, "War". By observing these networks during a decision-making period, we related the activity of and connectivity between these networks. In particular, we found that gamma band activity was directly related to a participant's ability to bet logically, deciding what betting amount would result in the highest monetary gain or lowest monetary loss throughout a session of the game. We also found connectivity between the DAN and the relation to a participant's performance. Specifically, participants with higher connectivity between and within these networks had higher earnings. Our preliminary findings suggest that connectivity and activity between these networks are essential during decision-making.

Working memory involvement in action planning does not include timing initiation structure.

A fundamental limitation in the type of information that can be retained in working memory is identified in this theoretical / review article. The analysis is based on studies of skilled motor performance that were not initially conceived in terms of working memory. Findings from a long history of experimentation involving reaction time (RT) prior to making a brief motor response indicate that although the parameters representing the goal to be achieved by the response can be retained in working memory, the control code that implements timing of action components cannot. This lack of working memory requires that the "timing code" must be compiled immediately prior to the moment that it is to be utilized; it is not possible to be fully ready to respond earlier. This compiling process increases RT and may also underlie both the psychological refractory period effect and the difficulty of generating concurrent motor actions with independent timing. These conclusions extend, but do not conflict with, other models of working memory.

Cell-type-specific cholinergic control of granular retrosplenial cortex with implications for angular velocity coding across brain states.

Cholinergic receptor activation enables the persistent firing of cortical pyramidal neurons, providing a key cellular basis for theories of spatial navigation involving working memory, path integration, and head direction encoding. The granular retrosplenial cortex (RSG) is important for spatially-guided behaviors, but how acetylcholine impacts RSG neurons is unknown. Here, we show that a transcriptomically, morphologically, and biophysically distinct RSG cell-type - the low-rheobase (LR) neuron - has a very distinct expression profile of cholinergic muscarinic receptors compared to all other neighboring excitatory neuronal subtypes. LR neurons do not fire persistently in response to cholinergic agonists, in stark contrast to all other principal neuronal subtypes examined within the RSG and across midline cortex. This lack of persistence allows LR neuron models to rapidly compute angular head velocity (AHV), independent of cholinergic changes seen during navigation. Thus, LR neurons can consistently compute AHV across brain states, highlighting the specialized RSG neural codes supporting navigation.

Evaluation of the effects of DBS in the caudal Zona incerta on brain activity during a working memory task in patients with essential tremor

Essential tremor (ET) is characterized by bilateral upper limb postural and/or kinetic tremor, but also cognitive deficits. Tremor in ET, as well as aspects of cognitive deficits associated with ET, have been suggested to be linked to dysfunction in the cerebello-thalamo-cerebral circuit. In ET patients with disabling and medically intractable motor symptoms, Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) is effective in reducing tremor. DBS in the caudal Zona incerta (cZi) has been shown to modulate the activity of the sensorimotor cerebello-cerebral circuit during motor tasks. Whether the activity in the cerebello-cerebral circuit is modulated by DBS during tasks involving working memory is unknown. The present study therefore aimed to investigate the possible effects of cZi DBS on working-memory processing in ET patients by means of task-based blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) fMRI.Thirteen ET patients completed a working-memory task during DBS OFF and ON conditions. The task involved three conditions: maintenance, manipulation, and control. Behaviorally, there was no significant effect from DBS on accuracy, but a marginally significant Task x DBS interaction was detected for response times (RTs). However, post hoc comparisons for each condition failed to reach statistical significance. FMRI analyses revealed that DBS did not alter BOLD signal in regions of interest (lateral prefrontal cortex, parietal cortex, and the cerebellum), or in a complementary whole-brain analysis.The present study indicates that DBS in the cZi in patients with ET has at most marginal effects on working memory, which is consistent with the results of pre- and post-DBS neuropsychological assessment showing minimal cognitive effects of surgery.

About the Predictive Value of a 3D Multiple Object Tracking Device for Talent Identification in Elite Ice Hockey Players

ABSTRACT Purpose: The aim of this study is to verify if a single session on the NeuroTracker has predictive value in talent identification in ice hockey. Methods: Thirty-five male ice hockey players (aged 16-20) from the highest Canadian competition level for that age group participated in the study. A battery of tests (attention, working memory, time reproduction, pattern recognition, temporal equivalence, technical ability, and decision-making) was administered to verify the relation between various cognitive abilities, on-ice performance, and the baseline score on the NeuroTracker, which is claimed to solicit multiple cognitive functions. On-ice performance indicators were game-related statistics: games played, points (mean per game), on-ice goals differential, and draft rank. Results: Results show that the baseline score on the NeuroTracker is not associated with draft ranking, nor is it able to predict which players will perform best based on game-related statistics. However, the NeuroTracker baseline score does correlate with various tests involving working memory and attention. Conclusion: Currently, NeuroTracker is not specific enough to allow talent identification among same-level elite athletes in ice hockey.

The effect of practice and musical structure on pianists' eye-hand span and visual monitoring.

This study examines short-term improvement of music performances and oculomotor behaviour during four successive executions of a brief musical piece composed by Bartók, "Slovak Boys' Dance". Pianists (n=22) were allowed to practice for two minutes between each trial. Eye-tracking data were collected as well as MIDI information from pianists' performances. Cognitive skills were assessed by a spatial memory test and a reading span test. Principal component analysis (PCA) enabled us to distinguish two axes, one associated with anticipation and the other with dependence/independence on written code. The effect of musical structure, determined by the emergence of different sections in the score, was observed in all the dependent variables selected from the PCA; we also observed the effect of practice on the number of fixations, the number of glances at the keyboard (GAK) and the awareness span. Pianist expertise was associated with fewer fixations and GAK, better anticipation capacities and more effective strategies for visual monitoring of motor movements. The significant correlations observed between the reading span test and GAK duration highlight the challenge of working memory involvement during music reading.

The Role of the Cerebellum in Visual-Spatial Memory in Pediatric Posterior Fossa Tumor Survivors.

The cerebellum is involved in motor and non-motor functions. Cerebellar lesions can underlie the disruption of various executive functions. The violation of executive functions in cerebellar lesions is a serious problem, since children, after completing treatment, must return to school, finish their education, and get a profession. One of the important executive functions is working memory, which contributes to academic success. Deficits of verbal working memory in cerebellar tumors have been studied, in contrast to visual-spatial working memory. To assess this issue, 101 patients who survived cerebellar tumors and 100 healthy control subjects performed a visual-spatial working memory test. As a result, in children who survived cerebellar tumors, visual-spatial working memory is impaired compared to the control group. Moreover, with age, and hence the time since the end of treatment, the number of elements that children can retain in visual-spatial working memory increases, but still remains smaller compared to the control group. Our findings complement the idea of cerebellar involvement in visual-spatial working memory and suggest that it is disrupted by cerebellar lesions in children.

What Memory-Load Interference Tasks Tell Us about Spoken Relative Clause Processing.

The relationship between working memory (WM) and language processing has been extensively investigated in cognitive research. Previous studies mostly obtain evidence from measuring the involvement of WM in complex syntactic structures reported with well-established processing asymmetry, e.g., relative clauses (RCs) in English. Rarely considered is the role of WM in language whose RC processing asymmetrypresents conflicting results, e.g., Chinese. This study addresses the research gap. Three experiments with a self-paced listening paradigm interfered with concurrent digit-load and lexical-decision interference were conductedon subject-extracted RCs (SRC) and object-extracted RCs (ORC). Listening times show no disparity between SRCs and ORCs, nor iseitherSRC or ORC processing more affected by syntactic complexity at comparable positions under each condition. Nevertheless, the post-sentence comprehension shows greater impairment in SRCs than ORCs. The results that memory load interfering does not differentially impair the availability of WM resources used for Chinese RC processing provide evidence for the specialization role of working memory. The findings demonstrate a dynamic, fluctuating wave pattern for Chinese RC processing. We arguethatthere is no RC processing asymmetry in Chinese.

Associative-memory deficit as a function of age and stimuli serial position.

Studies have shown associative-memory decline in aging. While the literature is inconclusive regarding the source of the deficit, some researchers argue that it is caused by impaired encoding and maintenance processes in working-memory (WM). Successful retrieval of a stimulus depends on its sequential presentation in the learning list: stimuli at the beginning or the end of the learning list benefit from higher retrieval probability. These effects are known as “primacy” and “recency” effects, respectively. In the case of the primacy-effect, stimuli at early list positions benefit from extensive rehearsal that results in enhanced consolidation and trace in long-term memory (LTM). In the case of the recency-effect, target stimuli at later serial positions are still maintained in WM and can therefore be effortlessly retrieved. Considering these effects could shed light on the involvement of WM in associative-binding. Both behavioral and neuroimaging researchers have studied associative-decline in aging. However, no work has explicitly tested age differences in memory for items versus associations as a function of stimuli serial position (SSP). In the current study, 22 younger and 22 older adults were recruited to participate in a study aimed to test the separate and joint effects of both SSP and aging on memory-recognition of items and associations. In the task used, retrieval was manipulated for SSP (beginning/middle/end of the list) and item/associations recognition modes. We hypothesized that greater associative-decline will be observed in older adults, specifically for recently presented material. The results showed that both groups presented a significant associative-deficit at the recency positions; this decrease was additive and did not correspond to the expected interaction effect. Further analysis showed that the source of associative-memory decline for stimuli at recency position in older adults resulted from an increase in false-alarm (FA) rates. These results support the involvement of WM-binding impairment in aging.

Listening to White Noise Improved Verbal Working Memory in Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A Pilot Study.

Existing research demonstrates that children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) underperform in cognitive tasks involving working memory (WM) due to hypo-arousal, which has led to the development of arousal regulation models to determine proper levels of arousal and optimal cognitive outcomes. The present study focuses on investigating the effects of external auditory stimuli on verbal WM in children with ADHD. Thirteen children with ADHD (aged 6–10 years old) and thirteen age- and gender-matched children with typical development (TD) completed the verbal WM task when listening to no sound, white noise, or pleasant music. A two-way repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to compare the verbal WM performance between groups in the three auditory conditions. Children with ADHD showed the best verbal WM performance when listening to white noise and the worst performance when listening to no sound. Yet, children with TD performed the best in the no-sound condition and the worst in the white noise condition. Our findings suggest auditory white noise is beneficial for ideal arousal regulation and cognitive performance involving verbal WM for children with ADHD and support the moderate brain arousal model. Providing external white noise is a non-invasive and cost-effective approach to improving verbal WM in children with ADHD in real-world contexts.

Presupposition processing declines with age

The present study investigates the processing of presuppositions across the life span and extends the findings of the only available study on presupposition processing and typical aging by Domaneschi and Di Paola (J Pragmat 140:70–87, 2019). In an online and offline task, we investigate the impact of cognitive load during the processing and recovery of two presupposition triggers—definite descriptions and change-of-state verbs—comparing a group of younger adults with a group of older adults. The collected experimental data show that (1) presupposition recovery declines during normal aging, (2) presupposition recovery of change-of-state verbs is more cognitively demanding for older adults than the recovery of definite descriptions, and lastly (3) presupposition recovery for the change-of-state verb begin is more demanding than the change-of-state verb stop. As of today, few works have directly investigated presupposition processing across the life span. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work revealing that cognitive load directly impacts the recovery of presuppositions across the life span, which in turn suggests an involvement of verbal working memory.

Application of High-Tech Solution for Memory Assessment in Patients With Disorders of Consciousness.

Testing cognitive function in patients after severe brain damage is a major clinical challenge. In the absence of both verbal and motor communication, tests commonly used to assess cognitive function are completely or partially undoable for disorders of consciousness patients. The study involved 12 patients with varying degrees of impaired consciousness due to brain damage, with no verbal and motor communication. Memory was assessed in study participants using oculography. Memory tasks were presented in four categories. The total percentage of correctly completed tasks obtained across the group was 39.58%. The most difficult tasks included category C.4 with tasks involving working memory. Regardless of the subjects' level of consciousness, there was no statistically significant difference in the percentage of correct responses obtained in subgroups distinguished by CRS-R score. Eye tracking technology can be successfully used in the assessment of cognitive function, particularly when eye movements are the only channel of communication in individuals after brain damage. We suggest that the cognitive functions of people after brain damage should be further analyzed using eye tracking.

How does orthographic or phonological similarity produce repetition blindness?

ABSTRACT University students reported two words, C1 and C2, and an intervening filler word in rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP). The deficit in reporting the second target C2 (repetition blindness, RB) was examined when C1 and C2 were phonologically or orthographically similar. When C1 and C2 were homophones, there was a deficit in the report of both C1 and C2 and confusion between C1 and C2, suggesting a working memory involvement in phonological RB. The deficit was restricted to C2 when C1 and C2 were orthographically similar (Experiments 2 and 3). In Experiment 4, C1 and C2 shared the first three or the last three letters. Participants chose from two 3-letter fragments the one that came from C2. There was a deficit for similar C2s which was exacerbated for beginning matches with beginning probes. We propose that interference by C1 in the orthography-to-phonology conversion for C2 causes orthographic RB.

The Association Between Lentiform Nucleus Function and Cognitive Impairments in Schizophrenia

Introduction: Cognitive decline is the core schizophrenia symptom, which is now well accepted. Holding a role in various aspects of cognition, lentiform nucleus (putamen and globus pallidus) dysfunction contributes to the psychopathology of this disease. However, the effects of lentiform nucleus function on cognitive impairments in schizophrenia are yet to be investigated.Objectives: We aim to detect the fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF) alterations in patients with schizophrenia, and examine how their behavior correlates in relation to the cognitive impairments of the patients.Methods: All participants underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and cognitive assessment (digit span and digit symbol coding tests). Screening of brain regions with significant changes in fALFF values was based on analysis of the whole brain. The data were analyzed between Jun 2020 and Mar 2021. There were no interventions beyond the routine therapy determined by their clinicians on the basis of standard clinical practice.Results: There were 136 patients (75 men and 61 women, 24.1 ± 7.4 years old) and 146 healthy controls (82 men and 64 women, 24.2 ± 5.2 years old) involved in the experiments seriatim. Patients with schizophrenia exhibited decreased raw scores in cognitive tests (p < 0.001) and increased fALFF in the bilateral lentiform nuclei (left: 67 voxels; x = −24, y = −6, z = 3; peak t-value = 6.90; right: 16 voxels; x = 18, y = 0, z = 3; peak t-value = 6.36). The fALFF values in the bilateral lentiform nuclei were positively correlated with digit span-backward test scores (left: r = 0.193, p = 0.027; right: r = 0.190, p = 0.030), and the right lentiform nucleus was positively correlated with digit symbol coding scores (r = 0.209, p = 0.016).Conclusion: This study demonstrates that cognitive impairments in schizophrenia are associated with lentiform nucleus function as revealed by MRI, involving working memory and processing speed.

Effect of Cognitive Training on Lower Limb Muscular Activity in Older Adults With Balance Impairment During Walking

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of two different approaches of dual-task training and executive training on lower limb muscular activity in older adults with balance impairment. Methods: This was a quasi-experimental study performed with a pre-test and post-test method. Thirty old adults (Mean±SD age=73.8±4.6 y, height=1.65±0.06 m, weight=69.17±12.67 kg) were randomly assigned to one of the three groups: two experimental groups included Cognitive Dual-Task training (CDT; participants did exercises under the dual-task condition with cognitive tasks, such as forward counting, simple visual search task, etc.) and Executive Function training (EF; included a mixture of 20 tasks involving working memory tasks, inhibitory and speed of processing tasks), and a control group. The training session lasted 45 min and was held three times a week for eight weeks. Gait muscle activity under single-task and Dual-Task (DT) conditions was recorded before and after training. Results: during the stance phase of normal walking, the amplitude of Electromyography (EMG) activity of right Tibialis Anterior (TA) muscle in the post-test was about 32% lower than that in the pre-test in the CDT group (P=0.011), and no statistically significant change was between pre- and post-training in the EF and control groups (P&gt;0.05). During the swing phase of DT walking, the amplitude of EMG activity of the right Vastus Lateralis (VL) muscle in the post-test was about 15.5% higher than that in the pre-test in the CDT group (P=0.013), and in the right VL muscle during the post-test was lower than that in the pre-test in the EF group (P=0.01). In the CDT group, right ankle co-contraction during the stance phase in the post-test was statistically different from that in the pre-test. In all three groups, muscular EMG asymmetry demonstrated no statistically significant change between pre- and post-training measures (P&gt;0.05). Conclusion: Overall, both training groups showed similar muscular activity in the post-test than pre-test; however, in the EF training group, walking velocity improved more than that in the CDT group. Therefore, because of improvements in both walking velocity and muscle activities after EF training, this training mode is suggested for older adults.

Assessing working memory in general education students for ADHD detection

The involvement of deficient working memory in ADHD symptomatology has attracted intense research interest and has been scientifically substantiated. This fact provided an impetus for this study, which aims to investigate the role of working memory assessment in detecting ADHD elements in general education students in classroom settings. Therefore, 67 classroom teachers rated 130 Greek general education primary school students on the Greek-WMRS. The research findings indicated statistically significant differences in the overall score of the Greek-WMRS and in the separate score of its 20 descriptions of classroom behaviors between children clinically diagnosed with ADHD and those without. In conclusion, students’ working memory assessment in classroom settings can significantly contribute to detection of ADHD behaviors so that such classroom behaviors to be extensively assessed for an effective diagnosis.

Role of aging and working memory in performance on a naturalistic visual search task

Studying age-related changes in working memory (WM) and visual search can provide insights into mechanisms of visuospatial attention. In visual search, WM is used to remember previously inspected objects/locations and to maintain a mental representation of the target to guide the search. We sought to extend this work, using aging as a case of reduced WM capacity. The present study tested whether various domains of WM would predict visual search performance in both young (n = 47; aged 18–35 yrs) and older (n = 48; aged 55–78) adults. Participants completed executive and domain-specific WM measures, and a naturalistic visual search task with (single) feature and triple-conjunction (three-feature) search conditions. We also varied the WM load requirements of the search task by manipulating whether a reference picture of the target (i.e., target template) was displayed during the search, or whether participants needed to search from memory. In both age groups, participants with better visuospatial executive WM were faster to locate complex search targets. Working memory storage capacity predicted search performance regardless of target complexity; however, visuospatial storage capacity was more predictive for young adults, whereas verbal storage capacity was more predictive for older adults. Displaying a target template during search diminished the involvement of WM in search performance, but this effect was primarily observed in young adults. Age-specific interactions between WM and visual search abilities are discussed in the context of mechanisms of visuospatial attention and how they may vary across the lifespan.