Robust training attenuates TBI-induced deficits in reference and working memory on the radial 8-arm maze.

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Sebastian, Veronica; Diallo, Aissatou; Ling, Douglas S F; Serrano, Peter A

2013-01-01

Globally, it is estimated that nearly 10 million people sustain severe brain injuries leading to hospitalization and/or death every year. Amongst survivors, traumatic brain injury (TBI) results in a wide variety of physical, emotional and cognitive deficits. The most common cognitive deficit associated with TBI is memory loss, involving impairments in spatial reference and working memory. However, the majority of research thus far has characterized the deficits associated with TBI on either reference or working memory systems separately, without investigating how they interact within a single task. Thus, we examined the effects of TBI on short-term working and long-term reference memory using the radial 8-arm maze (RAM) with a sequence of four baited and four unbaited arms. Subjects were given 10 daily trials for 6 days followed by a memory retrieval test 2 weeks after training. Multiple training trials not only provide robust training, but also test the subjects' ability to frequently update short-term memory while learning the reference rules of the task. Our results show that TBI significantly impaired short-term working memory function on previously acquired spatial information but has little effect on long-term reference memory. Additionally, TBI significantly increased working memory errors during acquisition and reference memory errors during retention testing 2 weeks later. With a longer recovery period after TBI, the robust RAM training mitigated the reference memory deficit in retention but not the short-term working memory deficit during acquisition. These results identify the resiliency and vulnerabilities of short-term working and long-term reference memory to TBI in the context of robust training. The data highlight the role of cognitive training and other behavioral remediation strategies implicated in attenuating deficits associated with TBI.

Common Cognitive Deficits in Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Autism: Working Memory and Visual-Motor Integration

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Englund, Julia A.; Decker, Scott L.; Allen, Ryan A.; Roberts, Alycia M.

2014-01-01

Cognitive deficits in working memory (WM) are characteristic features of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and autism. However, few studies have investigated cognitive deficits using a wide range of cognitive measures. We compared children with ADHD ("n" = 49) and autism ("n" = 33) with a demographically matched…

Assessing the associative deficit of older adults in long-term and short-term/working memory.

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Chen, Tina; Naveh-Benjamin, Moshe

2012-09-01

Older adults exhibit a deficit in associative long-term memory relative to younger adults. However, the literature is inconclusive regarding whether this deficit is attenuated in short-term/working memory. To elucidate the issue, three experiments assessed younger and older adults' item and interitem associative memory and the effects of several variables that might potentially contribute to the inconsistent pattern of results in previous studies. In Experiment 1, participants were tested on item and associative recognition memory with both long-term and short-term retention intervals in a single, continuous recognition paradigm. There was an associative deficit for older adults in the short-term and long-term intervals. Using only short-term intervals, Experiment 2 utilized mixed and blocked test designs to examine the effect of test event salience. Blocking the test did not attenuate the age-related associative deficit seen in the mixed test blocks. Finally, an age-related associative deficit was found in Experiment 3, under both sequential and simultaneous presentation conditions. Even while accounting for some methodological issues, the associative deficit of older adults is evident in short-term/working memory.

Visual working memory and number sense : Testing the double deficit hypothesis in mathematics

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Toll, Sylke; Kroesbergen, Evelyn; Van Luit, Johannes E H

2016-01-01

Background: Evidence exists that there are two main underlying cognitive factors in mathematical difficulties: working memory and number sense. It is suggested that real math difficulties appear when both working memory and number sense are weak, here referred to as the double deficit (DD)

Working memory deficits in boys with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): An examination of orthographic coding and episodic buffer processes.

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Alderson, R Matt; Kasper, Lisa J; Patros, Connor H G; Hudec, Kristen L; Tarle, Stephanie J; Lea, Sarah E

2015-01-01

The episodic buffer component of working memory was examined in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and typically developing peers (TD). Thirty-two children (ADHD = 16, TD = 16) completed three versions of a phonological working memory task that varied with regard to stimulus presentation modality (auditory, visual, or dual auditory and visual), as well as a visuospatial task. Children with ADHD experienced the largest magnitude working memory deficits when phonological stimuli were presented via a unimodal, auditory format. Their performance improved during visual and dual modality conditions but remained significantly below the performance of children in the TD group. In contrast, the TD group did not exhibit performance differences between the auditory- and visual-phonological conditions but recalled significantly more stimuli during the dual-phonological condition. Furthermore, relative to TD children, children with ADHD recalled disproportionately fewer phonological stimuli as set sizes increased, regardless of presentation modality. Finally, an examination of working memory components indicated that the largest magnitude between-group difference was associated with the central executive. Collectively, these findings suggest that ADHD-related working memory deficits reflect a combination of impaired central executive and phonological storage/rehearsal processes, as well as an impaired ability to benefit from bound multimodal information processed by the episodic buffer.

Working Memory Deficits in Boys with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): The Contribution of Central Executive and Subsystem Processes

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Rapport, Mark D.; Alderson, R. Matt; Kofler, Michael J.; Sarver, Dustin E.; Bolden, Jennifer; Sims, Valerie

2008-01-01

The current study investigated contradictory findings from recent experimental and meta-analytic studies concerning working memory deficits in ADHD. Working memory refers to the cognitive ability to temporarily store and mentally manipulate limited amounts of information for use in guiding behavior. Phonological (verbal) and visuospatial…

The effectiveness of neurofeedback with computrized training in improving working memory in adults with attention deficit disorder/ hyperactivity

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lila Heydarinasab

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Background : Attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder, is a common psychological disorder in persons, that continues from childhood into adulthood and leads to problem in various aspects of  their  life, such as personal, social, professional, and executive function such as working memory. Several studies indicate a close relationship between working memory deficits and attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder. Given the lack of studies on the effectiveness of neurofeedback in improving working memory in adults with ADHD, this study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of neurofeedback in working memory. Materials and Methods: Research design was experimental with pre-test and post-test and control group and carried out on adults with attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder referred to the Atieh clinic in Tehran .After reviewing inclusion and exclusion criteria,16 persons based on purposive sampling were selected in 2 groups of 8 cases as experimental and control groups. The research instruments were the Beck Anxiety Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory, Inventory adult attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder of Barkley, vital cns test, auditory and visual integrated test signs. Data analysis, through SPSS software using U Mann-Whitney, was performed. The independent t-test, Wilcoxon and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used also for complementary results. The protocol  used in this study, was increasing of beta waves on FZ. Results: The results showed that neurofeedback was led to a significant increase in working memory in experimental group. Conclusion: According to the results of this study, which is consistent with results of the researches done in this field, neurofeedback increases frontal lobe activity and activation of neural circuits involved in executive function and working memory, and improve executive function and working memory deficits in patients with attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder. As a result, given the

Working memory deficits in high-functioning adolescents with autism spectrum disorders: neuropsychological and neuroimaging correlates.

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Barendse, Evelien M; Hendriks, Marc Ph; Jansen, Jacobus Fa; Backes, Walter H; Hofman, Paul Am; Thoonen, Geert; Kessels, Roy Pc; Aldenkamp, Albert P

2013-06-04

Working memory is a temporary storage system under attentional control. It is believed to play a central role in online processing of complex cognitive information and may also play a role in social cognition and interpersonal interactions. Adolescents with a disorder on the autism spectrum display problems in precisely these domains. Social impairments, communication difficulties, and repetitive interests and activities are core domains of autism spectrum disorders (ASD), and executive function problems are often seen throughout the spectrum. As the main cognitive theories of ASD, including the theory of mind deficit hypotheses, weak central coherence account, and the executive dysfunction theory, still fail to explain the broad spectrum of symptoms, a new perspective on the etiology of ASD is needed. Deficits in working memory are central to many theories of psychopathology, and are generally linked to frontal-lobe dysfunction. This article will review neuropsychological and (functional) brain imaging studies on working memory in adolescents with ASD. Although still disputed, it is concluded that within the working memory system specific problems of spatial working memory are often seen in adolescents with ASD. These problems increase when information is more complex and greater demands on working memory are made. Neuroimaging studies indicate a more global working memory processing or connectivity deficiency, rather than a focused deficit in the prefrontal cortex. More research is needed to relate these working memory difficulties and neuroimaging results in ASD to the behavioral difficulties as seen in individuals with a disorder on the autism spectrum.

Working memory deficits in adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): an examination of central executive and storage/rehearsal processes.

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Alderson, R Matt; Hudec, Kristen L; Patros, Connor H G; Kasper, Lisa J

2013-05-01

The current study was the first to use a regression approach to examine the unique contributions of central executive (CE) and storage/rehearsal processes to working memory (WM) deficits in adults with ADHD. Thirty-seven adults (ADHD = 21, HC = 16) completed phonological (PH) and visuospatial (VS) working memory tasks. While both groups performed significantly better during the PH task relative to the VS task, adults with ADHD exhibited significant deficits across both working memory modalities. Further, the ADHD group recalled disproportionately fewer PH and VS stimuli as set-size demands increased. Overall, the CE and PH storage/rehearsal processes of adults with ADHD were both significantly impaired relative to those of the healthy control adults; however, the magnitude of the CE effect size was much smaller compared to previous studies of children with the disorder. Collectively, results provide support for a lifelong trajectory of WM deficits in ADHD. © 2013 American Psychological Association

Clinical correlates of working memory deficits in youth with and without ADHD: A controlled study.

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Fried, Ronna; Chan, James; Feinberg, Leah; Pope, Amanda; Woodworth, K Yvonne; Faraone, Stephen V; Biederman, Joseph

2016-01-01

Both working memory (WM; a brain system that provides temporary storage and manipulation of the information) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have been associated with educational deficits. Since WM deficits are prevalent in children with ADHD, the main aim of the present study was to examine whether educational deficits are driven by working memory deficits or driven by the effect of ADHD itself. Participants were referred youth with (N = 276) and without (N = 241) ADHD ascertained from pediatric and psychiatric sources. Assessment included measures of psychiatric, psychosocial, educational, and cognitive functioning. Education deficits were defined as grade retention or placement in special classes and were assessed using interviews and written rating scales. Working memory was assessed using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) Freedom from Distractibility (FFD) factor based on Digit Span, Arithmetic, and Coding. Significantly more youth with ADHD had WM deficits than controls (31.9% vs. 13.7%, p increased risk for grade retention and placement in special classes as well as lower scores on reading and math achievement tests than for ADHD children without WM deficits. In contrast, no other differences were noted in other areas of functioning. Although WM deficits also had some adverse impact on educational and cognitive correlates in non-ADHD controls, these differences failed to attain statistical significance. WM deficits significantly and selectively increase the risk for academic deficits and cognitive dysfunction in children with ADHD beyond those conferred by ADHD. Screening for WM deficits may help identify children with ADHD at high risk for academic and cognitive dysfunction.

Working memory and attention deficits in adolescent offspring of schizophrenia or bipolar patients: comparing vulnerability markers.

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Diwadkar, Vaibhav A; Goradia, Dhruman; Hosanagar, Avinash; Mermon, Diana; Montrose, Debra M; Birmaher, Boris; Axelson, David; Rajarathinem, R; Haddad, Luay; Amirsadri, Ali; Zajac-Benitez, Caroline; Rajan, Usha; Keshavan, Matcheri S

2011-07-01

Working memory deficits abound in schizophrenia and attention deficits have been documented in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Adolescent offspring of patients may inherit vulnerabilities in brain circuits that subserve these cognitive domains. Here we assess impairments in offspring of schizophrenia (SCZ-Offspring) or bipolar (BP-Offspring) patients compared to controls (HC) with no family history of mood or psychotic disorders to the second degree. Three groups (n=100 subjects; range: 10-20 yrs) of HC, SCZ-Offspring and BP-Offspring gave informed consent. Working memory was assessed using a delayed spatial memory paradigm with two levels of delay (2s & 12s); sustained attention processing was assessed using the Continuous Performance Task-Identical Pairs version. SCZ-Offspring (but not BP-Offspring) showed impairments in working memory (relative to HC) at the longer memory delay indicating a unique deficit. Both groups showed reduced sensitivity during attention but only BP-Offspring significantly differed from controls. These results suggest unique (working memory/dorsal frontal cortex) and potentially overlapping (attention/fronto-striatal cortex) vulnerability pathways in adolescent offspring of patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Working memory and attention assessments in these offspring may assist in the clinical characterization of the adolescents vulnerable to SCZ or BP. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Visual Working Memory and Number Sense: Testing the Double Deficit Hypothesis in Mathematics

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Toll, Sylke W. M.; Kroesbergen, Evelyn H.; Van Luit, Johannes E. H.

2016-01-01

Background: Evidence exists that there are two main underlying cognitive factors in mathematical difficulties: working memory and number sense. It is suggested that real math difficulties appear when both working memory and number sense are weak, here referred to as the double deficit (DD) hypothesis. Aims: The aim of this study was to test the DD…

Clinical Correlates of Working Memory Deficits in Youth With and Without ADHD: A Controlled Study

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Fried, Ronna; Chan, James; Feinberg, Leah; Pope, Amanda; Woodworth, K. Yvonne; Faraone, Stephen V.; Biederman, Joseph

2016-01-01

Objective Both working memory (WM) (a brain system that provides temporary storage and manipulation of the information) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have been associated with educational deficits. Since WM deficits are prevalent in children with ADHD, the main aim of the present study was to examine whether educational deficits are driven by working memory deficits or driven by the effect of ADHD itself. Method Participants were referred youth with (N=276) and without (N=241) ADHD ascertained from pediatric and psychiatric sources. Assessment included measures of psychiatric, psychosocial, educational, and cognitive functioning. Education deficits were defined as grade retention or placement in special classes, and were assessed using interviews and written rating scales. Working memory was assessed using the WISC-R Freedom from Distractibility (FFD) factor based on digit span, arithmetic and coding. Results Significantly more youth with ADHD had WM deficits than controls (31.9% vs. 13.7%, p< 0.05). In ADHD children, WM deficits were significantly (p<0.01) associated with an increased risk for grade retention and placement in special classes as well as lower scores on reading and math achievement tests, relative to ADHD children without WM deficits. In contrast, no other differences were noted in other areas of functioning. Although WM deficits also had some adverse impact on educational and cognitive correlates in non ADHD controls, these differences failed to attain statistical significance. Conclusion WM deficits significantly and selectively increase the risk for academic deficits and cognitive dysfunction in children with ADHD beyond those conferred by ADHD. Screening for WM deficits may help identify children with ADHD at high risk for academic and cognitive dysfunction. PMID:26902180

Visual working memory and number sense: Testing the double deficit hypothesis in mathematics.

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Toll, Sylke W M; Kroesbergen, Evelyn H; Van Luit, Johannes E H

2016-09-01

Evidence exists that there are two main underlying cognitive factors in mathematical difficulties: working memory and number sense. It is suggested that real math difficulties appear when both working memory and number sense are weak, here referred to as the double deficit (DD) hypothesis. The aim of this study was to test the DD hypothesis within a longitudinal time span of 2 years. A total of 670 children participated. The mean age was 4.96 years at the start of the study and 7.02 years at the end of the study. At the end of the first year of kindergarten, both visual-spatial working memory and number sense were measured by two different tasks. At the end of first grade, mathematical performance was measured with two tasks, one for math facts and one for math problems. Multiple regressions revealed that both visual working memory and symbolic number sense are predictors of mathematical performance in first grade. Symbolic number sense appears to be the strongest predictor for both math areas (math facts and math problems). Non-symbolic number sense only predicts performance in math problems. Multivariate analyses of variance showed that a combination of visual working memory and number sense deficits (NSDs) leads to the lowest performance on mathematics. Our DD hypothesis was confirmed. Both visual working memory and symbolic number sense in kindergarten are related to mathematical performance 2 years later, and a combination of visual working memory and NSDs leads to low performance in mathematical performance. © 2016 The British Psychological Society.

Using attribute amnesia to test the limits of hyper-binding and associative deficits in working memory.

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McCormick-Huhn, John M; Chen, Hui; Wyble, Bradley P; Dennis, Nancy A

2018-02-01

Previous work has shown mixed evidence regarding age-related deficits for binding in working memory. The current study used the newly developed attribute amnesia effect (H. Chen & Wyble, 2015a) to test the associative-deficit hypothesis during working memory and to probe whether hyper-binding extends to include binding of de-selected information. In studies of attribute amnesia, participants use target attributes (e.g., identity, color) to demonstrate near ceiling levels of reporting of a second target attribute (e.g., location) across a series of trials (H. Chen & Wyble, 2015a, 2016). Yet, despite having just processed the target-defining attribute, they have difficulty reporting it on a surprise trial. This effect provides several predictions for associative binding in aging. The associative-deficit hypothesis predicts age-related decline on the surprise trial, whereas an extension of hyper-binding predicts age-related increase in performance in older adults. In Experiment 1, when working memory load was low, older adults demonstrated attribute amnesia equal to that found in younger adults. When load increased in Experiment 2, older adults again demonstrated attribute amnesia as well as an age deficit for reporting target attributes. In lieu of spontaneous binding, results suggest that expectancy plays a critical role in older adults' propensity to encode and bind target attributes in working memory. Results further suggest that expectancy alone is not enough for older adults to form bound representations when task demands are high. Taken together results revealed a boundary condition of hyper-binding and further provided conditional support for the associative-deficit hypothesis in working memory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Stress-induced deficits in working memory and visuo-constructive abilities in Special Operations soldiers.

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Morgan, Charles A; Doran, Anthony; Steffian, George; Hazlett, Gary; Southwick, Steven M

2006-10-01

Pre-clinical and clinical studies have shown acute stress may impair working memory and visuo-spatial ability. This study was designed to clarify the nature of stress-induced cognitive deficits in soldiers and how such deficits may contribute to operational or battlefield errors. One hundred eighty-four Special Operations warfighters enrolled in Survival School completed pre-stress measures of dissociation and trauma exposure. Subjects were randomized to one of three assessment groups (Pre-stress, Stress, Post-stress) and were administered the Rey Ostereith Complex Figure (ROCF). All subjects completed post-stress measures of dissociation. ROCF copy and recall were normal in the Pre- and Post-stress groups. ROCF copy and recall were significantly impaired in the Stress Group. Stress group ROCF copy performance was piecemeal, and ROCF recall was impaired. Symptoms of dissociation were negatively associated with ROCF recall in the Stress group. Baseline dissociation and history of traumatic stress predicted cognitive impairment during stress. Stress exposure impaired visuo-spatial capacity and working memory. In rats, monkeys, and humans, high dopamine and NE turnover in the PFC induce deficits in cognition and spatial working memory. Improved understanding of stress-induced cognitive deficits may assist in identification of soldiers at risk and lead to the development of better countermeasures.

A heuristic model for working memory deficit in schizophrenia.

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Qi, Zhen; Yu, Gina P; Tretter, Felix; Pogarell, Oliver; Grace, Anthony A; Voit, Eberhard O

2016-11-01

The life of schizophrenia patients is severely affected by deficits in working memory. In various brain regions, the reciprocal interactions between excitatory glutamatergic neurons and inhibitory GABAergic neurons are crucial. Other neurotransmitters, in particular dopamine, serotonin, acetylcholine, and norepinephrine, modulate the local balance between glutamate and GABA and therefore regulate the function of brain regions. Persistent alterations in the balances between the neurotransmitters can result in working memory deficits. Here we present a heuristic computational model that accounts for interactions among neurotransmitters across various brain regions. The model is based on the concept of a neurochemical interaction matrix at the biochemical level and combines this matrix with a mobile model representing physiological dynamic balances among neurotransmitter systems associated with working memory. The comparison of clinical and simulation results demonstrates that the model output is qualitatively very consistent with the available data. In addition, the model captured how perturbations migrated through different neurotransmitters and brain regions. Results showed that chronic administration of ketamine can cause a variety of imbalances, and application of an antagonist of the D2 receptor in PFC can also induce imbalances but in a very different manner. The heuristic computational model permits a variety of assessments of genetic, biochemical, and pharmacological perturbations and serves as an intuitive tool for explaining clinical and biological observations. The heuristic model is more intuitive than biophysically detailed models. It can serve as an important tool for interdisciplinary communication and even for psychiatric education of patients and relatives. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled "System Genetics" Guest Editor: Dr. Yudong Cai and Dr. Tao Huang. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Functional Deficits in Phonological Working Memory in Children with Intellectual Disabilities

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Schuchardt, Kirsten; Maehler, Claudia; Hasselhorn, Marcus

2011-01-01

Recent studies indicate that children with intellectual disabilities have functional limitations primarily in the phonological loop of working memory (Baddeley, 1986). These findings are indicative of a specific structural deficit. Building on this research, the present study examines whether it is possible to identify specific phonological…

Neural correlates of visuospatial working memory in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and healthy controls

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van Ewijk, Hanneke; Weeda, Wouter D.; Heslenfeld, Dirk J.; Luman, Marjolein; Hartman, Catharina A.; Hoekstra, Pieter J.; Faraone, Stephen V.; Franke, Barbara; Buitelaar, Jan K.; Oosterlaan, Jaap

2015-01-01

Impaired visuospatial working memory (VSWM) is suggested to be a core neurocognitive deficit in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), yet the underlying neural activation patterns are poorly understood. Furthermore, it is unclear to what extent age and gender effects may play a role in

Associative working memory and subsequent episodic memory in Alzheimer's disease.

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Geldorp, B. van; Konings, E.P.; Tilborg, I.A. Van; Kessels, R.P.C.

2012-01-01

Recent studies indicate deficits in associative working memory in patients with medial-temporal lobe amnesia. However, it is unclear whether these deficits reflect working memory processing or are due to hippocampally mediated long-term memory impairment. We investigated associative working memory

Associative working memory and subsequent episodic memory in Alzheimer's disease

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Geldorp, B. van; Konings, E.P.C.; Tilborg, I.A.D.A. van; Kessels, R.P.C.

2012-01-01

Recent studies indicate deficits in associative working memory in patients with medial-temporal lobe amnesia. However, it is unclear whether these deficits reflect working memory processing or are due to hippocampally mediated long-term memory impairment. We investigated associative working memory

Spatial working memory deficits represent a core challenge for rehabilitating neglect.

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Christopher eStriemer

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Left neglect following right hemisphere injury is a debilitating disorder that has proven extremely difficult to rehabilitate. Traditional models of neglect have focused on impaired spatial attention as the core deficit and as such, most rehabilitation methods have tried to improve attentional processes. However, many of these techniques (e.g., visual scanning training, caloric stimulation, neck muscle vibration produce only short-lived effects, or are too uncomfortable to use as a routine treatment. More recently, many investigators have begun examining the beneficial effects of prism adaptation for the treatment of neglect. Although prism adaptation has been shown to have some beneficial effects on both overt and covert spatial attention, it does not reliably alter many of the perceptual biases evident in neglect. One of the challenges of neglect rehabilitation may lie in the heterogeneous nature of the deficits. Most notably, a number of researchers have shown that neglect patients present with severe deficits in spatial working memory (SWM in addition to their attentional impairment. Given that SWM can be seen as a foundational cognitive mechanism, critical for a wide range of other functions, any deficit in SWM memory will undoubtedly have severe consequences. In the current review we examine the evidence for SWM deficits in neglect and propose that it constitutes a core component of the syndrome. We present preliminary data which suggest that at least one current rehabilitation method (prism adaptation has no effect on SWM deficits in neglect. Finally, we end by reviewing recent work that examines the effectiveness of SWM training and how SWM training may prove to be a useful avenue for future rehabilitative efforts in patients with neglect.

Disturbed cortico-amygdalar functional connectivity as pathophysiological correlate of working memory deficits in bipolar affective disorder.

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Stegmayer, Katharina; Usher, Juliana; Trost, Sarah; Henseler, Ilona; Tost, Heike; Rietschel, Marcella; Falkai, Peter; Gruber, Oliver

2015-06-01

Patients suffering from bipolar affective disorder show deficits in working memory functions. In a previous functional magnetic resonance imaging study, we observed an abnormal hyperactivity of the amygdala in bipolar patients during articulatory rehearsal in verbal working memory. In the present study, we investigated the dynamic neurofunctional interactions between the right amygdala and the brain systems that underlie verbal working memory in both bipolar patients and healthy controls. In total, 18 euthymic bipolar patients and 18 healthy controls performed a modified version of the Sternberg item-recognition (working memory) task. We used the psychophysiological interaction approach in order to assess functional connectivity between the right amygdala and the brain regions involved in verbal working memory. In healthy subjects, we found significant negative functional interactions between the right amygdala and multiple cortical brain areas involved in verbal working memory. In comparison with the healthy control subjects, bipolar patients exhibited significantly reduced functional interactions of the right amygdala particularly with the right-hemispheric, i.e., ipsilateral, cortical regions supporting verbal working memory. Together with our previous finding of amygdala hyperactivity in bipolar patients during verbal rehearsal, the present results suggest that a disturbed right-hemispheric "cognitive-emotional" interaction between the amygdala and cortical brain regions underlying working memory may be responsible for amygdala hyperactivation and affects verbal working memory (deficits) in bipolar patients.

A Meta-Analysis of Working Memory Impairments in Children with Attention-Deficit/hyperactivity Disorder.

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Martinussen, Rhonda; Hayden, Jill; Hogg-Johnson, Sheilah; Tannock, Rosemary

2005-01-01

Objective: To determine the empirical evidence for deficits in working memory (WM) processes in children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Method: Exploratory meta-analytic procedures were used to investigate whether children with ADHD exhibit WM impairments. Twenty-six empirical research studies published from…

The Effects of Incentives on Visual-Spatial Working Memory in Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

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Shiels, Keri; Hawk, Larry W., Jr.; Lysczek, Cynthia L.; Tannock, Rosemary; Pelham, William E., Jr.; Spencer, Sarah V.; Gangloff, Brian P.; Waschbusch, Daniel A.

2008-01-01

Working memory is one of several putative core neurocognitive processes in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The present work seeks to determine whether visual-spatial working memory is sensitive to motivational incentives, a laboratory analogue of behavioral treatment. Participants were 21 children (ages 7-10) with a diagnosis of…

Working Memory in Down Syndrome: Is There a Dual Task Deficit?

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Lanfranchi, S.; Baddeley, A.; Gathercole, S.; Vianello, R.

2012-01-01

Background: Recent studies have shown that individuals with Down syndrome (DS) are poorer than controls in performing verbal and visuospatial dual tasks. The present study aims at better investigating the dual task deficit in working memory in individuals with DS. Method: Forty-five individuals with DS and 45 typically developing children matched…

Choline and Working Memory Training Improve Cognitive Deficits Caused by Prenatal Exposure to Ethanol

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Jaylyn Waddell

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Prenatal ethanol exposure is associated with deficits in executive function such as working memory, reversal learning and attentional set shifting in humans and animals. These behaviors are dependent on normal structure and function in cholinergic brain regions. Supplementation with choline can improve many behaviors in rodent models of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders and also improves working memory function in normal rats. We tested the hypothesis that supplementation with choline in the postnatal period will improve working memory during adolescence in normal and ethanol-exposed animals, and that working memory engagement during adolescence will transfer to other cognitive domains and have lasting effects on executive function in adulthood. Male and female offspring of rats fed an ethanol-containing liquid diet (ET; 3% v/v or control dams given a non-ethanol liquid diet (CT were injected with choline (Cho; 100 mg/kg or saline (Sal once per day from postnatal day (P 16–P30. Animals were trained/tested on a working memory test in adolescence and then underwent attentional set shifting and reversal learning in young adulthood. In adolescence, ET rats required more training to reach criterion than CT-Sal. Choline improved working memory performance for both CT and ET animals. In young adulthood, ET animals also performed poorly on the set shifting and reversal tasks. Deficits were more robust in ET male rats than female ET rats, but Cho improved performance in both sexes. ET male rats given a combination of Cho and working memory training in adolescence required significantly fewer trials to achieve criterion than any other ET group, suggesting that early interventions can cause a persistent improvement.

A simple spatial working memory and attention test on paired symbols shows developmental deficits in schizophrenia patients.

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Song, Wei; Zhang, Kai; Sun, Jinhua; Ma, Lina; Jesse, Forrest Fabian; Teng, Xiaochun; Zhou, Ying; Bao, Hechen; Chen, Shiqing; Wang, Shuai; Yang, Beimeng; Chu, Xixia; Ding, Wenhua; Du, Yasong; Cheng, Zaohuo; Wu, Bin; Chen, Shanguang; He, Guang; He, Lin; Chen, Xiaoping; Li, Weidong

2013-01-01

People with neuropsychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia often display deficits in spatial working memory and attention. Evaluating working memory and attention in schizophrenia patients is usually based on traditional tasks and the interviewer's judgment. We developed a simple Spatial Working Memory and Attention Test on Paired Symbols (SWAPS). It takes only several minutes to complete, comprising 101 trials for each subject. In this study, we tested 72 schizophrenia patients and 188 healthy volunteers in China. In a healthy control group with ages ranging from 12 to 60, the efficiency score (accuracy divided by reaction time) reached a peak in the 20-27 age range and then declined with increasing age. Importantly, schizophrenia patients failed to display this developmental trend in the same age range and adults had significant deficits compared to the control group. Our data suggests that this simple Spatial Working Memory and Attention Test on Paired Symbols can be a useful tool for studies of spatial working memory and attention in neuropsychiatric disorders.

Robust training attenuates TBI-induced deficits in reference and working memory on the radial 8-arm maze

OpenAIRE

Sebastian, Veronica; Diallo, Aissatou; Ling, Douglas S. F.; Serrano, Peter A.

2013-01-01

Globally, it is estimated that nearly 10 million people sustain severe brain injuries leading to hospitalization and/or death every year. Amongst survivors, traumatic brain injury (TBI) results in a wide variety of physical, emotional and cognitive deficits. The most common cognitive deficit associated with TBI is memory loss, involving impairments in spatial reference and working memory. However, the majority of research thus far has characterized the deficits associated with TBI on either r...

Assessing Working Memory in Children: The Comprehensive Assessment Battery for Children – Working Memory (CABC-WM)

OpenAIRE

Cabbage, Kathryn; Brinkley, Shara; Gray, Shelley; Alt, Mary; Cowan, Nelson; Green, Samuel; Kuo, Trudy; Hogan, Tiffany P.

2017-01-01

The Comprehensive Assessment Battery for Children - Working Memory (CABC-WM) is a computer-based battery designed to assess different components of working memory in young school-age children. Working memory deficits have been identified in children with language-based learning disabilities, including dyslexia1 2 and language impairment3 4, but it is not clear whether these children exhibit deficits in subcomponents of working memory, such as visuospatial or phonological working memory. The C...

A Simple Spatial Working Memory and Attention Test on Paired Symbols Shows Developmental Deficits in Schizophrenia Patients

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Wei Song

2013-01-01

Full Text Available People with neuropsychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia often display deficits in spatial working memory and attention. Evaluating working memory and attention in schizophrenia patients is usually based on traditional tasks and the interviewer’s judgment. We developed a simple Spatial Working Memory and Attention Test on Paired Symbols (SWAPS. It takes only several minutes to complete, comprising 101 trials for each subject. In this study, we tested 72 schizophrenia patients and 188 healthy volunteers in China. In a healthy control group with ages ranging from 12 to 60, the efficiency score (accuracy divided by reaction time reached a peak in the 20–27 age range and then declined with increasing age. Importantly, schizophrenia patients failed to display this developmental trend in the same age range and adults had significant deficits compared to the control group. Our data suggests that this simple Spatial Working Memory and Attention Test on Paired Symbols can be a useful tool for studies of spatial working memory and attention in neuropsychiatric disorders.

Prevalence and diagnostic validity of motivational impairments and deficits in visuospatial short-term memory and working memory in ADHD subtypes

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Dovis, S.; van der Oord, S.; Huizenga, H.M.; Wiers, R.W.; Prins, P.J.M.

2015-01-01

Deficits in working memory (WM) and reinforcement sensitivity are thought to give rise to symptoms in the combined (ADHD-C) and inattentive subtype (ADHD-I) of ADHD. Children with ADHD are especially impaired on visuospatial WM, which is composed of short-term memory (STM) and a central executive.

Working Memory Deficits Predict Short-term Smoking Resumption Following Brief Abstinence*

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Patterson, Freda; Jepson, Christopher; Loughead, James; Perkins, Kenneth; Strasser, Andrew A.; Siegel, Steven; Frey, Joseph; Gur, Ruben; Lerman, Caryn

2009-01-01

As many as one-half of smokers relapse in the first week following a quit attempt, and subjective reports of cognitive deficits in early abstinence are associated with increased relapse risk. This study examined whether objective cognitive performance after three days of abstinence predicts smoking resumption in a 7-day simulated quit attempt. Sixty-seven treatment-seeking smokers received either varenicline or placebo (randomized double-blind) for 21 days. Following medication run-up (days 1-10), there was a 3-day mandatory (biochemically confirmed) abstinence period (days 11-13) during which working memory (Letter-N-Back Task) and sustained attention (Continuous Performance Task) were assessed (day 13). Participants were then exposed to a scheduled smoking lapse and instructed to try to remain abstinent for the next 7 days (days 15-21). Poorer cognitive performance (slower correct reaction time on Letter-N-Back task) during abstinence predicted more rapid smoking resumption among those receiving placebo (p=.038) but not among those receiving varenicline. These data lend further support for the growing recognition that cognitive deficits involving working memory are a core symptom of nicotine withdrawal and a potential target for the development of pharmacological and behavioral treatments. PMID:19733449

Component deficits of visual neglect: "Magnetic" attraction of attention vs. impaired spatial working memory.

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Toba, Monica N; Rabuffetti, Marco; Duret, Christophe; Pradat-Diehl, Pascale; Gainotti, Guido; Bartolomeo, Paolo

2018-01-31

Visual neglect is a disabling consequence of right hemisphere damage, whereby patients fail to detect left-sided objects. Its precise mechanisms are debated, but there is some consensus that distinct component deficits may variously associate and interact in different patients. Here we used a touch-screen based procedure to study two putative component deficits of neglect, rightward "magnetic" attraction of attention and impaired spatial working memory, in a group of 47 right brain-damaged patients, of whom 33 had signs of left neglect. Patients performed a visual search task on three distinct conditions, whereby touched targets could (1) be tagged, (2) disappear or (3) show no change. Magnetic attraction of attention was defined as more left neglect on the tag condition than on the disappear condition, where right-sided disappeared targets could not capture patients' attention. Impaired spatial working memory should instead produce more neglect on the no change condition, where no external cue indicated that a target had already been explored, than on the tag condition. Using a specifically developed analysis algorithm, we identified significant differences of performance between the critical conditions. Neglect patients as a group performed better on the disappear condition than on the no change condition and also better in the tag condition comparing with the no change condition. No difference was found between the tag condition and the disappear condition. Some of our neglect patients had dissociated patterns of performance, with predominant magnetic attraction or impaired spatial working memory. Anatomical results issued from both grey matter analysis and fiber tracking were consistent with the typical patterns of fronto-parietal and occipito-frontal disconnection in neglect, but did not identify lesional patterns specifically associated with one or another deficit, thus suggesting the possible co-localization of attentional and working memory processes in

Efficiency of the Prefrontal Cortex during Working Memory in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

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Sheridan, Margaret A.; Hinshaw, Stephen; D'Esposito, Mark

2007-01-01

Objective: Previous research has demonstrated that during task conditions requiring an increase in inhibitory function or working memory, children and adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) exhibit greater and more varied prefrontal cortical(PFC) activation compared to age-matched control participants. This pattern may reflect…

Reduced prefrontal efficiency for visuospatial working memory in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

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Bédard, Anne-Claude V; Newcorn, Jeffrey H; Clerkin, Suzanne M; Krone, Beth; Fan, Jin; Halperin, Jeffrey M; Schulz, Kurt P

2014-09-01

Visuospatial working memory impairments have been implicated in the pathophysiology of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, most ADHD research has focused on the neural correlates of nonspatial mnemonic processes. This study examined brain activation and functional connectivity for visuospatial working memory in youth with and without ADHD. Twenty-four youth with ADHD and 21 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were scanned with functional magnetic resonance imaging while performing an N-back test of working memory for spatial position. Block-design analyses contrasted activation and functional connectivity separately for high (2-back) and low (1-back) working memory load conditions versus the control condition (0-back). The effect of working memory load was modeled with linear contrasts. The 2 groups performed comparably on the task and demonstrated similar patterns of frontoparietal activation, with no differences in linear gains in activation as working memory load increased. However, youth with ADHD showed greater activation in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and left posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), greater functional connectivity between the left DLPFC and left intraparietal sulcus, and reduced left DLPFC connectivity with left midcingulate cortex and PCC for the high load contrast compared to controls (p 100 voxels). Reanalysis using a more conservative statistical approach (p 100 voxels) yielded group differences in PCC activation and DLPFC-midcingulate connectivity. Youth with ADHD show decreased efficiency of DLPFC for high-load visuospatial working memory and greater reliance on posterior spatial attention circuits to store and update spatial position than healthy control youth. Findings should be replicated in larger samples. Copyright © 2014 American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Is the frontal dysexecutive syndrome due to a working memory deficit? Evidence from patients with stroke.

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Roussel, Martine; Dujardin, Kathy; Hénon, Hilde; Godefroy, Olivier

2012-07-01

Although frontal dysexecutive disorders are frequently considered to be due to working memory deficit, this has not been systematically examined and very little evidence is available for impairment of working memory in frontal damage. The objective of this study was to examine the components of working memory, their anatomy and the relations with executive functions in patients with stroke involving the frontal or posterior cortex. The study population consisted of 29 patients (frontal: n=17; posterior: n=12) and 29 matched controls. Phonological loop (letter and word spans, phonological store; rehearsal process), visuospatial sketchpad (visuospatial span) and the central executive (working memory span, dual task and updating process) were examined. The group comparison analysis showed impairment in the frontal group of: (i) verbal spans (Pdeficit of the rehearsal process (P=0.006); (iii) visuospatial span (P=0.04); (iv) working memory span (P=0.001) that disappeared after controlling for verbal span and (v) running memory (P=0.05) unrelated to updating conditions. The clinical anatomical correlation study showed that impairment of the central executive depended on frontal and posterior lesion. Cognitive dysexecutive disorders were observed in 11/20 patients with central executive deficit and an inverse dissociation was observed in two patients. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis indicated that cognitive dysexecutive disorders had the highest ability to discriminate frontal lesions (area under curve=0.844, 95% confidence interval: 0.74-0.95; P=0.0001; central executive impairment: area under curve=0.732, 95% confidence interval: 0.57-0.82; P=0.006). This study reveals that frontal lesions induce mild impairment of short-term memory associated with a deficit of the rehearsal process supporting the role of the frontal lobe in this process; the central executive depends on lesions in the frontal lobe and posterior regions accounting for its low frequency

Neural activity changes underlying the working memory deficit in alpha-CaMKII heterozygous knockout mice

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Naoki Matsuo

2009-09-01

Full Text Available The alpha-isoform of calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (α-CaMKII is expressed abundantly in the forebrain and is considered to have an essential role in synaptic plasticity and cognitive function. Previously, we reported that mice heterozygous for a null mutation of α-CaMKII (α-CaMKII+/- have profoundly dysregulated behaviors including a severe working memory deficit, which is an endophenotype of schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders. In addition, we found that almost all the neurons in the dentate gyrus (DG of the mutant mice failed to mature at molecular, morphological and electrophysiological levels. In the present study, to identify the brain substrates of the working memory deficit in the mutant mice, we examined the expression of the immediate early genes (IEGs, c-Fos and Arc, in the brain after a working memory version of the eight-arm radial maze test. c-Fos expression was abolished almost completely in the DG and was reduced significantly in neurons in the CA1 and CA3 areas of the hippocampus, central amygdala, and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC. However, c-Fos expression was intact in the entorhinal and visual cortices. Immunohistochemical studies using arc promoter driven dVenus transgenic mice demonstrated that arc gene activation after the working memory task occurred in mature, but not immature neurons in the DG of wild-type mice. These results suggest crucial insights for the neural circuits underlying spatial mnemonic processing during a working memory task and suggest the involvement of α-CaMKII in the proper maturation and integration of DG neurons into these circuits.

Efficacy of Medication and Nonmedication Methods on Working Memory of Children With Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder

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Ahmadpanah

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Background Working memory is the ability to keep and manipulate information in a short time. Children with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD are among the people suffering from deficiency in the active memory, and this deficiency has been attributed to the problem of frontal lobe. This study utilized a new approach with suitable tasks and methods for training active memory and assessment of its effects. Objectives This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of medicinal and behavioral therapies on working memory of children with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder. Patients and Methods The children participating in this study were 7 - 15 years old, and were diagnosed with ADHD by the psychiatrist and psychologist based on DSM-IV criteria. The intervention group comprised 8 boys and 6 girls with the average age of 11 (± 2 years, and the control group comprised 2 girls and 5 boys with an average age of 11.4 (± 3. Three children in the test group and 2 in the control group were under medicinal therapy. Results Training of working memory significantly improved the performance in nontrained areas as visual-spatial working memory as well as the performance in Raven progressive tests which are a perfect example of nonverbal, complicated reasoning tasks. Conclusions The performance of working memory improved through training, and these trainings extended to other areas of cognition functions not receiving any training. Trainings resulted in the improvement of performance in the tasks related to prefrontal area. They had also a positive and significant impact on the movement activities of hyperactive children.

Assessing Working Memory in Children: The Comprehensive Assessment Battery for Children - Working Memory (CABC-WM).

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Cabbage, Kathryn; Brinkley, Shara; Gray, Shelley; Alt, Mary; Cowan, Nelson; Green, Samuel; Kuo, Trudy; Hogan, Tiffany P

2017-06-12

The Comprehensive Assessment Battery for Children - Working Memory (CABC-WM) is a computer-based battery designed to assess different components of working memory in young school-age children. Working memory deficits have been identified in children with language-based learning disabilities, including dyslexia 1 , 2 and language impairment 3 , 4 , but it is not clear whether these children exhibit deficits in subcomponents of working memory, such as visuospatial or phonological working memory. The CABC-WM is administered on a desktop computer with a touchscreen interface and was specifically developed to be engaging and motivating for children. Although the long-term goal of the CABC-WM is to provide individualized working memory profiles in children, the present study focuses on the initial success and utility of the CABC-WM for measuring central executive, visuospatial, phonological loop, and binding constructs in children with typical development. Immediate next steps are to administer the CABC-WM to children with specific language impairment, dyslexia, and comorbid specific language impairment and dyslexia.

Neural correlates of working memory deficits in schizophrenic patients. Ways to establish neurocognitive endophenotypes of psychiatric disorders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gruber, O.; Gruber, E.; Falkai, P.

2005-01-01

This article briefly reviews some methodological limitations of functional neuroimaging studies in psychiatric patients. We argue that the investigation of the neural substrates of cognitive deficits in psychiatric disorders requires a combination of functional neuroimaging studies in healthy subjects with corresponding behavioral experiments in patients. In order to exemplify this methodological approach we review recent findings regarding the functional neuroanatomy of distinct components of human working memory and provide evidence for selective dysfunctions of cortical networks that underlie specific working memory deficits in schizophrenia. This identification of subgroups of schizophrenic patients according to neurocognitive parameters may facilitate the establishment of behavioral and neurophysiological endophenotypes and the development of a neurobiological classification of psychiatric disorders. (orig.) [de

Working, declarative and procedural memory in specific language impairment

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Lum, J. A. G.; Conti-Ramsden, G.; Page, D.

2012-01-01

at declarative memory for visual information, and at declarative memory in the verbal domain after controlling for working memory and language. Visuo-spatial short-term memory was intact, whereas verbal working memory was impaired, even when language deficits were held constant. Correlation analyses showed......According to the Procedural Deficit Hypothesis (PDH), abnormalities of brain structures underlying procedural memory largely explain the language deficits in children with specific language impairment (SLI). These abnormalities are posited to result in core deficits of procedural memory, which...... in turn explain the grammar problems in the disorder. The abnormalities are also likely to lead to problems with other, non-procedural functions, such as working memory, that rely at least partly on the affected brain structures. In contrast, declarative memory is expected to remain largely intact...

Working memory arrest in children with high-functioning autism compared to children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: results from a 2-year longitudinal study.

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Andersen, Per N; Skogli, Erik W; Hovik, Kjell T; Geurts, Hilde; Egeland, Jens; Øie, Merete

2015-05-01

The aim of this study was to analyse the development of verbal working memory in children with high-functioning autism compared to children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and typically developing children. A total of 34 children with high-functioning autism, 72 children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and 45 typically developing children (age 9-16 years) were included at baseline and followed up approximately 25 months later. The children were given a letter/number sequencing task to assess verbal working memory. The performance of children with high-functioning autism on verbal working memory did not improve after 2 years, while improvement was observed in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and typically developing children. The results indicate a different developmental trajectory for verbal working memory in children with high-functioning autism compared to children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and typically developing children. More research is needed to construct a developmental framework more suitable for children with autism spectrum disorder. © The Author(s) 2014.

Functional MRI study of verbal working memory in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lu Youran; Geng Daoying; Feng Xiaoyuan; Du Yasong; Zhao Zhimin

2006-01-01

Objective: To study the verbal working memory of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as well as to explore the characteristics of functional areas of verbal working memory with blood oxygenation level dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Method: Eighteen children were selected in the study. There were 9 ADHD children with inattention subtype and 9 healthy subjects. All patients and healthy subjects completed the cognitive examination and the block- designed N-block verbal working memory task using a GE 3.0 T MR. Data were analyzed by AFNI software. Result: The neural activations of ADHD's children are lower than that of control under verbal working memory. Especially in the areas of bilateral middle frontal gyri and inferior frontal gyri, bilateral superior parietal lobules and inferior parietal lobules, right basal ganglia in the 1-BACK task. And bilateral middle frontal gyri and inferior frontal gyri, bilateral superior parietal lobules, left cortex inferior parietallobule, right basal ganglia, anterior cingulatecortex in the 2-BACK task. Conclusion: The hypofunctional areas of verbal working memory (including bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and parietal cortex) can be seen in the ADHD children especially who also has lower activation of anterior cingulate cortex under 2-BACK task. (authors)

Short-term and working memory impairments in aphasia.

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Potagas, Constantin; Kasselimis, Dimitrios; Evdokimidis, Ioannis

2011-08-01

The aim of the present study is to investigate short-term memory and working memory deficits in aphasics in relation to the severity of their language impairment. Fifty-eight aphasic patients participated in this study. Based on language assessment, an aphasia score was calculated for each patient. Memory was assessed in two modalities, verbal and spatial. Mean scores for all memory tasks were lower than normal. Aphasia score was significantly correlated with performance on all memory tasks. Correlation coefficients for short-term memory and working memory were approximately of the same magnitude. According to our findings, severity of aphasia is related with both verbal and spatial memory deficits. Moreover, while aphasia score correlated with lower scores in both short-term memory and working memory tasks, the lack of substantial difference between corresponding correlation coefficients suggests a possible primary deficit in information retention rather than impairment in working memory. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Deficit Profile of Working Memory, Inhibition, and Updating in Chinese Children with Reading Difficulties

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Peng, Peng; Sha, Tao; Li, Beilei

2013-01-01

This study investigated executive function deficits among Chinese children with reading difficulties. Verbal and numerical measures of working memory, inhibition, updating, and processing speed were examined among children with only reading difficulties (RD), children with reading and mathematics difficulties (RDMD), and typically developing peers…

Agrammatism in a case of formal thought disorder: Beyond intellectual decline and working memory deficit.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Semkovska, Maria

2010-02-01

Previous studies have suggested that naming and syntactic deficits in formal thought disorder may be related to global cognitive decline. This article reports the case of a patient, FM, with formal thought disorder schizophrenia who presents disproportionate deficits in receptive and expressive grammar with respect to his intellectual level of functioning. Syntactic and morphologic components of expressive grammar appeared equally impaired. Deficits in language comprehension were observed independently from working memory limitations. FM showed preserved grammaticality judgment, but defective sentence comprehension where semantic context does not provide heuristics for assigning thematic roles, but syntactic knowledge is essential. These atypical results are discussed within a neurodevelopmental aetiological model of formal thought disorder.

Working, declarative and procedural memory in specific language impairment

Science.gov (United States)

Lum, Jarrad A.G.; Conti-Ramsden, Gina; Page, Debra; Ullman, Michael T.

2012-01-01

According to the Procedural Deficit Hypothesis (PDH), abnormalities of brain structures underlying procedural memory largely explain the language deficits in children with specific language impairment (SLI). These abnormalities are posited to result in core deficits of procedural memory, which in turn explain the grammar problems in the disorder. The abnormalities are also likely to lead to problems with other, non-procedural functions, such as working memory, that rely at least partly on the affected brain structures. In contrast, declarative memory is expected to remain largely intact, and should play an important compensatory role for grammar. These claims were tested by examining measures of working, declarative and procedural memory in 51 children with SLI and 51 matched typically-developing (TD) children (mean age 10). Working memory was assessed with the Working Memory Test Battery for Children, declarative memory with the Children’s Memory Scale, and procedural memory with a visuo-spatial Serial Reaction Time task. As compared to the TD children, the children with SLI were impaired at procedural memory, even when holding working memory constant. In contrast, they were spared at declarative memory for visual information, and at declarative memory in the verbal domain after controlling for working memory and language. Visuo-spatial short-term memory was intact, whereas verbal working memory was impaired, even when language deficits were held constant. Correlation analyses showed neither visuo-spatial nor verbal working memory was associated with either lexical or grammatical abilities in either the SLI or TD children. Declarative memory correlated with lexical abilities in both groups of children. Finally, grammatical abilities were associated with procedural memory in the TD children, but with declarative memory in the children with SLI. These findings replicate and extend previous studies of working, declarative and procedural memory in SLI. Overall, we

Can motivation normalize working memory and task persistence in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder? The effects of money and computer-gaming

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dovis, S.; van der Oord, S.; Wiers, R.W.; Prins, P.J.M.

2012-01-01

Visual-spatial Working Memory (WM) is the most impaired executive function in children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Some suggest that deficits in executive functioning are caused by motivational deficits. However, there are no studies that investigate the effects of

Working memory impairment in probands with schizoaffective disorder and first degree relatives of schizophrenia probands extend beyond deficits predicted by generalized neuropsychological impairment.

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Kristian Hill, S; Buchholz, Alison; Amsbaugh, Hayley; Reilly, James L; Rubin, Leah H; Gold, James M; Keefe, Richard S E; Pearlson, Godfrey D; Keshavan, Matcheri S; Tamminga, Carol A; Sweeney, John A

2015-08-01

Working memory impairment is well established in psychotic disorders. However, the relative magnitude, diagnostic specificity, familiality pattern, and degree of independence from generalized cognitive deficits across psychotic disorders remain unclear. Participants from the Bipolar and Schizophrenia Network on Intermediate Phenotypes (B-SNIP) study included probands with schizophrenia (N=289), psychotic bipolar disorder (N=227), schizoaffective disorder (N=165), their first-degree relatives (N=315, N=259, N=193, respectively), and healthy controls (N=289). All were administered the WMS-III Spatial Span working memory test and the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS) battery. All proband groups displayed significant deficits for both forward and backward span compared to controls. However, after covarying for generalized cognitive impairments (BACS composite), all proband groups showed a 74% or greater effect size reduction with only schizoaffective probands showing residual backward span deficits compared to controls. Significant familiality was seen in schizophrenia and bipolar pedigrees. In relatives, both forward and backward span deficits were again attenuated after covarying BACS scores and residual backward span deficits were seen in relatives of schizophrenia patients. Overall, both probands and relatives showed a similar pattern of robust working memory deficits that were largely attenuated when controlling for generalized cognitive deficits. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Neural bases of orthographic long-term memory and working memory in dysgraphia.

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Rapp, Brenda; Purcell, Jeremy; Hillis, Argye E; Capasso, Rita; Miceli, Gabriele

2016-02-01

Spelling a word involves the retrieval of information about the word's letters and their order from long-term memory as well as the maintenance and processing of this information by working memory in preparation for serial production by the motor system. While it is known that brain lesions may selectively affect orthographic long-term memory and working memory processes, relatively little is known about the neurotopographic distribution of the substrates that support these cognitive processes, or the lesions that give rise to the distinct forms of dysgraphia that affect these cognitive processes. To examine these issues, this study uses a voxel-based mapping approach to analyse the lesion distribution of 27 individuals with dysgraphia subsequent to stroke, who were identified on the basis of their behavioural profiles alone, as suffering from deficits only affecting either orthographic long-term or working memory, as well as six other individuals with deficits affecting both sets of processes. The findings provide, for the first time, clear evidence of substrates that selectively support orthographic long-term and working memory processes, with orthographic long-term memory deficits centred in either the left posterior inferior frontal region or left ventral temporal cortex, and orthographic working memory deficits primarily arising from lesions of the left parietal cortex centred on the intraparietal sulcus. These findings also contribute to our understanding of the relationship between the neural instantiation of written language processes and spoken language, working memory and other cognitive skills. © The Author (2015). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Guarantors of Brain. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

What part of working memory is not working in ADHD? Short-term memory, the central executive and effects of reinforcement

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dovis, S.; van der Oord, S.; Wiers, R.W.; Prins, P.J.M.

2013-01-01

Deficits in Working Memory (WM) are related to symptoms of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). In children with ADHD visuospatial WM is most impaired. WM is composed of Short-Term Memory (STM) and a Central Executive (CE). Therefore, deficits in either or both STM and the CE may account

Working memory deficits in developmental dyscalculia: The importance of serial order.

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Attout, Lucie; Majerus, Steve

2015-01-01

Although a number of studies suggests a link between working memory (WM) storage capacity of short-term memory and calculation abilities, the nature of verbal WM deficits in children with developmental dyscalculia (DD) remains poorly understood. We explored verbal WM capacity in DD by focusing on the distinction between memory for item information (the items to be retained) and memory for order information (the order of the items within a list). We hypothesized that WM for order could be specifically related to impaired numerical abilities given that recent studies suggest close interactions between the representation of order information in WM and ordinal numerical processing. We investigated item and order WM abilities as well as basic numerical processing abilities in 16 children with DD (age: 8-11 years) and 16 typically developing children matched on age, IQ, and reading abilities. The DD group performed significantly poorer than controls in the order WM condition but not in the item WM condition. In addition, the DD group performed significantly slower than the control group on a numerical order judgment task. The present results show significantly reduced serial order WM abilities in DD coupled with less efficient numerical ordinal processing abilities, reflecting more general difficulties in explicit processing of ordinal information.

Spontaneous strategy use protects against visual working memory deficits in older adults infected with HIV.

Science.gov (United States)

Woods, Steven Paul; Weber, Erica; Cameron, Marizela V; Dawson, Matthew S; Delano-Wood, Lisa; Bondi, Mark W; Grant, Igor

2010-12-01

Recent studies suggest that older human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected adults are at particular risk for HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND), including dementia. Deficits in attention/working memory are posited to play a central role in the development of HAND among older adults. The aim of the present study was to examine the possible protective benefits of spontaneous strategy use during a visual working memory task in 46 older and 42 younger adults infected with HIV. Results revealed a significant interaction between age and strategy use, with older adults who used a meta-cognitive strategy demonstrating superior working memory performance versus non-strategy users. This effect was not observed in the younger HIV-infected sample and was not better explained by possible confounding factors, such as education, comorbid medical conditions, or HIV disease severity. Within the older group, strategy use was associated with better executive functions and higher estimated verbal intelligence. Findings from this study suggest that working memory declines in older HIV-infected adults are moderated by the use of higher-level mnemonic strategies and may inform cognitive neurorehabilitation efforts to improve cognitive and everyday functioning outcomes in older persons living with HIV infection.

Barkley's Parent Training Program, Working Memory Training and their Combination for Children with ADHD: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zahra Hosainzadeh Maleki

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The aim of the current study was to examine the effectiveness of Barkley's parent training program, working memory training and the combination of these two interventions for children with Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD.In this study, 36 participants with ADHD (aged 6 to 12 years were selected by convenience sampling. Revision of the Swanson, Nolan and Pelham (SNAP questionnaire (SNAP-IV, Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL and clinical interviews were employed to diagnose ADHD. Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition was also implemented. The participants were randomly assigned to the three intervention groups of Barkley's parent training program, working memory training and the combined group. SNAP-IV and CBCL were used as pre-tests and post-tests across all three groups. Data were analyzed using MANCOVA (SPSS version18.There was a significant difference (p< 0.05 in the decline of attention deficit and hyperactivity /impulsivity symptoms between the combined treatment group and working memory training group and also between the combined treatment group and the parent training group in SNAP. In terms of attention problems (experience-based subscales of CBCL, there was a significant difference (p< 0.001 between the combined treatment group and working memory training group. Furthermore, compared to the working memory training and parent training groups, the combined group demonstrated a significant decline (p< 0.01 in clinical symptoms of ADHD (based on DSM.It was revealed that combined treatment in comparison with the other two methods suppressed the clinical symptoms of ADHD more significantly.

Disruptions of working memory and inhibition mediate the association between exposure to institutionalization and symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

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Tibu, F; Sheridan, M A; McLaughlin, K A; Nelson, C A; Fox, N A; Zeanah, C H

2016-02-01

Young children raised in institutions are exposed to extreme psychosocial deprivation that is associated with elevated risk for psychopathology and other adverse developmental outcomes. The prevalence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is particularly high in previously institutionalized children, yet the mechanisms underlying this association are poorly understood. We investigated whether deficits in executive functioning (EF) explain the link between institutionalization and ADHD. A sample of 136 children (aged 6-30 months) was recruited from institutions in Bucharest, Romania, and 72 never institutionalized community children matched for age and gender were recruited through general practitioners' offices. At 8 years of age, children's performance on a number of EF components (working memory, response inhibition and planning) was evaluated. Teachers completed the Health and Behavior Questionnaire, which assesses two core features of ADHD, inattention and impulsivity. Children with history of institutionalization had higher inattention and impulsivity than community controls, and exhibited worse performance on working memory, response inhibition and planning tasks. Lower performances on working memory and response inhibition, but not planning, partially mediated the association between early institutionalization and inattention and impulsivity symptom scales at age 8 years. Institutionalization was associated with decreased EF performance and increased ADHD symptoms. Deficits in working memory and response inhibition were specific mechanisms leading to ADHD in previously institutionalized children. These findings suggest that interventions that foster the development of EF might reduce risk for psychiatric problems in children exposed to early deprivation.

Can Motivation Normalize Working Memory and Task Persistence in Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder? The Effects of Money and Computer-Gaming

Science.gov (United States)

Dovis, Sebastiaan; van der Oord, Saskia; Wiers, Reinout W.; Prins, Pier J. M.

2012-01-01

Visual-spatial "Working Memory" (WM) is the most impaired executive function in children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Some suggest that deficits in executive functioning are caused by motivational deficits. However, there are no studies that investigate the effects of motivation on the visual-spatial WM of children with-…

Examining procedural working memory processing in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Shahar, Nitzan; Teodorescu, Andrei R; Anholt, Gideon E; Karmon-Presser, Anat; Meiran, Nachshon

2017-07-01

Previous research has suggested that a deficit in working memory might underlie the difficulty of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients to control their thoughts and actions. However, a recent meta-analyses found only small effect sizes for working memory deficits in OCD. Recently, a distinction has been made between declarative and procedural working memory. Working memory in OCD was tested mostly using declarative measurements. However, OCD symptoms typically concerns actions, making procedural working-memory more relevant. Here, we tested the operation of procedural working memory in OCD. Participants with OCD and healthy controls performed a battery of choice reaction tasks under high and low procedural working memory demands. Reaction-times (RT) were estimated using ex-Gaussian distribution fitting, revealing no group differences in the size of the RT distribution tail (i.e., τ parameter), known to be sensitive to procedural working memory manipulations. Group differences, unrelated to working memory manipulations, were found in the leading-edge of the RT distribution and analyzed using a two-stage evidence accumulation model. Modeling results suggested that perceptual difficulties might underlie the current group differences. In conclusion, our results suggest that procedural working-memory processing is most likely intact in OCD, and raise a novel, yet untested assumption regarding perceptual deficits in OCD. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Memory functioning in children with reading disabilities and/or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a clinical investigation of their working memory and long-term memory functioning.

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Kibby, Michelle Y; Cohen, Morris J

2008-11-01

We examined memory functioning in children with reading disabilities (RD), Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and RD/ADHD using a clinic sample with a clinical instrument: the Children's Memory Scale, enhancing its generalizability. Participants included 23 children with RD, 30 with ADHD, 30 with RD/ADHD, and 30 controls. Children with RD presented with reduced verbal short-term memory (STM) but intact visual STM, central executive (CE), and long-term memory (LTM) functioning. Their deficit in STM appeared specific to tasks requiring phonetic coding of material. Children with ADHD displayed intact CE and LTM functioning but reduced visual-spatial STM, especially when off stimulant medication. Children with RD/ADHD had deficits consistent with both disorders.

Behavioral analysis of NR2C knockout mouse reveals deficit in acquisition of conditioned fear and working memory.

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Hillman, Brandon G; Gupta, Subhash C; Stairs, Dustin J; Buonanno, Andres; Dravid, Shashank M

2011-05-01

N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors play an important role in excitatory neurotransmission and mediate synaptic plasticity associated with learning and memory. NMDA receptors are composed of two NR1 and two NR2 subunits and the identity of the NR2 subunit confers unique electrophysiologic and pharmacologic properties to the receptor. The precise role of NR2C-containing receptors in vivo is poorly understood. We have performed a battery of behavioral tests on NR2C knockout/nβ-galactosidase knock-in mice and found no difference in spontaneous activity, basal anxiety, forced-swim immobility, novel object recognition, pain sensitivity and reference memory in comparison to wildtype counterparts. However, NR2C knockout mice were found to exhibit deficits in fear acquisition and working memory compared to wildtype mice. Deficit in fear acquisition correlated with lack of fear conditioning-induced plasticity at the thalamo-amygdala synapse. These findings suggest a unique role of NR2C-containing receptors in associative and executive learning representing a novel therapeutic target for deficits in cognition. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Improving Working Memory in Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: The Separate and Combined Effects of Incentives and Stimulant Medication

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Strand, Michael T.; Hawk, Larry W., Jr.; Bubnik, Michelle; Shiels, Keri; Pelham, William E., Jr.; Waxmonsky, James G.

2012-01-01

Working memory (WM) is considered a core deficit in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), with numerous studies demonstrating impaired WM among children with ADHD. We tested the degree to which WM in children with ADHD was improved by performance-based incentives, an analog of behavioral intervention. In two studies, WM performance was…

Reading and Working Memory

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Baddeley, Alan

1984-01-01

Outlines the concept of working memory, with particular reference to a hypothetical subcomponent, the articulatory loop. Discusses the role of the loop in fluent adult reading, then examines the reading performance of adults with deficits in auditory verbal memory, showing that a capacity to articulate is not necessary for the effective…

TNF-α from hippocampal microglia induces working memory deficits by acute stress in mice.

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Ohgidani, Masahiro; Kato, Takahiro A; Sagata, Noriaki; Hayakawa, Kohei; Shimokawa, Norihiro; Sato-Kasai, Mina; Kanba, Shigenobu

2016-07-01

The role of microglia in stress responses has recently been highlighted, yet the underlying mechanisms of action remain unresolved. The present study examined disruption in working memory due to acute stress using the water-immersion resistant stress (WIRS) test in mice. Mice were subjected to acute WIRS, and biochemical, immunohistochemical, and behavioral assessments were conducted. Spontaneous alternations (working memory) significantly decreased after exposure to acute WIRS for 2h. We employed a 3D morphological analysis and site- and microglia-specific gene analysis techniques to detect microglial activity. Morphological changes in hippocampal microglia were not observed after acute stress, even when assessing ramification ratios and cell somata volumes. Interestingly, hippocampal tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α levels were significantly elevated after acute stress, and acute stress-induced TNF-α was produced by hippocampal-ramified microglia. Conversely, plasma concentrations of TNF-α were not elevated after acute stress. Etanercept (TNF-α inhibitor) recovered working memory deficits in accordance with hippocampal TNF-α reductions. Overall, results suggest that TNF-α from hippocampal microglia is a key contributor to early-stage stress-to-mental responses. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Memory Deficits in Schizophrenia: A Selective Review of Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI Studies

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Adrienne C. Lahti

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Schizophrenia is a complex chronic mental illness that is characterized by positive, negative and cognitive symptoms. Cognitive deficits are most predictive of long-term outcomes, with abnormalities in memory being the most robust finding. The advent of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI has allowed exploring neural correlates of memory deficits in vivo. In this article, we will give a selective review of fMRI studies probing brain regions and functional networks that are thought to be related to abnormal memory performance in two memory systems prominently affected in schizophrenia; working memory and episodic memory. We revisit the classic “hypofrontality” hypothesis of working memory deficits and explore evidence for frontotemporal dysconnectivity underlying episodic memory abnormalities. We conclude that fMRI studies of memory deficits in schizophrenia are far from universal. However, the current literature does suggest that alterations are not isolated to a few brain regions, but are characterized by abnormalities within large-scale brain networks.

A selective egocentric topographical working memory deficit in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease: a preliminary study.

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Bianchini, F; Di Vita, A; Palermo, L; Piccardi, L; Blundo, C; Guariglia, C

2014-12-01

The aim of this study was to determine whether an egocentric topographical working memory (WM) deficit is present in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD) with respect to other forms of visuospatial WM. Further, we would investigate whether this deficit could be present in patients having AD without topographical disorientation (TD) signs in everyday life assessed through an informal interview to caregivers. Seven patients with AD and 20 healthy participants performed the Walking Corsi Test and the Corsi Block-Tapping Test. The former test requires memorizing a sequence of places by following a path and the latter is a well-known visuospatial memory task. Patients with AD also performed a verbal WM test to exclude the presence of general WM impairments. Preliminary results suggest that egocentric topographical WM is selectively impaired, with respect to visuospatial and verbal WM, even without TD suggesting an important role of this memory in the early stages of AD. © The Author(s) 2014.

Reduced ERPs and theta oscillations underlie working memory deficits in Toxoplasma gondii infected seniors.

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Gajewski, Patrick D; Falkenstein, Michael; Hengstler, Jan G; Golka, Klaus

2016-10-01

Toxoplasma gondii is one of the most widespread infections in humans. Recent studies give evidence for memory deficits in infected older adults. To investigate working memory dysfunction in infected elderly, a double-blinded electrophysiological study was conducted. 84 persons derived from a sample of 131 healthy participants with the mean age of 70 years were assigned to two groups of 42 non-infected and 42 infected individuals. The outcome measures were behavioral performance, target and response-related ERPs, and time-frequency wavelets during performance in a n-back working-memory task. The infected individuals showed a reduced rate of detected targets and diminished P3b amplitude both in target-locked as well as response-locked data compared to the non-infected group. Time-frequency decomposition of the EEG-signals revealed lower evoked power in the theta frequency range in the target-locked as well as in the response-locked data in infected individuals. The reported effects were comparable with differences between healthy young and old adults described previously. Taking together, the reduced working-memory performance accompanied by an attenuated P3b and frontal theta activity may suggest neurotransmitter imbalance like dopamine and norepinephrine in T. gondii infected individuals. In face of a high prevalence of T. gondii infection and the increasing ratio of older population their accelerated memory decline may have substantial socioeconomic consequences. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Attention and memory deficits in breast cancer survivors: implications for nursing practice and research.

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Frank, Jennifer Sandson; Vance, David E; Jukkala, Angela; Meneses, Karen M

2014-10-01

Breast cancer survivors (BCSs) commonly report deficits in attention and memory, cognitive functions crucial for daily optimal functioning. Perceived deficits are reported before, during, and after adjuvant therapy and affect quality of life throughout survivorship. Deficits of attention and memory are particularly disruptive for BCSs working or attending school who report that subtle impairment diminishes their confidence and their performance at all levels of occupation. Chemotherapy and endocrine therapy contribute to attention and memory deficits, but research findings have not fully established the extent or timing of that influence. Fortunately, potential interventions for attention and memory deficits in BCSs are promising. These include cognitive remediation therapies aimed at training for specific areas of deficit, cognitive behavioral therapies aimed at developing compensatory strategies for areas of deficit, complementary therapies, and pharmacologic therapies.

Methylphenidate does not improve interference control during a working memory task in young patients with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

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Prehn-Kristensen, Alexander; Krauel, Kerstin; Hinrichs, Hermann; Fischer, Jochen; Malecki, Ulrike; Schuetze, Hartmut; Wolff, Stephan; Jansen, Olav; Duezel, Emrah; Baving, Lioba

2011-05-04

Patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) show deficits in working memory (WM) which may be related to prefrontal dysfunction. Methylphenidate (MPH) can restore WM deficits in ADHD by enhancing prefrontal activity. At the same time, changes in striatal activation could cause ADHD patients to be more interference-sensitive during working memory tasks. However, it is unclear whether MPH reduces WM distractibility in ADHD. In this fMRI study, 12 ADHD patients and 12 healthy controls participated on two separate days in a delayed-match-to-sample test. During the delay interval, a distractor stimulus was presented in half of the trials. Children and adolescents with ADHD received MPH only on one of the two sessions. Behavioral data analyses revealed that MPH normalized WM in ADHD. However, MPH did not improve WM performance when a distractor was presented during the delay interval. Functional images showed that MPH enhanced prefrontal activity during the delay in ADHD patients when no distractor was present. If the delay was interrupted by a distractor, only healthy controls showed activation of the caudate. In patients with ADHD, however, in line with behavioral data, MPH did not enhance caudate activity. In healthy youth, caudate activity is involved in interference control allowing the successful maintenance of information in working memory even in the presence of distraction. Our findings suggest that interference control, linked to caudate activity, is not adequately enhanced by MPH in ADHD. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Interference control in working memory: comparing groups of children with atypical development.

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Palladino, Paola; Ferrari, Marcella

2013-01-01

The study aimed to test whether working memory deficits in children at risk of Learning Disabilities (LD) and/or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can be attributed to deficits in interference control, thereby implicating prefrontal systems. Two groups of children known for showing poor working memory (i.e., children with poor comprehension and children with ADHD) were compared to a group of children with specific reading decoding problems (i.e., having severe problems in phonological rather than working memory) and to a control group. All children were tested with a verbal working memory task. Interference control of irrelevant items was examined by a lexical decision task presented immediately after the final recall in about half the trials, selected at random. The interference control measure was therefore directly related to working memory performance. Results confirmed deficient working memory performance in poor comprehenders and children at risk of ADHD + LD. More interestingly, this working memory deficit was associated with greater activation of irrelevant information than in the control group. Poor decoders showed more efficient interference control, in contrast to poor comprehenders and ADHD + LD children. These results indicated that interfering items were still highly accessible to working memory in children who fail the working memory task. In turn, these findings strengthen and clarify the role of interference control, one of the most critical prefrontal functions, in working memory.

Working, declarative and procedural memory in specific language impairment

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Lum, Jarrad A.G.; Conti-Ramsden, Gina; Page, Debra; Ullman, Michael T.

2012-01-01

According to the Procedural Deficit Hypothesis (PDH), abnormalities of brain structures underlying procedural memory largely explain the language deficits in children with specific language impairment (SLI). These abnormalities are posited to result in core deficits of procedural memory, which in turn explain the grammar problems in the disorder. The abnormalities are also likely to lead to problems with other, non-procedural functions, such as working memory, that rely at least partly on the...

Working Memory Involved in Predicting Future Outcomes Based on Past Experiences

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Dretsch, Michael N.; Tipples, Jason

2008-01-01

Deficits in working memory have been shown to contribute to poor performance on the Iowa Gambling Task [IGT: Bechara, A., & Martin, E.M. (2004). "Impaired decision making related to working memory deficits in individuals with substance addictions." "Neuropsychology," 18, 152-162]. Similarly, a secondary memory load task has been shown to impair…

A Meta-Analysis of Working Memory Deficits in Children with Learning Difficulties: Is There a Difference between Verbal Domain and Numerical Domain?

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Peng, Peng; Fuchs, Douglas

2016-01-01

Children with learning difficulties suffer from working memory (WM) deficits. Yet the specificity of deficits associated with different types of learning difficulties remains unclear. Further research can contribute to our understanding of the nature of WM and the relationship between it and learning difficulties. The current meta-analysis…

Right-sided representational neglect after left brain damage in a case without visuospatial working memory deficits.

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van Dijck, Jean-Philippe; Gevers, Wim; Lafosse, Christophe; Fias, Wim

2013-10-01

Brain damaged patients suffering from representational neglect (RN) fail to report, orient to, or verbally describe contra-lesional elements of imagined environments or objects. So far this disorder has only been reported after right brain damage, leading to the idea that only the right hemisphere is involved in this deficit. A widely accepted account attributes RN to a lateralized impairment in the visuospatial component of working memory. So far, however, this hypothesis has not been tested in detail. In the present paper, we describe, for the first time, the case of a left brain damaged patient suffering from right-sided RN while imagining both known and new environments and objects. An in-depth evaluation of her visuospatial working memory abilities, with special focus on the presence of a lateralized deficit, did not reveal any abnormality. In sharp contrast, her ability to memorize visual information was severely compromised. The implications of these results are discussed in the light of recent insights in the neglect syndrome. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The neural bases of orthographic working memory

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Jeremy Purcell

2014-04-01

First, these results reveal a neurotopography of OWM lesion sites that is well-aligned with results from neuroimaging of orthographic working memory in neurally intact participants (Rapp & Dufor, 2011. Second, the dorsal neurotopography of the OWM lesion overlap is clearly distinct from what has been reported for lesions associated with either lexical or sublexical deficits (e.g., Henry, Beeson, Stark, & Rapcsak, 2007; Rapcsak & Beeson, 2004; these have, respectively, been identified with the inferior occipital/temporal and superior temporal/inferior parietal regions. These neurotopographic distinctions support the claims of the computational distinctiveness of long-term vs. working memory operations. The specific lesion loci raise a number of questions to be discussed regarding: (a the selectivity of these regions and associated deficits to orthographic working memory vs. working memory more generally (b the possibility that different lesion sub-regions may correspond to different components of the OWM system.

Verbal declarative memory impairments in specific language impairment are related to working memory deficits

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Lum, Jarrad A.G.; Ullman, Michael T.; Conti-Ramsden, Gina

2015-01-01

This study examined verbal declarative memory functioning in SLI and its relationship to working memory. Encoding, recall, and recognition of verbal information was examined in children with SLI who had below average working memory (SLILow WM), children with SLI who had average working memory (SLIAvg. WM) and, a group of non-language impaired children with average working memory (TDAvg. WM). The SLILow WM group was significantly worse than both the SLIAvg. WM and TDAvg. WM groups at encoding ...

Revealing past memories: proactive interference and ketamine-induced memory deficits.

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Chrobak, James J; Hinman, James R; Sabolek, Helen R

2008-04-23

Memories of events that occur often are sensitive to interference from memories of similar events. Proactive interference plays an important and often unexamined role in memory testing for spatially and temporally unique events ("episodes"). Ketamine (NMDA receptor antagonist) treatment in humans and other mammals induces a constellation of cognitive deficits, including impairments in working and episodic memory. We examined the effects of the ketamine (2.5-100 mg/kg) on the acquisition, retrieval, and retention of memory in a delayed-match-to-place radial water maze task that can be used to assess proactive interference. Ketamine (2.5-25 mg/kg, i.p.) given 20 min before the sample trial, impaired encoding. The first errors made during the test trial were predominantly to arms located spatially adjacent to the goal arm, suggesting an established albeit weakened representation. Ketamine (25-100 mg/kg) given immediately after the sample trial had no effect on retention. Ketamine given before the test trial impaired retrieval. First errors under the influence of ketamine were predominantly to the goal location of the previous session. Thus, ketamine treatment promoted proactive interference. These memory deficits were not state dependent, because ketamine treatment at both encoding and retrieval only increased the number of errors during the test session. These data demonstrate the competing influence of distinct memory representations during the performance of a memory task in the rat. Furthermore, they demonstrate the subtle disruptive effects of the NMDA antagonist ketamine on both encoding and retrieval. Specifically, ketamine treatment disrupted retrieval by promoting proactive interference from previous episodic representations.

Short-term memory in Down syndrome: applying the working memory model.

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Jarrold, C; Baddeley, A D

2001-10-01

This paper is divided into three sections. The first reviews the evidence for a verbal short-term memory deficit in Down syndrome. Existing research suggests that short-term memory for verbal information tends to be impaired in Down syndrome, in contrast to short-term memory for visual and spatial material. In addition, problems of hearing or speech do not appear to be a major cause of difficulties on tests of verbal short-term memory. This suggests that Down syndrome is associated with a specific memory problem, which we link to a potential deficit in the functioning of the 'phonological loop' of Baddeley's (1986) model of working memory. The second section considers the implications of a phonological loop problem. Because a reasonable amount is known about the normal functioning of the phonological loop, and of its role in language acquisition in typical development, we can make firm predictions as to the likely nature of the short-term memory problem in Down syndrome, and its consequences for language learning. However, we note that the existing evidence from studies with individuals with Down syndrome does not fit well with these predictions. This leads to the third section of the paper, in which we consider key questions to be addressed in future research. We suggest that there are two questions to be answered, which follow directly from the contradictory results outlined in the previous section. These are 'What is the precise nature of the verbal short-term memory deficit in Down syndrome', and 'What are the consequences of this deficit for learning'. We discuss ways in which these questions might be addressed in future work.

Working Memory and Neurofeedback.

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YuLeung To, Eric; Abbott, Kathy; Foster, Dale S; Helmer, D'Arcy

2016-01-01

Impairments in working memory are typically associated with impairments in other cognitive faculties such as attentional processes and short-term memory. This paper briefly introduces neurofeedback as a treatment modality in general, and, more specifically, we review several of the current modalities successfully used in neurofeedback (NF) for the treatment of working memory deficits. Two case studies are presented to illustrate how neurofeedback is applied in treatment. The development of Low Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography (LORETA) and its application in neurofeedback now makes it possible to specifically target deep cortical/subcortical brain structures. Developments in neuroscience concerning neural networks, combined with highly specific yet practical NF technologies, makes neurofeedback of particular interest to neuropsychological practice, including the emergence of specific methodologies for treating very difficult working memory (WM) problems.

Long-Term Episodic Memory in Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

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Skowronek, Jeffrey S.; Leichtman, Michelle D.; Pillemer, David B.

2008-01-01

Twenty-nine grade-matched 4th-8th-grade males, 12 with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (age M = 12.2 years, SD = 1.48), and 17 without (age M = 11.5, SD = 1.59), completed two working memory tasks (digit span and the Simon game) and three long-term episodic memory tasks (a personal event memory task, story memory task, and picture…

ADHD and Working Memory: The Impact of Central Executive Deficits and Exceeding Storage/Rehearsal Capacity on Observed Inattentive Behavior

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Kofler, Michael J.; Rapport, Mark D.; Bolden, Jennifer; Sarver, Dustin E.; Raiker, Joseph S.

2010-01-01

Inattentive behavior is considered a core and pervasive feature of ADHD; however, an alternative model challenges this premise and hypothesizes a functional relationship between working memory deficits and inattentive behavior. The current study investigated whether inattentive behavior in children with ADHD is functionally related to the…

Verbal Working Memory in Children with Mild Intellectual Disabilities

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Van der Molen, M. J.; Van Luit, J. E. H.; Jongmans, M. J.; Van der Molen, M. W.

2007-01-01

Background: Previous research into working memory of individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) has established clear deficits. The current study examined working memory in children with mild ID (IQ 55-85) within the framework of the Baddeley model, fractionating working memory into a central executive and two slave systems, the phonological…

Childhood Obesity and Academic Performance: The Role of Working Memory.

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Wu, Nan; Chen, Yulu; Yang, Jinhua; Li, Fei

2017-01-01

The present study examined the role of working memory in the association between childhood obesity and academic performance, and further determined whether memory deficits in obese children are domain-specific to certain tasks or domain-general. A total of 227 primary school students aged 10-13 years were analyzed for weight and height, of which 159 children (44 "obese," 23 "overweight," and 92 "normal weight") filled out questionnaires on school performance and socioeconomic status. And then, all subjects finished three kinds of working memory tasks based on the digit memory task in 30 trials, which were image-generated with a series of numbers recall trial sets. After each trial set, subjects were given 5 s to recall and write down the numbers which hand appeared in the trial, in the inverse order in which they had appeared. The results showed there were significant academic performance differences among the three groups, with normal-weight children scoring higher than overweight and obese children after Bonferroni correction. A mediation model revealed a partial indirect effect of working memory in the relationship between obesity and academic performance. Although the performance of obese children in basic working memory tests was poorer than that of normal-weight children, they recalled more items than normal-weight children in working memory tasks involving with food/drink. Working memory deficits partially explain the poor academic performance of obese children. Those results indicated the obese children show domain-specific working memory deficits, whereas they recall more items than normal-weight children in working memory tasks associated with food/drink.

Cognitive Training and Work Therapy for the Treatment of Verbal Learning and Memory Deficits in Veterans With Alcohol Use Disorders.

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Bell, Morris D; Vissicchio, Nicholas A; Weinstein, Andrea J

2016-01-01

This study focused on the efficacy of cognitive training for verbal learning and memory deficits in a population of older veterans with alcohol use disorders. Veterans with alcohol use disorders, who were in outpatient treatment at VA facilities and in early-phase recovery (N = 31), were randomized to receive a three-month trial of daily cognitive training plus work therapy (n = 15) or work therapy alone (n = 16), along with treatment as usual. Participants completed assessments at baseline and at three- and six-month follow-ups; the Hopkins Verbal Learning Task (HVLT) was the primary outcome measure. Participants were primarily male (97%) and in their mid-50s (M = 55.16, SD = 5.16) and had been sober for 1.64 (SD = 2.81) months. Study retention was excellent (91% at three-month follow-up) and adherence to treatment in both conditions was very good. On average, participants in the cognitive training condition had more than 41 hours of cognitive training, and both conditions had more than 230 hours of productive activity. HVLT results at three-month follow-up revealed significant condition effects favoring cognitive training for verbal learning (HVLT Trial-3 T-score, p cognitive training condition with clinically significant verbal memory deficits (p therapy alone condition and a trend toward significance for verbal learning deficits, which was not sustained at six-month follow-up. This National Institute on Drug Abuse-funded pilot study demonstrates that cognitive training within the context of another activating intervention (work therapy) may have efficacy in remediating verbal learning and memory deficits in patients with alcohol use disorder. Findings indicate a large effect for cognitive training in this pilot study, which suggests that further research is warranted. This study is registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT 01410110).

Cerebellar Damage Produces Selective Deficits in Verbal Working Memory

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Ravizza, Susan M.; Mccormick, Cristin A.; Schlerf, John E.; Justus, Timothy; Ivry, Richard B.; Fiez, Julie A.

2006-01-01

The cerebellum is often active in imaging studies of verbal working memory, consistent with a putative role in articulatory rehearsal. While patients with cerebellar damage occasionally exhibit a mild impairment on standard neuropsychological tests of working memory, these tests are not diagnostic for exploring these processes in detail. The…

Creativity and Working Memory in Gifted Students with and without Characteristics of Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder: Lifting the Mask

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Fugate, C. Matthew; Zentall, Sydney S.; Gentry, Marcia

2013-01-01

There have been some behavioral indicators and some types of task performance that suggest greater creativity in students with attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD). This evidence would appear counterintuitive given that lower working memory (i.e., holding information in mind for novel recombinations) has often been documented in students…

Working memory and organizational skills problems in ADHD.

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Kofler, Michael J; Sarver, Dustin E; Harmon, Sherelle L; Moltisanti, Allison; Aduen, Paula A; Soto, Elia F; Ferretti, Nicole

2018-01-01

This study tested model-driven predictions regarding working memory's role in the organizational problems associated with ADHD. Children aged 8-13 (M = 10.33, SD = 1.42) with and without ADHD (N = 103; 39 girls; 73% Caucasian/Non-Hispanic) were assessed on multiple, counterbalanced working memory tasks. Parents and teachers completed norm-referenced measures of organizational problems (Children's Organizational Skills Scale; COSS). Results confirmed large magnitude working memory deficits (d = 1.24) and organizational problems in ADHD (d = 0.85). Bias-corrected, bootstrapped conditional effects models linked impaired working memory with greater parent- and teacher-reported inattention, hyperactivity/impulsivity, and organizational problems. Working memory predicted organization problems across all parent and teacher COSS subscales (R 2  = .19-.23). Approximately 38%-57% of working memory's effect on organization problems was conveyed by working memory's association with inattentive behavior. Unique effects of working memory remained significant for both parent- and teacher-reported task planning, as well as for teacher-reported memory/materials management and overall organization problems. Attention problems uniquely predicted worse organizational skills. Hyperactivity was unrelated to parent-reported organizational skills, but predicted better teacher-reported task planning. Children with ADHD exhibit multisetting, broad-based organizational impairment. These impaired organizational skills are attributable in part to performance deficits secondary to working memory dysfunction, both directly and indirectly via working memory's role in regulating attention. Impaired working memory in ADHD renders it extraordinarily difficult for these children to consistently anticipate, plan, enact, and maintain goal-directed actions. © 2017 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

Working memory and reward association learning impairments in obesity.

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Coppin, Géraldine; Nolan-Poupart, Sarah; Jones-Gotman, Marilyn; Small, Dana M

2014-12-01

Obesity has been associated with impaired executive functions including working memory. Less explored is the influence of obesity on learning and memory. In the current study we assessed stimulus reward association learning, explicit learning and memory and working memory in healthy weight, overweight and obese individuals. Explicit learning and memory did not differ as a function of group. In contrast, working memory was significantly and similarly impaired in both overweight and obese individuals compared to the healthy weight group. In the first reward association learning task the obese, but not healthy weight or overweight participants consistently formed paradoxical preferences for a pattern associated with a negative outcome (fewer food rewards). To determine if the deficit was specific to food reward a second experiment was conducted using money. Consistent with Experiment 1, obese individuals selected the pattern associated with a negative outcome (fewer monetary rewards) more frequently than healthy weight individuals and thus failed to develop a significant preference for the most rewarded patterns as was observed in the healthy weight group. Finally, on a probabilistic learning task, obese compared to healthy weight individuals showed deficits in negative, but not positive outcome learning. Taken together, our results demonstrate deficits in working memory and stimulus reward learning in obesity and suggest that obese individuals are impaired in learning to avoid negative outcomes. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Methylphenidate Improves Visual-Spatial Memory in Children with Attention-Deficit- hyperactivity Disorder

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Bedard, Anne-Claude; Martinussen, Rhonda; Ickowicz, Abel; Tannock, Rosemary

2004-01-01

Objective: To investigate the effect of methylphenidate (MPH) on visual-spatial memory, as measured by subtests of the Cambridge Neuropsychological Testing Automated Battery (CANTAB), in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Visual-spatial memory is a core component of working memory that has been shown to be impaired in…

Administration of raloxifene reduces sensorimotor and working memory deficits following traumatic brain injury.

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Kokiko, Olga N; Murashov, Alexander K; Hoane, Michael R

2006-06-30

Hormonal differences between males and females have surfaced as a crucial component in the search for effective treatments after experimental models of traumatic brain injury (TBI). Recent findings have shown that selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) may have therapeutic benefit. The present study examined the effects of raloxifene, a SERM, on functional recovery after bilateral cortical contusion injury (bCCI) or sham procedure. Male rats received injections of raloxifene (3.0mg/kg, i.p.) or vehicle (1.0 ml/kg, i.p.) 15 min, 24, 48, 72, and 96 h after bCCI or sham procedure. Rats were tested on both sensorimotor (bilateral tactile removal and locomotor placing tests) and cognitive tests (reference and working memory in the Morris water maze). Raloxifene-treated animals showed a significant reduction in the initial magnitude of the deficit and facilitated the rate of recovery for the bilateral tactile removal test, compared to vehicle-treated animals. The raloxifene-treated animals also showed a significant improvement in the acquisition of working memory compared to vehicle-treated animals. However, raloxifene did not significantly improve the acquisition of reference memory or locomotor placing ability. Raloxifene treatment also did not result in a significant reduction in the size of the lesion cavity. Thus, the task-dependent improvements seen following raloxifene treatment do not appear to be the result of cortical neuroprotection. However, these results suggest that raloxifene improves functional outcome following bCCI and may present an interesting avenue for future research.

Working Memory Deficits After Lesions Involving the Supplementary Motor Area

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Alba Cañas

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The Supplementary Motor Area (SMA—located in the superior and medial aspects of the superior frontal gyrus—is a preferential site of certain brain tumors and arteriovenous malformations, which often provoke the so-called SMA syndrome. The bulk of the literature studying this syndrome has focused on two of its most apparent symptoms: contralateral motor and speech deficits. Surprisingly, little attention has been given to working memory (WM even though neuroimaging studies have implicated the SMA in this cognitive process. Given its relevance for higher-order functions, our main goal was to examine whether WM is compromised in SMA lesions. We also asked whether WM deficits might be reducible to processing speed (PS difficulties. Given the connectivity of the SMA with prefrontal regions related to executive control (EC, as a secondary goal we examined whether SMA lesions also hampered EC. To this end, we tested 12 patients with lesions involving the left (i.e., the dominant SMA. We also tested 12 healthy controls matched with patients for socio-demographic variables. To ensure that the results of this study can be easily transferred and implemented in clinical practice, we used widely-known clinical neuropsychological tests: WM and PS were measured with their respective Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale indexes, and EC was tested with phonemic and semantic verbal fluency tasks. Non-parametric statistical methods revealed that patients showed deficits in the executive component of WM: they were able to sustain information temporarily but not to mentally manipulate this information. Such WM deficits were not subject to patients' marginal PS impairment. Patients also showed reduced phonemic fluency, which disappeared after controlling for the influence of WM. This observation suggests that SMA damage does not seem to affect cognitive processes engaged by verbal fluency other than WM. In conclusion, WM impairment needs to be considered as part of

Rethinking the Connection between Working Memory and Language Impairment

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Archibald, Lisa M. D.; Harder Griebeling, Katherine

2016-01-01

Background: Working memory deficits have been found for children with specific language impairment (SLI) on tasks imposing increasing short-term memory load with or without additional, consistent (and simple) processing load. Aims: To examine the processing function of working memory in children with low language (LL) by employing tasks imposing…

Training working memory to reduce rumination.

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Thomas Onraedt

Full Text Available Cognitive symptoms of depression, such as rumination, have shown to be associated with deficits in working memory functioning. More precisely, the capacity to expel irrelevant negative information from working memory seems to be affected. Even though these associations have repeatedly been demonstrated, the nature and causal direction of this association is still unclear. Therefore, within an experimental design, we tried to manipulate working memory functioning of participants with heightened rumination scores in two similar experiments (n = 72 and n = 45 using a six day working memory training compared to active and passive control groups. Subsequently the effects on the processing of non-emotional and emotional information in working memory were monitored. In both experiments, performance during the training task significantly increased, but this performance gain did not transfer to the outcome working memory tasks or rumination and depression measures. Possible explanations for the failure to find transfer effects are discussed.

Working memory and the hippocampus.

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Baddeley, Alan; Jarrold, Christopher; Vargha-Khadem, Faraneh

2011-12-01

A number of studies suggest an important role for the hippocampus in tasks involving visuospatial or relational working memory. We test the generality of this proposal across tasks using a battery designed to investigate the various components of working memory, studying the working memory performance of Jon, who shows a bilateral reduction in hippocampal volume of approximately 50%, comparing him to a group of 48 college students. We measure performance on four complex working memory span measures based on combining visuospatial and verbal storage with visuospatial or verbal concurrent processing as well as measuring Jon's ability to carry out the component storage and processing aspects of these tasks. Jon performed at a consistently high level across our range of tasks. Possible reasons for the apparent disparity between our own findings and earlier studies showing a hippocampal deficit are discussed in terms of both the potential differences in the demands placed on relational memory and of the proposed distinction between egocentric and allocentric visuospatial processing.

Working Memory Arrest in Children with High-Functioning Autism Compared to Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Results from a 2-Year Longitudinal Study

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Andersen, Per N.; Skogli, Erik W.; Hovik, Kjell T.; Geurts, Hilde; Egeland, Jens; Øie, Merete

2015-01-01

The aim of this study was to analyse the development of verbal working memory in children with high-functioning autism compared to children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and typically developing children. A total of 34 children with high-functioning autism, 72 children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and 45 typically…

Verbal Working Memory in Children With Cochlear Implants

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Caldwell-Tarr, Amanda; Low, Keri E.; Lowenstein, Joanna H.

2017-01-01

Purpose Verbal working memory in children with cochlear implants and children with normal hearing was examined. Participants Ninety-three fourth graders (47 with normal hearing, 46 with cochlear implants) participated, all of whom were in a longitudinal study and had working memory assessed 2 years earlier. Method A dual-component model of working memory was adopted, and a serial recall task measured storage and processing. Potential predictor variables were phonological awareness, vocabulary knowledge, nonverbal IQ, and several treatment variables. Potential dependent functions were literacy, expressive language, and speech-in-noise recognition. Results Children with cochlear implants showed deficits in storage and processing, similar in size to those at second grade. Predictors of verbal working memory differed across groups: Phonological awareness explained the most variance in children with normal hearing; vocabulary explained the most variance in children with cochlear implants. Treatment variables explained little of the variance. Where potentially dependent functions were concerned, verbal working memory accounted for little variance once the variance explained by other predictors was removed. Conclusions The verbal working memory deficits of children with cochlear implants arise due to signal degradation, which limits their abilities to acquire phonological awareness. That hinders their abilities to store items using a phonological code. PMID:29075747

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: the impact of methylphenidate on working memory, inhibition capacity and mental flexibility.

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Bolfer, Cristiana; Pacheco, Sandra Pasquali; Tsunemi, Miriam Harumi; Carreira, Walter Souza; Casella, Beatriz Borba; Casella, Erasmo Barbante

2017-04-01

To compare children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), before and after the use of methylphenidate, and a control group, using tests of working memory, inhibition capacity and mental flexibility. Neuropsychological tests were administrated to 53 boys, 9-12 years old: the WISC-III digit span backward, and arithmetic; Stroop Color; and Trail Making Tests. The case group included 23 boys with ADHD, who were combined type, treatment-naive, and with normal intelligence without comorbidities. The control group (n = 30) were age and gender matched. After three months on methylphenidate, the ADHD children were retested. The control group was also retested after three months. Before treatment, ADHD children had lower scores than the control group on the tests (p ≤ 0.001) and after methylphenidate had fewer test errors than before (p ≤ 0.001). Methylphenidate treatment improves the working memory, inhibitory control and mental flexibility of ADHD boys.

Memory systems in schizophrenia: Modularity is preserved but deficits are generalized.

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Haut, Kristen M; Karlsgodt, Katherine H; Bilder, Robert M; Congdon, Eliza; Freimer, Nelson B; London, Edythe D; Sabb, Fred W; Ventura, Joseph; Cannon, Tyrone D

2015-10-01

Schizophrenia patients exhibit impaired working and episodic memory, but this may represent generalized impairment across memory modalities or performance deficits restricted to particular memory systems in subgroups of patients. Furthermore, it is unclear whether deficits are unique from those associated with other disorders. Healthy controls (n=1101) and patients with schizophrenia (n=58), bipolar disorder (n=49) and attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder (n=46) performed 18 tasks addressing primarily verbal and spatial episodic and working memory. Effect sizes for group contrasts were compared across tasks and the consistency of subjects' distributional positions across memory domains was measured. Schizophrenia patients performed poorly relative to the other groups on every test. While low to moderate correlation was found between memory domains (r=.320), supporting modularity of these systems, there was limited agreement between measures regarding each individual's task performance (ICC=.292) and in identifying those individuals falling into the lowest quintile (kappa=0.259). A general ability factor accounted for nearly all of the group differences in performance and agreement across measures in classifying low performers. Pathophysiological processes involved in schizophrenia appear to act primarily on general abilities required in all tasks rather than on specific abilities within different memory domains and modalities. These effects represent a general shift in the overall distribution of general ability (i.e., each case functioning at a lower level than they would have if not for the illness), rather than presence of a generally low-performing subgroup of patients. There is little evidence that memory impairments in schizophrenia are shared with bipolar disorder and ADHD. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Anatomical Modularity of Verbal Working Memory? Functional Anatomical Evidence from a Famous Patient with Short-Term Memory Deficits.

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Paulesu, Eraldo; Shallice, Tim; Danelli, Laura; Sberna, Maurizio; Frackowiak, Richard S J; Frith, Chris D

2017-01-01

Cognitive skills are the emergent property of distributed neural networks. The distributed nature of these networks does not necessarily imply a lack of specialization of the individual brain structures involved. However, it remains questionable whether discrete aspects of high-level behavior might be the result of localized brain activity of individual nodes within such networks. The phonological loop of working memory, with its simplicity, seems ideally suited for testing this possibility. Central to the development of the phonological loop model has been the description of patients with focal lesions and specific deficits. As much as the detailed description of their behavior has served to refine the phonological loop model, a classical anatomoclinical correlation approach with such cases falls short in telling whether the observed behavior is based on the functions of a neural system resembling that seen in normal subjects challenged with phonological loop tasks or whether different systems have taken over. This is a crucial issue for the cross correlation of normal cognition, normal physiology, and cognitive neuropsychology. Here we describe the functional anatomical patterns of JB, a historical patient originally described by Warrington et al. (1971), a patient with a left temporo-parietal lesion and selective short phonological store deficit. JB was studied with the H 2 15 O PET activation technique during a rhyming task, which primarily depends on the rehearsal system of the phonological loop. No residual function was observed in the left temporo-parietal junction, a region previously associated with the phonological buffer of working memory. However, Broca's area, the major counterpart of the rehearsal system, was the major site of activation during the rhyming task. Specific and autonomous activation of Broca's area in the absence of afferent inputs from the other major anatomical component of the phonological loop shows that a certain degree of

Role of working memory components in planning performance of individuals with Parkinson's disease.

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Altgassen, Mareike; Phillips, Louise; Kopp, Ute; Kliegel, Matthias

2007-06-11

The current study investigated the involvement of all four components of Baddeley's [Baddeley, A. D. (2000). The episodic buffer: A new component of working memory? Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 4, 417-423] revised working memory model in deficits of planning accompanying Parkinson's disease (PD). PD resulted in poorer formulation and execution of plans, as measured by the Tower of London task. PD also reduced the efficiency of the episodic buffer and central executive components of working memory, but did not influence storage of verbal or visuospatial information. Planning deficits in PD were particularly linked to problems in integrating multimodal short-term information with long-term memory (episodic buffer). These results emphasize the importance of integrative and executive processing in cognitive problems in PD, rather than simple memory deficits.

Predictors of Memory Deficits in Adolescents and Young Adults with Congenital Heart Disease Compared to Healthy Controls

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Nancy A. Pike

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Adolescents and young adults with congenital heart disease [CHD] show a range of memory deficits, which can dramatically impact their clinical outcomes and quality of life. However, few studies have identified predictors of these memory changes. The purpose of this investigation was to identify predictors of memory deficits in adolescents and young adults with CHD after surgical palliation compared to healthy controls. Method: 156 adolescents and young adults [80 CHD and 76 controls; age 14-21 years] were recruited and administered an instrument to assess memory [Wide Range Assessment of Memory and Learning 2nd Edition – general memory index (GMI score] and completed questionnaires that measure anxiety, depression, sleepiness, health status, and self-efficacy. Descriptive and non-parametric statistics were used to assess group differences, and logistic regression to identify predictors of memory deficits. Results: CHD subjects consisted of 58% males, median age 17 years, 41% Hispanic, and medians of 2 previous heart surgeries and 14 years since last surgery. Memory deficits [GMI < 85] were identified in 50% CHD compared to 4% healthy controls [median GMI 85 vs. 108, p <0.001]. Of GMI subscale medians, CHD subjects had significantly worse memory performance vs. healthy controls [verbal 88 vs. 105, p <0.001; attention 88 vs. 109, p<0.001; working memory 86 vs. 108, p <0.001]. No significant differences appeared between groups for visual memory. Multiple clinical and psychosocial factors were identified which were statistically different on bivariate analyses between the subjects with and without memory deficits. By multivariate analysis, male gender, number of surgeries, anxiety, and self-efficacy emerged as independent predictors of memory deficits. Conclusion: Adolescents and young adults with CHD, more than a decade since their last surgery, show significant verbal, attention and working memory deficits over controls. To enhance

Abnormal Resting-State Functional Connectivity of Insular Subregions and Disrupted Correlation with Working Memory in Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

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Zhao, Qihua; Li, Hui; Yu, Xiaoyan; Huang, Fang; Wang, Yanfei; Liu, Lu; Cao, Qingjiu; Qian, Qiujin; Zang, Yufeng; Sun, Li; Wang, Yufeng

2017-01-01

Executive function (EF) deficits are major impairments in adults with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Previous studies have shown that the insula is involved in cognitive and EFs. However, the insula is highly heterogeneous in function, and few studies have focused on functional networks which related to specific insular subregions in adults with ADHD. We explored the functional networks of the insular subregions [anterior insula (AI), mid-insula (MI), and posterior insula (PI)]. Furthermore, their correlations with self-ratings of ecological EFs, including inhibition, shifting, and working memory were investigated. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data in 28 adults with ADHD and 30 matched healthy controls (HCs) were analyzed. The seed-based resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) of the insular subregions was evaluated. We also investigated their associations with the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Adult Version (BRIEF-A) inhibition, working memory, and shifting factor scores. Compared with HCs, adults with ADHD showed altered RSFC of the AI, with the precuneus, precentral gyrus, and inferior temporal gyrus extended to the middle temporal gyrus, lingual gyrus, and superior occipital gyrus, respectively. There were no significant differences in RSFC of the MI and PI between the two groups. Within the HC group, working memory scores were associated with the RSFC of AI with precuneus and temporal gyrus. However, there was no correlation between these variables in the ADHD group. The study evaluated RSFC patterns of the insular subregions in adults with ADHD for the first time. Altered RSFC of the AI which is a crucial region of salience network (SN) and part of regions in default mode network (DMN), were detected in adults with ADHD in both results with and without global signal regression (GSR), suggesting that disrupted SN-DMN functional connectivity may be involved in EF impairments in adults with ADHD

Brain and effort: brain activation and effort-related working memory in healthy participants and patients with working memory deficits

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Maria eEngstrom

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Despite the interest in the neuroimaging of working memory, little is still known about the neurobiology of complex working memory in tasks that require simultaneous manipulation and storage of information. In addition to the central executive network, we assumed that the recently described salience network (involving the anterior insular cortex and the anterior cingulate cortex might be of particular importance to working memory tasks that require complex, effortful processing. Method: Healthy participants (n=26 and participants suffering from working memory problems related to the Kleine-Levin syndrome (a specific form of periodic idiopathic hypersomnia; n=18 participated in the study. Participants were further divided into a high and low capacity group, according to performance on a working memory task (listening span. In a functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI study, participants were administered the reading span complex working memory task tapping cognitive effort. Principal findings: The fMRI-derived blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD signal was modulated by 1 effort in both the central executive and the salience network and 2 capacity in the salience network in that high performers evidenced a weaker BOLD signal than low performers. In the salience network there was a dichotomy between the left and the right hemisphere; the right hemisphere elicited a steeper increase of the BOLD signal as a function of increasing effort. There was also a stronger functional connectivity within the central executive network because of increased task difficulty. Conclusion: The ability to allocate cognitive effort in complex working memory is contingent upon focused resources in the executive and in particular the salience network. Individual capacity during the complex working memory task is related to activity in the salience (but not the executive network so that high-capacity participants evidence a lower signal and possibly hence a larger

Viral-mediated Zif268 expression in the prefrontal cortex protects against gonadectomy-induced working memory, long-term memory, and social interaction deficits in male rats.

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Dossat, Amanda M; Jourdi, Hussam; Wright, Katherine N; Strong, Caroline E; Sarkar, Ambalika; Kabbaj, Mohamed

2017-01-06

In humans, some males experience reductions in testosterone levels, as a natural consequence of aging or in the clinical condition termed hypogonadism, which are associated with impaired cognitive performance and mood disorder(s). Some of these behavioral deficits can be reversed by testosterone treatment. Our previous work in rats reported that sex differences in the expression of the transcription factor Zif268, a downstream target of testosterone, within the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) mediates sex differences in social interaction. In the present study, we aimed to examine the effects of gonadectomy (GNX) in male rats on mPFC Zif268 expression, mood and cognitive behaviors. We also examined whether reinstitution of Zif268 in GNX rats will correct some of the behavioral deficits observed following GNX. Our results show that GNX induced a downregulation of Zif268 protein in the mPFC, which was concomitant with impaired memory in the y-maze and spontaneous object recognition test, reduced social interaction time, and depression-like behaviors in the forced swim test. Reinstitution of mPFC Zif268, using a novel adeno-associated-viral (AAV) construct, abrogated GNX-induced working memory and long-term memory impairments, and reductions in social interaction time, but not GNX-induced depression-like behaviors. These findings suggest that mPFC Zif268 exerts beneficial effects on memory and social interaction, and could be a potential target for novel treatments for behavioral impairments observed in hypogonadal and aged men with declining levels of gonadal hormones. Copyright © 2016 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Impaired theta-gamma coupling during working memory performance in schizophrenia.

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Barr, Mera S; Rajji, Tarek K; Zomorrodi, Reza; Radhu, Natasha; George, Tony P; Blumberger, Daniel M; Daskalakis, Zafiris J

2017-11-01

Working memory deficits represent a core feature of schizophrenia. These deficits have been associated with dysfunctional dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) cortical oscillations. Theta-gamma coupling describes the modulation of gamma oscillations by theta phasic activity that has been directly associated with the ordering of information during working memory performance. Evaluating theta-gamma coupling may provide greater insight into the neural mechanisms mediating working memory deficits in this disorder. Thirty-eight patients diagnosed with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder and 38 healthy controls performed the verbal N-Back task administered at 4 levels, while EEG was recorded. Theta (4-7Hz)-gamma (30-50Hz) coupling was calculated for target and non-target correct trials for each working memory load. The relationship between theta-gamma coupling and accuracy was determined. Theta-gamma coupling was significantly and selectively impaired during correct responses to target letters among schizophrenia patients compared to healthy controls. A significant and positive relationship was found between theta-gamma coupling and 3-Back accuracy in controls, while this relationship was not observed in patients. These findings suggest that impaired theta-gamma coupling contribute to working memory dysfunction in schizophrenia. Future work is needed to evaluate the predictive utility of theta-gamma coupling as a neurophysiological marker for functional outcomes in this disorder. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Understanding the Transfer Deficit: Contextual Mismatch, Proactive Interference, and Working Memory Affect Toddlers' Video-Based Transfer.

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Choi, Koeun; Kirkorian, Heather L; Pempek, Tiffany A

2017-04-17

Researchers tested the impact of contextual mismatch, proactive interference, and working memory (WM) on toddlers' transfer across contexts. Forty-two toddlers (27-34 months) completed four object-retrieval trials, requiring memory updating on Trials 2-4. Participants watched hiding events on a tablet computer. Search performance was tested using another tablet (match) or a felt board (mismatch). WM was assessed. On earlier search trials, WM predicted transfer in both conditions, and toddlers in the match condition outperformed those in the mismatch condition; however, the benefit of contextual match and WM decreased over trials. Contextual match apparently increased proactive interference on later trials. Findings are interpreted within existing accounts of the transfer deficit, and a combined account is proposed. © 2017 The Authors. Child Development © 2017 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

What Is Not Working in Working Memory of Children with Literacy Disorders? Evidence from a Three-Year-Longitudinal Study

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Fischbach, Anne; Könen, Tanja; Rietz, Chantal S.; Hasselhorn, Marcus

2014-01-01

The goals of this study were to explore the deficits in working memory associated with literacy disorders (i.e. developmental disorders of reading and/or spelling) and the developmental trajectories of these working memory deficits. The performance of 28 children with literacy disorders was compared to a non-disabled control group with the same…

Memory Functioning in Children with Reading Disabilities and/or Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A Clinical Investigation of Their Working Memory and Long-term Memory Functioning

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Kibby, Michelle Y.; Cohen, Morris J.

2008-01-01

We examined memory functioning in children with reading disabilities (RD), ADHD, and RD/ADHD using a clinic sample with a clinical instrument: the Children’s Memory Scale, enhancing its generalizability. Participants included 23 children with RD, 30 with ADHD, 30 with RD/ADHD, and 30 controls. Children with RD presented with reduced verbal short-term memory (STM) but intact visual STM, central executive (CE) and long-term memory (LTM) functioning. Their deficit in STM appeared specific to tas...

Working memory influences processing speed and reading fluency in ADHD.

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Jacobson, Lisa A; Ryan, Matthew; Martin, Rebecca B; Ewen, Joshua; Mostofsky, Stewart H; Denckla, Martha B; Mahone, E Mark

2011-01-01

Processing-speed deficits affect reading efficiency, even among individuals who recognize and decode words accurately. Children with ADHD who decode words accurately can still have inefficient reading fluency, leading to a bottleneck in other cognitive processes. This "slowing" in ADHD is associated with deficits in fundamental components of executive function underlying processing speed, including response selection. The purpose of the present study was to deconstruct processing speed in order to determine which components of executive control best explain the "processing" speed deficits related to reading fluency in ADHD. Participants (41 ADHD, 21 controls), ages 9-14 years, screened for language disorders, word reading deficits, and psychiatric disorders, were administered measures of copying speed, processing speed, reading fluency, working memory, reaction time, inhibition, and auditory attention span. Compared to controls, children with ADHD showed reduced oral and silent reading fluency and reduced processing speed-driven primarily by deficits on WISC-IV Coding. In contrast, groups did not differ on copying speed. After controlling for copying speed, sex, severity of ADHD-related symptomatology, and GAI, slowed "processing" speed (i.e., Coding) was significantly associated with verbal span and measures of working memory but not with measures of response control/inhibition, lexical retrieval speed, reaction time, or intrasubject variability. Further, "processing" speed (i.e., Coding, residualized for copying speed) and working memory were significant predictors of oral reading fluency. Abnormalities in working memory and response selection (which are frontally mediated and enter into the output side of processing speed) may play an important role in deficits in reading fluency in ADHD, potentially more than posteriorally mediated problems with orienting of attention or perceiving the stimulus.

Everyday and prospective memory deficits in ecstasy/polydrug users.

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Hadjiefthyvoulou, Florentia; Fisk, John E; Montgomery, Catharine; Bridges, Nikola

2011-04-01

The impact of ecstasy/polydrug use on real-world memory (i.e. everyday memory, cognitive failures and prospective memory [PM]) was investigated in a sample of 42 ecstasy/polydrug users and 31 non-ecstasy users. Laboratory-based PM tasks were administered along with self-reported measures of PM to test whether any ecstasy/polydrug-related impairment on the different aspects of PM was present. Self-reported measures of everyday memory and cognitive failures were also administered. Ecstasy/polydrug associated deficits were observed on both laboratory and self-reported measures of PM and everyday memory. The present study extends previous research by demonstrating that deficits in PM are real and cannot be simply attributed to self-misperceptions. The deficits observed reflect some general capacity underpinning both time- and event-based PM contexts and are not task specific. Among this group of ecstasy/polydrug users recreational use of cocaine was also prominently associated with PM deficits. Further research might explore the differential effects of individual illicit drugs on real-world memory.

Prevalence and diagnostic validity of motivational impairments and deficits in visuospatial short-term memory and working memory in ADHD subtypes.

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Dovis, Sebastiaan; Van der Oord, Saskia; Huizenga, Hilde M; Wiers, Reinout W; Prins, Pier J M

2015-05-01

Deficits in working memory (WM) and reinforcement sensitivity are thought to give rise to symptoms in the combined (ADHD-C) and inattentive subtype (ADHD-I) of ADHD. Children with ADHD are especially impaired on visuospatial WM, which is composed of short-term memory (STM) and a central executive. Although deficits in visuospatial WM and reinforcement sensitivity appear characteristic of children with ADHD on a group-level, the prevalence and diagnostic validity of these impairments is still largely unknown. Moreover, studies investigating this did not control for the interaction between motivational impairments and cognitive performance in children with ADHD, and did not differentiate between ADHD subtypes. Visuospatial WM and STM tasks were administered in a standard (feedback-only) and a high-reinforcement (feedback + 10 euros) condition, to 86 children with ADHD-C, 27 children with ADHD-I (restrictive subtype), and 62 typically developing controls (aged 8-12). Reinforcement sensitivity was indexed as the difference in performance between the reinforcement conditions. WM and STM impairments were most prevalent in ADHD-C. In ADHD-I, only WM impairments, not STM impairments, were more prevalent than in controls. Motivational impairments were not common (22% impaired) and equally prevalent in both subtypes. Memory and motivation were found to represent independent neuropsychological domains. Impairment on WM, STM, and/or motivation was associated with more inattention symptoms, medication-use, and lower IQ scores. Similar results were found for analyses of diagnostic validity. The majority of children with ADHD-C is impaired on visuospatial WM. In ADHD-I, STM impairments are not more common than in controls. Within both ADHD subtypes only a minority has an abnormal sensitivity to reinforcement.

The relationship between working memory and episodic memory disorders in transient global amnesia.

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Quinette, Peggy; Guillery-Girard, Bérengère; Noël, Audrey; de la Sayette, Vincent; Viader, Fausto; Desgranges, Béatrice; Eustache, Francis

2006-01-01

In a previous study, we investigated the relationship between the disorders of both episodic memory and working memory in the acute phase of transient global amnesia (TGA). Since executive functions were spared, another dysfunction may be responsible for the binding and maintenance of multimodal informations and contribute to the encoding disorders observed in some patients [Quinette, P., Guillery, B., Desgranges, B., de la Sayette, V., Viader, F., & Eustache, F. (2003). Working memory and executive functions in transient global amnesia. Brain, 126, 1917-1934.]. The aim of this present study was to assess the functions of binding and maintenance of multimodal information during TGA and explore their involvement in episodic memory disorders. We therefore conducted a more thorough investigation of working memory in 16 new patients during the acute phase of TGA using two tasks designed to assess the binding process and both dimensions of the maintenance, namely the active storage and the memory load ability. We also investigated the nature of the episodic memory impairment in distinguishing between the performance of patients with preferential encoding deficits and those of patients with preferential storage disorders on the episodic memory task. This distinction was closely related to the severity of amnesia, i.e. an encoding disorder was observed rather in the early phase of TGA. The results showed that while the functions of binding and maintenance of multimodal information were intact in patients with storage disorders, they were impaired in the case of encoding deficits. These results are interpreted in the recent framework of episodic buffer proposed by Baddeley [Baddeley, A. D. (2000). The episodic buffer: A new component of working memory? Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 4, 417-423] that represents an interface between working memory and episodic memory.

A Test of the Integrity of the Components of Baddeley's Model of Working Memory in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

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Karatekin, Canan

2004-01-01

Background: The integrity of working memory in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) was tested within the framework of Baddeley's model. Methods-1: Buffers and rehearsal mechanisms were assessed by presenting children with or without ADHD (ages 8 to 15) with 1-7 target letters and a probe after 2-10 s. They decided if the probe was the…

Working memory and new learning following pediatric traumatic brain injury.

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Mandalis, Anna; Kinsella, Glynda; Ong, Ben; Anderson, Vicki

2007-01-01

Working memory (WM), the ability to monitor, process and maintain task relevant information on-line to respond to immediate environmental demands, is controlled by frontal systems (D'Esposito et al., 2006), which are particularly vulnerable to damage from a traumatic brain injury (TBI). This study employed the adult-based Working Memory model of Baddeley and Hitch (1974) to examine the relationship between working memory function and new verbal learning in children with TBI. A cross-sectional sample of 36 school-aged children with a moderate to severe TBI was compared to age-matched healthy Controls on a series of tasks assessing working memory subsystems: the Phonological Loop (PL) and Central Executive (CE). The TBI group performed significantly more poorly than Controls on the PL measure and the majority of CE tasks. On new learning tasks, the TBI group consistently produced fewer words than Controls across the learning and delayed recall phases. Results revealed impaired PL function related to poor encoding and acquisition on a new verbal learning task in the TBI group. CE retrieval deficits in the TBI group contributed to general memory dysfunction in acquisition, retrieval and recognition memory. These results suggest that the nature of learning and memory deficits in children with TBI is related to working memory impairment.

Working memory assessment in schizophrenia and its correlation with executive functions ability.

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Berberian, Arthur A; Trevisan, Bruna T; Moriyama, Tais S; Montiel, José M; Oliveira, José Ari C; Seabra, Alessandra G

2009-09-01

Working memory impairment is common in schizophrenia and is possibly a cause of multiple features of the disorder. However few studies have replicated such findings of impairment patterns in Brazilian samples. The main target of this study was to assess auditory and visual working memory in patients with schizophrenia, to assess if they work as separate systems, and to correlate working memory deficits with executive functions. Twenty subjects with schizophrenia and twenty healthy subjects matched by gender, age, and schooling have participated. The abilities assessed were auditory and visual working memory, selective attention, inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, and planning. Patients showed declines in all measures evaluated, except for a measure reaction time of inhibitory control. Auditory working memory was correlated to selective attention, inhibition, flexibility and planning while Visual working memory to planning and flexibility. The present study suggests that working memory and executive functions deficits are present in patients with schizophrenia in the Brazilian sample evaluated. Alterations in executive functions may lead to incapacity of operation of processes of working memory. These findings may contribute to delineate and develop new strategies of schizophrenia treatment in the Brazilian population.

Changes in Tryptophan Catabolite (TRYCAT) Pathway Patterning Are Associated with Mild Impairments in Declarative Memory in Schizophrenia and Deficits in Semantic and Episodic Memory Coupled with Increased False-Memory Creation in Deficit Schizophrenia.

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Kanchanatawan, Buranee; Hemrungrojn, Solaphat; Thika, Supaksorn; Sirivichayakul, Sunee; Ruxrungtham, Kiat; Carvalho, André F; Geffard, Michel; Anderson, George; Maes, Michael

2018-06-01

Evidence indicates that schizophrenia and in particular negative symptoms and deficit schizophrenia are accompanied by neurocognitive impairments and changes in the patterning of the tryptophan catabolite (TRYCAT) pathway. This cross-sectional study was carried out to examine the associations between cognitive functions (as measured with Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's disease (CERAD)) and TRYCAT pathway patterning in patients with (n = 40) and without (n = 40) deficit schizophrenia and normal controls (n = 40). Cognitive measures were assessed with the Verbal Fluency Test (VFT), Boston Naming Test (BNT), Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Word List Memory (WLM), Constructional Praxis, Word List Recall (WLRecall), and Word List Recognition (WLRecognition), while TRYCAT measurements assessed the IgA/IgM responses to noxious TRYCATs, namely quinolinic acid (QA), 3-OH-kynurenine (3HK), picolinic acid (PA), and xanthurenic (XA) acid, and more protective (PRO) TRYCATs, including kynurenic acid (KA) and anthranilic acid (AA). IgA NOX/PRO, IgM KA/3HK, and IgA/IgM NOX/PRO ratios were computed. Schizophrenia was accompanied by lower VFT and WLM, while BNT (dysnomia) and MMSE are significantly lower in multiple- than first-episode schizophrenia. Deficit schizophrenia is strongly associated with worse outcomes on VFT, MMSE, WLM, WLRecall, WLRecognition, and delayed recall savings and increased false memories. Around 40-50% of the variance in negative symptoms' scores was explained by VFT, WLM, WLRecall, and MMSE. Increases in IgA NOX/PRO, IgM KA/3HK, and/or IgA/IgM NOX/PRO ratios were associated with impairments in VFT, BNT, MMSE, WLM, WLRecall, WLRecognition, and false-memory creation. In conclusion, nondeficit schizophrenia is accompanied by mild memory impairments, while disease progression is accompanied by broader cognitive impairments. Deficit schizophrenia and negative symptoms are strongly associated with deficits in working memory, delayed

Working Memory Functioning in Children with Learning Disorders and Specific Language Impairment

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Schuchardt, Kirsten; Bockmann, Ann-Katrin; Bornemann, Galina; Maehler, Claudia

2013-01-01

Purpose: On the basis of Baddeley's working memory model (1986), we examined working memory functioning in children with learning disorders with and without specific language impairment (SLI). We pursued the question whether children with learning disorders exhibit similar working memory deficits as children with additional SLI. Method: In…

The effects of incentives on visual-spatial working memory in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

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Shiels, Keri; Hawk, Larry W; Lysczek, Cynthia L; Tannock, Rosemary; Pelham, William E; Spencer, Sarah V; Gangloff, Brian P; Waschbusch, Daniel A

2008-08-01

Working memory is one of several putative core neurocognitive processes in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The present work seeks to determine whether visual-spatial working memory is sensitive to motivational incentives, a laboratory analogue of behavioral treatment. Participants were 21 children (ages 7-10) with a diagnosis of ADHD-combined type. Participants completed a computerized spatial span task designed to assess storage of visual-spatial information (forward span) and manipulation of the stored information (backward span). The spatial span task was completed twice on the same day, once with a performance-based incentive (trial-wise feedback and points redeemable for prizes) and once without incentives. Participants performed significantly better on the backward span when rewarded for correct responses, compared to the no incentive condition. However, incentives had no effect on performance during the forward span. These findings may suggest the use of motivational incentives improved manipulation, but not storage, of visual-spatial information among children with ADHD. Possible explanations for the differential incentive effects are discussed, including the possibility that incentives prevented a vigilance decrement as task difficulty and time on task increased.

Short-term memory binding deficits in Alzheimer's disease

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Parra, Mario; Abrahams, S.; Fabi, K.; Logie, R.; Luzzi, S.; Della Sala, Sergio

2009-01-01

Alzheimer's disease impairs long term memories for related events (e.g. faces with names) more than for single events (e.g. list of faces or names). Whether or not this associative or ‘binding’ deficit is also found in short-term memory has not yet been explored. In two experiments we investigated binding deficits in verbal short-term memory in Alzheimer's disease. Experiment 1 : 23 patients with Alzheimer's disease and 23 age and education matched healthy elderly were recruited. Participants...

Age-Related Decline of Precision and Binding in Visual Working Memory

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2013-01-01

Working memory declines with normal aging, but the nature of this impairment is debated. Studies based on detecting changes to arrays of visual objects have identified two possible components to age-related decline: a reduction in the number of items that can be stored, or a deficit in maintaining the associations (bindings) between individual object features. However, some investigations have reported intact binding with aging, and specific deficits arising only in Alzheimer’s disease. Here, using a recently developed continuous measure of recall fidelity, we tested the precision with which adults of different ages could reproduce from memory the orientation and color of a probed array item. The results reveal a further component of cognitive decline: an age-related decrease in the resolution with which visual information can be maintained in working memory. This increase in recall variability with age was strongest under conditions of greater memory load. Moreover, analysis of the distribution of errors revealed that older participants were more likely to incorrectly report one of the unprobed items in memory, consistent with an age-related increase in misbinding. These results indicate a systematic decline with age in working memory resources that can be recruited to store visual information. The paradigm presented here provides a sensitive index of both memory resolution and feature binding, with the potential for assessing their modulation by interventions. The findings have implications for understanding the mechanisms underpinning working memory deficits in both health and disease. PMID:23978008

Anatomical Modularity of Verbal Working Memory? Functional Anatomical Evidence from a Famous Patient with Short-Term Memory Deficits

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Eraldo Paulesu

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Cognitive skills are the emergent property of distributed neural networks. The distributed nature of these networks does not necessarily imply a lack of specialization of the individual brain structures involved. However, it remains questionable whether discrete aspects of high-level behavior might be the result of localized brain activity of individual nodes within such networks. The phonological loop of working memory, with its simplicity, seems ideally suited for testing this possibility. Central to the development of the phonological loop model has been the description of patients with focal lesions and specific deficits. As much as the detailed description of their behavior has served to refine the phonological loop model, a classical anatomoclinical correlation approach with such cases falls short in telling whether the observed behavior is based on the functions of a neural system resembling that seen in normal subjects challenged with phonological loop tasks or whether different systems have taken over. This is a crucial issue for the cross correlation of normal cognition, normal physiology, and cognitive neuropsychology. Here we describe the functional anatomical patterns of JB, a historical patient originally described by Warrington et al. (1971, a patient with a left temporo-parietal lesion and selective short phonological store deficit. JB was studied with the H215O PET activation technique during a rhyming task, which primarily depends on the rehearsal system of the phonological loop. No residual function was observed in the left temporo-parietal junction, a region previously associated with the phonological buffer of working memory. However, Broca's area, the major counterpart of the rehearsal system, was the major site of activation during the rhyming task. Specific and autonomous activation of Broca's area in the absence of afferent inputs from the other major anatomical component of the phonological loop shows that a certain

Individual differences in children's memory and reading comprehension: an investigation of semantic and inhibitory deficits.

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Cain, Kate

2006-07-01

Three experiments compared the verbal memory skills of children with poor reading comprehension with that of same-age good comprehenders. The aims were to determine if semantic and/or inhibitory deficits explained comprehenders' problems on measures of verbal short-term memory and verbal working memory. In Experiment 1 there were no group differences on word- and number-based measures of short-term storage and no evidence that semantic knowledge mediated word recall. In Experiment 2 poor comprehenders were impaired on word- and number-based assessments of working memory, the greatest deficit found on the word-based task. Error analysis of both word-based tasks revealed that poor comprehenders were more likely to recall items that should have been inhibited than were good comprehenders. Experiment 3 extended this finding: Poor comprehenders were less able to inhibit information that was no longer relevant. Together, these findings suggest that individual differences in inhibitory processing influence the ability to regulate the contents of working memory, which may contribute to the differential memory performance of good and poor comprehenders.

Histamine ameliorates spatial memory deficits induced by MK-801 infusion into ventral hippocampus as evaluated by radial maze task in rats

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Li-sha XU; Li-xia YANG; Wei-wei HU; Xiao YU; Li MA; Lu-ying LIU; Er-qing WEI; Zhong CHEN

2005-01-01

Aim: To investigate the role of histamine in memory deficits induced by MK-801 infusion into the ventral hippocampus in rats. Methods: An 8-arm radial maze (4arms baited) was used to assess spatial memory. Results: Bilateral ventral intrahippocampal (ih) infusion of MK-801 (0.3 μg/site), an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) antagonist, impaired the retrieval process in both working memory and reference memory. Intrahippocampal injection of histamine (25 or 50 ng/site) or intraperitoneal (ip) injection of histidine (25, 50 or 100 mg/kg) markedly ameliorated the spatial memory deficits induced by MK-801. Both the histamine H1 antagonist pyrilamine (0.5 or 1.0 μg/site, ih) and the H2 antagonist cimetidine (2.5 μg/site,ih) abolished the ameliorating effect of histidine (100 mg/kg, ip) on reference memory deficits, but not that on working memory deficits induced by MK-801. Conclusion:The results indicate that histamine in the ventral hippocampus can ameliorate MK-801-induced spatial memory deficits, and that histamine's effect on reference memory is mediated by postsynaptic histamine H1 and H2 receptors.

Working Memory Weaknesses in Students with ADHD: Implications for Instruction

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Martinussen, Rhonda; Major, Ashley

2011-01-01

Students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at risk for academic underachievement. Children and youth with ADHD have been found to exhibit impairments on neuropsychological measures of executive functions, including working memory. Working memory is important to attentional control and learning. This article defines working…

Ketamine alters lateral prefrontal oscillations in a rule-based working memory task.

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Ma, Liya; Skoblenick, Kevin; Johnston, Kevin; Everling, Stefan

2018-02-02

Acute administration of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonists in healthy humans and animals produces working memory deficits similar to those observed in schizophrenia. However, it is unclear whether they also lead to altered low-frequency (rule-based prosaccade and antisaccade working memory task, both before and after systemic injections of a subanesthetic dose (delay periods and inter-trial intervals. It also increased task-related alpha-band activities, likely reflecting compromised attention. Beta-band oscillations may be especially relevant to working memory processes, as stronger beta power weakly but significantly predicted shorter saccadic reaction time. Also in beta band, ketamine reduced the performance-related oscillation as well as the rule information encoded in the spectral power. Ketamine also reduced rule information in the spike-field phase consistency in almost all frequencies up to 60Hz. Our findings support NMDAR antagonists in non-human primates as a meaningful model for altered neural oscillations and synchrony, which reflect a disorganized network underlying the working memory deficits in schizophrenia. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Low doses of ketamine-an NMDA receptor blocker-produce working memory deficits similar to those observed in schizophrenia. In the LPFC, a key brain region for working memory, we found that ketamine altered neural oscillatory activities in similar ways that differentiate schizophrenic patients and healthy subjects, during both task and non-task periods. Ketamine induced stronger gamma (30-60Hz) and weaker beta (13-30Hz) oscillations, reflecting local hyperactivity and reduced long-range communications. Furthermore, ketamine reduced performance-related oscillatory activities, as well as the rule information encoded in the oscillations and in the synchrony between single cell activities and oscillations. The ketamine model helps link the molecular and cellular basis of neural oscillatory changes to the working

Addressing Working Memory in Children with Autism through Behavioral Intervention

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Baltruschat, Lisa; Hasselhorn, Marcus; Tarbox, Jonathan; Dixon, Dennis R.; Najdowski, Adel C.; Mullins, Ryan D.; Gould, Evelyn R.

2011-01-01

Children with autism often struggle with executive function (EF) deficits, particularly with regard to working memory (WM). Despite the documented deficits in these areas, very little controlled research has evaluated treatments for remediation of EF or WM deficits in children with autism. This study examined the use of positive reinforcement for…

Differences in Memory Functioning between Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and/or Focal Epilepsy

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Lee, Sylvia E.; Kibby, Michelle Y.; Cohen, Morris J.; Stanford, Lisa; Park, Yong; Strickland, Suzanne

2016-01-01

Prior research has shown that attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and epilepsy are frequently comorbid and that both disorders are associated with various attention and memory problems. Nonetheless, limited research has been conducted comparing the two disorders in one sample to determine unique versus shared deficits. Hence, we investigated differences in working memory and short-term and delayed recall between children with ADHD, focal epilepsy of mixed foci, comorbid ADHD/epilepsy and controls. Participants were compared on the Core subtests and the Picture Locations subtest of the Children’s Memory Scale (CMS). Results indicated that children with ADHD displayed intact verbal working memory and long-term memory (LTM), as well as intact performance on most aspects of short-term memory (STM). They performed worse than controls on Numbers Forward and Picture Locations, suggesting problems with focused attention and simple span for visual-spatial material. Conversely, children with epilepsy displayed poor focused attention and STM regardless of modality assessed, which affected encoding into LTM. The only loss over time was found for passages (Stories). Working memory was intact. Children with comorbid ADHD/epilepsy displayed focused attention and STM/LTM problems consistent with both disorders, having the lowest scores across the four groups. Hence, focused attention and visual-spatial span appear to be affected in both disorders, whereas additional STM/encoding problems are specific to epilepsy. Children with comorbid ADHD/epilepsy have deficits consistent with both disorders, with slight additive effects. This study suggests that attention and memory testing should be a regular part of the evaluation of children with epilepsy and ADHD. PMID:26156331

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and phonological working memory: Methodological variability affects clinical and experimental performance metrics.

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Tarle, Stephanie J; Alderson, R Matt; Patros, Connor H G; Lea, Sarah E; Hudec, Kristen L; Arrington, Elaine F

2017-05-01

Despite promising findings in extant research that suggest impaired working memory (WM) serves as a central neurocognitive deficit or candidate endophenotype of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), findings from translational research have been relatively underwhelming. This study aimed to explicate previous equivocal findings by systematically examining the effect of methodological variability on WM performance estimates across experimental and clinical WM measures. Age-matched boys (ages 8-12 years) with (n = 20) and without (n = 20) ADHD completed 1 experimental (phonological) and 2 clinical (digit span, letter-number sequencing) WM measures. The use of partial scoring procedures, administration of greater trial numbers, and high central executive demands yielded moderate-to-large between-groups effect sizes. Moreover, the combination of these best-case procedures, compared to worst-case procedures (i.e., absolute scoring, administration of few trials, use of discontinue rules, and low central executive demands), resulted in a 12.5% increase in correct group classification. Collectively, these findings explain inconsistent ADHD-related WM deficits in previous reports, and highlight the need for revised clinical measures that utilize best-case procedures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Heterogeneity in development of aspects of working memory predicts longitudinal attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptom change.

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Karalunas, Sarah L; Gustafsson, Hanna C; Dieckmann, Nathan F; Tipsord, Jessica; Mitchell, Suzanne H; Nigg, Joel T

2017-08-01

The role of cognitive mechanisms in the clinical course of neurodevelopmental disorders is poorly understood. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is emblematic in that numerous alterations in cognitive development are apparent, yet how they relate to changes in symptom expression with age is unclear. To resolve the role of cognitive mechanisms in ADHD, a developmental perspective that takes into account expected within-group heterogeneity is needed. The current study uses an accelerated longitudinal design and latent trajectory growth mixture models in a sample of children ages 7-13 years carefully characterized as with (n = 437) and without (n = 297) ADHD to (a) identify heterogeneous developmental trajectories for response inhibition, visual spatial working memory maintenance, and delayed reward discounting and (b) to assess the relationships between these cognitive trajectories and ADHD symptom change. Best-fitting models indicated multiple trajectory classes in both the ADHD and typically developing samples, as well as distinct relationships between each cognitive process and ADHD symptom change. Developmental change in response inhibition and delayed reward discounting were unrelated to ADHD symptom change, while individual differences in the rate of visual spatial working memory maintenance improvement predicted symptom remission in ADHD. Characterizing heterogeneity in cognitive development will be crucial for clarifying mechanisms of symptom persistence and recovery. Results here suggest working memory maintenance may be uniquely related to ADHD symptom improvement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Theta-Gamma Coupling and Working Memory in Alzheimer’s Dementia and Mild Cognitive Impairment

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Michelle S. Goodman

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Working memory deficits are common among individuals with Alzheimer’s dementia (AD or mild cognitive impairment (MCI. Yet, little is known about the mechanisms underlying these deficits. Theta-gamma coupling—the modulation of high-frequency gamma oscillations by low-frequency theta oscillations—is a neurophysiologic process underlying working memory. We assessed the relationship between theta-gamma coupling and working memory deficits in AD and MCI. We hypothesized that: (1 individuals with AD would display the most significant working memory impairments followed by MCI and finally healthy control (HC participants; and (2 there would be a significant association between working memory performance and theta-gamma coupling across all participants. Ninety-eight participants completed the N-back working memory task during an electroencephalography (EEG recording: 33 with AD (mean ± SD age: 76.5 ± 6.2, 34 with MCI (mean ± SD age: 74.8 ± 5.9 and 31 HCs (mean ± SD age: 73.5 ± 5.2. AD participants performed significantly worse than control and MCI participants on the 1- and 2-back conditions. Regarding theta-gamma coupling, AD participants demonstrated the lowest level of coupling followed by the MCI and finally control participants on the 2-back condition. Finally, a linear regression analysis demonstrated that theta-gamma coupling (β = 0.69, p < 0.001 was the most significant predictor of 2-back performance. Our results provide evidence for a relationship between altered theta-gamma coupling and working memory deficits in individuals with AD and MCI. They also provide insight into a potential mechanism underlying working memory impairments in these individuals.

Memory deficits associated with sublethal cyanide poisoning relative to cyanate toxicity in rodents.

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Kimani, S; Sinei, K; Bukachi, F; Tshala-Katumbay, D; Maitai, C

2014-03-01

Food (cassava) linamarin is metabolized into neurotoxicants cyanide and cyanate, metabolites of which we sought to elucidate the differential toxicity effects on memory. Young 6-8 weeks old male rats were treated intraperitoneally with either 2.5 mg/kg body weight (bw) cyanide (NaCN), or 50 mg/kg bw cyanate (NaOCN), or 1 μl/g bw saline, daily for 6 weeks. Short-term and long-term memories were assessed using a radial arm maze (RAM) testing paradigm. Toxic exposures had an influence on short-term working memory with fewer correct arm entries (F(2, 19) = 4.57 p memory errors (WME) (F(2, 19) = 5.09, p RAM navigation time (F(2, 19) = 3.91, p memory was significantly impaired by cyanide with fewer correct arm entries (F(2, 19) = 7.45, p memory errors (F(2, 19) = 9.35 p memory was not affected by either cyanide or cyanate. Our study findings provide an experimental evidence for the biological plausibility that cassava cyanogens may induce cognition deficits. Differential patterns of memory deficits may reflect the differences in toxicity mechanisms of NaOCN relative to NaCN. Cognition deficits associated with cassava cyanogenesis may reflect a dual toxicity effect of cyanide and cyanate.

Emotional Working Memory and Alzheimer’s Disease

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Nicola Mammarella

2014-01-01

Full Text Available A number of recent studies have reported that working memory does not seem to show typical age-related deficits in healthy older adults when emotional information is involved. Differently, studies about the short-term ability to encode and actively manipulate emotional information in dementia of Alzheimer’s type are few and have yielded mixed results. Here, we review behavioural and neuroimaging evidence that points to a complex interaction between emotion modulation and working memory in Alzheimer’s. In fact, depending on the function involved, patients may or may not show an emotional benefit in their working memory performance. In addition, this benefit is not always clearly biased (e.g., towards negative or positive information. We interpret this complex pattern of results as a consequence of the interaction between multiple factors including the severity of Alzheimer’s disease, the nature of affective stimuli, and type of working memory task.

Memory deficit in patients with schizophrenia and posttraumatic stress disorder: relational vs item-specific memory

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Jung W

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Wookyoung Jung,1 Seung-Hwan Lee1,2 1Clinical Emotions and Cognition Research Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Inje University, Ilsan-Paik Hospital, 2Department of Psychiatry, Inje University, Ilsan-Paik Hospital, Goyang, Korea Abstract: It has been well established that patients with schizophrenia have impairments in cognitive functioning and also that patients who experienced traumatic events suffer from cognitive deficits. Of the cognitive deficits revealed in schizophrenia or posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD patients, the current article provides a brief review of deficit in episodic memory, which is highly predictive of patients’ quality of life and global functioning. In particular, we have focused on studies that compared relational and item-specific memory performance in schizophrenia and PTSD, because measures of relational and item-specific memory are considered the most promising constructs for immediate tangible development of clinical trial paradigm. The behavioral findings of schizophrenia are based on the tasks developed by the Cognitive Neuroscience Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia (CNTRICS initiative and the Cognitive Neuroscience Test Reliability and Clinical Applications for Schizophrenia (CNTRACS Consortium. The findings we reviewed consistently showed that schizophrenia and PTSD are closely associated with more severe impairments in relational memory compared to item-specific memory. Candidate brain regions involved in relational memory impairment in schizophrenia and PTSD are also discussed. Keywords: schizophrenia, posttraumatic stress disorder, episodic memory deficit, relational memory, item-specific memory, prefrontal cortex, hippocampus

Working memory arrest in children with high-functioning autism compared to children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: Results from a 2-year longitudinal study

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Andersen, P.N.; Skogli, E.W.; Hovik, K.T.; Geurts, H.; Egeland, J.; Øie, M.

2015-01-01

The aim of this study was to analyse the development of verbal working memory in children with high-functioning autism compared to children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and typically developing children. A total of 34 children with high-functioning autism, 72 children with

The relation between working memory components and ADHD symptoms from a developmental perspective.

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Tillman, Carin; Eninger, Lilianne; Forssman, Linda; Bohlin, Gunilla

2011-01-01

The objective was to examine the relations between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and four working memory (WM) components (short-term memory and central executive in verbal and visuospatial domains) in 284 6-16-year-old children from the general population. The results showed that verbal and visuospatial short-term memory and verbal central executive uniquely contributed to inattention symptoms. Age interacted with verbal short-term memory in predicting inattention, with the relation being stronger in older children. These findings support the notion of ADHD as a developmental disorder, with changes in associated neuropsychological deficits across time. The results further indicate ADHD-related deficits in several specific WM components.

Visuospatial working memory in young adults and in children with learning difficulties

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Ricardo Basso Garcia

2013-01-01

Visuospatial working memory (VSWM) comprises specialised subsystems devoted to storage of visual features and spatial locations. Recently, research has been focused on understanding feature binding in memory and how bound objects are temporarily held in working memory. In the current thesis we have addressed two broad questions: What is the nature of bound visual representations in working memory? Is there a specific deficit in binding in individuals with learning difficulties? In Study 1, yo...

Working Memory Subsystems and Task Complexity in Young Boys with Fragile X Syndrome

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Baker, S.; Hooper, S.; Skinner, M.; Hatton, D.; Schaaf, J.; Ornstein, P.; Bailey, D.

2011-01-01

Background: Working memory problems have been targeted as core deficits in individuals with Fragile X syndrome (FXS); however, there have been few studies that have examined working memory in young boys with FXS, and even fewer studies that have studied the working memory performance of young boys with FXS across different degrees of complexity.…

Event-related potentials elicited during working memory are altered in mild cognitive impairment.

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López Zunini, Rocío A; Knoefel, Frank; Lord, Courtney; Dzuali, Fiatsogbe; Breau, Michael; Sweet, Lisa; Goubran, Rafik; Taler, Vanessa

2016-11-01

Persons with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) can experience deficits in working memory. In the present study, we investigated working memory in persons with MCI and cognitively healthy older adults using event-related potentials (ERPs). Participants performed an n-back working memory task with baseline (0-back), low load (1-back), and high load (2-back) working memory conditions. MCI participants' performance was less accurate than that of healthy older adults in both the 1-back and 2-back conditions, and reaction times were longer in MCI than control participants in the 0-back, 1-back and 2-back conditions. ERP analyses revealed delayed P200 and N200 latencies and smaller P300 amplitudes in MCI relative to control participants in the 0-back, 1-back and 2-back conditions. Deterioration in working memory performance concomitant with marked electrophysiological alterations suggests that persons with MCI exhibit deficits in several cognitive processes that include early attention, stimulus discrimination and classification, and updating and manipulation of information held in working memory. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

ADHD subtype differences in reinforcement sensitivity and visuospatial working memory

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Dovis, S.; van der Oord, S.; Wiers, R.W.; Prins, P.J.M.

2015-01-01

Both cognitive and motivational deficits are thought to give rise to the problems in the combined (ADHD-C) and inattentive subtype (ADHD-I) of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In both subtypes one of the most prominent cognitive weaknesses appears to be in visuospatial working memory

Do complaints of everyday cognitive failures in high schizotypy relate to emotional working memory deficits in the lab?

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Carrigan, Nicole; Barkus, Emma; Ong, Adriel; Wei, Maryann

2017-10-01

Individuals high on schizotypy complain of increased cognitive failures in everyday life. However, the neuropsychological performance of this group does not consistently indicate underlying ability deficits. It is possible that current neuropsychological tests lack ecological validity. Given the increased affective reactivity of high schizotypes, they may be more sensitive to emotional content interfering with cognitive ability. This study sought to explore whether an affective n-back working memory task would elicit impaired performance in schizotypy, echoing complaints concerning real world cognition. 127 healthy participants completed self-report measures of schizotypy and cognitive failures and an affective n-back working memory task. This task was varied across three levels of load (1- to 3-back) and four types of stimulus emotion (neutral, fearful, happy, sad). Differences between high (n=39) and low (n=48) schizotypy groups on performance outcomes of hits and false alarms were examined, with emotion and load as within-groups variables. As expected, high schizotypes reported heightened vulnerability to cognitive failures. They also demonstrated a relative working memory impairment for emotional versus neutral stimuli, whereas low schizotypes did not. High schizotypes performed most poorly in response to fearful stimuli. For false alarms, there was an interaction between schizotypy, load, and emotion, such that high schizotypy was associated with deficits in response to fearful stimuli only at higher levels of task difficulty. Inclusion of self-reported cognitive failures did not account for this. These findings suggest that the "gap" between subjective and objective cognition in schizotypy may reflect the heightened emotional demands associated with cognitive functioning in the real world, although other factors also seem to play a role. There is a need to improve the ecological validity of objective assessments, whilst also recognizing that self

Sleep Restores Daytime Deficits in Procedural Memory in Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

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Prehn-Kristensen, Alexander; Molzow, Ina; Munz, Manuel; Wilhelm, Ines; Muller, Kathrin; Freytag, Damaris; Wiesner, Christian D.; Baving, Lioba

2011-01-01

Sleep supports the consolidation of declarative and procedural memory. While prefrontal cortex (PFC) activity supports the consolidation of declarative memory during sleep, opposite effects of PFC activity are reported with respect to the consolidation of procedural memory during sleep. Patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)…

Basic numerical processing, calculation, and working memory in children with dyscalculia and/or ADHD symptoms.

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Kuhn, Jörg-Tobias; Ise, Elena; Raddatz, Julia; Schwenk, Christin; Dobel, Christian

2016-09-01

Deficits in basic numerical skills, calculation, and working memory have been found in children with developmental dyscalculia (DD) as well as children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This paper investigates cognitive profiles of children with DD and/or ADHD symptoms (AS) in a double dissociation design to obtain a better understanding of the comorbidity of DD and ADHD. Children with DD-only (N = 33), AS-only (N = 16), comorbid DD+AS (N = 20), and typically developing controls (TD, N = 40) were assessed on measures of basic numerical processing, calculation, working memory, processing speed, and neurocognitive measures of attention. Children with DD (DD, DD+AS) showed deficits in all basic numerical skills, calculation, working memory, and sustained attention. Children with AS (AS, DD+AS) displayed more selective difficulties in dot enumeration, subtraction, verbal working memory, and processing speed. Also, they generally performed more poorly in neurocognitive measures of attention, especially alertness. Children with DD+AS mostly showed an additive combination of the deficits associated with DD-only and A_Sonly, except for subtraction tasks, in which they were less impaired than expected. DD and AS appear to be related to largely distinct patterns of cognitive deficits, which are present in combination in children with DD+AS.

The Impact of Visual Memory Deficits on Academic Achievement in Children and Adolescents

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Larsen, Jessica Maria

2011-01-01

Memory assessment can often alert practitioners and educators to learning problems children may be experiencing. Results of a memory assessment may indicate that a child has a specific memory deficit in verbal memory, visual memory, or both. Deficits in visual or verbal modes of memory could potentially have adverse effects on academic…

Working Memory: Maintenance, Updating, and the Realization of Intentions

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Nyberg, Lars; Eriksson, Johan

2016-01-01

“Working memory” refers to a vast set of mnemonic processes and associated brain networks, relates to basic intellectual abilities, and underlies many real-world functions. Working-memory maintenance involves frontoparietal regions and distributed representational areas, and can be based on persistent activity in reentrant loops, synchronous oscillations, or changes in synaptic strength. Manipulation of content of working memory depends on the dorsofrontal cortex, and updating is realized by a frontostriatal ‘“gating” function. Goals and intentions are represented as cognitive and motivational contexts in the rostrofrontal cortex. Different working-memory networks are linked via associative reinforcement-learning mechanisms into a self-organizing system. Normal capacity variation, as well as working-memory deficits, can largely be accounted for by the effectiveness and integrity of the basal ganglia and dopaminergic neurotransmission. PMID:26637287

Verbal working memory deficits predict levels of auditory hallucination in first-episode psychosis.

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Gisselgård, Jens; Anda, Liss Gøril; Brønnick, Kolbjørn; Langeveld, Johannes; Ten Velden Hegelstad, Wenche; Joa, Inge; Johannessen, Jan Olav; Larsen, Tor Ketil

2014-03-01

Auditory verbal hallucinations are a characteristic symptom in schizophrenia. Recent causal models of auditory verbal hallucinations propose that cognitive mechanisms involving verbal working memory are involved in the genesis of auditory verbal hallucinations. Thus, in the present study, we investigate the hypothesis that verbal working memory is a specific factor behind auditory verbal hallucinations. In the present study, we investigated the association between verbal working memory manipulation (Backward Digit Span and Letter-Number Sequencing) and auditory verbal hallucinations in a population study (N=52) of first episode psychosis. The degree of auditory verbal hallucination as reported in the P3-subscale of the PANSS interview was included as dependent variable using sequential multiple regression, while controlling for age, psychosis symptom severity, executive cognitive functions and simple auditory working memory span. Multiple sequential regression analyses revealed verbal working memory manipulation to be the only significant predictor of verbal hallucination severity. Consistent with cognitive data from auditory verbal hallucinations in healthy individuals, the present results suggest a specific association between auditory verbal hallucinations, and cognitive processes involving the manipulation of phonological representations during a verbal working memory task. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Competing Core Processes in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): Do Working Memory Deficiencies Underlie Behavioral Inhibition Deficits?

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Alderson, R. Matt; Rapport, Mark D.; Hudec, Kristen L.; Sarver, Dustin E.; Kofler, Michael J.

2010-01-01

The current study examined competing predictions of the working memory and behavioral inhibition models of ADHD. Behavioral inhibition was measured using a conventional stop-signal task, and central executive, phonological, and visuospatial working memory components (Baddeley 2007) were assessed in 14 children with ADHD and 13 typically developing…

A Comprehensive Investigation of Memory Impairment in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Oppositional Defiant Disorder

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Rhodes, Sinead M.; Park, Joanne; Seth, Sarah; Coghill, David R.

2012-01-01

Background: We conducted a comprehensive and systematic assessment of memory functioning in drug-naive boys with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). Methods: Boys performed verbal and spatial working memory (WM) component (storage and central executive) and verbal and spatial storage load tasks,…

Working Memory in Children With Neurocognitive Effects From Sickle Cell Disease: Contributions of the Central Executive and Processing Speed

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Smith, Kelsey E.; Schatz, Jeffrey

2017-01-01

Children with sickle cell disease (SCD) are at risk for working memory deficits due to multiple disease processes. We assessed working memory abilities and related functions in 32 school-age children with SCD and 85 matched comparison children using Baddeley’s working memory model as a framework. Children with SCD performed worse than controls for working memory, central executive function, and processing/rehearsal speed. Central executive function was found to mediate the relationship between SCD status and working memory, but processing speed did not. Cognitive remediation strategies that focus on central executive processes may be important for remediating working memory deficits in SCD. PMID:27759435

Attentional control activation relates to working memory in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

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Burgess, Gregory C; Depue, Brendan E; Ruzic, Luka; Willcutt, Erik G; Du, Yiping P; Banich, Marie T

2010-04-01

Attentional control difficulties in individuals with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) might reflect poor working memory (WM) ability, especially because WM ability and attentional control rely on similar brain regions. The current study examined whether WM ability might explain group differences in brain activation between adults with ADHD and normal control subjects during attentional demand. Participants were 20 adults with ADHD combined subtype with no comorbid psychiatric or learning disorders and 23 control subjects similar in age, IQ, and gender. The WM measures were obtained from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III and Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised. Brain activation was assessed with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while performing a Color-Word Stroop task. Group differences in WM ability explained a portion of the activation in left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), which has been related to the creation and maintenance of an attentional set for task-relevant information. In addition, greater WM ability predicted increased activation of brain regions related to stimulus-driven attention and response selection processes in the ADHD group but not in the control group. The inability to maintain an appropriate task set in young adults with combined type ADHD, associated with decreased activity in left DLPFC, might in part be due to poor WM ability. Furthermore, in individuals with ADHD, higher WM ability might relate to increased recruitment of stimulus-driven attention and response selection processes, perhaps as a compensatory strategy. Copyright 2010 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Breaking cycles of risk: The mitigating role of maternal working memory in associations among socioeconomic status, early caregiving, and children's working memory.

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Suor, Jennifer H; Sturge-Apple, Melissa L; Skibo, Michael A

2017-10-01

Previous research has documented socioeconomic-related disparities in children's working memory; however, the putative proximal caregiving mechanisms that underlie these effects are less known. The present study sought to examine whether the effects of early family socioeconomic status on children's working memory were mediated through experiences of caregiving, specifically maternal harsh discipline and responsiveness. Utilizing a psychobiological framework of parenting, the present study also tested whether maternal working memory moderated the initial paths between the family socioeconomic context and maternal harsh discipline and responsiveness in the mediation model. The sample included 185 socioeconomically diverse mother-child dyads assessed when children were 3.5 and 5 years old. Results demonstrated that maternal harsh discipline was a unique mediator of the relation between early experiences of family socioeconomic adversity and lower working memory outcomes in children. Individual differences in maternal working memory emerged as a potent individual difference factor that specifically moderated the mediating influence of harsh discipline within low socioeconomic contexts. The findings have implications for early risk processes underlying deficits in child working memory outcomes and potential targets for parent-child interventions.

Spatial working memory in aging and mild cognitive impairment: effects of task load and contextual cueing.

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Kessels, Roy P C; Meulenbroek, Olga; Fernández, Guillén; Olde Rikkert, Marcel G M

2010-09-01

Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) is characterized by episodic memory deficits, while aspects of working memory may also be implicated, but studies into this latter domain are scarce and results are inconclusive. Using a computerized search paradigm, this study compares 25 young adults, 25 typically aging older adults and 15 amnestic MCI patients as to their working-memory capacities for object-location information and potential differential effects of memory load and additional context cues. An age-related deficit in visuospatial working-memory maintenance was found that became more pronounced with increasing task demands. The MCI group additionally showed reduced maintenance of bound information, i.e., object-location associations, again especially at elevated memory load. No effects of contextual cueing were found. The current findings indicate that working memory should be considered when screening patients for suspected MCI and monitoring its progression.

Working Memory and Behavioural Problems in Relation to Malay Writing of Primary School Children

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Ling, Teo-Sieak; Jiar, Yeo-Kee

2017-01-01

Deficit in working memory is common among young children across multiple abilities. Teachers have pointed to poor memory as one contributing factor to inattentiveness and short attention spans as well as some behavioural problems among students. This study aimed to explore the relationship among working memory, externalizing and internalizing…

The neuroscience of positive memory deficits in depression

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Dillon, Daniel G.

2015-01-01

Adults with unipolar depression typically show poor episodic memory for positive material, but the neuroscientific mechanisms responsible for this deficit have not been characterized. I suggest a simple hypothesis: weak memory for positive material in depression reflects disrupted communication between the mesolimbic dopamine pathway and medial temporal lobe (MTL) memory systems during encoding. This proposal draws on basic research showing that dopamine release in the hippocampus is critical for the transition from early- to late-phase long-term potentiation (LTP) that marks the conversion of labile, short-term memories into stable, long-term memories. Neuroimaging and pharmacological data from healthy humans paint a similar picture: activation of the mesolimbic reward circuit enhances encoding and boosts retention. Unipolar depression is characterized by anhedonia–loss of pleasure–and reward circuit dysfunction, which is believed to reflect negative effects of stress on the mesolimbic dopamine pathway. Thus, I propose that the MTL is deprived of strengthening reward signals in depressed adults and memory for positive events suffers accordingly. Although other mechanisms are important, this hypothesis holds promise as an explanation for positive memory deficits in depression. PMID:26441703

The neuroscience of positive memory deficits in depression

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Daniel Gerard Dillon

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Adults with unipolar depression typically show poor episodic memory for positive material, but the neuroscientific mechanisms responsible for this deficit have not been characterized. I suggest a simple hypothesis: weak memory for positive material in depression reflects disrupted communication between the mesolimbic dopamine pathway and medial temporal lobe (MTL memory systems during encoding. This proposal draws on basic research showing that dopamine release in the hippocampus is critical for the transition from early- to late-phase long-term potentiation (LTP that marks the conversion of labile, short-term memories into stable, long-term memories. Neuroimaging and pharmacological data from healthy humans paint a similar picture: activation of the mesolimbic reward circuit enhances encoding and boosts retention. Unipolar depression is characterized by anhedonia--loss of pleasure--and reward circuit dysfunction, which is believed to reflect negative effects of stress on the mesolimbic dopamine pathway. Thus, I propose that the MTL is deprived of strengthening reward signals in depressed adults and memory for positive events suffers accordingly. Although other mechanisms are important, this hypothesis holds promise as an explanation for positive memory deficits in depression.

Use of an eight-arm radial water maze to assess working and reference memory following neonatal brain injury.

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Penley, Stephanie C; Gaudet, Cynthia M; Threlkeld, Steven W

2013-12-04

Working and reference memory are commonly assessed using the land based radial arm maze. However, this paradigm requires pretraining, food deprivation, and may introduce scent cue confounds. The eight-arm radial water maze is designed to evaluate reference and working memory performance simultaneously by requiring subjects to use extra-maze cues to locate escape platforms and remedies the limitations observed in land based radial arm maze designs. Specifically, subjects are required to avoid the arms previously used for escape during each testing day (working memory) as well as avoid the fixed arms, which never contain escape platforms (reference memory). Re-entries into arms that have already been used for escape during a testing session (and thus the escape platform has been removed) and re-entries into reference memory arms are indicative of working memory deficits. Alternatively, first entries into reference memory arms are indicative of reference memory deficits. We used this maze to compare performance of rats with neonatal brain injury and sham controls following induction of hypoxia-ischemia and show significant deficits in both working and reference memory after eleven days of testing. This protocol could be easily modified to examine many other models of learning impairment.

Working Memory Integration Processes in Benign Childhood Epilepsy with Centrotemporal Spikes.

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Kárpáti, Judit; Donauer, Nándor; Somogyi, Eszter; Kónya, Anikó

2015-12-01

Benign epilepsy of childhood with centrotemporal spikes (BECTS) is the most frequent focal epilepsy in children; however, the pattern of affected memory processes remains controversial. Previous studies in BECTS imply deficits in complex working memory tasks, but not in simple modality-specific tasks. We studied working memory processes in children with BECTS by comparing performance in memory binding tasks of different complexities. We compared 17 children with BECTS (aged 6 to 13 years) to 17 healthy children matched for age, sex, and intelligence quotient. We measured spatial and verbal memory components separately and jointly on three single-binding tasks (binding of what and where; what and when; and where and when) and a combined-binding task (integration of what, where, and when). We also evaluated basic visuospatial memory functions with subtests of the Children's Memory Scale, and intellectual abilities with verbal tasks of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition and the Raven Progressive Matrices. We found no difference between the BECTS and control groups in single-binding tasks; however, the children with BECTS performed significantly worse on the combined task, which included integration of spatial, verbal, and temporal information. We found no deficits in their intellectual abilities or basic visuospatial memory functions. Children with BECTS may have intact simple maintenance processes of working memory, but difficulty with high-level functions requiring attentional and executive resources. Our findings imply no specific memory dysfunction in BECTS, but suggest difficulties in integrating information within working memory, and possible frontal lobe disturbances.

Impaired inhibition and working memory in response to internet-related words among adolescents with internet addiction: A comparison with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

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Nie, Jia; Zhang, Wei; Chen, Jia; Li, Wendi

2016-02-28

Impairments in response inhibition and working memory functions have been found to be closely associated with internet addiction (IA) symptoms and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms. In this study, we examined response inhibition and working memory processes with two different materials (internet-related and internet-unrelated stimuli) among adolescents with IA, ADHD and co-morbid IA/ADHD. Twenty-four individuals with IA, 28 individuals with ADHD, 17 individuals with IA/ADHD, and 26 matched normal controls (NC) individuals were recruited. All participants were measured with a Stop-Signal Task and 2-Back Task under the same experimental conditions. In comparison to the NC group, subjects with IA, ADHD and IA/ADHD demonstrated impaired inhibition and working memory. In addition, in comparison to internet-unrelated conditions, IA and co-morbid subjects performed worse on the internet-related condition in the Stop trials during the stop-signal task, and they showed better working memory on the internet-related condition in the 2-Back Task. The findings of our study suggest individuals with IA and IA/ADHD may be impaired in inhibition and working memory functions that might be linked to poor inhibition specifically related to internet-related stimuli, which will advance our understanding of IA and contribute to prevention and intervention strategies. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Working Memory in Students with Mathematical Difficulties

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Nur, I. R. D.; Herman, T.; Ningsih, S.

2018-04-01

Learning process is the activities that has important role because this process is one of the all factors that establish students success in learning. oftentimes we find so many students get the difficulties when they study mathematics. This condition is not only because of the outside factor but also it comes from the inside. The purpose of this research is to analyze and give the representation how students working memory happened in physical education students for basic statistics subjects which have mathematical difficulties. The subjects are 4 students which have a mathematical difficulties. The research method is case study and when the describe about students working memory are explanated deeply with naturalistic observation. Based on this research, it was founded that 4 students have a working memory deficit in three components. The components are phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad, dan episodic buffer.

Enhanced emotional interference on working memory performance in adults with ADHD.

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Marx, Ivo; Domes, Gregor; Havenstein, Carolin; Berger, Christoph; Schulze, Lars; Herpertz, Sabine C

2011-09-01

Subjects with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) suffer from both executive dysfunction and deficits in emotion regulation. However, up to now, there has been no research demonstrating a clear impact of emotional dysregulation on cognitive performance in subjects with ADHD. Male and female adults with ADHD (n=39) and gender- and IQ-matched control subjects (n=40) performed an emotional working memory task (n-back task). In the background of the task, we presented neutral and negative stimuli varied in emotional saliency (negative pictures with low saliency, negative pictures with high saliency), but subjects were instructed to ignore these pictures and to process the working memory task as quickly and as accurately as possible. Compared to control subjects, ADHD patients showed both a general working memory deficit and enhanced distractability by emotionally salient stimuli in terms of lower n-back performance accuracy. In particular, while controls showed impaired WM performance when presented with highly arousing negative background pictures, a comparable decrement was observed in the ADHD group already with lowly arousing pictures. Our results suggest that difficulties in suppressing attention towards emotionally laden stimuli might result from deficient executive control in ADHD.

Role of working memory components in planning performance of individuals with Parkinson's disease

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Altgassen, A.M.; Phillips, L.H.; Kopp, U.; Kliegel, M.

2007-01-01

The current study investigated the involvement of all four components of Baddeley's [Baddeley, A. D. (2000). The episodic buffer: A new component of working memory? Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 4, 417–423] revised working memory model in deficits of planning accompanying Parkinson's disease (PD).

Effects of a Computerized Working Memory Training Program on Working Memory, Attention, and Academics in Adolescents with Severe LD and Comorbid ADHD: A Randomized Controlled Trial

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Gray, S. A.; Chaban, P.; Martinussen, R.; Goldberg, R.; Gotlieb, H.; Kronitz, R.; Hockenberry, M.; Tannock, R.

2012-01-01

Background: Youths with coexisting learning disabilities (LD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at risk for poor academic and social outcomes. The underlying cognitive deficits, such as poor working memory (WM), are not well targeted by current treatments for either LD or ADHD. Emerging evidence suggests that WM might be…

Working memory load affects repetitive behaviour but not cognitive flexibility in adolescent autism spectrum disorder.

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Wolff, Nicole; Chmielewski, Witold X; Beste, Christian; Roessner, Veit

2017-03-16

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with repetitive and stereotyped behaviour, suggesting that cognitive flexibility may be deficient in ASD. A central, yet not examined aspect to understand possible deficits in flexible behaviour in ASD relates (i) to the role of working memory and (ii) to neurophysiological mechanisms underlying behavioural modulations. We analysed behavioural and neurophysiological (EEG) correlates of cognitive flexibility using a task-switching paradigm with and without working memory load in adolescents with ASD and typically developing controls (TD). Adolescents with ASD versus TD show similar performance in task switching with no memory load, indicating that 'pure' cognitive flexibility is not in deficit in adolescent ASD. However performance during task repetition decreases with increasing memory load. Neurophysiological data reflect the pattern of behavioural effects, showing modulations in P2 and P3 event-related potentials. Working memory demands affect repetitive behaviour while processes of cognitive flexibility are unaffected. Effects emerge due to deficits in preparatory attentional processes and deficits in task rule activation, organisation and implementation of task sets when repetitive behaviour is concerned. It may be speculated that the habitual response mode in ASD (i.e. repetitive behaviour) is particularly vulnerable to additional demands on executive control processes.

Memory rehabilitation for the working memory of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).

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Mousavi, Shokoufeh; Zare, Hossein; Etemadifar, Masoud; Taher Neshatdoost, Hamid

2018-05-01

The main cognitive impairments in multiple sclerosis (MS) affect the working memory, processing speed, and performances that are in close interaction with one another. Cognitive problems in MS are influenced to a lesser degree by disease recovery medications or treatments,but cognitive rehabilitation is considered one of the promising methods for cure. There is evidence regarding the effectiveness of cognitive rehabilitation for MS patients in various stages of the disease. Since the impairment in working memory is one of the main MS deficits, a particular training that affects this cognitive domain can be of a great value. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of memory rehabilitation on the working memory performance of MS patients. Sixty MS patients with cognitive impairment and similar in terms of demographic characteristics, duration of disease, neurological problems, and mental health were randomly assigned to three groups: namely, experimental, placebo, and control. Patients' cognitive evaluation incorporated baseline assessments immediately post-intervention and 5 weeks post-intervention. The experimental group received a cognitive rehabilitation program in one-hour sessions on a weekly basis for 8 weeks. The placebo group received relaxation techniques on a weekly basis; the control group received no intervention. The results of this study showed that the cognitive rehabilitation program had a positive effect on the working memory performance of patients with MS in the experimental group. These results were achieved in immediate evaluation (post-test) and follow-up 5 weeks after intervention. There was no significant difference in working memory performance between the placebo group and the control group. According to the study, there is evidence for the effectiveness of a memory rehabilitation program for the working memory of patients with MS. Cognitive rehabilitation can improve working memory disorders and have a positive effect on the

Prose recall and amnesia: implications for the structure of working memory.

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Baddeley, Alan; Wilson, Barbara A

2002-01-01

Two densely amnesic patients are shown to have good immediate but poor delayed prose recall, a result that presents problems for the current multi-component model of working memory. Examination of a wide sample of memory impaired patients suggests that this pattern occurs in densely amnesic patients who have well-preserved intelligence and good executive capacities. Patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease typically show poor immediate and delayed prose recall, reflecting their combined intellectual and memory deficits. The results are interpreted in terms of a proposed new component of working memory, the episodic buffer.

Effects of medicinal plants on Alzheimer's disease and memory deficits

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Muhammad Akram

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Alzheimer's disease is an age-related neurodegenerative disorder characterized by memory deficits. Various studies have been carried out to find therapeutic approaches for Alzheimer's disease. However, the proper treatment option is still not available. There is no cure for Alzheimer's disease, but symptomatic treatment may improve the memory and other dementia related problems. Traditional medicine is practiced worldwide as memory enhancer since ancient times. Natural therapy including herbs and medicinal plants has been used in the treatment of memory deficits such as dementia, amnesia, as well as Alzheimer's disease since a long time. Medicinal plants have been used in different systems of medicine, particularly Unani system of medicines and exhibited their powerful roles in the management and cure of memory disorders. Most of herbs and plants have been chemically evaluated and their efficacy has also been proven in clinical trials. However, the underlying mechanisms of actions are still on the way. In this paper, we have reviewed the role of different medicinal plants that play an important role in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and memory deficits using conventional herbal therapy.

Divergent Trajectories in the Aging Mind: Changes in Working Memory for Affective Versus Visual Information With Age

OpenAIRE

Mikels, Joseph A.; Larkin, Gregory R.; Reuter-Lorenz, Patricia A.; Carstensen, Laura L.

2005-01-01

Working memory mediates the short-term maintenance of information. Virtually all empirical research on working memory involves investigations of working memory for verbal and visual information. Whereas aging is typically associated with a deficit in working memory for these types of information, recent findings suggestive of relatively well-preserved long-term memory for emotional information in older adults raise questions about working memory for emotional material. This study examined age...

The synthetic cannabinoid HU210 induces spatial memory deficits and suppresses hippocampal firing rate in rats.

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Robinson, L; Goonawardena, A V; Pertwee, R G; Hampson, R E; Riedel, G

2007-07-01

Previous work implied that the hippocampal cannabinoid system was particularly important in some forms of learning, but direct evidence for this hypothesis is scarce. We therefore assessed the effects of the synthetic cannabinoid HU210 on memory and hippocampal activity. HU210 (100 microg kg(-1)) was administered intraperitoneally to rats under three experimental conditions. One group of animals were pre-trained in spatial working memory using a delayed-matching-to-position task and effects of HU210 were assessed in a within-subject design. In another, rats were injected before acquisition learning of a spatial reference memory task with constant platform location. Finally, a separate group of animals was implanted with electrode bundles in CA1 and CA3 and single unit responses were isolated, before and after HU210 treatment. HU210 treatment had no effect on working or short-term memory. Relative to its control Tween 80, deficits in acquisition of a reference memory version of the water maze were obtained, along with drug-related effects on anxiety, motor activity and spatial learning. Deficits were not reversed by the CB(1) receptor antagonists SR141716A (3 mg kg(-1)) or AM281 (1.5 mg kg(-1)). Single unit recordings from principal neurons in hippocampal CA3 and CA1 confirmed HU210-induced attenuation of the overall firing activity lowering both the number of complex spikes fired and the occurrence of bursts. These data provide the first direct evidence that the underlying mechanism for the spatial memory deficits induced by HU210 in rats is the accompanying abnormality in hippocampal cell firing.

Processing speed and working memory span: their differential role in superficial and deep memory processes in schizophrenia.

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Brébion, Gildas; Bressan, Rodrigo A; Pilowsky, Lyn S; David, Anthony S

2011-05-01

Previous work has suggested that decrement in both processing speed and working memory span plays a role in the memory impairment observed in patients with schizophrenia. We undertook a study to examine simultaneously the effect of these two factors. A sample of 49 patients with schizophrenia and 43 healthy controls underwent a battery of verbal and visual memory tasks. Superficial and deep encoding memory measures were tallied. We conducted regression analyses on the various memory measures, using processing speed and working memory span as independent variables. In the patient group, processing speed was a significant predictor of superficial and deep memory measures in verbal and visual memory. Working memory span was an additional significant predictor of the deep memory measures only. Regression analyses involving all participants revealed that the effect of diagnosis on all the deep encoding memory measures was reduced to non-significance when processing speed was entered in the regression. Decreased processing speed is involved in verbal and visual memory deficit in patients, whether the task require superficial or deep encoding. Working memory is involved only insofar as the task requires a certain amount of effort.

Dopamine, Working Memory, and Training Induced Plasticity: Implications for Developmental Research

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Soderqvist, Stina; Bergman Nutley, Sissela; Peyrard-Janvid, Myriam; Matsson, Hans; Humphreys, Keith; Kere, Juha; Klingberg, Torkel

2012-01-01

Cognitive deficits and particularly deficits in working memory (WM) capacity are common features in neuropsychiatric disorders. Understanding the underlying mechanisms through which WM capacity can be improved is therefore of great importance. Several lines of research indicate that dopamine plays an important role not only in WM function but also…

The relative contributions of processing speed and cognitive load to working memory accuracy in multiple sclerosis.

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Leavitt, Victoria M; Lengenfelder, Jean; Moore, Nancy B; Chiaravalloti, Nancy D; DeLuca, John

2011-06-01

Cognitive symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS) include processing-speed deficits and working memory impairment. The precise manner in which these deficits interact in individuals with MS remains to be explicated. We hypothesized that providing more time on a complex working memory task would result in performance benefits for individuals with MS relative to healthy controls. Fifty-three individuals with clinically definite MS and 36 matched healthy controls performed a computerized task that systematically manipulated cognitive load. The interval between stimuli presentations was manipulated to provide increasing processing time. The results confirmed that individuals with MS who have processing-speed deficits significantly improve in performance accuracy when given additional time to process the information in working memory. Implications of these findings for developing appropriate cognitive rehabilitation interventions are discussed.

The Role of Phonological Working Memory in Children with SLI

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Torrens, Vicenç; Yagüe, Esther

2018-01-01

This article studies three measures of phonological working memory as tools to identify SLI children: word repetition, nonce word repetition, and digit memory. We propose that a deficit in the phonological loop causes a delay in the acquisition of lexicon, morphosyntax, and discourse. In this research we try to find out whether the scores in these…

Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase-dependent neurotoxic kynurenine metabolism mediates inflammation-induced deficit in recognition memory.

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Heisler, Jillian M; O'Connor, Jason C

2015-11-01

Cognitive dysfunction in depression is a prevalent and debilitating symptom that is poorly treated by the currently available pharmacotherapies. Research over the past decade has provided evidence for proinflammatory involvement in the neurobiology of depressive disorders and symptoms associated with these disorders, including aspects of memory dysfunction. Recent clinical studies implicate inflammation-related changes in kynurenine metabolism as a potential pathogenic factor in the development of a range of depressive symptoms, including deficits in cognition and memory. Additionally, preclinical work has demonstrated a number of mood-related depressive-like behaviors to be dependent on indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase-1 (IDO1), the inflammation-induced rate-limiting enzyme of the kynurenine pathway. Here, we demonstrate in a mouse model, that peripheral administration of endotoxin induced a deficit in recognition memory. Mice deficient in IDO were protected from cognitive impairment. Furthermore, endotoxin-induced inflammation increased kynurenine metabolism within the perirhinal/entorhinal cortices, brain regions which have been implicated in recognition memory. A single peripheral injection of kynurenine, the metabolic product of IDO1, was sufficient to induce a deficit in recognition memory in both control and IDO null mice. Finally, kynurenine monooxygenase (KMO) deficient mice were also protected from inflammation-induced deficits on novel object recognition. These data implicate IDO-dependent neurotoxic kynurenine metabolism as a pathogenic factor for cognitive dysfunction in inflammation-induced depressive disorders and a potential novel target for the treatment of these disorders. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase-dependent neurotoxic kynurenine metabolism mediates inflammation-induced deficit in recognition memory

Science.gov (United States)

Heisler, Jillian M.; O’Connor, Jason C.

2015-01-01

Cognitive dysfunction in depression is a prevalent and debilitating symptom that is poorly treated by the currently available pharmacotherapies. Research over the past decade has provided evidence for proinflammatory involvement in the neurobiology of depressive disorders and symptoms associated with these disorders, including aspects of memory dysfunction. Recent clinical studies implicate inflammation-related changes in kynurenine metabolism as a potential pathogenic factor in the development of a range of depressive symptoms, including deficits in cognition and memory. Additionally, preclinical work has demonstrated a number of mood-related depressive-like behaviors to be dependent on indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase-1 (IDO1), the inflammation-induced rate-limiting enzyme of the kynurenine pathway. Here, we demonstrate in a mouse model, that peripheral administration of endotoxin induced a deficit in recognition memory. Mice deficient in IDO were protected from cognitive impairment. Furthermore, endotoxin-induced inflammation increased kynurenine metabolism within the perirhinal/entorhinal cortices, brain regions which have been implicated in recognition memory. A single peripheral injection of kynurenine, the metabolic product of IDO1, was sufficient to induce a deficit in recognition memory in both control and IDO null mice. Finally, kynurenine monooxygenase (KMO) deficient mice were also protected from inflammation-induced deficits on novel object recognition. These data implicate IDO-dependent neurotoxic kynurenine metabolism as a pathogenic factor for cognitive dysfunction in inflammation-induced depressive disorders and a potential novel target for the treatment of these disorders. PMID:26130057

Working Memory Deficits in Children with Specific Learning Disorders

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Schuchardt, Kirsten; Maehler, Claudia; Hasselhorn, Marcus

2008-01-01

This article examines working memory functioning in children with specific developmental disorders of scholastic skills as defined by ICD-10. Ninety-seven second to fourth graders with a minimum IQ of 80 are compared using a 2 x 2 factorial (dyscalculia vs. no dyscalculia; dyslexia vs. no dyslexia) design. An extensive test battery assesses the…

Computerised working-memory focused cognitive remediation therapy for psychosis--A preliminary study.

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Hargreaves, A; Dillon, R; Anderson-Schmidt, H; Corvin, A; Fitzmaurice, B; Castorina, M; Robertson, I H; Donohoe, G

2015-12-01

Cognitive deficits are a core feature of schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders and are associated with decreased levels of functioning. Behavioural interventions have shown success in remediating these deficits; determining how best to maximise this benefit while minimising the cost is an important next step in optimising this intervention for clinical use. To examine the effects of a novel working-memory focused cognitive remediation (CR) training on cognitive difficulties based on internet delivery of training and weekly telephone support. Participants with a diagnosis of psychosis (n=56) underwent either 8 weeks of CR (approximately 20 h) or 8 weeks of treatment as usual (TAU). General cognitive ability, working memory and episodic memory were measured both pre and post intervention for all participants. In addition to improvements on trained working memory tasks, CR training was associated with significant improvements in two tests of verbal episodic memory. No association between CR and changes in general cognitive ability was observed. Effect sizes for statistically significant changes in memory were comparable to those reported in the literature based primarily on 1:1 training. The cognitive benefits observed in this non-randomised preliminary study indicate that internet-based working memory training can be an effective cognitive remediation therapy. The successes and challenges of an internet-based treatment are discussed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effects of gender and executive function on visuospatial working memory in adult obsessive-compulsive disorder.

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Martoni, Riccardo Maria; Salgari, Giulia; Galimberti, Elisa; Cavallini, Maria Cristina; O'Neill, Joseph

2015-12-01

Visuospatial working memory (VSWM) is the ability of the brain to transiently store and manipulate visual information. VSWM deficiencies have been reported in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), but not consistently, perhaps due to variability in task design and clinical patient factors. To explore this variability, this study assessed effects of the design factors task difficulty and executive organizational strategy and of the clinical factors gender, OCD symptom dimension, and duration of illness on VSWM in OCD. The CANTAB spatial working memory, spatial recognition memory, delayed matching to sample, and stop signal tasks were administered to 42 adult OCD patients and 42 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Aims were to detect a possible VSWM deficit in the OCD sample, to evaluate influences of the above task and patient factors, to determine the specificity of the deficit to the visuospatial subdomain, and to examine effects of sustained attention as potential neurocognitive confound. We confirmed previous findings of a VSWM deficit in OCD that was more severe for greater memory load (task difficulty) and that was affected by task strategy (executive function). We failed to demonstrate significant deficits in neighboring or confounding neurocognitive subdomains (visual object recognition or visual object short-term memory, sustained attention). Notably, the VSWM deficit was only significant for female patients, adding to evidence for sexual dimorphism in OCD. Again as in prior work, more severe OCD symptoms in the symmetry dimension (but no other dimension) significantly negatively impacted VSWM. Duration of illness had no significant effect on VSWM. VSWM deficits in OCD appear more severe with higher task load and may be mediated through poor task strategy. Such deficits may present mainly in female patients and in (male and female) patients with symmetry symptoms.

Inhibiting corticosterone synthesis during fear memory formation exacerbates cued fear extinction memory deficits within the single prolonged stress model.

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Keller, Samantha M; Schreiber, William B; Stanfield, Briana R; Knox, Dayan

2015-01-01

Using the single prolonged stress (SPS) animal model of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), previous studies suggest that enhanced glucocorticoid receptor (GR) expression leads to cued fear extinction retention deficits. However, it is unknown how the endogenous ligand of GRs, corticosterone (CORT), may contribute to extinction retention deficits in the SPS model. Given that CORT synthesis during fear learning is critical for fear memory consolidation and SPS enhances GR expression, CORT synthesis during fear memory formation could strengthen fear memory in SPS rats by enhancing GR activation during fear learning. In turn, this could lead to cued fear extinction retention deficits. We tested the hypothesis that CORT synthesis during fear learning leads to cued fear extinction retention deficits in SPS rats by administering the CORT synthesis inhibitor metyrapone to SPS and control rats prior to fear conditioning, and observed the effect this had on extinction memory. Inhibiting CORT synthesis during fear memory formation in control rats tended to decrease cued freezing, though this effect never reached statistical significance. Contrary to our hypothesis, inhibiting CORT synthesis during fear memory formation disrupted extinction retention in SPS rats. This finding suggests that even though SPS exposure leads to cued fear extinction memory deficits, CORT synthesis during fear memory formation enhances extinction retention in SPS rats. This suggests that stress-induced CORT synthesis in previously stressed rats can be beneficial. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Working memory: its role in dyslexia and other specific learning difficulties.

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Jeffries, Sharman; Everatt, John

2004-08-01

This paper reports a study contrasting dyslexic children against a control group of children without special educational needs (SEN) and a group with varied SENs. Children's abilities were compared on tasks assessing phonological processing, visuo-spatial/motor coordination and executive/inhibitory functioning; being targeted for assessment based on theoretical proposals related to the working memory model. Primary and secondary school level children were tested: 21 assessed as dyslexic with no comorbid difficulties, 26 children assessed with difficulties including dyspraxia, emotional/behavioural problems and attention deficits, 40 children with no known education-related deficits were controls. Results indicated both SEN groups performed worse than controls on working memory phonological loop measures. However, SEN groups could only be differentiated on phonological awareness measures: the dyslexics showing lower scores. Dyslexics performed as well as controls on working memory visuo-spatial scratch pad measures and one of two additional visual-motor coordination tasks, whereas the performance of the other SEN children was lowest on the majority of these measures. Central executive and interference measures engendered mixed performances, both SEN groups showing evidence of deficits in one or more of these areas of functioning, although, of the two SEN groups, the dyslexics seem to have performed the worse when digit name processing was required.

Poor comprehenders in the classroom: teacher ratings of behavior in children with poor reading comprehension and its relationship with individual differences in working memory.

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Pimperton, Hannah; Nation, Kate

2014-01-01

Differing etiological explanations have been proposed to account for poor comprehenders' difficulties with reading comprehension, with some researchers emphasizing working memory deficits and others arguing for oral language weaknesses playing a key causal role. The authors contrasted these two theoretical accounts using data obtained from direct measures of working memory and from teacher ratings of poor comprehenders' behavior in the classroom. At the group level, poor comprehenders showed weaknesses on verbal but not nonverbal working memory tasks, in keeping with the "language account." However, they also showed evidence of elevated levels of problem behaviors specifically associated with working memory deficits. Further analysis revealed that these group differences in working-memory-related problem behaviors were carried by a small subgroup of poor comprehenders who also displayed domain-general (verbal and nonverbal) working memory problems, argued to be reflective of "genuine" underlying working memory deficits.

Hemispatial neglect and serial order in verbal working memory.

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Antoine, Sophie; Ranzini, Mariagrazia; van Dijck, Jean-Philippe; Slama, Hichem; Bonato, Mario; Tousch, Ann; Dewulf, Myrtille; Bier, Jean-Christophe; Gevers, Wim

2018-01-09

Working memory refers to our ability to actively maintain and process a limited amount of information during a brief period of time. Often, not only the information itself but also its serial order is crucial for good task performance. It was recently proposed that serial order is grounded in spatial cognition. Here, we compared performance of a group of right hemisphere-damaged patients with hemispatial neglect to healthy controls in verbal working memory tasks. Participants memorized sequences of consonants at span level and had to judge whether a target consonant belonged to the memorized sequence (item task) or whether a pair of consonants were presented in the same order as in the memorized sequence (order task). In line with this idea that serial order is grounded in spatial cognition, we found that neglect patients made significantly more errors in the order task than in the item task compared to healthy controls. Furthermore, this deficit seemed functionally related to neglect severity and was more frequently observed following right posterior brain damage. Interestingly, this specific impairment for serial order in verbal working memory was not lateralized. We advance the hypotheses of a potential contribution to the deficit of serial order in neglect patients of either or both (1) reduced spatial working memory capacity that enables to keep track of the spatial codes that provide memorized items with a positional context, (2) a spatial compression of these codes in the intact representational space. © 2018 The British Psychological Society.

Cerebellar transcranial direct current stimulation modulates verbal working memory.

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Boehringer, Andreas; Macher, Katja; Dukart, Juergen; Villringer, Arno; Pleger, Burkhard

2013-07-01

Neuroimaging studies show cerebellar activations in a wide range of cognitive tasks and patients with cerebellar lesions often present cognitive deficits suggesting a cerebellar role in higher-order cognition. We used cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), known to inhibit neuronal excitability, over the cerebellum to investigate if cathodal tDCS impairs verbal working memory, an important higher-order cognitive faculty. We tested verbal working memory as measured by forward and backward digit spans in 40 healthy young participants before and after applying cathodal tDCS (2 mA, stimulation duration 25 min) to the right cerebellum using a randomized, sham-controlled, double-blind, cross-over design. In addition, we tested the effect of cerebellar tDCS on word reading, finger tapping and a visually cued sensorimotor task. In line with lower digit spans in patients with cerebellar lesions, cerebellar tDCS reduced forward digit spans and blocked the practice dependent increase in backward digit spans. No effects of tDCS on word reading, finger tapping or the visually cued sensorimotor task were found. Our results support the view that the cerebellum contributes to verbal working memory as measured by forward and backward digit spans. Moreover, the induction of reversible "virtual cerebellar lesions" in healthy individuals by means of tDCS may improve our understanding of the mechanistic basis of verbal working memory deficits in patients with cerebellar lesions. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Does Working Memory Impact Functional Outcomes in Individuals With ADHD: A Qualitative and Comprehensive Literature Review.

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Fried, Ronna; Abrams, Jessica; Hall, Anna; Feinberg, Leah; Pope, Amanda; Biederman, Joseph

2017-09-01

Working Memory (WM) is a domain of executive functioning often impaired in individuals with ADHD. Although assumed to cause difficulties across functioning, the scope of impairments from WM deficits in ADHD has not been investigated. The aim of this study was to examine outcomes associated with WM deficits in ADHD. We conducted a search of the scientific literature on WM deficits, and Freedom From Distractibility (FFD), in ADHD using PubMed and PsycInfo databases. The final sample included 11 controlled studies of WM/FFD deficits in ADHD with operationalized assessment of outcomes in academic, social, and emotional areas. WM assessment was divided into auditory-verbal memory (AVM) and spatial-visual memory (SWM). Seven studies examined WM deficits in academic functioning, eight studies assessed WM deficits in social functioning, and three assessed WM deficits in psychopathology. The majority of the literature suggests that WM deficits affect primarily academic functioning.

Working memory functions in children with different degrees of intellectual disability.

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Schuchardt, K; Gebhardt, M; Mäehler, C

2010-04-01

In recent years, there has been increased research interest in the functioning of working memory in people with intellectual disabilities. Although studies have repeatedly found these individuals to have weak working memory skills, few investigations have distinguished between different degrees of intellectual disability. This study aims to help close this research gap and, in so doing, to examine whether the deficits observed reflect a developmental lag or a qualitative deviation from normal development. In a 5-group design, the working memory performance of a group of 15-year-olds with mild intellectual disability (IQ 50-69) was compared with that of two groups of children (aged 10 and 15 years) with borderline intellectual disability (IQ 70-84) and with that of two groups of children with average intellectual abilities (IQ 90-115) matched for mental and chronological age (aged 7 and 15 years). All children were administered a comprehensive battery of tests assessing the central executive, the visual-spatial sketchpad, and the phonological loop. The results showed deficits in all three components of working memory, and revealed that these deficits increased with the degree of intellectual disability. The findings indicate that, relative to their mental age peers, children with learning difficulties show structural abnormalities in the phonological store of the phonological loop, but developmental lags in the other two subsystems. Similar patterns of results emerged for both subgroups of children with intellectual disability, indicating that problems with phonological information processing seem to be one of the causes of cognitive impairment in individuals with intellectual disability.

Different types of working memory binding in epilepsy patients with unilateral anterior temporal lobectomy.

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van Geldorp, Bonnie; Bouman, Zita; Hendriks, Marc P H; Kessels, Roy P C

2014-03-01

The medial temporal lobe is an important structure for long-term memory formation, but its role in working memory is less clear. Recent studies have shown hippocampal involvement during working memory tasks requiring binding of information. It is yet unclear whether this is limited to tasks containing spatial features. The present study contrasted three binding conditions and one single-item condition in patients with unilateral anterior temporal lobectomy. A group of 43 patients with temporal lobectomy (23 left; 20 right) and 20 matched controls were examined with a working memory task assessing spatial relational binding (object-location), non-spatial relational binding (object-object), conjunctive binding (object-colour) and working memory for single items. We varied the delay period (3 or 6s), as there is evidence showing that delay length may modulate working memory performance. The results indicate that performance was worse for patients than for controls in both relational binding conditions, whereas patients were unimpaired in conjunctive binding. Single-item memory was found to be marginally impaired, due to a deficit on long-delay trials only. In conclusion, working memory binding deficits are found in patients with unilateral anterior temporal lobectomy. The role of the medial temporal lobe in working memory is not limited to tasks containing spatial features. Rather, it seems to be involved in relational binding, but not in conjunctive binding. The medial temporal lobe gets involved when working memory capacity does not suffice, for example when relations have to be maintained or when the delay period is long. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Methylphenidate Improves Working Memory and Set-Shifting in AD/HD: Relationships to Baseline Memory Capacity

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Mehta, Mitul A.; Goodyer, Ian M.; Sahakian, Barbara J.

2004-01-01

Objective: Catecholamine stimulant drugs are highly efficacious treatments for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorders (AD/HD). Catecholamine modulation in humans influences performance of numerous cognitive tasks, including tests of attention and working memory (WM). Clear delineation of the effects of methylphenidate upon such cognitive…

Origins of spatial working memory deficits in schizophrenia: an event-related FMRI and near-infrared spectroscopy study.

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Junghee Lee

2008-03-01

Full Text Available Abnormal prefrontal functioning plays a central role in the working memory (WM deficits of schizophrenic patients, but the nature of the relationship between WM and prefrontal activation remains undetermined. Using two functional neuroimaging methods, we investigated the neural correlates of remembering and forgetting in schizophrenic and healthy participants. We focused on the brain activation during WM maintenance phase with event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI. We also examined oxygenated hemoglobin changes in relation to memory performance with the near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS using the same spatial WM task. Distinct types of correct and error trials were segregated for analysis. fMRI data indicated that prefrontal activation was increased during WM maintenance on correct trials in both schizophrenic and healthy subjects. However, a significant difference was observed in the functional asymmetry of frontal activation pattern. Healthy subjects showed increased activation in the right frontal, temporal and cingulate regions. Schizophrenic patients showed greater activation compared with control subjects in left frontal, temporal and parietal regions as well as in right frontal regions. We also observed increased 'false memory' errors in schizophrenic patients, associated with increased prefrontal activation and resembling the activation pattern observed on the correct trials. NIRS data replicated the fMRI results. Thus, increased frontal activity was correlated with the accuracy of WM in both healthy control and schizophrenic participants. The major difference between the two groups concerned functional asymmetry; healthy subjects recruited right frontal regions during spatial WM maintenance whereas schizophrenic subjects recruited a wider network in both hemispheres to achieve the same level of memory performance. Increased "false memory" errors and accompanying bilateral prefrontal activation in schizophrenia suggest

Working Memory in the Classroom: An Inside Look at the Central Executive.

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Barker, Lauren A

2016-01-01

This article provides a review of working memory and its application to educational settings. A discussion of the varying definitions of working memory is presented. Special attention is given to the various multidisciplinary professionals who work with students with working memory deficits, and their unique understanding of the construct. Definitions and theories of working memory are briefly summarized and provide the foundation for understanding practical applications of working memory to assessment and intervention. Although definitions and models of working memory abound, there is limited consensus regarding universally accepted definitions and models. Current research indicates that developing new models of working memory may be an appropriate paradigm shift at this time. The integration of individual practitioner's knowledge regarding academic achievement, working memory and processing speed could provide a foundation for the future development of new working memory models. Future directions for research should aim to explain how tasks and behaviors are supported by the substrates of the cortico-striatal and the cerebro-cerebellar systems. Translation of neurobiological information into educational contexts will be helpful to inform all practitioners' knowledge of working memory constructs. It will also allow for universally accepted definitions and models of working memory to arise and facilitate more effective collaboration between disciplines working in educational setting.

Visual short-term memory deficits associated with GBA mutation and Parkinson's disease.

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Zokaei, Nahid; McNeill, Alisdair; Proukakis, Christos; Beavan, Michelle; Jarman, Paul; Korlipara, Prasad; Hughes, Derralynn; Mehta, Atul; Hu, Michele T M; Schapira, Anthony H V; Husain, Masud

2014-08-01

Individuals with mutation in the lysosomal enzyme glucocerebrosidase (GBA) gene are at significantly high risk of developing Parkinson's disease with cognitive deficit. We examined whether visual short-term memory impairments, long associated with patients with Parkinson's disease, are also present in GBA-positive individuals-both with and without Parkinson's disease. Precision of visual working memory was measured using a serial order task in which participants observed four bars, each of a different colour and orientation, presented sequentially at screen centre. Afterwards, they were asked to adjust a coloured probe bar's orientation to match the orientation of the bar of the same colour in the sequence. An additional attentional 'filtering' condition tested patients' ability to selectively encode one of the four bars while ignoring the others. A sensorimotor task using the same stimuli controlled for perceptual and motor factors. There was a significant deficit in memory precision in GBA-positive individuals-with or without Parkinson's disease-as well as GBA-negative patients with Parkinson's disease, compared to healthy controls. Worst recall was observed in GBA-positive cases with Parkinson's disease. Although all groups were impaired in visual short-term memory, there was a double dissociation between sources of error associated with GBA mutation and Parkinson's disease. The deficit observed in GBA-positive individuals, regardless of whether they had Parkinson's disease, was explained by a systematic increase in interference from features of other items in memory: misbinding errors. In contrast, impairments in patients with Parkinson's disease, regardless of GBA status, was explained by increased random responses. Individuals who were GBA-positive and also had Parkinson's disease suffered from both types of error, demonstrating the worst performance. These findings provide evidence for dissociable signature deficits within the domain of visual short

The nature of short-term consolidation in visual working memory.

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Ricker, Timothy J; Hardman, Kyle O

2017-11-01

Short-term consolidation is the process by which stable working memory representations are created. This process is fundamental to cognition yet poorly understood. The present work examines short-term consolidation using a Bayesian hierarchical model of visual working memory recall to determine the underlying processes at work. Our results show that consolidation functions largely through changing the proportion of memory items successfully maintained until test. Although there was some evidence that consolidation affects representational precision, this change was modest and could not account for the bulk of the consolidation effect on memory performance. The time course of the consolidation function and selective influence of consolidation on specific serial positions strongly indicates that short-term consolidation induces an attentional blink. The blink leads to deficits in memory for the immediately following item when time pressure is introduced. Temporal distinctiveness accounts of the consolidation process are tested and ruled out. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

The importance of working memory for school achievement in primary school children with intellectual or learning disabilities.

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Maehler, Claudia; Schuchardt, Kirsten

2016-11-01

Given the well-known relation between intelligence and school achievement we expect children with normal intelligence to perform well at school and those with intelligence deficits to meet learning problems. But, contrary to these expectations, some children do not perform according to these predictions: children with normal intelligence but sub-average school achievement and children with lower intelligence but average success at school. Yet, it is an open question how the unexpected failure or success can be explained. This study examined the role of working memory sensu Baddeley (1986) for school achievement, especially for unexpected failure or success. An extensive working memory battery with a total of 14 tasks for the phonological loop, the visual-spatial sketchpad and central executive skills was presented in individual sessions to four groups of children differing in IQ (normal vs. low) and school success (good vs. poor). Results reveal that children with sub-average school achievement showed deficits in working memory functioning, irrespective of intelligence. By contrast, children with regular school achievement did not show deficits in working memory, again irrespective of intelligence. Therefore working memory should be considered an important predictor of academic success that can lead both to unexpected overachievement and failure at school. Individual working memory competencies should be taken into account with regard to diagnosis and intervention for children with learning problems. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Examining the Link between Working Memory Behaviour and Academic Attainment in Children with ADHD

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Alloway, Tracy Packiam; Gathercole, Susan E.; Elliott, Julian

2010-01-01

Aim: The aim of the present study was to investigate whether behaviours typical of working memory problems are associated with poor academic attainment in those with attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), as well as a non-clinical group identified on the basis of working memory difficulties. Method: Children clinically diagnosed with…

Recollection of Emotional Memories in Schizophrenia: Autonoetic awareness and specificity deficits

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Aurore Neumann

2006-03-01

Full Text Available Episodic memory impairments seem to play a crucial role in schizophrenia. Most of the studies that have demonstrated such a deficit have used neutral material, leaving the recollection of emotional memories in schizophrenia unexplored. An overview is presented of a series of studies investigating the influence of emotion on episodic and autobiographical memory in schizophrenia. These experiments share a common experimental approach in which states of awareness accompanying recollection are considered. Results show that schizophrenia impairs conscious recollection in episodic and autobiographical memory tasks using emotional material. Schizophrenia is also associated with a reduction of the specificity with which autobiographical memories are recalled. An hypothesis in terms of a fundamental executive deficit underlying these impairments is proposed.

Time perception impairment in early-to-moderate stages of Huntington's disease is related to memory deficits.

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Righi, Stefania; Galli, Luca; Paganini, Marco; Bertini, Elisabetta; Viggiano, Maria Pia; Piacentini, Silvia

2016-01-01

Huntington's disease (HD) primarily affects striatum and prefrontal dopaminergic circuits which are fundamental neural correlates of the timekeeping mechanism. The few studies on HD mainly investigated motor timing performance in second durations. The present work explored time perception in early-to-moderate symptomatic HD patients for seconds and milliseconds with the aim to clarify which component of the scalar expectancy theory (SET) is mainly responsible for HD timing defect. Eleven HD patients were compared to 11 controls employing two separate temporal bisection tasks in second and millisecond ranges. Our results revealed the same time perception deficits for seconds and milliseconds in HD patients. Time perception impairment in early-to-moderate stages of Huntington's disease is related to memory deficits. Furthermore, both the non-systematical defect of temporal sensitivity and the main impairment of timing performance in the extreme value of the psychophysical curves suggested an HD deficit in the memory component of the SET. This result was further confirmed by the significant correlations between time perception performance and long-term memory test scores. Our findings added important preliminary data for both a deeper comprehension of HD time-keeping deficits and possible implications on neuro-rehabilitation practices.

GABA level, gamma oscillation, and working memory performance in schizophrenia.

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Chen, Chi-Ming A; Stanford, Arielle D; Mao, Xiangling; Abi-Dargham, Anissa; Shungu, Dikoma C; Lisanby, Sarah H; Schroeder, Charles E; Kegeles, Lawrence S

2014-01-01

A relationship between working memory impairment, disordered neuronal oscillations, and abnormal prefrontal GABA function has been hypothesized in schizophrenia; however, in vivo GABA measurements and gamma band neural synchrony have not yet been compared in schizophrenia. This case-control pilot study (N = 24) compared baseline and working memory task-induced neuronal oscillations acquired with high-density electroencephalograms (EEGs) to GABA levels measured in vivo with magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Working memory performance, baseline GABA level in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), and measures of gamma oscillations from EEGs at baseline and during a working memory task were obtained. A major limitation of this study is a relatively small sample size for several analyses due to the integration of diverse methodologies and participant compliance. Working memory performance was significantly lower for patients than for controls. During the working memory task, patients (n = 7) had significantly lower amplitudes in gamma oscillations than controls (n = 9). However, both at rest and across working memory stages, there were significant correlations between gamma oscillation amplitude and left DLPFC GABA level. Peak gamma frequency during the encoding stage of the working memory task (n = 16) significantly correlated with GABA level and working memory performance. Despite gamma band amplitude deficits in patients across working memory stages, both baseline and working memory-induced gamma oscillations showed strong dependence on baseline GABA levels in patients and controls. These findings suggest a critical role for GABA function in gamma band oscillations, even under conditions of system and cognitive impairments as seen in schizophrenia.

Bombesin administration impairs memory and does not reverse memory deficit caused by sleep deprivation.

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Ferreira, L B T; Oliveira, S L B; Raya, J; Esumi, L A; Hipolide, D C

2017-07-28

Sleep deprivation impairs performance in emotional memory tasks, however this effect on memory is not completely understood. Possible mechanisms may involve an alteration in neurotransmission systems, as shown by the fact that many drugs that modulate neural pathways can prevent memory impairment by sleep loss. Gastrin releasing peptide (GRP) is a neuropeptide that emerged as a regulatory molecule of emotional memory through the modulation of other neurotransmission systems. Thus, the present study addressed the effect of intraperitoneal (IP) administration of bombesin (BB) (2.5, 5.0 and 10.0μg/kg), a GRP agonist, on the performance of Wistar rats in a multiple trail inhibitory avoidance (MTIA) task, after sleep deprivation, using the modified multiple platforms method (MMPM). Sleep deprived animals exhibited acquisition and retention impairment that was not prevented by BB injection. In addition, non-sleep deprived animals treated with BB before and after the training session, but not before the test, have shown a retention deficit. In summary, BB did not improve the memory impairment by sleep loss and, under normal conditions, produced a memory consolidation deficit. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Memory deficits in abstinent MDMA (ecstasy) users: neuropsychological evidence of frontal dysfunction.

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Quednow, Boris B; Jessen, Frank; Kuhn, Kai-Uwe; Maier, Wolfgang; Daum, Irene; Wagner, Michael

2006-05-01

Chronic administration of the common club drug 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ecstasy) is associated with long-term depletion of serotonin (5-HT) and loss of 5-HT axons in the brains of rodents and non-human primates, and evidence suggests that recreational MDMA consumption may also affect the human serotonergic system. Moreover, it was consistently shown that abstinent MDMA users have memory deficits. Recently, it was supposed that these deficits are an expression of a temporal or rather hippocampal dysfunction caused by the serotonergic neurotoxicity of MDMA. The aim of this study is to examine the memory deficits of MDMA users neuropsychologically in order to evaluate the role of different brain regions. Nineteen male abstinent MDMA users, 19 male abstinent cannabis users and 19 male drug-naive control subjects were examined with a German version of the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT). MDMA users showed widespread and marked verbal memory deficits, compared to drug-naive controls as well as compared to cannabis users, whereas cannabis users did not differ from control subjects in their memory performance. MDMA users revealed impairments in learning, consolidation, recall and recognition. In addition, they also showed a worse recall consistency and strong retroactive interference whereby both measures were previously associated with frontal lobe function. There was a significant correlation between memory performance and the amount of MDMA taken. These results suggest that the memory deficits of MDMA users are not only the result of a temporal or hippocampal dysfunction, but also of a dysfunction of regions within the frontal cortex.

The neuropsychology of emerging psychosis and the role of working memory in episodic memory encoding

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Pflueger MO

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Marlon O Pflueger,1 Pasquale Calabrese,2 Erich Studerus,3 Ronan Zimmermann,4 Ute Gschwandtner,4 Stefan Borgwardt,5 Jacqueline Aston,3 Rolf-Dieter Stieglitz,6 Anita Riecher-Rössler3 1Department of Forensic Psychiatry, University of Basel Psychiatric Clinics, Basel, Switzerland; 2Division of Molecular and Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland; 3Center for Gender Research and Early Detection, University of Basel Psychiatric Hospital, Basel, Switzerland; 4Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Hospital of the University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland; 5Department of Psychiatry (UPK, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland; 6Division of Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland Background: Episodic memory encoding and working memory (WM deficits are among the first cognitive signs and symptoms in the course of schizophrenia spectrum disorders. However, it is not clear whether the deficit pattern is generalized or specific in nature. We hypothesized that encoding deficits at an early stage of the disease might be due to the more fundamental WM deficits. Methods: We examined episodic memory encoding and WM by administering the California Verbal Learning Test, a 2-back task, and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test in 90 first-episode psychosis (FE patients and 116 individuals with an at-risk mental state for psychosis (ARMS compared to 57 healthy subjects. Results: Learning progress, but not span of apprehension, was diminished to a similar extent in both the ARMS and the FE. We showed that this was due to WM impairment by applying a structural equation approach. Conclusion: Thus, we conclude that verbal memory encoding deficits are secondary to primary WM impairment in emerging psychosis. Keywords: at-risk mental state, first-episode psychosis, cognition, serial position effect, recency, semantic cluster ratio, 2-back task, rate of learning

Schizotypy is associated with reduced mnemonic precision in visual working memory.

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Xie, Weizhen; Cappiello, Marcus; Park, Hyung-Bum; Deldin, Patricia; Chan, Raymond C K; Zhang, Weiwei

2018-03-01

Working memory (WM) maintains a limited amount of information over a short period of time at the service of other ongoing mental activities. Deficits in this function are often observed in schizophrenia spectrum disorders. The present study examined whether self-report schizotypy was associated with the qualitative, quantitative, or both aspects of visual WM and whether these impairments could be accounted for by sensory memory deficits and/or depressed mood in a group of non-clinical, medication-naïve participants. Visual WM and sensory memory were assessed in 164 medication-naïve college students using delayed and immediate color estimation tasks, respectively. Self-report measures of schizotypy and depressed mood were also collected. Individuals with more schizotypal features retained less precise representations in visual WM, without a significant reduction in the number of retained WM representations (i.e., capacity). In contrast, there was no significant correlation between sensory memory precision and schizotypy, suggesting that schizotypy-related imprecision in visual WM was unlikely a result of imprecise sensory memory. Furthermore, opposite patterns of WM deficits were observed for depressed mood in that it was negatively associated with WM capacity, but not with WM precision. Together, the present findings demonstrated dissociable WM deficits in schizotypy and depressed mood, providing strong evidence for unstable mental representations in schizotypy and reduced cognitive resource in depressed mood. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Chronic methamphetamine exposure produces a delayed, long-lasting memory deficit.

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North, Ashley; Swant, Jarod; Salvatore, Michael F; Gamble-George, Joyonna; Prins, Petra; Butler, Brittany; Mittal, Mukul K; Heltsley, Rebecca; Clark, John T; Khoshbouei, Habibeh

2013-05-01

Methamphetamine (METH) is a highly addictive and neurotoxic psychostimulant. Its use in humans is often associated with neurocognitive impairment. Whether this is due to long-term deficits in short-term memory and/or hippocampal plasticity remains unclear. Recently, we reported that METH increases baseline synaptic transmission and reduces LTP in an ex vivo preparation of the hippocampal CA1 region from young mice. In the current study, we tested the hypothesis that a repeated neurotoxic regimen of METH exposure in adolescent mice decreases hippocampal synaptic plasticity and produces a deficit in short-term memory. Contrary to our prediction, there was no change in the hippocampal plasticity or short-term memory when measured after 14 days of METH exposure. However, we found that at 7, 14, and 21 days of drug abstinence, METH-exposed mice exhibited a deficit in spatial memory, which was accompanied by a decrease in hippocampal plasticity. Our results support the interpretation that the deleterious cognitive consequences of neurotoxic levels of METH exposure may manifest and persist after drug abstinence. Therefore, therapeutic strategies should consider short-term as well as long-term consequences of methamphetamine exposure. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Association between early attention-deficit/hyperactivity symptoms and current verbal and visuo-spatial short-term memory.

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Gau, Susan Shur-Fen; Chiang, Huey-Ling

2013-01-01

Deficits in short-term memory are common in adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but their current ADHD symptoms cannot well predict their short-term performance. Taking a developmental perspective, we wanted to clarify the association between ADHD symptoms at early childhood and short-term memory in late childhood and adolescence. The participants included 401 patients with a clinical diagnosis of DSM-IV ADHD, 213 siblings, and 176 unaffected controls aged 8-17 years (mean age, 12.02 ± 2.24). All participants and their mothers were interviewed using the Chinese Kiddie Epidemiologic version of the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia to obtain information about ADHD symptoms and other psychiatric disorders retrospectively, at an earlier age first, then currently. The participants were assessed with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children--3rd edition, including Digit Span, and the Spatial working memory task of the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery. Multi-level regression models were used for data analysis. Although crude analyses revealed that inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity symptoms significantly predicted deficits in short-term memory, only inattention symptoms had significant effects (all pshort-term memory at the current assessment. Therefore, our findings suggest that earlier inattention symptoms are associated with impaired verbal and visuo-spatial short-term memory at a later development stage. Impaired short-term memory in adolescence can be detected earlier by screening for the severity of inattention in childhood. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Working memory impairment in multiple sclerosis relapsing-remitting patients with episodic memory deficits Prejuízo de memória operacional em pacientes com esclerose múltipla recorrente-remitente com déficits de memória episódica

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Simone Freitas Fuso

2010-04-01

Full Text Available Episodic memory is impaired in multiple sclerosis (MS patients, possibly because of deficits in working memory (WM functioning. If so, WM alterations should necessarily be found in patients with episodic memory deficits, but this has not yet been demonstrated. In this study we aimed at determining whether episodic memory deficits in relapsing-remitting MS are found in conjunction with impaired WM. We evaluated 32 MS patients and 32 matched healthy controls. Nineteen of the 32 patients had episodic memory impairment, and as a group only these individuals showed deficits in WM capacity, which may lead to difficulty in encoding, and/or retrieving information from episodic memory.Pacientes com esclerose múltipla (EM apresentam prejuízo de memória episódica possivelmente em decorrência de um déficit no funcionamento da memória operacional (MO. Se assim fosse, alterações de MO seriam necessariamente encontradas em pacientes com déficit de memória episódica, mas isto ainda não foi demonstrado. Neste estudo tivemos como objetivo determinar se déficits de memória episódica em pacientes com EM recorrente-remitente são encontrados em associação com prejuízo de MO. Avaliamos 32 pacientes com EM pareados com 32 voluntários saudáveis. Dezenove dos 32 pacientes apresentaram prejuízo de memória episódica, e como grupo, somente estes indivíduos apresentaram déficit na capacidade de MO, o que deve resultar na dificuldade de codificar, e /ou recuperar informações da memória episódica.

Visual memory-deficit amnesia: A distinct amnesic presentation and etiology

OpenAIRE

Rubin, David C.; Greenberg, Daniel L.

1998-01-01

We describe a form of amnesia, which we have called visual memory-deficit amnesia, that is caused by damage to areas of the visual system that store visual information. Because it is caused by a deficit in access to stored visual material and not by an impaired ability to encode or retrieve new material, it has the otherwise infrequent properties of a more severe retrograde than anterograde amnesia with no temporal gradient in the retrograde amnesia. Of the 11 cases of long-term visual memory...

Ageing and feature binding in visual working memory: The role of presentation time.

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Rhodes, Stephen; Parra, Mario A; Logie, Robert H

2016-01-01

A large body of research has clearly demonstrated that healthy ageing is accompanied by an associative memory deficit. Older adults exhibit disproportionately poor performance on memory tasks requiring the retention of associations between items (e.g., pairs of unrelated words). In contrast to this robust deficit, older adults' ability to form and temporarily hold bound representations of an object's surface features, such as colour and shape, appears to be relatively well preserved. However, the findings of one set of experiments suggest that older adults may struggle to form temporary bound representations in visual working memory when given more time to study objects. However, these findings were based on between-participant comparisons across experimental paradigms. The present study directly assesses the role of presentation time in the ability of younger and older adults to bind shape and colour in visual working memory using a within-participant design. We report new evidence that giving older adults longer to study memory objects does not differentially affect their immediate memory for feature combinations relative to individual features. This is in line with a growing body of research suggesting that there is no age-related impairment in immediate memory for colour-shape binding.

WORKING MEMORY IMPAIRMENT AS AN ENDOPHENOTYPIC MARKER OF A SCHIZOPHRENIA DIATHESIS.

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Park, Sohee; Gooding, Diane C

2014-09-01

This chapter focuses on the viability of working memory impairment as an endophenotypic marker of a schizophrenia diathesis. It begins with an introduction of the construct of working memory. It follows with a review of the operational criteria for defining an endophenotype. Research findings regarding the working memory performance of schizophrenia and schizophrenia-spectrum patients, first-degree relatives of schizophrenia patients and healthy controls, are reviewed in terms of the criteria for being considered an endophenotypic marker. Special attention is paid to specific components of the working memory deficit (namely, encoding, maintenance, and manipulation), in terms of which aspects are likely to be the best candidates for endophenotypes. We consider the extant literature regarding working memory performance in bipolar disorder and major depression in order to address the issue of relative specificity to schizophrenia. Despite some unresolved issues, it appears that working memory impairment is a very promising candidate for an endophenotypic marker of a schizophrenia diathesis but not for mood disorders. Throughout this chapter, we identify future directions for research in this exciting and dynamic area of research and evaluate the contribution of working memory research to our understanding of schizophrenia.

Working memory impairment as an endophenotypic marker of a schizophrenia diathesis

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Sohee Park

2014-09-01

Full Text Available This review focuses on the viability of working memory impairment as an endophenotypic marker of a schizophrenia diathesis. It begins with an introduction of the construct of working memory. It follows with a consideration of the operational criteria for defining an endophenotype. Research findings regarding the working memory performance of schizophrenia and schizophrenia-spectrum patients, first-degree relatives of schizophrenia patients and healthy controls, are reviewed in terms of the criteria for being considered an endophenotypic marker. Special attention is paid to specific components of the working memory deficit (namely, encoding, maintenance, and manipulation, in terms of which aspects are likely to be the best candidates for endophenotypes. We examine the extant literature regarding working memory performance in bipolar disorder and major depression in order to address the issue of relative specificity to schizophrenia. Despite some unresolved issues, it appears that working memory impairment is a very promising candidate for an endophenotypic marker of a schizophrenia diathesis but not for mood disorders. Throughout this review, we identify future directions for research in this exciting and dynamic area of research and evaluate the contribution of working memory research to our understanding of schizophrenia.

Combined effects of THC and caffeine on working memory in rats.

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Panlilio, Leigh V; Ferré, Sergi; Yasar, Sevil; Thorndike, Eric B; Schindler, Charles W; Goldberg, Steven R

2012-04-01

Cannabis and caffeine are two of the most widely used psychoactive substances. Δ(9) -Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive constituent of cannabis, induces deficits in short-term memory. Caffeine, a non-selective adenosine receptor antagonist, attenuates some memory deficits, but there have been few studies addressing the effects of caffeine and THC in combination. Here, we evaluate the effects of these drugs using a rodent model of working memory. Rats were given THC (0, 1 and 3 mg·kg(-1) , i.p.) along with caffeine (0, 1, 3 and 10 mg·kg(-1) , i.p.), the selective adenosine A(1) -receptor antagonist CPT (0, 3 and 10 mg·kg(-1) ) or the selective adenosine A(2A) -receptor antagonist SCH58261 (0 and 5 mg·kg(-1) ) and were tested with a delayed non-matching-to-position procedure in which behaviour during the delay was automatically recorded as a model of memory rehearsal. THC alone produced memory deficits at 3 mg·kg(-1) . The initial exposure to caffeine (10 mg·kg(-1) ) disrupted the established pattern of rehearsal-like behaviour, but tolerance developed rapidly to this effect. CPT and SCH58261 alone had no significant effects on rehearsal or memory. When a subthreshold dose of THC (1 mg·kg(-1) ) was combined with caffeine (10 mg·kg(-1) ) or CPT (10 mg·kg(-1) ), memory performance was significantly impaired, even though performance of the rehearsal-like pattern was not significantly altered. Caffeine did not counteract memory deficits induced by THC but actually exacerbated them. These results are consistent with recent findings that adenosine A(1) receptors modulate cannabinoid signalling in the hippocampus. This article is part of a themed section on Cannabinoids in Biology and Medicine. To view the other articles in this section visit http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/bph.2012.165.issue-8. To view Part I of Cannabinoids in Biology and Medicine visit http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/bph.2011.163.issue-7. Published 2011. This article is a U

Selective noradrenaline depletion impairs working memory and hippocampal neurogenesis.

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Coradazzi, Marino; Gulino, Rosario; Fieramosca, Francesco; Falzacappa, Lucia Verga; Riggi, Margherita; Leanza, Giampiero

2016-12-01

Noradrenergic neurons in the locus coeruleus play a role in learning and memory, and their loss is an early event in Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis. Moreover, noradrenaline may sustain hippocampal neurogenesis; however, whether are these events related is still unknown. Four to five weeks following the selective immunotoxic ablation of locus coeruleus neurons, young adult rats underwent reference and working memory tests, followed by postmortem quantitative morphological analyses to assess the extent of the lesion, as well as the effects on proliferation and/or survival of neural progenitors in the hippocampus. When tested in the Water Maze task, lesioned animals exhibited no reference memory deficit, whereas working memory abilities were seen significantly impaired, as compared with intact or sham-lesioned controls. Stereological analyses confirmed a dramatic noradrenergic neuron loss associated to reduced proliferation, but not survival or differentiation, of 5-bromo-2'deoxyuridine-positive progenitors in the dentate gyrus. Thus, ascending noradrenergic afferents may be involved in more complex aspects of cognitive performance (i.e., working memory) possibly via newly generated progenitors in the hippocampus. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

GABA level, gamma oscillation, and working memory performance in schizophrenia

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Chi-Ming A. Chen

2014-01-01

Full Text Available A relationship between working memory impairment, disordered neuronal oscillations, and abnormal prefrontal GABA function has been hypothesized in schizophrenia; however, in vivo GABA measurements and gamma band neural synchrony have not yet been compared in schizophrenia. This case–control pilot study (N = 24 compared baseline and working memory task-induced neuronal oscillations acquired with high-density electroencephalograms (EEGs to GABA levels measured in vivo with magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Working memory performance, baseline GABA level in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC, and measures of gamma oscillations from EEGs at baseline and during a working memory task were obtained. A major limitation of this study is a relatively small sample size for several analyses due to the integration of diverse methodologies and participant compliance. Working memory performance was significantly lower for patients than for controls. During the working memory task, patients (n = 7 had significantly lower amplitudes in gamma oscillations than controls (n = 9. However, both at rest and across working memory stages, there were significant correlations between gamma oscillation amplitude and left DLPFC GABA level. Peak gamma frequency during the encoding stage of the working memory task (n = 16 significantly correlated with GABA level and working memory performance. Despite gamma band amplitude deficits in patients across working memory stages, both baseline and working memory-induced gamma oscillations showed strong dependence on baseline GABA levels in patients and controls. These findings suggest a critical role for GABA function in gamma band oscillations, even under conditions of system and cognitive impairments as seen in schizophrenia.

Simulating episodic memory deficits in semantic dementia with the TraceLink model

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Meeter, M.; Murre, J.M.J.

2004-01-01

Although semantic dementia is primarily characterised by deficits in semantic memory, episodic memory is also impaired. Patients show poor recall of old autobiographical and semantic memories, with better retrieval of recent experiences; they can form new memories, and normal performance on

Working Memory From the Psychological and Neurosciences Perspectives: A Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Chai, Wen Jia; Abd Hamid, Aini Ismafairus; Abdullah, Jafri Malin

2018-01-01

Since the concept of working memory was introduced over 50 years ago, different schools of thought have offered different definitions for working memory based on the various cognitive domains that it encompasses. The general consensus regarding working memory supports the idea that working memory is extensively involved in goal-directed behaviors in which information must be retained and manipulated to ensure successful task execution. Before the emergence of other competing models, the concept of working memory was described by the multicomponent working memory model proposed by Baddeley and Hitch. In the present article, the authors provide an overview of several working memory-relevant studies in order to harmonize the findings of working memory from the neurosciences and psychological standpoints, especially after citing evidence from past studies of healthy, aging, diseased, and/or lesioned brains. In particular, the theoretical framework behind working memory, in which the related domains that are considered to play a part in different frameworks (such as memory's capacity limit and temporary storage) are presented and discussed. From the neuroscience perspective, it has been established that working memory activates the fronto-parietal brain regions, including the prefrontal, cingulate, and parietal cortices. Recent studies have subsequently implicated the roles of subcortical regions (such as the midbrain and cerebellum) in working memory. Aging also appears to have modulatory effects on working memory; age interactions with emotion, caffeine and hormones appear to affect working memory performances at the neurobiological level. Moreover, working memory deficits are apparent in older individuals, who are susceptible to cognitive deterioration. Another younger population with working memory impairment consists of those with mental, developmental, and/or neurological disorders such as major depressive disorder and others. A less coherent and organized neural

MEG Working Memory N-Back Task Reveals Functional Deficits in Combat-Related Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Ming-Xiong; Nichols, Sharon; Robb-Swan, Ashley; Angeles-Quinto, Annemarie; Harrington, Deborah L; Drake, Angela; Huang, Charles W; Song, Tao; Diwakar, Mithun; Risbrough, Victoria B; Matthews, Scott; Clifford, Royce; Cheng, Chung-Kuan; Huang, Jeffrey W; Sinha, Anusha; Yurgil, Kate A; Ji, Zhengwei; Lerman, Imanuel; Lee, Roland R; Baker, Dewleen G

2018-04-13

Combat-related mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is a leading cause of sustained cognitive impairment in military service members and Veterans. However, the mechanism of persistent cognitive deficits including working memory (WM) dysfunction is not fully understood in mTBI. Few studies of WM deficits in mTBI have taken advantage of the temporal and frequency resolution afforded by electromagnetic measurements. Using magnetoencephalography (MEG) and an N-back WM task, we investigated functional abnormalities in combat-related mTBI. Study participants included 25 symptomatic active-duty service members or Veterans with combat-related mTBI and 20 healthy controls with similar combat experiences. MEG source-magnitude images were obtained for alpha (8-12 Hz), beta (15-30 Hz), gamma (30-90 Hz), and low-frequency (1-7 Hz) bands. Compared with healthy combat controls, mTBI participants showed increased MEG signals across frequency bands in frontal pole (FP), ventromedial prefrontal cortex, orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), and anterior dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), but decreased MEG signals in anterior cingulate cortex. Hyperactivations in FP, OFC, and anterior dlPFC were associated with slower reaction times. MEG activations in lateral FP also negatively correlated with performance on tests of letter sequencing, verbal fluency, and digit symbol coding. The profound hyperactivations from FP suggest that FP is particularly vulnerable to combat-related mTBI.

Memory deficits in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis are not exclusively caused by executive dysfunction: a comparative neuropsychological study of amnestic mild cognitive impairment.

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Machts, Judith; Bittner, Verena; Kasper, Elisabeth; Schuster, Christina; Prudlo, Johannes; Abdulla, Susanne; Kollewe, Katja; Petri, Susanne; Dengler, Reinhard; Heinze, Hans-Jochen; Vielhaber, Stefan; Schoenfeld, Mircea A; Bittner, Daniel M

2014-06-30

Recent work suggests that ALS and frontotemporal dementia can occur together and share at least in part the same underlying pathophysiology. However, it is unclear at present whether memory deficits in ALS stem from a temporal lobe dysfunction, or are rather driven by frontal executive dysfunction. In this study we sought to investigate the nature of memory deficits by analyzing the neuropsychological performance of 40 ALS patients in comparison to 39 amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) patients and 40 healthy controls (HC). The neuropsychological battery tested for impairment in executive functions, as well as memory and visuo-spatial skills, the results of which were compared across study groups. In addition, we calculated composite scores for memory (learning, recall, recognition) and executive functions (verbal fluency, cognitive flexibility, working memory). We hypothesized that the nature of memory impairment in ALS will be different from those exhibited by aMCI patients. Patient groups exhibited significant differences in their type of memory deficit, with the ALS group showing impairment only in recognition, whereas aMCI patients showed short and delayed recall performance deficits as well as reduced short-term capacity. Regression analysis revealed a significant impact of executive function on memory performance exclusively for the ALS group, accounting for one fifth of their memory performance. Interestingly, merging all sub scores into a single memory and an executive function score obscured these differences. The presented results indicate that the interpretation of neuropsychological scores needs to take the distinct cognitive profiles in ALS and aMCI into consideration. Importantly, the observed memory deficits in ALS were distinctly different from those observed in aMCI and can be explained only to some extent in the context of comorbid (coexisting) executive dysfunction. These findings highlight the qualitative differences in temporal lobe

Training on Movement Figure-Ground Discrimination Remediates Low-Level Visual Timing Deficits in the Dorsal Stream, Improving High-Level Cognitive Functioning, Including Attention, Reading Fluency, and Working Memory

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Teri Lawton

2017-05-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to determine whether neurotraining to discriminate a moving test pattern relative to a stationary background, figure-ground discrimination, improves vision and cognitive functioning in dyslexics, as well as typically-developing normal students. We predict that improving the speed and sensitivity of figure-ground movement discrimination (PATH to Reading neurotraining acts to remediate visual timing deficits in the dorsal stream, thereby improving processing speed, reading fluency, and the executive control functions of attention and working memory in both dyslexic and normal students who had PATH neurotraining more than in those students who had no neurotraining. This prediction was evaluated by measuring whether dyslexic and normal students improved on standardized tests of cognitive skills following neurotraining exercises, more than following computer-based guided reading (Raz-Kids (RK. The neurotraining used in this study was visually-based training designed to improve magnocellular function at both low and high levels in the dorsal stream: the input to the executive control networks coding working memory and attention. This approach represents a paradigm shift from the phonologically-based treatment for dyslexia, which concentrates on high-level speech and reading areas. This randomized controlled-validation study was conducted by training the entire second and third grade classrooms (42 students for 30 min twice a week before guided reading. Standardized tests were administered at the beginning and end of 12-weeks of intervention training to evaluate improvements in academic skills. Only movement-discrimination training remediated both low-level visual timing deficits and high-level cognitive functioning, including selective and sustained attention, reading fluency and working memory for both dyslexic and normal students. Remediating visual timing deficits in the dorsal stream revealed the causal role of visual

Training on Movement Figure-Ground Discrimination Remediates Low-Level Visual Timing Deficits in the Dorsal Stream, Improving High-Level Cognitive Functioning, Including Attention, Reading Fluency, and Working Memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Lawton, Teri; Shelley-Tremblay, John

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine whether neurotraining to discriminate a moving test pattern relative to a stationary background, figure-ground discrimination, improves vision and cognitive functioning in dyslexics, as well as typically-developing normal students. We predict that improving the speed and sensitivity of figure-ground movement discrimination ( PATH to Reading neurotraining) acts to remediate visual timing deficits in the dorsal stream, thereby improving processing speed, reading fluency, and the executive control functions of attention and working memory in both dyslexic and normal students who had PATH neurotraining more than in those students who had no neurotraining. This prediction was evaluated by measuring whether dyslexic and normal students improved on standardized tests of cognitive skills following neurotraining exercises, more than following computer-based guided reading ( Raz-Kids ( RK )). The neurotraining used in this study was visually-based training designed to improve magnocellular function at both low and high levels in the dorsal stream: the input to the executive control networks coding working memory and attention. This approach represents a paradigm shift from the phonologically-based treatment for dyslexia, which concentrates on high-level speech and reading areas. This randomized controlled-validation study was conducted by training the entire second and third grade classrooms (42 students) for 30 min twice a week before guided reading. Standardized tests were administered at the beginning and end of 12-weeks of intervention training to evaluate improvements in academic skills. Only movement-discrimination training remediated both low-level visual timing deficits and high-level cognitive functioning, including selective and sustained attention, reading fluency and working memory for both dyslexic and normal students. Remediating visual timing deficits in the dorsal stream revealed the causal role of visual movement

Training on Movement Figure-Ground Discrimination Remediates Low-Level Visual Timing Deficits in the Dorsal Stream, Improving High-Level Cognitive Functioning, Including Attention, Reading Fluency, and Working Memory

Science.gov (United States)

Lawton, Teri; Shelley-Tremblay, John

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine whether neurotraining to discriminate a moving test pattern relative to a stationary background, figure-ground discrimination, improves vision and cognitive functioning in dyslexics, as well as typically-developing normal students. We predict that improving the speed and sensitivity of figure-ground movement discrimination (PATH to Reading neurotraining) acts to remediate visual timing deficits in the dorsal stream, thereby improving processing speed, reading fluency, and the executive control functions of attention and working memory in both dyslexic and normal students who had PATH neurotraining more than in those students who had no neurotraining. This prediction was evaluated by measuring whether dyslexic and normal students improved on standardized tests of cognitive skills following neurotraining exercises, more than following computer-based guided reading (Raz-Kids (RK)). The neurotraining used in this study was visually-based training designed to improve magnocellular function at both low and high levels in the dorsal stream: the input to the executive control networks coding working memory and attention. This approach represents a paradigm shift from the phonologically-based treatment for dyslexia, which concentrates on high-level speech and reading areas. This randomized controlled-validation study was conducted by training the entire second and third grade classrooms (42 students) for 30 min twice a week before guided reading. Standardized tests were administered at the beginning and end of 12-weeks of intervention training to evaluate improvements in academic skills. Only movement-discrimination training remediated both low-level visual timing deficits and high-level cognitive functioning, including selective and sustained attention, reading fluency and working memory for both dyslexic and normal students. Remediating visual timing deficits in the dorsal stream revealed the causal role of visual movement

Working Memory From the Psychological and Neurosciences Perspectives: A Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wen Jia Chai

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Since the concept of working memory was introduced over 50 years ago, different schools of thought have offered different definitions for working memory based on the various cognitive domains that it encompasses. The general consensus regarding working memory supports the idea that working memory is extensively involved in goal-directed behaviors in which information must be retained and manipulated to ensure successful task execution. Before the emergence of other competing models, the concept of working memory was described by the multicomponent working memory model proposed by Baddeley and Hitch. In the present article, the authors provide an overview of several working memory-relevant studies in order to harmonize the findings of working memory from the neurosciences and psychological standpoints, especially after citing evidence from past studies of healthy, aging, diseased, and/or lesioned brains. In particular, the theoretical framework behind working memory, in which the related domains that are considered to play a part in different frameworks (such as memory’s capacity limit and temporary storage are presented and discussed. From the neuroscience perspective, it has been established that working memory activates the fronto-parietal brain regions, including the prefrontal, cingulate, and parietal cortices. Recent studies have subsequently implicated the roles of subcortical regions (such as the midbrain and cerebellum in working memory. Aging also appears to have modulatory effects on working memory; age interactions with emotion, caffeine and hormones appear to affect working memory performances at the neurobiological level. Moreover, working memory deficits are apparent in older individuals, who are susceptible to cognitive deterioration. Another younger population with working memory impairment consists of those with mental, developmental, and/or neurological disorders such as major depressive disorder and others. A less coherent

Working Memory From the Psychological and Neurosciences Perspectives: A Review

Science.gov (United States)

Chai, Wen Jia; Abd Hamid, Aini Ismafairus; Abdullah, Jafri Malin

2018-01-01

Since the concept of working memory was introduced over 50 years ago, different schools of thought have offered different definitions for working memory based on the various cognitive domains that it encompasses. The general consensus regarding working memory supports the idea that working memory is extensively involved in goal-directed behaviors in which information must be retained and manipulated to ensure successful task execution. Before the emergence of other competing models, the concept of working memory was described by the multicomponent working memory model proposed by Baddeley and Hitch. In the present article, the authors provide an overview of several working memory-relevant studies in order to harmonize the findings of working memory from the neurosciences and psychological standpoints, especially after citing evidence from past studies of healthy, aging, diseased, and/or lesioned brains. In particular, the theoretical framework behind working memory, in which the related domains that are considered to play a part in different frameworks (such as memory’s capacity limit and temporary storage) are presented and discussed. From the neuroscience perspective, it has been established that working memory activates the fronto-parietal brain regions, including the prefrontal, cingulate, and parietal cortices. Recent studies have subsequently implicated the roles of subcortical regions (such as the midbrain and cerebellum) in working memory. Aging also appears to have modulatory effects on working memory; age interactions with emotion, caffeine and hormones appear to affect working memory performances at the neurobiological level. Moreover, working memory deficits are apparent in older individuals, who are susceptible to cognitive deterioration. Another younger population with working memory impairment consists of those with mental, developmental, and/or neurological disorders such as major depressive disorder and others. A less coherent and organized

Forgetting what you have checked: a link between working memory impairment and checking behaviors in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

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Jaafari, N; Frasca, M; Rigalleau, F; Rachid, F; Gil, R; Olié, J-P; Guehl, D; Burbaud, P; Aouizerate, B; Rotgé, J-Y; Vibert, N

2013-02-01

Compulsive checking behaviors are common in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Several authors have suggested that these checking rituals could be related to memory deficits. Our aim was to test whether patients with OCD show working memory impairment in relation to their checking behavior. We evaluated the verbal and visuospatial components of patients' and controls' working memory using the reading span and backward location span tests. Checking behaviors were measured by recording participants' eye movements during an image comparison task using a non-invasive, infra-red TOBII 1750 eyetracker. Participants were seated, head-free, in a natural position in front of the eyetracker screen where the images were displayed. Patients with OCD made more gaze moves to compare images than controls. Both patients' working memory spans were reduced, and the patients' deficit in the comparison task was negatively related to their working memory spans. This work demonstrates that checking behavior in OCD is linked to a general reduction of the patients' verbal and visuospatial working memory span. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Pantomimes are special gestures which rely on working memory.

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Bartolo, A; Cubelli, R; Della Sala, S; Drei, S

2003-12-01

The case of a patient is reported who presented consistently with overt deficits in producing pantomimes in the absence of any other deficits in producing meaningful gestures. This pattern of spared and impaired abilities is difficult to reconcile with the current layout of cognitive models for praxis. This patient also showed clear impairment in a dual-task paradigm, a test taxing the co-ordination aspect of working memory, though performed normally in a series of other neuropsychological measures assessing language, visuo-spatial functions, reasoning function, and executive function. A specific working memory impairment associated with a deficit of pantomiming in the absence of any other disorders in the production of meaningful gestures suggested a way to modify the model to account for the data. Pantomimes are a particular category of gestures, meaningful, yet novel. We posit that by their very nature they call for the intervention of a mechanism to integrate and synthesise perceptual inputs together with information made available from the action semantics (knowledge about objects and functions) and the output lexicon (stored procedural programmes). This processing stage conceived as a temporary workspace where gesture information is actively manipulated, would generate new motor programmes to carry out pantomimes. The model of gesture production is refined to include this workspace.

A comparative study of the working memory multicomponent model in psychosis and healthy controls.

Science.gov (United States)

Sánchez-Torres, Ana M; Elosúa, M Rosa; Lorente-Omeñaca, Ruth; Moreno-Izco, Lucía; Cuesta, Manuel J

2015-08-01

Working memory deficits are considered nuclear deficits in psychotic disorders. However, research has not found a generalized impairment in all of the components of working memory. We aimed to assess the components of the Baddeley and Hitch working memory model: the temporary systems-the phonological loop, the visuospatial sketchpad and the episodic buffer (introduced later by Baddeley)-and the central executive system, which includes four executive functions: divided attention, updating, shifting and inhibition. We assessed working memory performance in a sample of 21 patients with a psychotic disorder and 21 healthy controls. Patients also underwent a clinical assessment. Both univariate and repeated measures ANOVAs were applied to analyze performance in the working memory components between groups. Patients with a psychotic disorder underperformed compared to the controls in all of the working memory tasks, but after controlling for age and premorbid IQ, we only found a difference in performance in the N-Back task. Repeated measures ANCOVAs showed that patients also underperformed compared to the controls in the Digit span test and the TMT task. Not all of the components of working memory were impaired in the patients. Specifically, patients' performance was impaired in the tasks selected to assess the phonological loop and the shifting executive function. Patients' also showed worse performance than controls in the N-Back task, representative of the updating executive function. However, we did not find higher impairment in the patients' performance respect to controls when increasing the loading of the task. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Deficits in long-term recognition memory reveal dissociated subtypes in congenital prosopagnosia.

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Rainer Stollhoff

Full Text Available The study investigates long-term recognition memory in congenital prosopagnosia (CP, a lifelong impairment in face identification that is present from birth. Previous investigations of processing deficits in CP have mostly relied on short-term recognition tests to estimate the scope and severity of individual deficits. We firstly report on a controlled test of long-term (one year recognition memory for faces and objects conducted with a large group of participants with CP. Long-term recognition memory is significantly impaired in eight CP participants (CPs. In all but one case, this deficit was selective to faces and didn't extend to intra-class recognition of object stimuli. In a test of famous face recognition, long-term recognition deficits were less pronounced, even after accounting for differences in media consumption between controls and CPs. Secondly, we combined test results on long-term and short-term recognition of faces and objects, and found a large heterogeneity in severity and scope of individual deficits. Analysis of the observed heterogeneity revealed a dissociation of CP into subtypes with a homogeneous phenotypical profile. Thirdly, we found that among CPs self-assessment of real-life difficulties, based on a standardized questionnaire, and experimentally assessed face recognition deficits are strongly correlated. Our results demonstrate that controlled tests of long-term recognition memory are needed to fully assess face recognition deficits in CP. Based on controlled and comprehensive experimental testing, CP can be dissociated into subtypes with a homogeneous phenotypical profile. The CP subtypes identified align with those found in prosopagnosia caused by cortical lesions; they can be interpreted with respect to a hierarchical neural system for face perception.

Deficits in long-term recognition memory reveal dissociated subtypes in congenital prosopagnosia.

Science.gov (United States)

Stollhoff, Rainer; Jost, Jürgen; Elze, Tobias; Kennerknecht, Ingo

2011-01-25

The study investigates long-term recognition memory in congenital prosopagnosia (CP), a lifelong impairment in face identification that is present from birth. Previous investigations of processing deficits in CP have mostly relied on short-term recognition tests to estimate the scope and severity of individual deficits. We firstly report on a controlled test of long-term (one year) recognition memory for faces and objects conducted with a large group of participants with CP. Long-term recognition memory is significantly impaired in eight CP participants (CPs). In all but one case, this deficit was selective to faces and didn't extend to intra-class recognition of object stimuli. In a test of famous face recognition, long-term recognition deficits were less pronounced, even after accounting for differences in media consumption between controls and CPs. Secondly, we combined test results on long-term and short-term recognition of faces and objects, and found a large heterogeneity in severity and scope of individual deficits. Analysis of the observed heterogeneity revealed a dissociation of CP into subtypes with a homogeneous phenotypical profile. Thirdly, we found that among CPs self-assessment of real-life difficulties, based on a standardized questionnaire, and experimentally assessed face recognition deficits are strongly correlated. Our results demonstrate that controlled tests of long-term recognition memory are needed to fully assess face recognition deficits in CP. Based on controlled and comprehensive experimental testing, CP can be dissociated into subtypes with a homogeneous phenotypical profile. The CP subtypes identified align with those found in prosopagnosia caused by cortical lesions; they can be interpreted with respect to a hierarchical neural system for face perception.

Working Memory Deficits in Children with Reading Difficulties: Memory Span and Dual Task Coordination

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Shinmin; Gathercole, Susan E.

2013-01-01

The current study investigated the cause of the reported problems in working memory in children with reading difficulties. Verbal and visuospatial simple and complex span tasks, and digit span and reaction times tasks performed singly and in combination, were administered to 46 children with single word reading difficulties and 45 typically…

Encoding, Memory, and Transcoding Deficits in Childhood Apraxia of Speech

Science.gov (United States)

Shriberg, Lawrence D.; Lohmeier, Heather L.; Strand, Edythe A.; Jakielski, Kathy J.

2012-01-01

A central question in Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) is whether the core phenotype is limited to transcoding (planning/programming) deficits or if speakers with CAS also have deficits in auditory-perceptual "encoding" (representational) and/or "memory" (storage and retrieval of representations) processes. We addressed this and other questions…

Hippocampal atrophy in people with memory deficits: results from the population-based IPREA study.

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Ferrarini, Luca; van Lew, Baldur; Reiber, Johan H C; Gandin, Claudia; Galluzzo, Lucia; Scafato, Emanuele; Frisoni, Giovanni B; Milles, Julien; Pievani, Michela

2014-07-01

Clinical studies have shown that hippocampal atrophy is present before dementia in people with memory deficits and can predict dementia development. The question remains whether this association holds in the general population. This is of interest for the possible use of hippocampal atrophy to screen population for preventive interventions. The aim of this study was to assess hippocampal volume and shape abnormalities in elderly adults with memory deficits in a cross-sectional population-based study. We included individuals participating in the Italian Project on the Epidemiology of Alzheimer Disease (IPREA) study: 75 cognitively normal individuals (HC), 31 individuals with memory deficits (MEM), and 31 individuals with memory deficits not otherwise specified (MEMnos). Hippocampal volumes and shape were extracted through manual tracing and the growing and adaptive meshes (GAMEs) shape-modeling algorithm. We investigated between-group differences in hippocampal volume and shape, and correlations with memory deficits. In MEM participants, hippocampal volumes were significantly smaller than in HC and were mildly associated with worse memory scores. Memory-associated shape changes mapped to the anterior hippocampus. Shape-based analysis detected no significant difference between MEM and HC, while MEMnos showed shape changes in the posterior hippocampus compared with HC and MEM groups. These findings support the discriminant validity of hippocampal volumetry as a biomarker of memory impairment in the general population. The detection of shape changes in MEMnos but not in MEM participants suggests that shape-based biomarkers might lack sensitivity to detect Alzheimer's-like pathology in the general population.

Long-term memory deficits in schizophrenia : Primary or secondary dysfunction?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Holthausen, EAE; Wiersma, D; Sitskoorn, MM; Dingemans, PM; Schene, AH; van den Bosch, RJ

2003-01-01

Long-term memory impairment is often found in schizophrenia. The question remains whether this is caused by other cognitive deficits. One hundred eighteen first-episode patients were compared with 45 control participants on several memory tasks. The role of processing speed and central executive

Long-term memory deficits in schizophrenia: Primary or secondary dysfunction?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Holthausen, Esther A. E.; Wiersma, Durk; Sitskoorn, Margriet M.; Dingemans, Peter M.; Schene, Aart H.; van den Bosch, Robert J.

2003-01-01

Long-term memory impairment is often found in schizophrenia. The question remains whether this is caused by other cognitive deficits. One hundred eighteen first-episode patients were compared with 45 control participants on several memory tasks. The role of processing speed and central executive

Neural markers of negative symptom outcomes in distributed working memory brain activity of antipsychotic-naive schizophrenia patients

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nejad, Ayna B.; Madsen, Kristoffer H.; Ebdrup, Bjørn H.

2013-01-01

Since working memory deficits in schizophrenia have been linked to negative symptoms, we tested whether features of the one could predict the treatment outcome in the other. Specifically, we hypothesized that working memory-related functional connectivity at pre-treatment can predict improvement...

Transcranial direct current stimulation improves long-term memory deficits in an animal model of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and modulates oxidative and inflammatory parameters.

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Leffa, Douglas Teixeira; Bellaver, Bruna; Salvi, Artur Alban; de Oliveira, Carla; Caumo, Wolnei; Grevet, Eugenio Horacio; Fregni, Felipe; Quincozes-Santos, André; Rohde, Luis Augusto; Torres, Iraci L S

2018-04-05

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a technique that modulates neuronal activity and has been proposed as a potential therapeutic tool for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms. Although pilot studies have shown evidence of efficacy, its mechanism of action remains unclear. We evaluated the effects of tDCS on behavioral (working and long-term memory) and neurochemical (oxidative and inflammatory parameters) outcomes related to ADHD pathophysiology. We used the most widely accepted animal model of ADHD: spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). The selected behavioral outcomes have been shown to be altered in both ADHD patients and animal models, and were chosen for their relation to the proposed mechanistic action of tDCS. Adult male SHR and their control, the Wistar Kyoto rats (WKY), were subjected to 20 min of bicephalic tDCS or sham stimulation for 8 consecutive days. Working memory, long-term memory, and neurochemical outcomes were evaluated. TDCS improved long-term memory deficits presented by the SHR. No change in working memory performance was observed. In the hippocampus, tDCS increased both the production of reactive oxygen species in SHR and the levels of the antioxidant molecule glutathione in both strains. TDCS also modulated inflammatory response in the brains of WKY by downregulating pro-inflammatory cytokines. TDCS had significant effects that were specific for strain, type of behavioral and neurochemical outcomes. The long-term memory improvement in the SHR may point to a possible therapeutic role of tDCS in ADHD that does not seem to be mediated by inflammatory markers. Additionally, the anti-inflammatory effects observed in the brain of WKY after tDCS needs to be further explored. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Novel 5-HT5A receptor antagonists ameliorate scopolamine-induced working memory deficit in mice and reference memory impairment in aged rats.

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Yamazaki, Mayako; Okabe, Mayuko; Yamamoto, Noriyuki; Yarimizu, Junko; Harada, Katsuya

2015-03-01

Despite the human 5-HT5A receptor being cloned in 1994, the biological function of this receptor has not been extensively characterized due to a lack of specific ligands. We recently reported that the selective 5-HT5A receptor antagonist ASP5736 ameliorated cognitive impairment in several animal models of schizophrenia. Given that areas of the brain with high levels of 5-HT5A receptor expression, such as the hippocampus and cerebral cortex, have important functions in cognition and memory, we evaluated the chemically diverse, potent and brain-penetrating 5-HT5A receptor antagonists ASP5736, AS2030680, and AS2674723 in rodent models of cognitive dysfunction associated with dementia. Each of these compounds exhibited a high affinity for recombinant 5-HT5A receptors that was comparable to that of the non-selective ligand of this receptor, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). Although each compound had a low affinity for other receptors, 5-HT5A was the only receptor for which all three compounds had a high affinity. Each of the three compounds ameliorated scopolamine-induced working memory deficit in mice and improved reference memory impairment in aged rats at similar doses. Further, ASP5736 decreased the binding of LSD to 5-HT5A receptors in the olfactory bulb of rats in a dose-dependent manner and occupied 15%-50% of brain 5-HT5A receptors at behaviorally effective doses. These results indicate that the 5-HT5A receptor is involved in learning and memory and that treatment with 5-HT5A receptor antagonists might be broadly effective for cognitive impairment associated with not only schizophrenia but also dementia. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effects of a working memory training program in preschoolers with symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

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Capodieci, Agnese; Gola, Maria Laura; Cornoldi, Cesare; Re, Anna Maria

2018-02-01

Preschoolers with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have been found to exhibit impairments on neuropsychological measures of working memory (WM). As WM is an important predictor of future learning abilities, early intervention could help to prevent severe problems. The purpose of this research was to ascertain the efficacy of an intervention for training WM in 5-year-old children with symptoms of ADHD. Thirty-four children with symptoms of ADHD were randomly divided into two groups: One was assigned to the WM training condition, and the other continued normal class activities. The training was provided at school in small groups that also included typically developing children. The trained group showed a significant improvement in tasks measuring their WM and other controlled processes at conclusion of study, whereas no significant improvement was found in the control group. We concluded that early intervention on WM may be effective in children with symptoms of ADHD.

Working Memory and Motor Activity: A Comparison Across Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and Healthy Control Groups.

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Lea, Sarah E; Matt Alderson, R; Patros, Connor H G; Tarle, Stephanie J; Arrington, Elaine F; Grant, DeMond M

2018-05-01

Converging findings from recent research suggest a functional relationship between attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)-related hyperactivity and demands on working memory (WM) in both children and adults. Excessive motor activity such as restlessness and fidgeting are not pathognomonic symptoms of ADHD, however, and are often associated with other diagnoses such as generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Further, previous research indicates that anticipatory processing associated with anxiety can directly interfere with storage and rehearsal processes of WM. The topographical similarity of excessive motor activity seen in both ADHD and anxiety disorders, as well as similar WM deficits, may indicate a common relationship between WM deficits and increased motor activity. The relationship between objectively measured motor activity (actigraphy) and PH and visuospatial WM demands in adults with ADHD (n = 21), adults with GAD (n = 21), and healthy control adults (n = 20) was examined. Although all groups exhibited significant increases in activity from control to WM conditions, the ADHD group exhibited a disproportionate increase in activity, while activity exhibited by the GAD and healthy control groups was not different. Findings indicate that ADHD-related hyperactivity is uniquely related to WM demands, and appear to suggest that adults with GAD are no more active relative to healthy control adults during a cognitively demanding laboratory task. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

The Role of Aging in Intra-Item and Item-Context Binding Processes in Visual Working Memory

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Peterson, Dwight J.; Naveh-Benjamin, Moshe

2016-01-01

Aging is accompanied by declines in both working memory and long-term episodic memory processes. Specifically, important age-related memory deficits are characterized by performance impairments exhibited by older relative to younger adults when binding distinct components into a single integrated representation, despite relatively intact memory…

Glucose administration attenuates spatial memory deficits induced by chronic low-power-density microwave exposure.

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Lu, Yonghui; Xu, Shangcheng; He, Mindi; Chen, Chunhai; Zhang, Lei; Liu, Chuan; Chu, Fang; Yu, Zhengping; Zhou, Zhou; Zhong, Min

2012-07-16

Extensive evidence indicates that glucose administration attenuates memory deficits in rodents and humans, and cognitive impairment has been associated with reduced glucose metabolism and uptake in certain brain regions including the hippocampus. In the present study, we investigated whether glucose treatment attenuated memory deficits caused by chronic low-power-density microwave (MW) exposure, and the effect of MW exposure on hippocampal glucose uptake. We exposed Wistar rats to 2.45 GHz pulsed MW irradiation at a power density of 1 mW/cm(2) for 3 h/day, for up to 30 days. MW exposure induced spatial learning and memory impairments in rats. Hippocampal glucose uptake was also reduced by MW exposure in the absence or presence of insulin, but the levels of blood glucose and insulin were not affected. However, these spatial memory deficits were reversed by systemic glucose treatment. Our results indicate that glucose administration attenuates the spatial memory deficits induced by chronic low-power-density MW exposure, and reduced hippocampal glucose uptake may be associated with cognitive impairment caused by MW exposure. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, working memory and episodic memory processes: insight through transcranial magnetic stimulation techniques

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Michela Balconi

2013-01-01

The ability to recall and recognize facts we experienced in the past is based on a complex mechanism in which several cerebral regions are implicated.Neuroimaging and lesion studies agree in identifying the frontal lobe as a crucial structure for memory processes,and in particular for working memory and episodic memory and their relationships.Furthermore,with the introduction of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) a new way was proposed to investigate the relationships between brain correlates,memory functions and behavior.The aim of this review is to present the main findings that have emerged from experiments which used the TMS technique for memory analysis.They mainly focused on the role of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in memory process.Furthermore,we present state-of-the-art evidence supporting a possible use of TMS in the clinic.Specifically we focus on the treatment of memory deficits in depression and anxiety disorders.

Short-term memory binding deficits in Alzheimer's disease.

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Parra, Mario A; Abrahams, Sharon; Fabi, Katia; Logie, Robert; Luzzi, Simona; Della Sala, Sergio

2009-04-01

Alzheimer's disease impairs long term memories for related events (e.g. faces with names) more than for single events (e.g. list of faces or names). Whether or not this associative or 'binding' deficit is also found in short-term memory has not yet been explored. In two experiments we investigated binding deficits in verbal short-term memory in Alzheimer's disease. Experiment 1: 23 patients with Alzheimer's disease and 23 age and education matched healthy elderly were recruited. Participants studied visual arrays of objects (six for healthy elderly and four for Alzheimer's disease patients), colours (six for healthy elderly and four for Alzheimer's disease patients), unbound objects and colours (three for healthy elderly and two for Alzheimer's disease patients in each of the two categories), or objects bound with colours (three for healthy elderly and two for Alzheimer's disease patients). They were then asked to recall the items verbally. The memory of patients with Alzheimer's disease for objects bound with colours was significantly worse than for single or unbound features whereas healthy elderly's memory for bound and unbound features did not differ. Experiment 2: 21 Alzheimer's disease patients and 20 matched healthy elderly were recruited. Memory load was increased for the healthy elderly group to eight items in the conditions assessing memory for single or unbound features and to four items in the condition assessing memory for the binding of these features. For Alzheimer's disease patients the task remained the same. This manipulation permitted the performance to be equated across groups in the conditions assessing memory for single or unbound features. The impairment in Alzheimer's disease patients in recalling bound objects reported in Experiment 1 was replicated. The binding cost was greater than that observed in the healthy elderly group, who did not differ in their performance for bound and unbound features. Alzheimer's disease grossly impairs the

Anxiety and working memory capacity: A meta-analysis and narrative review.

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Moran, Tim P

2016-08-01

Cognitive deficits are now widely recognized to be an important component of anxiety. In particular, anxiety is thought to restrict the capacity of working memory by competing with task-relevant processes. The evidence for this claim, however, has been mixed. Although some studies have found restricted working memory in anxiety, others have not. Within studies that have found impairments, there is little agreement regarding the boundary conditions of the anxiety/WMC association. The aim of this review is to critically evaluate the evidence for anxiety-related deficits in working memory capacity. First, a meta-analysis of 177 samples (N = 22,061 individuals) demonstrated that self-reported measures of anxiety are reliably related to poorer performance on measures of working memory capacity (g = -.334, p < 10-29). This finding was consistent across complex span (e.g., OSPAN; g = -.342, k = 30, N = 3,196, p = .000001), simple span (e.g., digit span; g = -.318, k = 127, N = 17,547, p < 10-17), and dynamic span tasks (e.g., N-Back; g = -.437, k = 20, N = 1,318, p = .000003). Second, a narrative review of the literature revealed that anxiety, whether self-reported or experimentally induced, is related to poorer performance across a wide variety of tasks. Finally, the review identified a number of methodological limitations common in the literature as well as avenues for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Depressive thoughts limit working memory capacity in dysphoria.

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Hubbard, Nicholas A; Hutchison, Joanna L; Turner, Monroe; Montroy, Janelle; Bowles, Ryan P; Rypma, Bart

2016-01-01

Dysphoria is associated with persistence of attention on mood-congruent information. Longer time attending to mood-congruent information for dysphoric individuals (DIs) detracts from goal-relevant information processing and should reduce working memory (WM) capacity. Study 1 showed that DIs and non-DIs have similar WM capacities. Study 2 embedded depressive information into a WM task. Compared to non-DIs, DIs showed significantly reduced WM capacity for goal-relevant information in this task. Study 3 replicated results from Studies 1 and 2, and further showed that DIs had a significantly greater association between processing speed and recall on the depressively modified WM task compared to non-DIs. The presence of inter-task depressive information leads to DI-related decreased WM capacity. Results suggest dysphoria-related WM capacity deficits when depressive thoughts are present. WM capacity deficits in the presence of depressive thoughts are a plausible mechanism to explain day-to-day memory and concentration difficulties associated with depressed mood.

A Method to Train Marmosets in Visual Working Memory Task and Their Performance.

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Nakamura, Katsuki; Koba, Reiko; Miwa, Miki; Yamaguchi, Chieko; Suzuki, Hiromi; Takemoto, Atsushi

2018-01-01

Learning and memory processes are similarly organized in humans and monkeys; therefore, monkeys can be ideal models for analyzing human aging processes and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease. With the development of novel gene modification methods, common marmosets ( Callithrix jacchus ) have been suggested as an animal model for neurodegenerative diseases. Furthermore, the common marmoset's lifespan is relatively short, which makes it a practical animal model for aging. Working memory deficits are a prominent symptom of both dementia and aging, but no data are currently available for visual working memory in common marmosets. The delayed matching-to-sample task is a powerful tool for evaluating visual working memory in humans and monkeys; therefore, we developed a novel procedure for training common marmosets in such a task. Using visual discrimination and reversal tasks to direct the marmosets' attention to the physical properties of visual stimuli, we successfully trained 11 out of 13 marmosets in the initial stage of the delayed matching-to-sample task and provided the first available data on visual working memory in common marmosets. We found that the marmosets required many trials to initially learn the task (median: 1316 trials), but once the task was learned, the animals needed fewer trials to learn the task with novel stimuli (476 trials or fewer, with the exception of one marmoset). The marmosets could retain visual information for up to 16 s. Our novel training procedure could enable us to use the common marmoset as a useful non-human primate model for studying visual working memory deficits in neurodegenerative diseases and aging.

A selective memory deficit caused by autoimmune encephalopathy associated with Hashimoto thyroiditis.

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Koros, Christos; Economou, Alexandra; Mastorakos, George; Bonakis, Anastasios; Kalfakis, Nikolaos; Papageorgiou, Sokratis G

2012-09-01

We report a longstanding selective memory deficit in a euthyroid 45-year-old woman who was being treated with levothyroxine for Hashimoto thyroiditis. The patient had complained of memory problems and deterioration of her concentration skills for about 2 years. Her endocrinologist thought that she was depressed. The patient's physical examination was normal. She scored a full 30 points on the Mini-Mental State Examination, but neuropsychological evaluation showed a significant deficit in her verbal memory. Routine blood tests and cerebrospinal fluid analysis showed only antithyroid peroxidase antibodies. Brain magnetic resonance imaging was normal. Electroencephalogram showed scarce intermittent bilateral multifocal theta waves. We increased the patient's daily dose of levothyroxine and started her on dexamethasone therapy. Five months later, we repeated the entire evaluation and found both her cognitive function and her electroencephalogram to be normal. Autoimmune encephalopathy associated with Hashimoto thyroiditis is already known to present with either stroke-like episodes or diffuse progressive deterioration. Our patient shows that the encephalopathy can present as a chronic selective memory deficit that can spare executive functions and short-term memory. This presentation can be missed or mistaken for depression, but can be diagnosed with a detailed neuropsychological evaluation.

Computerized training improves verbal working memory in patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: A pilot study.

Science.gov (United States)

Maroti, Daniel; Westerberg, Annika Fryxell; Saury, Jean-Michel; Bileviciute-Ljungar, Indre

2015-08-18

Patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome experience cognitive difficulties. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of computerized training on working memory in this syndrome. Non-randomized (quasi-experimental) study with no-treatment control group and non-equivalent dependent variable design in a myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome-cohort. Patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome who participated in a 6-month outpatient rehabilitation programme were included in the study. Eleven patients who showed signs of working memory deficit were recruited for additional memory training and 12 patients with no working memory deficit served as controls. Cognitive training with computerized working memory tasks of increasing difficulty was performed 30-45 min/day, 5 days/week over a 5-week period. Short-term and working memory tests (Digit Span - forward, backward, total) were used as primary outcome measures. Nine of the 11 patients were able to complete the training. Cognitive training increased working memory (p = 0.003) and general attention (p = 0.004) to the mean level. Short-term memory was also improved, but the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.052) vs prior training. The control group did not show any significant improvement in primary outcome measures. Cognitive training may be a new treatment for patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.

Working Memory Training in the Form of Structured Games in Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

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Khalili Kermani, Fatemeh; Mohammadi, Mohammad Reza; Yadegari, Fariba; Haresabadi, Fatemeh; Sadeghi, Seyed Mehdi

2016-10-01

Objective: In this study, a new training method of working memory (WM) was used in the form of structured games, and the effect of training was evaluated with a controlled design. The training method of WM in the form of structured games includes 20 sets of structured games that can improve WM and performance of executive functions. Method: Sixty children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) aged 8.5 to 11.2 years (35 boys), using no stimulant medication were selected. We randomly assigned 30 participants to the experimental group and provided them with WM training. The training was in the form of structured games and was offered to the participants in two 60-minute sessions weekly for 12 weeks. Other participants were assigned to the control group, receiving no treatment. All the participants were also evaluated at follow-up 6 months later. The main measures were the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), the Digit Span and Symbol Search B subscale of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-IV); and scores of dictation and mathematics were used in terms of pre and post-test. Results: The results of the t-test revealed a significant improvement in the post-test measures as well as a significant reduction of parents' reports of inattentiveness, and improvement in academic performance in the experimental group. However, no significant changes were found in the control group. Conclusion : The academic and working memory improvements were primarily due to the training method of WM. Our findings suggest that the training method of WM in the form of structured games may be a practical method for treating children with ADHD, but it needs to be further investigated.

Impaired cue identification and intention retrieval underlie prospective memory deficits in patients with first-episode schizophrenia.

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Liu, Dengtang; Ji, Chengfeng; Zhuo, Kaiming; Song, Zhenhua; Wang, Yingchan; Mei, Li; Zhu, Dianming; Xiang, Qiong; Chen, Tianyi; Yang, Zhilei; Zhu, Guang; Wang, Ya; Cheung, Eric Fc; Xiang, Yu-Tao; Fan, Xiaoduo; Chan, Raymond Ck; Xu, Yifeng; Jiang, Kaida

2017-03-01

Schizophrenia is associated with impairment in prospective memory, the ability to remember to carry out an intended action in the future. It has been established that cue identification (detection of the cue event signaling that an intended action should be performed) and intention retrieval (retrieval of an intention from long-term memory following the recognition of a prospective cue) are two important processes underlying prospective memory. The purpose of this study was to examine prospective memory deficit and underlying cognitive processes in patients with first-episode schizophrenia. This study examined cue identification and intention retrieval components of event-based prospective memory using a dual-task paradigm in 30 patients with first-episode schizophrenia and 30 healthy controls. All participants were also administered a set of tests assessing working memory and retrospective memory. Both cue identification and intention retrieval were impaired in patients with first-episode schizophrenia compared with healthy controls ( ps cue identification (Cohen's d = 0.98) and a medium effect size for intention retrieval (Cohen's d = 0.62). After controlling for working memory and retrospective memory, the difference in cue identification between patients and healthy controls remained significant. However, the difference in intention retrieval between the two groups was no longer significant. In addition, there was a significant inverse relationship between cue identification and negative symptoms ( r = -0.446, p = 0.013) in the patient group. These findings suggest that both cue identification and intention retrieval in event-based prospective memory are impaired in patients with first-episode schizophrenia. Cue identification and intention retrieval could be potentially used as biomarkers for early detection and treatment prognosis of schizophrenia. In addition, addressing cue identification deficit through cognitive enhancement training may

Combined lesions of hippocampus and subiculum Do not produce deficits in a nonspatial social olfactory memory task.

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Burton, S; Murphy, D; Qureshi, U; Sutton, P; O'Keefe, J

2000-07-15

Rats transmit information to each other about which foods are safe to eat. If a rat smells a food odor on the breath of another rat, it is subsequently more likely to eat that food than an alternative. Work by Galef et al. (1988) has shown that the observer rat forms an association between two olfactory stimuli on the breath of the demonstrator rat that has eaten the food, the food odor and carbon disulphide, which is normally present in the rat breath. Bunsey and Eichenbaum (1995) claimed that the hippocampus/subicular region is required for the long-term retention of this nonspatial form of associative memory on the basis that combined lesions of the hippocampus and subiculum produced a deficit, but lesions of either structure alone did not. We report here a failure to repeat this finding. Rats with either combined lesions of the hippocampus and subiculum or with amygdala lesions were tested on their ability to remember this association either immediately (testing short-term memory) or after a 24 hr delay (testing long-term memory). Neither lesion group exhibited significant memory deficits on this nonspatial associative task at either test interval. In contrast, a deficit was observed on a spatial memory task (forced-choice alternation t-maze) for animals with combined lesions of the hippocampus and subiculum. These results contradict the findings of Bunsey and Eichenbaum (1995) and support the idea that the hippocampus/subicular region is not required for this nonspatial associative memory.

Working Memory in Children With Neurocognitive Effects From Sickle Cell Disease: Contributions of the Central Executive and Processing Speed

OpenAIRE

Smith, Kelsey E.; Schatz, Jeffrey

2016-01-01

Children with sickle cell disease (SCD) are at risk for working memory deficits due to multiple disease processes. We assessed working memory abilities and related functions in 32 school-age children with SCD and 85 matched comparison children using Baddeley’s working memory model as a framework. Children with SCD performed worse than controls for working memory, central executive function, and processing/rehearsal speed. Central executive function was found to mediate the relationship betwee...

Delayed-matching-to-place Task in a Dry Maze to Measure Spatial Working Memory in Mice.

Science.gov (United States)

Feng, Xi; Krukowski, Karen; Jopson, Timothy; Rosi, Susanna

2017-07-05

The delayed-matching-to-place (DMP) dry maze test is a variant of DMP water maze (Steele and Morris, 1999; Faizi et al. , 2012) which measures spatial working/episodic-like learning and memory that depends on both hippocampal and cortical functions (Wang and Morris, 2010; Euston et al. , 2012). Using this test we can detect normal aging related spatial working memory decline, as well as trauma induced working memory deficits. Furthermore, we recently reported that fractionated whole brain irradiation does not affect working memory in mice (Feng et al. , 2016). Here we describe the experimental setup and procedures of this behavioral test.

Posttraining Epinephrine Reverses Memory Deficits Produced by Traumatic Brain Injury in Rats

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alejandro Lorón-Sánchez

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this research is to evaluate whether posttraining systemic epinephrine is able to improve object recognition memory in rats with memory deficits produced by traumatic brain injury. Forty-nine two-month-old naïve male Wistar rats were submitted to surgical procedures to induce traumatic brain injury (TBI or were sham-operated. Rats were trained in an object recognition task and, immediately after training, received an intraperitoneal injection of distilled water (Sham-Veh and TBI-Veh group or 0.01 mg/kg epinephrine (TBI-Epi group or no injection (TBI-0 and Sham-0 groups. Retention was tested 3 h and 24 h after acquisition. The results showed that brain injury produced severe memory deficits and that posttraining administration of epinephrine was able to reverse them. Systemic administration of distilled water also had an enhancing effect, but of a lower magnitude. These data indicate that posttraining epinephrine and, to a lesser extent, vehicle injection reduce memory deficits associated with TBI, probably through induction of a low-to-moderate emotional arousal.

Posttraining Epinephrine Reverses Memory Deficits Produced by Traumatic Brain Injury in Rats

Science.gov (United States)

Lorón-Sánchez, Alejandro; Torras-Garcia, Meritxell; Coll-Andreu, Margalida; Costa-Miserachs, David; Portell-Cortés, Isabel

2016-01-01

The aim of this research is to evaluate whether posttraining systemic epinephrine is able to improve object recognition memory in rats with memory deficits produced by traumatic brain injury. Forty-nine two-month-old naïve male Wistar rats were submitted to surgical procedures to induce traumatic brain injury (TBI) or were sham-operated. Rats were trained in an object recognition task and, immediately after training, received an intraperitoneal injection of distilled water (Sham-Veh and TBI-Veh group) or 0.01 mg/kg epinephrine (TBI-Epi group) or no injection (TBI-0 and Sham-0 groups). Retention was tested 3 h and 24 h after acquisition. The results showed that brain injury produced severe memory deficits and that posttraining administration of epinephrine was able to reverse them. Systemic administration of distilled water also had an enhancing effect, but of a lower magnitude. These data indicate that posttraining epinephrine and, to a lesser extent, vehicle injection reduce memory deficits associated with TBI, probably through induction of a low-to-moderate emotional arousal. PMID:27127685

Abnormal prefrontal and parietal activity linked to deficient active binding in working memory in schizophrenia.

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Grot, Stéphanie; Légaré, Virginie Petel; Lipp, Olivier; Soulières, Isabelle; Dolcos, Florin; Luck, David

2017-10-01

Working memory deficits have been widely reported in schizophrenia, and may result from inefficient binding processes. These processes, and their neural correlates, remain understudied in schizophrenia. Thus, we designed an FMRI study aimed at investigating the neural correlates of both passive and active binding in working memory in schizophrenia. Nineteen patients with schizophrenia and 23 matched controls were recruited to perform a working memory binding task, in which they were instructed to memorize three letters and three spatial locations. In the passive binding condition, letters and spatial locations were directly presented as bound. Conversely, in the active binding condition, words and spatial locations were presented as separated, and participants were instructed to intentionally create associations between them. Patients exhibited a similar performance to the controls for the passive binding condition, but a significantly lower performance for the active binding. FMRI analyses revealed that this active binding deficit was related to aberrant activity in the posterior parietal cortex and the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex. This study provides initial evidence of a specific deficit for actively binding information in schizophrenia, which is linked to dysfunctions in the neural networks underlying attention, manipulation of information, and encoding strategies. Together, our results suggest that all these dysfunctions may be targets for neuromodulation interventions known to improve cognitive deficits in schizophrenia. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Dopamine D1 receptors are responsible for stress-induced emotional memory deficit in mice.

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Wang, Yongfu; Wu, Jing; Zhu, Bi; Li, Chaocui; Cai, Jing-Xia

2012-03-01

It is established that stress impairs spatial learning and memory via the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis response. Dopamine D1 receptors were also shown to be responsible for a stress-induced deficit of working memory. However, whether stress affects the subsequent emotional learning and memory is not elucidated yet. Here, we employed the well-established one-trial step-through task to study the effect of an acute psychological stress (induced by tail hanging for 5, 10, or 20 min) on emotional learning and memory, and the possible mechanisms as well. We demonstrated that tail hanging induced an obvious stress response. Either an acute tail-hanging stress or a single dose of intraperitoneally injected dopamine D1 receptor antagonist (SCH23390) significantly decreased the step-through latency in the one-trial step-through task. However, SCH23390 prevented the acute tail-hanging stress-induced decrease in the step-through latency. In addition, the effects of tail-hanging stress and/or SCH23390 on the changes in step-through latency were not through non-memory factors such as nociceptive perception and motor function. Our data indicate that the hyperactivation of dopamine D1 receptors mediated the stress-induced deficit of emotional learning and memory. This study may have clinical significance given that psychological stress is considered to play a role in susceptibility to some mental diseases such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Iron deficiency in infancy and neurocognitive functioning at 19 years: evidence of long-term deficits in executive function and recognition memory.

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Lukowski, Angela F; Koss, Marlene; Burden, Matthew J; Jonides, John; Nelson, Charles A; Kaciroti, Niko; Jimenez, Elias; Lozoff, Betsy

2010-04-01

Iron deficiency in infancy negatively impacts a variety of neurodevelopmental processes at the time of nutrient insufficiency, with persistent central nervous system alterations and deficits in behavioral functioning, despite iron therapy. In rodent models, early iron deficiency impairs the hippocampus and the dopamine system. We examined the possibility that young adults who had experienced chronic, severe, iron deficiency as infants would exhibit deficits on neurocognitive tests with documented frontostriatal (Trail Making Test, Intra-/Extra-dimensional Shift, Stockings of Cambridge, Spatial Working Memory, Rapid Visual Information Processing) and hippocampal specificity (Pattern Recognition Memory, Spatial Recognition Memory). Participants with chronic, severe iron deficiency in infancy performed less well on frontostriatal-mediated executive functions, including inhibitory control, set-shifting, and planning. Participants also exhibited impairment on a hippocampus-based recognition memory task. We suggest that these deficits may result from the long-term effects of early iron deficiency on the dopamine system, the hippocampus, and their interaction.

Short-Term Memory Limitations in Children: Capacity or Processing Deficits?

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Chi, Michelene T. H.

1976-01-01

Evaluates the assertion that short-term memory (STM) capacity increases with age and concludes that the STM capacity limitation in children is due to the deficits in the processing strategies and speeds, which presumably improve with age through cumulative learning. (JM) Available from: Memory and Cognition, Psychonomic Society, 1018 West 34…

Working memory resources in young children with mathematical difficulties.

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Kyttälä, Minna; Aunio, Pirjo; Hautamäki, Jarkko

2010-02-01

Working memory (WM) (Baddeley, 1986, 1997) is argued to be one of the most important cognitive resources underlying mathematical competence (Geary, 2004). Research has established close links between WM deficits and mathematical difficulties. This study investigated the possible deficits in WM, language and fluid intelligence that seem to characterize 4- to 6-year-old children with poor early mathematical skills before formal mathematics education. Children with early mathematical difficulties showed poor performance in both verbal and visuospatial WM tasks as well as on language tests and a fluid intelligence test indicating a thoroughly lower cognitive base. Poor WM performance was not moderated by fluid intelligence, but the extent of WM deficits was related to language skills. The educational implications are discussed.

Working memory for visual features and conjunctions in schizophrenia.

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Gold, James M; Wilk, Christopher M; McMahon, Robert P; Buchanan, Robert W; Luck, Steven J

2003-02-01

The visual working memory (WM) storage capacity of patients with schizophrenia was investigated using a change detection paradigm. Participants were presented with 2, 3, 4, or 6 colored bars with testing of both single feature (color, orientation) and feature conjunction conditions. Patients performed significantly worse than controls at all set sizes but demonstrated normal feature binding. Unlike controls, patient WM capacity declined at set size 6 relative to set size 4. Impairments with subcapacity arrays suggest a deficit in task set maintenance: Greater impairment for supercapacity set sizes suggests a deficit in the ability to selectively encode information for WM storage. Thus, the WM impairment in schizophrenia appears to be a consequence of attentional deficits rather than a reduction in storage capacity.

Sleep deprivation causes memory deficits by negatively impacting neuronal connectivity in hippocampal area CA1

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Havekes, Robbert; Park, Alan J; Tudor, Jennifer C; Luczak, Vincent G; Hansen, Rolf T; Ferri, Sarah L; Bruinenberg, Vibeke M; Poplawski, Shane G; Day, Jonathan P; Aton, Sara J; Radwańska, Kasia; Meerlo, Peter; Houslay, Miles D; Baillie, George S; Abel, Ted

2016-01-01

Brief periods of sleep loss have long-lasting consequences such as impaired memory consolidation. Structural changes in synaptic connectivity have been proposed as a substrate of memory storage. Here, we examine the impact of brief periods of sleep deprivation on dendritic structure. In mice, we find that five hours of sleep deprivation decreases dendritic spine numbers selectively in hippocampal area CA1 and increased activity of the filamentous actin severing protein cofilin. Recovery sleep normalizes these structural alterations. Suppression of cofilin function prevents spine loss, deficits in hippocampal synaptic plasticity, and impairments in long-term memory caused by sleep deprivation. The elevated cofilin activity is caused by cAMP-degrading phosphodiesterase-4A5 (PDE4A5), which hampers cAMP-PKA-LIMK signaling. Attenuating PDE4A5 function prevents changes in cAMP-PKA-LIMK-cofilin signaling and cognitive deficits associated with sleep deprivation. Our work demonstrates the necessity of an intact cAMP-PDE4-PKA-LIMK-cofilin activation-signaling pathway for sleep deprivation-induced memory disruption and reduction in hippocampal spine density. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.13424.001 PMID:27549340

Memory deficits in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis are not exclusively caused by executive dysfunction: a comparative neuropsychological study of amnestic mild cognitive impairment

OpenAIRE

Machts, Judith; Bittner, Verena; Kasper, Elisabeth; Schuster, Christina; Prudlo, Johannes; Abdulla, Susanne; Kollewe, Katja; Petri, Susanne; Dengler, Reinhard; Heinze, Hans-Jochen; Vielhaber, Stefan; Schoenfeld, Mircea A; Bittner, Daniel M

2014-01-01

Background Recent work suggests that ALS and frontotemporal dementia can occur together and share at least in part the same underlying pathophysiology. However, it is unclear at present whether memory deficits in ALS stem from a temporal lobe dysfunction, or are rather driven by frontal executive dysfunction. In this study we sought to investigate the nature of memory deficits by analyzing the neuropsychological performance of 40 ALS patients in comparison to 39 amnestic mild cognitive impair...

HPA Axis Function Alters Development of Working Memory in Boys with FXS

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Scherr, Jessica F.; Hahn, Laura J.; Hooper, Stephen R.; Hatton, Deborah; Roberts, Jane E.

2016-01-01

The present study examines verbal working memory over time in boys with fragile X syndrome (FXS) compared to nonverbal mental-age (NVMA) matched, typically developing (TD) boys. Concomitantly, the relationship between cortisol—a physiological marker for stress—and verbal working memory performance over time is examined to understand the role of physiological mechanisms in cognitive development in FXS. Participants were assessed between one and three times over a 2-year time frame using two verbal working memory tests that differ in complexity: memory for words and auditory working memory with salivary cortisol collected at the beginning and end of each assessment. Multilevel modeling results indicate specific deficits over time on the memory for words task in boys with FXS compared to TD controls that is exacerbated by elevated baseline cortisol. Similar increasing rates of growth over time were observed for boys with FXS and TD controls on the more complex auditory working memory task, but only boys with FXS displayed an association of increased baseline cortisol and lower performance. This study highlights the benefit of investigations of how dynamic biological and cognitive factors interact and influence cognitive development over time. PMID:26760450

Chronic Stress Impairs Prefrontal Cortex-Dependent Response Inhibition and Spatial Working Memory

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Mika, Agnieszka; Mazur, Gabriel J.; Hoffman, Ann N.; Talboom, Joshua S.; Bimonte-Nelson, Heather A.; Sanabria, Federico; Conrad, Cheryl D.

2012-01-01

Chronic stress leads to neurochemical and structural alterations in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) that correspond to deficits in PFC-mediated behaviors. The present study examined the effects of chronic restraint stress on response inhibition (using a response-withholding task, fixed-minimum interval schedule of reinforcement, or FMI), and working memory (using a radial arm water maze, RAWM). Adult male Sprague Dawley rats were first trained on the RAWM and subsequently trained on FMI. Following acquisition of FMI, rats were assigned to a restraint stress (6h/d/28d in wire mesh restrainers) or control condition. Immediately after chronic stress, rats were tested on FMI and subsequently on RAWM. FMI results suggest that chronic stress reduces response inhibition capacity and motivation to initiate the task on selective conditions when food reward was not obtained on the preceding trial. RAWM results suggest that chronic stress produces transient deficits in working memory without altering previously consolidated reference memory. Behavioral measures from FMI failed to correlate with metrics from RAWM except for one in which changes in FMI timing precision negatively correlated with changes in RAWM working memory errors for the controls, a finding that was not observed following chronic stress. Fisher’s r to z transformation revealed no significant differences between control and stress with correlation coefficients. These findings are the first to show that chronic stress impairs both response inhibition and working memory, two behaviors that have never been direct compared within the same animals following chronic stress, using FMI, an appetitive task, and RAWM, a non-appetitive task. PMID:22905921

Arithmetic difficulties in children with cerebral palsy are related to executive function and working memory.

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Jenks, Kathleen M; de Moor, Jan; van Lieshout, Ernest C D M

2009-07-01

Although it is believed that children with cerebral palsy are at high risk for learning difficulties and arithmetic difficulties in particular, few studies have investigated this issue. Arithmetic ability was longitudinally assessed in children with cerebral palsy in special (n = 41) and mainstream education (n = 16) and controls in mainstream education (n = 16). Second grade executive function and working memory scores were used to predict third grade arithmetic accuracy and response time. Children with cerebral palsy in special education were less accurate and slower than their peers on all arithmetic tests, even after controlling for IQ, whereas children with cerebral palsy in mainstream education performed as well as controls. Although the performance gap became smaller over time, it did not disappear. Children with cerebral palsy in special education showed evidence of executive function and working memory deficits in shifting, updating, visuospatial sketchpad and phonological loop (for digits, not words) whereas children with cerebral palsy in mainstream education only had a deficit in visuospatial sketchpad. Hierarchical regression revealed that, after controlling for intelligence, components of executive function and working memory explained large proportions of unique variance in arithmetic accuracy and response time and these variables were sufficient to explain group differences in simple, but not complex, arithmetic. Children with cerebral palsy are at risk for specific executive function and working memory deficits that, when present, increase the risk for arithmetic difficulties in these children.

Adolescent Intermittent Alcohol Exposure: Deficits in Object Recognition Memory and Forebrain Cholinergic Markers.

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H Scott Swartzwelder

Full Text Available The long-term effects of intermittent ethanol exposure during adolescence (AIE are of intensive interest and investigation. The effects of AIE on learning and memory and the neural functions that drive them are of particular interest as clinical findings suggest enduring deficits in those cognitive domains in humans after ethanol abuse during adolescence. Although studies of such deficits after AIE hold much promise for identifying mechanisms and therapeutic interventions, the findings are sparse and inconclusive. The present results identify a specific deficit in memory function after AIE and establish a possible neural mechanism of that deficit that may be of translational significance. Male rats (starting at PND-30 received exposure to AIE (5g/kg, i.g. or vehicle and were allowed to mature into adulthood. At PND-71, one group of animals was assessed using the spatial-temporal object recognition (stOR test to evaluate memory function. A separate group of animals was used to assess the density of cholinergic neurons in forebrain areas Ch1-4 using immunohistochemistry. AIE exposed animals manifested deficits in the temporal component of the stOR task relative to controls, and a significant decrease in the number of ChAT labeled neurons in forebrain areas Ch1-4. These findings add to the growing literature indicating long-lasting neural and behavioral effects of AIE that persist into adulthood and indicate that memory-related deficits after AIE depend upon the tasks employed, and possibly their degree of complexity. Finally, the parallel finding of diminished cholinergic neuron density suggests a possible mechanism underlying the effects of AIE on memory and hippocampal function as well as possible therapeutic or preventive strategies for AIE.

Effects of Methylphenidate on Working Memory Components: Influence of Measurement

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Bedard, Anne-Claude; Jain, Umesh; Hogg-Johnson, Sheilah; Tannock, Rosemary

2007-01-01

Background: To investigate the effects of methylphenidate (MPH) on components of working memory (WM) in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and determine the responsiveness of WM measures to MPH. Methods: Participants were a clinical sample of 50 children and adolescents with ADHD, aged 6 to 16 years old, who participated in an acute…

Encoding vs. retention: differential effects of cue manipulation on working memory performance in schizophrenia.

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Javitt, Daniel C; Rabinowicz, Esther; Silipo, Gail; Dias, Elisa C

2007-03-01

Deficits in working memory performance are among the most widely replicated findings in schizophrenia. Roles of encoding vs. memory retention in working memory remain unresolved. The present study evaluated working memory performance in schizophrenia using an AX-type continuous performance test (AX-CPT) paradigm. Participants included 48 subjects with schizophrenia and 27 comparison subjects. Behavior was obtained in 3 versions of the task, which differed based upon ease of cue interoperability. In a simple cue version of the task, cue letters were replaced with red or green circles. In the complex cue version, letter/color conjunctions served as cues. In the base version of the task, patients showed increased rates of false alarms to invalidly cued targets, similar to prior reports. However, when the cue stimuli were replaced with green or red circles to ease interpretation, patients showed similar false alarm rates to controls. When feature conjunction cues were used, patients were also disproportionately affected relative to controls. No significant group by interstimulus interval interaction effects were observed in either the simple or complex cue conditions, suggesting normal retention of information even in the presence of overall performance decrements. These findings suggest first, that cue manipulation disproportionately affects AX-CPT performance in schizophrenia and, second, that substantial behavioral deficits may be observed on working memory tasks even in the absence of disturbances in mnemonic retention.

Working Memory Training in Schizophrenia and Healthy Populations

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Linette Lawlor-Savage

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Cognitive deficits are consistently demonstrated in individuals with schizophrenia. Cognitive training involves structured exercises prescribed and undertaken with the intention of enhancing cognitive abilities such as attention, memory, and problem solving. Thus, cognitive training represents a potentially promising intervention for enhancing cognitive abilities in schizophrenia. However, cognitive training programs are numerous and heterogeneous, hence, the generalizability of training related outcomes can be challenging to assess. This article will provide a brief overview of current literature on cognitive training and explore how knowledge of working memory training in healthy populations can potentially be applied to enhance cognitive functioning of individuals with schizophrenia.

Magnesium sulfate therapy affects attention and working memory in patients undergoing preterm labor.

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Ghia, N; Spong, C Y; Starbuck, V N; Scialli, A R; Ghidini, A

2000-10-01

Patients commonly consent to undergoing invasive procedures while receiving magnesium sulfate therapy. This study evaluated the effects of magnesium sulfate on attention, comprehension, and memory in patients undergoing preterm labor. Consenting patients were studied while receiving(study) and not receiving (control) intravenous magnesium sulfate tocolysis for preterm labor. Excluded were patients with possible preeclampsia, imminent delivery, sedative administration, or prior mental illness. Patient comprehension was assessed with the Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination. Level of attention and working memory were evaluated with the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test. Verbal learning, short-term memory, and recognition were determined with the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test. Gross mental-neurologic deficits were evaluated with the Mini-Mental Status Examination. The tests were administered by the same examiner. Control testing was performed >24 hours after intravenous magnesium sulfate was discontinued. Magnesium levels were obtained at the time of testing. The primary outcome measure was the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test score because of its ability to elicit subtle differences in attention capacity. Statistical analysis included the paired t test and the McNemar test. Fifteen patients completed the study. Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test scores were significantly higher (ie, more errors were made) during magnesium sulfate therapy than periods without therapy (14 +/- 8 vs 7 +/- 7; P term memory (Hopkins Verbal Learning Test) or gross mental-neurologic deficits between the 2 groups (all P >.1). Magnesium sulfate therapy appears to have an effect on attention and working memory but not on long-term memory or comprehension. The significant differences in Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test scores reveal deficits in information-processing ability in patients on a regimen of magnesium sulfate therapy.

Working memory training in survivors of pediatric cancer: a randomized pilot study.

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Hardy, Kristina K; Willard, Victoria W; Allen, Taryn M; Bonner, Melanie J

2013-08-01

Survivors of pediatric brain tumors and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) are at increased risk for neurocognitive deficits, but few empirically supported treatment options exist. We examined the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a home-based, computerized working memory training program, CogmedRM, with survivors of childhood cancer. Survivors of brain tumors or ALL (n = 20) with identified deficits in attention and/or working memory were randomized to either the success-adapted computer intervention or a non-adaptive, active control condition. Specifically, children in the adaptive condition completed exercises that became more challenging with each correct trial, whereas those in the non-adaptive version trained with exercises that never increased in difficulty. All participants were asked to complete 25 training sessions at home, with weekly, phone-based coaching support. Brief assessments were completed pre-intervention and post-intervention; outcome measures included both performance-based and parent-report measures of working memory and attention. Eighty-five percent of survivors were compliant with the intervention, with no adverse events reported. After controlling for baseline intellectual functioning, survivors who completed the intervention program evidenced significant post-training improvements in their visual working memory and in parent-rated learning problems compared with those in the active control group. No differences in verbal working memory functioning were evident between groups, however. Home-based, computerized cognitive training demonstrates good feasibility and acceptability in our sample. Children with higher intellectual functioning at baseline appeared to benefit more from the training, although further study is needed to clarify the strength, scope, and particularly the generalizability of potential treatment effects. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Memory Deficits Induced by Inflammation Are Regulated by α5-Subunit-Containing GABAA Receptors

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Dian-Shi Wang

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Systemic inflammation causes learning and memory deficits through mechanisms that remain poorly understood. Here, we studied the pathogenesis of memory loss associated with inflammation and found that we could reverse memory deficits by pharmacologically inhibiting α5-subunit-containing γ-aminobutyric acid type A (α5GABAA receptors and deleting the gene associated with the α5 subunit. Acute inflammation reduces long-term potentiation, a synaptic correlate of memory, in hippocampal slices from wild-type mice, and this reduction was reversed by inhibition of α5GABAA receptor function. A tonic inhibitory current generated by α5GABAA receptors in hippocampal neurons was increased by the key proinflammatory cytokine interleukin-1β through a p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathway. Interleukin-1β also increased the surface expression of α5GABAA receptors in the hippocampus. Collectively, these results show that α5GABAA receptor activity increases during inflammation and that this increase is critical for inflammation-induced memory deficits.

Life-long environmental enrichment counteracts spatial learning, reference and working memory deficits in middle-aged rats subjected to perinatal asphyxia.

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Galeano, Pablo; Blanco, Eduardo; Logica Tornatore, Tamara M A; Romero, Juan I; Holubiec, Mariana I; Rodríguez de Fonseca, Fernando; Capani, Francisco

2014-01-01

Continuous environmental stimulation induced by exposure to enriched environment (EE) has yielded cognitive benefits in different models of brain injury. Perinatal asphyxia results from a lack of oxygen supply to the fetus and is associated with long-lasting neurological deficits. However, the effects of EE in middle-aged rats suffering perinatal asphyxia are unknown. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to assess whether life-long exposure to EE could counteract the cognitive and behavioral alterations in middle-aged asphyctic rats. Experimental groups consisted of rats born vaginally (CTL), by cesarean section (C+), or by C+ following 19 min of asphyxia at birth (PA). At weaning, rats were assigned to standard (SE) or enriched environment (EE) for 18 months. During the last month of housing, animals were submitted to a behavioral test battery including Elevated Plus Maze, Open Field, Novel Object Recognition and Morris water maze (MWM). Results showed that middle-aged asphyctic rats, reared in SE, exhibited an impaired performance in the spatial reference and working memory versions of the MWM. EE was able to counteract these cognitive impairments. Moreover, EE improved the spatial learning performance of middle-aged CTL and C+ rats. On the other hand, all groups reared in SE did not differ in locomotor activity and anxiety levels, while EE reduced locomotion and anxiety, regardless of birth condition. Recognition memory was altered neither by birth condition nor by housing environment. These results support the importance of environmental stimulation across the lifespan to prevent cognitive deficits induced by perinatal asphyxia.

Spatial working memory in aging and mild cognitive impairment: effects of task load and contextual cueing.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kessels, R.P.C.; Meulenbroek, O.V.; Fernandez, G.S.E.; Olde Rikkert, M.G.M.

2010-01-01

Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) is characterized by episodic memory deficits, while aspects of working memory may also be implicated, but studies into this latter domain are scarce and results are inconclusive. Using a computerized search paradigm, this study compares 25 young adults, 25 typically

Spatial Working Memory in Aging and Mild Cognitive Impairment: Effects of Task Load and Contextual Cueing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kessels, R.P.C.; Meulenbroek, O.V.; Fernandez, G.S.E.; Olde Rikkert, M.G.M.

2010-01-01

Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) is characterized by episodic memory deficits, while aspects of working memory may also be implicated, but studies into this latter domain are scarce and results are inconclusive. Using a computerized search paradigm, this study compares 25 young adults, 25 typically

Preventive and therapeutic effect of treadmill running on chronic stress-induced memory deficit in rats.

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Radahmadi, Maryam; Alaei, Hojjatallah; Sharifi, Mohammad Reza; Hosseini, Nasrin

2015-04-01

Previous results indicated that stress impairs learning and memory. In this research, the effects of preventive, therapeutic and regular continually running activity on chronic stress-induced memory deficit in rats were investigated. 70 male rats were randomly divided into seven groups as follows: Control, Sham, Stress-Rest, Rest-Stress, Stress-Exercise, Exercise-Stress and Exercise-Stress & Exercise groups. Chronic restraint stress was applied 6 h/day for 21days and treadmill running 1 h/day. Memory function was evaluated by the passive avoidance test. The results revealed that running activities had therapeutic effect on mid and long-term memory deficit and preventive effects on short and mid-term memory deficit in stressed rats. Regular continually running activity improved mid and long-term memory compared to Exercise-Stress group. The beneficial effects of exercise were time-dependent in stress conditions. Finally, data corresponded to the possibility that treadmill running had a more important role on treatment rather than on prevention on memory impairment induced by stress. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Visual short-term memory deficits in REM sleep behaviour disorder mirror those in Parkinson's disease.

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Rolinski, Michal; Zokaei, Nahid; Baig, Fahd; Giehl, Kathrin; Quinnell, Timothy; Zaiwalla, Zenobia; Mackay, Clare E; Husain, Masud; Hu, Michele T M

2016-01-01

Individuals with REM sleep behaviour disorder are at significantly higher risk of developing Parkinson's disease. Here we examined visual short-term memory deficits--long associated with Parkinson's disease--in patients with REM sleep behaviour disorder without Parkinson's disease using a novel task that measures recall precision. Visual short-term memory for sequentially presented coloured bars of different orientation was assessed in 21 patients with polysomnography-proven idiopathic REM sleep behaviour disorder, 26 cases with early Parkinson's disease and 26 healthy controls. Three tasks using the same stimuli controlled for attentional filtering ability, sensorimotor and temporal decay factors. Both patients with REM sleep behaviour disorder and Parkinson's disease demonstrated a deficit in visual short-term memory, with recall precision significantly worse than in healthy controls with no deficit observed in any of the control tasks. Importantly, the pattern of memory deficit in both patient groups was specifically explained by an increase in random responses. These results demonstrate that it is possible to detect the signature of memory impairment associated with Parkinson's disease in individuals with REM sleep behaviour disorder, a condition associated with a high risk of developing Parkinson's disease. The pattern of visual short-term memory deficit potentially provides a cognitive marker of 'prodromal' Parkinson's disease that might be useful in tracking disease progression and for disease-modifying intervention trials. © The Author (2015). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Guarantors of Brain.

Ketamine-Induced Changes in the Signal and Noise of Rule Representation in Working Memory by Lateral Prefrontal Neurons.

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Ma, Liya; Skoblenick, Kevin; Seamans, Jeremy K; Everling, Stefan

2015-08-19

Working memory dysfunction is an especially debilitating symptom in schizophrenia. The NMDA antagonist ketamine has been successfully used to model working memory deficits in both rodents and nonhuman primates, but how it affects the strength and the consistency of working memory representations remains unclear. Here we recorded single-neuron activity in the lateral prefrontal cortex of macaque monkeys before and after the administration of subanesthetic doses of ketamine in a rule-based working memory task. The rule was instructed with a color cue before each delay period and dictated the correct prosaccadic or antisaccadic response to a peripheral stimulus appearing after the delay. We found that acute ketamine injections both weakened the rule signal across all delay periods and amplified the trial-to-trial variance in neural activities (i.e., noise), both within individual neurons and at the ensemble level, resulting in impaired performance. In the minority of postinjection trials when the animals responded correctly, the preservation of the signal strength during the delay periods was predictive of their subsequent success. Our findings suggest that NMDA receptor function may be critical for establishing the optimal signal-to-noise ratio in information representation by ensembles of prefrontal cortex neurons. In schizophrenia patients, working memory deficit is highly debilitating and currently without any efficacious treatment. An improved understanding of the pathophysiology of this symptom may provide critical information to treatment development. The NMDA antagonist ketamine, when injected at a subanesthetic dose, produces working memory deficit and other schizophrenia-like symptoms in humans and other animals. Here we investigated the effects of ketamine on the representation of abstract rules by prefrontal neurons, while macaque monkeys held the rules in working memory before responding accordingly. We found that ketamine weakened the signal

Arctigenin isolated from the seeds of Arctium lappa ameliorates memory deficits in mice.

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Lee, In-Ah; Joh, Eun-Ha; Kim, Dong-Hyun

2011-09-01

The seeds of Arctium lappa L. (AL, family Asteraceae), the main constituents of which are arctiin and arctigenin, have been used as an herbal medicine or functional food to treat inflammatory diseases. These main constituents were shown to inhibit acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity. Arctigenin more potently inhibited AChE activity than arctiin. Arctigenin at doses of 30 and 60 mg/kg (p. o.) potently reversed scopolamine-induced memory deficits by 62 % and 73 %, respectively, in a passive avoidance test. This finding is comparable with that of tacrine (10 mg/kg p. o.). Arctigenin also significantly reversed scopolamine-induced memory deficits in the Y-maze and Morris water maze tests. On the basis of these findings, arctigenin may ameliorate memory deficits by inhibiting AChE. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Combined effects of THC and caffeine on working memory in rats

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Panlilio, Leigh V; Ferré, Sergi; Yasar, Sevil; Thorndike, Eric B; Schindler, Charles W; Goldberg, Steven R

2012-01-01

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Cannabis and caffeine are two of the most widely used psychoactive substances. Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive constituent of cannabis, induces deficits in short-term memory. Caffeine, a non-selective adenosine receptor antagonist, attenuates some memory deficits, but there have been few studies addressing the effects of caffeine and THC in combination. Here, we evaluate the effects of these drugs using a rodent model of working memory. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH Rats were given THC (0, 1 and 3 mg·kg−1, i.p.) along with caffeine (0, 1, 3 and 10 mg·kg−1, i.p.), the selective adenosine A1-receptor antagonist CPT (0, 3 and 10 mg·kg−1) or the selective adenosine A2A-receptor antagonist SCH58261 (0 and 5 mg·kg−1) and were tested with a delayed non-matching-to-position procedure in which behaviour during the delay was automatically recorded as a model of memory rehearsal. KEY RESULTS THC alone produced memory deficits at 3 mg·kg−1. The initial exposure to caffeine (10 mg·kg−1) disrupted the established pattern of rehearsal-like behaviour, but tolerance developed rapidly to this effect. CPT and SCH58261 alone had no significant effects on rehearsal or memory. When a subthreshold dose of THC (1 mg·kg−1) was combined with caffeine (10 mg·kg−1) or CPT (10 mg·kg−1), memory performance was significantly impaired, even though performance of the rehearsal-like pattern was not significantly altered. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS Caffeine did not counteract memory deficits induced by THC but actually exacerbated them. These results are consistent with recent findings that adenosine A1 receptors modulate cannabinoid signalling in the hippocampus. LINKED ARTICLES This article is part of a themed section on Cannabinoids in Biology and Medicine. To view the other articles in this section visit http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/bph.2012.165.issue-8. To view Part I of Cannabinoids in Biology and Medicine visit http://dx.doi.org/10

Memory deficits in long-term survivors of childhood brain tumors may primarily reflect general cognitive dysfunctions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Reimers, Tonny Solveig; Mortensen, Erik Lykke; Schmiegelow, Kjeld

2007-01-01

To analyze the impact of potential predictors on memory performance in survivors of childhood brain tumors and to examine whether deficits in memory after radiotherapy (RT) should be considered part of a more global mental dysfunction.......To analyze the impact of potential predictors on memory performance in survivors of childhood brain tumors and to examine whether deficits in memory after radiotherapy (RT) should be considered part of a more global mental dysfunction....

Do Children with Phonological Delay Have Phonological Short-Term and Phonological Working Memory Deficits?

Science.gov (United States)

Waring, Rebecca; Eadie, Patricia; Liow, Susan Rickard; Dodd, Barbara

2017-01-01

While little is known about why children make speech errors, it has been hypothesized that cognitive-linguistic factors may underlie phonological speech sound disorders. This study compared the phonological short-term and phonological working memory abilities (using immediate memory tasks) and receptive vocabulary size of 14 monolingual preschool…

Performance-based empathy mediates the influence of working memory on social competence in schizophrenia.

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Smith, Matthew J; Horan, William P; Cobia, Derin J; Karpouzian, Tatiana M; Fox, Jaclyn M; Reilly, James L; Breiter, Hans C

2014-07-01

Empathic deficits have been linked to poor functioning in schizophrenia, but this work is mostly limited to self-report data. This study examined whether performance-based empathy measures account for incremental variance in social competence and social attainment above and beyond self-reported empathy, neurocognition, and clinical symptoms. Given the importance of working memory in theoretical models of empathy and in the prediction of functioning in schizophrenia, we also examined whether empathy mediates the relationship between working memory and functioning. Sixty outpatients and 45 healthy controls were compared on performance-based measures of 3 key components of empathic responding, including facial affect perception, emotional empathy (affective responsiveness), and cognitive empathy (emotional perspective-taking). Participants also completed measures of self-reported empathy, neurocognition, clinical symptoms, and social competence and attainment. Patients demonstrated lower accuracy than controls across the 3 performance-based empathy measures. Among patients, these measures showed minimal relations to self-reported empathy but significantly correlated with working memory and other neurocognitive functions as well as symptom levels. Furthermore, cognitive empathy explained significant incremental variance in social competence (∆R (2) = .07, P working memory and social competence. Performance-based measures of empathy were sensitive to functionally relevant disturbances in schizophrenia. Working memory deficits appear to have an important effect on these disruptions in empathy. Empathy is emerging as a promising new area for social cognitive research and for novel recovery-oriented treatment development. © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Neuroprotective evidence of alpha-lipoic acid and desvenlafaxine on memory deficit in a neuroendocrine model of depression.

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de Sousa, Caren Nádia Soares; Meneses, Lucas Nascimento; Vasconcelos, Germana Silva; da Silva Medeiros, Ingridy; Silva, Márcia Calheiros Chaves; Mouaffak, Fayçal; Kebir, Oussama; da Silva Leite, Cláudio Manuel Gonçalves; Patrocinio, Manoel Cláudio Azevedo; Macedo, Danielle; Vasconcelos, Silvânia Maria Mendes

2018-05-07

Cognitive impairment is present in patients with depression. We hypothesized that alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) can reduce cognitive impairment, especially when combined to antidepressants. Female mice received vehicle or corticosterone (CORT) 20 mg/kg, s.c. for 14 days. From the 15th to 21st day, the animals were divided in groups: vehicle, CORT, CORT+desvenlafaxine (DVS) 10 or 20 mg/kg, ALA 100 or 200 mg/kg, DVS10+ALA100, DVS20+ALA100, DVS10+ALA200, or DVS20+ALA200. Tail suspension (TST), social interaction (SIT), novel object recognition (NOR), and Y-maze tests were conducted. Acetylcholinesterase activity (AChE) was measured in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), hippocampus (HC), and striatum (ST). CORT caused depressive-like behavior, impairment in SIT, and cognitive deficits. Alpha-lipoic acid and DVS, alone or combined, reversed CORT effect on TST. In the NOR, ALA200 alone, DVS10+ALA100, or DVS10+ALA200 reversed the deficits in short-term memory, while DVS20 alone or DVS20+ALA200 reversed the deficits in long-term memory. In the Y-maze test, ALA200 alone, DVS20+ALA100, or DVS20+ALA200 reversed the deficits caused by CORT in the working memory. CORT increased AChE in the PFC, HC, and ST. ALA200 alone or DVS20+ALA200 reversed this effect in the PFC, while DVS20 or DVS20+ALA100 reversed this effect in the HC. In the ST, DVS10 or 20, alone or combined, and ALA100 reversed the effects of CORT. These results suggest that DVS+ALA, by reversing CORT-induced memory and social deficits, seems to be a promising therapy for the treatment of depression and reversal of cognitive impairment observed in this disorder.

EEG markers of reduced visual short-term memory capacity in adult attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wiegand, Iris Michaela; Kilian, Beate; Hennig-Fast, Kristina

2015-01-01

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) persists frequently into adulthood. The disease is associated with difficulties in many cognitive tasks, which are assumed to be caused by neurobiologically-based basal dysfunctions. A reduction in visual working memory storage capacity has recently...... been claimed a testable endophenotype of ADHD. This study aimed at identifying brain abnormalities underlying this deficit by combining parameter-based assessment with electrophysiology. We compared unmedicated adult ADHD patients and demographically matched, healthy controls. We found reduced storage...... capacity in the patient group and delineated neural correlates of the deficit by analyzing ERP amplitudes according to (1) differences between patients and controls and (2) individual’s performance level of storage capacity K: First, the contralateral delay activity (CDA) was higher for individuals...

Musical, visual and cognitive deficits after middle cerebral artery infarction

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Stephanie Rosemann

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The perception of music can be impaired after a stroke. This dysfunction is called amusia and amusia patients often also show deficits in visual abilities, language, memory, learning, and attention. The current study investigated whether deficits in music perception are selective for musical input or generalize to other perceptual abilities. Additionally, we tested the hypothesis that deficits in working memory or attention account for impairments in music perception. Twenty stroke patients with small infarctions in the supply area of the middle cerebral artery were investigated with tests for music and visual perception, categorization, neglect, working memory and attention. Two amusia patients with selective deficits in music perception and pronounced lesions were identified. Working memory and attention deficits were highly correlated across the patient group but no correlation with musical abilities was obtained. Lesion analysis revealed that lesions in small areas of the putamen and globus pallidus were connected to a rhythm perception deficit. We conclude that neither a general perceptual deficit nor a minor domain general deficit can account for impairments in the music perception task. But we find support for the modular organization of the music perception network with brain areas specialized for musical functions as musical deficits were not correlated to any other impairment.

Musical, visual and cognitive deficits after middle cerebral artery infarction.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosemann, Stephanie; Brunner, Freimuth; Kastrup, Andreas; Fahle, Manfred

2017-03-01

The perception of music can be impaired after a stroke. This dysfunction is called amusia and amusia patients often also show deficits in visual abilities, language, memory, learning, and attention. The current study investigated whether deficits in music perception are selective for musical input or generalize to other perceptual abilities. Additionally, we tested the hypothesis that deficits in working memory or attention account for impairments in music perception. Twenty stroke patients with small infarctions in the supply area of the middle cerebral artery were investigated with tests for music and visual perception, categorization, neglect, working memory and attention. Two amusia patients with selective deficits in music perception and pronounced lesions were identified. Working memory and attention deficits were highly correlated across the patient group but no correlation with musical abilities was obtained. Lesion analysis revealed that lesions in small areas of the putamen and globus pallidus were connected to a rhythm perception deficit. We conclude that neither a general perceptual deficit nor a minor domain general deficit can account for impairments in the music perception task. But we find support for the modular organization of the music perception network with brain areas specialized for musical functions as musical deficits were not correlated to any other impairment.

Working memory dysfunctions predict social problem solving skills in schizophrenia.

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Huang, Jia; Tan, Shu-ping; Walsh, Sarah C; Spriggens, Lauren K; Neumann, David L; Shum, David H K; Chan, Raymond C K

2014-12-15

The current study aimed to examine the contribution of neurocognition and social cognition to components of social problem solving. Sixty-seven inpatients with schizophrenia and 31 healthy controls were administrated batteries of neurocognitive tests, emotion perception tests, and the Chinese Assessment of Interpersonal Problem Solving Skills (CAIPSS). MANOVAs were conducted to investigate the domains in which patients with schizophrenia showed impairments. Correlations were used to determine which impaired domains were associated with social problem solving, and multiple regression analyses were conducted to compare the relative contribution of neurocognitive and social cognitive functioning to components of social problem solving. Compared with healthy controls, patients with schizophrenia performed significantly worse in sustained attention, working memory, negative emotion, intention identification and all components of the CAIPSS. Specifically, sustained attention, working memory and negative emotion identification were found to correlate with social problem solving and 1-back accuracy significantly predicted the poor performance in social problem solving. Among the dysfunctions in schizophrenia, working memory contributed most to deficits in social problem solving in patients with schizophrenia. This finding provides support for targeting working memory in the development of future social problem solving rehabilitation interventions. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Theory of Mind Deficit versus Faulty Procedural Memory in Autism Spectrum Disorders.

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Romero-Munguía, Miguel Ángel

2013-01-01

Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have impairments in social interaction, communicative capacity, and behavioral flexibility (core triad). Three major cognitive theories (theory of mind deficit, weak central coherence, and executive dysfunction) seem to explain many of these impairments. Currently, however, the empathizing-systemizing (a newer version of the theory of mind deficit account) and mnesic imbalance theories are the only ones that attempt to explain all these core triadic symptoms of ASD On the other hand, theory of mind deficit in empathizing-systemizing theory is the most influential account for ASD, but its counterpart in the mnesic imbalance theory, faulty procedural memory, seems to occur earlier in development; consequently, this might be a better solution to the problem of the etiology of ASD, if it truly meets the precedence criterion. Hence, in the present paper I review the reasoning in favor of the theory of mind deficit but with a new interpretation based on the mnesic imbalance theory, which posits that faulty procedural memory causes deficits in several cognitive skills, resulting in poor performance in theory of mind tasks.

Theory of Mind Deficit versus Faulty Procedural Memory in Autism Spectrum Disorders

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Miguel Ángel Romero-Munguía

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD have impairments in social interaction, communicative capacity, and behavioral flexibility (core triad. Three major cognitive theories (theory of mind deficit, weak central coherence, and executive dysfunction seem to explain many of these impairments. Currently, however, the empathizing-systemizing (a newer version of the theory of mind deficit account and mnesic imbalance theories are the only ones that attempt to explain all these core triadic symptoms of ASD On the other hand, theory of mind deficit in empathizing-systemizing theory is the most influential account for ASD, but its counterpart in the mnesic imbalance theory, faulty procedural memory, seems to occur earlier in development; consequently, this might be a better solution to the problem of the etiology of ASD, if it truly meets the precedence criterion. Hence, in the present paper I review the reasoning in favor of the theory of mind deficit but with a new interpretation based on the mnesic imbalance theory, which posits that faulty procedural memory causes deficits in several cognitive skills, resulting in poor performance in theory of mind tasks.

Visual encoding impairment in patients with schizophrenia: contribution of reduced working memory span, decreased processing speed, and affective symptoms.

Science.gov (United States)

Brébion, Gildas; Stephan-Otto, Christian; Huerta-Ramos, Elena; Ochoa, Susana; Usall, Judith; Abellán-Vega, Helena; Roca, Mercedes; Haro, Josep Maria

2015-01-01

Previous research has revealed the contribution of decreased processing speed and reduced working memory span in verbal and visual memory impairment in patients with schizophrenia. The role of affective symptoms in verbal memory has also emerged in a few studies. The authors designed a picture recognition task to investigate the impact of these factors on visual encoding. Two types of pictures (black and white vs. colored) were presented under 2 different conditions of context encoding (either displayed at a specific location or in association with another visual stimulus). It was assumed that the process of encoding associated pictures was more effortful than that of encoding pictures that were presented alone. Working memory span and processing speed were assessed. In the patient group, working memory span was significantly associated with the recognition of the associated pictures but not significantly with that of the other pictures. Controlling for processing speed eliminated the patients' deficit in the recognition of the colored pictures and greatly reduced their deficit in the recognition of the black-and-white pictures. The recognition of the black-and-white pictures was inversely related to anxiety in men and to depression in women. Working memory span constrains the effortful visual encoding processes in patients, whereas processing speed decrement accounts for most of their visual encoding deficit. Affective symptoms also have an impact on visual encoding, albeit differently in men and women. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved.

Exploration of a 'double-jeopardy' hypothesis within working memory profiles for children with specific language impairment.

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Briscoe, J; Rankin, P M

2009-01-01

, respectively. Mean group differences were ascertained by directly comparing raw scores on memory tests linked to different components of the tripartite model using a series of multivariate analyses. The majority of working memory scores of the SLI group were depressed relative to chronological age-matched controls, with the exception of spatial recall (block tapping) and word (order) matching tasks. Marked deficits in serial recall of words and digits were evident, with the SLI group scoring more poorly than the language-ability matched control group on these measures. Impairments of the SLI group on phonological loop tasks were robust, even when covariance with executive working memory scores was accounted for. There was no robust effect of group on complex working memory (central executive) tasks, despite a slight association between listening recall and phonological loop measures. A predominant feature of the working memory profile of SLI was a marked deficit on phonological loop tasks. Although scores on complex working memory tasks were also depressed, there was little evidence for a strong interpretation of double-jeopardy within working memory profiles for these children, rather these findings were consistent with an interpretation of a constraint on phonological loop for children with SLI that operated at all levels of a hierarchical tripartite model of working memory (Baddeley and Hitch 1974). These findings imply that low scores on complex working memory tasks alone do not unequivocally imply an independent deficit in central executive (domain-general) resources of working memory and should therefore be treated cautiously in a clinical context.

Phosphodiesterase 10A inhibition attenuates sleep deprivation-induced deficits in long-term fear memory.

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Guo, Lengqiu; Guo, Zhuangli; Luo, Xiaoqing; Liang, Rui; Yang, Shui; Ren, Haigang; Wang, Guanghui; Zhen, Xuechu

2016-12-02

Sleep, particularly rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, is implicated in the consolidation of emotional memories. In the present study, we investigated the protective effects of a phosphodiesterase 10A (PDE10A) inhibitor MP-10 on deficits in long-term fear memory induced by REM sleep deprivation (REM-SD). REM-SD caused deficits in long-term fear memory, however, MP-10 administration ameliorated the deleterious effects of REM-SD on long term fear memory. Brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF) and phosphorylated cAMP response element-binding protein (pCREB) were altered in specific brain regions associated with learning and memory in REM-SD rats. Accordingly, REM-SD caused a significant decrease of pCREB in hippocampus and striatum and a significant decrease of BDNF in the hippocampus, striatum and amygdala, however, MP-10 reversed the effects of REM-SD in a dose-dependent manner. Our findings suggest that REM-SD disrupts the consolidation of long-term fear memory and that administration of MP-10 protects the REM-SD-induced deficits in fear memory, which may be due to the MP-10-induced expression of BDNF in the hippocampus, striatum and amygdala, and phosphorylation of CREB in the hippocampus and striatum. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Male veterans with PTSD exhibit aberrant neural dynamics during working memory processing: an MEG study.

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McDermott, Timothy J; Badura-Brack, Amy S; Becker, Katherine M; Ryan, Tara J; Khanna, Maya M; Heinrichs-Graham, Elizabeth; Wilson, Tony W

2016-06-01

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with executive functioning deficits, including disruptions in working memory. In this study, we examined the neural dynamics of working memory processing in veterans with PTSD and a matched healthy control sample using magnetoencephalography (MEG). Our sample of recent combat veterans with PTSD and demographically matched participants without PTSD completed a working memory task during a 306-sensor MEG recording. The MEG data were preprocessed and transformed into the time-frequency domain. Significant oscillatory brain responses were imaged using a beamforming approach to identify spatiotemporal dynamics. Fifty-one men were included in our analyses: 27 combat veterans with PTSD and 24 controls. Across all participants, a dynamic wave of neural activity spread from posterior visual cortices to left frontotemporal regions during encoding, consistent with a verbal working memory task, and was sustained throughout maintenance. Differences related to PTSD emerged during early encoding, with patients exhibiting stronger α oscillatory responses than controls in the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG). Differences spread to the right supramarginal and temporal cortices during later encoding where, along with the right IFG, they persisted throughout the maintenance period. This study focused on men with combat-related PTSD using a verbal working memory task. Future studies should evaluate women and the impact of various traumatic experiences using diverse tasks. Posttraumatic stress disorder is associated with neurophysiological abnormalities during working memory encoding and maintenance. Veterans with PTSD engaged a bilateral network, including the inferior prefrontal cortices and supramarginal gyri. Right hemispheric neural activity likely reflects compensatory processing, as veterans with PTSD work to maintain accurate performance despite known cognitive deficits associated with the disorder.

Loss of perforated synapses in the dentate gyrus: morphological substrate of memory deficit in aged rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Geinisman, Y; de Toledo-Morrell, L; Morrell, F

1986-01-01

Most, but not all, aged rats exhibit a profound deficit in spatial memory when tested in a radial maze--a task known to depend on the integrity of the hippocampal formation. In this study, animals were divided into three groups based on their spatial memory capacity: young adult rats with good memory, aged rats with impaired memory, and aged rats with good memory. Memory-impaired aged animals showed a loss of perforated axospinous synapses in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampal formation in comparison with either young adults or aged rats with good memory. This finding suggests that the loss of perforated axospinous synapses in the hippocampal formation underlies the age-related deficit in spatial memory. Images PMID:3458260

Working Memory Profiles in HIV-Exposed, Uninfected and HIV-Infected Children: A Comparison with Neurotypical Controls

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Milligan, Robyn; Cockcroft, Kate

2017-01-01

This study compared the working memory profiles of three groups of children, namely HIV-infected (HIV-I; n = 95), HIV-exposed, uninfected (HIV-EU; n = 86) and an HIV-unexposed, uninfected, (HIV-UU; n = 92) neurotypical control group. Working memory, an executive function, plays an important role in frontal lobe-controlled behaviors, such as motivation, planning, decision making, and social interaction, and is a strong predictor of academic success in school children. Memory impairments have been identified in HIV-I children, particularly in visuospatial processing. Verbal working memory has not been commonly investigated in this population, while it is unknown how the working memory profiles of HIV-EU children compare to their HIV-I and HIV-UU peers. Of interest was whether the working memory profiles of the HIV-EU children would be more similar to the HIV-I group or to the uninfected control group. The results revealed no significant differences in working memory performance between the HIV-I and HIV-EU groups. However, this does not mean that the etiology of the working memory deficits is the same in the two groups, as these groups showed important differences when compared to the control group. In comparison to the controls, the HIV-I group experienced difficulties with processing tasks irrespective of whether they drew on a verbal or visuospatial modality. This appears to stem from a generalized executive function deficit that also interferes with working memory. In the HIV-EU group, difficulties occurred with verbally based tasks, irrespective of whether they required storage or processing. For this group, the dual demands of complex processing and using a second language seem to result in demand exceeding capacity on verbal tasks. Both groups experienced the greatest difficulties with verbal processing tasks for these different reasons. Thus, disruption of different cognitive abilities could result in similar working memory profiles, as evidenced in this

Working Memory Profiles in HIV-Exposed, Uninfected and HIV-Infected Children: A Comparison with Neurotypical Controls.

Science.gov (United States)

Milligan, Robyn; Cockcroft, Kate

2017-01-01

This study compared the working memory profiles of three groups of children, namely HIV-infected (HIV-I; n = 95), HIV-exposed, uninfected (HIV-EU; n = 86) and an HIV-unexposed, uninfected, (HIV-UU; n = 92) neurotypical control group. Working memory, an executive function, plays an important role in frontal lobe-controlled behaviors, such as motivation, planning, decision making, and social interaction, and is a strong predictor of academic success in school children. Memory impairments have been identified in HIV-I children, particularly in visuospatial processing. Verbal working memory has not been commonly investigated in this population, while it is unknown how the working memory profiles of HIV-EU children compare to their HIV-I and HIV-UU peers. Of interest was whether the working memory profiles of the HIV-EU children would be more similar to the HIV-I group or to the uninfected control group. The results revealed no significant differences in working memory performance between the HIV-I and HIV-EU groups. However, this does not mean that the etiology of the working memory deficits is the same in the two groups, as these groups showed important differences when compared to the control group. In comparison to the controls, the HIV-I group experienced difficulties with processing tasks irrespective of whether they drew on a verbal or visuospatial modality. This appears to stem from a generalized executive function deficit that also interferes with working memory. In the HIV-EU group, difficulties occurred with verbally based tasks, irrespective of whether they required storage or processing. For this group, the dual demands of complex processing and using a second language seem to result in demand exceeding capacity on verbal tasks. Both groups experienced the greatest difficulties with verbal processing tasks for these different reasons. Thus, disruption of different cognitive abilities could result in similar working memory profiles, as evidenced in this

Working Memory Profiles in HIV-Exposed, Uninfected and HIV-Infected Children: A Comparison with Neurotypical Controls

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robyn Milligan

2017-07-01

Full Text Available This study compared the working memory profiles of three groups of children, namely HIV-infected (HIV-I; n = 95, HIV-exposed, uninfected (HIV-EU; n = 86 and an HIV-unexposed, uninfected, (HIV-UU; n = 92 neurotypical control group. Working memory, an executive function, plays an important role in frontal lobe-controlled behaviors, such as motivation, planning, decision making, and social interaction, and is a strong predictor of academic success in school children. Memory impairments have been identified in HIV-I children, particularly in visuospatial processing. Verbal working memory has not been commonly investigated in this population, while it is unknown how the working memory profiles of HIV-EU children compare to their HIV-I and HIV-UU peers. Of interest was whether the working memory profiles of the HIV-EU children would be more similar to the HIV-I group or to the uninfected control group. The results revealed no significant differences in working memory performance between the HIV-I and HIV-EU groups. However, this does not mean that the etiology of the working memory deficits is the same in the two groups, as these groups showed important differences when compared to the control group. In comparison to the controls, the HIV-I group experienced difficulties with processing tasks irrespective of whether they drew on a verbal or visuospatial modality. This appears to stem from a generalized executive function deficit that also interferes with working memory. In the HIV-EU group, difficulties occurred with verbally based tasks, irrespective of whether they required storage or processing. For this group, the dual demands of complex processing and using a second language seem to result in demand exceeding capacity on verbal tasks. Both groups experienced the greatest difficulties with verbal processing tasks for these different reasons. Thus, disruption of different cognitive abilities could result in similar working memory profiles, as

How Human Memory and Working Memory Work in Second Language Acquisition

OpenAIRE

小那覇, 洋子; Onaha, Hiroko

2014-01-01

We often draw an analogy between human memory and computers. Information around us is taken into our memory storage first, and then we use the information in storage whatever we need it in our daily life. Linguistic information is also in storage and we process our thoughts based on the memory that is stored. Memory storage consists of multiple memory systems; one of which is called working memory that includes short-term memory. Working memory is the central system that underpins the process...

Cognitive Deficits and Memory Disturbances in Patients with Chronic Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

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Mohammad-Reza Fayyazi-Bordbar

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Background: Some studies have demonstrated high cognitive deficits in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD. Considering the limited available information about this issue, we decided to assess the cognitive deficits and memory disturbances in these patients.Materials and Methods: The present study is a case control research conducted on 50 patients with post-traumatic stress disorder who were admitted to Ibn-e-Sina psychiatric hospital in Mashhad, in north-eastern part of Iran in 2008. The control group included 50 people of first degree relatives of these patients who met the inclusion criteria of the study. Case and control groups were selected by simple sampling method; and for all of them, a questionnaire of demographic information, Wechsler memory scale, and mini mental status examination (MMSE were completed. The gathered data were analyzed using SPSS 14th edition by chi square, t-test, and analyze of variance.Results: The mean score of Wechsler memory scale in patients with PTSD (80.78±18.39 was significantly higher than control group (67.92±7.38 (p=0.001. The mean score of MMSE was significantly lower in patients with PTSD compared to control group (p=0.001. The determined disability level assessed by Iranian veterans’ organization and also comorbidity of other psychiatric disorders with PTSD did not have a significant relationship with cognitive deficits, but the duration of PTSD and age of patients were significantly related to the level of cognitive deficits.Conclusion: Cognitive deficits and memory disturbances are higher in patients with PTSD than general population.

Assessing Working Memory in Mild Cognitive Impairment with Serial Order Recall.

Science.gov (United States)

Emrani, Sheina; Libon, David J; Lamar, Melissa; Price, Catherine C; Jefferson, Angela L; Gifford, Katherine A; Hohman, Timothy J; Nation, Daniel A; Delano-Wood, Lisa; Jak, Amy; Bangen, Katherine J; Bondi, Mark W; Brickman, Adam M; Manly, Jennifer; Swenson, Rodney; Au, Rhoda

2018-01-01

Working memory (WM) is often assessed with serial order tests such as repeating digits backward. In prior dementia research using the Backward Digit Span Test (BDT), only aggregate test performance was examined. The current research tallied primacy/recency effects, out-of-sequence transposition errors, perseverations, and omissions to assess WM deficits in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Memory clinic patients (n = 66) were classified into three groups: single domain amnestic MCI (aMCI), combined mixed domain/dysexecutive MCI (mixed/dys MCI), and non-MCI where patients did not meet criteria for MCI. Serial order/WM ability was assessed by asking participants to repeat 7 trials of five digits backwards. Serial order position accuracy, transposition errors, perseverations, and omission errors were tallied. A 3 (group)×5 (serial position) repeated measures ANOVA yielded a significant group×trial interaction. Follow-up analyses found attenuation of the recency effect for mixed/dys MCI patients. Mixed/dys MCI patients scored lower than non-MCI patients for serial position 3 (p Mixed/dys MCI patients also produced more transposition errors than both groups (p order parameters obtained from the BDT may provide a useful operational definition as well as additional diagnostic information regarding working memory deficits in MCI.

Interventions to improve executive functioning and working memory in school-aged children with AD(H)D: a randomised controlled trial and stepped-care approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Donk, Marthe L. A.; Hiemstra-Beernink, Anne-Claire; Tjeenk-Kalff, Ariane C.; van der Leij, Aryan V.; Lindauer, Ramón J. L.

2013-01-01

Deficits in executive functioning are of great significance in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). One of these executive functions, working memory, plays an important role in academic performance and is often seen as the core deficit of this disorder. There are indications that working

[Formula: see text]Differences in memory functioning between children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and/or focal epilepsy.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Sylvia E; Kibby, Michelle Y; Cohen, Morris J; Stanford, Lisa; Park, Yong; Strickland, Suzanne

2016-01-01

Prior research has shown that attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and epilepsy are frequently comorbid and that both disorders are associated with various attention and memory problems. Nonetheless, limited research has been conducted comparing the two disorders in one sample to determine unique versus shared deficits. Hence, we investigated differences in working memory (WM) and short-term and delayed recall between children with ADHD, focal epilepsy of mixed foci, comorbid ADHD/epilepsy and controls. Participants were compared on the Core subtests and the Picture Locations subtest of the Children's Memory Scale (CMS). Results indicated that children with ADHD displayed intact verbal WM and long-term memory (LTM), as well as intact performance on most aspects of short-term memory (STM). They performed worse than controls on Numbers Forward and Picture Locations, suggesting problems with focused attention and simple span for visual-spatial material. Conversely, children with epilepsy displayed poor focused attention and STM regardless of the modality assessed, which affected encoding into LTM. The only loss over time was found for passages (Stories). WM was intact. Children with comorbid ADHD/epilepsy displayed focused attention and STM/LTM problems consistent with both disorders, having the lowest scores across the four groups. Hence, focused attention and visual-spatial span appear to be affected in both disorders, whereas additional STM/encoding problems are specific to epilepsy. Children with comorbid ADHD/epilepsy have deficits consistent with both disorders, with slight additive effects. This study suggests that attention and memory testing should be a regular part of the evaluation of children with epilepsy and ADHD.

A cognitive psychometric model for the psychodiagnostic assessment of memory-related deficits.

Science.gov (United States)

Alexander, Gregory E; Satalich, Timothy A; Shankle, W Rodman; Batchelder, William H

2016-03-01

Clinical tests used for psychodiagnostic purposes, such as the well-known Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale: Cognitive subscale (ADAS-Cog), include a free-recall task. The free-recall task taps into latent cognitive processes associated with learning and memory components of human cognition, any of which might be impaired with the progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD). A Hidden Markov model of free recall is developed to measure latent cognitive processes used during the free-recall task. In return, these cognitive measurements give us insight into the degree to which normal cognitive functions are differentially impaired by medical conditions, such as AD and related disorders. The model is used to analyze the free-recall data obtained from healthy elderly participants, participants diagnosed as having mild cognitive impairment, and participants diagnosed with early AD. The model is specified hierarchically to handle item differences because of the serial position curve in free recall, as well as within-group individual differences in participants' recall abilities. Bayesian hierarchical inference is used to estimate the model. The model analysis suggests that the impaired patients have the following: (1) long-term memory encoding deficits, (2) short-term memory (STM) retrieval deficits for all but very short time intervals, (3) poorer transfer into long-term memory for items successfully retrieved from STM, and (4) poorer retention of items encoded into long-term memory after longer delays. Yet, impaired patients appear to have no deficit in immediate recall of encoded words in long-term memory or for very short time intervals in STM. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Memory loss versus memory distortion: the role of encoding and retrieval deficits in Korsakoff patients' false memories.

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Van Damme, Ilse; d'Ydewalle, Gery

2009-05-01

Recent studies with the Deese/Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm have revealed that Korsakoff patients show reduced levels of false recognition and different patterns of false recall compared to controls. The present experiment examined whether this could be attributed to an encoding deficit, or rather to problems with explicitly retrieving thematic information at test. In a variation on the DRM paradigm, both patients and controls were presented with associative as well as categorised word lists, with the order of recall and recognition tests manipulated between-subjects. The results point to an important role for the automatic/controlled retrieval distinction: Korsakoff patients' false memory was only diminished compared to controls' when automatic or short-term memory processes could not be used to fulfil the task at hand. Hence, the patients' explicit retrieval deficit appears to be crucial in explaining past and present data. Results are discussed in terms of fuzzy-trace and activation-monitoring theories.

The hippocampus, time and working memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Rawlins, J N; Tsaltas, E

1983-12-01

Rats were trained on a discrete trial working memory leverpress alternation task, following hippocampal lesions (HC), cortical control lesions (CC) or sham operations (SO). Each trial consisted of a forced information response, for which a randomly selected lever was presented followed by a free choice stage, when both levers were presented. The rats were rewarded for pressing the lever which had not been presented at the information stage. When the information response was not rewarded, all rats learnt the task equally well at IRIs of up to 12.75 sec. When the information response was rewarded, the HC rats showed impaired choice accuracy. The extent of this impairment depended on the IRI, being greatest at long IRIs, and least at short ones. Varying the number of leverpresses required to complete the information response affected choice accuracy equivalently in all groups: all rats chose significantly less accurately when only one leverpress was required than when ten leverpresses were required. There was no interaction between the lesion treatments and the information response requirements. It was concluded that both the length of the IRI and the occurrence of events during the IRI determine the extent of the hippocampal lesion-induced performance deficit in working memory tasks. It is proposed that hippocampal damage disrupts an intermediate-term, high-capacity memory buffer, but leaves both a residual short-term memory system and the long-term retention of associations unaffected. This proposal leads to the prediction that reference memory tasks should also be affected by hippocampal lesions when a delay is introduced between making a response and being rewarded for doing so.

Variation in Parasympathetic Dysregulation Moderates Short-term Memory Problems in Childhood Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

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Ward, Anthony R; Alarcón, Gabriela; Nigg, Joel T; Musser, Erica D

2015-11-01

Although attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with impairment in working memory and short-term memory, up to half of individual children with ADHD perform within a normative range. Heterogeneity in other ADHD-related mechanisms, which may compensate for or combine with cognitive weaknesses, is a likely explanation. One candidate is the robustness of parasympathetic regulation (as indexed by respiratory sinus arrhythmia; RSA). Theory and data suggest that a common neural network is likely tied to both heart-rate regulation and certain cognitive functions (including aspects of working and short-term memory). Cardiac-derived indices of parasympathetic reactivity were collected during short-term memory (STM) storage and rehearsal tasks from 243 children (116 ADHD, 127 controls). ADHD was associated with lower STM performance, replicating previous work. In addition, RSA reactivity moderated the association between STM and ADHD - both as a category and a dimension - independent of comorbidity. Specifically, conditional effects revealed that high levels of withdrawal interacted with weakened STM but high levels of augmentation moderated a positive association predicting ADHD. Thus, variations in parasympathetic reactivity may help explain neuropsychological heterogeneity in ADHD.

Visual short-term memory binding deficit in familial Alzheimer's disease.

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Liang, Yuying; Pertzov, Yoni; Nicholas, Jennifer M; Henley, Susie M D; Crutch, Sebastian; Woodward, Felix; Leung, Kelvin; Fox, Nick C; Husain, Masud

2016-05-01

Long-term episodic memory deficits in Alzheimer's disease (AD) are well characterised but, until recently, short-term memory (STM) function has attracted far less attention. We employed a recently-developed, delayed reproduction task which requires participants to reproduce precisely the remembered location of items they had seen only seconds previously. This paradigm provides not only a continuous measure of localization error in memory, but also an index of relational binding by determining the frequency with which an object is misplaced to the location of one of the other items held in memory. Such binding errors in STM have previously been found on this task to be sensitive to medial temporal lobe (MTL) damage in focal lesion cases. Twenty individuals with pathological mutations in presenilin 1 or amyloid precursor protein genes for familial Alzheimer's disease (FAD) were tested together with 62 healthy controls. Participants were assessed using the delayed reproduction memory task, a standard neuropsychological battery and structural MRI. Overall, FAD mutation carriers were worse than controls for object identity as well as in gross localization memory performance. Moreover, they showed greater misbinding of object identity and location than healthy controls. Thus they would often mislocalize a correctly-identified item to the location of one of the other items held in memory. Significantly, asymptomatic gene carriers - who performed similarly to healthy controls on standard neuropsychological tests - had a specific impairment in object-location binding, despite intact memory for object identity and location. Consistent with the hypothesis that the hippocampus is critically involved in relational binding regardless of memory duration, decreased hippocampal volume across FAD participants was significantly associated with deficits in object-location binding but not with recall precision for object identity or localization. Object-location binding may therefore

Phonological working memory and auditory processing speed in children with specific language impairment

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Fatemeh Haresabadi

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Background and Aim: Specific language impairment (SLI, one variety of developmental language disorder, has attracted much interest in recent decades. Much research has been conducted to discover why some children have a specific language impairment. So far, research has failed to identify a reason for this linguistic deficiency. Some researchers believe language disorder causes defects in phonological working memory and affects auditory processing speed. Therefore, this study reviews the results of research investigating these two factors in children with specific language impairment.Recent Findings: Studies have shown that children with specific language impairment face constraints in phonological working memory capacity. Memory deficit is one possible cause of linguistic disorder in children with specific language impairment. However, in these children, disorder in information processing speed is observed, especially regarding the auditory aspect.Conclusion: Much more research is required to adequately explain the relationship between phonological working memory and auditory processing speed with language. However, given the role of phonological working memory and auditory processing speed in language acquisition, a focus should be placed on phonological working memory capacity and auditory processing speed in the assessment and treatment of children with a specific language impairment.

Evidence for working memory deficits in chronic pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

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Berryman, Carolyn; Stanton, Tasha R; Jane Bowering, K; Tabor, Abby; McFarlane, Alexander; Lorimer Moseley, G

2013-08-01

People with chronic pain commonly report impaired cognitive function. However, to date, there has been no systematic evaluation of the body of literature concerning cognitive impairment and pain. Nor have modern meta-analytical methods been used to verify and clarify the extent to which cognition may be impaired. The objective of this study was to systematically evaluate and critically appraise the literature concerning working memory function in people with chronic pain. The study was conducted along Cochrane collaboration and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement guidelines. A sensitive search strategy was designed and conducted with the help of an expert librarian using 6 databases. Twenty-four observational studies evaluating behavioural and/or physiological outcomes in a chronic pain group and a control group met the inclusion criteria. All studies had a high risk of bias, owing primarily to lack of assessor blinding to outcome. High heterogeneity within the field was found with the inclusion of 24 papers using 21 different working memory tests encompassing 9 different working memory constructs and 9 different chronic pain populations. Notwithstanding high heterogeneity, pooled results from behavioural outcomes reflected a consistent, significant moderate effect in favour of better performance by healthy controls and, with the exception of one study, pooled results from physiological outcomes reflected no evidence for an effect. Future research would benefit from the use of clearly defined constructs of working memory, as well as standardised methods of testing. Copyright © 2013 International Association for the Study of Pain. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Selective deficit of spatial short-term memory: Role of storage and rehearsal mechanisms.

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Bonnì, Sonia; Perri, Roberta; Fadda, Lucia; Tomaiuolo, Francesco; Koch, Giacomo; Caltagirone, Carlo; Carlesimo, Giovanni Augusto

2014-10-01

We report the neuropsychological and MRI investigation of a patient (GP) who developed a selective impairment of spatial short-term memory (STM) following damage to the dorso-mesial areas of the right frontal lobe. We assessed in this patient spatial STM with an experimental procedure that evaluated immediate and 5-20 s delayed recall of verbal, visual and spatial stimuli. The patient scored significantly worse than normal controls on tests that required delayed recall of spatial data. This could not be ascribed to a deficit of spatial episodic long-term memory because amnesic patients performed normally on these tests. Conversely, the patient scored in the normal range on tests of immediate recall of verbal, visual and spatial data and tests of delayed recall of verbal and visual data. Comparison with a previously described patient who had a selective deficit in immediate spatial recall and an ischemic lesion that affected frontal and parietal dorso-mesial areas in the right hemisphere (Carlesimo GA, Perri R, Turriziani P, Tomaiuolo F, Caltagirone C. Remembering what but not where: independence of spatial and visual working memory in the human brain. Cortex. 2001 Sep; 37(4):519-34) suggests that the right parietal areas are involved in the short-term storage of spatial information and that the dorso-mesial regions of the right frontal underlie mechanisms for the delayed maintenance of the same data.

Working Memory Modulation of Frontoparietal Network Connectivity in First-Episode Schizophrenia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Jesper Duemose; Madsen, Kristoffer Hougaard; Wang, Zheng

2017-01-01

Working memory (WM) impairment is regarded as a core aspect of schizophrenia. However, the neural mechanisms behind this cognitive deficit remain unclear. The connectivity of a frontoparietal network is known to be important for subserving WM. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, the curr......Working memory (WM) impairment is regarded as a core aspect of schizophrenia. However, the neural mechanisms behind this cognitive deficit remain unclear. The connectivity of a frontoparietal network is known to be important for subserving WM. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging......, the current study investigated whether WM-dependent modulation of effective connectivity in this network is affected in a group of first-episode schizophrenia (FES) patients compared with similarly performing healthy participants during a verbal n-back task. Dynamic causal modeling (DCM) of the coupling...... between regions (left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), left inferior parietal lobe (IPL), and primary visual area) identified in a psychophysiological interaction (PPI) analysis was performed to characterize effective connectivity during the n-back task. The PPI analysis revealed that the connectivity...

Contribution of auditory working memory to speech understanding in mandarin-speaking cochlear implant users.

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Tao, Duoduo; Deng, Rui; Jiang, Ye; Galvin, John J; Fu, Qian-Jie; Chen, Bing

2014-01-01

To investigate how auditory working memory relates to speech perception performance by Mandarin-speaking cochlear implant (CI) users. Auditory working memory and speech perception was measured in Mandarin-speaking CI and normal-hearing (NH) participants. Working memory capacity was measured using forward digit span and backward digit span; working memory efficiency was measured using articulation rate. Speech perception was assessed with: (a) word-in-sentence recognition in quiet, (b) word-in-sentence recognition in speech-shaped steady noise at +5 dB signal-to-noise ratio, (c) Chinese disyllable recognition in quiet, (d) Chinese lexical tone recognition in quiet. Self-reported school rank was also collected regarding performance in schoolwork. There was large inter-subject variability in auditory working memory and speech performance for CI participants. Working memory and speech performance were significantly poorer for CI than for NH participants. All three working memory measures were strongly correlated with each other for both CI and NH participants. Partial correlation analyses were performed on the CI data while controlling for demographic variables. Working memory efficiency was significantly correlated only with sentence recognition in quiet when working memory capacity was partialled out. Working memory capacity was correlated with disyllable recognition and school rank when efficiency was partialled out. There was no correlation between working memory and lexical tone recognition in the present CI participants. Mandarin-speaking CI users experience significant deficits in auditory working memory and speech performance compared with NH listeners. The present data suggest that auditory working memory may contribute to CI users' difficulties in speech understanding. The present pattern of results with Mandarin-speaking CI users is consistent with previous auditory working memory studies with English-speaking CI users, suggesting that the lexical importance

Impaired contingent attentional capture predicts reduced working memory capacity in schizophrenia.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jutta S Mayer

Full Text Available Although impairments in working memory (WM are well documented in schizophrenia, the specific factors that cause these deficits are poorly understood. In this study, we hypothesized that a heightened susceptibility to attentional capture at an early stage of visual processing would result in working memory encoding problems. 30 patients with schizophrenia and 28 demographically matched healthy participants were presented with a search array and asked to report the orientation of the target stimulus. In some of the trials, a flanker stimulus preceded the search array that either matched the color of the target (relevant-flanker capture or appeared in a different color (irrelevant-flanker capture. Working memory capacity was determined in each individual using the visual change detection paradigm. Patients needed considerably more time to find the target in the no-flanker condition. After adjusting the individual exposure time, both groups showed equivalent capture costs in the irrelevant-flanker condition. However, in the relevant-flanker condition, capture costs were increased in patients compared to controls when the stimulus onset asynchrony between the flanker and the search array was high. Moreover, the increase in relevant capture costs correlated negatively with working memory capacity. This study demonstrates preserved stimulus-driven attentional capture but impaired contingent attentional capture associated with low working memory capacity in schizophrenia. These findings suggest a selective impairment of top-down attentional control in schizophrenia, which may impair working memory encoding.

Impaired contingent attentional capture predicts reduced working memory capacity in schizophrenia.

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Mayer, Jutta S; Fukuda, Keisuke; Vogel, Edward K; Park, Sohee

2012-01-01

Although impairments in working memory (WM) are well documented in schizophrenia, the specific factors that cause these deficits are poorly understood. In this study, we hypothesized that a heightened susceptibility to attentional capture at an early stage of visual processing would result in working memory encoding problems. 30 patients with schizophrenia and 28 demographically matched healthy participants were presented with a search array and asked to report the orientation of the target stimulus. In some of the trials, a flanker stimulus preceded the search array that either matched the color of the target (relevant-flanker capture) or appeared in a different color (irrelevant-flanker capture). Working memory capacity was determined in each individual using the visual change detection paradigm. Patients needed considerably more time to find the target in the no-flanker condition. After adjusting the individual exposure time, both groups showed equivalent capture costs in the irrelevant-flanker condition. However, in the relevant-flanker condition, capture costs were increased in patients compared to controls when the stimulus onset asynchrony between the flanker and the search array was high. Moreover, the increase in relevant capture costs correlated negatively with working memory capacity. This study demonstrates preserved stimulus-driven attentional capture but impaired contingent attentional capture associated with low working memory capacity in schizophrenia. These findings suggest a selective impairment of top-down attentional control in schizophrenia, which may impair working memory encoding.

Assessment of working memory in patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy associated with unilateral hippocampal sclerosis.

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Tudesco, Ivanda de Souza Silva; Vaz, Leonardo José; Mantoan, Marcele Araújo Silva; Belzunces, Erich; Noffs, Maria Helena; Caboclo, Luís Otávio Sales Ferreira; Yacubian, Elza Márcia Targas; Sakamoto, Américo Ceiki; Bueno, Orlando Francisco Amodeo

2010-07-01

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether working memory is impaired in mesial temporal lobe epilepsy with hippocampal sclerosis (MTLE-HS), a controversial and largely unexplored matter. Twenty subjects with left MTLE-HS, 19 with right MTLE-HS, and 21 control right-handed subjects underwent neuropsychological assessment of episodic and semantic memory, executive functions, and specific working memory components. Left and right epileptogenic foci resulted in impairment of verbal and nonverbal episodic memory (verbal memory deficit greater in left MTLE-HS than in right MTLE-HS). In addition, patients with left MTLE-HS were impaired in learning paired associates, verbal fluency, and Trail Making. No differences were seen in the tests carried out to evaluate the working memory components (except visuospatial short-term memory in right MTLE-HS). In this study we did not detect reliable working memory impairment in patients with MTLE-HS with either a left or right focus in most tasks considered as tests of working memory components. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Association between Early Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Symptoms and Current Verbal and Visuo-Spatial Short-Term Memory

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Gau, Susan Shur-Fen; Chiang, Huey-Ling

2013-01-01

Deficits in short-term memory are common in adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but their current ADHD symptoms cannot well predict their short-term performance. Taking a developmental perspective, we wanted to clarify the association between ADHD symptoms at early childhood and short-term memory in late childhood and…

Working memory training may increase working memory capacity but not fluid intelligence.

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Harrison, Tyler L; Shipstead, Zach; Hicks, Kenny L; Hambrick, David Z; Redick, Thomas S; Engle, Randall W

2013-12-01

Working memory is a critical element of complex cognition, particularly under conditions of distraction and interference. Measures of working memory capacity correlate positively with many measures of real-world cognition, including fluid intelligence. There have been numerous attempts to use training procedures to increase working memory capacity and thereby performance on the real-world tasks that rely on working memory capacity. In the study reported here, we demonstrated that training on complex working memory span tasks leads to improvement on similar tasks with different materials but that such training does not generalize to measures of fluid intelligence.

Autobiographical and episodic memory deficits in mild traumatic brain injury.

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Wammes, Jeffrey D; Good, Tyler J; Fernandes, Myra A

2017-02-01

Those who have suffered a concussion, otherwise known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), often complain of lingering memory problems. However, there is little evidence in the behavioral literature reliably demonstrating memory deficits. Thus, in the present study, cognitive profiles including measures of general executive functioning and processing speed, as well as episodic and semantic memory were collected in younger and older adult participants with or without a remote (>1year prior to testing) mTBI. We first investigated whether there were observable episodic and autobiographical memory impairments associated with mTBI within an otherwise healthy young group. Next, because previous work had demonstrated some overlap in patterns of behavioral impairment in normally aging adults and younger adults with a history of mTBI (e.g. Ozen, Fernandes, Clark, & Roy, 2015), we sought to determine whether these groups displayed similar cognitive profiles. Lastly, we conducted an exploratory analysis to test whether having suffered an mTBI might exacerbate age-related cognitive decline. Results showed the expected age-related decline in episodic memory performance, coupled with a relative preservation of semantic memory in older adults. Importantly, this pattern was also present in younger adults with a history of remote mTBI. No differences were observed across older adult groups based on mTBI status. Logistic regression analyses, using each measure in our battery as a predictor, successfully classified mTBI status in younger participants with a high degree of specificity (79.5%). These results indicate that those who have had an mTBI demonstrate a distinct cognitive signature, characterized by impairment in episodic and autobiographical memory, coupled with a relative preservation of semantic memory. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The impact of auditory working memory training on the fronto-parietal working memory network

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