Short-Term Learning and Memory: Training and Perceptual Learning

Abstract Objective Youth with sickle cell disease (SCD) are at risk for neurocognitive deficits including problems with working memory (WM), but few interventions to improve functioning exist. This study sought to determine the feasibility and efficacy of home-based, digital WM training on short-term memory and WM, behavioral outcomes, and academic fluency using a parallel group randomized controlled trial design. Methods 47 children (7–16 years) with SCD and short-term memory or WM difficulties were randomized to Cogmed Working Memory Training at home on a tablet device (N = 24) or to a standard care Waitlist group (N = 23) that used Cogmed after the waiting period. Primary outcomes assessed in clinic included performance on verbal and nonverbal short-term memory and WM tasks. Secondary outcomes included parent-rated executive functioning and tests of math and reading fluency. Results In the evaluable sample, the Cogmed group (N = 21) showed greater improvement in visual WM compared with the Waitlist group (N = 22; p = .03, d = 0.70 [CI95 = 0.08, 1.31]). When examining a combined sample of participants, those who completed ≥10 training sessions exhibited significant improvements in verbal short-term memory, visual WM, and math fluency. Adherence to Cogmed was lower than expected (M = 9.07 sessions, SD = 7.77), with 19 participants (41%) completing at least 10 sessions. Conclusions: Visual WM, an ability commonly affected by SCD, is modifiable with cognitive training. Benefits extended to verbal short-term memory and math fluency when patients completed a sufficient training dose. Additional research is needed to identify ideal candidates for training and determine whether training gains are sustainable and generalize to real-world outcomes.

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Memory training impacts short-term changes in aging white matter: A Longitudinal Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study

Human Brain Mapping ◽

10.1002/hbm.21370 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 33 (10) ◽

pp. 2390-2406 ◽

Cited By ~ 153

Author(s):

Andreas Engvig ◽

Anders M. Fjell ◽

Lars T. Westlye ◽

Torgeir Moberget ◽

Øyvind Sundseth ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Diffusion Tensor Imaging ◽

White Matter ◽

Diffusion Tensor ◽

Imaging Study ◽

Memory Training ◽

Short Term ◽

Longitudinal Diffusion ◽

Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study

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Short-Term Memory Deficits in the SLEEP Inbred Panel

Clocks & Sleep ◽

10.3390/clockssleep1040036 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 1 (4) ◽

pp. 471-488 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Shailesh Kumar ◽

Kirklin R. Smith ◽

Yazmin L. Serrano Negron ◽

Susan T. Harbison

Keyword(s):

Learning And Memory ◽

Sleep Duration ◽

Genetic Architecture ◽

Short Term Memory ◽

Morphological Changes ◽

Brain Structures ◽

Social Conditions ◽

Short Term ◽

The Relationship ◽

The Brain

Although sleep is heritable and conserved across species, sleep duration varies from individual to individual. A shared genetic architecture between sleep duration and other evolutionarily important traits could explain this variability. Learning and memory are critical traits sharing a genetic architecture with sleep. We wanted to know whether learning and memory would be altered in extreme long or short sleepers. We therefore assessed the short-term learning and memory ability of flies from the Sleep Inbred Panel (SIP), a collection of 39 extreme long- and short-sleeping inbred lines of Drosophila. Neither long nor short sleepers had appreciable learning, in contrast to a moderate-sleeping control. We also examined the response of long and short sleepers to enriched social conditions, a paradigm previously shown to induce morphological changes in the brain. While moderate-sleeping control flies had increased daytime sleep and quantifiable increases in brain structures under enriched social conditions, flies of the Sleep Inbred Panel did not display these changes. The SIP thus emerges as an important model for the relationship between sleep and learning and memory.

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Deltamethrin Exposure Inhibits Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis and Causes Deficits in Learning and Memory in Mice

Toxicological Sciences ◽

10.1093/toxsci/kfaa144 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 178 (2) ◽

pp. 347-357

Author(s):

Muhammad M Hossain ◽

Abdelmadjid Belkadi ◽

Sara Al-Haddad ◽

Jason R Richardson

Keyword(s):

Object Recognition ◽

Learning And Memory ◽

Water Maze ◽

Cellular Proliferation ◽

Hippocampal Neurogenesis ◽

Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis ◽

Novel Object Recognition ◽

Short Term ◽

Novel Object ◽

Short Term Exposure

Abstract Deficits in learning and memory are often associated with disruption of hippocampal neurogenesis, which is regulated by numerous processes, including precursor cell proliferation, survival, migration, and differentiation to mature neurons. Recent studies demonstrate that adult born neurons in the dentate gyrus (DG) in the hippocampus can functionally integrate into the existing neuronal circuitry and contribute to hippocampal-dependent learning and memory. Here, we demonstrate that relatively short-term deltamethrin exposure (3 mg/kg every 3 days for 1 month) inhibits adult hippocampal neurogenesis and causes deficits in learning and memory in mice. Hippocampal-dependent cognitive functions were evaluated using 2 independent hippocampal-dependent behavioral tests, the novel object recognition task and Morris water maze. We found that deltamethrin-treated mice exhibited profound deficits in novel object recognition and learning and memory in water maze. Deltamethrin exposure significantly decreased bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU)-positive cells (39%) and Ki67+ cells (47%) in the DG of the hippocampus, indicating decreased cellular proliferation. In addition, deltamethrin-treated mice exhibited a 44% decrease in nestin-expressing neural progenitor cells and a 38% reduction in the expression of doublecortin (DCX), an early neuronal differentiation marker. Furthermore, deltamethrin-exposed mice exhibited a 25% reduction in total number of granule cells in the DG. These findings indicate that relatively short-term exposure to deltamethrin causes significant deficits in hippocampal neurogenesis that is associated with impaired learning and memory.

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The influence of short term perceptual learning of pitch discrimination and modulation discrimination on subcortical envelope-following and cortical steady-state EEG responses

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America ◽

10.1121/1.4920777 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 137 (4) ◽

pp. 2409-2409

Author(s):

Bonnie Lau ◽

Dorea R. Ruggles ◽

Sucharit Katyal ◽

Stephen A. Engel ◽

Andrew J. Oxenham

Keyword(s):

Steady State ◽

Perceptual Learning ◽

Pitch Discrimination ◽

Short Term

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Selective memory and behavioral alterations after ambient ultrafine particulate matter exposure in aged 3xTgAD Alzheimer’s disease mice

Particle and Fibre Toxicology ◽

10.1186/s12989-019-0323-3 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Katrina Jew ◽

Denise Herr ◽

Candace Wong ◽

Andrea Kennell ◽

Keith Morris-Schaffer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Locomotor Activity ◽

Learning And Memory ◽

Spatial Learning ◽

Short Term Memory ◽

Memory Deficits ◽

Olfactory Discrimination ◽

Spatial Learning And Memory ◽

Short Term ◽

Term Memory ◽

Appetitive Motivation

Abstract Background A growing body of epidemiological literature indicates that particulate matter (PM) air pollution exposure is associated with elevated Alzheimer’s disease (AD) risk and may exacerbate AD-related cognitive decline. Of concern is exposure to the ultrafine PM (UFP) fraction (≤100 nm), which deposits efficiently throughout the respiratory tract, has higher rates of translocation to secondary organs, like brain, and may induce inflammatory changes. We, therefore, hypothesize that exposure to UFPs will exacerbate cognitive deficits in a mouse model of AD. The present study assessed alterations in learning and memory behaviors in aged (12.5 months) male 3xTgAD and non-transgenic mice following a 2-week exposure (4-h/day, 4 days/week) to concentrated ambient UFPs using the Harvard ultrafine concentrated ambient particle system (HUCAPS) or filtered air. Beginning one month following exposure, locomotor activity, spatial learning and memory, short-term recognition memory, appetitive motivation, and olfactory discrimination were assessed. Results No effects on locomotor activity were found following HUCAPS exposure (number concentration, 1 × 104–4.7 × 105 particles/cm3; mass concentration, 29–132 μg/m3). HUCAPS-exposed mice, independent of AD background, showed a significantly decreased spatial learning, mediated through reference memory deficits, as well as short-term memory deficits in novel object recognition testing. AD mice displayed diminished spatial working memory, potentially a result of olfactory deficits, and short-term memory. AD background modulated HUCAPS-induced changes on appetitive motivation and olfactory discrimination, specifically enhancing olfactory discrimination in NTg mice. Modeling variation in appetitive motivation as a covariate in spatial learning and memory, however, did not support the conclusion that differences in motivation significantly underlie changes in spatial learning and memory. Conclusions A short-term inhalation exposure of aged mice to ambient UFPs at human-relevant concentrations resulted in protracted (testing spanning 1–6.5 months post-exposure) adverse effects on multiple memory domains (reference and short-term memory) independent of AD background. Impairments in learning and memory were present when accounting for potential covariates like motivational changes and locomotor activity. These results highlight the need for further research into the potential mechanisms underlying the cognitive effects of UFP exposure in adulthood.

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