scholarly journals Baseline working memory activation deficits in dimensional anxious depression as detected by magnetoencephalography

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 143-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dawn F. Ionescu ◽  
Allison C. Nugent ◽  
David A. Luckenbaugh ◽  
Mark J. Niciu ◽  
Erica M. Richards ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Group Differences ◽  
Brain Response ◽  
Beta Band ◽  
Significant Group ◽  
Band Frequency ◽  
Anxious Depression ◽  
Preliminary Study

ObjectiveAnxiety often co-occurs with major depressive disorder (MDD). This preliminary study sought to ascertain the extent to which anxious depression drives group neurobiological differences between patients with MDD and healthy volunteers (HVs).MethodsMagnetoencephalography beta-band frequency was used to compare differences in brain response during the N-back working memory task between 30 medication-free patients with treatment-resistant MDD (anxious depression=18; nonanxious depression=12) and 28 HVs.ResultsCompared to HVs, patients with anxious depression had significantly reduced desynchronisation (less activation) in the left precuneus, right cuneus, and left insula extending into the inferior and middle frontal cortex during the 2-back condition compared with the 1-back condition of the N-back working memory task – indicating less activation of these neural networks in patients with anxious depression during the condition with the highest level of task demands. No other significant group differences were found during the working memory conditions.ConclusionThis preliminary study suggests that a subset of patients – those with anxious depression – may be driving observed group differences between patients with MDD and HVs. Further neurobiological studies and replication experiments are necessary to determine the extent to which this subgroup has preferentially influenced our understanding of the underlying neurobiology of depression.

Performance Dissociation during Verbal and Spatial Working Memory Tasks

2007 ◽  
Vol 105 (1) ◽  
pp. 243-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bonnie J. Nagel ◽  
Arthur Ohannessian ◽  
Kevin Cummins
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Spatial Working Memory ◽  
Memory Load ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Neural Substrates ◽  
Individual Performance ◽  
Task Design ◽  
Brain Response ◽  
Working Memory Load

Past research has inconsistently distinguished the neural substrates of various types of working memory. Task design and individual performance differences are known to alter patterns of brain response during working-memory tasks. These task and individual differences may have produced discrepancies in imaging findings. This study of 50 healthy adults ( Mage = 19.6 yr., SD = .8) examined performance during various parametric manipulations of a verbal and spatial n-back working-memory task. Performance systematically dissociated on the basis of working-memory load, working memory type, and stimulus difficulty, with participants having greater accuracy but slower response time during conditions requiring verbal versus spatial working memory. These findings hold implications for cognitive and neuroimaging studies of verbal and spatial working memory and highlight the importance of considering both task design and individual behavior.

scholarly journals Working Memory and Linguistic Performance of Dual Language Learners With and Without Developmental Language Disorders

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 1301-1306
Author(s):  
Mark M. Guiberson ◽  
Barbara L. Rodríguez
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Dual Language ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Language Disorders ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Preschool Age ◽  
Nonword Repetition ◽  
Group Differences ◽  
Spanish Speaking

Purpose This research note describes the use of working memory measures as potential indicators of developmental language disorders (DLD) in preschool-age dual language learners from Spanish-speaking backgrounds. This report is an extension of early work, completed by the same authors that described the diagnostic accuracy of a Spanish nonword repetition task. Method One hundred thirty Spanish-speaking families with preschool-age children participated; 37 children had DLD, and 93 were typically developing. Families were recruited from early childhood programs in three states in the western region of the United States. Working memory and linguistic measures were collected from the children; parents completed a vocabulary checklist and reported on their child's longest utterances. Results Nonverbal working memory was not associated with other measures, but verbal working memory was associated with linguistic measures. Although there were no group differences on nonverbal working memory, group differences (DLD vs. typical development) were detected on verbal working memory and linguistic measures. Verbal working memory combined with vocabulary scores resulted in 79% of cases correctly classified. Conclusions Working memory tasks yielded different results depending on the type of task (verbal vs. nonverbal). Outcomes from this study showed that a nonverbal working memory task (hand movement) was not useful in distinguishing preschool-age dual language children with DLD from typical peers, but a verbal working memory task (nonword repetition) may be useful if combined with other more robust linguistic measures.

Executive control processes in verbal and nonverbal working memory

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 147-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margot D. Sullivan ◽  
Yolanda Prescott ◽  
Devora Goldberg ◽  
Ellen Bialystok
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Proactive Interference ◽  
Executive Control ◽  
Flanker Task ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Group Differences ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Counting Task ◽  
Control Processes

Abstract Studies across the lifespan have revealed modifications in executive control (EC) from bilingualism, but studies of working memory (WM), a key aspect of EC, have produced varied results. Healthy older (M = 71.0 years) and younger participants (M = 21.1 years) who were monolingual or bilingual, performed working memory tasks that varied in their demands for EC. Tasks included a star counting task, a flanker task, and a nonverbal recent probe memory task. Bilinguals performed similarly to monolinguals on the star counting task after controlling for differences in vocabulary. Monolinguals were faster than bilinguals on the flanker task with only age group differences significant for the WM manipulation. Bilinguals were faster than monolinguals on the nonverbal recent probe memory task, particularly for the condition that included proactive interference. The interpretation is that better bilingual performance in nonverbal working memory tasks is linked to the need for executive control.

Speech and Language in First Onset Psychosis Differences Between People with Schizophrenia, Mania, and Controls

1996 ◽  
Vol 168 (3) ◽  
pp. 337-343 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Thomas ◽  
Gabby Kearney ◽  
Elizabeth Napier ◽  
Elin Ellis ◽  
Ivan Leudar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Psychiatric Patients ◽  
Evolutionary Model ◽  
Low Complexity ◽  
Syntactic Analysis ◽  
Group Differences ◽  
Psychotic Symptoms ◽  
Significant Group ◽  
Memory And Attention ◽  
First Onset

BackgroundSeveral studies have revealed linguistic differences between diagnostic groups. This study investigates the extent to which these differences are accounted for by factors such as chronicity, or disturbances in cognition associated with acute psychosis.MethodTranscripts of interviews with patients suffering from RDC schizophrenia (n=38), mania (n=11) and controls (n=16) were examined using the Brief Syntactic Analysis (BSA). Patients were within two years of first onset of psychotic symptoms, and received tests of working memory and attention.ResultsThe speech of patients with schizophrenia was syntactically less complex than that of controls. Patients with schizophrenia and mania made more errors than controls. These differences were, to some extent, related to group differences in social class, working memory and attention, although significant group differences in language persisted after the effects of covariates were removed.ConclusionsThe study confirms the existence of differences in the speech of psychiatric patients. Low complexity appears to be a particular feature of speech in schizophrenia, even in the earliest stages of the condition. The importance of this finding is discussed in relation to two recent theories of schizophrenia: Crow's evolutionary model, and Friths neuro-psychological model.

scholarly journals Aberrant modulation of brain activity underlies impaired working memory following traumatic brain injury

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abbie S. Taing ◽  
Matthew E. Mundy ◽  
Jennie L. Ponsford ◽  
Gershon Spitz
Keyword(s):  
Traumatic Brain Injury ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Brain Injury ◽  
Cognitive Load ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Neural Activation ◽  
Neural Processing ◽  
Specific Working

AbstractImpaired working memory capacity is a common and disabling consequence of traumatic brain injury (TBI) that is caused by aberrant neural processing. However, due to high heterogeneity in results across studies, it is challenging to conclude whether impaired working memory in this population is driven by neural hypo- or hyper-activation, and the extent to which deficits are perpetuated by specific working memory subprocesses. Using a combined functional magnetic resonance imaging and working memory paradigm, we tested the hypothesis that the pattern of neural activation subserving working memory following TBI would interact with both task demands and specific working memory subcomponents: encoding, maintenance, and retrieval. Behaviourally, we found that working memory deficits were confined to the high cognitive load trials. Our results confirmed our key prediction. Overall, TBI participants showed reduced brain activity while performing the working memory task. However, interrogation of the subcomponents of working memory revealed a more nuanced pattern of activation. When we simply averaged across all task trials, regardless of cognitive load or subcomponent, TBI participants showed reduced neural activation. When examined more closely, patterns of brain activity following TBI were found to interact with both task demands and working memory subcomponent. Participants with TBI demonstrated an inability to appropriately modulate brain activity between low and high demand conditions necessary during encoding and maintenance stages. Therefore, we demonstrate that conclusions about aberrant neural processing are dependent upon the level of analysis and the extent to which general cognitive domains can be parcellated into its constituent parts.

scholarly journals Prefrontal hypoactivation during working memory in bipolar II depression

2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (8) ◽  
pp. 1731-1740 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. O. Brooks ◽  
N. Vizueta ◽  
C. Penfold ◽  
J. D. Townsend ◽  
S. Y. Bookheimer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Memory Load ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Middle Temporal Gyrus ◽  
Magnetic Resonance Imaging Scan ◽  
Neural Activation ◽  
Significant Group ◽  
Differential Activation ◽  
Bipolar Ii

Background.Patterns of abnormal neural activation have been observed during working memory tasks in bipolar I depression, yet the neural changes associated with bipolar II depression have yet to be explored.Method.An n-back working memory task was administered during a 3T functional magnetic resonance imaging scan in age- and gender-matched groups of 19 unmedicated, bipolar II depressed subjects and 19 healthy comparison subjects. Whole-brain and region-of-interest analyses were performed to determine regions of differential activation across memory-load conditions (0-, 1- and 2-back).Results.Accuracy for all subjects decreased with higher memory load, but there was no significant group × memory load interaction. Random-effects analyses of memory load indicated that subjects with bipolar II depression exhibited significantly less activation than healthy subjects in left hemispheric regions of the middle frontal gyrus [Brodmann area (BA) 11], superior frontal gyrus (BA 10), inferior parietal lobule (BA 40), middle temporal gyrus (BA 39) and bilateral occipital regions. There was no evidence of differential activation related to increasing memory load in the dorsolateral prefrontal or anterior cingulate cortex.Conclusions.Bipolar II depression is associated with hypoactivation of the left medio-frontal and parietal cortex during working memory performance. Our findings suggest that bipolar II depression is associated with disruption of the fronto-parietal circuit that is engaged in working memory tasks, which is a finding reported across bipolar subtypes and mood states.

scholarly journals Prefrontal Cortex Modulation during Anticipation of Working Memory Demands as Revealed by Magnetoencephalography

2010 ◽  
Vol 2010 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mario Altamura ◽  
Terry E. Goldberg ◽  
Brita Elvevåg ◽  
Tom Holroyd ◽  
Frederick W. Carver ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Beta Band ◽  
Stimulus Response ◽  
Synthetic Aperture Magnetometry ◽  
Beta Power ◽  
Dorsolateral Prefrontal

During the anticipation of task demands frontal control is involved in the assembly of stimulus-response mappings based on current goals. It is not clear whether prefrontal modulations occur in higher-order cortical regions, likely reflecting cognitive anticipation processes. The goal of this paper was to investigate prefrontal modulation during anticipation of upcoming working memory demands as revealed by magnetoencephalography (MEG). Twenty healthy volunteers underwent MEG while they performed a variation of the Sternberg Working Memory (WM) task. Beta band (14–30 Hz) SAM (Synthetic Aperture Magnetometry) analysis was performed. During the preparatory periods there was an increase in beta power (event-related synchronization) in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) bilaterally, left inferior prefrontal gyrus, left parietal, and temporal areas. Our results provide support for the hypothesis that, during preparatory states, the prefrontal cortex is important for biasing higher order brain regions that are going to be engaged in the upcoming task.

scholarly journals Overestimation of volatility in schizophrenia and autism? A comparative study using a probabilistic reasoning task

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabel Kreis ◽  
Robert Biegler ◽  
Håkon Tjelmeland ◽  
Matthias Mittner ◽  
Solveig Klæbo Reitan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Social Cognition ◽  
Visual Working Memory ◽  
Probabilistic Reasoning ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Reasoning Task ◽  
Significant Group ◽  
Memory Accuracy

Background and Objectives: A plethora of studies has investigated and compared social cognition in autism and schizophrenia ever since both conditions were first described in conjunction more than a century ago. Recent computational theories have proposed similar mechanistic explanations for various symptoms beyond social cognition. They are grounded in the idea of a general misestimation of uncertainty but so far, almost no studies have directly compared both conditions regarding uncertainty processing. The current study aimed to do so with a particular focus on estimation of volatility, i.e. the probability for the environment to change. Methods: A probabilistic decision-making task and a visual working (meta-)memory task were administered to a sample of 86 participants (19 with a diagnosis of highfunctioning autism, 21 with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, and 46 neurotypically developing individuals). Results: While persons with schizophrenia showed lower visual working memory accuracy than neurotypical individuals, no significant group differences were found for metamemory or any of the probabilistic decision-making task variables. Nevertheless, exploratory analyses suggest that there may be an overestimation of volatility in subgroups of participants with autism and schizophrenia. Correlations revealed relationships between different variables reflecting (mis)estimation of uncertainty, visual working memory accuracy and metamemory. Limitations: Limitations include the comparably small sample sizes of the autism and the schizophrenia group as well as the lack of cognitive ability and clinical symptom measures. Conclusions: The results of the current study provide partial support for the notion of a general uncertainty misestimation account of autism and schizophrenia.

scholarly journals Polygenic risk for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) predicts brain response during working memory task in OCD, unaffected relatives, and healthy controls

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephan Heinzel ◽  
Christian Kaufmann ◽  
Rosa Grützmann ◽  
Julia Klawohn ◽  
Anja Riesel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Neural Activity ◽  
Memory Load ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Brain Response ◽  
Obsessive Compulsive ◽  
Polygenic Risk ◽  
Compulsive Disorder ◽  
First Degree Relatives

AbstractAlterations in frontal and parietal neural activations during working memory task performance have been suggested as a candidate endophenotype of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in studies involving first-degree relatives. However, the direct link between genetic risk for OCD and neuro-functional alterations during working memory performance has not been investigated to date. Thus, the aim of the current functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study was to test the direct association between polygenic risk for OCD and neural activity during the performance of a numeric n-back task with four working memory load conditions in 128 participants, including patients with OCD, unaffected first-degree relatives of OCD patients, and healthy controls. Behavioral results show a significant performance deficit at high working memory load in both patients with OCD and first-degree relatives (p < 0.05). A whole-brain analysis of the fMRI data indicated decreased neural activity in bilateral inferior parietal lobule and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in both patients and relatives. Most importantly, OCD polygenic risk scores predicted neural activity in orbitofrontal cortex. Results indicate that genetic risk for OCD can partly explain alterations in brain response during working memory performance, supporting the notion of a neuro-functional endophenotype for OCD.

scholarly journals Traveling waves in the prefrontal cortex during working memory

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sayak Bhattacharya ◽  
Scott L Brincat ◽  
Mikael Lundqvist ◽  
Earl K Miller
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Traveling Waves ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Neural Oscillations ◽  
Beta Band ◽  
Anatomical Point ◽  
Functional Implications ◽  
The Waves

Neural oscillations are evident across cortex but their spatial structure is not well- explored. Are oscillations stationary or do they form traveling waves, i.e., spatially organized patterns whose peaks and troughs move sequentially across cortex? Here, we show that oscillations in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) organized as traveling waves in the theta (4-8Hz), alpha (8-12Hz), and beta (12-30Hz) bands. Some traveling waves were planar while many rotated around an anatomical point. The waves were modulated during performance of a working memory task. During baseline conditions, waves flowed bidirectionally along a specific axis of orientation. During task performance, there was an increase in waves in one direction over the other, especially in the beta band. We discuss functional implications.

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