scholarly journals Individual differences in memory predict changes in breakdown and repair fluency but not speed fluency: A short-term fluency training intervention study

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-27
Author(s):  
Yuichi Suzuki
Keyword(s):  
Associative Memory ◽  
Intervention Study ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Attention Control ◽  
Oral Narrative ◽  
Repetition Condition ◽  
Task Repetition ◽  
Fluency Training ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Oral Fluency

Abstract The purpose of this intervention study is to reveal the extent to which memory-related aptitudes are implicated in the second language (L2) fluency development fostered by task repetition. English L2 learners are engaged in oral narrative tasks three times per day under two different 3-day task repetition schedules: blocked (Day 1: A-A-A, Day 2: B-B-B, Day 3: C-C-C) versus interleaved (Day 1: A-B-C, Day 2: A-B-C, Day 3: A-B-C). Their phonological short-term memory (PSTM), attention control, and associative memory were used as predictors of fluency changes measured through speed, breakdown, and repair fluency behaviors. Results showed that while the articulation rate change was not explained by any of the examined predictors, breakdown and repair fluency were predicted by different memory components. Specifically, PSTM was associated with mid-clause pause decrease during the training phase, while associative memory was linked to the increase in clause-final pauses in the posttest. Attention control, as well as PSTM, was related to greater repair frequency in the posttest, indicating increased learners’ attention to speech monitoring. Furthermore, PSTM and associative memory contributed to reducing breakdown fluency in the blocked repetition condition only, suggesting that learners can capitalize on their memory for improving oral fluency by engaging in blocked practice.

scholarly journals Optimizing Subjective Cognitive Decline to Detect Early Cognitive Dysfunction

2021 ◽  
Vol 80 (3) ◽  
pp. 1185-1196
Author(s):  
Silvia Chapman ◽  
Preeti Sunderaraman ◽  
Jillian L. Joyce ◽  
Martina Azar ◽  
Leigh E. Colvin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Cognitive Dysfunction ◽  
Associative Memory ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Subjective Cognitive Decline ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Memory Binding ◽  
Preclinical Ad ◽  
List Learning

Background: The utility of subjective cognitive decline (SCD) as an indicator of preclinical AD is overshadowed by its inconsistent association with objective cognition. Objective: This study examines if manipulations of SCD measurement affect its association with early cognitive dysfunction characteristic of preclinical AD. Methods: Cognitively healthy older adults (n = 110) completed SCD questionnaires that elicited complaints in general, compared to 5 years ago (retrospective SCD) and compared to their peers (age-anchored SCD) in binary and Likert scales. Outcome cognitive tasks included an associative memory task (Face-Name Test), a visual short-term memory binding task (STMB test), and a clinical neuropsychological list learning test (Selective Reminder Test). Results: SCD complaints, when compared to age-matched peers (age-anchored SCD) were endorsed less frequently than complaints compared to 5 years ago (retrospective SCD) (p < 0.01). In demographically adjusted regressions, age-anchored ordinal-rated SCD was associated with short term memory binding (β= –0.22, p = 0.040, CI = –0.45, –0.01), associative memory (β= –0.26, p = 0.018, CI = –0.45, –0.06), and list learning (β= –0.31, p = 0.002, CI = –0.51, –0.12). Retrospective and general ordinal-rated SCD was associated with associative memory (β= –0.25, p = 0.012, CI = –0.44, –0.06; β= –0.29, p = 0.003, CI = –0.47, –0.10) and list learning only (β= –0.25, p = 0.014, CI = –0.45, –0.05; β= –0.28, p = 0.004, CI = –0.48, –0.09). Conclusion: Ordinal age-anchored SCD appears better suited than other SCD measurements to detect early cognitive dysfunction characteristic of preclinical AD.

On the Role of Cognitive Abilities in Second Language Vowel Learning

2018 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 260-280
Author(s):  
Payam Ghaffarvand Mokari ◽  
Stefan Werner
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Attention Control ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Phonological Learning ◽  
Before And After

This study investigated the role of different cognitive abilities—inhibitory control, attention control, phonological short-term memory (PSTM), and acoustic short-term memory (AM)—in second language (L2) vowel learning. The participants were 40 Azerbaijani learners of Standard Southern British English. Their perception of L2 vowels was tested through a perceptual discrimination task before and after five sessions of high-variability phonetic training. Inhibitory control was significantly correlated with gains from training in the discrimination of L2 vowel pairs. However, there were no significant correlations between attention control, AM, PSTM, and gains from training. These findings suggest the potential role of inhibitory control in L2 phonological learning. We suggest that inhibitory control facilitates the processing of L2 sounds by allowing learners to ignore the interfering information from L1 during training, leading to better L2 segmental learning.

scholarly journals Vocabulary Size Is a Key Factor in Predicting Second Language Lexical Encoding Accuracy

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danielle Daidone ◽  
Isabelle Darcy
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
Attention Control ◽  
Decision Task ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Vocabulary Size ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Lexical Representations

This study investigates the relationship between the accuracy of second language lexical representations and perception, phonological short-term memory, inhibitory control, attention control, and second language vocabulary size. English-speaking learners of Spanish were tested on their lexical encoding of the Spanish /ɾ-r/, /ɾ-d/, /r-d/, and /f-p/ contrasts through a lexical decision task. Perception ability was measured with an oddity task, phonological short-term memory with a serial non-word recognition task, attention control with a flanker task, inhibitory control with a retrieval-induced inhibition task, and vocabulary size with the X_Lex vocabulary test. Results revealed that differences in perception performance, inhibitory control, and attention control were not related to differences in lexical encoding accuracy. Phonological short-term memory was a significant factor, but only for the /r-ɾ/ contrast. This suggests that when representations contain sounds that are differentiated along a dimension not used in the native language, learners with higher phonological short-term memory have an advantage because they are better able to hold the relevant phonetic details in memory long enough to be transferred to long-term representations. Second language vocabulary size predicted lexical encoding across three of the four contrasts, such that a larger vocabulary predicted greater accuracy. This is likely because the acquisition of more phonologically similar words forces learners’ phonological systems to create more detailed representations in order for such words to be differentiated. Overall, this study suggests that vocabulary size in the second language is the most important factor in the accuracy of lexical representations.

Conceptual short-term memory (CSTM) supports core claims of Christiansen and Chater

2016 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary C. Potter
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Rapid Serial Visual Presentation ◽  
Language Comprehension ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Visual Presentation ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Use Of Knowledge

AbstractRapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) of words or pictured scenes provides evidence for a large-capacity conceptual short-term memory (CSTM) that momentarily provides rich associated material from long-term memory, permitting rapid chunking (Potter 1993; 2009; 2012). In perception of scenes as well as language comprehension, we make use of knowledge that briefly exceeds the supposed limits of working memory.

Working, Declarative, and Procedural Memory in Children With Developmental Language Disorder

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (12) ◽  
pp. 4162-4178
Author(s):  
Emily Jackson ◽  
Suze Leitão ◽  
Mary Claessen ◽  
Mark Boyes
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Language Disorder ◽  
Declarative Memory ◽  
Memory Systems ◽  
Procedural Memory ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Visual Spatial

Purpose Previous research into the working, declarative, and procedural memory systems in children with developmental language disorder (DLD) has yielded inconsistent results. The purpose of this research was to profile these memory systems in children with DLD and their typically developing peers. Method One hundred four 5- to 8-year-old children participated in the study. Fifty had DLD, and 54 were typically developing. Aspects of the working memory system (verbal short-term memory, verbal working memory, and visual–spatial short-term memory) were assessed using a nonword repetition test and subtests from the Working Memory Test Battery for Children. Verbal and visual–spatial declarative memory were measured using the Children's Memory Scale, and an audiovisual serial reaction time task was used to evaluate procedural memory. Results The children with DLD demonstrated significant impairments in verbal short-term and working memory, visual–spatial short-term memory, verbal declarative memory, and procedural memory. However, verbal declarative memory and procedural memory were no longer impaired after controlling for working memory and nonverbal IQ. Declarative memory for visual–spatial information was unimpaired. Conclusions These findings indicate that children with DLD have deficits in the working memory system. While verbal declarative memory and procedural memory also appear to be impaired, these deficits could largely be accounted for by working memory skills. The results have implications for our understanding of the cognitive processes underlying language impairment in the DLD population; however, further investigation of the relationships between the memory systems is required using tasks that measure learning over long-term intervals. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.13250180

Comparison of Auditory, Language, Memory, and Attention Abilities in Children With and Without Listening Difficulties

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 710-727
Author(s):  
Beula M. Magimairaj ◽  
Naveen K. Nagaraj ◽  
Alexander V. Sergeev ◽  
Natalie J. Benafield
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Processing ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Group Differences ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Significant Group ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Memory And Attention ◽  
Speed And Accuracy

Objectives School-age children with and without parent-reported listening difficulties (LiD) were compared on auditory processing, language, memory, and attention abilities. The objective was to extend what is known so far in the literature about children with LiD by using multiple measures and selective novel measures across the above areas. Design Twenty-six children who were reported by their parents as having LiD and 26 age-matched typically developing children completed clinical tests of auditory processing and multiple measures of language, attention, and memory. All children had normal-range pure-tone hearing thresholds bilaterally. Group differences were examined. Results In addition to significantly poorer speech-perception-in-noise scores, children with LiD had reduced speed and accuracy of word retrieval from long-term memory, poorer short-term memory, sentence recall, and inferencing ability. Statistically significant group differences were of moderate effect size; however, standard test scores of children with LiD were not clinically poor. No statistically significant group differences were observed in attention, working memory capacity, vocabulary, and nonverbal IQ. Conclusions Mild signal-to-noise ratio loss, as reflected by the group mean of children with LiD, supported the children's functional listening problems. In addition, children's relative weakness in select areas of language performance, short-term memory, and long-term memory lexical retrieval speed and accuracy added to previous research on evidence-based areas that need to be evaluated in children with LiD who almost always have heterogenous profiles. Importantly, the functional difficulties faced by children with LiD in relation to their test results indicated, to some extent, that commonly used assessments may not be adequately capturing the children's listening challenges. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.12808607

The Link Between Verbal Short-Term Memory and Anomia Treatment Gains

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 1039-1052
Author(s):  
Reva M. Zimmerman ◽  
JoAnn P. Silkes ◽  
Diane L. Kendall ◽  
Irene Minkina
Keyword(s):  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Treatment Success ◽  
Linear Regression Models ◽  
Language Performance ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Treatment Gains ◽  
Post Hoc

Purpose A significant relationship between verbal short-term memory (STM) and language performance in people with aphasia has been found across studies. However, very few studies have examined the predictive value of verbal STM in treatment outcomes. This study aims to determine if verbal STM can be used as a predictor of treatment success. Method Retrospective data from 25 people with aphasia in a larger randomized controlled trial of phonomotor treatment were analyzed. Digit and word spans from immediately pretreatment were run in multiple linear regression models to determine whether they predict magnitude of change from pre- to posttreatment and follow-up naming accuracy. Pretreatment, immediately posttreatment, and 3 months posttreatment digit and word span scores were compared to determine if they changed following a novel treatment approach. Results Verbal STM, as measured by digit and word spans, did not predict magnitude of change in naming accuracy from pre- to posttreatment nor from pretreatment to 3 months posttreatment. Furthermore, digit and word spans did not change from pre- to posttreatment or from pretreatment to 3 months posttreatment in the overall analysis. A post hoc analysis revealed that only the less impaired group showed significant changes in word span scores from pretreatment to 3 months posttreatment. Discussion The results suggest that digit and word spans do not predict treatment gains. In a less severe subsample of participants, digit and word span scores can change following phonomotor treatment; however, the overall results suggest that span scores may not change significantly. The implications of these findings are discussed within the broader purview of theoretical and empirical associations between aphasic language and verbal STM processing.

Symptomvalidierungstests in der neuropsychologischen Diagnostik: eine Analogstudie

2004 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 81-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Merten ◽  
Matthias Henry ◽  
Robin Hilsabeck
Keyword(s):  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Memory Test ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Word Memory Test ◽  
Word Memory ◽  
Complex Figure ◽  
Trail Making ◽  
Figure Test ◽  
Word Completion

Zusammenfassung: In der neuropsychologischen Diagnostik, mehr noch aber in der Begutachtung gewinnen Symptomvalidierungstests (SVT) zur Untersuchung der Leistungsmotivation zunehmend an Bedeutung. In einer Analogstudie wurde die Güte zweier international bekannter Verfahren (Word Memory Test; Amsterdam Short Term Memory Test) sowie einer Neuentwicklung (Word Completion Memory Test) untersucht. Zusätzlich wurden Leistungstests eingesetzt: der Trail Making Test (TMT), der Complex Figure Test sowie die Standard Progressive Matrices (SPM). Eine Gruppe von 10 experimentellen Simulanten wurde spezifisch auf die Vortäuschung von Gedächtnisstörungen vorbereitet, während eine Kontrollgruppe (n = 10) optimale Testanstrengung zeigen sollte. Alle SVT führten im Gegensatz zu den Simulationsmarkern des TMT und der SPM zu einer ausgezeichneten Klassifikationsgüte (95-100 %). Die neuropsychologischen Leistungsmaße wiesen zwar signifikante Gruppenunterschiede aus, zeigten aber auch eine nicht unbedeutende Überlappung der Verteilungen. Mehr Studien sind notwendig, um den SVT in den deutschsprachigen Ländern den Platz zu sichern, den sie international aktuell in der klinisch-neuropsychologischen Forschung und Praxis einnehmen.

Dynamic Visual Noise Affects Visual Short-Term Memory for Surface Color, but not Spatial Location

2010 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Dent
Keyword(s):  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Spatial Location ◽  
Visual Noise ◽  
Dynamic Visual Noise ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Surface Color ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Visual Short Term Memory ◽  
Experimental Tool ◽  
Spatial Locations

In two experiments participants retained a single color or a set of four spatial locations in memory. During a 5 s retention interval participants viewed either flickering dynamic visual noise or a static matrix pattern. In Experiment 1 memory was assessed using a recognition procedure, in which participants indicated if a particular test stimulus matched the memorized stimulus or not. In Experiment 2 participants attempted to either reproduce the locations or they picked the color from a whole range of possibilities. Both experiments revealed effects of dynamic visual noise (DVN) on memory for colors but not for locations. The implications of the results for theories of working memory and the methodological prospects for DVN as an experimental tool are discussed.

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