Digit Span Performance in Children with Dystrophinopathy: A Verbal Span or Working Memory Contribution?

2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (7) ◽  
pp. 777-784 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily B. Leaffer ◽  
Robert J. Fee ◽  
Veronica J. Hinton
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Interaction Effect ◽  
Executive Control ◽  
Verbal Memory ◽  
Normative Data ◽  
Digit Span ◽  
Reading Performance ◽  
General Level ◽  
Span Length ◽  
Hierarchical Multiple Regression

AbstractObjectives: In a large cohort of boys with dystrophinopathies and their unaffected siblings, we examined whether consistently observed performance on digit span is due primarily to a verbal span or executive deficit. We additionally assessed whether digit span performance contributed to the observed variability in reading performance noted in this population. Methods: Performance of 170 boys with dystrophinopathy was compared to 95 unaffected sibling controls on measures of verbal function, reading, and digit span. Maximum digit span forward (DSF) and backward (DSB) lengths were converted to Z-scores using normative data. Independent sample t tests, analysis of variance, and hierarchical multiple regression were run (α=0.05). Results: Probands performed worse than controls on digit span, even after accounting for differences in general verbal function (p<.0001). Differences were significant for both DSF (p<.005) and DSB (p<.0001) span length, and an interaction effect yielded significantly worse DSB compared with DSF (p=.01). Reading performance was also lower in probands (p<.0001). The contribution of general level of verbal function, and forward and backward span lengths, did not vary between groups. Conclusions: In boys with dystrophinopathy, decreased performance on digit span appears to be due to both decreased span forward (measuring verbal span only) and backward (measuring verbal span and working memory). The extent to which sibling controls exhibited better performance compared to the probands was significantly greater for backward span when compared with forward span. Thus, immediate verbal memory and executive control are differentially compromised among boys with dystrophinopathy, and both of these abilities independently contribute to reading performance. (JINS, 2016, 22, 777–784)

Is there a specific Vivaldi effect on verbal memory functions? Evidence from listening to music in younger and older adults

2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 325-341 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vaitsa Giannouli ◽  
Vasil Kolev ◽  
Juliana Yordanova
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Verbal Memory ◽  
Digit Span ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Individual Preference ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Semantic Retrieval ◽  
Word Fluency ◽  
Transient Improvement ◽  
Verbal Functions

Brief exposure to music has been reported to lead to transient improvement of cognitive functions in no-music domains. Regarding the possible roles of working memory, processing of acoustic regularities, arousal and emotions in mediating the effects of music on subsequent cognition, the present study explored if brief listening to music might produce a subsequent transient change of verbal functions. A large sample ( n = 448) of younger (mean 28 years) and older (mean 72 years) individuals were studied to represent different background abilities. Verbal working memory (WM) and phonologically-cued semantic retrieval were assessed using the forward digit span test (F-DST) and word fluency test (WFT). To account for arousing, emotional and previous expertise effects, F-DST and WFT scores were measured only in non-musicians after listening to novel (unknown) excerpts of three different composers (Mozart, Vivaldi and Glass) and after silence, with individual preference for each condition subjectively rated. It was found that brief exposure to music had no beneficial effect on verbal WM, with even a transient impairment emerging after Vivaldi. In contrast, Vivaldi’s excerpt induced a marked enhancement of word fluency, but only in young adults, whereas listening to Mozart’s composition was followed by decreased WFT scores in the two age groups. These results show that depending on composer- or excerpt-specific music features, listening to music can selectively facilitate or inhibit ongoing verbal functions. It is suggested that these effects are mediated by pro-active priming or interference of residual activations induced by music in working memory loops.

Investigating the presumed cognitive advantage of aspiring interpreters

Interpreting ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Rosiers ◽  
Evy Woumans ◽  
Wouter Duyck ◽  
June Eyckmans
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Executive Control ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Digit Span ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Training Data ◽  
Control Functions ◽  
Study Results

Abstract In complex tasks such as interpreting, the importance of a well-functioning working memory can hardly be overestimated. However, empirical studies have failed to produce consistent results with regard to an interpreter advantage in working memory. Recent studies tend to focus on the executive component of working memory. To our knowledge, no such study has compared the possible cognitive advantage of aspiring interpreters relative to other multilinguals before training takes place, in spite of the fact that excellent cognitive abilities are considered important in many interpreter selection procedures. In this study, we compared the working memory capacity and executive functions of a group of 20 student interpreters with two other groups of advanced language users who were all at the start of their Master’s training. Data were collected on three executive control functions: inhibition, shifting and updating. A forward and a backward digit span task for measuring the participants’ working memory capacity was also included in this study. Results revealed only negligible differences between the three groups at onset of training. The presumed cognitive advantage of aspiring interpreters with regard to executive control was not found.

What Does It Take to Search Organized? The Cognitive Correlates of Search Organization During Cancellation After Stroke

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 424-436 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonia F. Ten Brink ◽  
Johanna M.A. Visser-Meily ◽  
Tanja C.W. Nijboer
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Executive Functioning ◽  
Neuropsychological Assessment ◽  
Cognitive Functions ◽  
Verbal Memory ◽  
Digit Span ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Auditory Memory ◽  
Stroke Patients ◽  
Cognitive Domains

AbstractObjectives: Stroke could lead to deficits in organization of visual search. Cancellation tests are frequently used in standard neuropsychological assessment and appear suitable to measure search organization. The current aim was to evaluate which cognitive functions are associated with cancellation organization measures after stroke. Methods: Stroke patients admitted to inpatient rehabilitation were included in this retrospective study. We performed exploratory factor analyses to explore cognitive domains. A digital shape cancellation test (SC) was administered, and measures of search organization (intersections rate and best r) were computed. The following cognitive functions were measured by neuropsychological testing: neglect (SC, line bisection; LB, Catherine Bergego Scale; CBS, and Balloons Test), visuospatial perception and construction (Rey Complex Figure Test, RCFT), psychomotor speed (Trail Making Test; TMT-A), executive functioning/working memory (TMT-B), spatial planning (Tower Test), rule learning (Brixton Test), short-term auditory memory (Digit Span Forward; DSF), and verbal working memory (Digit Span Backward; DSB). Results: In total, 439 stroke patients were included in our analyses. Four clusters were separated: “Executive functioning” (TMT-A, TMT-B, Brixton Test, and Tower Test), “Verbal memory” (DSF and DSB), “Search organization” (intersections rate and best r), and “Neglect” (CBS, RCFT copy, Balloons Test, SC, and LB). Conclusions: Search organization during cancellation, as measured with intersections rate and best r, seems a distinct cognitive construct compared to existing cognitive domains that are tested during neuropsychological assessment. Administering cancellation tests and analyzing measures of search organization could provide useful additional insights into the visuospatial processes of stroke patients. (JINS, 2018, 24, 424–436)

NIMG-14. RESTING STATE EXECUTIVE CONTROL AND SALIENCE NETWORK CONNECTIVITY IN CLINICALLY STABLE LOWER GRADE GLIOMA COVARIES WITH COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (Supplement_6) ◽  
pp. vi130-vi131
Author(s):  
Tracy Luks ◽  
Javier Villanueva-Meyer ◽  
Christina Weyer-Jamora ◽  
Melissa Brie ◽  
Ellen Smith ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Executive Control ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Digit Span ◽  
Network Connectivity ◽  
Cognitive Outcomes ◽  
Cognitive Test ◽  
Functional Networks ◽  
Salience Network ◽  
Lower Grade

Abstract BACKGROUND Survival outcomes for patients with lower grade gliomas (LrGG) are improving. However, injury from tumor growth and consequences of treatment often leads to impaired cognition, particularly in cognitive domains reliant on distributed functional networks and intact white-matter tracts. Resting state functional MRI (rsfMRI) is a method of investigating the integrity of these functional networks. METHODS This study investigated rsfMRI connectivity in 21 patients with clinically stable LrGG compared to age- and gender-matched healthy controls, and associated imaging measures with cognitive outcomes. Data were acquired for 12 cognitive tests administered within one week of imaging. RsfMRI and T1-weighted images for 21 research controls were acquired from OpenNeuro datasets. RsfMRI data were processed and analyzed using the CONN toolbox using CONN’s standard regions of interest (ROI) for the 8 canonical networks as seeds, and cognitive test scores as covariates, with a threshold for T tests of p&lt; .001 uncorrected. RESULTS Median age was 48 years old (range 27-67). There were 6 astrocytomas, IDHmut; 3 astrocytomas IDH-wt, 8 oligodendrogliomas, and 4 NOS. Thirteen had left hemisphere tumors (8 frontal, 3 parietal, 2 temporal), and 6 right (5 frontal, 1 temporal). Fourteen had previously recieved radiotherapy. There was significantly lower connectivity in frontoparietal executive control and the salience networks in LrGG patients versus controls. Within patients, lower executive control network connectivity covaried with worse performance on executive measures (FAS, Tower of London, Trails-A, Animal Naming, FrSBe), and attention and working memory measures (Digit Symbol, HVLT). Lower salience network connectivity covaried with poorer performance on executive measures (FrSBe, FAS) and attention and working memory measures (Digit Span, HVLT, WAIS-WM). CONCLUSION In clinically stable LrGG, rsfMRI measures of network connectivity are potentially useful markers to monitor and track, given the concordance with cognition, and could help guide cognitive assessment and rehabilitation.

Deteriorated Executive Functions in Patients with Successful Surgery for Pituitary Adenomas Compared with Other Chronically Ill Patients

2010 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 369-375 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karsten Müssig ◽  
Britta Besemer ◽  
Ralf Saur ◽  
Stefan Klingberg ◽  
Hans-Ulrich Häring ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Verbal Memory ◽  
Pituitary Adenomas ◽  
Digit Span ◽  
Verbal Learning ◽  
Brain Lesion ◽  
Chronically Ill ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Thyroxine Replacement Therapy ◽  
Chronically Ill Patients

AbstractPituitary adenomas, even after successful treatment, are associated with cognitive impairments. It is unclear whether these deficits are a consequence of unspecific factors associated with having a chronic illness and whether the cognitive dysfunctions exceed those of other chronically ill patients. Thirty-eight patients with transsphenoidal surgery for pituitary adenomas and 38 patients undergoing L-thyroxine replacement therapy after thyroid surgery were studied neuropsychologically with established tests. Executive function was examined with the Trail-Making Test A and B, working memory with the digit span test, attention with the digit symbol test, verbal memory with the German version of the Auditory Verbal Learning and Memory Test, and general verbal intelligence by a vocabulary test. Attention (p = .007), attentional speed (p = .0004), executive control (p = .04), and working memory (p = .01), were significantly reduced in patients with pituitary adenomas compared with other chronically ill patients. In contrast, no differences were found between the groups for verbal memory (all subtests: p ≥ .06). Patients with successful surgery for pituitary adenomas show also in comparison with other chronically ill patients an increased risk for deficits in certain aspects of cognitive function, including attention and working memory, supporting the relevance of the brain lesion and its treatment for these dysfunctions. (JINS, 2011, 17, 369–375)

Predictions of Actions and Their Justifications in False-Belief Tasks: The Role of Executive Function

2014 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 500-510 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Putko ◽  
Agata Złotogórska
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Language Development ◽  
Executive Control ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Mental States ◽  
False Belief ◽  
Current Location ◽  
False Belief Tasks ◽  
Development Of Language

Abstract The main objective of this study was to examine whether children’s ability to justify their action predictions in terms of mental states is related, in a similar way as the ability to predict actions, to such aspects of executive function (EF) as executive control and working memory. An additional objective was to check whether the frequency of different types of justifications made by children in false-belief tasks is associated with aforementioned aspects of EF, as well as language. The study included 59 children aged 3-4 years. The ability to predict actions and to justify these predictions was measured with false-belief tasks. Luria’s hand-game was used to assess executive control, and the Counting and Labelling dual-task was used to assess working memory capacity. Language development was controlled using an embedded syntax test. It was found that executive control was a significant predictor of the children’s ability to justify their action predictions in terms of mental states, even when age and language were taken into account. Results also indicated a relationship between the type of justification in the false-belief task and language development. With the development of language children gradually cease to justify their action predictions in terms of current location, and they tend to construct irrelevant justifications before they begin to refer to beliefs. Data suggest that executive control, in contrast to language, is a factor which affects the development of the children’s ability to justify their action predictions only in its later phase, during a shift from irrelevant to correct justifications.

Neurocognitive and functional outcomes in patients with diffuse frontal lower-grade gliomas undergoing intraoperative awake brain mapping

2020 ◽  
Vol 132 (6) ◽  
pp. 1683-1691 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazuya Motomura ◽  
Lushun Chalise ◽  
Fumiharu Ohka ◽  
Kosuke Aoki ◽  
Kuniaki Tanahashi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Brain Mapping ◽  
Functional Outcomes ◽  
Digit Span ◽  
Awake Surgery ◽  
Motor Deficit ◽  
Lower Grade ◽  
Superior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Neurocognitive Functions ◽  
Motor Disturbances

OBJECTIVELower-grade gliomas (LGGs) are often observed within eloquent regions, which indicates that tumor resection in these areas carries a potential risk for neurological disturbances, such as motor deficit, language disorder, and/or neurocognitive impairments. Some patients with frontal tumors exhibit severe impairments of neurocognitive function, including working memory and spatial awareness, after tumor removal. The aim of this study was to investigate neurocognitive and functional outcomes of frontal LGGs in both the dominant and nondominant hemispheres after awake brain mapping.METHODSData from 50 consecutive patients with diffuse frontal LGGs in the dominant and nondominant hemispheres who underwent awake brain surgery between December 2012 and September 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. The goal was to map neurocognitive functions such as working memory by using working memory tasks, including digit span testing and N-back tasks.RESULTSDue to awake language mapping, the frontal aslant tract was frequently identified as a functional boundary in patients with left superior frontal gyrus tumors (76.5%). Furthermore, functional boundaries were identified while evaluating verbal and spatial working memory function by stimulating the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex using the digit span and visual N-back tasks in patients with right superior frontal gyrus tumors (7.1%). Comparing the preoperative and postoperative neuropsychological assessments from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale–Third Edition (WAIS-III) and Wechsler Memory Scale–Revised (WMS-R), significant improvement following awake surgery was observed in mean Perceptual Organization (Z = −2.09, p = 0.04) in WAIS-III scores. Postoperative mean WMS-R scores for Visual Memory (Z = −2.12, p = 0.03) and Delayed Recall (Z = −1.98, p = 0.04) were significantly improved compared with preoperative values for every test after awake surgery. No significant deterioration was noted with regard to neurocognitive functions in a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery. In the postoperative course, early transient speech and motor disturbances were observed in 30.0% and 28.0% of patients, respectively. In contrast, late permanent speech and motor disturbances were observed in 0% and 4.0%, respectively.CONCLUSIONSIt is noteworthy that no significant postoperative deterioration was identified compared with preoperative status in a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment. The results demonstrated that awake functional mapping enabled favorable neurocognitive and functional outcomes after surgery in patients with diffuse frontal LGGs.

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