Effect of Cognitive Load on Working Memory Forgetting in Aging

Functional approaches to working memory (WM) have been proposed recently to better investigate “maintenance” and “processing” mechanisms. The cognitive load (CL) hypothesis presented in the “Time-Based Resource-Sharing” model (Barrouillet & Camos, 2007) suggests that forgetting from WM (maintenance) can be investigated by varying the presentation rate and processing speed (processing). In this study, young and elderly participants were compared on WM tasks in which the difference in processing speed was controlled by CL manipulations. Two main results were found. First, when time constraints (CL) were matched for the two groups, no aging effect was observed. Second, whereas a large variation in CL affected WM performance, a small CL manipulation had no effect on the elderly. This suggests that WM forgetting cannot be completely accounted for by the CL hypothesis. Rather, it highlights the need to explore restoration times in particular, and the nature of the refreshment mechanisms within maintenance.

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Improvement of Working Memory and Processing Speed in Patients over 70 with Bilateral Hearing Impairment Following Unilateral Cochlear Implantation

Journal of Clinical Medicine ◽

10.3390/jcm10153421 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (15) ◽

pp. 3421

Author(s):

Steffen Knopke ◽

Arvid Schubert ◽

Sophia Marie Häussler ◽

Stefan Gräbel ◽

Agnieszka J. Szczepek ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Hearing Impairment ◽

Processing Speed ◽

Cochlear Implantation ◽

Cognitive Skills ◽

Research Question ◽

The Elderly ◽

Neurocognitive Deficits ◽

Adult Intelligence Scale ◽

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale

Several studies demonstrated the association of hearing disorders with neurocognitive deficits and dementia disorders, but little is known about the effects of auditory rehabilitation on the cognitive performance of the elderly. Therefore, the research question of the present study was whether cochlear implantation, performed in 21 patients over 70 with bilateral severe hearing impairment, could influence their cognitive skills. The measuring points were before implantation and 12 months after the first cochlear implant (CI) fitting. Evaluation of the working memory (WMI) and processing speed (PSI) was performed using the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale 4th edition (WAIS-IV). The audiological assessment included speech perception (SP) in quiet (Freiburg monosyllabic test; FMT), noise (Oldenburg sentence test; OLSA), and self-assessment inventory (Oldenburg Inventory; OI). Twelve months after the first CI fitting, not only the auditory parameters (SP and OI), but also the WMI and PSI, improved significantly (p < 0.05) in the cohort. The presented results imply that cochlear implantation of bilaterally hearing-impaired patients over 70 positively influences their cognitive skills.

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The Time-Based Resource-Sharing Model of Working Memory

Working Memory ◽

10.1093/oso/9780198842286.003.0004 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 85-115

Author(s):

Pierre Barrouillet ◽

Valérie Camos

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Cognitive Load ◽

Resource Sharing ◽

Inverse Function ◽

Episodic Buffer ◽

Concurrent Processing ◽

Memory Representations ◽

Processing And Storage ◽

Main Component ◽

Visuospatial Information

The time-based resource-sharing model considers working memory as the workspace in which mental representations are built, maintained, and transformed for completing goal-oriented tasks. Its main component is made of an episodic buffer and a procedural system that form an executive loop in which processing and storage share domain-general attentional resources on a temporal basis. Because working memory representations decay with time when attention is diverted, the cognitive load of a given activity is the proportion of time during which it occupies attention and prevents it from counteracting this decay through attentional refreshing. Consequently, recall in working memory tasks is an inverse function of the cognitive load of concurrent processing. Besides this system, an independent domain-specific maintenance system exists for verbal, but not visuospatial, information. Within this framework, working memory development mainly results from increasing processing speed that affects both the duration of the distraction of attention by concurrent tasks and refreshing efficiency.

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Relationship between Arterial Hypertension with Cognitive Performance in Elderly. Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Brain Sciences ◽

10.3390/brainsci11111445 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (11) ◽

pp. 1445

Author(s):

José Miguel Sánchez-Nieto ◽

Uriel Dagoberto Rivera-Sánchez ◽

Víctor Manuel Mendoza-Núñez

Keyword(s):

Blood Pressure ◽

Working Memory ◽

Cognitive Performance ◽

Processing Speed ◽

Short Term Memory ◽

The Elderly ◽

Short Term ◽

Delayed Recall ◽

Term Memory ◽

The Relationship

Background: Previous systematic reviews report that arterial hypertension (AHT) is associated with lower performance in cognition in the elderly. However, some studies show that with higher blood pressure, a better cognitive performance is obtained. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between AHT with cognitive performance in the elderly. Methods: the review involved a search on PubMed, Scopus and PsycINFO databases from January 1990 to March, 2020 to identify the relationship among AHT and cognitive performance in older people. Results: 1170 articles were identified, 136 complete papers were reviewed, a qualitative analysis of 26 studies and a quantitative analysis of eight studies were carried out. It was found that people with AHT have a lower performance in processing speed SMD = 0.40 (95% CI: 0.25, 0.54), working memory SMD = 0.28 (95% CI: 0.15, 0.41) in short-term memory and learning SMD = −0.27 (95% CI: −0.37, −0.17) and delayed recall SMD = −0.20 (95% CI: −0.35, −0.05). Only one study found that higher blood pressure was associated with better memory performance. Conclusion: Our results suggest that high blood pressure primarily affects processing speed, working memory, short-term memory and learning and delayed recall.

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

Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology ◽

10.1080/13803395.2010.541427 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 33 (5) ◽

pp. 580-586 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

Victoria M. Leavitt ◽

Jean Lengenfelder ◽

Nancy B. Moore ◽

Nancy D. Chiaravalloti ◽

John DeLuca

Keyword(s):

Multiple Sclerosis ◽

Working Memory ◽

Cognitive Load ◽

Processing Speed ◽

Memory Accuracy

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Early detection of isolated memory deficits in the elderly: the need for more sensitive neuropsychological tests

Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/s003329170200524x ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 32 (3) ◽

pp. 483-491 ◽

Cited By ~ 68

Author(s):

C. A. DE JAGER ◽

E. MILWAIN ◽

M. BUDGE

Keyword(s):

Alzheimer’S Disease ◽

Alzheimer's Disease ◽

Working Memory ◽

Early Detection ◽

Episodic Memory ◽

Processing Speed ◽

Neuropsychological Tests ◽

Memory Performance ◽

The Elderly ◽

Memory Group

Background. Early detection of cognitive decline in the elderly is important because this may precede progression to Alzheimer's disease. The aim of this study was to see whether sensitive neuropsychological tests could identify pre-clinical cognitive deficits and to characterize the cognitive profile of a subgroup with poor memory.Methods. A neuropsychological test battery was administered to a community-dwelling sample of 155 elderly volunteers who were screened with CAMCOG at enrolment (mean age 74·7 years). The battery included tests of episodic memory, semantic and working memory, language and processing speed.Results. Episodic memory test z scores below 1 S.D. from the cohort mean identified 25 subjects with ‘non-robust’ memory performance. This group was compared to the remaining ‘robust memory’ group with a General Linear Model controlling for age, IQ, education and gender. Test performance was significantly different in all tests for episodic and semantic memory, but not in tests for working memory, processing speed and language. CANTAB paired associates learning and spatial recognition tests identified the highest percentages of those in the ‘non-robust memory’ group. Processing speed partialled out the age effect on memory performance for the whole cohort, but the ‘non-robust memory’ group's performance was not associated with age or processing speed.Conclusions. Sensitive neuropsychological tests can detect performance below the norm in elderly people whose performance on MMSE and CAMCOG tests is well within the normal range. Age-related decline in memory performance in a cohort of the elderly may be largely due to inclusion within the cohort of individuals with undetected pre-clinical Alzheimer's disease or isolated memory impairment.

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Time Constraints and Resource Sharing in Adults' Working Memory Spans.

Journal of Experimental Psychology General ◽

10.1037/0096-3445.133.1.83 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 133 (1) ◽

pp. 83-100 ◽

Cited By ~ 434

Author(s):

Pierre Barrouillet ◽

Sophie Bernardin ◽

Valérie Camos

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Resource Sharing ◽

Time Constraints

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

Zeitschrift für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie und Psychotherapie ◽

10.1024/1422-4917/a000450 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 44 (5) ◽

pp. 365-375 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Jörg-Tobias Kuhn ◽

Elena Ise ◽

Julia Raddatz ◽

Christin Schwenk ◽

Christian Dobel

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Processing Speed ◽

Verbal Working Memory ◽

Typically Developing ◽

Cognitive Profiles ◽

Adhd Symptoms ◽

Memory Processing ◽

Numerical Processing ◽

Hyperactivity Disorder ◽

Neurocognitive Measures

Abstract. Objective: 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. Method: 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. Results: 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. Conclusions: DD and AS appear to be related to largely distinct patterns of cognitive deficits, which are present in combination in children with DD+AS. 

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