Verbal fluency in male and female schizophrenia patients: Different patterns of association with processing speed, working memory span, and clinical symptoms.

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gildas Brébion ◽  
Christian Stephan-Otto ◽  
Susana Ochoa ◽  
Lourdes Nieto ◽  
Montserrat Contel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Verbal Fluency ◽  
Memory Span ◽  
Clinical Symptoms ◽  
Male And Female

Decreased processing speed might account for working memory span deficit in schizophrenia, and might mediate the associations between working memory span and clinical symptoms

2014 ◽  
Vol 29 (8) ◽  
pp. 473-478 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Brébion ◽  
C. Stephan-Otto ◽  
E. Huerta-Ramos ◽  
J. Usall ◽  
M. Perez del Olmo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Memory Impairment ◽  
Negative Symptoms ◽  
Memory Span ◽  
Clinical Symptoms ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Motor Speed ◽  
Speed Measure ◽  
Cognitive Speed

AbstractObjectiveVerbal working memory span is decreased in patients with schizophrenia, and this might contribute to impairment in higher cognitive functions as well as to the formation of certain clinical symptoms. Processing speed has been identified as a crucial factor in cognitive efficiency in this population. We tested the hypothesis that decreased processing speed underlies the verbal working memory deficit in patients and mediates the associations between working memory span and clinical symptoms.MethodForty-nine schizophrenia inpatients recruited from units for chronic and acute patients, and forty-five healthy participants, were involved in the study. Verbal working memory span was assessed by means of the letter-number span. The Digit Copy test was used to assess motor speed, and the Digit Symbol Substitution Test to assess cognitive speed.ResultsThe working memory span was significantly impaired in patients (F(1,90) = 4.6, P < 0.05). However, the group difference was eliminated when either the motor or the cognitive speed measure was controlled (F(1,89) = 0.03, P = 0.86, and F(1,89) = 0.03, P = 0.88). In the patient group, working memory span was significantly correlated with negative symptoms (r = –0.52, P < 0.0001) and thought disorganisation (r = –0.34, P < 0.025) scores. Regression analyses showed that the association with negative symptoms was no longer significant when the motor speed measure was controlled (β = –0.12, P = 0.20), while the association with thought disorganisation was no longer significant when the cognitive speed measure was controlled (β = –0.10, P = 0.26).ConclusionsDecrement in motor and cognitive speed plays a significant role in both the verbal working memory impairment observed in patients and the associations between verbal working memory impairment and clinical symptoms.

Processing Speed and Working Memory Span: Their Differential Role in Superficial and Deep Memory Processes in Schizophrenia

2011 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 485-493 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gildas Brébion ◽  
Rodrigo A. Bressan ◽  
Lyn S. Pilowsky ◽  
Anthony S. David
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Visual Memory ◽  
Memory Impairment ◽  
Memory Span ◽  
Memory Deficit ◽  
Regression Analyses ◽  
Independent Variables ◽  
Group Processing ◽  
Two Factors

Previous work has suggested that decrement in both processing speed and working memory span plays a role in the memory impairment observed in patients with schizophrenia. We undertook a study to examine simultaneously the effect of these two factors. A sample of 49 patients with schizophrenia and 43 healthy controls underwent a battery of verbal and visual memory tasks. Superficial and deep encoding memory measures were tallied. We conducted regression analyses on the various memory measures, using processing speed and working memory span as independent variables. In the patient group, processing speed was a significant predictor of superficial and deep memory measures in verbal and visual memory. Working memory span was an additional significant predictor of the deep memory measures only. Regression analyses involving all participants revealed that the effect of diagnosis on all the deep encoding memory measures was reduced to non-significance when processing speed was entered in the regression. Decreased processing speed is involved in verbal and visual memory deficit in patients, whether the task require superficial or deep encoding. Working memory is involved only insofar as the task requires a certain amount of effort. (JINS, 2011, 17, 485–493)

Processing Speed Mediates Executive Function Difficulties in Very Preterm Children in Middle Childhood

2011 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 445-454 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanna Mulder ◽  
Nicola J. Pitchford ◽  
Neil Marlow
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Middle Childhood ◽  
Behavioral Problems ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Verbal Fluency ◽  
Very Preterm ◽  
Attention Tasks ◽  
Basic Functions ◽  
Attention Difficulties

AbstractExecutive function and attention difficulties are reported in very preterm (VPT) children at school entry, but it is unclear if these remain at later ages and/or if these difficulties are mediated by more basic functions, such as processing speed. Processing speed has been shown to underlie academic and behavioral problems in VPT children in middle childhood (Mulder, Pitchford, & Marlow, 2010, 2011), so may also underpin executive function and attention difficulties. We investigated this by comparing VPT (gestational age <31 weeks; N = 56) to term children (N = 22) aged 9–10 years on a comprehensive battery of executive function and attention tasks from the Test of Everyday Attention for Children (Manly, Robertson, Anderson, & Nimmo-Smith, 1999) and NEPSY (Korkman, Kirk, & Kemp, 1998). Selective and sustained attention, inhibition, working memory, shifting, verbal fluency, planning, and processing speed were examined. Group differences favoring term children were shown on most executive function tasks (i.e., inhibition, working memory, verbal fluency, and shifting), all of which were mediated by slow processing speed in the VPT group, except response inhibition. Seemingly, processing speed is an important determinant underpinning many neuropsychological deficits seen in VPT children in middle childhood. (JINS, 2011, 17, 445–454)

Visual encoding impairment in patients with schizophrenia: Contribution of reduced working memory span, decreased processing speed, and affective symptoms.

2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gildas Brébion ◽  
Christian Stephan-Otto ◽  
Elena Huerta-Ramos ◽  
Susana Ochoa ◽  
Judith Usall ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Memory Span ◽  
Visual Encoding ◽  
Affective Symptoms

scholarly journals M65. INTERPLAY OF TRAIT RESILIENCE WITH NEUROCOGNITIVE FUNCTIONING AND PERSONALITY CHARACTERISTICS IN YOUNG PEOPLE WITH PUTATIVE ‘AT RISK MENTAL STATE’

2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S159-S160
Author(s):  
Dagmara Mętel ◽  
Aleksandra Arciszewska-Leszczuk ◽  
Dorota Frydecka ◽  
Andrzej Cechnicki ◽  
Łukasz Gawęda
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Mental State ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Verbal Fluency ◽  
Verbal Learning ◽  
Neurocognitive Functioning ◽  
Psychological Resilience ◽  
Reward Dependence ◽  
At Risk Mental State

Abstract Background In the last decades psychological resilience has been increasingly recognized as a relevant area of research and clinical intervention in mental health. However, in the field of “at risk mental states” this topic remains underexplored. Limited studies involving individuals with ‘at risk mental state’ have demonstrated that they have lower levels of resilience than healthy controls, and that baseline resilience is lower among those who convert to frank psychosis than among those who do not. What is more, at risk individuals are characterized by a wide range of cognitive impairments, including general intelligence, executive function, verbal and visual memory, verbal fluency, attention, working memory, processing speed and social cognition. Recently, it has also been shown that a great majority of at-risk individuals have personality disorders, mainly depressive, borderline or schizotypal type. Methods Ninety-three young adults were administered a neurocognitive battery assessing attention, processing speed, verbal learning, working memory and verbal fluency along with Cloninger’s Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), a self-report measure of psychological resilience (CD-RISC 10) and a semi-structured interview assessing at-risk mental state (CAARMS). We performed a two-step regression analysis. In the first model the results of cognitive tests were included as predictors of resilience, in the second model we added personality and temperamental traits to the significant cognitive predictors from the first model. Results The first model demonstrated that verbal fluency (b*=0.25, p=0.033), digit coding score (b*=-0.27, p=0.039), TMT version B performance time (b*=-0.33, p&lt;0.005), and D2 test total score (b*=-0.32, p&lt;0.005) were all significant predictors of resilience. In the second model all of them except for D2 test total score, remain significant along with Self-directedness (b*=0.33, p&lt;0.001) and Reward dependence (b*=0.22, p=0.022) subscales of TCI. What is more, resilience has proven to be a predictor of the positive symptoms subscale in CAARMS (b=-0.21, p=0,047). Discussion The obtained results indicate that resilience is associated with both neurocognitive functioning and personality traits, although significant standardized beta scores are not high (they range from 0.21 to 0.33) in this sample. Generally, they are consistent with previous findings that more resilient people are more ‘cognitively dexterous’ than those who are more prone to stress and adversity. However, an interesting findings of our study is the negative beta coefficients for digit symbol coding and D2 total score with resilience, which suggests that more resilient individuals do not necessarily “do their best” on cognitive testing. The result can also be examined from the point of view of the relationship between resilience and reward dependence demonstrated in this study. Perhaps the more resilient participants were aware that they would receive a reward (cash voucher) for participating in the study anyway, so they were not motivated enough to complete the task at their utmost. Nontheless, these results stimulate the reflection on the definition of resilience that still remain equivocal and polysemic.

scholarly journals The Effects of Processing Speed and Memory Span on Working Memory

GeroPsych ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 109-114
Author(s):  
Mitsunobu Kunimi ◽  
Haruyuki Kojima
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Processing Time ◽  
Memory Span ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Presentation Modality ◽  
Adult Intelligence Scale ◽  
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale ◽  
Wechsler Adult Intelligence ◽  
With Memory

This study examined the processing speed and memory span of young adults and older people using tasks based on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III (WAIS-III, Wechsler, 1997 ). By comparing the data obtained from these tasks, we examined the effects of processing speed and memory span on working memory (WM). In addition, this study examined how presentation modality and the subject’s age are related to WM. Multiple regression analysis of the effect of memory span for each presentation modality used processing time as a factor to predict the WM span of various age groups. The result was two equations for predicting WM span. According to these equations, WM is negatively correlated with “age group” and “processing time,” and positively correlated with “memory span.” Memory span and processing speed were found to have similar impacts on WM, regardless of the presentation modality. However, our results suggested that visual WM and auditory WM are different functions, and that auditory WM is more strongly affected by memory span than visual WM.

Working memory span in mild cognitive impairment. Influence of processing speed and cognitive reserve

2013 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 615-625 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Facal ◽  
Onésimo Juncos-Rabadán ◽  
Arturo X. Pereiro ◽  
Cristina Lojo-Seoane
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Memory Impairment ◽  
Cognitive Reserve ◽  
Memory Span ◽  
Amnestic Mci ◽  
Span Tasks ◽  
Subject Factor

ABSTRACTBackground:Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) often includes episodic memory impairment, but can also involve other types of cognitive decline. Although previous studies have shown poorer performance of MCI patients in working memory (WM) span tasks, different MCI subgroups were not studied.Methods:In the present exploratory study, 145 participants underwent extensive cognitive evaluation, which included three different WM span tasks, and were classified into the following groups: multiple-domain amnestic MCI (mda-MCI), single-domain amnestic MCI (sda-MCI), and controls. General linear model was conducted by considering the WM span tasks as the within-subject factor; the group (mda-MCI, sda-MCI, and controls) as the inter-subject factor; and processing speed, vocabulary and age as covariates. Multiple linear regression models were also used to test the influence of processing speed, vocabulary, and other cognitive reserve (CR) proxies.Results:Results indicate different levels of impairment of WM, with more severe impairment in mda-MCI patients. The differences were still present when processing resources and CR were controlled.Conclusions:Between-group differences can be understood as a manifestation of the greater severity and widespread memory impairment in mda-MCI patients and may contribute to a better understanding of continuum from normal controls to mda-MCI patients. Processing speed and CR have a limited influence on WM scores, reducing but not removing differences between groups.

Relation of three mechanisms of working memory to children’s complex span performance

2009 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 460-469 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beula Magimairaj ◽  
James Montgomery ◽  
Sally Marinellie ◽  
John McCarthy
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Memory Span ◽  
Digit Span ◽  
Span Task ◽  
Attentional Resource ◽  
Complex Span ◽  
Attentional Allocation ◽  
Unique Variance ◽  
Relative Contribution

There is a paucity of research examining the relative contribution of the different mechanisms of working memory (short-term storage [STM], processing speed) to children’s complex memory span. This study served to replicate and extend the few extant studies that have examined the issue. In this study, the relative contribution of three mechanisms of working memory — STM storage, processing speed, attentional resource allocation — to children’s complex span was examined. Children (6—12) completed a digit span task, an auditory-visual reaction time task, a task of attentional allocation, and a complex (listening) span task. Correlation analyses revealed that, after controlling for age, storage, processing speed, and attentional allocation significantly correlated with complex span. Regression analyses showed that, after partialling out age, storage accounted for 12.1% of unique variance in complex span and processing speed accounted for another 6.6% of unique variance; allocation contributed no unique variance. Consistent with the developmental literature, storage and general processing speed play critical roles in children’s complex span performance.

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

2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (5) ◽  
pp. 365-375 ◽  
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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