Language Influences on Verbal Short-Term Memory Performance in Down Syndrome

2004 ◽  
Vol 47 (6) ◽  
pp. 1334-1346 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon Brock ◽  
Christopher Jarrold
Keyword(s):  
Down Syndrome ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Typically Developing Children ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Language Abilities ◽  
Term Memory

Down syndrome is associated with severe deficits in language and verbal short-term memory, but the causal relationship between these deficits is unclear. The current study therefore investigated the influence of language abilities on verbal short-term memory performance in Down syndrome. Twenty-one individuals with Down syndrome and 29 younger typically developing children were tested on memory for words and nonwords using 2 immediate recognition tasks: an order memory task that was a relatively pure measure of verbal short-term memory and an item memory task that was more sensitive to language ability. Despite having superior vocabulary knowledge to the typically developing children, individuals with Down syndrome were impaired on both order and item tasks. This impairment was particularly marked on the item task, where individuals with Down syndrome showed an atypically large lexicality effect. These results are interpreted in terms of an underlying verbal short-term memory deficit in Down syndrome that is compounded by poor phonological discrimination abilities.

Short-Term Memory Performance in 7- and 8-Year-Old Children: The Relationship Between Phonological and Pitch Processing

2016 ◽  
Vol 59 (5) ◽  
pp. 1208-1217
Author(s):  
Ashley Gaal Flagge ◽  
Julie M. Estis ◽  
Robert E. Moore
Keyword(s):  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Nonword Repetition ◽  
Pitch Discrimination ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Typically Developing Children ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Task Differences ◽  
The Relationship

PurposeThe relationship between short-term memory for phonology and pitch was explored by examining accuracy scores for typically developing children for 5 experimental tasks: immediate nonword repetition (NWR), nonword repetition with an 8-s silent interference (NWRS), pitch discrimination (PD), pitch discrimination with an 8-s silent interference (PDS), and pitch matching (PM).MethodThirty-six 7- and 8-year-old children (21 girls, 15 boys) with normal hearing, language, and cognition were asked to listen to and repeat nonsense words (NWR, NWRS), make a same versus different decision between 2 tones (PD, PDS), and listen to and then vocally reproduce a tone (PM).ResultsResults showed no significant correlations between tasks of phonological memory and tests of pitch memory, that participants scored significantly better on nonword repetition tasks than PD and PM tasks, and that participants performed significantly better on tasks with no silent interference.DiscussionThese findings suggest that, for typically developing children, pitch may be stored and rehearsed in a separate location than phonological information. Because of fundamental task differences, further research is needed to corroborate these data and determine the presence of developmental effects and neuroanatomical locations where a potential language/music overlap is occurring in children.

Sentence Comprehension in Adolescents With Down Syndrome and Typically Developing Children

2005 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 172-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giuliana Miolo ◽  
Robin S. Chapman ◽  
Heidi A. Sindberg
Keyword(s):  
Down Syndrome ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Group Membership ◽  
Semantic Role ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Role Assignment ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Visual Short Term Memory

The authors evaluated the roles of auditory-verbal short-term memory, visual short-term memory, and group membership in predicting language comprehension, as measured by an experimental sentence comprehension task (SCT) and the Test for Auditory Comprehension of Language—Third Edition (TACL-3; E. Carrow-Woolfolk, 1999) in 38 participants: 19 with Down syndrome (DS), age 12 to 21 years, and 19 typically developing (TD) children, age 3 to 5 years, matched on syntax comprehension, as measured by TACL-3 Subtests II and III. Of the 5 dependent measures of comprehension, auditory-verbal short-term memory accounted for significant amounts of variance in 4; group membership, 1 (semantic role assignment); and visual short-term memory, 0. In the group with DS, hearing status predicted variation in Grammatical Morphemes (TACL-3 Subtest II). Using the SCT, the authors also investigated the effects of varying sentence voice and supporting visual context on sentence comprehension. SCT performance was significantly poorer in terms of (a) referent selection and semantic role assignment, for passive (vs. active) sentences in both groups, and (b) semantic role assignment in all sentences for the group with DS (vs. the TD group). Vocabulary strengths in the group with DS were found with the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test—Third Edition (L. M. Dunn & L. M. Dunn, 1997) but not the TACL-3 Vocabulary subtest.

scholarly journals Sentence repetition in German-speaking individuals with Down syndrome

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernadette Witecy ◽  
Tatjana Tolkmit ◽  
Martina Penke
Keyword(s):  
Down Syndrome ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Mental Age ◽  
Sentence Repetition ◽  
Cognitive Delay ◽  
German Speaking ◽  
Repetition Task

The present study investigated the morphosyntactic abilities of German-speaking individuals with Down syndrome (DS) employing a sentence repetition task. In addition, a nonword repetition task was used to assess verbal short-term memory. The performance of 16 children/adolescents with DS was compared to that of 10 typically developing (TD) children. Group comparisons as well as the inspection of standard scores that were determined based on nonverbal mental age indicated a significant morphosyntactic impairment in most individuals with DS that could neither be solely attributed to the general cognitive delay nor to the observed deficit in verbal verbal short-term memory. Further qualitative results are presented.

Verbal Short-Term Memory in Down Syndrome

2002 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 531-544 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Jarrold ◽  
Alan D. Baddeley ◽  
Caroline E. Phillips
Keyword(s):  
Down Syndrome ◽  
Spatial Information ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Receptive Vocabulary ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Recall Procedure ◽  
Children And Young Adults ◽  
Motor Difficulties

The current study explored three possible explanations of poor verbal short-term memory performance among individuals with Down syndrome in an attempt to determine whether the condition is associated with a fundamental verbal shortterm memory deficit. The short-term memory performance of a group of 19 children and young adults with Down syndrome was contrasted with that of two control groups matched for level of receptive vocabulary. The specificity of a deficit was assessed by comparing memory for verbal and visuo-spatial information. The effect of auditory problems on performance was examined by contrasting memory for auditorily presented material with that for material presented both auditorily and visually. The influence of speech-motor difficulties was investigated by employing both a traditional recall procedure and a serial recognition procedure that reduced spoken response demands. Results confirmed that individuals with Down syndrome do show impaired verbal short-term memory performance for their level of receptive vocabulary. The findings also indicated that this deficit is specific to memory for verbal information and is not primarily caused by auditory or speech-production difficulties.

A Signal-Detection Model of Visual Short-Term Memory Performance for Random Block Patterns

Perception ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 26 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 112-112
Author(s):  
F W Cornelissen ◽  
M W Greenlee
Keyword(s):  
Signal Detection ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Detection Model ◽  
Visual Short Term Memory ◽  
Random Block

On the basis of signal-detection theory, we have formulated a model that accurately explains performance on a visual short-term memory task involving random block patterns. The model assumes that the internal response of an observer for detecting a change in any given element of the block pattern is noisy and has a Gaussian-shaped distribution. On this basis we can calculate the likelihood that an observer correctly or falsely identifies a change in the pattern after a certain time interval (ISI). Using this likelihood, we can then predict the likelihood that an observer correctly identifies a whole pattern as having changed or not as a function of the number of elements that changed in the pattern. We have previously shown (Cornelissen and Greenlee, 1993 Perception22 Supplement, 46) that memory performance declines when changes occur in pattern elements located on the perimeter of the pattern. Therefore the model also incorporates a circular symmetric ‘memory field’ that shows a Gaussian-shaped decline of memory performance from the point of fixation. The model has three parameters: d' (detectability of a change), lambda (criterion level), and the standard deviation of the Gaussian of the memory field. In the experiments we performed, block patterns made up of 50 light and 50 dark randomly arranged elements (0.5 deg checks) were briefly (200 ms) shown. In a forced-choice task, subjects judged whether two sequentially presented (with ISIs of 1, 3, or 10 s) block patterns were the same or different. Task difficulty was varied by varying the number of elements in the patterns that changed on ‘different’ trials. The model is able to accurately predict memory performance at the three different ISIs for various levels of pattern differences (changes in 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 20, and 50 out of 100 elements).

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

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