Exploring Expressive Vocabulary Variability in Two-Year-Olds: The Role of Working Memory

2015 ◽  
Vol 58 (6) ◽  
pp. 1761-1772 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jayne Newbury ◽  
Thomas Klee ◽  
Stephanie F. Stokes ◽  
Catherine Moran
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Spoken Word Recognition ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Expressive Vocabulary ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Unique Variance ◽  
Unique Predictor

Purpose This study explored whether measures of working memory ability contribute to the wide variation in 2-year-olds' expressive vocabulary skills. Method Seventy-nine children (aged 24–30 months) were assessed by using standardized tests of vocabulary and visual cognition, a processing speed measure, and behavioral measures of verbal working memory and phonological short-term memory. Results Strong correlations were observed between phonological short-term memory, verbal working memory, and expressive vocabulary. Speed of spoken word recognition showed a moderate significant correlation with expressive vocabulary. In a multivariate regression model for expressive vocabulary, the most powerful predictor was a measure of phonological short-term memory (accounting for 66% unique variance), followed by verbal working memory (6%), sex (2%), and age (1%). Processing speed did not add significant unique variance. Conclusions These findings confirm previous research positing a strong role for phonological short-term memory in early expressive vocabulary acquisition. They also extend previous research in two ways. First, a unique association between verbal working memory and expressive vocabulary in 2-year-olds was observed. Second, processing speed was not a unique predictor of variance in expressive vocabulary when included alongside measures of working memory.

scholarly journals Cognitive Impairments of Children with SevereArithmetic Difficulties: Cognitive Deficit orDevelopmental Lag?

2008 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Derek H Berg
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Functioning ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Cognitive Deficit ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Visual Spatial ◽  
Matched Design

An age-matched/achievement-matched design was utilized to examine the cognitive functioning of children with severe arithmetic difficulties. A battery of cognitive tasks was administered to three groups of elementary aged children: 20 children with severe arithmetic difficulties (SAD), 20 children matched in age (CAM) to the children with SAD, and 20 younger children matched in arithmetic achievement (AAM) to the children with SAD. Measures were related to processing speed, short-term memory, verbal working memory, and visual-spatial working memory. Results suggest three important fi ndings. First, in contrast to previous studies, children with SAD did not show a processing speed impairment. Second, children with SAD were impaired in short-term memory for numerical and non-numerical information. And third, while children with SAD displayed working memory impairments, these impairments were not uniform within verbal working memory or visualspatial working memory. Taken together, findings indicate that previous studies that have reported differences between children with SAD and their normally achieving peers might have overestimated or mischaracterized the differential cognitive functioning of these groups. Results are discussed within a framework that views the cognitive functioning impairments of children with SAD as representative of a developmental lag rather than a cognitive deficit.

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

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.

Left TPJ activity in verbal working memory: Implications for storage- and sensory-specific models of short term memory

NeuroImage ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 55 (4) ◽  
pp. 1836-1846 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan M. Ravizza ◽  
Eliot Hazeltine ◽  
Sandra Ruiz ◽  
David C. Zhu
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Term Memory

Understanding the Cognition Related to Mathematics Difficulties: A Meta-Analysis on the Cognitive Deficit Profiles and the Bottleneck Theory

2018 ◽  
Vol 88 (3) ◽  
pp. 434-476 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peng Peng ◽  
Cuicui Wang ◽  
Jessica Namkung
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
Cognitive Deficits ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Phonological Processing ◽  
Cognitive Deficit ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Mathematics Difficulties

The current study investigated the cognitive deficit profiles among individuals with mathematics difficulties (MD) and potential moderators and mechanism for these profiles. Seventy-five cognitive profiling studies on MD were included, representing a total of 13,001 individuals and 126 independent samples. Results showed that compared with typically developing individuals, individuals with MD showed deficits (from most severe to less severe) in phonological processing, processing speed, working memory, attention, short-term memory, executive functions, and visuospatial skills. Moderation analyses indicated that comorbidity (with reading disabilities) and types of MD screening affected the cognitive deficits. Severity of MD was related to processing speed deficits. Deficits in phonological processing and attention were more severe in younger individuals with MD. Deficits in processing speed and working memory were most severe in the numerical domain. Deficits in low-level cognitive skills (i.e., processing speed and short-term memory) could not completely explain the deficits in high-level skills (i.e., working memory, attention, and executive functions), partially supporting the bottleneck theory. These findings, taken together, suggest that (a) deficits in processing speed and working memory are most salient and stable cognitive markers of MD, (b) numerical-processing deficit and the cognitive deficits of MD are relatively independent from each other, and (c) MD may be a discrete construct with heterogeneity reflected by MD subtypes and age. Implications for incorporating cognition in the diagnosis and the interventions for MD are discussed.

Verbal working memory deficits in abstinent heroin abusers

2008 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 265-268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhao-Xin Wang ◽  
Zhuang-Wei Xiao ◽  
Da-Ren Zhang ◽  
Chun-Yu Liang ◽  
John X. Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Digit Span ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Heroin Abusers ◽  
Back Task

Background:A prevailing belief is that opioids tend not to impair cognitive performance in opioid-dependent users. However, the impact of heroin abuse on verbal memory, especially on working memory, is not well studied and the results available are inconsistent.Objective:This study was carried out to test the hypothesis that abstinent heroin abusers have intact working memory capacity.Methods:N-back task and backward digit span task were used to measure the verbal working memory capacity in 28 abstinent heroin abusers and 25 controls matched for age, education level and gender. Forward digit span task was used as a control task to measure short-term memory capacity.Results:Compared with the control subjects, heroin abusers showed normal backward/forward digit spans but significant performance impairment in the n-back task.Conclusion:Abstinent heroin abusers have intact short-term memory capacity but impaired verbal working memory capacity.

scholarly journals Insensitivity of visual short-term memory to irrelevant visual information

2002 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 753-774 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jackie Andrade ◽  
Eva Kemps ◽  
Yves Werniers ◽  
Jon May ◽  
Arnaud Szmalec
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Visual Processing ◽  
Visual Imagery ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Visual Noise ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Visual Short Term Memory

Several authors have hypothesized that visuo-spatial working memory is functionally analogous to verbal working memory. Irrelevant background speech impairs verbal short-term memory. We investigated whether irrelevant visual information has an analogous effect on visual short-term memory, using a dynamic visual noise (DVN) technique known to disrupt visual imagery (Quinn & McConnell, 1996b). Experiment 1 replicated the effect of DVN on pegword imagery. Experiments 2 and 3 showed no effect of DVN on recall of static matrix patterns, despite a significant effect of a concurrent spatial tapping task. Experiment 4 showed no effect of DVN on encoding or maintenance of arrays of matrix patterns, despite testing memory by a recognition procedure to encourage visual rather than spatial processing. Serial position curves showed a one-item recency effect typical of visual short-term memory. Experiment 5 showed no effect of DVN on short-term recognition of Chinese characters, despite effects of visual similarity and a concurrent colour memory task that confirmed visual processing of the characters. We conclude that irrelevant visual noise does not impair visual short-term memory. Visual working memory may not be functionally analogous to verbal working memory, and different cognitive processes may underlie visual short-term memory and visual imagery.

scholarly journals Temporally distinct oscillatory codes of retention and manipulation of verbal working memory

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuri G. Pavlov ◽  
Boris Kotchoubey
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Spectral Power ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Delay Period ◽  
Beta Band ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Band Power ◽  
The Difference

AbstractMost psychophysiological studies of working memory (WM) target only the short-term memory construct, while short-term memory is only a part of the WM responsible for the storage of sensory information. Much less effort has been devoted to study brain mechanisms supporting the executive components of WM – the part responsible for the manipulation of information. Here, 156 human participants (82 females) performed two tasks requiring either simple retention or retention and manipulation of verbal information in WM. A relatively long delay period (> 6 s) was employed to investigate the temporal trajectory of the oscillatory brain activity using EEG. Compared to baseline, theta activity was significantly enhanced during encoding and the delay period. Alpha-band power decreased during encoding and switched to an increase in the first part of the delay before returning to the baseline in the second part; beta-band power remained below baseline during all three time intervals. The difference between the manipulation and retention tasks in spectral power had diverse temporal trajectories in different frequency bands. The difference maintained over encoding and the first part of the delay in theta, during the first part of the delay in beta, and during the whole delay period in alpha. Our results suggest that task-related modulations in theta power co-vary with the demands on the executive control network; beta suppression during mental manipulation can be related to the activation of motor networks; alpha is likely to reflect the activation of language areas simultaneously with sensory input blockade.

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