A-47 The Interplay between Achievement Scores in Math Ability, Visual Working Memory, and Perceptual Reasoning across Race in an Adult Population

2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 1088-1088
Author(s):  
D'Shawn L Harrigan ◽  
Kayla Kotalik ◽  
Brittny Arias ◽  
Charles J Golden
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
African Americans ◽  
Visual Working Memory ◽  
Adult Population ◽  
Math Ability ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Perceptual Reasoning ◽  
Z Transformation ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Analysis Of Performance

Abstract Objective The aim of this study is to measure the associations between overall math ability, visual working memory, and perceptual reasoning. Method Data stemmed from an ongoing de-identified database aof clinical adults. Participants were administered the WAIS-IV, KM-3, and WMS-IV. The sample consisted of Caucasians (N = 671, M_edu = 14,45.7% males & 52.5% females), African Americans (N = 154, M_edu = 13, 43.5% males & 56.5% females), and Hispanic (N = 194, M_edu = 13,44.8% males & 53.6% females). Participant’s age ranged from 16 to 81, with a mean of 31.06. Results The analysis corrected for age, education, and gender. The relationship between PR and KM-3 was 0.505 for Caucasians, 0.782 for African Americans, and 0.769 for Hispanics, all p < 0.05. A Fisher Z transformation indicated significance on PR and KM-3 between Caucasians and Hispanics, p < 0.001. The relationship between KM-3 and VWM was 0.408 for Caucasians, 0.828 for African Americans, and 0.591 for Hispanics, all p < 0.05. A Fisher Z transformation indicated significance on KM-3 and VWM between Caucasians and African Americans, p = 0.020. The relationship between KM-3 and VP was 0.349 for Caucasians, 0.584 for African Americans, and.733 for Hispanics, all p < 0.05. A Fisher Z transformation indicated significance on KM-3 and VP between Caucasians and Hispanics, p = 0.04. Discussion Closer analysis of performance between race reveals statistically stronger associations between mathematical ability and perceptual/memory tasks that are visuoconstructional in nature for African Americans and Hispanics when compared to Caucasians. The findings of this study may allude to different approach’s African Americans and Hispanics may use (e.g., mental rotation) when solving mathematical computations.

scholarly journals The influence of visual working memory representations on attention bias to threat in individuals with high trait anxiety

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 204380871987614
Author(s):  
Nisha Yao ◽  
Marcus A. Rodriguez ◽  
Mengyao He ◽  
Mingyi Qian
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Visual Working Memory ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Attention Bias ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Negative Valence ◽  
Memory Representations ◽  
High Trait Anxiety ◽  
The Relationship

Experimental studies have yielded discrepant results regarding the relationship between anxiety and attention bias to threat. Cognitive factors modulating the presence of threat-related attention bias in anxiety have drawn growing attention. Previous research demonstrated that visual working memory (WM) representations can guide attention allocation in a top-down manner. Whether threat-related WM representations affected the presence of attention bias in anxiety awaits examination. Combining a memory task and a dot-probe task, this study investigated how WM representations of faces with neutral or negative expressions modulated the attention bias to threat among highly anxious individuals versus controls. Results showed that highly anxious individuals developed more pronounced attention bias to threat when maintaining WM representations of negative faces as compared to the control group. There were no significant between-group effects when the WM representations were neutral. These results suggested that highly anxious individuals were more susceptible to the influence of mental representations with negative valence on attention deployment.

scholarly journals Auditory and Visual Working Memory Are Differentially Related to Carotenoid Status in Preadolescent Children

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. 98-98
Author(s):  
Corinne Cannavale ◽  
Caitlyn Edwards ◽  
Ruyu Liu ◽  
Samantha Iwinski ◽  
Anne Walk ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Visual Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Memory Function ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Set Size ◽  
Preadolescent Children ◽  
Central Illinois ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Objectives Carotenoids are plant pigments known to deposit in neural tissues including the hippocampus, a brain substrate that supports several memory forms. However, there is a dearth of knowledge regarding carotenoid status and working memory function in children. Accordingly, this study aimed to understand the relationship between macular and skin carotenoids to visual and auditory working memory (WM) function. Methods Seventy preadolescent children (7–12 years, 32 males) were recruited from the East-Central Illinois area. Auditory working memory was assessed using the story recall subtest of the Woodcock-Johnson IV Test of Cognitive Abilities. A subsample (N = 61, 27 males) completed a visual working memory task and reaction time was quantified to determine speed of memory processing at set sizes of 1 to 4 items. Macular pigment optical density (MPOD) was assessed using customized heterochromatic flicker photometry. Skin carotenoids were assessed using reflection spectroscopy (Veggie Meter). Hierarchical linear regressions were conducted to assess the relationship between carotenoid status and WM function, while controlling for age, sex, income, and whole-body % fat (DXA). Results Auditory WM was positively associated with skin carotenoids (b = 0.263, P = 0.039) but not MPOD (b = −0.044, P = 0.380). In contrast, MPOD was significantly associated with faster visual WM speed at set size 3 (b = −0.253, P = 0.039) and trending at set sizes of 1 (b = −0.225, P = 0.051), 2 (b = −0.171, P = 0.121), and 4 (b = −0.230, P = 0.055). Interestingly, skin carotenoids were not related to visual WM performance at either set size (all P’s > 0.300). Conclusions These results indicate that auditory and visual WM may be differentially related to carotenoids. While skin carotenoids encompass all carotenoids consumed in diet, lutein and zeaxanthin are the only carotenoids which deposit in the macula. Given that MPOD was only related to visual WM, this suggests lutein plays a larger role in these neural functions relative to auditory WM. Interestingly, MPOD's relationship with visual WM increased in strength with the more difficult trial type (i.e., increasing set size), indicating MPOD is related at higher levels of WM capacity. Funding Sources This study was funded by the Egg Nutrition Center.

Moderating effect of schizotypy on the relationship between smoking and neurocognition

2013 ◽  
Vol 28 (8) ◽  
pp. 457-462 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Hori ◽  
J. Matsuo ◽  
T. Teraishi ◽  
D. Sasayama ◽  
Y. Kawamoto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Analysis Of Covariance ◽  
Moderating Effects ◽  
Perceptual Factor ◽  
Current Smoking ◽  
Schizotypal Personality ◽  
Wechsler Memory Scale ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Smoking Interaction

AbstractPurposeSmoking rates in schizotypic individuals are shown to be elevated, as in patients with schizophrenia, although findings on the association of smoking with different symptomatology of schizotypy have been mixed. Moreover, possible moderating effects of schizotypy on the relationship between smoking and cognition have not been well documented.Subjects and methodsThe Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ) and the full version of the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised (WMS-R) were administered to 501 healthy adults. Subjects were divided into smokers (n = 85) and non-smokers (n = 416) based on the presence/absence of current smoking.ResultsThe analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) on the three factor scores as well as the total score of the SPQ, controlling for age and gender, revealed that cognitive-perceptual factor was significantly associated with an increased rate of smoking (P = 0.048). The ANCOVA on the WMS-R indices, with smoking group as a fixed factor and age, gender and total SPQ score as covariates, revealed that the schizotypy-by-smoking interaction was significant for attention/working memory (P = 0.029).Discussion and conclusionPositive schizotypy may be associated with more smoking. Schizotypy and smoking could interact with each other to negatively affect attention/working memory.

scholarly journals The relationship between visual working memory and attention: retention of precise colour information in the absence of effects on perceptual selection

2013 ◽  
Vol 368 (1628) ◽  
pp. 20130061 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Hollingworth ◽  
Seongmin Hwang
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Visual Working Memory ◽  
Alternative Hypothesis ◽  
Memory And Attention ◽  
Single Form ◽  
Feature Based ◽  
Precise Representation ◽  
Feature Memory ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Perceptual Selection

We examined the conditions under which a feature value in visual working memory (VWM) recruits visual attention to matching stimuli. Previous work has suggested that VWM supports two qualitatively different states of representation: an active state that interacts with perceptual selection and a passive (or accessory) state that does not. An alternative hypothesis is that VWM supports a single form of representation, with the precision of feature memory controlling whether or not the representation interacts with perceptual selection. The results of three experiments supported the dual-state hypothesis. We established conditions under which participants retained a relatively precise representation of a parcticular colour. If the colour was immediately task relevant, it reliably recruited attention to matching stimuli. However, if the colour was not immediately task relevant, it failed to interact with perceptual selection. Feature maintenance in VWM is not necessarily equivalent with feature-based attentional selection.

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