scholarly journals Age-Related Declines in Visuospatial Working Memory Correlate With Deficits in Explicit Motor Sequence Learning

2009 ◽  
Vol 102 (5) ◽  
pp. 2744-2754 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Bo ◽  
V. Borza ◽  
R. D. Seidler
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Sequence Learning ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Visuospatial Working Memory ◽  
Motor Sequence Learning ◽  
Motor Sequence ◽  
Age Related

Numerous studies have shown that older adults exhibit deficits in motor sequence learning, but the mechanisms underlying this effect remain unclear. Our recent work has shown that visuospatial working-memory capacity predicts the rate of motor sequence learning and the length of motor chunks formed during explicit sequence learning in young adults. In the current study, we evaluate whether age-related deficits in working memory explain the reduced rate of motor sequence learning in older adults. We found that older adults exhibited a correlation between visuospatial working-memory capacity and motor sequence chunk length, as we observed previously in young adults. In addition, older adults exhibited an overall reduction in both working-memory capacity and motor chunk length compared with that of young adults. However, individual variations in visuospatial working-memory capacity did not correlate with the rate of learning in older adults. These results indicate that working memory declines with age at least partially explain age-related differences in explicit motor sequence learning.

scholarly journals Visuospatial Working Memory Capacity Predicts the Organization of Acquired Explicit Motor Sequences

2009 ◽  
Vol 101 (6) ◽  
pp. 3116-3125 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Bo ◽  
R. D. Seidler
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Sequence Learning ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Temporal Organization ◽  
Visuospatial Working Memory ◽  
Temporal Control ◽  
Motor Sequence Learning ◽  
Motor Sequence ◽  
Timing Task

Studies have suggested that cognitive processes such as working memory and temporal control contribute to motor sequence learning. These processes engage overlapping brain regions with sequence learning, but concrete evidence has been lacking. In this study, we determined whether limits in visuospatial working memory capacity and temporal control abilities affect the temporal organization of explicitly acquired motor sequences. Participants performed an explicit sequence learning task, a visuospatial working memory task, and a continuous tapping timing task. We found that visuospatial working memory capacity, but not the CV from the timing task, correlated with the rate of motor sequence learning and the chunking pattern observed in the learned sequence. These results show that individual differences in short-term visuospatial working memory capacity, but not temporal control, predict the temporal structure of explicitly acquired motor sequences.

scholarly journals Interacting effects of frontal lobe neuroanatomy and working memory capacity to older listeners’ speech recognition in noise

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathalie Giroud ◽  
Matthias Keller ◽  
Martin Meyer
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Frontal Lobe ◽  
Pure Tone ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Brain Areas ◽  
Speech In Noise ◽  
Age Related

AbstractMany older adults are struggling with understanding spoken language, particularly when background noise interferes with comprehension. In the present study, we investigated a potential interaction between two well-known factors associated with greater speech-in-noise (SiN) reception thresholds in older adults, namely a) lower working memory capacity and b) age-related structural decline of frontal lobe regions.In a sample of older adults (N=25) and younger controls (N=13) with normal pure-tone thresholds, SiN reception thresholds and working memory capacity were assessed. Furthermore, T1-weighted structural MR-images were recorded to analyze neuroanatomical traits (i.e., cortical thickness (CT) and cortical surface area (CSA)) of the cortex.As expected, the older group showed greater SiN reception thresholds compared to the younger group. We also found consistent age-related atrophy (i.e., lower CT) in brain regions associated with SiN recognition namely the superior temporal lobe bilaterally, the right inferior frontal and precentral gyrus, as well as the left superior frontal gyrus. Those older participants with greater atrophy in these brain regions also showed greater SiN reception thresholds. Interestingly, the association between CT in the left superior frontal gyrus and SiN reception thresholds was moderated by individual working memory capacity. Older adults with greater working memory capacity benefitted more strongly from thicker frontal lobe regions when it comes to improve SiN recognition.Overall, our results fit well into the literature showing that age-related structural decline in auditory- and cognition-related brain areas is associated with greater SiN reception thresholds in older adults. However, we highlight that this association changes as a function of individual working memory capacity. We therefore believe that future interventions to improve SiN recognition in older adults should take into account the role of the frontal lobe as well as individual working memory capacity.HighlightsSpeech-in-noise (SiN) reception thresholds are significantly increased with higher age, independently of pure-tone hearing lossGreater SiN reception thresholds are associated with cortical thinning in several auditory-, linguistic-, and cognitive-related brain areas, irrespective of pure-tone hearing lossGreater cortical thinning in the left superior frontal lobe is detrimental for SiN recognition in older, but not younger adultsOlder adults with greater working memory capacity benefit more strongly from structural integrity of left superior frontal lobe for SiN recognition

scholarly journals 0122 Does Additional Training on an Implicit Motor Sequence Learning Task for Older Adults Improve Sleep-Dependent Memory Consolidation?

SLEEP ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 43 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. A48-A48
Author(s):  
K Rodheim ◽  
R Spencer
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Sequence Learning ◽  
Skill Learning ◽  
Motor Sequence Learning ◽  
Motor Sequence ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Delayed Recall ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Initial Learning ◽  
Regular Training

Abstract Introduction Previous studies show sleep dependent consolidation (SDC) for motor sequence learning with regular training in younger adults, whereas, in older adults, this sleep benefit is missing. If hippocampal engagement underlies age-related differences in SDC, then enhanced training should result in significant SDC in older adults. Thus, this study aims to look at younger vs. older adults with regular training and older adults with regular training vs. overtraining to determine if older adults show evidence of SDC. Alternatively, regardless of initial learning, older adults may fail to exhibit SDC because the sleep mechanisms supporting consolidation are impaired. Methods Seven younger adults (M=22 years) and seven older adults (M=68.5 years) completed the train condition, while ten older adults (M=67.6 years) completed the overtrain condition. In the encoding phase, participants either completed 5 blocks (train) or 10 blocks (overtrain). Between immediate and delayed recall, participants either slept with Polysomnography (PSG) in the lab or remained awake, and subsequently, completed the alternate condition one week later. Actigraphy was collected for 14 days and PSG (32-electrode EasyCap) was recorded for overnight sleep. Results Older adults significantly improved their skill learning from immediate to delayed recall, in both the train (p=0.005) and overtrain (p=0.013) conditions, regardless of sleep or wake. Younger adults did not improve their skill learning in the train condition (p>0.05). However, there was a trending main effect, with younger adults performing the task better compared to older adults in the train condition, at both time points (p=0.061). No other main effects or interactions were significant. Conclusion These results suggest the alternative hypothesis that, regardless of initial learning, older adults fail to exhibit SDC. This result is of interest as the age-related differences in sleep, such as sleep spindle characteristics may play a role. Future analysis will include more participants and further exploration into the PSG-recorded sleep architecture and actigraphy-recorded measures of habitual sleep. Support This work was funded by NIH R01 AG040133 (PI: Spencer)

Measures of Working Memory, Sequence Learning, and Speech Recognition in the Elderly

2005 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 224-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Larry E. Humes ◽  
Shari S. Floyd
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Speech Recognition ◽  
Sequence Learning ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Visual Stimulation ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Learning Ability ◽  
Impaired Hearing ◽  
Age Related

This study describes the measurement of 2 cognitive functions, working-memory capacity and sequence learning, in 2 groups of listeners: young adults with normal hearing and elderly adults with impaired hearing. The measurement of these 2 cognitive abilities with a unique, nonverbal technique capable of auditory, visual, and auditory-visual stimulation, patterned after the Simon memory game, is described. The use of simple, easily understood items in the test sequences enabled the measurement of these cognitive abilities in older listeners with no apparent impact of age-related hearing loss on the cognitive measures. Age-related cognitive deficits were observed for all 3 modes of stimulation and in both working-memory capacity and sequence-learning ability. The age-related deficits appeared to be greatest, however, for the sequence-learning task. Although it was hypothesized that there might be an association between an individual's performance on these cognitive tasks and his or her performance on various measures of speech recognition, such an association generally was not observed.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document