scholarly journals The Modulation of Working-Memory Performance Using Gamma-Electroacupuncture and Theta-Electroacupuncture in Healthy Adults

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Meng Ren ◽  
Jingjing Xu ◽  
Jingjun Zhao ◽  
Sicong Zhang ◽  
Wenjing Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
High Load ◽  
Central Component ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation

Working memory (WM), a central component of general cognition, plays an essential role in human beings’ daily lives. WM impairments often occur in psychiatric, neurodegenerative, and neurodevelopmental disorders, mainly presenting as loss of high-load WM. In previous research, electroacupuncture (EA) has been shown to be an effective treatment for cognitive impairments. Frequency parameters are an important factor in therapeutic results, but the optimal frequency parameters of EA have not yet been identified. In this study, we chose theta-EA (θ-EA; 6 Hz) and gamma-EA (γ-EA; 40 Hz), corresponding to the transcranial alternating-current stimulation (tACS) frequency parameters at the Baihui (DU20) and Shenting (DU24) acupoints, in order to compare the effects of different EA frequencies on WM. We evaluated WM performance using visual 1-back, 2-back, and 3-back WM tasks involving digits. Each participant (N = 30) attended three different sessions in accordance with a within-subject crossover design. We performed θ-EA, γ-EA, and sham-EA in a counterbalanced order, conducting the WM task both before and after intervention. The results showed that d-prime (d′) under all three stimulation conditions had no significance in the 1-back and 2-back tasks. However, in the 3-back task, there was a significant improvement in d′ after intervention compared to d′ before intervention under θ-EA (F [1, 29] = 22.64; P < 0.001 ), while we saw no significant difference in the γ-EA and sham-EA groups. Reaction times for hits (RT-hit) under all three stimulation conditions showed decreasing trends in 1-, 2-, and 3-back tasks but without statistically significant differences. These findings suggest that the application of θ-EA might facilitate high-load WM performance.

scholarly journals Evidence Against Combined Effects of Stress and Brain Stimulation on Working Memory

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-56
Author(s):  
Maximilian A. Friehs ◽  
Christian Frings
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Psychosocial Stress ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Dorsolateral Prefrontal ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Correct Reaction ◽  
Bayes Analysis ◽  
Back Task

AbstractThe effect of stress on working memory has been traced back to a modulation of the prefrontal cortex (PFC). We investigated the effects of neuromodulation of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (lDLPFC) after exposure to psychosocial stress through the Socially Evaluated Cold Pressure Test (SECPT). The hypothesis was that neuromodulation interacts with the stress intervention, to either boost performance even under stressed conditions or compensate negative stress effects. Fifty-nine participants were randomly divided into two groups. One group received active, anodal, offline transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the lDLPFC while the other group received sham stimulation. Participants performed a lexical n-back task, before and after the SECPT and tDCS intervention. The first n-back task was used as a baseline measurement and the second n-back task was performed during recovery from stress when cortisol levels are at their peak, but still under the influence of tDCS aftereffects. Additionally, after the psychosocial stress phase participants were post-hoc divided into cortisol responders and nonresponders. Results showed that generally stress increased lexical n-back task performance as indicated by faster correct reaction times and higher accuracy but that this was not modulated by tDCS. Crucially, using Bayes analysis we obtained evidence against the influence of anodal tDCS on stressed individual’s working memory performance.

scholarly journals Working memory deficits in schizophrenia are associated with the rs34884856 variant and expression levels of the NR4A2 gene in a sample Mexican population: a case control study

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Ruiz-Sánchez ◽  
Janet Jiménez-Genchi ◽  
Yessica M. Alcántara-Flores ◽  
Carlos J. Castañeda-González ◽  
Carlos L. Aviña-Cervantes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Genetic Variants ◽  
Mononuclear Cells ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Mexican Population ◽  
High Resolution Melt ◽  
Expression Levels ◽  
Neuropsychiatric Diseases ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Peripheral Mononuclear Cells

Abstract Background Cognitive functions represent useful endophenotypes to identify the association between genetic variants and schizophrenia. In this sense, the NR4A2 gene has been implicated in schizophrenia and cognition in different animal models and clinical trials. We hypothesized that the NR4A2 gene is associated with working memory performance in schizophrenia. This study aimed to analyze two variants and the expression levels of the NR4A2 gene with susceptibility to schizophrenia, as well as to evaluate whether possession of NR4A2 variants influence the possible correlation between gene expression and working memory performance in schizophrenia. Methods The current study included 187 schizophrenia patients and 227 controls genotyped for two of the most studied NR4A2 genetic variants in neurological and neuropsychiatric diseases. Genotyping was performed using High Resolution Melt and sequencing techniques. In addition, mRNA expression of NR4A2 was performed in peripheral mononuclear cells of 112 patients and 118 controls. A group of these participants, 54 patients and 87 controls, performed the working memory index of the WAIS III test. Results Both genotypic frequencies of the two variants and expression levels of the NR4A2 gene showed no significant difference when in patients versus controls. However, patients homozygous for the rs34884856 promoter variant showed a positive correlation between expression levels and auditory working memory. Conclusions Our finding suggested that changes in expression levels of the NR4A2 gene could be associated with working memory in schizophrenia depending on patients’ genotype in a sample from a Mexican population.

scholarly journals Working Memory Performance after Daily Caffeine Intake: Compromised Performance and Reduced Hippocampal Activity.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu-Shiuan Lin ◽  
Janine Weibel ◽  
Hans-Peter Landolt ◽  
Francesco Santini ◽  
Helen Christina Slawik ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Error Rates ◽  
Caffeine Intake ◽  
Cognitive State ◽  
Placebo Condition ◽  
Memory Functions ◽  
Acute Withdrawal ◽  
Caffeine Withdrawal ◽  
Significant Difference

Neuroprotective effects of caffeine have been frequently reported in the context of disease and cognitive dysfunction as well as in epidemiological studies in humans. However, evidence on caffeine effects on neural and memory functions during daily intake in a healthy cognitive state remains scarce. This randomized double-blind placebo-controlled crossover study investigated working memory functions by N-back tasks and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) after daily caffeine intake compared to a placebo baseline and to acute caffeine withdrawal in 20 young healthy volunteers. Each volunteer was given 3 times 150 mg caffeine for 10 days in the daily caffeine condition, 3 times 150 mg mannitol for 10 days in the placebo condition, and 9-day caffeine plus 1-day mannitol in the acute withdrawal condition. During the 10th day, participants performed 4 N-back sessions (two loads each: 0- and 3-back) under controlled laboratory conditions. During the 4th session of N-Back (i.e. at 5.5 h, 36.5 h and > 10 days after the last caffeine intake in the caffeine, withdrawal, and placebo condition, respectively) we assessed blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) activity. During the entire 10th day, in 0-back tasks, we observed longer reaction times (RTs) in the withdrawal compared to the placebo (Cohens d = 0.7) and caffeine condition (Cohens d = 0.6), but no significant effects of conditions on error rates. In contrast, in 3-back tasks (controlled for 0-back), the RTs in the caffeine condition were longer compared to placebo (Cohens d = 0.6) and withdrawal (Cohens d = 0.5). Error rates were higher during both caffeine and withdrawal conditions compared to placebo (Cohens d of both contrasts = 0.4). Whole-brain analyses on fMRI data did not reveal significant condition-dependent differences in activities between task loads. Across task loads, however, we observed a reduced hippocampal activation (Cohens d = -1.3) during the caffeine condition compared to placebo, while no significant difference in brain activities between withdrawal and placebo conditions. Taken together, the worse working memory function and the hippocampal hypoactivation implicate a potential detrimental effect of daily caffeine intake on neurocognitive functions of healthy adults. Moreover, they echo the hippocampal volumetric reduction reported previously in the same volunteers. Lastly, acute withdrawal from daily caffeine intake impairs both low-order cognitive processes and working memory performance. Taking earlier studies on acute caffeine effects into account, our findings indicate that daily caffeine intake elicits a dynamic change in cerebral activities during the course of repeated consumption, with unknown consequences in the long run.

scholarly journals Weaker Memory Performance Exacerbates Stress-Induced Cannabis Craving in Youths’ Daily Lives

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 1094-1108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Miranda ◽  
Stephanie E. Wemm ◽  
Hayley Treloar Padovano ◽  
Ryan W. Carpenter ◽  
Noah N. Emery ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Real World ◽  
Substance Misuse ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Laboratory Data ◽  
Cue Exposure ◽  
Moment Stress ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Ecological Momentary ◽  
Drug Cue

Theories of addiction posit that stimuli associated with drug use, including both exteroceptive (e.g., paraphernalia) and interoceptive (e.g., feeling tense or stressed), evoke craving and contribute to the pathogenesis of substance misuse. Control over drug cue response and stress is essential for moderating use. Building from laboratory data supporting associations between cue exposure, stress, and craving, this study tested whether these associations generalize to real-world settings and examined whether a well-vetted neurocognitive control capacity (i.e., working memory, or WM) moderated associations. Youths ( N = 85; 15–24 years old) completed baseline and ecological momentary assessments. Cue exposure and participants’ average stress predicted higher craving. Youths with weaker WM experienced stronger craving at higher-stress moments but not when faced with cues. Interactions were present for both previous-moment and same-moment stress. Craving among adolescents with stronger WM was not swayed by momentary stress. Findings suggest that stronger WM protects against craving at more stressful moments.

Visuospatial Working Memory Capacity in the Brain After Working Memory Training in College Students With ADHD: A Randomized Controlled Trial

2019 ◽  
pp. 108705471987948 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Woltering ◽  
Chao Gu ◽  
Zhong-Xu Liu ◽  
Rosemary Tannock
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Training ◽  
Treatment Groups ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Students With Adhd ◽  
The Brain

Objective: ADHD has been associated with persistent problems of working memory. This study investigated the efficacy of an intensive and adaptive computerized working memory treatment (CWMT) at behavioral and neural levels. Method: College students ( n = 89; 40 females) with ADHD were randomized into a standard-length CWMT (45 min/session, 25 sessions, n = 29), shortened-length CWMT (15 min/session, 25 sessions, n = 32), and a waitlist group ( n = 28). Both CWMT groups received treatment for 5 days a week for 5 weeks. Lab sessions before and after CWMT assessed electroencephalography (EEG) indicators of working memory, behavioral indicators of working memory performance, and ADHD symptomatology. Results: No evidence was found for neural or any other behavioral transfer effects of improvement for the CWMT treatment groups over the active control or waitlist group. Conclusion: Our study does not provide evidence for the benefits of CWMT at neural or behavioral levels.

scholarly journals Subjective Uncontrollability over Aversive Events Reduces Working Memory Performance and Related Large-Scale Network Interactions

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 3116-3129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadine Wanke ◽  
Lars Schwabe
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Learned Helplessness ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Large Scale Network ◽  
Aversive Events ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Affective Deficits ◽  
Objective Control ◽  
Scale Network

Abstract Lack of control over significant events may induce a state of learned helplessness that is characterized by cognitive, motivational, and affective deficits. Although highly relevant in the pathogenesis of several mental disorders, the extent of the cognitive deficits induced by experiences of uncontrollability and the neural mechanisms underlying such deficits in humans remain poorly understood. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we tested here whether uncontrollability over aversive events impairs subsequent working memory performance and, if so, which neural processes are involved in such deficits. We assessed working memory and the involved neurocircuitry in the MRI scanner before and after participants underwent a task in which they could either learn to avoid electric shocks or had no instrumental control over shocks. Our results show that subjective, but not objective, uncontrollability over aversive events impaired working memory performance. This impact of subjective uncontrollability was linked to altered prefrontal and parahippocampal activities and connectivity as well as decreased crosstalk between frontoparietal executive and salience networks. Our findings show that the perceived uncontrollability over aversive events, rather than the aversive events themselves or the actual, objective control over them, disrupts subsequent working memory processes, most likely through altered crosstalk between prefrontal, temporal, and parietal areas.

A normal intensity level of psycho-physiological stress can benefit working memory performance at high load

2014 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 362-367 ◽  
Author(s):  
Viet Lai ◽  
Chalermsiri Theppitak ◽  
Tadao Makizuka ◽  
Yoshiyuki Higuchi ◽  
Mehrnoosh Movahed ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Physiological Stress ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
High Load ◽  
Intensity Level

scholarly journals Working Memory Performance Under Stress

2020 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 132-139
Author(s):  
Petra Luers ◽  
Malgorzata Schloeffel ◽  
Jens C. Prüssner
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Acute Stress ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Individual ◽  
And Function

Abstract. Acute stress and chronic stress change the physiology and function of the individual. As one facet, stress and its neuroendocrine correlates – with glucocorticoids in particular – modulate memory in a concerted action. With respect to working memory, impairing effects of acute stress and increased levels of glucocorticoids could be expected, but empirical evidence on moderating effects of cortisol on working memory is ambiguous in human studies. In the current study, we thus aimed to investigate cortisol stress responses and memory performance. Older men and women (32 men, 43 women, aged 61–67 years) underwent the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) and performed the 2-back task before and after exposure to acute stress. In line with theoretical assumptions, we found that higher cortisol stress responses led to a decline of working memory performance in men. However, the opposite was evident for women, who appeared to benefit from higher stress responses. This effect was evident for accuracy, but not for reaction time. In conclusion, cortisol might mediate working memory alterations with stress in a sex-specific manner in older people. Possible mechanisms and causes for these sex differences put a focus on endocrine changes in the aging population that might lead to differential effects across the lifespan.

scholarly journals Working Memory Deficits in Schizophrenia Are Associated With the Rs34884856 Variant and Expression Levels of the NR4A2 Gene in a Sample Mexican Population: A Case Control Study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Ruiz-Sánchez ◽  
Janet Jiménez-Genchi ◽  
Yessica M. Alcántara-Flores ◽  
Carlos J. Castañeda-González ◽  
Carlos L. Aviña-Cervantes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Mrna Expression ◽  
Genetic Variants ◽  
Mononuclear Cells ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Mexican Population ◽  
High Resolution Melt ◽  
Expression Levels ◽  
Neuropsychiatric Diseases ◽  
Significant Difference

Abstract Background Cognitive functions represent useful endophenotypes to identify the association between genetic variants and schizophrenia. In this sense, the NR4A2 gene has been implicated in schizophrenia and cognition in different animal models and clinical trials. We hypothesized that the NR4A2 gene is associated with working memory performance in schizophrenia. This study aimed to analyze two variants and the expression levels of the NR4A2 gene with susceptibility to schizophrenia, as well as to evaluate whether possession of NR4A2 variants influence the possible correlation between gene expression and working memory performance in schizophrenia. Methods The current study included 187 schizophrenia patients and 227 controls genotyped for two of the most studied NR4A2 genetic variants in neurological and neuropsychiatric diseases. Genotyping was performed using High Resolution Melt and sequencing techniques. In addition, mRNA expression of NR4A2 was performed in peripheral mononuclear cells of 112 patients and 118 controls. A group of these participants, 54 patients and 87 controls, performed the working memory index of the WAIS III test. Results Both genotypic frequencies of the two variants and expression levels of the NR4A2 gene showed no significant difference when in patients versus controls. However, patients homozygous for the rs34884856 promoter variant showed a positive correlation between expression levels and auditory working memory. In these patients, a decrease of NR4A2 mRNA expression was related to working memory impairment. Conclusions Our finding suggested that changes in expression levels of the NR4A2 gene could be associated with working memory in schizophrenia depending on patients´ genotype in a sample from a Mexican population.

scholarly journals Opportunity or Risk? Appraisal and Affect Mediate the Effect of Task Framing on Working Memory Performance in University Students

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luxi Chen ◽  
Li Qu
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
University Students ◽  
Positive Affect ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Cognitive Appraisals ◽  
Male Students ◽  
Threat Appraisal ◽  
Threat Appraisals ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Challenge Appraisal

Working memory (WM) is crucial for reasoning, learning, decision-making and academic achievement. In diverse contexts, how a task is framed pertaining to its demands and consequences can influence participants' task performance by modifying their cognitive appraisals. However, less is known about the effect of task framing on WM performance and the mechanisms. This study examined whether opportunity- and risk-focused task framing would influence university students' WM performance by altering their cognitive appraisals and affective experiences. Ninety-seven university students were randomly assigned to one of the three framing conditions (Opportunity, Risk, vs. Null), and received instructions that differed in consequences (gain for top performers, loss for poor performers, vs. null), goals (approach, avoidance, vs. neutral), and feedback on personal competence (adequate, inadequate, vs. null). Challenge and threat appraisals, affect, and WM performance were measured before and after task framing. Results showed that opportunity-focused task framing improved students' WM performance, whilst risk-focused task framing increased threat appraisal and decreased positive affect, and that challenge appraisal was not altered in any condition. Female students were influenced by task framing to a greater extent than were male students. Mediation analysis revealed that the alteration of threat appraisal and the change in positive affect mediated the effect of task framing on WM performance. Findings highlight the important role of modifying cognitive appraisals and affective responses in optimizing cognitive performance.

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