Is it a Small World After All? Investigating the Theoretical Structure of Working Memory Cross-Nationally

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 331-353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tracy Packiam Alloway ◽  
Robert Moulder ◽  
John C. Horton ◽  
Aaron Leedy ◽  
Lisa M. D. Archibald ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Spatial Working Memory ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Small World ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Specific Model ◽  
Computerized Assessment

Abstract To our knowledge, this is one of the first studies to test different theoretical models of working memory in childhood based on a computerized assessment. We tested this across several countries: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Italy, and uk. The present study addressed the wider macro-cultural context and how this impacts working memory. We used two economic indices (gdp and ppp) to characterize the participating countries and ranked the countries based on the Global Index of Cognitive Skills and Educational Attainment. Children between 5 and 10 years completed the same set of short-term and working memory tests. There were two main findings. First, there was a similar pattern in verbal working memory across countries, which suggests that this skill may be relatively consistent across different cultural groups. In contrast, the pattern for visuo-spatial working memory was different across countries, which may explained by cultural differences and educational rankings of the countries. The second main finding was that both a domain-general model (3-factor) and a domain-specific model (4-factor) provided a reasonably good fit with the data, there was the high relationship between the verbal and visuo-spatial working memory constructs across the countries in the latter model. Thus, it may be a more parsimonious choice to rely on a three-factor model. The data also suggest culture-similar patterns in a computerized assessment of working memory.

scholarly journals Home activities and cognitive skills in relation to early literacy and numeracy: testing a multifactorial model in preschoolers

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paola Bonifacci ◽  
Nicole Trambagioli ◽  
Luca Bernabini ◽  
Valentina Tobia
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Early Literacy ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Spatial Working Memory ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Equation Model ◽  
Magnitude Comparison ◽  
Cross Domain ◽  
Numeracy Skills

AbstractThe aim of the present study was to test environmental and cognitive variables as possible cross-domain predictors of early literacy and numeracy skills. One hundred forty-eight preschool children (mean age = 64.36 months ± 3.33) were enrolled in the study. The battery included a home literacy and home numeracy questionnaire, measures and phonological and visuo-spatial working memory, tasks tapping response inhibition, and predictors of literacy (vocabulary, phonological awareness, letter knowledge) and numeracy (magnitude comparison, number knowledge) skills. The structural equation model indicated that verbal working memory and, to a lesser extent, inhibition represented cross-domain predictors, whereas home numeracy activities and visuo-spatial working memory explained additional variance only for early numeracy skills. Implications for parents and educators are discussed.

Shared Predictors of Academic Achievement in Children with ADHD: A Multi-Sample Study

2021 ◽  
pp. 108705472110120
Author(s):  
Kelly D. Carrasco ◽  
Chi-Ching Chuang ◽  
Gail Tripp
Keyword(s):  
Academic Achievement ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Word Reading ◽  
Spatial Working Memory ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
The United States ◽  
Children With Adhd ◽  
Visual Spatial ◽  
Visual Spatial Working Memory ◽  
Predictors Of Academic Achievement

Objective: To identify common and shared predictors of academic achievement across samples of children with ADHD. Method: Two clinically referred samples from New Zealand (1 n = 88, 82% boys; 2 n = 121, 79% boys) and two community samples from the United States (3 n = 111, 65% boys; 4 n = 114, 69% boys), completed similar diagnostic, cognitive and academic assessments. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses identified significant predictors of word reading, spelling, and math computation performance in each sample. Results: Entered after IQ, semantic language, age at testing, and verbal working memory emerged as consistent predictors of achievement across academic subjects and samples. Visual-spatial working memory contributed to variance in math performance only. Symptom severity explained limited variance. Conclusions: We recommend evaluations of children with ADHD incorporate assessments of working memory and language skills. Classroom/academic interventions should accommodate reduced working memory and address any identified language weaknesses.

scholarly journals Dissociable Mechanisms of Verbal Working Memory Revealed through Multivariate Lesion Mapping

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 2542-2554 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maryam Ghaleh ◽  
Elizabeth H Lacey ◽  
Mackenzie E Fama ◽  
Zainab Anbari ◽  
Andrew T DeMarco ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Spatial Working Memory ◽  
Superior Temporal Gyrus ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Brain Structures ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Auditory Information ◽  
Verbal Information ◽  
Task Conditions

Abstract Two maintenance mechanisms with separate neural systems have been suggested for verbal working memory: articulatory-rehearsal and non-articulatory maintenance. Although lesion data would be key to understanding the essential neural substrates of these systems, there is little evidence from lesion studies that the two proposed mechanisms crucially rely on different neuroanatomical substrates. We examined 39 healthy adults and 71 individuals with chronic left-hemisphere stroke to determine if verbal working memory tasks with varying demands would rely on dissociable brain structures. Multivariate lesion–symptom mapping was used to identify the brain regions involved in each task, controlling for spatial working memory scores. Maintenance of verbal information relied on distinct brain regions depending on task demands: sensorimotor cortex under higher demands and superior temporal gyrus (STG) under lower demands. Inferior parietal cortex and posterior STG were involved under both low and high demands. These results suggest that maintenance of auditory information preferentially relies on auditory-phonological storage in the STG via a nonarticulatory maintenance when demands are low. Under higher demands, sensorimotor regions are crucial for the articulatory rehearsal process, which reduces the reliance on STG for maintenance. Lesions to either of these regions impair maintenance of verbal information preferentially under the appropriate task conditions.

scholarly journals Mapping the neuroanatomic substrates of cognition in familial attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

2018 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 590-597 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Muster ◽  
Saadia Choudhury ◽  
Wendy Sharp ◽  
Steven Kasparek ◽  
Gustavo Sudre ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Information Processing ◽  
Attention Deficit ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Spatial Working Memory ◽  
Medication History ◽  
Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Psychostimulant Medication

AbstractBackgroundWhile the neuroanatomic substrates of symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have been investigated, less is known about the neuroanatomic correlates of cognitive abilities pertinent to the disorder, particularly in adults. Here we define the neuroanatomic correlates of key cognitive abilities and determine if there are associations with histories of psychostimulant medication.MethodsWe acquired neuroanatomic magnetic resonance imaging data from 264 members of 60 families (mean age 29.5; s.d. 18.4, 116 with ADHD). Using linear mixed model regression, we tested for associations between cognitive abilities (working memory, information processing, intelligence, and attention), symptoms and both cortical and subcortical volumes.ResultsSymptom severity was associated with spatial working memory (t = −3.77, p = 0.0002), processing speed (t = −2.95, p = 0.004) and a measure of impulsive responding (t = 2.19, p = 0.03); these associations did not vary with age (all p > 0.1). Neuroanatomic associations of cognition varied by task but centered on prefrontal, lateral parietal and temporal cortical regions, the thalamus and putamen. The neuroanatomic correlates of ADHD symptoms overlapped significantly with those of working memory (Dice's overlap coefficient: spatial, p = 0.003; verbal, p = 0.001) and information processing (p = 0.02). Psychostimulant medication history was associated with neither cognitive skills nor with a brain–cognition relationships.ConclusionsDiagnostic differences in the cognitive profile of ADHD does not vary significantly with age; nor were cognitive differences associated with psychostimulant medication history. The neuroanatomic substrates of working memory and information overlapped with those for symptoms within these extended families, consistent with a pathophysiological role for these cognitive skills in familial ADHD.

scholarly journals Testing Conclusions From Functional Imaging of Working Memory with Data From Acute Stroke

2007 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa E. Philipose ◽  
Hannah Alphs ◽  
Vivek Prabhakaran ◽  
Argye E. Hillis
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Acute Stroke ◽  
Functional Imaging ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Spatial Working Memory ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Stroke Patients ◽  
Imaging Results ◽  
Cortical Stroke ◽  
The Right

Functional imaging studies indicate that the left hemisphere mediates verbal working memory, while the right hemisphere mediates both verbal and spatial working memory. We evaluated acute stroke patients with working memory tests and imaging to identify whether unilateral dysfunction causes deficits in spatial and/or verbal working memory deficits. While left cortical stroke patients had verbal working memory impairments (p< 0.003), right cortical stroke patients had both verbal (p< 0.007) and spatial working memory (p< 0.03) impairments, confirming functional imaging results. Patients with transient ischemic stroke and patients with non-cortical stroke did not have significant deficits in working memory in either modality.

scholarly journals Social Skills Intervention Participation and Associated Improvements in Executive Function Performance

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shawn E. Christ ◽  
Janine P. Stichter ◽  
Karen V. O’Connor ◽  
Kimberly Bodner ◽  
Amanda J. Moffitt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Social Competence ◽  
Spatial Working Memory ◽  
Neurodevelopmental Disorder ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Mixing Costs ◽  
Adolescents With Asd

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impairments in social communication. It has been postulated that such difficulties are related to disruptions in underlying cognitive processes such as executive function. The present study examined potential changes in executive function performance associated with participation in the Social Competence Intervention (SCI) program, a short-term intervention designed to improve social competence in adolescents with ASD. Laboratory behavioral performance measures were used to separately evaluate potential intervention-related changes in individual executive function component processes (i.e., working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility) in a sample of 22 adolescents with ASD both before and after intervention. For comparison purposes, a demographically matched sample of 14 individuals without ASD was assessed at identical time intervals. Intervention-related improvements were observed on the working memory task, with gains evident in spatial working memory and, to a slightly lesser degree, verbal working memory. Significant improvements were also found for a working memory-related aspect of the task switching test (i.e., mixing costs). Taken together, these findings provide preliminary support for the hypothesis that participation in the SCI program is accompanied by changes in underlying neurocognitive processes such as working memory.

scholarly journals Visuospatial bootstrapping: Binding useful visuospatial information during verbal working memory encoding does not require set-shifting executive resources

2018 ◽  
Vol 72 (4) ◽  
pp. 913-921 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clara Calia ◽  
Stephen Darling ◽  
Jelena Havelka ◽  
Richard J Allen
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Spatial Working Memory ◽  
Control Process ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
Executive Processes ◽  
Immediate Serial Recall ◽  
Task Load ◽  
Single Location ◽  
Visuospatial Information

Immediate serial recall of digits is better when the digits are shown by highlighting them in a familiar array, such as a phone keypad, compared with presenting them serially in a single location, a pattern referred to as “visuospatial bootstrapping.” This pattern implies the establishment of temporary links between verbal and spatial working memory, alongside access to information in long-term memory. However, the role of working memory control processes like those implied by the “Central Executive” in bootstrapping has not been directly investigated. Here, we report a study addressing this issue, focusing on executive processes of attentional shifting. Tasks in which information has to be sequenced are thought to be heavily dependent on shifting. Memory for digits presented in keypads versus single locations was assessed under two secondary task load conditions, one with and one without a sequencing requirement, and hence differing in the degree to which they invoke shifting. Results provided clear evidence that multimodal binding (visuospatial bootstrapping) can operate independently of this form of executive control process.

scholarly journals Effect of verbal working memory load during the oculomotor activity in visual search

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 21-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
B.B. Velichkovsky ◽  
A.I. Izmalkova
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Visual Search ◽  
Spatial Working Memory ◽  
Memory Load ◽  
Mutual Influence ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Working Memory Load ◽  
Visual Spatial ◽  
Visual Spatial Working Memory ◽  
Oculomotor Activity

The structure of working memory has components responsible for the storage of verbal and visualspatial information; despite the fairly detailed study of the functions and mechanisms of their work, the question of their mutual influence is still open. Studies on the verbal working memory load influence on visual search performance (a task requiring the use of visual-spatial working memory resources) it was found that the load on the verbal working memory leads to increased efficiency of target detection. The results of the analysis of oculomotor activity during visual search also point out that the implementation of such tasks under verbal working memory load is accompanied by an increase in cognitive tension and of the degree of search automaticity. The results may indicate the interaction of verbal and visual-spatial working memory components that share non-specific cognitive resources.

scholarly journals Resources Underlying Visuo-Spatial Working Memory Enable Veridical Large Numerosity Perception

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisa Castaldi ◽  
Manuela Piazza ◽  
Evelyn Eger
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Spatial Working Memory ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Visual Image ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Clinical Population ◽  
Cognitive Resources ◽  
Multiple Objects ◽  
Numerosity Discrimination ◽  
Numerosity Perception

Humans can quickly approximate how many objects are in a visual image, but no clear consensus has been achieved on the cognitive resources underlying this ability. Previous work has lent support to the notion that mechanisms which explicitly represent the locations of multiple objects in the visual scene within a mental map are critical for both visuo-spatial working memory and enumeration (at least for relatively small numbers of items). Regarding the cognitive underpinnings of large numerosity perception, an issue currently subject to much controversy is why numerosity estimates are often non-veridical (i.e., susceptible to biases from non-numerical quantities). Such biases have been found to be particularly pronounced in individuals with developmental dyscalculia (DD), a learning disability affecting the acquisition of arithmetic skills. Motivated by findings showing that DD individuals are also often impaired in visuo-spatial working memory, we hypothesized that resources supporting this type of working memory, which allow for the simultaneous identification of multiple objects, might also be critical for precise and unbiased perception of larger numerosities. We therefore tested whether loading working memory of healthy adult participants during discrimination of large numerosities would lead to increased interference from non-numerical quantities. Participants performed a numerosity discrimination task on multi-item arrays in which numerical and non-numerical stimulus dimensions varied congruently or incongruently relative to each other, either in isolation or in the context of a concurrent visuo-spatial or verbal working memory task. During performance of the visuo-spatial, but not verbal, working memory task, precision in numerosity discrimination decreased, participants’ choices became strongly biased by item size, and the strength of this bias correlated with measures of arithmetical skills. Moreover, the interference between numerosity and working memory tasks was bidirectional, with number discrimination impacting visuo-spatial (but not verbal) performance. Overall, these results suggest that representing visual numerosity in a way that is unbiased by non-numerical quantities relies on processes which explicitly segregate/identify the locations of multiple objects that are shared with visuo-spatial (but not verbal) working memory. This shared resource may potentially be impaired in DD, explaining the observed co-occurrence of working memory and numerosity discrimination deficits in this clinical population.

Executive functions in youths with autism spectrum disorder and their unaffected siblings

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guan-Jye Seng ◽  
Wan-Ling Tseng ◽  
Yen-Nan Chiu ◽  
Wen-Che Tsai ◽  
Yu-Yu Wu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
Spatial Working Memory ◽  
Digit Span ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Planning Problem

Abstract Background Executive dysfunction is one of the main cognitive theories of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Despite evidence of deficits in executive functions in individuals with ASD, little is known about executive dysfunctions as candidate cognitive endophenotypes for ASD. In this study, we investigated executive functions in youths with ASD, their unaffected siblings and typically developing controls (TDC). Methods We recruited 240 youths with a clinical diagnosis of ASD (aged 6–18 years), 147 unaffected siblings of ASD youths, and 240 TDC youths. TDC youths were recruited based on the age and sex distribution of the ASD youths. Participants were assessed using the verbal Digit Span test and four executive function tasks from the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery, including Intra-dimensional/Extra-dimensional Shift (I/ED), Spatial Span (SSP), Spatial Working Memory (SWM), and Stocking of Cambridge (SoC). Results ASD youths, relative to TDC, performed significantly worse in executive function tasks assessing verbal working memory (forward and backward digit span), set-shifting (I/ED), visuospatial working memory (SSP, SWM), and planning/problem solving (SoC). Furthermore, unaffected siblings, relative to TDC, performed worse in forward and backward digit recalls and made more errors in SWM. These results were independent of the effects of age, sex, IQ, and symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Conclusions Our findings support impaired executive functions in youths with ASD. However, unaffected siblings were mostly unimpaired except in the areas of verbal and spatial working memory, which may be potential cognitive endophenotypes for ASD.

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