Adaptive memory: Greater memory advantages in bilinguals’ first language

2021 ◽  
pp. 136700692110228
Author(s):  
Stephanie A Kazanas ◽  
Allison M Wilck ◽  
Jeanette Altarriba
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Word Processing ◽  
Recall Performance ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Human Memory ◽  
Word Recall ◽  
Rating Task ◽  
Second Languages ◽  
Elaborative Processing ◽  
Language History

Aims and objectives/purpose/research questions: In this study, we examined memory performance in a bilingual population, in an effort to compare depth of processing and complexity across first and second languages. Design/methodology/approach: Complexity was investigated with a pleasantness rating task and an elaborative encoding, scenario-based rating task (i.e. rating words for their survival-relevance). Previous research found word recall largely benefited from an ancestral context that primed participants to think deeply about the survival-relevance of a list of concrete, neutral words. Engaging this more elaborative processing may lead to better memory if the human memory system is particularly tuned toward remembering survival-relevant materials. Data and analysis: Participants included 127 Spanish-English bilinguals, randomly-assigned to complete survival-relevance or pleasantness ratings in either Spanish or English. Aggregated language history data self-reported by participants (e.g. language-learning environments, age of acquisition, and so on), suggested an L1 of Spanish and L2 of English. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) compared word recall across these tasks and languages. Findings/conclusions: We hypothesized better recall performance collected from bilingual participants in the survival condition using their first, more often emotional, language. Our results support this hypothesis, with bilinguals replicating the memory advantage for words rated for their survival-relevance in Spanish (their L1), but not in English (their L2). Originality: While this paradigm has largely been studied with monolingual English-speakers, or in some cases, other languages, no study has explored its replicability in a Spanish-English bilingual population’s two languages. Significance/implications: These findings speak to the on-going effort to understand word processing and memory differences—particularly with regards to processing complexity—across bilinguals’ first and second languages.

scholarly journals DETERMINANTS OF IMMEDIATE AND DELAYED RECALL PERFORMANCE FOLLOWING PEDIATRIC CONCUSSION

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (7_suppl3) ◽  
pp. 2325967121S0014
Author(s):  
Mathew J. Wingerson ◽  
Julie C. Wilson ◽  
Corrine N. Seehusen ◽  
Gregory Walker ◽  
David R. Howell
Keyword(s):  
Recall Test ◽  
Recall Performance ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Word List ◽  
Patient Characteristics ◽  
Word Recall ◽  
Post Injury ◽  
Delayed Recall ◽  
Immediate Recall ◽  
Tandem Gait

Background: The assessment of cognitive functioning, including attention, memory, and concentration is one component of concussion evaluation.1-3 Immediate and delayed recall tasks are clinical assessments of cognitive functioning which evaluate memory performance post-injury.2 These tasks require patients to verbally recall as many items as possible from a word list both immediately after the list is administered and following a 5-minute delay.2 While previous studies have used a 5-word recall list (SCAT3),4 few have investigated the determinants of performance using a 10-word recall list (SCAT5). Purpose: The purpose of the investigation was to identify demographic, injury, and clinical test characteristics associated with immediate and delayed recall performance using the SCAT5 10-word recall test. Methods: We conducted a retrospective chart review collecting demographic (age, sex, history of concussion, relevant medical history), injury [time of clinical presentation, loss of consciousness (LOS), neuroimaging], and clinical (symptom inventory, m-BESS, tandem gait) characteristics, as well as immediate and delayed recall performance on a 10-word list. Results: Patients seen within 14 days of concussion (n=125; 15.2±1.6 years of age; 45% female; evaluated 6.9±3.4 days post-injury) were included in the analysis. Patients 15 years or older performed significantly better on both immediate and delayed recall tasks than those younger than 15 years of age (Table 1). In addition, patients who reported a diagnosis of ADD or ADHD accurately recalled fewer items during the delayed recall task (Table 1). No injury characteristics were associated with better or worse memory performance (Table 2). Patients who performed better on immediate recall reported fewer symptoms, made fewer m-BESS errors, and performed better on cognitive tasks during dual-task tandem gait (Table 3 & 4). Conclusion: Our data indicate immediate and delayed recall performance is associated with age, symptom severity, balance, and cognitive accuracy in tandem gait. Specifically, patients younger than 15 years of age and those reporting higher symptom severities demonstrated worse performance on both immediate and delayed recall tasks. Furthermore, patients reporting ADD/ADHD did not demonstrate a performance difference on immediate recall relative to peers but performed significantly worse during delayed recall testing. Additional patient characteristics of sex, concussion history, timing of clinical presentation, and injury characteristics (LOC or need for neuroimaging) were not associated with immediate and delayed recall performance. As such, clinicians using the SCAT5 word recall test during concussion evaluation should consider these patient characteristics when interpreting memory performance. References: McCrory P, Meeuwisse W, Dvořák J, et al. Consensus statement on concussion in sport-the 5th international conference on concussion in sport held in Berlin, October 2016. Br J Sports Med. 2017;51(11):838-847. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2017-097699 Echemendia RJ, Meeuwisse W, McCrory P, et al. The Sport Concussion Assessment Tool 5th Edition (SCAT5): Background and rationale. Br J Sports Med. 2017;51(11):848-850. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2017-097506 McCrea M. Standardized Mental Status Testing on the Sideline After Sport-Related Concussion. J Athl Train. 2001;36(3):274-279. McCrea M, Kelly JP, Randolph C, et al. Standardized assessment of concussion (SAC): on-site mental status evaluation of the athlete. J Head Trauma Rehabil. 1998;13(2):27-35. doi:10.1097/00001199-199804000-00005 Tables/Figures: [Table: see text][Table: see text][Table: see text][Table: see text]

scholarly journals The Variability Puzzle in Human Memory

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.J. Kahana ◽  
E.V. Aggarwal ◽  
T.D. Phan
Keyword(s):  
Recall Performance ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Memory Function ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Human Memory ◽  
Free Recall Task ◽  
Endogenous Factors ◽  
Neural Processes ◽  
Prior List ◽  
High Level

AbstractMemory performance exhibits a high level of variability from moment to moment. Much of this variability may reflect inadequately controlled experimental variables, such as word memorability, past practice and subject fatigue. Alternatively, stochastic variability in performance may largely reflect the efficiency of endogenous neural processes that govern memory function. To help adjudicate between these competing views, we conducted a multisession study in which subjects completed 552 trials of a delayed free-recall task. Applying a statistical model to predict variability in each subject’s recall performance uncovered modest effects of word memorability, proactive interference, and other variables. In contrast to the limited explanatory power of these experimental variables, performance on the prior list strongly predicted current list recall. These findings suggest that endogenous factors underlying successful encoding and retrieval drive variability in performance.

The “How” of Animacy Effects in Episodic Memory

2015 ◽  
Vol 62 (6) ◽  
pp. 371-384 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Bonin ◽  
Margaux Gelin ◽  
Betty Laroche ◽  
Alain Méot ◽  
Aurélia Bugaiska
Keyword(s):  
Memory Load ◽  
Recall Performance ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Human Memory ◽  
Recall Rate ◽  
Interactive Imagery ◽  
Ultimate Explanation ◽  
Better Than ◽  
Observation Results

Abstract. Animates are better remembered than inanimates. According to the adaptive view of human memory ( Nairne, 2010 ; Nairne & Pandeirada, 2010a , 2010b ), this observation results from the fact that animates are more important for survival than inanimates. This ultimate explanation of animacy effects has to be complemented by proximate explanations. Moreover, animacy currently represents an uncontrolled word characteristic in most cognitive research ( VanArsdall, Nairne, Pandeirada, & Cogdill, 2015 ). In four studies, we therefore investigated the “how” of animacy effects. Study 1 revealed that words denoting animates were recalled better than those referring to inanimates in an intentional memory task. Study 2 revealed that adding a concurrent memory load when processing words for the animacy dimension did not impede the animacy effect on recall rates. Study 3A was an exact replication of Study 2 and Study 3B used a higher concurrent memory load. In these two follow-up studies, animacy effects on recall performance were again not altered by a concurrent memory load. Finally, Study 4 showed that using interactive imagery to encode animate and inanimate words did not alter the recall rate of animate words but did increase the recall of inanimate words. Taken together, the findings suggest that imagery processes contribute to these effects.

The Long Arm of Childhood in China: Early-Life Conditions and Cognitive Function Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (8) ◽  
pp. 1319-1344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhenmei Zhang ◽  
Jinyu Liu ◽  
Lydia Li ◽  
Hongwei Xu
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Function ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Word Recall ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Urban Residence ◽  
Childhood Conditions ◽  
Early Life Conditions ◽  
Childhood Socioeconomic Status ◽  
With Memory

Objective: This study examined the association between childhood conditions and cognitive function among middle-aged and older adults in China. Method: We analyzed data from the 2011 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study ( N = 11,868). Cognitive function was measured by word recall, a test of episodic memory. We examined the association between childhood conditions and cognitive function among the middle-aged (45-59 years) and the older (60 years and older) adults separately, using multilevel linear regressions. Results: Indicators of childhood socioeconomic status (SES) and nutrition were significantly associated with memory performance among the middle-aged and the older adults in China. Adulthood SES, education in particular, accounted for some but not all the associations. The protective effect of childhood urban residence was stronger for middle-aged women than for middle-aged men. Discussion: Childhood conditions are significantly associated with mid- to late-life cognitive function in China. The strengths of the associations may vary by gender and cohort.

scholarly journals Editor's Introduction

2011 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
pp. vi-vii
Author(s):  
Charlene Polio
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Applied Linguistics ◽  
Collaborative Writing ◽  
Asia Pacific ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Second Languages ◽  
Specific Skill ◽  
Second Language Pedagogy

With this volume of the Annual Review of Applied Linguistics (ARAL), I continue the tradition of my predecessors of producing a volume on the topic second language pedagogy about every five years. Although applied linguistics encompasses more than the teaching and learning of second languages, articles on these topics tend to be among the most downloaded from the ARAL web site. I decided, however, to break with the tradition of focusing mostly on specific skill areas. Because language teaching is a situated activity that cannot be separated from its contexts and learners, the first section is devoted to language learning in or for specific contexts (secondary school settings, online, the workplace, the Asia-Pacific region, and study abroad), and the second section focuses on specific learners (young learners, adult emergent readers, and hearing learners of sign language). These are followed by a section on integrated approaches and includes articles on language-literature instruction, content and language integrated learning, the application of corpus research to language teaching, and multimodal literacy. The final section includes articles on more specific skill areas including teaching non-Roman writing systems, collaborative writing, and pragmatics.

scholarly journals Applied cognitive linguistics and foreign language learning. Introduction to the special issue

2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto Hijazo-Gascón ◽  
Reyes Llopis-García
Keyword(s):  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
Cognitive Grammar ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Second Languages

Abstract This introduction provides an overview of the intersection between Applied Cognitive Linguistics and Second/Foreign Language Learning. First, the relevance of Cognitive Linguistics (CL) for Applied Linguistics in general is discussed. The second section explains the main principles of CL and how each relates to the acquisition of second languages: (i) language and human cognition, (ii) language as symbolic, (iii) language as motivated; and (iv) language as usage-based. Section three offers a review of previous literature on CL and L2s that are different from English, as it is one the main aims of this Special Issue to provide state-of-the-art research and scholarship to enhance the bigger picture of the field of Second Language Acquisition beyond English as the target language. Spanish as L2/FL in Applied Cognitive Linguistics is the focus of the next section, which leads to a brief overview of the papers included in the Issue, featuring Spanish as the L2 with L1s such as English, French, German and Italian. Polysemy, Motion Events Typology, Cognitive Grammar and Construction Grammar are the Cognitive Linguistics areas addressed in the contributions here presented.

scholarly journals Non-native English Varieties: Thainess in English Narratives

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Piyahathai Singhasak ◽  
Phongsakorn Methitham
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
World Englishes ◽  
Literary Texts ◽  
Lexical Borrowing ◽  
New Variety ◽  
Second Languages ◽  
Code Mixing ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Thai English

<p>This study aims at examining Thainess as a writing strategy used in non-literary texts written by non-professional bilingual writers. These writers are advanced language learners who are pursuing their Master’s degree in English. Seven English narratives of their language learning experiences were analyzed based on Kachruvian’s framework of bilingual’s creativity and contact literatures. The findings showed that four out of six contextualization processes - transfer, translation, code-mixing, and reduplication - were utilized when conveying the writers’ experiences in acquiring their first and second languages. Unlike the findings in previous studies of Thainess in literary genre, lexical borrowing and shift process were not found in narratives. Although Thai English as a new variety in World Englishes has been debated for years and remains in an obscure status, it cannot be denied that the research findings in this study show the uniqueness of Thai English writing strategies.</p>

Interpreting phonological memory performance in bilinguals

2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (6) ◽  
pp. 1333-1336
Author(s):  
Margarita Kaushanskaya
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Phonological Memory ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
Early Language ◽  
Central Hypothesis ◽  
The Relationship

The central hypothesis in the Pierce, Genesee, Delcenserie, and Morgan article is that phonological memory is key to explaining the relationship between early language experience (more specifically, less and more optimal ends of the language-experience continuum) and language learning outcomes. One piece of evidence offered is that phonological memory skills are enhanced by bilingualism, with bilingualism representing enriched experience. Here, I propose that data from bilingual children may contradict Pierce et al.’s central hypothesis, rather than support it.

scholarly journals Modelling Autobiographical Memory Loss across Life Span

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 ◽  
pp. 1368-1375 ◽  
Author(s):  
Di Wang ◽  
Ah-Hwee Tan ◽  
Chunyan Miao ◽  
Ahmed A. Moustafa
Keyword(s):  
Life Span ◽  
Autobiographical Memory ◽  
Recall Performance ◽  
Research Work ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Memory Loss ◽  
Human Memory ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Memory Recall

Neurocomputational modelling of long-term memory is a core topic in computational cognitive neuroscience, which is essential towards self-regulating brain-like AI systems. In this paper, we study how people generally lose their memories and emulate various memory loss phenomena using a neurocomputational autobiographical memory model. Specifically, based on prior neurocognitive and neuropsychology studies, we identify three neural processes, namely overload, decay and inhibition, which lead to memory loss in memory formation, storage and retrieval, respectively. For model validation, we collect a memory dataset comprising more than one thousand life events and emulate the three key memory loss processes with model parameters learnt from memory recall behavioural patterns found in human subjects of different age groups. The emulation results show high correlation with human memory recall performance across their life span, even with another population not being used for learning. To the best of our knowledge, this paper is the first research work on quantitative evaluations of autobiographical memory loss using a neurocomputational model.

scholarly journals EXPRESS: Stimulus novelty, task demands, and strategy use in episodic memory

2020 ◽  
pp. 174702182098030
Author(s):  
Otto Waris ◽  
Daniel Fellman ◽  
Jussi Jylkkä ◽  
Matti Laine
Keyword(s):  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Recall Performance ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Strategy Use ◽  
Skill Learning ◽  
Cognitive Task Performance ◽  
And Task

Cognitive task performance is a dynamic process that evolves over time, starting from the first encounters with a task. An important aspect of these task dynamics is the employment of strategies to support successful performance and task acquisition. Focusing on episodic memory performance, we: (1) tested two hypotheses on the effects of novelty and task difficulty on strategy use; (2) replicated our previous results regarding strategy use in a novel memory task; and (3) evaluated whether repeated open-ended strategy queries affect task performance and/or strategy use. The present pre-registered online study comprised 161 adult participants who were recruited through the Prolific crowdsourcing platform. We employed two separate 5-block list learning tasks, one with 10 pseudowords and the other with 18 common nouns, and collected recall performance and strategy reports for each block. Using Bayesian linear mixed effects models, the present findings (1) provide some support for the hypothesis that task-initial strategy development is not triggered only by task novelty, but can appear also in a familiar, moderately demanding task; (2) replicate earlier findings from an adaptive working memory task indicating strategy use from the beginning of a task, associations between strategy use and objective task performance, and only modest agreement between open-ended vs. list-based strategy reports; and (3) indicate that repeated open-ended strategy reports do not affect objective recall. We conclude that strategy use is an important aspect of memory performance right from the start of a task, and it undergoes development at the initial stages depending on task characteristics. In a larger perspective, the present results concur with the views of skill learning and adaptivity in cognitive task performance.

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