scholarly journals Do Cognitive Tasks Reduce Intrusive-Memory Frequency After Exposure to Analogue Trauma? An Experimental Replication

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 569-583 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amalia Badawi ◽  
David Berle ◽  
Kris Rogers ◽  
Zachary Steel
Keyword(s):  
Memory Consolidation ◽  
Traumatic Event ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Cognitive Tasks ◽  
Visuospatial Task ◽  
Intrusive Memories ◽  
Independent Replication ◽  
Intrusive Memory ◽  
Analogue Trauma ◽  
And Control

Cognitive task interventions that interfere with visuospatial working memory during the memory consolidation window hold promise for reducing intrusive memories in trauma-exposed people. Our study provides an independent replication study to test and verify findings that have primarily originated from a single research group. We hypothesized that participants engaging in a visuospatial task (cognitive task intervention including Tetris or D-Corsi) following a trauma-film paradigm (TFP) would report fewer intrusive memories over the course of a week compared with control participants. Participants ( N = 110) were randomly assigned to an experimental condition after viewing the TFP. Generalized linear mixed models indicated that the cognitive task including Tetris was associated with fewer intrusions for the TFP compared with both the D-Corsi-intervention and control conditions. Our findings are congruent with existing literature indicating that cognitive tasks, such as an intervention including Tetris, may promote effective memory consolidation after exposure to a potentially traumatic event.

scholarly journals A simple cognitive task intervention to prevent intrusive memories after trauma in patients in the Emergency Department: A randomized controlled trial terminated due to COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie Kanstrup ◽  
Laura Singh ◽  
Katarina E. Göransson ◽  
Beau Gamble ◽  
Rod S. Taylor ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
Traumatic Event ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Virus Transmission ◽  
Computer Game ◽  
Similar Time ◽  
Intrusive Memories ◽  
Randomised Controlled ◽  
Simple Cognitive Task

Abstract Objective This randomised controlled trial (RCT) aimed to investigate the effects of a simple cognitive task intervention on intrusive memories ("flashbacks") and associated symptoms following a traumatic event. Patients presenting to a Swedish emergency department (ED) soon after a traumatic event were randomly allocated (1:1) to the simple cognitive task intervention (memory cue + mental rotation instructions + computer game "Tetris" for at least 20 min) or control (podcast, similar time). We planned follow-ups at one-week, 1-month, and where possible, 3- and 6-months post-trauma. Anticipated enrolment was N = 148. Results The RCT was terminated prematurely after recruiting N = 16 participants. The COVID-19 pandemic prevented recruitment/testing in the ED because: (i) the study required face-to-face contact between participants, psychology researchers, ED staff, and patients, incurring risk of virus transmission; (ii) the host ED site received COVID-19 patients; and (iii) reduced flow of patients otherwise presenting to the ED in non-pandemic conditions (e.g. after trauma). We report on delivery of study procedures, recruitment, treatment adherence, outcome completion (primary outcome: number of intrusive memories during week 5), attrition, and limitations. The information presented and limitations may enable our group and others to learn from this terminated study. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04185155 (04-12-2019)

scholarly journals Selectively Interfering With Intrusive but Not Voluntary Memories of a Trauma Film: Accounting for the Role of Associative Memory

2021 ◽  
pp. 216770262199831
Author(s):  
Alex Lau-Zhu ◽  
Richard N. Henson ◽  
Emily A. Holmes
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Disorders ◽  
Traumatic Event ◽  
Emotional Memory ◽  
Control Procedure ◽  
Witness Testimony ◽  
Intrusive Memories ◽  
Therapeutic Benefits ◽  
Selective Interference ◽  
Intrusive Memory

Intrusive memories of a traumatic event can be reduced by a subsequent interference procedure, seemingly sparing voluntary memory for that event. This selective-interference effect has potential therapeutic benefits (e.g., for emotional disorders) and legal importance (e.g., for witness testimony). However, the measurements of intrusive memory and voluntary memory typically differ in the role of associations between a cue and the emotional memory “hotspots.” To test this, we asked participants to watch a traumatic film followed by either an interference procedure (reminder plus Tetris) or control procedure (reminder only). Measurement of intrusions (using a laboratory task) and voluntary memory (recognition for film stills) were crossed with the presence or absence of associative cues. The reminder-plus-Tetris group exhibited fewer intrusions despite comparable recognition memory, replicating the results of prior studies. Note that this selective interference did not appear to depend on associative cues. This involuntary versus voluntary memory dissociation for emotional material further supports separate-trace memory theories and has applied advantages.

scholarly journals Backward Protective Stepping During Dual-Task Scenarios in People With Parkinson’s Disease: A Pilot Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (8) ◽  
pp. 702-710
Author(s):  
Daniel S. Peterson ◽  
Jordan S. Barajas ◽  
Linda Denney ◽  
Shyamal H. Mehta
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Cognitive Tasks ◽  
Task Interference ◽  
Healthy Older Adults ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Dual Task Interference

Introduction. Reactive movements in response to a loss of balance are altered in people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and are critical for fall prevention. Further, falls are more common while attention is divided. Although divided attention has been shown to impact postural responses in healthy older adults, the impact of dividing attention on reactive balance, and the natural prioritization across postural and cognitive tasks in people with PD is largely unknown. Objectives. To characterize (1) the impact of a secondary cognitive task on reactive postural control and (2) the prioritization across stepping and cognitive tasks in people with PD. Methods. Sixteen people with PD and 14 age-matched controls underwent step-inducing, support-surface perturbations from stance, with and without an auditory Stroop secondary cognitive task. Cognitive, neuromuscular, and protective stepping performance were calculated for single and dual task scenarios. Results. In PD and control participants, cognitive reaction times ( P = .001) and muscle onset latency ( P = .007), but not protective step outcomes ( P > .12 for all) were worse during dual tasking compared with single-task scenarios. Both PD and control groups prioritized the protective stepping task over the cognitive task. Overall, people with PD exhibited worse first-step margin of stability (a measure of protective step performance) than controls ( P = .044). Conclusion. This study provides preliminary evidence that people with PD, like age-matched controls, exhibit cognitive and neuromuscular, but not protective step, dual-task interference. The lack of dual-task interference on step performance indicates a postural prioritization for PD and healthy older adults during dual-task protective stepping.

scholarly journals Consolidation/reconsolidation therapies for the prevention and treatment of PTSD and re-experiencing: a systematic review and meta-analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurence Astill Wright ◽  
Louise Horstmann ◽  
Emily A. Holmes ◽  
Jonathan I. Bisson
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Translational Research ◽  
Memory Consolidation ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Significant Risk ◽  
Risk Of Bias ◽  
Intrusive Memories ◽  
Memory Interference ◽  
Prevention And Treatment

AbstractTranslational research highlights the potential of novel 'memory consolidation/reconsolidation therapies' to treat re-experiencing symptoms and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This systematic review and meta-analysis assessed the efficacy of so-called memory consolidation/reconsolidation therapies in randomised controlled trials (RCTs) for prevention and treatment of PTSD and symptoms of re-experiencing in children and adults (PROSPERO: CRD42020171167). RCTs were identified and rated for risk of bias. Available data was pooled to calculate risk ratios (RR) for PTSD prevalence and standardised mean differences (SMD) for PTSD/re-experiencing severity. Twenty-five RCTs met inclusion criteria (16 prevention and nine treatment trials). The methodology of most studies had a significant risk of bias. We found a large effect of reconsolidation interventions in the treatment of PTSD (11 studies, n = 372, SMD: −1.42 (−2.25 to −0.58), and a smaller positive effect of consolidation interventions in the prevention of PTSD (12 studies, n = 2821, RR: 0.67 (0.50 to 0.90). Only three protocols (hydrocortisone for PTSD prevention, Reconsolidation of Traumatic Memories (RTM) for treatment of PTSD symptoms and cognitive task memory interference procedure with memory reactivation (MR) for intrusive memories) were superior to control. There is some emerging evidence of consolidation and reconsolidation therapies in the prevention and treatment of PTSD and intrusive memories specifically. Translational research should strictly adhere to protocols/procedures describing precise reconsolidation conditions (e.g. MR) to both increase the likelihood of positive findings and more confidently interpret negative findings of putative reconsolidation agents.

scholarly journals Heuristic Cues for Meta-Reasoning Judgments

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rakefet Ackerman
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Cognitive Tasks ◽  
Monitoring And Control ◽  
Reasoning Problem ◽  
Metacognitive Judgments ◽  
Reliable Monitoring ◽  
And Control ◽  
Methodological Guidelines ◽  
Allocation Decisions ◽  
Answer Option

Metacognitive research aims to explain how people regulate their effort when performing cognitive tasks, to expose conditions that support reliable monitoring of chance for success, and to provide a basis for developing improvement guidelines. The essence of the domain is that monitoring drives control: people continually self-assess their chance for success before, during, and after performing a cognitive task, and use these judgments to guide their effort-allocation decisions (e.g., whether to reconsider an answer option, change strategy, seek help, or give up). Thus, factors that underlie metacognitive judgments affect the efficiency with which people perform cognitive tasks. This paper focuses on meta-reasoning – the monitoring and control processes that apply to reasoning, problem-solving, and decision-making tasks. So far, relatively little is known about heuristic cues used for inferring meta-reasoning judgments. This paper reviews the known heuristic cues and offers methodological guidelines for a critical reading of existing research and for designing high-quality studies that will advance this important domain.

Studying the effect of Heartfulness Meditation on Brain Activity

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pallavi Gupta ◽  
Jahnavi Mundluru ◽  
Arth Patel ◽  
Shankar Pathmakanthan
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Creative Thinking ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Cognitive Tasks ◽  
Logical Thinking ◽  
Meditation Practice ◽  
Guided Relaxation

Long-term meditation practice is increasingly recognized for its health benefits. Heartfulness meditation represents a quickly growing set of practices that is largely unstudied. Heartfulness is unique in that it is a meditation practice that focuses on the Heart. It helps individuals to connect to themselves and find inner peace. In order to deepen ones’ meditation, the element of Yogic Energy (‘pranahuti’) is used as an aid during meditation. The purpose of this study was to determine whether consistent EEG effects of Heartfulness meditation be observed in sixty experienced Heartfulness meditators, each of whom attended 6 testing sessions. In each session, participants performed three conditions: a set of cognitive tasks, Heartfulness guided relaxation, and Heartfulness Meditation. Participants during the cognitive portion were required to answer questions that tested their logical thinking (Cognitive Reflective Test) and creative thinking skills. (Random Associative Test) The order of condition was randomly counter balanced across six sessions. It was hypothesized that Heartfulness meditation would bring increased alpha (8-12Hz) brain activity during meditation and better cognitive task scores in sessions where the tasks followed meditation. Heartfulness meditation produces a significant decrease in brain activity (as indexed by higher levels of alpha during the early stages of meditation. As the meditation progressed deep meditative state (as indexed by higher levels of delta) were observed until the end of the condition.  This lead to the conclusion that Heartfulness Meditation produces a state that is clearly distinguishable from effortful problem solving. 

A Shaping Procedure to Modulate Two Cognitive Tasks to Improve a Sensorimotor Rhythm-Based Brain-Computer Interface System

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leandro da Silva-Sauer ◽  
Luis Valero-Aguayo ◽  
Francisco Velasco-Álvarez ◽  
Álvaro Fernández-Rodríguez ◽  
Ricardo Ron-Angevin
Keyword(s):  
Interaction Effect ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Brain Computer Interface ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Computer Interface ◽  
Cognitive Tasks ◽  
Significant Interaction Effect ◽  
Task Load ◽  
Mental Demand ◽  
Shaping Procedure

AbstractThis study aimed to propose an adapted feedback using a psychological learning technique based on Skinner’s shaping method to help the users to modulate two cognitive tasks (right-hand motor imagination and relaxed state) and improve better control in a Brain-Computer Interface. In the first experiment, a comparative study between performance in standard feedback (N = 9) and shaping method (N = 10) was conducted. The NASA Task Load Index questionnaire was applied to measure the user’s workload. In the second experiment, a single case study was performed (N = 5) to verify the continuous learning by the shaping method. The first experiment showed significant interaction effect between sessions and group (F(1, 17) = 5.565; p = .031) which the shaping paradigm was applied. A second interaction effect demonstrates a higher performance increase in the relax state task with shaping procedure (F(1, 17) = 5. 038; p = .038). In NASA-TXL an interaction effect was obtained between the group and the cognitive task in Mental Demand (F(1, 17) = 6, 809; p = .018), Performance (F(1, 17) = 5, 725; p = .029), and Frustration (F(1, 17) = 9, 735; p = .006), no significance was found in Effort. In the second experiment, a trial-by-trial analysis shows an ascendant trend learning curve for the cognitive task with the lowest initial acquisition (relax state). The results suggest the effectiveness of the shaping procedure to modulate brain rhythms, improving mainly the cognitive task with greater initial difficulty and provide better interaction perception.

scholarly journals A Kiosk Station for the Assessment of Multiple Cognitive Domains and Enrichment of Monkeys

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thilo Womelsdorf ◽  
Christopher Thomas ◽  
Adam Neumann ◽  
Marcus Watson ◽  
Kianoush Banaie Boroujeni ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Behavioral Control ◽  
Animal Cognition ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Cognitive Tasks ◽  
Fully Integrated ◽  
Cognitive Domains ◽  
Visual Tasks ◽  
Versatile Tool ◽  
Controlling Behavior ◽  
Individual Consistency

AbstractBackgroundNonhuman primates (NHPs) are self-motivated to perform cognitive tasks on touchscreens in their animal housing setting. To leverage this ability, fully integrated hardware and software solutions are needed, that work within housing and husbandry routines while also spanning cognitive task constructs of the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC).New MethodWe describe a Kiosk Station (KS-1) that provides robust hardware and software solutions for running cognitive tasks in cage-housed NHPs. KS-1 consists of a frame for mounting flexibly on housing cages, a touchscreen animal interface with mounts for receptables, reward pumps and cameras, and a compact computer cabinet with an interface for controlling behavior. Behavioral control is achieved with a unity3D program that is virtual-reality capable, allowing semi-naturalistic visual tasks to assess multiple cognitive domains.ResultsKS-1 is fully integrated into the regular housing routines of monkeys. A single person can operate multiple KS-1s. Monkeys engage with KS-1 at high motivation and cognitive performance levels at high intra-individual consistency.Comparison with Existing MethodsKS-1 is optimized for flexible mounting onto standard apartment cage systems. KS-1 has a robust animal interface with options for gaze/reach monitoring. It has an integrated user interface for controlling multiple cognitive task using a common naturalistic object space designed to enhance task engagement. All custom KS-1 components are open-sourced.ConclusionsKS-1 is a versatile tool for cognitive profiling and enrichment of cage-housed monkeys. It reliably measures multiple cognitive domains which promises to advance our understanding of animal cognition, inter-individual differences and underlying neurobiology in refined, ethologically meaningful behavioral foraging contexts.

The Impact of Cognitive Load on Volitional Running

2016 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 1179-1183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan J. Blakely ◽  
Kyle Wilson ◽  
Paul N. Russell ◽  
William S. Helton
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Cognitive Load ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
High Load ◽  
Interactive Effects ◽  
Cognitive Tasks ◽  
Running Speed ◽  
Original Experiment ◽  
The Impact

The effects of physical activity on cognition and the effects of cognitive load on physical activity are complex. Both the nature of the physical activity and cognitive task may influence the interactive effects of performing a physical task while also performing a cognitive task. In a previous study examining the impact of increasing cognitive load on outdoor running speed and the impact of outdoor running on cognitive performance, Blakely et al. (2015) found running speed decreased as cognitive load increased. They also found that the impact of running itself on cognitive performance occurred when the cognitive task was itself demanding (high cognitive load). In the current study we expanded on this previous research by improving the experimental task to rule out peripheral sensory, not central or executive, interference and by incorporating heart rate measures and VO2 max estimates. Twelve runners completed five conditions, two seated cognitive tasks (one low load and one high load), two dual running cognitive tasks and one run only. Results were similar to the original experiment, as the cognitive task became more difficult, voluntary running speed decreased. Also the effects of running on cognitive performance (counting) were found only when the cognitive task was high load.

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