Verbal and Spatial Memory Span in Patients with Extrapyramidal Diseases

1987 ◽  
Vol 65 (2) ◽  
pp. 555-558 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Orsini ◽  
N. A. Fragassi ◽  
L. Chiacchio ◽  
A. M. Falanga ◽  
C. Cocchiaro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Memory ◽  
Progressive Supranuclear Palsy ◽  
Memory Span ◽  
Normal Subjects ◽  
Huntington's Chorea ◽  
Spatial Span

Spatial span (Corsi's block-tapping test) and verbal span (Wechsler's Digits Forward test) were measured in 651 normal subjects and in three groups of extrapyramidal patients (Progressive supranuclear palsy, Parkinson, and Huntington's Chorea). Analysis showed Huntington's Chorea patients scored lower on both tests than did controls and other groups.

Characteristics of Spatial Memory Span: Is there an Analogy to the Word Length Effect, Based on Movement Time?

1994 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary M. Smyth ◽  
Keith A. Scholey
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Memory ◽  
Word Length ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Memory Span ◽  
Movement Time ◽  
Span Task ◽  
Length Effect ◽  
Spatial Span ◽  
Immediate Recall ◽  
Word Length Effect

In studies of verbal short-term memory it has been shown that the length of words to be remembered affects the size of memory span. This word-length effect is attributed to relationships between the rate of rehearsal of verbal material and the time it takes to speak the words being rehearsed. For spatial memory span there may also be an internal rehearsal system linked to overt responding, and if there is a strong analogy to be drawn between the verbal and spatial domains then movement time between spatial targets should predict the number of spatial locations that can be recalled. In the experiments reported here the time taken to move between spatial targets is varied by altering the size of targets and the distance between them. No difference between span performance on a nine-block spatial span task were found, either on immediate recall or on recall after an interval. When recall is of items from an array of 27, grouped in nine sets of three, with only one location in any set being presented on any trial, there is an effect of display size. This effect is consonant with the argument that movement time is related to spatial rehearsal, but other explanations are also possible. However, if recall in this task is scored over the nine sets rather than over the 27 items, then there is no difference between the displays. The results indicate that performance on the normal nine-block spatial-span task cannot be predicted by movement time.

Impairment of olfactory identification in obsessive–compulsive disorder

1999 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 1227-1233 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. BARNETT ◽  
P. MARUFF ◽  
R. PURCELL ◽  
K. WAINWRIGHT ◽  
M. KYRIOS ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ◽  
Standardized Test ◽  
Spatial Working Memory ◽  
Memory Span ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
Obsessive Compulsive ◽  
Spatial Span ◽  
Compulsive Disorder ◽  
Olfactory Identification ◽  
Spatial Recognition

Background. Olfactory identification ability has been associated with processing in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), an area that has been implicated in the pathophysiology of obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). Although olfactory sensitivity is normal in patients with OCD, no study has investigated olfactory identification in this disorder.Methods. A group of 20 subjects with OCD and 23 age- and education-matched controls performed a standardized test of olfactory identification. They also performed computerized tests of spatial memory span, spatial working memory and spatial recognition memory that have been shown previously to be sensitive to cognitive deficits in patients with OCD.Results. Performance on the olfactory identification task, spatial recognition task and spatial span task was significantly worse in the OCD group than controls.Conclusions. While impairment in spatial cognition is consistent with previous studies of OCD, its significance for brain-behaviour models of OCD is unclear. However, the finding of abnormal olfactory identification in patients with OCD is consistent with the hypothesis that there is a disruption to processing at the level of the OFC in the disorder.

Movement and Working Memory: Patterns and Positions in Space

1988 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 497-514 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary M. Smyth ◽  
Norma A. Pearson ◽  
Lindsay R. Pendleton
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Articulatory Suppression ◽  
Memory Span ◽  
Body Movement ◽  
Movement Patterns ◽  
Span Task ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Spatial Processes ◽  
Spatial Span ◽  
Whole Body Movement

Five experiments are reported in which subjects were asked to remember short, visually presented sequences of whole body movement patterns, words, and spatial positions. The items were recalled in order in a memory span paradigm. During presentation of the items to be remembered subjects simply watched, or they carried out a concurrent activity involving articulatory suppression, movement to external spatial targets, or body-related movement. When the movement patterns to be remembered were familiar to subjects, movement span was not disrupted by articulatory suppression or movement to spatial targets but was disrupted by body-related movement. This movement suppression task, however, did not interfere with performance on a spatial span task or on verbal span. It is concluded that the memory for patterns of limb movement differs from memory for movement to spatial targets and that accounts of visuo-spatial processes in working memory involve the latter type of movement.

Distinction between Visuo-Spatial Short-Term-Memory and Working Memory Span Tasks

2006 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thierry Lecerf ◽  
Jean-Luc Roulin
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Fluid Intelligence ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Memory Span ◽  
Item Difficulty ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Spatial Span ◽  
Span Test ◽  
Span Tasks

Six experiments are presented that examined the constraints underlying performance in two visuo-spatial span tasks. In the Location Span Test (LST), participants have to memorize the cells of a 5×5 matrix containing arrows, while in the Direction Span Test (DST) they have to memorize the cells pointed at by arrows. The main objective was to assess whether both tasks were similarly influenced by experimental factors. Results showed that performance improved with longer encoding time (1-s. vs. 3-s) only for the DST. Maintenance interval (0-s vs. 5-s) and order of item difficulty (ascending vs. descending) have no effect either on the LST or on the DST. Another experiment indicated that the DST is a better predictor of fluid intelligence. These results seem to provide evidence that the LST and the DST relate to different constructs. Implications of these findings for the distinction between short-term and working memory span tasks are discussed.

Determining Spatial Span: The Role of Movement Time and Articulation Rate

1992 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 479-501 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary M. Smyth ◽  
Keith A. Scholey
Keyword(s):  
Verbal Memory ◽  
Memory Span ◽  
Movement Time ◽  
Speech Rate ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Spatial Span ◽  
Sequential Memory ◽  
Spatial Domains ◽  
Overt Speech ◽  
Spatial Locations

In studies of verbal memory span individual differences in speech rate have been found to predict the number of items that can be recalled in order. This is thought to happen because overt speech rate is related to the rate of internal verbal rehearsal. For spatial span there may also be an internal rehearsal system linked to overt responding, and if there is a strong analogy to be drawn between the verbal and spatial domains, then movement time between spatial targets should predict the number of spatial locations that can be recalled. In the first study reported, none of the six measures of movement time did predict spatial span, but, as expected, speech rate predicted verbal span. In addition, speech rate predicted spatial span. In a second study the use of articulatory suppression during span presentation showed that verbal span dropped, but was still predicted by speech rate. Spatial span was again predicted by the time it took to say digits rather than the time it took to make movements to spatial targets. There would not seem to be any simple analogy between the limitations on verbal span and those on spatial span. In addition, the relationship between speech rate and sequential memory performance may be more complex than previous studies have suggested.

Spatial Memory Span in Adolescents: Cultural and Sex Differences

1983 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 175-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pietro Smirni ◽  
Claudio Villardita ◽  
Giuseppe Zappala
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Spatial Memory ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Memory Span ◽  
Young Adolescents ◽  
Urban And Rural Areas ◽  
Sociocultural Background

Spatial memory span was assessed in 195 young adolescents, 98 boys and 97 girls, from urban and rural areas in Sicily, using Corsi's Block Tapping etst. No significant differences for either sex or sociocultural background were observed.

Working memory and distributed vocabulary learning

1998 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 537-552 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul W. B. Atkins ◽  
Alan D. Baddeley
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Second Language ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Spatial Memory ◽  
Verbal Memory ◽  
Memory Span ◽  
Vocabulary Learning ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Encoding Strategies ◽  
Practical Implications

ABSTRACTThis study tested the hypothesis that individual differences in immediate verbal memory span would predict success in second language vocabulary acquisition. The subjects learned 56 English–Finnish translations during two sessions using a method in which they were encouraged to distribute their learning and to use semantic encoding strategies where appropriate. Verbal, but not visuo-spatial, memory span was correlated with the rate of vocabulary learning, a result that could not have occurred because of immediate retrieval from a short-term buffer. When tested one week later, the subjects were less likely to remember those words they had had difficulty learning, even though they had studied these items more often. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings for vocabulary learning are discussed.

Sex and Cultural Differences in Children's Spatial and Verbal Memory Span

1981 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arturo Orsini ◽  
Ornella Schiappa ◽  
Dario Grossi
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Verbal Memory ◽  
Memory Span ◽  
Spatial Span ◽  
Rural Districts ◽  
The Town ◽  
Better Than

Spatial span (Corsi's block-tapping) and verbal span (Wechsler Digits Forward) were measured in 1113 children aged 4 to 10 yr. from urban and rural districts of the Regione Campania. Significant differences pointing to a better performance of the “town” group were found on both tests. Sex differences were found only on the spatial span rest; boys performed better than girls.

scholarly journals Memory span measured by the spatial span tests of the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery in a group of Brazilian children and adolescents

2011 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 129-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosani Aparecida Antunes Teixeira ◽  
Elaine Cristina Zachi ◽  
Daniela Tsubota Roque ◽  
Anita Taub ◽  
Dora Fix Ventura
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Test Performance ◽  
Memory Span ◽  
Neuropsychological Test ◽  
Older Children ◽  
Normative Study ◽  
Verbal System ◽  
Spatial Span ◽  
Brazilian Children

Abstract The neuropsychological tests of spatial span are designed to measure attention and working memory. The version of the spatial span test in the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) evaluates these functions through the recall of sequences of spatial locations presented to the subject. Objective: The present study investigated how age, gender and educational level might affect the performance of the non-verbal system. Methods: A total of 60 children and adolescents aged 6 to 18 years were assessed (25 males and 35 females). Results: The results showed no gender differences in test performance. Children with six or more years of education showed better performance than children with less than three years of education. Older children had more schooling and thus were able to recall a greater number of items. Span length values proved similar to a previous large normative study which also employed the CANTAB Spatial Span (De Luca et al., 2003). Conclusion: The similarity in performance of the Brazilian children and adolescents studied and the group of Australian participants examined by the cited authors, despite the socio-cultural and economical differences, points to the suitability of the task for the assessment of attention and working memory in Brazilian children.

Immediate Memory Spans in Dementia

1988 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
pp. 267-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Orsini ◽  
L. Trojano ◽  
L. Chiacchio ◽  
D. Grossi
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Statistical Analysis ◽  
Normal Subjects ◽  
Immediate Memory ◽  
Spatial Span

Spatial span (Corsi's block-tapping test) and verbal spans for digits (Wechsler Digits Forward Test) and for words were measured in 30 normal subjects and in 51 demented patients, divided into two groups (mildly demented and severely demented) according to selective clinical and neuropsychological criteria. Statistical analysis showed significant differences among the three groups for spatial span. By contrast, controls' and mildly demented patients' performances on both verbal spans were not significantly different. These findings are discussed in the light of theory about working memory.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document