Procedural Learning and the Development and Stability of Character

1994 ◽  
Vol 79 (1) ◽  
pp. 355-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jim Grigsby ◽  
George H. Hartlaub
Keyword(s):  
Declarative Memory ◽  
Memory Systems ◽  
Procedural Memory ◽  
Procedural Learning ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Neurologically Intact ◽  
Over Time

This manuscript presents a neuropsychological model of the development and stability of human character. We define character as those things which people do routinely, automatically, and unconsciously—those which make people know-able and predictable. According to the model, the substrate of character is comprised of one's phenotypically based temperamental predispositions. This substrate is modified as a result of experience. Research has indicated the existence of multiple, relatively independent memory systems, and we are particularly interested in the distinction that has been made between declarative and procedural learning. Declarative memory involves recall of information and events, while procedural memory involves the learning of skills and other processes. In neurologically intact persons, these systems work in concert, yet they are relatively independent of one another. This model constrains the concept of character in a manner that allows researchers to address several issues, including (1) the manner in which character develops over time, (2) the mechanisms involved in the stability of character, and (3) the processes likely to be associated with character change.

Working, Declarative, and Procedural Memory in Children With Developmental Language Disorder

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (12) ◽  
pp. 4162-4178
Author(s):  
Emily Jackson ◽  
Suze Leitão ◽  
Mary Claessen ◽  
Mark Boyes
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Language Disorder ◽  
Declarative Memory ◽  
Memory Systems ◽  
Procedural Memory ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Visual Spatial

Purpose Previous research into the working, declarative, and procedural memory systems in children with developmental language disorder (DLD) has yielded inconsistent results. The purpose of this research was to profile these memory systems in children with DLD and their typically developing peers. Method One hundred four 5- to 8-year-old children participated in the study. Fifty had DLD, and 54 were typically developing. Aspects of the working memory system (verbal short-term memory, verbal working memory, and visual–spatial short-term memory) were assessed using a nonword repetition test and subtests from the Working Memory Test Battery for Children. Verbal and visual–spatial declarative memory were measured using the Children's Memory Scale, and an audiovisual serial reaction time task was used to evaluate procedural memory. Results The children with DLD demonstrated significant impairments in verbal short-term and working memory, visual–spatial short-term memory, verbal declarative memory, and procedural memory. However, verbal declarative memory and procedural memory were no longer impaired after controlling for working memory and nonverbal IQ. Declarative memory for visual–spatial information was unimpaired. Conclusions These findings indicate that children with DLD have deficits in the working memory system. While verbal declarative memory and procedural memory also appear to be impaired, these deficits could largely be accounted for by working memory skills. The results have implications for our understanding of the cognitive processes underlying language impairment in the DLD population; however, further investigation of the relationships between the memory systems is required using tasks that measure learning over long-term intervals. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.13250180

Multiple Memory Systems: Evidence from Stroke

1987 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 571-577 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Cushman ◽  
Bruce Caplan
Keyword(s):  
Declarative Memory ◽  
Verbal Learning ◽  
Memory Systems ◽  
Procedural Learning ◽  
Maze Task ◽  
Learning Abilities ◽  
Multiple Memory Systems ◽  
Mirror Tracing ◽  
Improved Performance ◽  
Selective Preservation

In this report, we describe the “fractionation of memory systems” in a 62-yr.-old woman following a left anterior stroke. Despite the presence of a significant, persistent declarative memory (verbal learning) deficit, this patient exhibited relatively intact procedural learning. The latter was manifested over a 4-day period by improved performance on a maze task executed under “mirror-tracing” conditions. By the final set of trials, the patient's performance approximated that of a normal control subject with respect to speed, although not errors. The selective preservation of particular learning abilities in brain-damaged patients has implications for rehabilitative interventions.

scholarly journals Disruption of the Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex Facilitates the Consolidation of Procedural Skills

2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 1158-1164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph M. Galea ◽  
Neil B. Albert ◽  
Thomas Ditye ◽  
R. Chris Miall
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Sequence Learning ◽  
Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Declarative Memory ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Memory Systems ◽  
Procedural Memory ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Left Dlpfc ◽  
Dorsolateral Prefrontal

In explicit sequence learning tasks, an improvement in performance (skill) typically occurs after sleep—leading to the recent literature on sleep-dependent motor consolidation. Consolidation can also be facilitated during wakefulness if declarative knowledge for the sequence is reduced through a secondary cognitive task. Accordingly, declarative and procedural consolidation processes appear to mutually interact. Here we used TMS to test the hypothesis that functions in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) that support declarative memory formation indirectly reduce the formation of procedural representations. We hypothesize that disrupting the DLPFC immediately after sequence learning would degrade the retention or the consolidation of the sequence within the declarative memory system and thus facilitate consolidation within procedural memory systems, evident as wakeful off-line skill improvement. Inhibitory theta-burst TMS was applied to the left DLPFC (n = 10), to the right DLPFC (n = 10), or to an occipital cortical control site (n = 10) immediately after training on the serial reaction time task (SRTT). All groups were retested after eight daytime hours without sleep. TMS of either left or right DLPFC lead to skill improvements on the SRTT. Increase in skill was greater following right DLPFC stimulation than left DLPFC stimulation; there was no improvement in skill for the control group. Across all participants, free recall of the sequence was inversely related to the improvements in performance on the SRTT. These results support the hypothesis of interference between declarative and procedural consolidation processes and are discussed in the framework of the interactions between memory systems.

Implications of the declarative/procedural model for improving second language learning: The role of memory enhancement techniques

2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael T Ullman ◽  
Jarrett T Lovelett
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning And Memory ◽  
Retrieval Practice ◽  
Declarative Memory ◽  
Empirical Work ◽  
Memory Systems ◽  
Procedural Memory ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Memory Enhancement

The declarative/procedural (DP) model posits that the learning, storage, and use of language critically depend on two learning and memory systems in the brain: declarative memory and procedural memory. Thus, on the basis of independent research on the memory systems, the model can generate specific and often novel predictions for language. Till now most such predictions and ensuing empirical work have been motivated by research on the neurocognition of the two memory systems. However, there is also a large literature on techniques that enhance learning and memory. The DP model provides a theoretical framework for predicting which techniques should extend to language learning, and in what circumstances they should apply. In order to lay the neurocognitive groundwork for these predictions, here we first summarize the neurocognitive fundamentals of the two memory systems and briefly lay out the resulting claims of the DP model for both first and second language. We then provide an overview of learning and memory enhancement techniques before focusing on two techniques – spaced repetition and retrieval practice – that have been linked to the memory systems. Next, we present specific predictions for how these techniques should enhance language learning, and review existing evidence, which suggests that they do indeed improve the learning of both first and second language. Finally, we discuss areas of future research and implications for second language pedagogy.

Declarative and procedural memory as individual differences in second language acquisition

2013 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
KARA MORGAN-SHORT ◽  
MANDY FARETTA-STUTENBERG ◽  
KATHERINE A. BRILL-SCHUETZ ◽  
HELEN CARPENTER ◽  
PATRICK C. M. WONG
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Memory Systems ◽  
Procedural Memory ◽  
Procedural Learning ◽  
Learning Ability ◽  
Stages Of Development ◽  
Learning Abilities ◽  
Syntactic Development

This study examined how individual differences in cognitive abilities account for variance in the attainment level of adult second language (L2) syntactic development. Participants completed assessments of declarative and procedural learning abilities. They subsequently learned an artificial L2 under implicit training conditions and received extended comprehension and production practice using the L2. Syntactic development was assessed at both early and late stages of acquisition. Results indicated positive relationships between declarative learning ability and syntactic development at early stages of acquisition and between procedural learning ability and development at later stages of acquisition. Individual differences in these memory abilities accounted for a large amount of variance at both stages of development. The findings are consistent with theoretical perspectives of L2 that posit different roles for these memory systems at different stages of development, and suggest that declarative and procedural memory learning abilities may predict L2 grammatical development, at least for implicitly trained learners.

The role of declarative and procedural memory in disorders of language

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael T. Ullman
Keyword(s):  
Language Impairment ◽  
Specific Language Impairment ◽  
Declarative Memory ◽  
Brain Structures ◽  
Memory Systems ◽  
Procedural Memory ◽  
General Purpose ◽  
Memory Impairments ◽  
Fluent Aphasia ◽  
Basal Ganglia Structures

Language is often assumed to rely on domain-specific neurocognitive substrates. However, this human capacity in fact seems to crucially depend on general-purpose memory systems in the brain. Evidence suggests that lexical memory relies heavily on declarative memory, which is specialized for arbitrary associations and is rooted in temporal lobe structures. The mental grammar instead relies largely on procedural memory, a system that underlies rules and sequences, and is rooted in frontal/basal-ganglia structures. Developmental and adult-onset disorders such as Specific Language Impairment, autism, Tourette syndrome, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, and non-fluent aphasia each seem to involve particular grammatical deficits and analogous non-linguistic procedural memory impairments, as well as abnormalities of procedural memory brain structures. Lexical and declarative memory remain relatively intact in these disorders, and may play compensatory roles. In contrast, Alzheimer’s disease, semantic dementia, fluent aphasia and amnesia each affect lexical and declarative memory, and involve abnormalities of declarative memory brain structures, while leaving grammar and procedural memory largely intact. Overall, the evidence suggests that declarative and procedural memory play critical roles in language disorders, as well as in language more generally.

The neural basis of lexicon and grammar in first and second language: the declarative/procedural model

2001 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 105-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael T. Ullman
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Declarative Memory ◽  
Memory Systems ◽  
Procedural Memory ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Lexical Memory ◽  
Electrophysiological Studies ◽  
Neural Bases ◽  
Basal Ganglia Structures

Theoretical and empirical aspects of the neural bases of the mental lexicon and the mental grammar in first and second language (L1 and L2) are discussed. It is argued that in L1, the learning, representation, and processing of lexicon and grammar depend on two well-studied brain memory systems. According to the declarative/procedural model, lexical memory depends upon declarative memory, which is rooted in temporal lobe structures, and has been implicated in the learning and use of fact and event knowledge. Aspects of grammar are subserved by procedural memory, which is rooted in left frontal/basal-ganglia structures, and has been implicated in the acquisition and expression of motor and cognitive skills and habits. This view is supported by psycholinguistic and neurolinguistic evidence. In contrast, linguistic forms whose grammatical computation depends upon procedural memory in L1 are posited to be largely dependent upon declarative/lexical memory in L2. They may be either memorized or constructed by explicit rules learned in declarative memory. Thus in L2, such linguistic forms should be less dependent on procedural memory, and more dependent on declarative memory, than in L1. Moreover, this shift to declarative memory is expected to increase with increasing age of exposure to L2, and with less experience (practice) with the language, which is predicted to improve the learning of grammatical rules by procedural memory. A retrospective examination of lesion, neuroimaging, and electrophysiological studies investigating the neural bases of L2 is presented. It is argued that the data from these studies support the predictions of the declarative/procedural model.

Deficits in Explicit Language Problem Solving Rather Than in Implicit Learning in Specific Language Impairment: Evidence From Learning an Artificial Morphological Rule

2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (10) ◽  
pp. 3790-3807 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Ferman ◽  
Liat Kishon-Rabin ◽  
Hila Ganot-Budaga ◽  
Avi Karni
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Impairment ◽  
Specific Language Impairment ◽  
Explicit Knowledge ◽  
Procedural Memory ◽  
Procedural Learning ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
Language Problems ◽  
Morphological Rule ◽  
Semantic Distinction

Purpose The purpose of this study was to delineate differences between children with specific language impairment (SLI), typical age–matched (TAM) children, and typical younger (TY) children in learning and mastering an undisclosed artificial morphological rule (AMR) through exposure and usage. Method Twenty-six participants (eight 10-year-old children with SLI, 8 TAM children, and ten 8-year-old TY children) were trained to master an AMR across multiple training sessions. The AMR required a phonological transformation of verbs depending on a semantic distinction: whether the preceding noun was animate or inanimate. All participants practiced the application of the AMR to repeated and new (generalization) items, via judgment and production tasks. Results The children with SLI derived significantly less benefit from practice than their peers in learning most aspects of the AMR, even exhibiting smaller gains compared to the TY group in some aspects. Children with SLI benefited less than TAM and even TY children from training to judge and produce repeated items of the AMR. Nevertheless, despite a significant disadvantage in baseline performance, the rate at which they mastered the task-specific phonological regularities was as robust as that of their peers. On the other hand, like 8-year-olds, only half of the SLI group succeeded in uncovering the nature of the AMR and, consequently, in generalizing it to new items. Conclusions Children with SLI were able to learn language aspects that rely on implicit, procedural learning, but experienced difficulties in learning aspects that relied on the explicit uncovering of the semantic principle of the AMR. The results suggest that some of the difficulties experienced by children with SLI when learning a complex language regularity cannot be accounted for by a broad, language-related, procedural memory disability. Rather, a deficit—perhaps a developmental delay in the ability to recruit and solve language problems and establish explicit knowledge regarding a language task—can better explain their difficulties in language learning.

On the Robustness of Solution Strategy Classifications

2010 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 68-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
María José Contreras ◽  
Víctor J. Rubio ◽  
Daniel Peña ◽  
José Santacreu
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Study Strategies ◽  
Solution Strategy ◽  
Specific Test ◽  
Spatial Tasks ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Strategy Changes ◽  
Over Time

Individual differences in performance when solving spatial tasks can be partly explained by differences in the strategies used. Two main difficulties arise when studying such strategies: the identification of the strategy itself and the stability of the strategy over time. In the present study strategies were separated into three categories: segmented (analytic), holistic-feedback dependent, and holistic-planned, according to the procedure described by Peña, Contreras, Shih, and Santacreu (2008) . A group of individuals were evaluated twice on a 1-year test-retest basis. During the 1-year interval between tests, the participants were not able to prepare for the specific test used in this study or similar ones. It was found that 60% of the individuals kept the same strategy throughout the tests. When strategy changes did occur, they were usually due to a better strategy. These results prove the robustness of using strategy-based procedures for studying individual differences in spatial tasks.

On the Stability of Evaluative Conditioning Effects

2013 ◽  
Vol 44 (6) ◽  
pp. 380-389 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabine Förderer ◽  
Christian Unkelbach
Keyword(s):  
Evaluative Conditioning ◽  
Indirect Measures ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Over Time

Evaluative conditioning (EC) refers to valence changes in neutral stimuli (CSs) through repeated pairing with liked or disliked stimuli (USs). The present study examined the stability of EC effects in the course of 1 week. We investigated how this stability depends on memory for US valence and US identity. We also investigated whether CSs evaluations occurring immediately after conditioning (i.e., evaluative consolidation) are necessary for stable EC effects. Participants showed stable EC effects on direct and indirect measures, independent of evaluations immediately after conditioning. EC effects depended on memory for US valence but not for US identity. And although memory decreased significantly over time, EC effects remained stable. These data suggest that evaluative consolidation is not necessary, and that conditioned preferences and attitudes might persist even when people do not remember the concrete source anymore.

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