scholarly journals Multisensory gains in simple detection predict global cognition in schoolchildren

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Solange Denervaud ◽  
Edouard Gentaz ◽  
Pawel J Matusz ◽  
Micah M. Murray
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Development ◽  
Recognition Memory ◽  
Fluid Intelligence ◽  
Multisensory Processing ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
Detection Task ◽  
Simple Detection ◽  
Global Cognition ◽  
Multisensory Processes

The capacity to integrate information from different senses is central for coherent perception across the lifespan from infancy onwards. Later in life, multisensory processes are related to cognitive functions, such as speech or social communication. During learning, multisensory processes can in fact enhance subsequent recognition memory for unisensory objects. These benefits can even be predicted; adults’ recognition memory performance is shaped by earlier responses in the same task to multisensory – but not unisensory – information. Everyday environments where learning occurs, such as classrooms, are inherently multisensory in nature. Multisensory processes may therefore scaffold healthy cognitive development. Here, we provide the first evidence of a predictive relationship between multisensory benefits in simple detection and higher-level cognition that is present already in schoolchildren. Multiple regression analyses indicated that the extent to which a child (N=68; aged 4.5 –15years) exhibited multisensory benefits on a simple detection task not only predicted benefits on a continuous recognition task involving naturalistic objects (p=0.009), even when controlling for age. The same relative multisensory benefit also predicted working memory scores (p=0.023) and fluid intelligence scores (p=0.033) as measured using age-standardised test batteries. By contrast, gains in unisensory detection did not show significant prediction of any of the above global cognition measures. Our findings show that low-level multisensory processes predict higher-order memory and cognition already during childhood, even if still subject to ongoing maturation. These results call for revision of traditional models of cognitive development (and likely also education) to account for the role of multisensory processing, while also opening exciting opportunities to facilitate early learning through multisensory programs. More generally, these data suggest that a simple detection task could provide direct insights into the integrity of global cognition in schoolchildren and could be further developed as a readily-implemented and cost-effective screening tool for neurodevelopmental disorders, particularly in cases when standard neuropsychological tests are infeasible or unavailable.

scholarly journals Acute effects of naturalistic THC vs. CBD use on recognition memory: a preliminary study

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim Curran ◽  
Hélène Devillez ◽  
Sophie L. YorkWilliams ◽  
L. Cinnamon Bidwell
Keyword(s):  
Recognition Memory ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
Blood Levels ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Acute Effects ◽  
Blood Draw ◽  
Memory Impairments ◽  
Verbal Recognition ◽  
Memory Accuracy

Abstract The ratio of ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) to cannabidiol (CBD) varies widely across cannabis strains. CBD has opposite effects to THC on a variety of cognitive functions, including acute THC-induced memory impairments. However, additional data are needed, especially under naturalistic conditions with higher potency forms of cannabis, commonly available in legal markets. The goal of this study was to collect preliminary data on the acute effects of different THC:CBD ratios on memory testing in a brief verbal recognition task under naturalistic conditions, using legal-market Colorado dispensary products. Thirty-two regular cannabis users consumed cannabis of differing THC and CBD levels purchased from a dispensary and were assessed via blood draw and a verbal recognition memory test both before (pretest) and after (posttest) ad libitum home administration in a mobile laboratory. Memory accuracy decreased as post-use THC blood levels increased (n = 29), whereas performance showed no relationship to CBD blood levels. When controlling for post-use THC blood levels as a covariate, participants using primarily THC-based strains showed significantly worse memory accuracy post-use, whereas subjects using strains containing both THC and CBD showed no differences between pre- and post-use memory performance. Using a brief and sensitive verbal recognition task, our study demonstrated that naturalistic, acute THC use impairs memory in a dose dependent manner, whereas the combination of CBD and THC was not associated with impairment.

scholarly journals Modulation of recognition memory performance by light requires both melanopsin and classical photoreceptors

2016 ◽  
Vol 283 (1845) ◽  
pp. 20162275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shu K. E. Tam ◽  
Sibah Hasan ◽  
Steven Hughes ◽  
Mark W. Hankins ◽  
Russell G. Foster ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Object Recognition ◽  
Recognition Memory ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Light Exposure ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
Bright Light ◽  
Brain Network ◽  
Network Activity ◽  
Effect Of Light

Acute light exposure exerts various effects on physiology and behaviour. Although the effects of light on brain network activity in humans are well demonstrated, the effects of light on cognitive performance are inconclusive, with the size, as well as direction, of the effect depending on the nature of the task. Similarly, in nocturnal rodents, bright light can either facilitate or disrupt performance depending on the type of task employed. Crucially, it is unclear whether the effects of light on behavioural performance are mediated via the classical image-forming rods and cones or the melanopsin-expressing photosensitive retinal ganglion cells. Here, we investigate the modulatory effects of light on memory performance in mice using the spontaneous object recognition task. Importantly, we examine which photoreceptors are required to mediate the effects of light on memory performance. By using a cross-over design, we show that object recognition memory is disrupted when the test phase is conducted under a bright light (350 lux), regardless of the light level in the sample phase (10 or 350 lux), demonstrating that exposure to a bright light at the time of test, rather than at the time of encoding, impairs performance. Strikingly, the modulatory effect of light on memory performance is completely abolished in both melanopsin-deficient and rodless–coneless mice. Our findings provide direct evidence that melanopsin-driven and rod/cone-driven photoresponses are integrated in order to mediate the effect of light on memory performance.

Use It and Still Lose It?

GeroPsych ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 169-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian Schwaninger ◽  
Diana Hardmeier ◽  
Judith Riegelnig ◽  
Mike Martin
Keyword(s):  
Object Recognition ◽  
Cognitive Development ◽  
Recognition Test ◽  
Cognitive Aging ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
Airport Security ◽  
Visual Object ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Object Recognition Test ◽  
X Ray

In recent years, research on cognitive aging increasingly has focused on the cognitive development across middle adulthood. However, little is still known about the long-term effects of intensive job-specific training of fluid intellectual abilities. In this study we examined the effects of age- and job-specific practice of cognitive abilities on detection performance in airport security x-ray screening. In Experiment 1 (N = 308; 24–65 years), we examined performance in the X-ray Object Recognition Test (ORT), a speeded visual object recognition task in which participants have to find dangerous items in x-ray images of passenger bags; and in Experiment 2 (N = 155; 20–61 years) in an on-the-job object recognition test frequently used in baggage screening. Results from both experiments show high performance in older adults and significant negative age correlations that cannot be overcome by more years of job-specific experience. We discuss the implications of our findings for theories of lifespan cognitive development and training concepts.

Learning From (Test) Experience

2020 ◽  
Vol 228 (4) ◽  
pp. 264-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evan E. Mitton ◽  
Chris M. Fiacconi
Keyword(s):  
Recognition Memory ◽  
Test Performance ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Judgments Of Learning ◽  
Visual Images ◽  
Memory Tests ◽  
Recognition Memory Performance ◽  
Study Test ◽  
Explicit Feedback

Abstract. To date there has been relatively little research within the domain of metamemory that examines how individuals monitor their performance during memory tests, and whether the outcome of such monitoring informs subsequent memory predictions for novel items. In the current study, we sought to determine whether spontaneous monitoring of test performance can in fact help individuals better appreciate their memory abilities, and in turn shape future judgments of learning (JOLs). Specifically, in two experiments we examined recognition memory for visual images across three study-test cycles, each of which contained novel images. We found that across cycles, participants’ JOLs did in fact increase, reflecting metacognitive sensitivity to near-perfect levels of recognition memory performance. This finding suggests that individuals can and do monitor their test performance in the absence of explicit feedback, and further underscores the important role that test experience can play in shaping metacognitive evaluations of learning and remembering.

scholarly journals Stability and flexibility in multisensory sampling: insights from perceptual illusions

2019 ◽  
Vol 121 (5) ◽  
pp. 1588-1590 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luca Casartelli
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Multisensory Processing ◽  
General Idea ◽  
Perceptual Illusions ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Multisensory Processes

Neural, oscillatory, and computational counterparts of multisensory processing remain a crucial challenge for neuroscientists. Converging evidence underlines a certain efficiency in balancing stability and flexibility of sensory sampling, supporting the general idea that multiple parallel and hierarchically organized processing stages in the brain contribute to our understanding of the (sensory/perceptual) world. Intriguingly, how temporal dynamics impact and modulate multisensory processes in our brain can be investigated benefiting from studies on perceptual illusions.

scholarly journals Effects of transcranial direct current stimulation combined with listening to preferred music on memory in older adults

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ricky Chow ◽  
Alix Noly-Gandon ◽  
Aline Moussard ◽  
Jennifer D. Ryan ◽  
Claude Alain
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Recognition Memory ◽  
Direct Current ◽  
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation ◽  
Digit Span ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
Music Listening ◽  
Subsequent Performance ◽  
Direct Current Stimulation

AbstractListening to autobiographically-salient music (i.e., music evoking personal memories from the past), and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) have each been suggested to temporarily improve older adults’ subsequent performance on memory tasks. Limited research has investigated the effects of combining both tDCS and music listening together on cognition. The present study examined whether anodal tDCS stimulation over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (2 mA, 20 min) with concurrent listening to autobiographically-salient music amplified subsequent changes in working memory and recognition memory in older adults than either tDCS or music listening alone. In a randomized sham-controlled crossover study, 14 healthy older adults (64–81 years) participated in three neurostimulation conditions: tDCS with music listening (tDCS + Music), tDCS in silence (tDCS-only), or sham-tDCS with music listening (Sham + Music), each separated by at least a week. Working memory was assessed pre- and post-stimulation using a digit span task, and recognition memory was assessed post-stimulation using an auditory word recognition task (WRT) during which electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded. Performance on the backwards digit span showed improvement in tDCS + Music, but not in tDCS-only or Sham + Music conditions. Although no differences in behavioural performance were observed in the auditory WRT, changes in neural correlates underlying recognition memory were observed following tDCS + Music compared to Sham + Music. Findings suggest listening to autobiographically-salient music may amplify the effects of tDCS for working memory, and highlight the potential utility of neurostimulation combined with personalized music to improve cognitive performance in the aging population.

scholarly journals Lighting for pedestrians: Does multi-tasking affect the performance of typical pedestrian tasks?

2021 ◽  
pp. 147715352110026
Author(s):  
Y Mao ◽  
S Fotios
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Recognition ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
Obstacle Detection ◽  
Detection Task ◽  
Facial Emotion Recognition ◽  
Facial Emotion ◽  
Impaired Performance ◽  
Lighting Conditions ◽  
Multiple Tasks ◽  
Visual Tasks

Obstacle detection and facial emotion recognition are two critical visual tasks for pedestrians. In previous studies, the effect of changes in lighting was tested for these as individual tasks, where the task to be performed next in a sequence was known. In natural situations, a pedestrian is required to attend to multiple tasks, perhaps simultaneously, or at least does not know which of several possible tasks would next require their attention. This multi-tasking might impair performance on any one task and affect evaluation of optimal lighting conditions. In two experiments, obstacle detection and facial emotion recognition tasks were performed in parallel under different illuminances. Comparison of these results with previous studies, where these same tasks were performed individually, suggests that multi-tasking impaired performance on the peripheral detection task but not the on-axis facial emotion recognition task.

scholarly journals Multilab Direct Replication of Flavell, Beach, and Chinsky (1966): Spontaneous Verbal Rehearsal in a Memory Task as a Function of Age

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 251524592110181
Author(s):  
Emily M. Elliott ◽  
Candice C. Morey ◽  
Angela M. AuBuchon ◽  
Nelson Cowan ◽  
Chris Jarrold ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Development ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Older Children ◽  
Continuous Increase ◽  
Verbal Rehearsal ◽  
Picture Memory ◽  
Spontaneous Production

Work by Flavell, Beach, and Chinsky indicated a change in the spontaneous production of overt verbalization behaviors when comparing young children (age 5) with older children (age 10). Despite the critical role that this evidence of a change in verbalization behaviors plays in modern theories of cognitive development and working memory, there has been only one other published near replication of this work. In this Registered Replication Report, we relied on researchers from 17 labs who contributed their results to a larger and more comprehensive sample of children. We assessed memory performance and the presence or absence of verbalization behaviors of young children at different ages and determined that the original pattern of findings was largely upheld: Older children were more likely to verbalize, and their memory spans improved. We confirmed that 5- and 6-year-old children who verbalized recalled more than children who did not verbalize. However, unlike Flavell et al., substantial proportions of our 5- and 6-year-old samples overtly verbalized at least sometimes during the picture memory task. In addition, continuous increase in overt verbalization from 7 to 10 years old was not consistently evident in our samples. These robust findings should be weighed when considering theories of cognitive development, particularly theories concerning when verbal rehearsal emerges and relations between speech and memory.

EXPRESS: Bored, distracted and forgetful – The impact of mind wandering and boredom on memory encoding

2021 ◽  
pp. 174702182110263
Author(s):  
Philippe Blondé ◽  
Marco Sperduti ◽  
Dominique Makowski ◽  
Pascale Piolino
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Memory Load ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Load Condition ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
Mind Wandering ◽  
Memory Encoding ◽  
Working Memory Load ◽  
Thought Probes ◽  
The Impact

Mind wandering, defined as focusing attention toward task unrelated thoughts, is a common mental state known to impair memory encoding. This phenomenon is closely linked to boredom. Very few studies, however, have tested the potential impact of boredom on memory encoding. Thus, the present study aimed at manipulating mind wandering and boredom during an incidental memory encoding task, to test their differential impact on memory encoding. Thirty-two participants performed a variant of the n-back task in which they had to indicate if the current on-screen object was the same as the previous one (1-back; low working memory load) or the one presented three trials before (3-back; high working memory load). Moreover, thought probes assessing either mind wandering or boredom were randomly presented. Afterward, a surprise recognition task was delivered. Results showed that mind wandering and boredom were highly correlated, and both decreased in the high working memory load condition, while memory performance increased. Although both boredom and mind wandering predicted memory performance taken separately, we found that mind wandering was the only reliable predictor of memory performance when controlling for boredom and working memory load. Model comparisons also revealed that a model with boredom only was outperformed by a model with mind wandering only and a model with both mind wandering and boredom, suggesting that the predictive contribution of boredom in the complete model is minimal. The present results confirm the high correlation between mind wandering and boredom and suggest that the hindering effect of boredom on memory is subordinate to the effect of mind wandering.

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