Mathematics Skills and Executive Functions Following Preterm Birth: A Longitudinal Study of 5-to 7- Year Old Children

Early mathematics skills are an important predictor of later academic, economic and personal success. Children born preterm, about 10% of the US population, have an increased risk of deficits in mathematics. These deficits may be related to lower levels of executive functions and processing speed. We investigated the development of mathematics skills, working memory, inhibitory control and processing speed of healthy children born very preterm (between 25 and 32 weeks gestational age, n=51) and full-term (n=29). Children were tested annually from ages 5 to 7 years. We found persistent lower overall mathematics skills in the preterm group, driven by differences in more informal skills (e.g. counting) at earlier time points, and by differences in more formal skills (e.g. calculation) at later time points. We did not find significant differences between preterm and full-term born children in spatial working memory capacity or processing speed. However, these cognitive measures were significant predictors of mathematics skills in the preterm but not the full-term group, hinting towards the use of different strategies when solving problems.

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Processing Speed, Working Memory, and Executive Functions: Independent or inter-related predictors of general intelligence

10.31234/osf.io/axrqg ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Gidon T. Frischkorn ◽

Anna-Lena Schubert ◽

Dirk Hagemann

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Individual Differences ◽

Executive Functions ◽

Cognitive Processes ◽

Processing Speed ◽

Predictive Power ◽

Working Memory Capacity ◽

Order Processing ◽

Executive Processing ◽

Processing Demands

Both working memory capacity (WMC) and processing speed (PS) have been discussed as important covariates of individual differences in intelligence. Recent results indicated that especially latencies of ERP components associated with higher-order processing (P2, N2, and P3) may share up to 80% of variance with individual differences in intelligence. WMC has a similar predictive power and thus these two processes cannot explain individual differences in intelligence independently. The current study explores in how far individual differences in executive functions (EFs) may bridge the gap between WMC and PS as predictors of intelligence. We recruited 101 participants who completed three EF tasks – one for each of the three executive functions shifting, updating, and inhibition. Additionally, we assessed participants’ intelligence, WMC, and PS. Results showed that only variance of behavioral RTs consistent across manipulations in the EF tasks was related to WMC, PS, and intelligence. The variance specific to the manipulations in EF tasks was small and showed no consistent correlations with each other or with any of the three covariates. These results suggest that EF tasks capture mostly manipulation-unspecific cognitive processes. Hence, individual differences in the impairment due to additional executive processing demands cannot explain why WMC and PS are related predictors of individual differences in intelligence.

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The effect of spatial working memory capacity on ball flight perception

Journal of Human Sport and Exercise ◽

10.14198/jhse.2018.134.04 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 13 (4) ◽

Author(s):

Nicholas J. Kelling ◽

Gregory M. Corso

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Spatial Working Memory ◽

Working Memory Capacity ◽

Memory Capacity ◽

Ball Flight

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Brain Training Game Boosts Executive Functions, Working Memory and Processing Speed in the Young Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0055518 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. e55518 ◽

Cited By ~ 96

Author(s):

Rui Nouchi ◽

Yasuyuki Taki ◽

Hikaru Takeuchi ◽

Hiroshi Hashizume ◽

Takayuki Nozawa ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Randomized Controlled Trial ◽

Young Adults ◽

Executive Functions ◽

Processing Speed ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Brain Training ◽

Randomized Controlled

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Cognitive Effects of Perioperative Pregabalin

Anesthesiology ◽

10.1097/aln.0000000000002473 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 130 (1) ◽

pp. 63-71 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Marianne Myhre ◽

Henrik Børsting Jacobsen ◽

Stein Andersson ◽

Audun Stubhaug

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Visual Processing ◽

Rate Ratio ◽

Spatial Working Memory ◽

Donor Nephrectomy ◽

Stop Signal Task ◽

Controlled Study ◽

Psychomotor Speed ◽

Opioid Sparing ◽

Increased Risk

Abstract EDITOR’S PERSPECTIVE What We Already Know about This Topic Perioperative administration of pregabalin has been associated with decreased postoperative pain and opioid requirements What This Article Tells Us That Is New This secondary analysis of data demonstrating that perioperative administration of pregabalin was associated with a reduction in opioid requirements and incisional hyperalgesia suggests that these benefits may be compromised by an increased risk of developing impaired postoperative cognitive performance Background Pregabalin has shown opioid sparing and analgesic effects in the early postoperative period; however, perioperative effects on cognition have not been studied. A randomized, parallel group, placebo-controlled investigation in 80 donor nephrectomy patients was previously performed that evaluated the analgesic, opioid-sparing, and antihyperalgesic effects of pregabalin. This article describes a secondary exploratory analysis that tested the hypothesis that pregabalin would impair cognitive function compared to placebo. Methods Eighty patients scheduled for donor nephrectomy participated in this randomized, placebo-controlled study. Pregabalin (150 mg twice daily, n = 40) or placebo (n = 40) was administered on the day of surgery and the first postoperative day, in addition to a pain regimen consisting of opioids, steroids, local anesthetics, and acetaminophen. Specific cognitive tests measuring inhibition, sustained attention, psychomotor speed, visual memory, and strategy were performed at baseline, 24 h, and 3 to 5 days after surgery, using tests from the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery. Results In the spatial working memory within errors test, the number of errors increased with pregabalin compared to placebo 24 h after surgery; median (25th, 75th percentile) values were 1 (0, 6) versus 0 (0, 1; rate ratio [95% CI], 3.20 [1.55 to 6.62]; P = 0.002). Furthermore, pregabalin significantly increased the number of errors in the stop-signal task stop-go test compared with placebo; median (25th, 75th percentile) values were 3 (1, 6) versus 1 (0, 2; rate ratio, 2.14 [1.13 to 4.07]; P = 0.020). There were no significant differences between groups in the paired associated learning, reaction time, rapid visual processing, or spatial working memory strategy tests. Conclusions Perioperative pregabalin significantly negatively affected subdomains of executive functioning, including inhibition, and working memory compared to placebo, whereas psychomotor speed was not changed.

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B-52 Improvements in Cognitive Functioning in Inactive Professional Fighters

Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology ◽

10.1093/arclin/acz034.135 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 34 (6) ◽

pp. 998-998

Author(s):

L Bennett ◽

C Bernick ◽

W Ng

Keyword(s):

Reaction Time ◽

Cognitive Functioning ◽

Sample Size ◽

Cognitive Performance ◽

Processing Speed ◽

Verbal Memory ◽

Vital Signs ◽

Health Study ◽

Time Points ◽

Increased Risk

Abstract Objective Repetitive head injuries common in combat sports have been associated with increased risk for cognitive dysfunction. Interestingly, the Professional Fighter’s Brain Health Study (PFBHS) team has observed improvements in fighters’ cognitive performance following their transition to inactive fighting status. As this phenomenon was explored, it was hypothesized that fighters’ cognitive performance will initially improve following their discontinuation of fighting. Methods Longitudinal demographic, fighting history, and cognitive functioning data from 31 fighters who discontinued fighting during their participation in the PFBHS. Cognitive functioning was assessed via CNS Vital Signs and C3/iComet computerized batteries. Number of professional fights, as well as inactive fighting status, was determined using published professional online records. Fighters were considered inactive if they had gone two or more years without a professional match. Results Paired-samples t test was conducted to evaluate cognitive functioning in fighters at time 1 (actively fighting) and time 2 (inactive fighting status). When comparing cognitive function at across time points, performance on CNS Vital Signs measures of verbal memory, processing speed, psychomotor speed, and reaction time, as well as C3/iComet measures of set-shifting and complex reaction time, significantly improved at time 2 (all p’s < 0.05). Interestingly, performance did not improve across time points on a C3/iComet measure of processing speed (Trailmaking Test Part A). Conclusions Cognitive performance improved on most measures when fighters transitioned to inactive fighting status. Given the limited sample size, future analysis is necessary to evaluate the relationship between fighting status and cognitive performance in a larger sample size.

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Learning to suppress a distractor is not affected by working memory load

Psychonomic Bulletin & Review ◽

10.3758/s13423-019-01679-6 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 27 (1) ◽

pp. 96-104 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Ya Gao ◽

Jan Theeuwes

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

High Probability ◽

Spatial Working Memory ◽

Memory Load ◽

Working Memory Capacity ◽

Memory Task ◽

Automatic Process ◽

Long Term Memory ◽

Working Memory Load ◽

Statistical Regularities

AbstractWhere and what we attend to is not only determined by our current goals but also by what we have encountered in the past. Recent studies have shown that people learn to extract statistical regularities in the environment resulting in attentional suppression of high-probability distractor locations, effectively reducing capture by a distractor. Here, we asked whether this statistical learning is dependent on working memory resources. The additional singleton task in which one location was more likely to contain a distractor was combined with a concurrent visual working memory task (Experiment 1) and a spatial working memory task (Experiment 2). The result showed that learning to suppress this high-probability location was not at all affected by working memory load. We conclude that learning to suppress a location is an implicit and automatic process that does not rely on visual or spatial working memory capacity, nor on executive control resources. We speculate that extracting regularities from the environment likely relies on long-term memory processes.

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Association of Sleep Quality on Memory-Related Executive Functions in Middle Age

Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society ◽

10.1017/s1355617717000637 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 24 (1) ◽

pp. 67-76 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Brinda K. Rana ◽

Matthew S. Panizzon ◽

Carol E. Franz ◽

Kelly M. Spoon ◽

Kristen C. Jacobson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Executive Function ◽

Episodic Memory ◽

Sleep Quality ◽

Executive Functions ◽

Later Life ◽

Set Shifting ◽

Interference Control ◽

Visual Spatial ◽

Increased Risk

AbstractObjectives: Sleep quality affects memory and executive function in older adults, but little is known about its effects in midlife. If it affects cognition in midlife, it may be a modifiable factor for later-life functioning. Methods: We examined the association between sleep quality and cognition in 1220 middle-aged male twins (age 51–60 years) from the Vietnam Era Twin Study of Aging. We interviewed participants with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and tested them for episodic memory as well as executive functions of inhibitory and interference control, updating in working memory, and set shifting. Interference control was assessed during episodic memory, inhibitory control during working memory, and non-memory conditions and set shifting during working memory and non-memory conditions. Results: After adjusting for covariates and correcting for multiple comparisons, sleep quality was positively associated with updating in working memory, set shifting in the context of working memory, and better visual-spatial (but not verbal) episodic memory, and at trend level, with interference control in the context of episodic memory. Conclusions: Sleep quality was associated with visual-spatial recall and possible resistance to proactive/retroactive interference. It was also associated with updating in working memory and with set shifting, but only when working memory demands were relatively high. Thus, effects of sleep quality on midlife cognition appear to be at the intersection of executive function and memory processes. Subtle deficits in these age-susceptible cognitive functions may indicate increased risk for decline in cognitive abilities later in life that might be reduced by improved midlife sleep quality. (JINS, 2018, 24, 67–76)

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