scholarly journals Exploring word memorability: How well do different word properties explain item free-recall probability?

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher R Madan
Keyword(s):  
Free Recall ◽  
Verbal Memory ◽  
Recall Performance ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Lexical Semantic ◽  
Retrieval Study ◽  
Recall Data ◽  
Recall Probability ◽  
And Function ◽  
Affective Dimensions

What makes some words more memorable than others? Words can vary in many dimensions, and a variety of lexical, semantic, and affective properties have previously been associated with variability in recall performance. Free recall data were used from 147 participants across 20 experimental sessions from the Penn Electrophysiology of Encoding and Retrieval Study (PEERS) data set, across 1,638 words. Here, I consider how well 20 different word properties—across lexical, semantic, and affective dimensions—relate to free recall. Semantic dimensions, particularly animacy (better memory for living), usefulness (with respect to survival; better memory for useful), and size (better memory for larger) demonstrated the strongest relationships with recall probability. These key results were then examined and replicated in the free recall data from Lau, Goh, and Yap (Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 71, 2207–2222, 2018), which had 532 words and 116 participants. This comprehensive investigation of a variety of word memorability demonstrates that semantic and function-related psycholinguistic properties play an important role in verbal memory processes.

scholarly journals Exploring word memorability: How well do different word properties explain item free-recall probability?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher R. Madan
Keyword(s):  
Free Recall ◽  
Verbal Memory ◽  
Recall Performance ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Lexical Semantic ◽  
Retrieval Study ◽  
Recall Data ◽  
Recall Probability ◽  
And Function ◽  
Affective Dimensions

Abstract What makes some words more memorable than others? Words can vary in many dimensions, and a variety of lexical, semantic, and affective properties have previously been associated with variability in recall performance. Free recall data were used from 147 participants across 20 experimental sessions from the Penn Electrophysiology of Encoding and Retrieval Study (PEERS) data set, across 1,638 words. Here, I consider how well 20 different word properties—across lexical, semantic, and affective dimensions—relate to free recall. Semantic dimensions, particularly animacy (better memory for living), usefulness (with respect to survival; better memory for useful), and size (better memory for larger) demonstrated the strongest relationships with recall probability. These key results were then examined and replicated in the free recall data from Lau, Goh, and Yap (Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 71, 2207–2222, 2018), which had 532 words and 116 participants. This comprehensive investigation of a variety of word memorability demonstrates that semantic and function-related psycholinguistic properties play an important role in verbal memory processes.

Hippocampal sharp-wave ripples linked to visual episodic recollection in humans

Science ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 365 (6454) ◽  
pp. eaax1030 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yitzhak Norman ◽  
Erin M. Yeagle ◽  
Simon Khuvis ◽  
Michal Harel ◽  
Ashesh D. Mehta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Free Recall ◽  
Recall Performance ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Cognitive Content ◽  
Activation Patterns ◽  
Sharp Wave ◽  
And Function ◽  
Cortical Representations ◽  
Selective Increase ◽  
Intracranial Recordings

Hippocampal sharp-wave ripples (SWRs) constitute one of the most synchronized activation events in the brain and play a critical role in offline memory consolidation. Yet their cognitive content and function during awake, conscious behavior remains unclear. We directly examined this question using intracranial recordings in human patients engaged in episodic free recall of previously viewed photographs. Our results reveal a content-selective increase in hippocampal ripple rate emerging 1 to 2 seconds prior to recall events. During recollection, high-order visual areas showed pronounced SWR-coupled reemergence of activation patterns associated with recalled content. Finally, the SWR rate during encoding predicted subsequent free-recall performance. These results point to a role for hippocampal SWRs in triggering spontaneous recollections and orchestrating the reinstatement of cortical representations during free episodic memory retrieval.

Limitations to the Spacing Effect

2005 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 257-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter P. J. L. Verkoeijen ◽  
Remy M. J. P. Rikers ◽  
Henk G. Schmidt
Keyword(s):  
Free Recall ◽  
Phase Retrieval ◽  
Incidental Learning ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Recall Performance ◽  
Spacing Effect ◽  
Word List ◽  
Intentional Learning ◽  
Study Phase ◽  
Learning Condition

Abstract. The spacing effect refers to the finding that memory for repeated items improves when the interrepetition interval increases. To explain the spacing effect in free-recall tasks, a two-factor model has been put forward that combines mechanisms of contextual variability and study-phase retrieval (e.g., Raaijmakers, 2003 ; Verkoeijen, Rikers, & Schmidt, 2004 ). An important, yet untested, implication of this model is that free recall of repetitions should follow an inverted u-shaped relationship with interrepetition spacing. To demonstrate the suggested relationship an experiment was conducted. Participants studied a word list, consisting of items repeated at different interrepetition intervals, either under incidental or under intentional learning instructions. Subsequently, participants received a free-recall test. The results revealed an inverted u-shaped relationship between free recall and interrepetition spacing in both the incidental-learning condition and the intentional-learning condition. Moreover, for intentionally learned repetitions, the maximum free-recall performance was located at a longer interrepetition interval than for incidentally learned repetitions. These findings are interpreted in terms of the two-factor model of spacing effects in free-recall tasks.

Articulatory Rehearsal Is More Than Refreshing Memory Traces

2013 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryoji Nishiyama ◽  
Jun Ukita
Keyword(s):  
Free Recall ◽  
Recall Performance ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Verbal Information ◽  
Free Recall Task ◽  
Study Item ◽  
Phonological Representations ◽  
Memory Traces ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Serial Position Curves

This study examined whether additional articulatory rehearsal induced temporary durability of phonological representations, using a 10-s delayed nonword free recall task. Three experiments demonstrated that cumulative rehearsal between the offset of the last study item and the start of the filled delay (Experiments 1 and 3) and a fixed rehearsal of the immediate item during the subsequent interstimulus interval (Experiments 2 and 3) improved free recall performance. These results suggest that an additional rehearsal helps to stabilize phonological representations for a short period. Furthermore, the analyses of serial position curves suggested that the frequency of the articulation affected the durability of the phonological representation. The significance of these findings as clues of the mechanism maintaining verbal information (i.e., verbal working memory) is discussed.

scholarly journals AGE OF MUSIC ACQUISITION IMPACTS MEMORY FUNCTIONING IN OLDER ADULT MUSICIANS

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S651-S651
Author(s):  
Jessica V Strong ◽  
William Milberg ◽  
Regina McGlinchey ◽  
Elizabeth Leritz
Keyword(s):  
Free Recall ◽  
Older Adult ◽  
Verbal Memory ◽  
Cognitive Aging ◽  
Musical Training ◽  
Verbal Learning ◽  
Age Of Acquisition ◽  
Sensitive Period ◽  
Short Delay ◽  
Music Acquisition

Abstract Music playing is an involved activity, activating many areas of the brain and relying on integration of multiple cognitive processes simultaneously. Older adult musicians have been found to experience some cognitive benefits compared to non-musicians, seemingly related to their musical training. However, we still do not understand what factors of musical training may be driving these differences. The current study sought to isolate age of acquisition from “dose” of playing (i.e., amount of time spent playing) to explore music learning as a skill acquired during a sensitive period. Participants (n=48) were middle aged and older adults who self-reported on musical experiences, demographics, and underwent extensive neuropsychological assessment of all major domains. The sample was divided into Early Age of Acquisition (≤9 years old), Late Age of Acquisition (>9), and Non-Musicians. Results showed that musicians who began formal training at the age of 9 or younger, had significantly higher scores on tests of verbal memory (California Verbal Learning Test – II: Immediate Recall – p = 0.04, partial η2 = 0.14, Short-Delay Free Recall - p = 0.03, partial η2 = 0.16, Long-Delay Free Recall - p = 0.03, partial η2 = 0.15). Results are discussed in the context of a sensitive period for acquiring musical education, and implications of these results on cognitive aging.

MICRO-DYNAMIC ASSOCIATED WITH TWO-STATE NONLINEAR MARKOV PROCESSES: WITH AN APPLICATION TO FREE RECALL

2011 ◽  
Vol 10 (01) ◽  
pp. 41-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. D. FRANK ◽  
T. RHODES
Keyword(s):  
Free Recall ◽  
Markov Processes ◽  
Dynamic Models ◽  
Mean Field ◽  
Variational Calculus ◽  
State Model ◽  
Recall Data ◽  
Nonlinear Markov Processes ◽  
Many Body Systems ◽  
Two State Model

We examine the relationship between time-discrete nonlinear Markov processes defined in terms of nonlinear Markov chains and corresponding micro-dynamic models describing many-body systems composed of a finite number of units interacting with each other via a mean field. To this end, we consider a two-state model and examine appropriately defined measures for attractor strength and noise amplitude using variational calculus. We focus on a two-state model and demonstrate an application to free recall data from 8 participants.

Medications and verbal memory impairment in schizophrenia: the role of anticholinergic drugs

2004 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 369-374 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. BRÉBION ◽  
R. A. BRESSAN ◽  
X. AMADOR ◽  
D. MALASPINA ◽  
J. M. GORMAN
Keyword(s):  
Free Recall ◽  
Antipsychotic Medication ◽  
Verbal Memory ◽  
Memory Impairment ◽  
Negative Symptoms ◽  
Memory Span ◽  
Anticholinergic Medication ◽  
Anticholinergic Drugs ◽  
Anticholinergic Activity ◽  
Semantic Organization

Background. We wished to assess the effect of three types of medication on verbal memory impairments in schizophrenia.Method. Forty-eight patients with schizophrenia and 40 healthy control subjects underwent a battery of verbal memory tasks, including free recall, recognition and short-term memory span. All the patients were on antipsychotic medication. In addition, 24 were taking anticholinergic drugs (benztropine) and 30 were taking benzodiazepines. A subsample of 39 had clinical ratings for depressive symptoms. Regression analyses were conducted on the memory measures in this subsample, with negative symptoms, depression, type of antipsychotic medication (conventional v. atypical), benzodiazepines and anticholinergic drugs as predictors.Results. Type of antipsychotic medication made no significant contribution to memory deficits and benzodiazepine use made very little contribution. However, anticholinergic medication was a predictor of memory impairment, especially with regard to semantic organization. Complementary analyses revealed that patients taking any type of drug with anticholinergic activity (benztropine and/or antipsychotic agents) were significantly impaired relative to the other patients on measures reflecting free recall efficiency and semantic organization.Conclusions. Drugs with anticholinergic activity are the major pharmacological agents that contribute to the verbal memory deficit observed in patients with schizophrenia. These drugs appear to act by impeding semantic organization at encoding.

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