scholarly journals Short term memory in aphasia: effects of modality and relationship with Western Aphasia Battery-R performance

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasmeen Faroqi-Shah ◽  
Caitlin Shi ◽  
Rebecca Goodridge
Keyword(s):  
Test Performance ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Standardized Test ◽  
Strong Association ◽  
Language Performance ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Response Modality ◽  
Left Hemisphere Stroke

This study investigated three questions about short term memory (STM) performance in post-stroke aphasia. The first question was whether visual STM is impaired in persons with aphasia (PWA) given that a common neural network subserves encoding-recall of both verbal and visual STM. The second question was whether the response modality (verbal vs pointing) impacts STM span measures. The third focus was the relationship between STM and language performance, specifically on a commonly used standardized test battery, the Western Aphasia Battery-Revised (WAB-R). Data from 45 persons whose aphasia resulted from a single left hemisphere stroke were examined at the group and individual level. PWA scored lower than neurotypical controls on verbal but not visual STM tasks. Verbal STM impairments were found in about one-half of PWA. Dissociations among the three verbal STM tasks are found in one-third of PWA. There was a strong association between language performance on the WAB-R, including overall severity and individual test performance, and verbal STM (except for yes/no questions). These findings support an interplay between STM and language such that STM maintains relevant linguistic representations long enough for successful comprehension and production of language.

The Link Between Verbal Short-Term Memory and Anomia Treatment Gains

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 1039-1052
Author(s):  
Reva M. Zimmerman ◽  
JoAnn P. Silkes ◽  
Diane L. Kendall ◽  
Irene Minkina
Keyword(s):  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Treatment Success ◽  
Linear Regression Models ◽  
Language Performance ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Treatment Gains ◽  
Post Hoc

Purpose A significant relationship between verbal short-term memory (STM) and language performance in people with aphasia has been found across studies. However, very few studies have examined the predictive value of verbal STM in treatment outcomes. This study aims to determine if verbal STM can be used as a predictor of treatment success. Method Retrospective data from 25 people with aphasia in a larger randomized controlled trial of phonomotor treatment were analyzed. Digit and word spans from immediately pretreatment were run in multiple linear regression models to determine whether they predict magnitude of change from pre- to posttreatment and follow-up naming accuracy. Pretreatment, immediately posttreatment, and 3 months posttreatment digit and word span scores were compared to determine if they changed following a novel treatment approach. Results Verbal STM, as measured by digit and word spans, did not predict magnitude of change in naming accuracy from pre- to posttreatment nor from pretreatment to 3 months posttreatment. Furthermore, digit and word spans did not change from pre- to posttreatment or from pretreatment to 3 months posttreatment in the overall analysis. A post hoc analysis revealed that only the less impaired group showed significant changes in word span scores from pretreatment to 3 months posttreatment. Discussion The results suggest that digit and word spans do not predict treatment gains. In a less severe subsample of participants, digit and word span scores can change following phonomotor treatment; however, the overall results suggest that span scores may not change significantly. The implications of these findings are discussed within the broader purview of theoretical and empirical associations between aphasic language and verbal STM processing.

scholarly journals The Melody of Speech: What the Melodic Perception of Speech Reveals about Language Performance and Musical Abilities

Languages ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 132
Author(s):  
Markus Christiner ◽  
Christine Gross ◽  
Annemarie Seither-Preisler ◽  
Peter Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Foreign Languages ◽  
Language Performance ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Natural Languages ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Musical Aptitude ◽  
Language Research ◽  
Acquisition Processes ◽  
Singing Ability

Research has shown that melody not only plays a crucial role in music but also in language acquisition processes. Evidence has been provided that melody helps in retrieving, remembering, and memorizing new language material, while relatively little is known about whether individuals who perceive speech as more melodic than others also benefit in the acquisition of oral languages. In this investigation, we wanted to show which impact the subjective melodic perception of speech has on the pronunciation of unfamiliar foreign languages. We tested 86 participants for how melodic they perceived five unfamiliar languages, for their ability to repeat and pronounce the respective five languages, for their musical abilities, and for their short-term memory (STM). The results revealed that 59 percent of the variance in the language pronunciation tasks could be explained by five predictors: the number of foreign languages spoken, short-term memory capacity, tonal aptitude, melodic singing ability, and how melodic the languages appeared to the participants. Group comparisons showed that individuals who perceived languages as more melodic performed significantly better in all language tasks than those who did not. However, even though we expected musical measures to be related to the melodic perception of foreign languages, we could only detect some correlations to rhythmical and tonal musical aptitude. Overall, the findings of this investigation add a new dimension to language research, which shows that individuals who perceive natural languages to be more melodic than others also retrieve and pronounce utterances more accurately.

Standardized and tailor-made tests probe different factors influencing the acquisition of second language vocabulary by children

2019 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Marecka ◽  
Agnieszka Otwinowska ◽  
Anna Jelec
Keyword(s):  
Phonological Awareness ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Standardized Test ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Vocabulary Size ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Vocabulary Assessment ◽  
L2 Vocabulary ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractStudies investigating the relationship between phonological short term memory, phonological awareness and vocabulary in L2 child learners yield mixed results. Those differences may be caused by the vocabulary assessment tools used in research. Tailor-made vocabulary tests based on the input the L2 learners receive may deliver different results than standardized tests based on L1 norms. To investigate this assumption, we examined the effect of phonological short-term memory and phonological awareness on L2 vocabulary size in child learners using a standardized and a tailor-made test based on L2 participants’ textbooks. The results of both tests were correlated, indicating that they measured the same construct. Results of both tests were influenced by children’s English phonological awareness scores, but while the Standardized Test was related to phonological short-term memory scores, the Textbook Test was related to nonverbal IQ. We suggest that standardised and tailor-made tests tap into two different modes of vocabulary acquisition.

Arithmetic Calculation, Short-Term Memory, and Language Performance in Children With Specific Language Impairment

1999 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 420-431 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara B. Fazio
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Language Impairment ◽  
Specific Language Impairment ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Language Performance ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
Low Income Children

A 5-year follow-up of the arithmetic calculation abilities of low-income children with specific language impairment (SLI) is reported. The performance of fourth- and fifth-grade children with SLI was compared with that of typically developing low-income peers and with younger, typically developing low-income children. Short-term memory, language, and arithmetic calculation abilities were assessed. Compared to their age-matched peers, the SLI group exhibited low scores on a number recall task, a marked difficulty with mathematical calculation under timed conditions, and numerous errors when retrieving rote math facts such as 7 x 6=_. Although children with SLI made more written calculation errors than their age-matched peers, they did not differ in the type of errors made. However, strategies used to solve written calculation differed among the groups. Rather than use automatic math fact retrieval, children with SLI were more likely to use counting strategies to solve calculation problems. These findings offer further evidence that children with SLI have difficulty with rote memory. The findings also document the real-world consequences of slow, inefficient memory retrieval in children with SLI.

scholarly journals Trouble is Brewing: Exploring the Relationship Between Time of Coffee Consumption and Short-Term Memory Performance

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rayanna Shwom ◽  
Alycia Breig
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Test Performance ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Time Of Day ◽  
Memory Test ◽  
Personal Factors ◽  
Short Term ◽  
School Students ◽  
Term Memory

Many high school students drink coffee either in the morning before a test to feel more awake or the night before a test so they can stay up later to study. However, it is unclear if it is more beneficial to a student’s memory, and therefore test performance, to drink coffee at night or in the morning. A case study experiment was performed in which six participants underwent two trials. In each trial, participants consumed coffee at varying times before taking a short-term memory test the following morning. Based on these test scores, the time at which coffee had the most beneficial effect on memory test performance was determined for each participant. It was found that the time of day that caffeine is consumed affects each high school student’s short-term memories differently based on personal factors, such as caffeine sensitivity. Although limited, these findings add to the field of research and have practical implications in terms of test performance for high school students.

Conceptual short-term memory (CSTM) supports core claims of Christiansen and Chater

2016 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary C. Potter
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Rapid Serial Visual Presentation ◽  
Language Comprehension ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Visual Presentation ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Use Of Knowledge

AbstractRapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) of words or pictured scenes provides evidence for a large-capacity conceptual short-term memory (CSTM) that momentarily provides rich associated material from long-term memory, permitting rapid chunking (Potter 1993; 2009; 2012). In perception of scenes as well as language comprehension, we make use of knowledge that briefly exceeds the supposed limits of working memory.

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

Comparison of Auditory, Language, Memory, and Attention Abilities in Children With and Without Listening Difficulties

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 710-727
Author(s):  
Beula M. Magimairaj ◽  
Naveen K. Nagaraj ◽  
Alexander V. Sergeev ◽  
Natalie J. Benafield
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Processing ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Group Differences ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Significant Group ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Memory And Attention ◽  
Speed And Accuracy

Objectives School-age children with and without parent-reported listening difficulties (LiD) were compared on auditory processing, language, memory, and attention abilities. The objective was to extend what is known so far in the literature about children with LiD by using multiple measures and selective novel measures across the above areas. Design Twenty-six children who were reported by their parents as having LiD and 26 age-matched typically developing children completed clinical tests of auditory processing and multiple measures of language, attention, and memory. All children had normal-range pure-tone hearing thresholds bilaterally. Group differences were examined. Results In addition to significantly poorer speech-perception-in-noise scores, children with LiD had reduced speed and accuracy of word retrieval from long-term memory, poorer short-term memory, sentence recall, and inferencing ability. Statistically significant group differences were of moderate effect size; however, standard test scores of children with LiD were not clinically poor. No statistically significant group differences were observed in attention, working memory capacity, vocabulary, and nonverbal IQ. Conclusions Mild signal-to-noise ratio loss, as reflected by the group mean of children with LiD, supported the children's functional listening problems. In addition, children's relative weakness in select areas of language performance, short-term memory, and long-term memory lexical retrieval speed and accuracy added to previous research on evidence-based areas that need to be evaluated in children with LiD who almost always have heterogenous profiles. Importantly, the functional difficulties faced by children with LiD in relation to their test results indicated, to some extent, that commonly used assessments may not be adequately capturing the children's listening challenges. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.12808607

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