Functional MRI Study of Gender Effects in Brain Activations During Verbal Working Memory Task

Neuroimaging methods have been used to study differences of brain function between males and females. Differences in working memory have been also investigated, but results of such studies are mixed with respect to behavioral data, reaction times and activated brain areas. We tried to analyze functional MRI data acquired during the working memory task and search for differences of brain activation between genders. 20 healthy right-handed volunteers (10 males and 10 females) participated in the study. All of them were university students or fresh graduates. Subjects underwent block designed verbal working memory task (Item Recognition Task) inside the MRI scanner. Standard single-subject pre-processing and group fMRI analyses were performed using the FEAT software from FSL library. In the behavioral data, there was no statistically significant difference in the number of correct responses during the task. The task activated similar bilateral regions of frontal, parietal, temporal and occipital lobes, basal ganglia, the brainstem and in the cerebellum, which corresponds to the previous verbal working memory neuroimaging research. In direct comparison, there was no statistically significant difference in brain activation between small samples of male and female young healthy volunteers.

Download Full-text

14 – Unique and overlapping abnormalities in brain activation during verbal working memory task performance: A comparison between patients with schizophrenia and bipolar affective disorder

Schizophrenia Research ◽

10.1016/j.schres.2007.12.081 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 98 ◽

pp. 38

Author(s):

O. Gruber ◽

I. Henseler ◽

H. Scherk ◽

T. Wobrock ◽

P. Falkai

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Affective Disorder ◽

Task Performance ◽

Bipolar Affective Disorder ◽

Memory Task ◽

Brain Activation ◽

Verbal Working Memory

Download Full-text

Frontal and Cerebellar Co-activation during a Verbal Working Memory Task as revealed by Functional MRI

NeuroImage ◽

10.1016/s1053-8119(18)31689-6 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 7 (4) ◽

pp. S856

Author(s):

N. Yamanouchi ◽

A. Murakami ◽

K. Kodama ◽

S. Noda ◽

S. Okada ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Functional Mri ◽

Memory Task ◽

Verbal Working Memory ◽

Co Activation

Download Full-text

Altered Brain Activation During a Verbal Working Memory Task in Subjects with Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment

Journal of Alzheimer s Disease ◽

10.3233/jad-2010-091054 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

pp. 103-118 ◽

Cited By ~ 53

Author(s):

Arun L.W. Bokde ◽

Michaela Karmann ◽

Christine Born ◽

Stefan J. Teipel ◽

Muamer Omerovic ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽

Memory Task ◽

Brain Activation ◽

Verbal Working Memory ◽

Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment

Download Full-text

Functional MRI in NPSLE patients reveals increased parietal and frontal brain activation during a working memory task compared with controls

Rheumatology ◽

10.1093/rheumatology/kem287 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 47 (1) ◽

pp. 50-53 ◽

Cited By ~ 39

Author(s):

B. M. Fitzgibbon ◽

S. L. Fairhall ◽

I. J. Kirk ◽

M. Kalev-Zylinska ◽

K. Pui ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Functional Mri ◽

Memory Task ◽

Brain Activation ◽

Frontal Brain

Download Full-text

Effects of Domain-specific Interference on Brain Activation Associated with Verbal Working Memory Task Performance

Cerebral Cortex ◽

10.1093/cercor/11.11.1047 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 11 (11) ◽

pp. 1047-1055 ◽

Cited By ~ 90

Author(s):

O. Gruber

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Task Performance ◽

Memory Task ◽

Brain Activation ◽

Verbal Working Memory ◽

Domain Specific

Download Full-text

Validating Age-Related Functional Imaging Changes in Verbal Working Memory with Acute Stroke

Behavioural Neurology ◽

10.1155/2011/652073 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 24 (3) ◽

pp. 187-199 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Timothy B. Meier ◽

Lin Naing ◽

Lisa E. Thomas ◽

Veena A. Nair ◽

Argye E. Hillis ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Working Memory ◽

Acute Stroke ◽

Functional Imaging ◽

Memory Task ◽

Recognition Task ◽

Verbal Working Memory ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Stroke Patients ◽

Younger Adults

Functional imaging studies consistently find that older adults recruit bilateral brain regions in cognitive tasks that are strongly lateralized in younger adults, a characterization known as the Hemispheric Asymmetry Reduction in Older Adults model. While functional imaging displays what brain areas are active during tasks, it cannot demonstrate what brain regions are necessary for task performance. We used behavioral data from acute stroke patients to test the hypothesis that older adults need both hemispheres for a verbal working memory task that is predominantly left-lateralized in younger adults. Right-handed younger (age ≥ 50,n= 7) and older adults (age > 50,n= 21) with acute unilateral stroke, as well as younger (n= 6) and older (n= 13) transient ischemic attack (TIA) patients, performed a self-paced verbal item-recognition task. Older patients with stroke to either hemisphere had a higher frequency of deficits in the verbal working memory task compared to older TIA patients. Additionally, the deficits in older stroke patients were mainly in retrieval time while the deficits in younger stroke patients were mainly in accuracy. These data suggest that bihemispheric activity is necessary for older adults to successfully perform a verbal working memory task.

Download Full-text

Dissociation of Storage and Rehearsal in Verbal Working Memory: Evidence From Positron Emission Tomography

Psychological Science ◽

10.1111/j.1467-9280.1996.tb00662.x ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 25-31 ◽

Cited By ~ 477

Author(s):

Edward Awh ◽

John Jonides ◽

Edward E. Smith ◽

Eric H. Schumacher ◽

Robert A. Koeppe ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Positron Emission Tomography ◽

Working Memory ◽

Memory Task ◽

Recognition Task ◽

Verbal Working Memory ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Emission Tomography ◽

Positron Emission ◽

Rehearsal Strategy ◽

Phonological Store

Current cognitive models of verbal working memory include two components a phonological store and a rehearsal mechanism that refreshes the contents of this store We present research using positron emission tomography (PET) to provide further evidence for this functional division In Experiment 1, subjects performed a variant of Sternberg's (1966) item recognition task Experiment 2 used a continuous memory task with control conditions designed to separate the brain regions underlying storage and rehearsal The results show that independent brain regions mediate storage and rehearsal In Experiment 3, a dual-task procedure supported the assumption that these memory tasks elicited a rehearsal strategy

Download Full-text

Effects of Performance and Task Duration on Mental Workload during Working Memory Task

Photonics ◽

10.3390/photonics6030094 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 6 (3) ◽

pp. 94 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Kosar Khaksari ◽

Emma Condy ◽

John Millerhagen ◽

Afrouz Anderson ◽

Hadis Dashtestani ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Learning Process ◽

Task Difficulty ◽

Mental Workload ◽

Memory Task ◽

Behavioral Data ◽

Significant Difference ◽

The Difference ◽

Different Levels ◽

Back Task

N-back is a working memory (WM) task to study mental workload on the prefrontal cortex (PFC). We assume that the subject’s performance and changes in mental workload over time depends on the length of the experiment. The performance of the participant can change positively due to the participant’s learning process or negatively because of objective mental fatigue and/or sleepiness. In this pilot study, we examined the PFC activation of 23 healthy subjects while they performed an N-back task with two different levels of task difficulty (2-, and 3-back). The hemodynamic responses were analyzed along with the behavioral data (correct answers). A comparison was done between the hemodynamic activation and behavioral data between the two different task levels and between the beginning and end of the 3-back task. Our results show that there is a significant difference between the two task levels, which is due to the difference in task complication. In addition, a significant difference was seen between the beginning and end of the 3-back task in both behavioral data and hemodynamics due to the subject’s learning process throughout the experiment.

Download Full-text

Midlife Arterial Stiffness and Brain Activation During Working Memory Task

The Open Hypertension Journal ◽

10.2174/1876526201406010003 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 3-9 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Kayla A. Steward ◽

Evan Pasha ◽

Katyoon Goudarzi ◽

Ahmed Elmenshawy ◽

Mohammed Alkatan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Early Intervention ◽

Arterial Stiffness ◽

Memory Task ◽

Brain Activation ◽

Verbal Working Memory ◽

Stiffness Index ◽

Precentral Gyrus ◽

Hypertension Status ◽

Early Marker

Objective: Arterial stiffness is associated with cognitive decline and may serve as an early marker of brain vulnerability. In search of potential early intervention targets, the present study examined the neural correlates of working memory in relation to arterial stiffness in middle-aged, cognitively healthy adults. Methods: Twenty-eight adults, ages 40- 60 years, completed a 2-Back verbal working memory task during fMRI. Arterial stiffness was measured using the 􀀁- stiffness index via simultaneous ultrasound and applanation tonometry on the carotid artery. Mean task-related activation intensity was determined for 12 a priori regions of interest (ROI). Statistical analyses included partial correlations, controlling for hypertension status and antihypertensive medication. Results: Arterial stiffness was correlated negatively with task-related activation in 3 ROIs: left precentral gyrus/BA 6 (r=-0.64, p<0.001), left precentral/middle frontal gyrus (r=-0.62, p=0.001) and left superior parietal lobule/BA 7 (r=-0.48, p=0.013). There was also a negative association between arterial stiffness and task-related activation in the right superior frontal gyrus/BA 6 (r=-0.45, p=0.023). Conclusions: Greater arterial stiffness was significantly associated with decreased task-related brain activation during a verbal working memory task, possibly reflecting increased vulnerability for cognitive impairment. Arterial stiffness should be investigated further as an early marker of cognitive risk and a potential target for early intervention.

Download Full-text