Verbal working memory load dissociates common indices of the numerical distance effect: Implications for the study of numerical cognition

In four experiments, we explore the role that verbal WM plays in numerical comparison. Experiment 1 demonstrates that verbal WM load differentially impacts the two most common variants of numerical comparison tasks, evidenced by distinct modulation of the size of the numerical distance effect (NDE). Specifically, when comparing one Arabic digit to a standard, the size of the NDE increases as a function of increased verbal WM load; however, when comparing two simultaneously presented Arabic digits, the size of the NDE decreases (and here is eliminated) as a function of an increased verbal WM load. Experiment 2, using the same task structure but different stimuli (physical size judgments), provides support for the notion that this pattern of results is unique to tasks employing numerical stimuli. Experiment 3 demonstrates that the patterns observed in Experiment 1 are not an artifact of the stimulus pairs used. Experiment 4 provides evidence that the differing pattern of results observed between Experiment 1 and Experiment 2 are due to differences in stimuli (numerical vs. non-numerical) rather than to other differences between tasks. These results are discussed in terms of current theories of numerical comparison.

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A high working memory load eliminates the numerical distance effect

PsycEXTRA Dataset ◽

10.1037/e520592012-617 ◽

2010 ◽

Author(s):

Erin A. Maloney ◽

Evan F. Risko ◽

Derek Besner ◽

Jonathan A. Fugelsang

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Memory Load ◽

Distance Effect ◽

Numerical Distance ◽

Working Memory Load ◽

Numerical Distance Effect

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Numerical distance effect in the N240 component in a number-matching task

Neuroreport ◽

10.1097/01.wnr.0000221840.12632.9f ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 17 (10) ◽

pp. 991-994 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Xinlin Zhou ◽

Chuansheng Chen ◽

Qi Dong ◽

Hongchuan Zhang ◽

Chunhui Chen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Distance Effect ◽

Matching Task ◽

Numerical Distance ◽

Numerical Distance Effect

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Of Colored Numbers and Numbered Colors

Experimental Psychology (formerly Zeitschrift für Experimentelle Psychologie) ◽

10.1027/1618-3169.56.3.180 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 56 (3) ◽

pp. 180-187 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Titia Gebuis ◽

Tanja C.W. Nijboer ◽

Maarten J. van der Smagt

Keyword(s):

Congruency Effect ◽

Distance Effect ◽

Task Demands ◽

Numerical Distance ◽

Similar Magnitude ◽

Numerical Distance Effect ◽

Precise Nature ◽

Priming Task ◽

Color Priming

Grapheme-color synesthetes experience a specific color when they see a grapheme but they do not report to perceive a grapheme when a color is presented. In this study, we investigate whether color can still evoke number-processes even when a vivid number experience is absent. We used color-number and number-color priming, both revealing faster responses in congruent compared to incongruent conditions. Interestingly, the congruency effect was of similar magnitude for both conditions, and a numerical distance effect was present only in the color-number priming task. In addition, a priming task in which synesthetes had to judge the parity of a colored number revealed faster responses in parity congruent than in parity incongruent trials. These combined results demonstrate that synesthesia is indeed bi-directional and of similar strength in both directions. Furthermore, they illustrate the precise nature of these interactions and show that the direction of these interactions is determined by task demands, not by the more vividly experienced aspect of the stimulus.

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Assessing the effect of verbal working memory load on visuo-spatial exogenous orienting

Neuroscience Letters ◽

10.1016/j.neulet.2006.11.037 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 413 (2) ◽

pp. 105-109 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Valerio Santangelo ◽

Charles Spence

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Memory Load ◽

Verbal Working Memory ◽

Exogenous Orienting ◽

Working Memory Load

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Verbal Working Memory Load Affects Regional Brain Activation as Measured by PET

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience ◽

10.1162/jocn.1997.9.4.462 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 9 (4) ◽

pp. 462-475 ◽

Cited By ~ 414

Author(s):

John Jonides ◽

Eric H. Schumacher ◽

Edward E. Smith ◽

Erick J. Lauber ◽

Edward Awh ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Task Difficulty ◽

Memory Load ◽

Brain Activation ◽

Verbal Working Memory ◽

Behavioral Performance ◽

Executive Processes ◽

Working Memory Load ◽

The One ◽

Reliable Increase

We report an experiment that assesses the effect of variations in memory load on brain activations that mediate verbal working memory. The paradigm that forms the basis of this experiment is the “n-back” task in which subjects must decide for each letter in a series whether it matches the one presented n items back in the series. This task is of interest because it recruits processes involved in both the storage and manipulation of information in working memory. Variations in task difficulty were accomplished by varying the value of n. As n increased, subjects showed poorer behavioral performance as well as monotonically increasing magnitudes of brain activation in a large number of sites that together have been identified with verbal working-memory processes. By contrast, there was no reliable increase in activation in sites that are unrelated to working memory. These results validate the use of parametric manipulation of task variables in neuroimaging research, and they converge with the subtraction paradigm used most often in neuroimaging. In addition, the data support a model of working memory that includes both storage and executive processes that recruit a network of brain areas, all of which are involved in task performance.

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Effect of verbal working memory load during the oculomotor activity in visual search

Experimental Psychology (Russia) ◽

10.17759/exppsy.2015080203 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 21-35 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

B.B. Velichkovsky ◽

A.I. Izmalkova

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Visual Search ◽

Spatial Working Memory ◽

Memory Load ◽

Mutual Influence ◽

Verbal Working Memory ◽

Working Memory Load ◽

Visual Spatial ◽

Visual Spatial Working Memory ◽

Oculomotor Activity

The structure of working memory has components responsible for the storage of verbal and visualspatial information; despite the fairly detailed study of the functions and mechanisms of their work, the question of their mutual influence is still open. Studies on the verbal working memory load influence on visual search performance (a task requiring the use of visual-spatial working memory resources) it was found that the load on the verbal working memory leads to increased efficiency of target detection. The results of the analysis of oculomotor activity during visual search also point out that the implementation of such tasks under verbal working memory load is accompanied by an increase in cognitive tension and of the degree of search automaticity. The results may indicate the interaction of verbal and visual-spatial working memory components that share non-specific cognitive resources.

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Numerical cognition in action: Reaching behavior reveals numerical distance effects in 5- to 6-year-olds

Journal of Numerical Cognition ◽

10.5964/jnc.v4i2.122 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 4 (2) ◽

pp. 286-296 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Christopher D. Erb ◽

Jeff Moher ◽

Joo-Hyun Song ◽

David M. Sobel

Keyword(s):

Spatial Representation ◽

Numerical Cognition ◽

Spatial Information ◽

Numerical Comparison ◽

Digital Display ◽

Numerical Distance ◽

Tight Coupling ◽

Comparison Task ◽

The Right ◽

Trial Participants

This study investigates how children’s numerical cognition is reflected in their unfolding actions. Five- and 6-year-olds (N = 34) completed a numerical comparison task by reaching to touch one of three rectangles arranged horizontally on a digital display. A number from 1 to 9 appeared in the center rectangle on each trial. Participants were instructed to touch the left rectangle for numbers 1-4, the center rectangle for 5, and the right rectangle for 6-9. Reach trajectories were more curved toward the center rectangle for numbers closer to 5 (e.g., 4) than numbers further from 5 (e.g., 1). This finding indicates that a tight coupling exists between numerical and spatial information in children’s cognition and action as early as the preschool years. In addition to shedding new light on the spatial representation of numbers during childhood, our results highlight the promise of incorporating measures of manual dynamics into developmental research.

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