Saccades and handedness interact to affect scene memory

Repetitive saccades benefit memory when executed before retrieval, with greatest effects for episodic memory in consistent-handers. Questions remain including how saccades affect scene memory, an important visual component of episodic memory. The present study tested how repetitive saccades affect working and recognition memory for novel scenes. Handedness direction (left–right) and degree (strong/consistent vs. mixed/inconsistent) was measured by raw and absolute laterality quotients respectively from an 8-question handedness inventory completed by 111 adults. Each then performed either 30 s of repetitive horizontal saccades or fixation before or after tasks of scene working memory and scene recognition. Regression with criterion variables of overall percent correct accuracy and d-prime sensitivity showed that when saccades were made before working memory, there was better overall accuracy as a function of increased direction but not degree of handedness. Subjects who made saccades before working memory also performed worse during subsequent recognition memory, while subjects who fixated or made saccades after the working memory task performed better. Saccades made before recognition resulted in recognition accuracy that was better (Cohen’s d = 0.3729), but not significantly different from fixation before recognition. The results demonstrate saccades and handedness interact to affect scene memory with larger effects on encoding than recognition. Saccades before scene encoding in working memory are detrimental to short- and long-term memory, especially for those who are not consistently right-handed, while saccade execution before scene recognition does not appear to benefit recognition accuracy. The findings are discussed with respect to theories of interhemispheric interaction and control of visuospatial attention.

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Saccades and Handedness Interact to Affect Scene Memory

10.1101/351486 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Timothy M. Ellmore ◽

Bridget Mackin ◽

Kenneth Ng

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Recognition Memory ◽

Episodic Memory ◽

Recognition Accuracy ◽

Memory Task ◽

Scene Recognition ◽

Long Term Memory ◽

Percent Correct ◽

Visual Component ◽

Scene Memory

AbstractRepetitive saccades benefit memory when executed before retrieval, with greatest effects for episodic memory in consistent-handers. Questions remain including how saccades affect scene memory, an important visual component of episodic memory. The present study tested how repetitive saccades affect working and recognition memory for novel scenes. Handedness direction (left-right) and degree (strong/consistent vs. mixed/inconsistent) was measured by raw and absolute laterality quotients respectively from an 8-question handedness inventory completed by 111 adults. Each then performed either 30 seconds of repetitive horizontal saccades or fixation before or after tasks of scene working memory and scene recognition. Regression with criterion variables of overall percent correct accuracy and d-prime sensitivity showed that when saccades were made before working memory, there was better overall accuracy as a function of increased direction but not degree of handedness. Subjects who made saccades before working memory also performed worse during subsequent recognition memory, while subjects who fixated or made saccades after the working memory task performed better. Saccades made before recognition resulted in recognition accuracy that was better (Cohen’s d=0.3729), but not significantly different from fixation before recognition. The results demonstrate saccades and handedness interact to affect scene memory with larger effects on encoding than recognition. Saccades before scene encoding in working memory are detrimental to short- and long-term memory, especially for those who are not consistently right-handed, while saccade execution before scene recognition does not appear to benefit recognition accuracy. The findings are discussed with respect to theories of interhemispheric interaction and control of visuospatial attention.

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Are visual working memory and episodic memory distinct processes? Insight from stroke patients by lesion-symptom mapping

Brain Structure and Function ◽

10.1007/s00429-021-02281-0 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Selma Lugtmeijer ◽

◽

Linda Geerligs ◽

Frank Erik de Leeuw ◽

Edward H. F. de Haan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Episodic Memory ◽

Visual Working Memory ◽

Visual Memory ◽

Right Hemisphere ◽

Memory Task ◽

Stroke Patients ◽

Lesion Symptom Mapping ◽

Criterion Setting ◽

The Right

AbstractWorking memory and episodic memory are two different processes, although the nature of their interrelationship is debated. As these processes are predominantly studied in isolation, it is unclear whether they crucially rely on different neural substrates. To obtain more insight in this, 81 adults with sub-acute ischemic stroke and 29 elderly controls were assessed on a visual working memory task, followed by a surprise subsequent memory test for the same stimuli. Multivariate, atlas- and track-based lesion-symptom mapping (LSM) analyses were performed to identify anatomical correlates of visual memory. Behavioral results gave moderate evidence for independence between discriminability in working memory and subsequent memory, and strong evidence for a correlation in response bias on the two tasks in stroke patients. LSM analyses suggested there might be independent regions associated with working memory and episodic memory. Lesions in the right arcuate fasciculus were more strongly associated with discriminability in working memory than in subsequent memory, while lesions in the frontal operculum in the right hemisphere were more strongly associated with criterion setting in subsequent memory. These findings support the view that some processes involved in working memory and episodic memory rely on separate mechanisms, while acknowledging that there might also be shared processes.

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Neonatal Desflurane Exposure Induces More Robust Neuroapoptosis than Do Isoflurane and Sevoflurane and Impairs Working Memory

Anesthesiology ◽

10.1097/aln.0b013e318234228b ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 115 (5) ◽

pp. 979-991 ◽

Cited By ~ 134

Author(s):

Mitsuyoshi Kodama ◽

Yasushi Satoh ◽

Yukiko Otsubo ◽

Yoshiyuki Araki ◽

Ryuji Yonamine ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Open Field ◽

Elevated Plus Maze ◽

Memory Task ◽

Adenosine Diphosphate ◽

Long Term Memory ◽

Neonatal Exposure ◽

Term Memory ◽

Plus Maze

Background In animal models, neonatal exposure to volatile anesthetics induces neuroapoptosis, leading to memory deficits in adulthood. However, effects of neonatal exposure to desflurane are largely unknown. Methods Six-day-old C57BL/6 mice were exposed to equivalent doses of desflurane, sevoflurane, or isoflurane for 3 or 6 h. Minimum alveolar concentration was determined by the tail-clamp method as a function of anesthesia duration. Apoptosis was evaluated by immunohistochemical staining for activated caspase-3, and by TUNEL. Western blot analysis for cleaved poly-(adenosine diphosphate-ribose) polymerase was performed to examine apoptosis comparatively. The open-field, elevated plus-maze, Y-maze, and fear conditioning tests were performed to evaluate general activity, anxiety-related behavior, working memory, and long-term memory, respectively. Results Minimum alveolar concentrations at 1 h were determined to be 11.5% for desflurane, 3.8% for sevoflurane, and 2.7% for isoflurane in 6-day-old mice. Neonatal exposure to desflurane (8%) induced neuroapoptosis with an anatomic pattern similar to that of sevoflurane or isoflurane; however, desflurane induced significantly greater levels of neuroapoptosis than almost equivalent doses of sevoflurane (3%) or isoflurane (2%). In adulthood, mice treated with these anesthetics had impaired long-term memory, whereas no significant anomalies were detected in the open-field and the elevated plus-maze tests. Although performance in a working memory task was normal in mice exposed neonatally to sevoflurane or isoflurane, mice exposed to desflurane had significantly impaired working memory. Conclusions In an animal model, neonatal desflurane exposure induced more neuroapoptosis than did sevoflurane or isoflurane and impaired working memory, suggesting that desflurane is more neurotoxic than sevoflurane or isoflurane.

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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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Visual vs. Spatial Contributions to Microsaccades and Visual-Spatial Working Memory

Journal of Eye Movement Research ◽

10.16910/jemr.7.2.2 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 7 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Joshua T. Gaunt ◽

Bruce Bridgeman

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Spatial Working Memory ◽

Memory Task ◽

Dynamic Visual Noise ◽

Visual Component ◽

Fixation Cross ◽

Visual Spatial ◽

Visual Spatial Working Memory ◽

Choice Tasks ◽

Oculomotor Activity

Microsaccade rates and directions were monitored while observers performed a visual working memory task at varying retinal eccentricities. We show that microsaccades generate no interference in a working memory task, indicating that spatial working memory is at least partially insulated from oculomotor activity. Intervening tasks during the memory interval affected microsaccade patterns; microsaccade frequency was consistently higher during concurrent spatial tapping (no visual component) than during exposure to dynamic visual noise (no task). Average microsaccade rate peaked after appearance of a fixation cross at the start of a trial, and dipped at cue onset and offset, consistent with previous results. Direction of stimuli in choice tasks did not influence microsaccade direction,however.

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Functional Connectivity during Encoding Predicts Individual Differences in Long-Term Memory

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience ◽

10.1162/jocn_a_01759 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-18

Author(s):

Qi Lin ◽

Kwangsun Yoo ◽

Xilin Shen ◽

Todd R. Constable ◽

Marvin M. Chun

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Individual Differences ◽

Functional Connectivity ◽

Recognition Memory ◽

Memory Model ◽

Long Term Memory ◽

Whole Brain ◽

Term Memory ◽

Back Task

Abstract What is the neural basis of individual differences in the ability to hold information in long-term memory (LTM)? Here, we first characterize two whole-brain functional connectivity networks based on fMRI data acquired during an n-back task that robustly predict individual differences in two important forms of LTM, recognition and recollection. We then focus on the recognition memory model and contrast it with a working memory model. Although functional connectivity during the n-back task also predicts working memory performance and the two networks have some shared components, they are also largely distinct from each other: The recognition memory model performance remains robust when we control for working memory, and vice versa. Functional connectivity only within regions traditionally associated with LTM formation, such as the medial temporal lobe and those that show univariate subsequent memory effect, have little predictive power for both forms of LTM. Interestingly, the interactions between these regions and other brain regions play a more substantial role in predicting recollection memory than recognition memory. These results demonstrate that individual differences in LTM are dependent on the configuration of a whole-brain functional network including but not limited to regions associated with LTM during encoding and that such a network is separable from what supports the retention of information in working memory.

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Maintaining fixation does not increase demands on working memory relative to free viewing

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.6839 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 ◽

pp. e6839 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Michael J. Armson ◽

Jennifer D. Ryan ◽

Brian Levine

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Eye Movements ◽

Response Times ◽

Memory Load ◽

Memory Performance ◽

Memory Task ◽

Oculomotor System ◽

Finger Tapping ◽

Long Term Memory ◽

Free Viewing

The comparison of memory performance during free and fixed viewing conditions has been used to demonstrate the involvement of eye movements in memory encoding and retrieval, with stronger effects at encoding than retrieval. Relative to conditions of free viewing, participants generally show reduced memory performance following sustained fixation, suggesting that unrestricted eye movements benefit memory. However, the cognitive basis of the memory reduction during fixed viewing is uncertain, with possible mechanisms including disruption of visual-mnemonic and/or imagery processes with sustained fixation, or greater working memory demands required for fixed relative to free viewing. To investigate one possible mechanism for this reduction, we had participants perform a working memory task—an auditory n-back task—during free and fixed viewing, as well as a repetitive finger tapping condition, included to isolate the effects of motor interference independent of the oculomotor system. As expected, finger tapping significantly interfered with n-back performance relative to free viewing, as indexed by a decrease in accuracy and increase in response times. By contrast, there was no evidence that fixed viewing interfered with n-back performance relative to free viewing. Our findings failed to support a hypothesis of increased working memory load during fixation. They are consistent with the notion that fixation disrupts long-term memory performance through interference with visual processes.

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Is Long-Term Memory Used in a Visuo-Spatial Change-Detection Paradigm?

10.31234/osf.io/vb7te ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Benjamin Goecke ◽

Klaus Oberauer

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Change Detection ◽

Memory Performance ◽

Memory Task ◽

Repetition Effect ◽

Long Term Memory ◽

Memory Representation ◽

Term Memory ◽

Hebb Repetition Effect

In tests of working memory with verbal or spatial materials repeating the same memory sets across trials leads to improved memory performance. This well-established “Hebb repetition effect” could not be shown for visual materials. This absence of the Hebb effect can be explained in two ways: Either persons fail to acquire a long-term memory representation of the repeated memory sets, or they acquire such long-term memory representations, but fail to use them during the working memory task. In two experiments, (N1 = 18 and N2 = 30), we aimed to decide between these two possibilities by manipulating the long-term memory knowledge of some of the memory sets used in a change-detection task. Before the change-detection test, participants learned three arrays of colors to criterion. The subsequent change-detection test contained both previously learned and new color arrays. Change detection performance was better on previously learned compared to new arrays, showing that long-term memory is used in change detection.

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Extradural Motor Cortex Stimulation might improve episodic and working memory in patients with Parkinson’s disease

npj Parkinson s Disease ◽

10.1038/s41531-020-00129-8 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Carla Piano ◽

Marco Ciavarro ◽

Francesco Bove ◽

Daniela Di Giuda ◽

Fabrizio Cocciolillo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Parkinson’S Disease ◽

Working Memory ◽

Parkinson's Disease ◽

Motor Cortex ◽

Episodic Memory ◽

Memory Task ◽

Motor Symptoms ◽

Motor Cortex Stimulation ◽

Short Term ◽

Verbal Episodic Memory

Abstract Electric Extradural Motor Cortex Stimulation (EMCS) is a neurosurgical procedure suggested for treatment of patients with advanced Parkinson’s disease (PD). We report two PD patients treated by EMCS, who experienced worsening of motor symptoms and cognition 5 years after surgery, when EMCS batteries became discharged. One month after EMCS restoration, they experienced a subjective improvement of motor symptoms and cognition. Neuropsychological assessments were carried out before replacement of batteries (off-EMCS condition) and 6 months afterward (on-EMCS condition). As compared to off-EMCS condition, in on-EMCS condition both patients showed an improvement on tasks of verbal episodic memory and backward spatial short-term/working memory task, and a decline on tasks of selective visual attention and forward spatial short-term memory. These findings suggest that in PD patients EMCS may induce slight beneficial effects on motor symptoms and cognitive processes involved in verbal episodic memory and in active manipulation of information stored in working memory.

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