On the Role of Inhibition in Suppression-Induced Forgetting

Suppressing retrieval of unwanted memories can cause forgetting, an outcome often attributed to the recruitment of inhibitory control. This suppression-induced forgetting (SIF) generalizes to different cues used to test the suppressed content (cue-independence), a property taken as consistent with inhibition. But does cue-independent forgetting necessarily imply that a memory has been inhibited? Tomlinson et al. (2009) reported a surprising finding that pressing a button also led to cue-independent forgetting, which was taken as support for an alternative interference account. Here we investigated the role of inhibition in forgetting due to retrieval suppression and pressing buttons. We modified Tomlinson et al.’s procedure to examine an unusual feature they introduced that may have caused memory inhibition effects in their experiment: the omission of explicit task-cues. When tasks were uncued, we replicated the button-press forgetting effect; but when cued, pressing buttons caused no forgetting. Moreover, button-press forgetting partially reflects output-interference effects at test and not a lasting effect of interference. In contrast, SIF occurred regardless of these procedural changes. Collectively, these findings indicate that simply pressing a button does not induce forgetting, on its own, without confounding factors that introduce inhibition into the task and that inhibition likely underlies SIF.

Prediction of Depression by Cognitive Function Above Core Affect

The association between depression and cognitive function has been observed in a large number of studies, but there are no clear and robust mechanisms for this association. The aim of this study was to investigate how cognitive functions (working memory inhibition, executive functions cognitive control and psychomotor speed) in one model predict depression above current core affect in a sample of healthy individuals. The study involved 275 adults aged between 20 and 59 years (male 32.7%) and used the depression scale from DASS-42 questionnaire, the Swedish Core affect scale, and the cognitive function task battery. The results of hierarchical regression analysis suggest that the depression is more significantly explained after controlling core affect by the working memory storage, inhibition, and executive function cognitive control processes, when performing several tasks with different valence words. This suggests that even in healthy individuals, there may be a significant association between depressive symptoms and cognitive function after controlling current core affect state which may fluctuate and not be reflected in the retrospective assessment.

A magyar kognitív pszichológia 30 éve (1990–2020)

Az áttekintő írás a magyar kognitív pszichológia és kognitív tudomány utóbbi 30 évét mutatja be. Intézményesen sokat jelentett a ’90-es években a Soros Alapítvány támogatása az egyetemi kognitív programokban, melynek egyik következménye, hogy ma Budapesten három kognitív tanszék működik. Az intézményes fejlődés második oldala a sok szakmát érintő konferenciák (MAKOG) sorozata és a bekapcsolódás a nemzetközi kognitív oktatási programokba. Tudományos tartalmában a magyar kognitív kutatás is elmozdult a lehorgonyzatlan tiszta kognitív modellektől az idegrendszeri, fejlődési, szociális és evolúciós értelmezés irányába, részben hazai hagyományokat is folytatva. Fontosabb sikeres területei az észlelés, elsősorban a látás és hallás fejlődésének vizsgálata (Kovács, Winkler), az emlékezeti gátlás és az implicit emlékezeti rendszerek neuropszichológiai értelmezése (Racsmány, Németh), a pszicholingvisztikában a magyar mondatszerkezet és az alaktan megértési modellekbe illesztése (Pléh, Lukács, Gergely), a magyar téri nyelv fejlődési és patológiás jellemzése (Pléh, Lukács), a képes beszéd elemzése pszichopatológiai folyamatokban (Schnell), és a metaforikusság és gyakoriság neuropszichológiai szétválasztása (Forgács). A fejlődési pszicholingvisztika legfontosabb eredményei a korai tudatelmélet nyelvelsajátítási szerepével kapcsolatosak (Kovács, Téglás, Király, Forgács). Tisztázták azt is, hogy a nyelvi fejlődés zavarai Williams-szindrómában és az ún. specifikus nyelvi zavarban (Lukács, Racsmány, Ladányi) a munkaemlékezeti rendszer moduláló szerepével, illetve általános tanulási zavarokkal kapcsolatosak, különös tekintettel a procedurális rendszerek zavaraira ( Lukács, Racsmány, Ladányi). Az utóbbi érintettségét számos neurológiai nyelvi zavarban is kimutatták (Janacsek, Németh, Lukács).The review paper surveys the last 30 years of Hungarian cognitive psychology. Institutionally, support by the Soros foundation in the 90s for the university cognitive programs had as one consequence that three departments of cognition are active in Budapest today. Another aspect of insitutional development was the series of multidisciplinary conferences in Hungary (MAKOG), and Hungarian involvement in international graduate training programs in cognitive science. In its scientific substance, Hungarian cognitive research, like elsewhere in the world, moved from unanchored pure cognitive models towards neural, developmental, social, and evolutionary interpretations, partly also influenced by Hungarian traditions. Some of the most important domains of Hungarian cognitive research are perception, especially studies on the development of vision and hearing (Kovács, Winkler), neuropsychological interpretation of memory inhibition and implicit memory systems (Racsmány, Németh). In psycholinguistics, issues of Hungarian morphology and sentence processing were integrated in models of understanding (Pléh, Lukács, Gergely), alongside with a developmental and clinical characterization of Hungarian spatial language (Pléh, Lukács). Figurative language use was extensively studied in psychopathological contexts (Schnell), and a model was developed towards a neuropsychological separation of metaphoricity and frequency issues (Forgács). The most important results of developmental psycholinguistics are related to the role of ToM in early language acquisition (Kovács, Téglás, Király, Forgács). Contrastive studies also clarified that problems with language development in Williams syndrome, and the so called SLI (Lukács, Racsmány, Ladányi) are related to the modulating role of the working memory system and to general learning disturbances, with a special regard to disorders of procedural systems (Lukács, Racsmány, Ladányi). The involvement of this later system in several neurologically conditioned language disturbances was also observed (Janacsek, Németh, Lukács).

A-3 Cingulo-Opercular and Frontoparietal Control Network Connectivity and Executive Functioning in Older Adults

Objective Executive functioning is a cognitive domain that typically declines with normal aging. Age-related disrupted connectivity in cingulo-opercular (CON) and frontoparietal control (FPCN) resting-state networks is associated with worse performance across various executive functioning tasks. This study examines the relationships between CON and FPCN connectivity and executive functioning performance in older adults across three subdomains: working memory, inhibition, and set-shifting. Methods 274 healthy older adults (age M = 71.7, SD = 5.1; 87% Caucasian) from a clinical trial at the University of Florida and University of Arizona completed tasks of working memory (Digit Span Backwards [DSB]; Letter Number Sequencing [LNS]), inhibition (Stroop), and set-shifting (Trail Making Test Part B [TMT-B]). Participants underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. CONN Toolbox (18b) was used for extracting average within-network connectivity of CON and FPCN. Multiple linear regressions were conducted with average network connectivity predicting performance, controlling for age, sex, education, and scanner. Results Greater average CON connectivity was associated with better performance on DSB (β = 0.26, p < 0.001), LNS (β = 0.23, p < 0.001), Stroop (β = 0.24, p < 0.001), and TMT-B (β = −0.26, p < 0.001). Greater average FPCN connectivity was associated with better performance on DSB (β = 0.22, p < 0.001) and LNS (β = 0.18, p = 0.002). Conclusions CON connectivity was significantly associated with working memory, inhibition, and set-shifting. FPCN connectivity was significantly associated with working memory. Future research should conduct regional connectivity analyses within these networks to identify intervention targets to improve executive functioning in older adults.

The Virtual City ParadigmTM for Testing Visuo-Spatial Memory, Executive Functions and Cognitive Strategies in Children With ADHD: A Feasibility Study

Navigation is a complex process, requiring target localization, route planning or retrieval, and physical displacement. Executive functions (EFs) such as working memory, inhibition and planning are fundamental for succeeding in this complex activity and are often impaired in Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Our aim was to analyze the feasibility of a new ecological navigation task, the Virtual City paradigm™ (VC™) to test visuo-spatial memory and EFs in children with ADHD. Visuo-spatial short and working memory, inhibition and planning skills were tested with standardized tasks. The VC™, a new paradigm developed by our group, used the Virtual CarpetTM technology, consisting of a virtual town with houses, streets and crossroads projected on the ground. It includes a motion capture system, tracking body movement in 3D in real time. In one condition, children were required to walk through the city and reach a sequence of houses. In the other, before walking, they had to plan the shortest path to reach the houses, inhibiting the prepotent response to start walking. The results show a good feasibility of the paradigm (feasibility checklist and ad hoc questionnaire), being ecological and motivating. VC™ measures of span positively correlated with visuo-spatial short and working memory measures, suggesting that VC™ heavily relies on efficient spatial memory. Individual subject analyses suggested that children with ADHD may approach this task differently from typically developing children. Larger samples of ADHD and healthy children may further explore the specific role of EFs and memory, potentially opening new avenues for intervention.

A Meta-analysis of Language Abilities and Executive Function for Children with Cochlear Implants

The purpose of this study was to identify the differences in language ability and executive functions of children with cochlear implants (CI) and their peer normal hearing (NH) children, and to find out whether the auditory history (duration of CI use, age at implantation) of CI group plays a role as a moderator in controlling the effect size of the differences of the CI and NH groups. A total of 77 articles were searched, 11 studies which met the inclusive and exclusive criteria were selected from three electronic databases (Academic Search Complete, PsycInfo, PubMed). As a result, significant differences were identified in language ability and the five executive function subtypes (working memory, inhibition, shifting, emotion control, and sustained sequential processing) between two groups. But, the hearing history of CI group (duration of CI use, age at implantation) did not appear as a significant moderator. In conclusion, CI children’s language ability and executive function should be precisely monitored and regularly evaluated. In addition, we discussed the possibility that some executive function abilities (plan/organize, attention, and visuo-spatial organization) will remain in CI group. For the follow-up study, we need to identify various factors that support the CI children.

sFEra APP: description and usability of a novel tablet application for executive functions training

Executive functions include functions such as planning, working memory, inhibition, mental flexibility, action monitoring and initiation, and are essential to carry out an independent everyday life. Individuals suffering from brain injury, such as a stroke, very commonly experience executive deficits that reduce the capacity to regain functional independence. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in developing tablet computer-based cognitive training programs for stroke patients. In this respect, we described and evaluated the usability of a novel tablet application (app) for executive function training, developed in the context of the MEMORI-net project, a cross-border Italy-Slovenia program for the rehabilitation of stroke patients. We conducted a pilot study with a non-clinical sample of 16 participants to obtain information about the usability of the app. Our descriptive analyses suggest that most users were satisfied with the overall experience and the app was highly usable, even with little previous experience with tablet applications. Acceptability and effectiveness will need to be evaluated in a clinical randomized controlled study.

Inhibition-of-return-like effects in working memory? A preregistered replication study of Johnson et al . (2013)

The present study concerns a preregistered replication of the study conducted by Johnson et al . (Johnson et al. 2013 Psychol. Sci. 24 , 1104–1112 ( doi:10.1177/0956797612466414 )), in which they showed an inhibition-of-return-like effect in working memory. Inhibition of return is a well-known phenomenon observed in the field of perception and refers to the observation that it takes longer to look back at a location which has recently been explored than to look at an unexplored location. Working memory is a central concept in the field of cognitive psychology and refers to the capacity to process and maintain information simultaneously over short periods of time. Johnson's study applied the inhibition of return paradigm to the concept of working memory. Their results showed that it is harder to access a working memory representation that had just been thought of, i.e. refreshed, in comparison to an unrefreshed working memory representation. Contrary to this study of Johnson et al ., who observed refreshing to result in inhibitory processes, most studies on refreshing have described its effect as increasing/prolonging the level of activation of the memory representations. In an attempt to integrate these opposite patterns produced by ‘refreshing’, we started by replicating one of the studies on the inhibition of return in working memory reported by Johnson et al .

Executive Function, Language, and the Toddler’s Discovery of Representational Drawing

Working memory capacity and executive functions play important roles in the early development of drawing and language, but we lack models that specify the relationships among these representational systems and cognitive functions in toddlers. To respond to this need, the present study investigated the relations between drawing and language in very young children, and the role of working memory capacity, inhibition, and shifting in the association between these two representational systems. The participants were 80 children, 25–37 months old. The results revealed that in toddlers (a) all the measures of working memory, inhibition, and shifting loaded on a single factor of general executive functioning; (b) language and drawing are two distinct, but substantially correlated, representational systems; and (c) the development of executive function has a strong impact on language development, which in turn influences the development of drawing.

Literacy, metalinguistic, and executive functions processing in bilingual children speakers of similar typology languages in a border area

This study aimed to analyze whether there are differences between bilingual (Brazilian Portuguese and Spanish) and monolingual (Brazilian Portuguese) school children regarding reading and writing learning achievement, in executive functions (EF) components and metalinguistic abilities. Twenty-three bilingual and 23 monolingual children, aged 6 to 8 years, were assessed in terms of their writing, reading, and metalinguistic abilities, and with verbal and non-verbal tasks testing EF. A bilingual advantage was observed in reading and writing abilities and in 16 of the 44 EF measures, including subcomponents of working memory, inhibition, cognitive flexibility, and executive attention, mainly in non-verbal paradigms, while monolingual children outperformed bilingual ones in three scores: counting errors (Five Digits Test), omission of bells (Bells test) and sequential trial B (Trail Making Test). There were moderate and weak effect sizes in metalinguistic subcomponents showing bilingual advantage. Literacy improvement seems to have the potential to increase linguistic and cognitive abilities.