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Studies have indicated that video gaming is positively associated with cognitive performance in select cognitive domains, but the magnitudes of these associations have been called into question, as they have frequently been based on extreme groups analyses that have compared video gamers with non-gamers. When including the whole range of participants, and not just extreme cases, these effects were observed to reduce markedly (Unsworth et al., 2015). To further study this issue, we compared the associations between video gaming and aspects of working memory (WM) performance in an extreme groups design to those of a design that includes the full range of participants in a large adult sample (n = 503). WM was measured with three composite scores (verbal WM, visuospatial WM, n-back). The extreme groups analyses showed that video gamers performed better than non-gamers on all three WM measures, while the whole sample analyses indicated weak positive associations between the time spent playing video games and visuospatial WM and n-back performance. Thus, study design modulated the effects, but two of the three associations between WM and video gaming were consistent across both analysis techniques. A separate study confirmed that our questionnaire-based estimate of gaming hours was reliable when compared with one-week diaries of videogame playing. While the present cross-sectional results preclude causal inferences, possible mechanisms of WM - videogame playing associations and future research directions are discussed. Overall, our results indicate that cognition - videogame playing relationships, albeit weak, are not solely due to recently discussed methodological artefacts concerning the particular analytical approach and survey reliability.

Working memory (WM) is a key cognitive system that is strongly related to other cognitive domains and relevant for everyday life. However, the structure of WM is yet to be determined. A number of WM models have been put forth especially by factor analytical studies. In broad terms, these models vary by their emphasis on WM contents (e.g., visuospatial, verbal) vs. WM processes (e.g., maintenance, updating) as critical, dissociable elements. Here we conducted confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses on a broad set of WM tasks, half of them numerical-verbal and half of them visuospatial, representing four commonly used task paradigms: simple span, complex span, running memory, and n-back. The tasks were selected to allow the detection of both content-based (visuospatial, numerical-verbal) and process-based (maintenance, updating) divisions. The data were collected online which allowed the recruitment of a large and demographically diverse sample of adults (n = 711). Both factor analytical methods pointed to a clear division according to task content for all paradigms except n-back, while there was no indication for a process-based division. Besides the content-based division, confirmatory factor analyses supported a model that also included a general WM factor. The n-back tasks had the highest loadings on the general factor, suggesting that this factor reflected high-level cognitive resources such as executive functioning and fluid intelligence that are engaged with all WM tasks, and possibly even more so with the n-back. Together with earlier findings that indicate high variability of process-based WM divisions, we conclude that the most robust division of WM is along its contents (visuospatial vs. numerical-verbal), rather than along its hypothetical subprocesses.

The present short review discusses reasons for the mixed results on the possible enhancement of cognition, especially executive function, in bilingualism. We define three major problem areas that hamper many studies in this field: the use of research designs that are weak for the task at hand, the lack of a detailed theory on how bilingual experience would modify cognition, and the employment of measures of bilingual behaviour and executive function that are troublesome. Potential remedies for these problem areas are discussed, and the emerging research approach where specific aspects of individual bilingual experience are examined and related to specific aspects of executive performance is highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bilingual executive advantage (BEA) hypothesis has attracted considerable research interest, but the findings are inconclusive. We addressed this issue in the domain of working memory (WM), as more complex WM tasks have been underrepresented in the previous literature. First, we compared early and late bilingual vs. monolingual WM performance. Second, we examined whether certain aspects of bilingual experience, such as language switching frequency, are related to bilinguals’ WM scores. Our online sample included 485 participants. They filled in an extensive questionnaire including background factors such as bilingualism and second language (L2) use, and performed 10 isomorphic verbal and visuospatial WM tasks that yielded three WM composite scores (visuospatial WM, verbal WM, n-back). For verbal and visuospatial WM composites, the group comparisons did not support the BEA hypothesis. N-back analysis showed an advantage of late bilinguals over monolinguals and early bilinguals, while the latter two groups did not differ. This between-groups analysis was followed by a regression analysis relating features of bilingual experience to n-back performance, but the results were non-significant in both bilingual groups. In sum, group differences supporting the BEA hypothesis were limited only to the n-back composite, and this composite was not predicted by bilingualism-related features. Moreover, Bayesian analyses did not give consistent support for the BEA hypothesis. Possible reasons for the failure to find support for the BEA hypothesis are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We employed a highly demanding experimental associative learning test (the AFE-T) to explore memory functioning in Preclinical Alzheimer's Disease stage 1 (PreAD-1) and stage 2 (PreAD-2). The task consisted in the learning of unknown object/name pairs and our comprehensive setup allowed the analysis of learning curves, immediate recall, long-term forgetting rates at one week, three months, and six months, and relearning curves. Forty-nine cognitively healthy subjects were included and classified according to the presence or absence of abnormal CSF biomarkers (Control, n = 31; PreAD-1, n = 14; PreAD-2, n = 4). Control and PreAD-1 performances on the experimental test were compared by controlling for age and education. These analyses showed clear learning difficulties in PreAD-1 subjects (F = 6.98; p = 0.01). Between-group differences in long-term forgetting rates were less notable, reaching statistical significance only for the three-month cued forgetting rate (F = 4.83; p = 0.03). Similarly, relearning sessions showed only statistical trends between the groups (F = 3.22; p = 0.08). In the whole sample, significant correlations between CSF Aβ42/tau ratio and the AFE-T were found, both in the total learning score (r = 0.52; p < 0.001) and in the three-month cued forgetting rate (r = -0.38; p < 0.01). Descriptive subanalyses involving PreAD-2 suggested greater learning and recall difficulties in these subjects when compared with the PreAD-1 group. The present results suggest that explicit learning difficulties when binding information could be one of the earliest signs of the future emergence of episodic memory difficulties on the Alzheimer's disease continuum. Our findings indicate that the AFE-T is a sensitive test, capable of detecting subtle memory difficulties in PreAD-1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This prospective cohort study aimed to examine the associations of trust towards the supervisor (vertical trust) and trust towards co-workers (horizontal trust) with retirement intentions. The participants were 14 840 women and men working in the municipal sector in 2000–12 (Finnish Public Sector Study). Trust (vertical trust towards the supervisor and horizontal trust towards co-workers) and retirement intentions were assessed in repeated surveys. Multivariable multinomial logistic regression analyses were conducted to assess the association between baseline trust and retirement intentions at 3.7 years of follow-up. Demographic characteristics, health, psychological distress, health risk behaviors, personality factors, and psychosocial factors were included as covariates. Of the participants, 67.0% trusted their supervisor and 54.9% trusted their co-workers. Employees who trusted their supervisor (odds ratio (OR) 0.60, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.53–0.67) and employees who trusted their co-workers (odds ratio 0.62, 95% confidence interval 0.55–0.70) at baseline were less likely to have strong retirement intentions at follow-up compared to those who did not trust. These associations largely persisted after adjusting for all covariates and taking into account baseline retirement intentions. In conclusion, trust in the supervisor and co-workers predicted retirement intentions. These observational findings suggest that increasing trust in the workplace may contribute to lengthening working careers and preventing early retirement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We tested the hypothesis that lexical-semantic access of inflected words is governed by the word stem. Object drawings overlaid with a dot/arrow marking position/movement were matched with corresponding linguistic expressions like “from the house”. To test whether the stem dominates lexical-semantic access irrespective of its position, we used Swedish prepositional phrases (locative information via preposition immediately preceding the stem) or Finnish case-inflected words (locative information via suffix immediately following the stem). Both in monolingual Swedish and in bilingual Finnish-Swedish speakers, correct stems with incorrect prepositions/case-endings were hardest to reject. This finding supports the view that the stem is indeed the dominant unit in meaning access of inflected words. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In recent years some critical voices have been raised in regard to the significance of cognitive neuropsychology (CNP) to the study of brain and mind. Given the central role of language disorders in CNP research, it is time to consider the relevance of this research approach in aphasiology. Aims: We analyse the main points of criticism raised against the CNP research approach, evaluate the significance of this approach to the study of acquired language disorders, and make some suggestions concerning further development of the field. Main Contribution: The main points of criticism against CNP (reliance on single-case studies; single-minded hunt for dissociations; emptiness of theorising) have been important long-term concerns but do not take into account the fact that, during its history of circa four decades, the CNP approach has diversified. There are thus CNP studies that rely on case series analyses, focus on error analyses rather than mere dissociations, or employ computational modelling rather than the “boxes-and-arrows” models of the mental architecture. The CNP approach to cognition and its disorders is thus applicable to different research questions and theoretical stances, providing experimental rigour to single-case patient studies. With regard to clinical applications in aphasia diagnostics and treatment, the CNP approach provides a richer view on the strengths and weaknesses of a patient's cognitive-linguistic abilities. Conclusions: We believe that CNP case studies continue to be an important source of information for generating hypotheses and providing converging evidence for research on the mind and on the brain. However, there is a need for further research development especially in computational modelling of language processes, their impairments, and recovery. This research is expected to provide further benefit to clinical diagnostics and treatment of aphasia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A response by the authors of the article "Cognitive neuropsychology has been, is, and will be significant to aphasiology," is presented.

This study explores the role of morphology in vocabulary knowledge of 3[sup rd] and 6[sup th] grade Finnish elementary school children. In a word definition task, children from both grades performed overall better on derived words than on monomorphemic words. However, the results were modified by the factors Frequency and Productivity. Most strikingly, performance on monomorphemic words was disproportionately weaker than on derived words at the low frequency range. At the high-frequency range, derived words with low-productive suffixes yielded poorest performance. We partly make an appeal to the lexical-statistical properties of the Finnish language to explain the interaction of Frequency and Word Structure. At any rate, the results suggest that Finnish elementary school children benefit significantly from utilizing morphology in determining word meanings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors respond on several commentaries by Friedemann Pulvermüller on their paper "Cognitive neuropsychology has been, is, and will be significant to aphasiology." Pulvermüller opines that cognitive neuropsychology (CNP) should be relevant to cognitive neuroscience only if it includes neurobiological orientation at the theoretical level. However, the authors note that CNP remains relevant and can be applied to the treatment of language disorders.

Abstract: The aim of the current study was to assess modality-specific brain oscillatory responses during cognitive processing. Brain oscillatory ERD/ERS responses of the 4- to 30-Hz EEG frequency bands were examined during lexical decision where the task is to identify whether the presented stimulus is a word or a pseudoword. Seven subjects performed the task with visual stimuli and twelve subjects with auditory stimuli. Visual stimuli elicited greater theta ERS responses as compared to the auditory stimuli. Both stimulus modalities elicited alpha and beta frequency ERD, these being greater for the auditory stimuli. Auditory stimuli elicited also later emerging beta ERS responses, absent for the visual stimuli. The lexicality effects (words vs. pseudowords) were greater for the auditory than for the visual stimuli. When studying brain oscillatory correlates of cognitive processing, the stimulus modality matters. Some effects may arise and some vanish depending on in which modality a cognitive experiment is being conducted. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]