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OBJECTIVES The effects of chronic low and high blood pressure on memory are unclear due to divergent results, originating in part due to participant misclassifications. The aim of this study was to compare source memory and working memory performance in individuals diagnosed with hypotension or hypertension with the performance of normotensive participants. Hypertensive and hypotensive individuals were receiving medical treatment. METHOD From a sample of 1656 participants, 219 were identified as hypertensive, and 37 were identified as hypotensive. Each of these two groups was compared with normotensive individuals matched by age, education and sex. Source memory performance and working memory performance were assessed through computerized tasks. RESULTS Source memory accuracy was poorer in hypotensive and hypertensive individuals than in normotensive individuals, and spatial working memory discrimination was inferior in hypertensive participants compared to normotensive individuals. CONCLUSION Blood pressure impairment should be considered a major concern because it has been linked to severe cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Furthermore, here we show that it has negative effects on the two types of memory that are most essential for preserving a self-sufficient lifestyle.

BackgroundAttempts have been made to explore the biological basis of neurodegeneration in the amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI) stage, subdivided by memory performance. However, few studies have evaluated the differential impact of functional connectivity (FC) on memory performances in early- and late-MCI patients.ObjectiveThis study aims to explore the difference in FC of the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) among healthy controls (HC) (n = 37), early-MCI patients (n = 30), and late-MCI patients (n = 35) and to evaluate a group-memory performance interaction against the FC of PCC.MethodsThe subjects underwent resting-state functional MRI scanning and a battery of neuropsychological tests.ResultsA significant difference among the three groups was found in FC between the PCC (seed region) and bilateral crus cerebellum, right superior medial frontal gyrus, superior temporal gyrus, and left middle cingulate gyrus (Monte Carlo simulation-corrected p < 0.01; cluster p < 0.05). Additionally, the early-MCI patients displayed higher FC values than the HC and late-MCI patients in the right superior medial frontal gyrus, cerebellum crus 1, and left cerebellum crus 2 (Bonferroni-corrected p < 0.05). Furthermore, there was a significant group-memory performance interaction (HC vs. early MCI vs. late MCI) for the FC between PCC and bilateral crus cerebellum, right superior medial frontal gyrus, superior temporal gyrus, and left middle cingulate gyrus (Bonferroni-corrected p < 0.05).ConclusionThese findings contribute to the biological implications of early- and late-MCI stages, categorized by evaluating the impairment of memory performance. Additionally, comprehensively analyzing the structural differences in the subdivided amnestic MCI (aMCI) stages could deepen our understanding of these biological meanings.

In modern society, the inherent differences found between females and males are a sensitive topic of debate. It is common for people to associate females with the possession of stronger and more profound visual and auditory memory in comparison to males. This research explored the variances between the sexes by examining and comparing the auditory and visual memories of a population of females and a population of males. The auditory and visual memories of the different sexes will be analyzed through a variety of tasks that will measure their memory capabilities. Participants of the experiment took two pre-designed tests, a different test for each type of memory. The auditory test included four distinct sounds that played in a specific pattern and challenged the participants’ memory capacities. Through the use of MATLAB, a program developed by MathWorks, and by using coding language, a visual memory game was developed for the visual test. This test contained four different colors that illuminated in a specific sequence. Each participant completed two trials for each type of test to allow them the opportunity to achieve their maximum potential. The analysis of the results contradicted stereotypical beliefs embedded in societal norms. Males collectively demonstrated a higher capacity for memory than females. Notably, both sexes improved their memory performance on the visual tests more than the auditory tests. An application of these results could be used as therapeutic exercises to help strengthen the memory of patients who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease and other memory loss.

(1) Background: Research examining whether activity engagement is related to cognitive functioning in older adults has been limited to using retrospective reports of activity which may be affected by biases. This study compared two measurements (estimated weekly versus reported daily), and whether these activity assessments were related to cognition in older adults, (2) Methods: Participants from US (n = 199) and Australian (n = 170) samples completed a weekly estimate of activity, followed by 7 consecutive days of daily reporting. Differences between weekly estimates and daily reports were found, such that estimations at the weekly level were lower than self-reported daily information. Multivariate multiple regression was used to determine whether total activity, activity domains and the discrepancy between assessment types (i.e., weekly/daily) predicted cognitive performance across three cognitive domains (fluid, verbal, memory), (3) Results: Neither assessment of total activity When activity assessments were totaled, neither predicted cognition, however, when activity was grouped by domain (cognitive, social, physical), different domains predicted different cognitive outcomes. Daily reported cognitive activity significantly predicted verbal performance (β = 1.63, p = 0.005), while weekly estimated social activity predicted memory performance (β = −1.81, p = 0.050). Further, while the magnitude of discrepancy in total activity did not significantly predict cognitive performance, domain specific differences did. Differences in physical activity reported across assessments predicted fluid performance (β = −1.16, p = 0.033), (4) Conclusions: Recognizing these apparent differences is important to account for potential response bias and future research should consider using multiple types of assessments and utilize different tools to collect activity-related information.

Stage 1 of the National Institute on Aging-Alzheimer's Association's proposed Alzheimer's disease continuum is defined as amyloid-β (Aβ) positive but cognitively normal. Identifying at-risk individuals before Aβ reaches pathological levels could have great benefits for early intervention. Although Aβ levels become abnormal long before severe cognitive impairments appear, increasing evidence suggests that subtle cognitive changes may begin early, potentially before Aβ surpasses the threshold for abnormality. We examined whether baseline cognitive performance would predict progression from normal to abnormal levels of Aβ.We examined the association of baseline cognitive composites (Preclinical Alzheimer Cognitive Composite, Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) memory factor composite) with progression to Aβ positivity in 292 nondemented, Aβ-negative ADNI participants. Additional analyses included continuous cerebrospinal fluid biomarker levels to examine the effects of subthreshold pathology.Forty participants progressed to Aβ positivity during follow-up. Poorer baseline performance on both cognitive measures was significantly associated with increased odds of progression. More abnormal levels of baseline cerebrospinal fluid phosphorylated tau and subthreshold Aβ were associated with increased odds of progression to Aβ positivity. Nevertheless, baseline ADNI memory factor composite performance predicted progression even after controlling for baseline biomarker levels and APOE genotype (Preclinical Alzheimer Cognitive Composite was trend level). Survival analyses were largely consistent: controlling for baseline biomarker levels, baseline Preclinical Alzheimer Cognitive Composite still significantly predicted progression time to Aβ positivity (ADNI memory factor composite was trend level).The possibility of intervening before Aβ reaches pathological levels is of obvious benefit. Low-cost, noninvasive cognitive measures can be informative for determining who is likely to progress to Aβ positivity, even after accounting for baseline subthreshold biomarker levels.

BACKGROUND Intimate couples can become cognitively interdependent over time. If one member of the couple has a neurological condition with associated cognitive impairments, their partner can support or 'scaffold' their cognitive functioning through collaboration. OBJECTIVE We explored the phenomenon of 'collaborative memory' in a case series of 9 couples in which one member had a neurological condition, specifically an acquired brain injury (ABI; n = 7) or epilepsy (n = 2). METHODS To investigate collaborative memory, we compared the performance of the patient when remembering alone versus their performance in collaboration with their partner on three memory tasks, assessing anterograde, semantic, and autobiographical memory. RESULTS We found that across all tasks and participants, collaboration typically increased overall memory performance (total score), but the patient's contribution to the task was typically lower when they collaborated compared with when they performed the task alone. We identified two distinct styles of collaboration which we termed 'survival scaffolding' (where the healthy partner 'takes over' memory recall) and 'stability scaffolding' (where the healthy partner cues and structures the patient's recall). CONCLUSION This exploratory case series contributes to the sparse literature on memory collaboration in people with neurological conditions. Our findings suggest that there are different styles of collaboration that can both help and hinder memory performance.

SummaryPrevious studies have highlighted that spermidine has the ability to trigger the important process of dissolving amyloid-beta plaques by autophagy. This manuscript focuses on the correlation of serum spermidine levels between age and between performance in mini-mental state examinations. It will serve as a premise for an ongoing multicentric placebo-controlled study, which focuses on the effect of oral spermidine supplementation on memory performance. Memory tests were carried out on 80 subjects aged 60–96 years old in 6 nursing homes in Styria. Blood samples were taken for the determination of spermidine concentration. The results showed a significant correlation between the spermidine concentration and the mini-mental state examination score (p = 0.025). On the basis of the dependence demonstrated it can be concluded that spermidine might be suitable as a biomarker for the diagnosis of neurocognitive changes (senile dementia or Alzheimer’s disease).

Abstract. Ownership of objects influences memory performance in healthy subjects, a phenomenon referred to as the ownership effect. In dementia patients, memory performance is severely impaired, yet it is not known whether memory performance can be enhanced using the ownership effect. In this contribution we investigated the influence of ownership on memory performance in dementia patients, using an adapted shopping task to induce artificial ownership. Dementia patients ( N = 32) fictitiously owned half of the objects presented to them on picture cards. Memory performance was tested using a forced-choice recognition task that also included novel objects. Corrected hit rates of owned and previously unowned objects were compared using analysis of variance. The corrected hit rate for objects fictitiously owned by dementia patients was significantly higher than the hit rate for unowned objects ( p = .027; partial η2 = .152). Results indicate a significant memory enhancement for objects fictitiously owned by dementia patients. Our findings suggest that the memory performance of dementia patients can be influenced using the ownership effect, and that this effect could be used to design interventions that try to improve memory performance for relevant information in dementia patients.

Background: Age-related stereotype threat impacts episodic memory performance. This study compared the predictors of memory performance in older adults with and without exposure to age-related stereotype threat, hypothesizing that activating the stereotype threat modulates the relative weight of metamemory predictors of memory performance.Methods: Participants were 80 older adults (aged 60-84 years) divided into two groups, one with stereotype threat activation and one without; both groups performed an episodic memory task. To activate the stereotype threat, the memory component of the task was emphasized in the instruction given to the threatened group. Both groups also completed two scales of the MIA questionnaire (locus of control and anxiety) to identify potential predictors of memory performance.Results: Results indicated that the non-threatened group performed better than the threatened group on the episodic memory task. They also indicated that factors predicting episodic memory performance varied according to the group. In the non-threatened group, both control and anxiety were involved in memory performance and interacted whereas in the threatened group only anxiety was involved.Conclusion: This study confirms that aging stereotype threat impairs episodic memory performance; it also suggests that stereotype threat disrupts mechanisms underlying memory performance abolishing the role of control over memory regardless of the level of anxiety.

Human memory is strongly influenced by brain states occurring before an event, yet we know little about the underlying mechanisms. We found that activity in the cingulo-opercular network (including bilateral anterior insula [aI] and anterior prefrontal cortex [aPFC]) seconds before an event begins can predict whether this event will subsequently be remembered. We then tested how activity in the cingulo-opercular network shapes memory performance. Our findings indicate that prestimulus cingulo-opercular activity affects memory performance by opposingly modulating subsequent activity in two sets of regions previously linked to encoding and retrieval of episodic information. Specifically, higher prestimulus cingulo-opercular activity was associated with a subsequent increase in activity in temporal regions previously linked to encoding and with a subsequent reduction in activity within a set of regions thought to play a role in retrieval and self-referential processing. Together, these findings suggest that prestimulus attentional states modulate memory for real-life events by enhancing encoding and possibly by dampening interference from competing memory substrates.

Successful memory encoding is supported by medial temporal, retrosplenial, and occipital regions, which show developmental differences in recruitment from childhood to adulthood. However, little is known about the extent to which neural specificity in these brain regions, or the distinctiveness with which sensory information is represented, continues to develop during middle childhood and how it contributes to memory performance. The present study used multivariate pattern analysis to examine the distinctiveness of different scene representations in 169 children and 31 adults, and its relation to memory performance. Most children provided data over up to three measurement occasions between 8 and 15 years (267 total scans), allowing us to examine changes in memory and neural specificity over time. Memory performance was lower in children than in adults, and increased in children over time. Different scenes presented during memory encoding could be reliably decoded from parahippocampal, lateral occipital, and retrosplenial regions in children and adults. Neural specificity in children was similar to adults, and did not change reliably over time. Among children, higher neural specificity in scene-processing regions was associated with better memory concurrently. These results suggest that the distinctiveness with which incoming information is represented is important for memory performance in childhood, but other processes operating on these representations support developmental improvements in memory performance over time.

A course of medication with the Kardisten dietary supplement normalizes an elevated blood cortisol level and optimizes the activity of brain vasculature to improve the functional state and enhance short- and long-term memory performance, especially in subjects younger than 50. Kardisten evokes a more pronounced decrease of cortisol level and improves memory performance more efficiently in the case of initial organic changes in the brain vasculature as compared to advanced atherosclerosis. Kardisten activates the natural mechanisms of enhanced functional capacity in the human organism, exerts a favorable effect on mature and elderly persons, and can be recommended for physical and mental health improvement and the preservation of an active lifestyle during aging.

The question of a possible link between dream content and memory consolidation remains open. After a comprehensive review of the literature, we present novel findings from an experiment testing whether the incorporation of recently learned stimuli into dream reports is associated with improved post-sleep memory performance. Thirty-two high dream recallers freely explored new visuo-olfactory episodes for 3 consecutive days. During the nights following each non-explicit encoding, participants wore a wrist actimeter, and woke up at 5am and their usual waking time to record their dreams (intensity of all oneiric sensory perception was assessed using scales). A total of 120 dreams were reported and elements related to the encoding phase were identified in 37 of them, either learning-related (mainly visual- and rarely olfactory-related elements), or experiment-related (lab- or experimenters-related elements). On the 4th day, we found that participants with learning-related (n = 16) and participants with learning-related and/or experiment-related dreams (n = 21) had similar odor recognition and odor-evoked episodic memory with the other participants. However, they had significantly better visuo-spatial memory of the episodes in comparison to the other participants. Our results support the hypothesis that the learning phase is loosely incorporated into dreams and that this incorporation is associated with sleep related memory consolidation.

It is widely accepted that unitization can promote familiarity-based associative recognition, but the role of unitization in recognition of individual component elements remains unclear. Our goals of this study were to elaborate how unitization influenced item recognition and to further examine the effect of unitization on the extent to which familiarity and recollection contributed to item recognition. The results showed that unitization could facilitate item recognition through reducing the contribution of recollection. Together with previous findings that unitization could facilitate associative recognition, we believed unitization was an effective encoding strategy to improve memory performance.

Over the last ten years, scientists have developed a method called targeted memory reactivation (TMR) for selectively strengthening memories during sleep. Prior to this, memory manipulation during sleep was at most a plot device in science fiction movies, but a large corpus of studies now demonstrates that TMR is both reliable and effective. TMR studies hypothesize that this method taps into normal consolidation mechanisms that require the repeated replay of memories during sleep. This idea has recently been supported by several new studies demonstrating that TMR upregulates the reactivation of cued memories, and that such upregulation predicts subsequent memory performance. This new body of work provides a unique window onto many properties of memory reactivation and helps to close the gap between our understanding of replay in rodents, where it has been visualised at the neural level for many years, and humans, where such studies are only just starting to become possible. We will discuss this new literature and highlight the vast potential of these new methods for future research.

Physical synchrony has been suggested to have positive effects on not only concurrent but also subsequent communication, but the underlying neural processes are unclear. Using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) hyperscanning, we tested the effects of preceding physical synchrony on subsequent dyadic teaching-learning communication. Thirty-two pairs of participants performed two experimental sessions. In each session, they underwent a rhythmic arm movement block with synchronous or asynchronous conditions, and then taught/learned unknown words to/from each other according to a given scenario. Neural activities in their medial and left lateral prefrontal cortex (PFC) were measured and inter-brain synchronization (IBS) during the teaching-learning blocks was evaluated. Participants rated their subjective rapport during the teaching-learning blocks, and took a word memory test. The analyses revealed that (1) prior physical synchrony enhanced teacher-learner rapport; (2) prior physical synchrony also enhanced IBS in the lateral PFC; and (3) IBS changes correlated positively with rapport changes. Physical synchrony did however not affect word memory performance. These results suggest that IBS can be useful to measure the effects of social-bonding facilitation activities for educational communication.

We describe four experiments each examining n-back performance for high and low verbalisable odorants. Participants were presented with a sequence of odorants and were required to state if the current odorant was the same or different to the odorant presented two items earlier. Experiment 1 reported superior performance for high, relative to low, verbalisable odorants and was evident despite above chance memory performance for the low verbalisable odorants. Experiment 2 showed that such superiority persisted with a concurrent articulation condition, suggesting that the memory benefit was not a consequence of verbal recording and rehearsal. Experiment 3 employed metacognitive judgments and showed that correct 2-back responses for high verbalisable odorants received more recollection responses compared to low verbalisable odorants. Experiment 4 compared n-back performance across different stimulus types and showed that, for high verbalisable odorants, performance correlated with both letters and abstract shapes, but such correlations were absent for low verbalisable odorants. Taken together, these findings show differences in n-back performance between high and low verbalisable odorants, and show that high verbalisable odorants exhibit performance similarities with both verbal and visual stimuli. We further argue that n-back performance for low verbalisable odorants operates differently to that of high verbalisable odorants.

One's concept of the self can act as a schema, in some cases facilitating memory performance but in other cases making memory more prone to errors. In this study, we attempted to induce long-lasting self-reference effects through an autobiographical mode in younger and older adults, as well as patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), predicting that a self-referential mode of thought would benefit memory. Participants first either recalled autobiographical memories or described three neutral photographs in a narrative condition. This was followed by a conventional self-referencing task. At retrieval, participants completed a recognition task. Contrary to our prediction, the self-referencing benefit emerged consistently under autobiographical and narrative modes across all groups. Although our findings indicate that self-referencing can benefit memory, it carries the risk of increasing false alarm rates when induced through an autobiographical mode and consequently the strategy should be utilized with caution.

The paper presents assessment of Unified Memory performance with data prefetching and memory oversubscription. Several versions of code are used with: standard memory management, standard Unified Memory and optimized Unified Memory with programmer-assisted data prefetching. Evaluation of execution times is provided for four applications: Sobel and image rotation filters, stream image processing and computational fluid dynamic simulation, performed on Pascal and Volta architecture GPUs—NVIDIA GTX 1080 and NVIDIA V100 cards. Furthermore, we evaluate the possibility of allocating more memory than available on GPUs and assess performance of codes using the three aforementioned implementations, including memory oversubscription available in CUDA. Results serve as recommendations and hints for other similar codes regarding expected performance on modern and already widely available GPUs.

Older adults with past or current chronic stress exposure perform poorly on memory assessments and are at higher risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD). In low- or middle-income countries, many older adults are, or have been, exposed to stress-provoking events. Few published studies examine such populations, however, and few take multiple measures of stress. In a sample of South African older adults with mild-to-moderate AD (

Older adults display difficulties in encoding and retrieval of information, resulting in poorer memory. This may be due to an inability of older adults to engage elaborative encoding strategies during learning. This study examined behavioural and electrophysiological effects of explicit cues to self-initiate learning during encoding and subsequent recognition of words in younger adults (YA), older control adults (OA) and older adults with relative memory impairment (OD). The task was a variation of the old/new paradigm, some study items were preceded by a cue to learn the word (L) while others by a do not learn cue (X). Behaviourally, YA outperformed OA and OD on the recognition task, with no significant difference between OA and OD. Event-related potentials at encoding revealed enhanced early visual processing (70-140 ms) for L- versus X-words in young and old. Only YA exhibited a greater late posterior positivity (LPP; 200-500 ms) for all words during encoding perhaps reflecting superior encoding strategy. During recognition, only YA differentiated L- versus X-words with enhanced frontal P200 (150-250 ms) suggesting impaired early word selection for retrieval in older groups; however, OD had enhanced P200 activity compared to OA during L-word retrieval. The LPP (250-500 ms) was reduced in amplitude for L-words compared to both X- and new words. However, YA showed greater LPP amplitude for all words compared to OA. For older groups, we observed reduced left parietal hemispheric asymmetry apparent in YA during encoding and recognition, especially for OD. Findings are interpreted in the light of models of compensation and dedifferentiation associated with age-related changes in memory function.

Longitudinal designs must deal with the confound between increasing age and increasing task experience (i.e., retest effects). Most existing methods for disentangling these factors rely on large sample sizes and are impractical for smaller scale projects. Here, we show that a measurement burst design combined with a model of retest effects can be used to study age-related change with modest sample sizes. A combined model of age-related change and retest-related effects was developed. In a simulation experiment, we show that with sample sizes as small as n = 8, the model can reliably detect age effects of the size reported in the longitudinal literature while avoiding false positives when there is no age effect. We applied the model to data from a measurement burst study in which eight subjects completed a burst of seven sessions of free recall every year for five years. Six additional subjects completed a burst only in years 1 and 5. They should, therefore, have smaller retest effects but equal age effects. The raw data suggested slight improvement in memory over five years. However, applying the model to the yearly-testing group revealed that a substantial positive retest effect was obscuring stability in memory performance. Supporting this finding, the control group showed a smaller retest effect but an equal age effect. Measurement burst designs combined with models of retest effects allow researchers to employ longitudinal designs in areas where previously only cross-sectional designs were feasible.

We examined the influence of expansion and contraction on visual short-term memory (VSTM) using a change-detection task. In each trial, several expanding/contracting line segments with various orientations were presented in two successive displays. The orientation of objects in the second display was either identical to, or different from, that of the first display. Observers were asked to judge the presence or absence of an orientation change in successive displays. Results showed that memory performance for expanding objects was higher than for contracting objects (expansion benefit: Experiments 1A and 1B). Further experiments focused on VSTM processing (encoding, storage, and retrieval). Regarding the retrieval stage, an expansion benefit was replicated only when the direction of motion was consistent between two successive displays (Experiment 2A). A cueing stimulus enhanced the memory performance for both expanding and contracting motions and eliminated the expansion benefit (Experiment 2B). Regarding the storage stage, we found the expansion benefit occurred only for shorter blank intervals between the two displays (Experiment 3). Regarding the encoding stage, the expansion benefit was observed regardless of presentation times (Experiment 4). These results indicate the possibility that expanding and contracting motions modulate VSTM.

We analyzed structural magnetic resonance imaging data from 58 cognitively normal and 101 mild cognitive impairment subjects. We used a general linear regression model to study the association between cognitive performance with hippocampal atrophy and ventricular enlargement using the radial distance method.Bilateral hippocampal atrophy was associated with baseline and longitudinal memory performance. Left hippocampal atrophy predicted longitudinal decline in visuospatial function. The multidomain ventricular analysis did not reveal any significant predictors.

Introduction Superior cognitive performance in older adults may reflect underlying resistance to age-associated neurodegeneration. While elevated amyloid β (Aβ) deposition (Aβ+) has been associated with increased cortical atrophy, it remains unknown whether “SuperAgers” may be protected from Aβ-associated neurodegeneration. Methods Neuropsychologically defined SuperAgers (n = 172) and cognitively normal for age (n = 172) older adults from the Australian Imaging, Biomarkers and Lifestyle study were case matched. Rates of cortical atrophy over 8 years were examined by SuperAger classification and Aβ status. Results Of the case-matched SuperAgers and cognitively normal for age older adults, 40.7% and 40.1%, respectively, were Aβ+. Rates of age- and Aβ-associated atrophy did not differ between the groups on any measure. Aβ− individuals displayed the slowest rates of atrophy. Discussion Maintenance of superior memory in late life does not reflect resistance to age- or Aβ-associated atrophy. However, those individuals who reached old age without cognitive impairment nor elevated Aβ deposition (i.e. Aβ−) displayed reduced rates of cortical atrophy.

Experiencing stressful or traumatic events can result in disabling clinical symptoms of maladaptive emotional memory retrieval, which are only partly addressed by the currently proposed treatments. Cortisol modulation has been shown to affect emotional memory retrieval and potentially reconsolidation, offering an opportunity for developing more efficient treatments for disorders with an emotional memory component. Here, we investigated if cortisol suppression after reactivation of emotional memories weakens later memory thereof. Forty healthy young men were tested in a randomized, placebo controlled, double-blind, and between-subject design, assigned either to a cortisol suppression (metyrapone) group or a placebo group. Participants of both groups, were presented with two emotional stories at an encoding session (Day 1). One of the two stories was later reactivated and followed by metyrapone vs. placebo administration (Day 3). Memory for both stories was tested at a recognition memory session (Day 7). In the group undergoing cortisol suppression after memory reactivation memory performance was weaker compared to the placebo group, tested four days after reactivation. This study shows that cortisol suppression can weaken memory for past events, possibly by altering reconsolidation processes and thus exerting long-lasting weakening effects on the original memory.

This study aims to examine the mediating role of learning self-efficacy in the relationship between subjective age and memory performance as well as the moderating role of education in these indirect and direct relationships. A study was conducted with 200 older adults aged 60 to 81 years who completed measures of subjective age, learning self-efficacy, education, and memory performance. Analysis revealed that learning self-efficacy partially mediated the association between subjective age and memory performance. Further analysis found that the indirect associations between subjective age and memory through learning self-efficacy vary as a function of education. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of 8 weeks of aerobic, strength and mixed exercise on short-term memory performance of women. It is a quasi-experimental study accomplished by a pre/post-test plan with three experimental groups and one control group. A total of 60 female volunteers were selected, randomly, allocated to four groups in-cluding: aerobic group, strength group, aerobic-strength group and control group. All the groups performed their training protocols. Measurement of short-term memory performance was done using memory span test in two steps pre and post of exercise sessions. Data was analyzed using dependent t-test and covariance test. Least significance difference (LSD) test was used to compare groups. The results suggest that 8 weeks of aerobic (p=0.001), strength (p=0.001) and strength-aerobic (0.029) exercise increases memory performance. The results of covariance test showed that 8 weeks of aerobic, strength and aerobic-strength exercise affect short-term memory of women differently. Also, the results of mean comparison test suggest that there is a significant difference between control, aerobic-strength and strength groups (p

Formal thought organization obtained from free speech, a key feature for psychiatric evaluations, has been poorly investigated during typical development. Computational tools such as speech graph connectedness (LSC) currently allow for an accurate quantification in naturalistic settings. LSC’s typical development is better predicted by years of education than by age. Among beginning readers, the LSC of stories composed of short-term memory predicted reading independently from IQ. Here we set out to test a longitudinal sample (6–8 years old, n =45, followed for 2 years) to verify whether the LSC is predictive of various memory measures, and whether such relations can explain the correlation with reading. The LSC was specifically correlated with verbal short-term memory performance. The results support the notion that the short-term storage of verbal information is necessary to plan a story. Given the limited sample size, the relationship of this interaction with reading remains inconclusive.

Non-motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease (PD) include reduced reactivity to emotional stimuli. Visual artworks can evoke emotional responses. Motor, sensorial and cognitive networks implicated in the aesthetic experience and in the emotional-reward domain show a significant overlap with the pathological nigrostriatal, mesocortical and mesolimbic circuitry that characterises PD. Memory enhancement by emotional stimuli such as visual artwork-stimuli was explored in 12 right-sided and 12 left-sided non-demented-PD patients, 12 Alzheimer’s disease patients (AD) and 13 healthy controls (HC). Ten emotional and 10 non-emotional stimuli were previously identified based on the ratings of the emotional impact provided by 45 non-PD subjects on 82 pictures of paintings. Only figurative artworks were included. Patients and HC were requested to rate on a 7-point scale the emotional impact of 20 pictures; they were then requested to recognise the 20 pictures amongst 20 distractors (incidental memory task). Recognition of emotional stimuli was more accurate compared to non-emotional stimuli in AD, left-sided PD and HC; right-sided PD did not show sensitivity to the emotional valence of the stimuli suggesting the involvement of the nigrostriatal, mesocortical and mesolimbic circuitry of the left hemisphere in the emotional-reward system related to the aesthetic experience.

The purpose of this experiment was to evaluate the extent to which variations in control activities influence memory function, as well as to investigate the participants&rsquo, memory expectations for the various conditions. A within-subject, counterbalanced experimental design was employed. Across four visits, participants engaged in four tasks, including an acute exercise session, and three cognitive-engagement control tasks of varying degrees of cognitive engagement and valence, namely reading neutral text, looking at a video, and puzzle completion. Participants&rsquo, perceived expectations for how each condition would improve their memory performance was also assessed. We observed no differences in objective cognitive performance or outcome expectations across the three evaluated control tasks, and thus, future studies may wish to employ either of these control tasks, which should not compromise making comparisons across studies.

Theories of addiction posit that stimuli associated with drug use, including both exteroceptive (e.g., paraphernalia) and interoceptive (e.g., feeling tense or stressed), evoke craving and contribute to the pathogenesis of substance misuse. Control over drug cue response and stress is essential for moderating use. Building from laboratory data supporting associations between cue exposure, stress, and craving, this study tested whether these associations generalize to real-world settings and examined whether a well-vetted neurocognitive control capacity (i.e., working memory, or WM) moderated associations. Youths ( N = 85; 15–24 years old) completed baseline and ecological momentary assessments. Cue exposure and participants’ average stress predicted higher craving. Youths with weaker WM experienced stronger craving at higher-stress moments but not when faced with cues. Interactions were present for both previous-moment and same-moment stress. Craving among adolescents with stronger WM was not swayed by momentary stress. Findings suggest that stronger WM protects against craving at more stressful moments.

Amyloid pathology in cognitively normal older adults has been associated with low memory performance and cognitive complaints, but findings are conflicting. Using a monozygotic twin design, we further explored this relation. We investigated 199 cognitively normal older adults (96 twin pairs) and assessed cognitive performance, cognitive complaints, and amyloid pathology on positron emission tomography and in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Participants were on average 70.5 (SD = 7.6) years and 114 (57%) were female. Amyloid-positron emission tomography abnormality on visual read and lower CSFamyloid-beta 1-42/1-40 ratio were associated with lower Rey visuospatial memory performance (respectively, beta = -0.39 [SE = 0.17], p = 0.02 and beta = 0.15 [SE = 0.07], p = 0.04). Twin analyses showed that CSF amyloid-beta 1-42/1-40 ratio in one twin of a pair could predict visuospatial memory performance in the cotwin (r = 0.20 [SE = 0.10], p = 0.04). Monozygotic twin discordance analyses further showed a probable effect of disease staging on face-name associative memory performance. Our results suggest amyloid aggregation to be associated with lower visuospatial and face-name-associated memory performance in cognitively normal older adults, supporting the view that amyloid pathology leads to memory dysfunction in very early stages of the disease. (C) 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc.

To evaluate the effects of acute moderate-intensity exercise on ecological memory, as assessed from a face-name memory task. A two-arm, parallel-group, randomized controlled intervention was employed. Participants (N = 40; Mage = 20.8 years) were randomized into a seated control task or a bout of acute moderate-intensity treadmill exercise (15-min). Thereafter, participants completed a 3-phase face-name memory task, involving a study phase and two test phases (immediate and delayed recall, with the delay occurring 15 min after the immediate recall). For the immediate memory recall, the mean (SD) scores for the exercise and control conditions, respectively, were 6.60 (2.5) and 6.20 (2.5). For the 15-min delayed assessment, the respective scores were 6.25 (2.6) and 5.75 (1.9). There was a significant main effect for time (F = 4.06, P = 0.05, $$ \eta^{2}_{{p}} $$ = 0.10). However, there were no main effects for group (F = 0.33, P = 0.56, $$ \eta^{2}_{{p}} $$ = 0.01) or time by group interactions (F = 0.12, P = 0.72, $$ \eta^{2}_{{p}} $$ = 0.003). Despite the exercise group having slightly higher immediate and delayed face-name memory scores, we did not observe robust evidence of acute exercise enhancing face-name memory performance.

Frequently, emotion is associated with enhancements in memory as long as arousal is not too extreme. Negative valence can also lead to increased false memories. Yet less is known about specific memory processes that drive these effects of emotional content on memory performance. The present study uses conjoint recognition analyses to investigate the memory processes associated with memory for negative and positive pictorial stimuli. Participants studied pictures, which had been rated as negative-arousing, positive-arousing, or neutral-non-arousing, before completing a recognition memory test 48 hr later. Contrary to initial expectations based on process-based estimates of emotional words, gist-based processing did not lead to high levels of true memory for negative pictures, nor were negative pictures associated with compellingly real false memories. Instead, negative pictures were recognized more frequently than neutral pictures, and this effect was related to increased verbatim-based identity judgments. However, emotional memory enhancements were not observed for positive pictures. These results indicate that emotional memory enhancements for negative pictures are related to enhanced verbatim processing of emotional material. When false memories did occur for negative pictures, they were because of gist-based similarity judgments as predicted by prior process-based estimates of false memory for negative-arousing words or pictures. Such results are discussed in terms of eyewitness memory and the processes underlying such remembering, because in many criminal and forensically relevant situations, witnesses, who are often victims as well, are asked to recognize the perpetrator or other arousing aspects of an event. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

The article introduces the topic of Latvian documentary theatre of the second decade of the twenty-first century using Michael Foucault’s concept of counter-memory. The article analyses a series of performances by artists of the Latvian post-Soviet and post-memory generation dealing with history and memory discourses and highlights the main strategies of use of countermemory discourses in the creation of national, cultural, and individual identities; emphasizing memory as a construct and highlighting strategies of its creation and maintenance; emphasizing the oppressive nature of dominant-discourses; a disassociation with the past and memory, both cultural and individual.

Perception of emotional valence and emotional memory performance vary across the menstrual cycle. However, the consequences of altered ovarian hormone levels due to the intake of hormonal contraceptives on these emotional and cognitive processes remain to be established. In the present study, which included 2169 healthy young females, we show that hormonal contraceptives (HC) users rated emotional pictures as more emotional than HC-non-users and outperformed non-users in terms of better memory recall of emotional pictures. The observed association between HC-status and memory performance was partially mediated by the perception of emotional picture valence, indicating that increased valence ratings of emotional pictures in HC-users led to their better emotional memory performance. These findings extend the knowledge about the relation of HC-intake with emotional valence perception and emotional memory performance. Further, the findings might stimulate further research investigating the interrelation of enhanced memory for emotional events and the increased risk for anxiety-related psychiatric disorders in women. peerReviewed

This study examined the effectiveness of two commercially available cognitive interventions to enhance memory performance among older adults, an adaptive computerized program, Dakim BrainFitness, and a non-adaptive program of pencil-and-paper exercises, Mind Your Mind. Older adults were randomized to Dakim BrainFitness (n = 18), Mind Your Mind (n = 17), or a control (n = 17) condition. Memory outcomes were administered at baseline and post-training. Analyses included 52 older adults with an average age of 82 years old who completed baseline and post-training visits. The Dakim BrainFitness program improved memory as indicated by one measure of immediate recall and both indices of delayed recall (ps .05). Dakim BrainFitness training showed potential effectiveness to improve some aspects of memory, while the Mind Your Mind program did not. The effectiveness of different types of cognitive interventions varies. Investigations to delineate the underlying mechanisms of effective techniques are needed.

Five studies were designed to provide further evidence of contamination effects in memory. In study 1, participants were told to imagine that either (1) they had been infected in the grasslands of a foreign land (ancestral contamination); (2) they had been infected during a trip in a foreign country (modern contamination); or (3) as tour guide, they had to organize a trip (control condition). Words processed within a contamination scenario (ancestral or modern) were remembered better than words processed in a control scenario. In studies 2 and 3, adults were shown objects that had been touched by someone who had washed his hands after visiting the toilets compared to someone who had not. In a surprise recall test, objects touched by dirty hands were not reliably more recalled than objects touched by clean hands. In study 4, objects were presented with the drawing of a face of a sick or healthy person. The memory performance in the surprise recall test of objects was higher in the sick face context than in the healthy face context. In study 5, faces of people who had signs of contamination or looked healthy were presented next to objects. In study 5a, participants rated their level of perceived discomfort when they imagined touching the objects next to faces (sick vs. healthy) and were then tested for their memory of objects. In study 5b, the same stimuli were presented but here had to be explicitly remembered. In both studies 5a and 5b, source memory was also evaluated. In both studies, participants remembered contaminated objects better than non-contaminated objects and they also remembered contaminated sources better. Taken together, the findings provide further evidence for the adaptive memory view (Nairne 2010), according to which items processed in a context of survival and/or reproduction (here a context of contamination) are remembered better than items processed in non-survival/reproduction contexts.

Background: Treating aged animals with plasma of an early developmental stage (e.g, umbilical cord plasma) showed an impressive potential to slow age-associated degradation of neuronal and cognitive functions. Translating such findings to clinical realities, however, requires effective ways for assessing treatment efficacy; ideal methods should be minimally invasive, amenable for serial assays, cost-effective, and quantitative. Methods: We developed a new biosensor approach to monitor anti-aging therapy. We advanced two key sensor components: i) a blood-borne metabolite was identified as a surrogate aging-marker; and ii) a compact and cost-effective assay system was developed for on-site applications. We treated aged mice either with human umbilical cord plasma or saline; unbiased metabolite profiling on mouse plasma revealed arachidonic acid (AA) as a potent indicator associated with anti-aging effect. We next implemented a competitive magneto-electrochemical sensor (cMES) optimized for AA detection directly from plasma. The developed platform could detect AA directly from small volumes of plasma (0.5 µL) within 1.5 hour. Results: cMES assays confirmed a strong correlation between AA levels and anti-aging effect: AA levels, while decreasing with aging, increased in the plasma-treated aged mice which also showed improved learning and memory performance. Conclusions: The cMES platform will empower both pre- and clinical anti-aging research by enabling minimally invasive, longitudinal treatment surveillance; these capacities will accelerate the development of anti-aging therapies, improving the quality of individual lives.

Fluent event processing involves selectively attending to information-rich regions within dynamically unfolding sensory streams (e.g., Newtson, 1973). What counts as information-rich likely depends on numerous factors, however, including overall event novelty and local opportunity for repeated viewing. Using Hard, Recchia, and Tversky's (2011) method, we investigated the extent to which these two variables affected viewers' attentional patterns as events unfolded. Specifically, we recorded viewers' "dwell times" as they advanced through two slideshows depicting distinct methods of shoelace tying varying in novelty but equated on other dimensions. Across two experiments, novelty sparked increased dwelling overall, and viewers' dwelling patterns displayed rapid and systematic reorganization to structure within the activity stream after just one viewing of distinctively novel content. As well, increased dwelling positively predicted memory performance. These findings newly illuminate reorganization in attention as relevant information within novel activity sequences is quickly incorporated to guide event processing and support event memory.

Item does not contain fulltext This article explores the possibility of differentiating between patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease (AD) and patients with other kinds of dementia by focusing on false alarms (FAs) on a picture recognition task (PRT). In Study 1, we compared AD and non-AD patients on the PRT and found that FAs discriminate well between these groups. Study 2 served to improve the discriminatory power of the FA score on the picture recognition task by adding associated pairs. Here, too, the FA score differentiated well between AD and non-AD patients, though the discriminatory power did not improve. The findings suggest that AD patients show a liberal response bias. Taken together, these studies suggest that FAs in picture recognition are of major importance for the clinical diagnosis of AD. 12 p.

Older adults (OAs) typically experience memory failures as they age. However, with some exceptions, studies of OAs’ ability to assess their own memory functions—Metamemory (MM)— find little evidence that this function is susceptible to age-related decline. Our study examines OAs’ and young adults’ (YAs) MM performance and strategy use. Groups of YAs (N = 138) and OAs (N = 79) performed a MM task that required participants to place bets on how likely they were to remember words in a list. Our analytical approach includes hierarchical clustering, and we introduce a new measure of MM—the modified Brier—in order to adjust for differences in scale usage between participants. Our data indicate that OAs and YAs differ in the strategies they use to assess their memory and in how well their MM matches with memory performance. However, there was no evidence that the chosen strategies were associated with differences in MM match, indicating that there are multiple strategies that might be effective (i.e. lead to similar match) in this MM task.

The ability to keep distinct memories of similar events is underpinned by a type of neural computation called pattern separation (PS). Children typically report coarse-grained memories narratives lacking specificity and detail. This lack of memory specificity is illustrative of an immature or impaired PS. Despite its importance for the ontogeny of memory, data regarding the maturation of PS during childhood is still scarce. PS is known to rely on the hippocampus, particularly on hippocampal subfields DG and CA3. In this study, we used a memory discrimination task, a behavioral proxy for PS, and manually segmented hippocampal subfields volumes in the hippocampal body in a cohort of 26 children aged from 5 to 12 years. We examined the association between subfields volumes and memory discrimination performance. The main results were: (1) we showed age-related differences of memory discrimination suggesting a continuous increase of memory performance during early to late childhood. (2) We evidenced distinct associations between age and the volumes of hippocampal subfield, suggesting distinct developmental trajectories. (3) We showed a relationship between memory discrimination performance and the volumes of CA3 and subiculum. Our results further confirm the role of CA3 in memory discrimination, and suggest to scrutinize more closely the role of the subiculum. Overall, we showed that hippocampal subfields contribute distinctively to PS during development.