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Do consumers really read a price from left to right, as assumed in past research? Or does price reading operate like word reading, with a single fixation toward the middle? Three eye-tracking lab studies reject both theories, revealing instead a distinct reading pattern: multiple fixations, with the first located on average between the first third and middle of the price; the first eye movement is usually to the left; and subsequent eye movements are as often to the left as to the right. Overall, consumers pay as much attention to cents as euros, with the cents part influencing how prices are encoded in memory, as evidenced by an in-store price-recall survey. The reading process identifies whether to encode a price verbally as is or replace it with a shorter substitute that is easier to memorize and turns out to be well correlated with the actual price (r = 0.952). When consumers compare two prices, eye movements and the subsequent subjective estimation of the price difference depend on whether or not the prices have identical integer parts. The combined findings of four studies suggest that consumers have developed a reliable, efficient ability to read and encode prices, despite limitations of their visual span and working memory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Neural mechanism of object encoding in MTL revealed by human intracranial EEGs. • PRC showed strongest broad-gamma activation ∼100 ms in response to object stimuli. • Found strong bidirectional low-frequency interactions of PRC with PHC and HPC. • Findings support the PRC-HPC-ventral object pathway. The perirhinal cortex (PRC) and parahippocampal cortex (PHC) are core regions along the visual dual-stream. The specific functional roles of the PRC and PHC and their interactions with the downstream hippocampus cortex (HPC) are crucial for understanding visual memory. Our research used human intracranial EEGs to study the neural mechanism of the PRC, PHC, and HPC in visual object encoding. Single-regional function analyses found evidence that the PRC, PHC, and HPC are activated ∼100 ms within the broad-gamma band and that the PRC was more strongly activated than either the PHC or the HPC after an object stimulus. Inter-regional analyses showed strong bidirectional interactions of the PRC with both the PHC and HPC in the low-frequency band, whereas the interactions between the PHC and HPC were not significant. These findings demonstrated the core role of the PRC in encoding visual object information and supported the hypothesis of PRC-HPC-ventral object pathway. The recruitment of the PHC and its interaction with the PRC in visual object encoding also provide new insights beyond the traditional dorsal-stream hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Object-based attention operates both in perception and visual working memory. While the efficient perception of auditory stimuli also requires the formation of auditory objects, little is known about their role in auditory working memory (AWM). To investigate whether attention to one object feature in AWM leads to the involuntary maintenance of another, task-irrelevant feature, we conducted four experiments. Stimuli were abstract sounds that differed on the dimensions frequency and location, only one of which was task-relevant in each experiment. The first two experiments required a match–nonmatch decision about a probe sound whose irrelevant feature value could either be identical to or differ from the memorized stimulus. Matches on the relevant dimension were detected more accurately when the irrelevant feature matched as well, whereas for nonmatches on the relevant dimension, performance was better for irrelevant feature nonmatches. Signal-detection analysis showed that changes of irrelevant frequency reduced the sensitivity for sound location. Two further experiments used continuous report tasks. When location was the target feature, changes of irrelevant sound frequency had an impact on both recall error and adjustment time. Irrelevant location changes affected adjustment time only. In summary, object-based attention led to a concurrent maintenance of task-irrelevant sound features in AWM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim Method Results Interpretation To evaluate the transfer effects of a home‐based computerized executive function intervention on non‐targeted cognitive functions (visual perception and memory), quality of life (QoL), and participation in children with cerebral palsy (CP), and to determine whether any improvements were maintained 9 months after the intervention.Sixty children with CP (aged 8–12 years) were randomly allocated to the intervention (15 females/15 males, mean age 10 years 4 months [SD = 1 years 8 months], age range 8–12 years) or waitlist (control) (15 females/15 males, mean age 10 years [SD = 1 years 9 months], age range 8–12 years) group. The intervention group underwent a home‐based executive function intervention programme for 30 minutes per day, 5 days a week, for 12 weeks. All participants were assessed before the intervention, immediately after and 9 months after the intervention was completed.After the intervention was completed, performance in immediate verbal memory, verbal learning, and visual perception (object and picture recognition) was significantly better in the intervention group than in the waitlist (control) group. No improvements were found in visual memory, visuospatial perception, QoL, or participation after the intervention. Scores at the follow‐up showed that any beneficial effects were not maintained 9 months after the intervention was completed.A home‐based computerized executive function intervention produced transfer effects on memory and visual perception immediately after the intervention in children with CP, although any beneficial effects were not sustained at the 9‐month follow‐up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: In real-life scenarios, individuals frequently engage in tasks that involve searching for one of the distinct items stored in memory. This combined process of visual search and memory search is known as hybrid search. To date, most hybrid search studies have been restricted to average observers looking for previously well-memorized targets in blank backgrounds. Methods: We investigated the effects of context and the role of memory in hybrid search by modifying the task's memorization phase to occur in all-new single trials. In addition, we aimed to assess how individual differences in visual working memory capacity and inhibitory control influence performance during hybrid search. In an online experiment, 110 participants searched for potential targets in images with and without context. A change detection and go/no-go task were also performed to measure working memory capacity and inhibitory control, respectively. Results: We show that, in target present trials, the main hallmarks of hybrid search remain present, with a linear relationship between reaction time and visual set size and a logarithmic relationship between reaction time and memory set size. These behavioral results can be reproduced by using a simple driftdiffusion model. Finally, working memory capacity did not predict most search performance measures. Inhibitory control, when relationships were significant, could account for only a small portion of the variability in the data. Discussion: This study provides insights into the effects of context and individual differences on search efficiency and termination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Sleep‐disordered breathing (SDB) is linked to cognitive dysfunction. Although SDB is common in stroke patients, the impact of SDB and its early treatment on cognitive functioning after stroke remains poorly investigated. Therefore, we explored the association between SDB and post‐stroke cognitive functioning, including the impact of early SDB treatment with adaptive servo‐ventilation (ASV) on cognitive recovery from acute event to 3 months post‐stroke. We used data from two studies, which included ischaemic stroke patients (n = 131) and no‐stroke controls (n = 37) without SDB (apnea–hypopnea index, AHI <5/h) and with SDB (AHI≥20/h). Cognitive functioning was assessed within 7 days and 3 months post‐stroke in stroke patients, or at study inclusion in no‐stroke control group, respectively. Stroke patients with SDB were randomized to ASV treatment (ASV+) or usual care (ASV‐). Linear regression adjusted for main confounders assessed the impact of SDB and its treatment on cognitive recovery. The intention‐to‐treat analysis did not show significant associations of SDB ASV+ (n = 30) versus SDB ASV‐ (n = 29) with cognitive recovery. In an exploratory subanalysis, compliant SDB ASV+ (n = 14) versus SDB ASV‐ showed improvements with ASV in visual memory and cognitive flexibility. Combining the stroke and non‐stroke datasets, SDB (n = 85) versus no‐SDB (n = 83) was associated with deficits in visual memory and response inhibition independently of stroke. SDB ASV‐ versus no‐SDB (n = 51) was associated with less improvement in visual memory. There was no substantial evidence for benefits of intention‐to‐treat ASV on cognitive recovery. Exploratory analysis indicated that compliant ASV treatment could benefit visual memory and cognitive flexibility, whereas untreated SDB could contribute to a poor recovery of visual memory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When studying the working memory (WM), the 'slot model' and the 'resource model' are two main theories used to describe how information retention occurs. The slot model shows that WM capacity consists of a certain number of predefined slots available for information storage. This theory explains that there is a binary condition during information recall in which information is either wholly maintained within a slot or forgotten. The resource model has a resolution-based approach, suggesting a continuous resource able to be distributed among a number of items in WM capacity. Recently hybrid models have been introduced, suggesting that WM may not strictly conform to only one model. Accordingly, to understand the relationship between two of the most widely used paradigms in WM evaluation, we implemented a correlational assessment in two different psychophysics tasks, an analog recall paradigm with sequential bar presentation and a delayed match-to-sample (DMS) task with checkerboard stimuli. Our study revealed significant correlations between WM performance in the DMS task and recall error, precision, and sources of errors in the sequential paradigm. Overall, the findings emphasize the importance of considering both tasks in understanding WM processes, as they shed light on the debate between the slot and resource models by revealing overlapping elements in both theories and the tasks used to evaluate WM capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights Caregiver executive functions (EFs) play an integral role in shaping cognitive development. Here, we investigated how caregiver EF abilities (86 caregivers; mean age = 33.4 years, SD = 4.5) was associated with visual working memory (VWM) in infants (86 infants females; mean age = 250.6 days, SD = 35.8). The BRIEF‐A was used to assess caregiver EFs, and a preferential looking task along with fNIRS was used to assess VWM function in infants. Our findings revealed that better caregiver behavioral regulation was associated with better VWM performance, greater right‐lateralized parietal activation, and left‐lateralized frontal suppression, while better caregiver metacognition and emotional control was associated with greater right‐lateralized temporal suppression in infants. Taken together, these associations suggest that better caregiver EF abilities might shape visuo‐spatial attention and memory, guide fixation on task‐relevant goals, and suppress distractions in children from as early as the first year of life. The study investigated the association between caregiver executive functions (EF) and visual working memory (VWM) function in infants. Caregiver EFs were assessed using the BRIEF‐A questionnaire, and infant VWM function was assessed using the preferential‐looking task and brain imaging. Better caregiver EF abilities were associated with better VWM behavior and fronto‐temporo‐parietal engagement in infants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In environments teeming with distractions, the ability to selectively focus on relevant information is crucial for advanced cognitive processing. Existing research using event-related potential (ERP) technology has shown active suppression of irrelevant stimuli during the consolidation phase of visual working memory (VWM). In previous studies, participants have always been given sufficient time to consolidate VWM, while suppressing distracting information. However, it remains unclear whether the suppression of irrelevant distractors requires continuous effort throughout their presence or whether this suppression is only necessary after the consolidation of task-relevant information. To address this question, our study examines whether distractor suppression is necessary in scenarios where consolidation time is limited. This research investigates the effect of varying presentation durations on the filtering of distractors in VWM. We tasked participants with memorizing two color stimuli and ignoring four distractors, presented for either 50 ms or 200 ms. Using ERP technology, we discovered that the distractor-induced distractor positivity (PD) amplitude is larger during longer presentation durations compared to shorter ones. These findings underscore the significant impact of presentation duration on the efficacy of distractor suppression in VWM, as prolonged exposure results in a stronger suppression effect on distractors. This study sheds light on the temporal dynamics of attention and memory, emphasizing the critical role of stimulus timing in cognitive tasks. These findings provide valuable insights into the mechanisms underlying VWM and have significant implications for models of attention and memory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Alzheimer's disease has become increasingly prevalent among the older population, leading to significant social and economic burdens. Transcranial photobiomodulation (tPBM) has shown promise as a cognitive intervention for enhancing cognitive efficiency in healthy older adults, and individuals with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease. However, determining the optimal tPBM dosage is crucial for ensuring effective and efficient intervention. Objective: This study aimed to compare the effects of different dosages in a single tPBM session on cognitive efficiency in healthy older adults. Methods: In this randomized controlled trial, 88 healthy older participants were assigned to either a single dose (irradiance = 30 mW/cm2, fluence = 10.8 J/cm2; n = 44) or a double dose (irradiance = 30 mW/cm2, fluence = 21.6 J/cm2; n = 44) tPBM session. Cognitive efficiency was assessed using functional near-infrared spectroscopy during a visual working memory span task. Results: The single dose group exhibited significantly greater cognitive efficiency enhancement, indicated by a more pronounced reduction in oxygenated hemoglobin during a challenging task level (span level 9) (p = 0.021, d = 0.50), and better working memory task performance (p = 0.045, d = 0.31). Furthermore, participants with better visuospatial abilities demonstrated greater improvement after a single dose (r = –0.42, p = 0.004). In contrast, participants with varying cognitive function did not exhibit additional benefits from a double dose (r = –0.22–0.15, p = 0.16–0.95). Conclusions: These findings suggest that higher tPBM dosages may not necessarily result in superior cognitive improvement in older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In our modern world we are exposed to a steady stream of information containing important as well as irrelevant information. Therefore, our brains have to constantly select relevant over distracting items and further process the selected information. Whereas there is good evidence that even in rapid serial streams of presented information relevant targets can be actively selected, it is less clear whether and how distracting information is de-selected and suppressed in such scenarios. Methods: To address this issue we recorded electroencephalographic activity during a rapid serial visual presentation paradigm in which healthy, young human volunteers had to encode visual targets into short-term memory while salient visual distractors and neutral filler items needed to be ignored. Event-related potentials were analyzed in 3D source space and compared between stimulus types. Results: A negative wave between around 170 and 230 ms after stimulus onset resembling the N2pc component was identified that dissociated between target stimuli and distractors as well as filler items. This wave appears to reflect target selection processes. However, there was no electrophysiological signature identified that would indicate an active distractor suppression mechanism. Conclusions: The obtained results suggest that unlike in situations where target stimuli and distractors are presented simultaneously, targets can be selected without the need for active suppression of distracting information in serial presentations with a clear and regular temporal structure. It is assumed that temporal expectation supports efficient target selection by the brain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Measures of attention and memory were evaluated in 6‐ to 9‐month‐old infants from two diverse contexts. One sample consisted of African infants residing in rural Malawi (N = 228, 118 girls, 110 boys). The other sample consisted of racially diverse infants residing in suburban California (N = 48, 24 girls, 24 boys). Infants were tested in an eye‐tracking version of the visual paired comparison procedure and were shown racially familiar faces. The eye tracking data were parsed into individual looks, revealing that both groups of infants showed significant memory performance. However, how a look was operationally defined impacted some—but not other—measures of infant VPC performance. Research Highlights: In both the US and Malawi, 6‐ to 9‐month‐old infants showed evidence of memory for faces they had previously viewed during a familiarization period.Infant age was associated with peak look duration and memory performance in both contexts.Different operational definitions of a look yielded consistent findings for peak look duration and novelty preference scores—but not shift rate.Operationalization of look‐defined measures is an important consideration for studies of infants in different cultural contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visual working memory is believed to rely on top–down attentional mechanisms that sustain active sensory representations in early visual cortex, a mechanism referred to as sensory recruitment. However, both bottom–up sensory input and top–down attentional modulations thereof appear to prioritize the fovea over the periphery, such that initially peripheral percepts may even be assimilated by foveal processes. This raises the question whether and how visual working memory differs for central and peripheral input. To address this, we conducted a delayed orientation recall task in which an orientation was presented either at the center of the screen or at 15° eccentricity to the left or right. Response accuracy, EEG activity, and gaze position were recorded from 30 participants. Accuracy was slightly but significantly higher for foveal versus peripheral memories. Decoding of EEG recordings revealed a clear dissociation between early sensory and later maintenance signals. Although sensory signals were clearly decodable for foveal stimuli, they were not for peripheral input. In contrast, maintenance signals were equally decodable for both foveal and peripheral memories, suggesting comparable top–down components regardless of eccentricity. Moreover, although memory representations were initially spatially specific and reflected in voltage fluctuations, later during the maintenance period, they generalized across locations, as emerged in alpha oscillations, thus revealing a dynamic transformation within memory from separate sensory traces to what we propose are common output-related codes. Furthermore, the combined absence of reliable decoding of sensory signals and robust presence of maintenance decoding indicates that storage activity patterns as measured by EEG reflect signals beyond primary visual cortex. We discuss the implications for the sensory recruitment hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rhetorical studies of public memory explore the ways in which memory is made material and how those means condition our own embodiment of memory. One space for this type of rhetorical memory work featured in this essay is the encounter with the corpse during funeral services. While research on funeral rhetoric has been foundational to our understanding of memory and epideixis, we focus on the embodied rhetorics that support and sustain the values we have toward the deceased in the processes of encountering them. We share interviews with deathcare workers and a rhetorical ethnography of the deathcare industry to elaborate on the figurative work and backstage processes that make memorializing the dead possible. We contend that “memory pictures” can be understood as material instantiations of memory that shape the processes of encountering and remembering the dead. This article details phases of encountering the recently deceased body and how the deceased body is made into a corpse to remember and mourn. The phases and technical processes of working with corpses are bluntly described with details about preparing, embalming, and displaying dead bodies. The straightforward and sometimes graphic description of these phases and processes may be disturbing or upsetting for readers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is a list of references for scientific studies on the use of non-invasive brain stimulation techniques, such as transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), in the treatment of cognitive impairment and neurological disorders. The studies cover various topics related to memory function, cognitive performance, and brain connectivity in individuals with conditions like mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease. The document also includes meta-analyses and systematic reviews that summarize the findings of multiple studies in these areas. Library patrons can use this document to explore further research on the topic. [Extracted from the article]

Aim Methods Results Conclusion To explore the impact of blood pressure on cognitive outcomes at 18 years of age in individuals born extremely preterm (<28 weeks' gestation) and at term (≥37 weeks' gestation).Prospective longitudinal cohort comprising 136 young adults born extremely preterm and 120 matched term controls born in Victoria, Australia in 1991 and 1992. Using linear regression, we analysed the relationships between 24‐h mean ambulatory blood pressure, systolic and diastolic hypertension with cognitive outcomes.For both birth groups combined, higher 24‐h mean ambulatory blood pressure and systolic hypertension were associated with similar or worse cognitive outcomes. The strongest relationships were between higher 24‐h mean ambulatory blood pressure and systolic hypertension with poorer general intellect, visual learning and visual memory. We found little evidence that relationships between ambulatory blood pressure and cognitive outcomes differed by birth group.Higher 24‐h mean ambulatory blood pressure and systolic hypertension were associated with poorer cognitive outcomes in individuals born extremely preterm and at term, particularly in general intelligence and visual memory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During aging the inter‐individual variability in both the neural and behavioral functions is likely to be emphasized. Decreased competence particularly in working memory and general executive control compromises many aspects of the quality of life also within the nonclinical population. We aimed, first, to clarify the brain basis of visual working memory and inhibition during multi‐stage natural‐like task performance, and second, to identify associations between variation in task‐related neural activity and relevant cognitive skills, namely inhibition and general working memory capacity. We recorded, using magnetoencephalography (MEG), the neural modulations associated with encoding, maintenance, and retrieval, as well as interference suppression during a visual working memory task in older adults. We quantified the neural correlates of these cognitive processes through two complementary approaches: evoked responses and oscillatory activity. Neural activity during memory retrieval and interference suppression were correlated with behavioral measures of task switching and general executive functions. Our results show that general inhibitory control induced frontocentral neural modulation across a broad range of frequencies whereas domain‐specific inhibition was limited to right posterior areas. Our findings also suggest that modulations particularly in phase‐locked evoked neural activity can be reliably associated with explicit measures of cognitive skills, with better inhibitory control linked with an early neural effect of distractor inhibition during retrieval. In general, we show that exploiting the inherent inter‐individual variability in neural measures and behavioral markers of cognition in aging populations can help establish reliable links between specific brain functions and their behavioral manifestations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Although evidence supports the effective use of a cue to forget an encoded stimulus, the mechanisms of this forgetting are not well understood. Evidence from item-method directed forgetting in long-term memory reveals greater prefrontal and parietal activation for information that is cued to be forgotten. Activation in those brain regions is typically associated with increased effort and cognitive control. Method: To test themechanismof directed forgetting in visual workingmemory, we used stimuli that rely on distinct brain regions such as faces and buildings and varied memory stability. Participants completed a directed forgetting task with faces and buildings, and memory stability was manipulated by presenting some stimuli repeatedly throughout the study, and other stimuli were only presented once. Results and discussion: Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) results fromthe parahippocampal place area suggest that to-be-remembered buildings elicit higher activation than to-be-forgotten buildings. In addition, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex activation changed throughout the trial period, possibly suggesting that the cue led to information being dropped from visual working memory, or through a shift in attention, as occurs with the retro-cue paradigm. Several explanations for these results are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease is associated with electroencephalographic (EEG) biosignatures even at early stages of mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The aim of this work is to provide a unified measure of cognitive decline by aggregating biosignatures from multiple EEG modalities and to evaluate repeatability of the composite measure at an individual level. These modalities included resting state EEG (eyes-closed) and two event-related potential (ERP) tasks on visual memory and attention. We compared individuals with MCI (n = 38) to age-matched healthy controls HC (n = 44). In resting state EEG, the MCI group exhibited higher power in Theta (3-7Hz) and lower power in Beta (13-20Hz) frequency bands. In both ERP tasks, the MCI group exhibited reduced ERP late positive potential (LPP), delayed ERP early component latency, slower reaction time, and decreased response accuracy. Cluster-based permutation analysis revealed significant clusters of difference between the MCI and HC groups in the frequency-channel and time-channel spaces. Cluster-based measures and performance measures (12 biosignatures in total) were selected as predictors of MCI. We trained a support vector machine (SVM) classifier achieving AUC = 0.89, accuracy = 77% in cross-validation using all data. Split-data validation resulted in (AUC = 0.87, accuracy = 76%) and (AUC = 0.75, accuracy = 70%) on testing data at baseline and follow-up visits, respectively. Classification scores at baseline and follow-up visits were correlated (r = 0.72, p<0.001, ICC = 0.84), supporting test-retest reliability of EEG biosignature. These results support the utility of EEG/ERP for prognostic testing, repeated assessments, and tracking potential treatment outcomes in the limited duration of clinical trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neuromorphic computing aims to leverage physical phenomena of adaptive materials for emulating information processing capabilities and effectiveness of biological neuronal circuits. In this framework, memristors (resistors with memory) based on 2D materials are demonstrated for the hardware implementation of highly integrated artificial neural networks. All the works reported thus far exploited electrical properties of 2D materials to emulate neuromorphic functionalities. Here, a 2D memitter (emitter with memory) is reported on that exploits the stimuli‐responsive photoluminescence of a monolayer WS2 for neuromorphic‐type of data processing. A combined experimental and modeling approach reveals that photoluminescent dynamics triggered by optical stimulation emulates Short‐Term synaptic Plasticity and Visual Short‐Term Memory typical of biological systems. While spatio‐temporal processing capabilities of input signals can be used for information processing in the context of reservoir computing, the capability of the 2D memitter of sensing, processing, and memorizing‐forgetting optical inputs in the same physical substrate can be utilized for in‐sensor computing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Serial dependence has shown seemingly contradictory effects on visual perception and working memory. While serial dependence promotes perpetual and mnemonic stability, it biases behavioral reports toward prior information. The neural mechanisms that drive both biasing and adaptive stabilizing effects are not well understood. We proposed and tested a reactivation and integration mechanism that can account for these contradictory effects. We used multivariate pattern analyses of EEG data (26 human participants, 17 females, 9 males) to examine the reactivation of prior reported orientation during the delay period of a visual working memory task. The reactivation strength of prior reports, but not prior sensory items, was predictive of the magnitude of serial dependency biases. These reactivated representations integrated with the representation of the current memory item and improved the ability to decode the current contents of memory. Overall, our data provide convergent evidence suggesting that prior reports in a visual working memory task are reactivated on the subsequent trial and become integrated with current memory representations. This similarity-dependent reactivation mechanism drives both report biasing and stabilization effects attributed to serial dependence in working memory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Paramedics are expected to record electrocardiograms (ECGs) as part of their clinical assessment; however, it is an extremely difficult skill to learn and understand as it has a high intrinsic cognitive load which can also be challenging to teach effectively. Aims: This article will explore the use of cognitive load theory to assist in the teaching of ECG interpretation within the context of paramedical education. Description: Cognitive load theory can be useful to aid teaching within complex medical and health science domains including clinical skills teaching. Conclusions: The application of cognitive load theory to the teaching of ECG interpretation can be useful as it allows for the development of understanding, building schemata linking information currently being learned to knowledge already gained within the long‐term memory, which can maximise germane load by the appropriate selection of intrinsic load, minimising extraneous load therefore not overloading the working memory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is a collection of abstracts from the International Journal of Psychology, covering a wide range of topics related to psychology and cognitive functioning. The abstracts provide brief overviews of each topic, including age-related changes in time processing, cognitive behavioral therapy training, neural correlates of biological motion perception, trends in cognitive abilities in India, and more. These abstracts may be useful for library patrons conducting research in these areas. Additionally, the document includes summaries of various studies on topics such as moral dilemma judgment, spatial-numerical processing, empathy and emotion recognition, consumer choices, attentional processing, and more. These studies provide insights into cultural variations, embodied cognition, emotional contexts, perception and attention, causal reasoning, sex differences in cognitive reflection, autobiographical memory, bilingualism and musical expertise, object-spatial imagery and verbal processing, mental representation of time, music memory, sleep stages and memory, perception of taste, cognitive-control styles, olfactory contextual cues, and Chinese word recognition. The findings of these studies contribute to our understanding of these topics and highlight the importance of considering diverse perspectives in psychological research. [Extracted from the article]

White matter (WM) functional activity has been reliably detected through functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Previous studies have primarily examined WM bundles as unified entities, thereby obscuring the functional heterogeneity inherent within these bundles. Here, for the first time, we investigate the function of sub‐bundles of a prototypical visual WM tract—the optic radiation (OR). We use the 7T retinotopy dataset from the Human Connectome Project (HCP) to reconstruct OR and further subdivide the OR into sub‐bundles based on the fiber's termination in the primary visual cortex (V1). The population receptive field (pRF) model is then applied to evaluate the retinotopic properties of these sub‐bundles, and the consistency of the pRF properties of sub‐bundles with those of V1 subfields is evaluated. Furthermore, we utilize the HCP working memory dataset to evaluate the activations of the foveal and peripheral OR sub‐bundles, along with LGN and V1 subfields, during 0‐back and 2‐back tasks. We then evaluate differences in 2bk‐0bk contrast between foveal and peripheral sub‐bundles (or subfields), and further examine potential relationships between 2bk‐0bk contrast and 2‐back task d‐prime. The results show that the pRF properties of OR sub‐bundles exhibit standard retinotopic properties and are typically similar to the properties of V1 subfields. Notably, activations during the 2‐back task consistently surpass those under the 0‐back task across foveal and peripheral OR sub‐bundles, as well as LGN and V1 subfields. The foveal V1 displays significantly higher 2bk‐0bk contrast than peripheral V1. The 2‐back task d‐prime shows strong correlations with 2bk‐0bk contrast for foveal and peripheral OR fibers. These findings demonstrate that the blood oxygen level‐dependent (BOLD) signals of OR sub‐bundles encode high‐fidelity visual information, underscoring the feasibility of assessing WM functional activity at the sub‐bundle level. Additionally, the study highlights the role of OR in the top‐down processes of visual working memory beyond the bottom‐up processes for visual information transmission. Conclusively, this study innovatively proposes a novel paradigm for analyzing WM fiber tracts at the individual sub‐bundle level and expands understanding of OR function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To establish the minimal detectable change (MDC) of the subtests that comprise the composite scores from remotely administered Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT) baselines. Method Remote ImPACT baseline data from 172 (male = 45, female = 127) National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I student-athletes from the 2020 and 2021 athletic preseasons were used to calculate the MDC at the 95%, 90%, and 80% confidence intervals (CIs) for all subtest scores used to generate the four core composite scores and the impulse control composite. Results The MDCs for the verbal memory subtests at the 95% CI were 10.31 for word memory percent correct, 4.68 for symbol match total correct hidden, and 18.25 for three letters percentage correct. Visual memory subtest MDCs were 19.03 for design memory total percent correct and 4.90 for XO total correct memory. Visual motor speed subtest MDCs were 18.89 for XO total correct interference and 5.40 for three letters average counted correctly. Reaction time (RT) MDCs were 0.12 for XO average correct, 0.95 for symbol match average correct RT, and 0.28 for color match average correct. Impulse control MDCs were 5.97 for XO total incorrect and 1.15 for color match total commissions. One-way repeated measures MANOVA, repeated measures ANOVAs, and Wilcoxon signed-ranks test all suggested no significant difference between any subtests across two remote ImPACT baselines. Conclusions The ImPACT subtest scores did not significantly change between athletic seasons. Our study suggests the subtests be evaluated in conjunction with the composite scores to provide additional metrics for clinical interpretation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses three cases of post-surgical spontaneous paroxysmal hypothermia (SPH), a condition characterized by recurrent episodes of hypothermia and mental confusion related to a hypothalamic lesion. The cases involve patients who underwent surgery for various hypothalamus disorders and experienced episodes of hypothermia, bradycardia, and other symptoms. The article highlights the importance of prompt diagnosis and appropriate interventions for effective treatment of SPH. It also suggests that changes in sympatho-vagal balance may play a role in the cardiac consequences of SPH. [Extracted from the article]

The tramway of Turku was closed in 1972. The last tram rides were memorable public events where the tramcars got a floral tribute and people came to say farewell. This article concentrates on the urban cultural memory of the tram after the closure and is now an integral part of the city's urban culture and identity. The Museum Centre of Turku holds many tram-related materials and has published research on the history of the tram, but it does not have premises for a continuing exhibition, so keeping the memory alive has been up to private citizens, civic activity, and political activism. The tram was photographed by professional and private photographers, which has enabled a rich visual heritage that has been used in various ways. At the present, the memories affect the planning of a possible new tram, although how the old tram relates to future plans, remains complicated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the interplay between top–down and bottom–up attention in visual working memory (VWM) is crucial, although the specific challenges arising from this interaction remain ambiguous. In this study, we address this complexity by examining how cue informativeness and probe status of the salient items influence this interaction. Through three experiments, we manipulated top–down attention by varying probe frequencies using pre-cues and bottom–up attention by varying the visual salience of memory items. Experiment 1 explored cue informativeness at 100% and 50%, while Experiments 2 and 3 maintained cue informativeness at 80% and 50%. Additionally, Experiment 1 tested a few of the salient items, Experiment 2 excluded them, and Experiment 3 tested half of them in each cue condition. Across all experiments, we consistently observed cueing benefits for cue-directed items, albeit with costs to non-cued items. Furthermore, cue informativeness and the probe status of salient items emerged as critical factors influencing the interaction between top–down and bottom–up attention in VWM. These findings underscore the pivotal roles of cue informativeness and salient item relevance in shaping the dynamics of top–down and bottom–up attention within VWM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Navigation is an essential capability for autonomous robots. In particular, visual navigation has been a major research topic in robotics because cameras are lightweight, power-efficient sensors that provide rich information on the environment. However, the main challenge of visual navigation is that it requires substantial computational power and memory for visual processing and storage of the results. As of yet, this has precluded its use on small, extremely resource-constrained robots such as lightweight drones. Inspired by the parsimony of natural intelligence, we propose an insect-inspired approach toward visual navigation that is specifically aimed at extremely resource-restricted robots. It is a route-following approach in which a robot's outbound trajectory is stored as a collection of highly compressed panoramic images together with their spatial relationships as measured with odometry. During the inbound journey, the robot uses a combination of odometry and visual homing to return to the stored locations, with visual homing preventing the buildup of odometric drift. A main advancement of the proposed strategy is that the number of stored compressed images is minimized by spacing them apart as far as the accuracy of odometry allows. To demonstrate the suitability for small systems, we implemented the strategy on a tiny 56-gram drone. The drone could successfully follow routes up to 100 meters with a trajectory representation that consumed less than 20 bytes per meter. The presented method forms a substantial step toward the autonomous visual navigation of tiny robots, facilitating their more widespread application. Editor's summary: For navigation, robots often rely either on external infrastructure or on mapping-based navigation algorithms that are generally associated with high computational demands. van Dijk et al. have now developed an insect-inspired approach for visual navigation of resource-constrained miniature drones by exploiting both visual homing and odometry. The framework was tested on a 56-g drone, which was shown to be capable of following routes in indoor environments over long distances with minimal memory requirements. This approach could substantially improve the autonomous navigation of aerial robots with constraints in computational power, energy demands, and weight. —Amos Matsiko [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visual object memory is a fundamental element of various cognitive abilities, and the underlying neural mechanisms have been extensively examined especially in the anterior temporal cortex of primates. However, both macroscopic large-scale functional network in which this region is embedded and microscopic neuron-level dynamics of top-down regulation it receives for object memory remains elusive. Here, we identified the orbitofrontal node as a critical partner of the anterior temporal node for object memory by combining whole-brain functional imaging during rest and a short-term object memory task in male macaques. Focal chemogenetic silencing of the identified orbitofrontal node downregulated both the local orbitofrontal and remote anterior temporal nodes during the task, in association with deteriorated mnemonic, but not perceptual, performance. Furthermore, imaging-guided neuronal recordings in the same monkeys during the same task causally revealed that orbitofrontal top-down modulation enhanced stimulus-selective mnemonic signal in individual anterior temporal neurons while leaving bottom-up perceptual signal unchanged. Furthermore, similar activity difference was also observed between correct and mnemonic error trials before silencing, suggesting its behavioral relevance. These multifaceted but convergent results provide a multiscale causal understanding of dynamic top-down regulation of the anterior temporal cortex along the ventral fronto-temporal network underpinning short-term object memory in primates. The source and network mechanisms underlying visual object memory are not fully understood. By combining chemogenetics with neuroimaging and electrophysiology in behaving macaques, here authors provided multi-scale causal evidence on the top-down regulation in the ventral fronto-temporal network for short-term visual object memory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a part of the overall information-processing system of the brain, postural control is related to the cognitive processes of working memory. Previous studies have suggested that cognitive tasks and postural control processes can compete for resources in common brain areas, although there is an "inverted U" relationship between arousal level and behavioral control - the arousal level of individuals changes when performing cognitive tasks. However, the exact neural connections between the two are unclear. This may be related to the nature of cognitive tasks. Some studies believe that posture occupies not only spatial information processing resources but also visual non-spatial information processing resources. Other studies believe that posture control only occupies spatial information processing resources in the central system, but does not occupy non-spatial information processing resources. Previous studies used different cognitive task materials and reached different conclusions. In this study, we used the same visuospatial and non-spatial materials, the n-back visual working memory paradigm, the event-related potential technique to investigate the effects of visuospatial and non-spatial working memory tasks on adolescents' postural control under different cognitive loads. The results of this study showed that in both visuospatial and non-spatial conditions, the N1 effect of the parieto-occipital lobe was larger during upright posture than in the sitting position (160-180 ms), the P300 effect of the central parieto-occipital region (280-460 ms) was induced by working memory in different postures, and the P300 wave amplitude was higher in the sitting position than in the upright position. We demonstrated that upright postural control enhances early selective attention but interferes with central memory encoding, thus confirming that postural control and visuospatial and non-spatial working memory share brain regions and compete with each other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: A novel optoelectronic synapse compatible with existing chip technology is demonstrated. This device excels in mimicking memory and learning functions using light, making it ideal for future neuromorphic computing in biomedicine. Our design surpasses previous models with its ability to switch between short-term and long-term memory states using light pulses. Experiments on real-world biomedical data (electroencephalogram, electromyography, electrocardiogram) showed significant improvement in classification accuracy. This highlights the device's potential for advanced physiological signal processing and wearable health monitoring systems. The emergence of the Internet-of-Things is anticipated to create a vast market for what are known as smart edge devices, opening numerous opportunities across countless domains, including personalized healthcare and advanced robotics. Leveraging 3D integration, edge devices can achieve unprecedented miniaturization while simultaneously boosting processing power and minimizing energy consumption. Here, we demonstrate a back-end-of-line compatible optoelectronic synapse with a transfer learning method on health care applications, including electroencephalogram (EEG)-based seizure prediction, electromyography (EMG)-based gesture recognition, and electrocardiogram (ECG)-based arrhythmia detection. With experiments on three biomedical datasets, we observe the classification accuracy improvement for the pretrained model with 2.93% on EEG, 4.90% on ECG, and 7.92% on EMG, respectively. The optical programming property of the device enables an ultra-low power (2.8 × 10−13 J) fine-tuning process and offers solutions for patient-specific issues in edge computing scenarios. Moreover, the device exhibits impressive light-sensitive characteristics that enable a range of light-triggered synaptic functions, making it promising for neuromorphic vision application. To display the benefits of these intricate synaptic properties, a 5 × 5 optoelectronic synapse array is developed, effectively simulating human visual perception and memory functions. The proposed flexible optoelectronic synapse holds immense potential for advancing the fields of neuromorphic physiological signal processing and artificial visual systems in wearable applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute stress has been well-established to impair working memory. However, less is known about how writing about an unresolved stressor may influence working memory or working memory processes. We addressed these issues in the present study (N = 282) by randomly assigning participants to write about an unresolved stressful experience (stressful writing condition or the events of the previous day). We then both measured performance on a change detection task and used computational modeling to estimate the processes underlying performance: attention, capacity, and guessing bias. We found that, relative to the control condition, writing about a stressful experience impaired change detection task performance and significantly impaired task attention. These results show that the effects of writing about an unresolved stressor may mimic the effects of acute stress on working memory, rather than conforming to expectations from mood-as-information theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Sleep quality can affect the performance of visual working memory. However, the effect of sleep quality on the maintenance stage, which is the key to maintain the quality and efficiency of visual working memory representation, remains unclear. This study is the first to explore the effect of sleep quality on the maintenance of visual working memory information. Method: 60 healthy college students completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and color recall task of visual working memory. A mixed experimental design of sleep quality (high or low) and delay duration (1, 4, or 6 s) was used to assess the effect of sleep quality on the maintenance phase of visual working memory. Results: The main effects of sleep quality were significant on visual working memory quantity, precision and offset indexes. Among the quantity index, the interaction between sleep quality and delay duration was also significant. This suggests that prolonging the delay time in the maintenance phase leads to difficulty in maintaining attention to the task for those with lower sleep quality, which results in poorer working memory quantitative representations. Conclusion: Increases in the delay duration of the maintenance phase in visual working memory intensify the impact of sleep quality on task performance. Our study provides evidence to reveal the relationship between sleep quality and visual working memory and offers recommendations for improving sleep quality and cognitive functioning in individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: It is known that cannabis use affects memory and sleep problems independently. However, to date, how memory and sleep problems may interact as a result of cannabis use remains unknown. Objectives: We performed a secondary analysis of existing data to determine whether sleep quality mediates the association between cannabis use and memory and whether sex moderated these effects. Methods: A total of 141 adults with cannabis use disorder (CUD) (83 men) and 87 without CUD (39 men) participated in this study. Outcome measures included self-reported sleep problems from the past 7 days (Marijuana Withdrawal Checklist), learning and memory performance via the short visual object learning task (sVOLT), short visual object learning task delayed (sVOLTd), and verbal memory via the N-back. Bootstrapped mediation and moderated mediation analyses were run to test if sleep quality mediated the association between cannabis use and memory outcomes and whether sex moderated these effects, respectively. Results: Sleep quality mediated the effect of group (i.e. adults with and without CUD) on sVOLT efficiency scores (indirect effect ß = −.08, 95% CI [−0.14, −0.04]) and sVOLTd efficiency scores (indirect effect ß = −.09, 95% CI [−0.14, −0.04]), where greater sleep difficulties was associated with poorer memory performance (decreased efficiency scores). Sex did not moderate these relationships. Conclusion: These initial findings of a mediating role of sleep in the association between CUD and visual learning memory highlight potential critical downstream effects of disrupted sleep in those with CUD and suggest the importance of investigating sleep in CUD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies have shown a growing interest in the so-called "aperiodic" component of the EEG power spectrum, which describes the overall trend of the whole spectrum with a linear or exponential function. In the field of brain aging, this aperiodic component is associated both with age-related changes and performance on cognitive tasks. This study aims to elucidate the potential role of education in moderating the relationship between resting-state EEG features (including aperiodic component) and cognitive performance in aging. N = 179 healthy participants of the "Leipzig Study for Mind–Body-Emotion Interactions" (LEMON) dataset were divided into three groups based on age and education. Older adults exhibited lower exponent, offset (i.e. measures of aperiodic component), and Individual Alpha Peak Frequency (IAPF) as compared to younger adults. Moreover, visual attention and working memory were differently associated with the aperiodic component depending on education: in older adults with high education, higher exponent predicted slower processing speed and less working memory capacity, while an opposite trend was found in those with low education. While further investigation is needed, this study shows the potential modulatory role of education in the relationship between the aperiodic component of the EEG power spectrum and aging cognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infiltrative non-GBM gliomas are common primary intracranial malignancies, and postoperative adjuvant radiotherapy is recommended for most adult patients diagnosed with this disease to enhance local control and prolong intracranial progression-free survival (PFS). However, RT-related neurocognitive function (NCF) consequences should not be ignored. Early neurocognitive decline principally includes episodic memory, associated significantly with functions of the hippocampus. This prospective study aims to investigate the impact of adjuvant brain irradiation on neurocognitive performances and relevant oncological outcomes. Twenty-five patients with intracranial infiltrative non-GBM gliomas were enrolled when postoperative adjuvant RT was recommended. All recruited patients should receive baseline brain magnetic resonance imaging, and neuropsychological assessments before and 4 months after the RT course. A battery of neuropsychological measures, mainly including executive functions, memory, psychomotor speed and visuoconstructive ability, was used to evaluate NCFs of interest. Analyzing the delta values between post-irradiation and baseline NCF scores, we observed a robust trend reflecting cognitive stabilization rather than deterioration in almost all NCF. Both verbal and visual memory functions exhibited significant differences in the corresponding scaled scores (Z = −2.722, p =.006, regarding verbal memory; Z = −2.246, p =.025, concerning non-verbal memory). Moreover, patients' neuropsychological performances associated with psychomotor speed and executive functions also disclosed a tendency toward stabilization/improvement. This prospective study demonstrated that patients with infiltrative non-GBM exhibited a marked tendency toward neurocognitive stabilization after receiving postoperative adjuvant RT. Clinical trial registration: Trial Registration with ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03534050 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To assess whether performance in attention and executive functions evaluated with the Epitrack screening tool before surgery can differentiate memory and quality of life (QOL) profiles, and detect different post-surgical change patterns in these variables in patients with epilepsy. This is a longitudinal study. Seventy-seven patients with drug-resistant epilepsy (mean age = 37.91) underwent a neuropsychological assessment before and one year after surgery. Epitrack, a screening tool that exclusively evaluates attention and executive functioning, was administered in the pre-surgical assessment, and verbal and visual memory and QOL were assessed before and after surgery. Patients with impaired Epitrack performance had poorer verbal and visual memory than those with intact Epitrack performance, regardless of the time point (for all, p < 0.0001). They also showed a post-surgical decline in immediate verbal recall (p = 0.04) and discriminability (p = 0.001). Patients with intact Epitrack performance did not exhibit this decline. Epitrack total score significantly contributed to 13 and 11% of the variance of post-surgical changes in immediate verbal recall and discriminability, respectively. Epitrack groups did not differ in QOL profiles or changes, but post-surgical immediate verbal recall improvements were related to post-surgical QOL improvements. Our findings underline the utility of Epitrack screening tool to detect different patterns of verbal and visual memory dysfunction, as well as to predict post-surgical verbal memory decline in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy. Patients with lower pre-surgical Epitrack scores appear to be at increased risk for post-surgical memory decline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Ruche test is a visuospatial form of the Rey auditory verbal learning test (RAVLT), with initial evidence of utility in the diagnosis of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE)-related memory disorders. To present the translation to Brazilian Portuguese and modification of the Ruche test (RUCHE-M) and compare the RUCHE-M and RAVLT performance between patients with right and left TLE. Twenty-five neuropsychologists participated in instrument adaptation. Thirty-seven patients with right (n = 19) and left (n = 18) TLE participated. Data were compared with the Mann–Whitney U test. All specialists considered the final RUCHE-M to be adequate. The RUCHE-M forgetting speed index (FSI) score and several RAVLT scores differed significantly between patients with right and left TLE. The RUCHE-M showed limited utility for the assessment of visuospatial episodic memory in patients with TLE. The manipulation of memory binding as demonstrated by FSI score seems to be a promising paradigm for the assessment of right hippocampal function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is an autoimmune disease typically associated with severely depleted platelet counts. However, additional symptoms (e.g. increased fatigue and memory/concentration difficulties) can profoundly impact patients' quality of life. The nature and severity of cognitive impairment in ITP, and potential association with patient/disease characteristics were evaluated in 49 adults with relapsed/refractory ITP. The Cogstate Brief Battery quantitatively assessed psychomotor function (DET), attention (IDN), visual learning (OCL) and working memory (ONB) individually, as well as DET/IDN and OCL/ONB composites. Clinically important cognitive impairment (defined as z‐score ≤ −1) for ≥2 individual tests was observed in 29 patients (59%). Impairment was highest for IDN (67% of patients), followed by DET (53%), ONB (39%) and OCL (16%). A higher magnitude of impairment was observed for the DET/IDN composite (mean z‐score −1.54; 95% CI, −1.94 to −1.13) than OCL/ONB (mean z‐score −0.21; 95% CI, −0.49 to 0.07). The severity of cognitive impairment was comparable to mild traumatic brain injury and associated with increasing age and fatigue but unrelated to platelet count or corticosteroid use. Overall, these results warrant a clinical need to further consider the potential of cognitive dysfunction in assessing ITP patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psychiatric symptomatology and medications used in their treatment may be modifiable risk factors associated with cognitive function, although findings from population-based studies spanning the full adult age range are lacking. This study aimed to investigate associations between psychiatric symptomatology, psychotropic medication use and cognitive function in a population-based sample of men. Data for 537 men were drawn from the Geelong Osteoporosis Study. Cognitive function (psychomotor function, attention, working memory and visual learning) was determined using the Cog-State Brief Battery. Current depressive and anxiety symptomatology was determined using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and psychotropic medication use was self-reported. Linear regression models were developed to determine associations between psychiatric symptomatology and psychotropic medication use with each cognitive measure. Depressive symptomatology was associated with lower overall cognitive function (b-0.037 ± 0.010, η2 = 0.025, p < 0.001), psychomotor function (b 0.006 ± 0.002, η2 = 0.028 p < 0.001) and attention (b 0.004 ± 0.001, η2 = 0.021, p < 0.001), whereas psychotropic use was associated with lower overall cognitive function (b − 0.174 ± 0.075, η2 = 0.010, p = 0.021), attention (b 0.017 ± 0.008, η2 = 0.008, p = 0.038 and working memory (b 0.031 ± 0.012, η2 = 0.010, p = 0.010). Anticonvulsant use was associated with lower overall cognitive function (b − 0.723 ± 0.172, η2 = 0.032, p < 0.001), attention (b 0.065 ± 0.018, η2 = 0.029, p < 0.001) and working memory (b 0.088 ± 0.026, η2 = 0.022, p < 0.001). All relationships were found to have a small effect. There were no significant associations between anxiety symptomatology and antidepressant and anxiolytic use with any of the cognitive domains. Depressive symptomatology and anticonvulsant use were associated with lower cognitive function. Understanding the underlying mechanisms involved in these relationships can advance knowledge on the heterogeneity in cognitive ageing and aid in prevention initiatives. • What is the primary question addressed by this study? What are the associations between depressive and anxiety symptoms, and psychotropic medication use with cognitive function? • What is the main finding of this study? Depressive symptoms and the use of psychotropics, in particular anticonvulsants were associated with lower cognitive functioning. • What is the meaning of the finding? Our study highlights the importance of mental wellbeing in cognitive health, and the need for further research between these exposures on cognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When representing high-level stimuli, such as faces and animals, we tend to emphasize salient features—such as a face's prominent cheekbones or a bird's pointed beak. Such mental caricaturing leaves traces in memory, which exaggerates these distinctive qualities. How broadly does this phenomenon extend? Here, in six experiments (N = 700 adults), we explored how memory automatically caricatures basic units of visual processing—simple geometric shapes—even without task-related demands to do so. Participants saw a novel shape and then immediately adjusted a copy of that shape to match what they had seen. Surprisingly, participants reconstructed shapes in exaggerated form, amplifying curvature, enlarging salient parts, and so on. Follow-up experiments generalized this bias to new parameters, ruled out strategic responding, and amplified the effects in serial transmission. Thus, even the most basic stimuli we encounter are remembered as caricatures of themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When memorizing an integrated object such as a Kanizsa figure, the completion of parts into a coherent whole is attained by grouping processes which render a whole‐object representation in visual working memory (VWM). The present study measured event‐related potentials (ERPs) and oscillatory amplitudes to track these processes of encoding and representing multiple features of an object in VWM. To this end, a change detection task was performed, which required observers to memorize both the orientations and colors of six "pacman" items while inducing configurations of the pacmen that systematically varied in terms of their grouping strength. The results revealed an effect of object configuration in VWM despite physically constant visual input: change detection for both orientation and color features was more accurate with increased grouping strength. At the electrophysiological level, the lateralized ERPs and alpha activity mirrored this behavioral pattern. Perception of the orientation features gave rise to the encoding of a grouped object as reflected by the amplitudes of the Ppc. The grouped object structure, in turn, modulated attention to both orientation and color features as indicated by the enhanced N1pc and N2pc. Finally, during item retention, the representation of individual objects and the concurrent allocation of attention to these memorized objects were modulated by grouping, as reflected by variations in the CDA amplitude and a concurrent lateralized alpha suppression, respectively. These results indicate that memorizing multiple features of grouped, to‐be‐integrated objects involves multiple, sequential stages of processing, providing support for a hierarchical model of object representations in VWM. While grouping benefits the storage of object features in visual working memory (VWM), it remains unclear which processes contribute to this benefit. By measuring lateralized ERPs, and alpha suppression, this study indicates that memorizing multiple features of grouped objects involves multiple, sequential stages of processing, providing support for a hierarchical model of object representations in VWM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability to prioritize among contents in working memory (WM) is critical for successful control of thought and behavior. Recent work has demonstrated that prioritization in WM can be implemented by representing different states of priority in different representational formats. Here, we explored the mechanisms underlying WM prioritization by simulating the double serial retrocuing task with recurrent neural networks. Visualization of stimulus representational dynamics using principal component analysis revealed that the network represented trial context (order of presentation) and priority via different mechanisms. Ordinal context, a stable property lasting the duration of the trial, was accomplished by segregating representations into orthogonal subspaces. Priority, which changed multiple times during a trial, was accomplished by separating representations into different strata within each subspace. We assessed the generality of these mechanisms by applying dimensionality reduction and multiclass decoding to fMRI and EEG data sets and found that priority and context are represented differently along the dorsal visual stream and that behavioral performance is sensitive to trial-by-trial variability of priority coding, but not context coding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This cohort-sequential study explored the working memory (WM) structures that underlie growth in mathematical word problem solving (WPS) performance in elementary school emergent bilingual children whose first language (L1) is Spanish. To this end, children (N = 429) in Grades 1, 2, and 3 in southwest U.S. school districts at Wave 1 were administered a battery of cognitive (short-term memory [STM], WM, rapid naming, inhibition), domain-general nonmath (reading, vocabulary, and fluid intelligence) and domain-specific math measures (arithmetic computation, estimation, and magnitude judgment) in both Spanish (L1) and English (L2). These same measures were administered 1 and 2 years later. Four important findings emerged: (a) A three-factor structure (phonological STM, visual–spatial WM, and executive WM) captured the data across three testing waves within and across both language systems; (b) growth in phonological STM and executive WM uniquely predicted WPS growth, but these two WM structures interacted within the English language system; (c) Spanish verbal WM (phonological STM, executive WM) enhanced the magnitude of predictions of English verbal WM on English WPS; and (d) growth in language-specific phonological STM and executive WM predicted cross-sectional and within-child changes in WPS independent of growth in other domain-specific and domain-general academic areas. Taken together, the results suggest that language-specific age-related phonological STM growth and executive WM growth rates underlie Spanish and English math word problem-solving performance. The results extend the contribution of development models as a function of WM structures across two language systems as they apply to complex math performance. Educational Impact and Implications Statement: Both phonological short-term memory (STM) and the executive component of working memory (WM) play a unique and significant developmental role in emergent bilingual children's mathematical word problem solving (WPS). The two components are not only structurally different, but they also contribute to distinct types of growth in mathematical problem solving. In addition, the verbal components of WM (phonological STM and executive WM) can contribute jointly (i.e., interact) in predictions of mathematical problem-solving growth within the second language system. The study also found there are significant benefits of L1 processing (Spanish in this case) in WM that contribute to the rate of growth in L2 (English in this case) WM and L2 mathematical WPS. These findings have implications for bilingual instruction aimed at strengthening L1 WM in terms of its impact on mathematical WPS in the child's developing second language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although cognitive functions are hypothesized to be mediated by synchronous neuronal interactions in multiple frequency bands among widely distributed cortical areas, we still lack a basic understanding of the distribution and task dependence of oscillatory activity across the cortical map. Here, we ask how the spectral and temporal properties of the local field potential (LFP) vary across the primate cerebral cortex, and how they are modulated during visual short-term memory. We measured the LFP from 55 cortical areas in two macaque monkeys while they performed a visual delayed match to sample task. Analysis of peak frequencies in the LFP power spectra reveals multiple discrete frequency bands between 3 and 80 Hz that differ between the two monkeys. The LFP power in each band, as well as the sample entropy, a measure of signal complexity, display distinct spatial gradients across the cortex, some of which correlate with reported spine counts in cortical pyramidal neurons. Cortical areas can be robustly decoded using a small number of spectral and temporal parameters, and significant task-dependent increases and decreases in spectral power occur in all cortical areas. These findings reveal pronounced, widespread, and spatially organized gradients in the spectral and temporal activity of cortical areas. Task-dependent changes in cortical activity are globally distributed, even for a simple cognitive task. NEW & NOTEWORTHY: We recorded extracellular electrophysiological signals from roughly the breadth and depth of a cortical hemisphere in nonhuman primates (NHPs) performing a visual memory task. Analyses of the band-limited local field potential (LFP) power displayed widespread, frequency-dependent cortical gradients in spectral power. Using a machine learning classifier, these features allowed robust cortical area decoding. Further task dependence in LFP power were found to be widespread, indicating large-scale gradients of LFP activity, and task-related activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploring the neural basis of age-related decline in working memory is vital in our aging society. Previous electroencephalographic studies suggested that the contralateral delay activity (CDA) may be insensitive to age-related decline in lateralized visual working memory (VWM) performance. Instead, recent evidence indicated that task-induced alpha power lateralization decreases in older age. However, the relationship between alpha power lateralization and age-related decline of VWM performance remains unknown, and recent studies have questioned the validity of these findings due to confounding factors of the aperiodic signal. Using a sample of 134 participants, we replicated the age-related decrease of alpha power lateralization after adjusting for the aperiodic signal. Critically, the link between task performance and alpha power lateralization was found only when correcting for aperiodic signal biases. Functionally, these findings suggest that age-related declines in VWM performance may be related to the decreased ability to prioritize relevant over irrelevant information. Conversely, CDA amplitudes were stable across age groups, suggesting a distinct neural mechanism possibly related to preserved VWM encoding or early maintenance. • Aging is associated with decreased visual working memory performance (VWM). • Contralateral delay activity is insensitive to age-related cognitive decline in VWM. • However, VWM induced alpha power lateralization diminishes in old age. • Alpha power lateralization strength is linked to age-related VWM decline. • Separating (a-)periodic components is crucial to establish link to VWM decline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As individuals age, cognitive abilities such as working memory (WM), decline. In the current study, we investigated the effect of age on WM, and elucidated sources of errors. A total of 102 healthy individuals, aged 18 to 71, participated in this research. We designed and administered a face-based visual WM task, collecting responses via a graded scale in a delayed match-to-sample reproduction task. The error of participants increased significantly as they aged. Our analysis revealed a significant age-related rise in the standard deviation of error distribution. However, there was no significant change in uniform probability with age. We found that WM performance declines through the lifespan. Investigating the sources of error, we found that the precision of WM decreased monotonously with age. The results also indicated that the probability of guessing the response as a measure of random response is not affected by age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses a case study of a 70-year-old man who presented with visual memory loss. Despite not meeting the clinical criteria for either condition at presentation, post-mortem examination revealed concomitant progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and Lewy body pathology. The study suggests that interactions between these two pathologies in mesial temporal regions may result in this atypical clinical phenotype. The article provides detailed clinical and neuropsychological information and highlights the importance of considering multiple pathologies in cases of neurodegenerative diseases. [Extracted from the article]