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Experiencing and remembering objects using the sense of touch is an important aspect of our interactions with our environment, but the cognitive processes of long-term tactile memory for surface textures have not previously been studied. We administered a novel tactile texture memory span task, which required participants to identify new textures among a constantly increasing set of previously experienced stimuli. Performance on that task was compared to a span task employing novel visual objects. We found no correlation between participants' tactile texture span and visual span performance. Additionally, there was no correlation between participants' ability to name textures and their tactile texture span performance. These findings provide some initial evidence for a possible dissociation between long-term memory capacity for stimuli of different sensory modality, and for the mnemonic representation of texture information independent of verbal descriptors.

Background and Objectives: Localization of a sound source in the horizontal plane depends on the listener's interaural comparison of arrival time and level. Hearing loss (HL) can reduce access to these binaural cues, possibly disrupting the localization and memory of spatial information. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the horizontal sound localization performance and the spatial short-term memory in listeners with actual and simulated HL. Subjects and Methods: Seventeen listeners with bilateral symmetric HL and 17 listeners with normal hearing (NH) participated in the study. The hearing thresholds of NH listeners were elevated by a spectrally shaped masking noise for the simulations of unilateral hearing loss (UHL) and bilateral hearing loss (BHL). The localization accuracy and errors as well as the spatial short-term memory span were measured in the free field using a set of 11 loudspeakers arrayed over a 150° arc. Results: The localization abilities and spatial short-term memory span did not significantly differ between actual BHL listeners and BHL-simulated NH listeners. Overall, the localization performance with the UHL simulation was approximately twofold worse than that with the BHL simulation, and the hearing asymmetry led to a detrimental effect on spatial memory. The mean localization score as a function of stimulus location in the UHL simulation was less than 30% even for the front (0° azimuth) stimuli and much worse on the side closer to the simulated ear. In the UHL simulation, the localization responses were biased toward the side of the intact ear even when sounds were coming from the front. Conclusions: Hearing asymmetry induced by the UHL simulation substantially disrupted the localization performance and recall abilities of spatial positions encoded and stored in the memory, due to fewer chances to learn strategies to improve localization. The marked effect of hearing asymmetry on sound localization highlights the need for clinical assessments of spatial hearing in addition to conventional hearing tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BackgroundThe Arsenic (+3 oxidation state) methyltransferase (AS3MT) gene has been identified as a top risk gene for schizophrenia in several large-scale genome-wide association studies. A variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) of this gene is the most significant expression quantitative trait locus, but its role in brain activity in vivo is still unknown.MethodsWe first performed a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scan of 101 healthy subjects during a memory span task, trained all subjects on an adaptive memory span task for 1 month, and finally performed another fMRI scan after the training. After excluding subjects with excessive head movements for one or more scanning sessions, data from 93 subjects were included in the final analyses.ResultsThe VNTR was significantly associated with both baseline brain activation and training-induced changes in multiple regions including the prefrontal cortex and the anterior and posterior cingulate cortex. Additionally, it was associated with baseline brain activation in the striatum and the parietal cortex. All these results were corrected based on the family-wise error rate method across the whole brain at the peak level.ConclusionsThis study sheds light on the role of AS3MT gene variants in neural plasticity related to memory span training.

It is unclear how the ability to initially acquire information in a first learning trial relates to learning rate in subsequent repeated trials. The separation of memory span and learning rate is an important psychological dilemma that remains unaddressed. Given the potential effects of aging on memory and learning, this study investigated the separation of memory span and learning rate from behavior and spontaneous brain activity in older adults. We enrolled a total of 758 participants, including 707 healthy older adults and 51 mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients. Sixty‐five participants out of 707 completed resting‐state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning. Behaviorally, memory span and learning rate were not correlated with each other in the paired‐associative learning test (PALT) but were negatively correlated in the auditory verbal learning test (AVLT). This indicated that the relationship between memory span and learning rate for item memory might be differentially affected by aging. Interaction analysis confirmed that these two capacities were differentially affected by test type (associative memory vs. item memory). Additionally, at three progressive brain activity indexes (ALFF, ReHo, and DC), the right brain regions (right inferior temporal gyrus and right middle frontal gyrus) were more negatively correlated with memory span, whereas, the left precuneus was more positively correlated with learning rate. Regarding pathological aging, none of the correlations between memory span and learning rate were significant in either PALT or AVLT in MCI. This study provides novel evidence for the dissociation of memory span and learning rate at behavioral and brain activity levels, which may have useful applications in detecting cognitive deficits or conducting cognitive interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Age-related cognitive decline or cognitive aging is largely the result of structural and functional decline in specific areas of the brain, but lifestyle also contributes to this cognitive decline. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of working memory rehabilitation on visual memory and memory span in ageing. Methods: This was a quasi-experimental study with pretest-posttest design and a control group. The study population included all elderly people who lived in Bukan Nursing Home from April to July 2019 (N = 120). Among these individuals, 30 elderly people were selected by convenience sampling method and then randomly assigned to two experimental and control groups (two groups of 15 people). Kim Karad Visual Memory Test and Wechsler Memory Span Test were taken from the groups in pretest. The working memory rehabilitation was performed in 18 sessions (each sessions 60-minute) and after which the test was performed again. The data were analyzed by multivariate covariance test according to its assumptions. Results: The results showed that after the rehabilitation of working memory, in the experimental group, the mean of short, medium and long components of visual memory were 12.00, 10.8 and 12.33, respectively, and the direct and inverse of memory span were 11.66 and 9.66, respectively. In the control group, the average of short, medium and long components of visual memory is 7.00, 6.70 and 9.00, respectively, and direct and inverse of memory span is 8.33 and 6.46, respectively. The difference in the mean scores between the two groups in the components of visual memory and memory span after the intervention was significant (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The results showed that working memory rehabilitation can improve visual memory and memory span, and it is recommended that this rehabilitation method be used to improve the cognitive functions of the elderly.

In order to investigate the effect of Working Memory (WM) on overall L2 performance and written skills (Reading and Writing) within non-native language learning arenas, a systematic review was conducted on 22 articles extracted from three reputable, local and international scientific databases including Noormags, Science Direct and Sage between 1990 and 2021. The total number of participants in this study included 1466 involving both male and female in all age groups of children and adults. In the selection of articles with 7 different criteria, coding was applied to the extracted studies and a research protocol was precisely presented. After examining the publication bias index and preliminary assumptions, the results showed that WM has been efficient at a significance level of less than 0.05 and with a high impact factor (1.05) with a positive direction in the 95% confidence interval on diverse aspects of second language learning. Secondly, WM has also been significant at a significant level less than 0.05 and with a high impact factor on reading comprehension skills and an impact factor (0.6) with a positive direction in the 95% confidence interval but this effect on L2 writing skills was not significant (p = 0.93). The results were finally analyzed with reference to the limitations of the current systematic meta-analysis.

Purpose: Measuring working memory at hearing clinics is important. This study attempted to develop a test protocol that measures auditory working memory using a standardized monosyllabic word list in Korean Speech Audiometry (KSA)., Method: We included 25 young adults with normal hearing in this study. Participants conducted word recognition and word span tests concurrently using the KSA monosyllabic word lists. We designed four test conditions according to the presence or absence of background noise and word recall order: quiet-forward (QF), quiet-backward (QB), noise-forward, (NF), and noise-backward (NB). We implemented digit span tests in the Korean Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-IV (K-WAIS-IV) to determine the validity of the working memory outcomes., Results: Word recognition scores of QF and QB were significantly higher than those of NF and NB. The percentages of correctly recalled words and word recall span scores were highest in QF and lowest in NB. Overall, the Pearson correlation and multiple regression statistics showed that our word span test outcomes for QB and NF were highly associated with digit span scores on the K-WAIS-IV., Conclusion: Our proposed test protocol showed the possibility of measuring auditory working memory and monosyllabic word recognition simultaneously by validating the results with K-WAIS-IV outcomes.

Purpose: Working memory capacity and language ability modulate speech reception; however, the respective roles of peripheral and cognitive processing are unclear. The contribution of individual differences in these abilities to utilization of spatial cues when separating speech from informational and energetic masking backgrounds in children has not yet been determined. Therefore, this study explored whether speech reception in children is modulated by environmental factors, such as the type of background noise and spatial configuration of target and noise sources, and individual differences in the cognitive and linguistic abilities of listeners. Method: Speech reception thresholds were assessed in 39 children aged 5-7 years in simulated school listening environments. Speech reception thresholds of target sentences spoken by an adult male consisting of number and color combinations were measured using an adaptive procedure, with speech-shaped white noise and single-talker backgrounds that were either collocated (target and back-ground at 0°) or spatially separated (target at 0°, background noise at 90° to the right). Spatial release from masking was assessed alongside memory span and expressive language. Results and Conclusion: Significant main effect results showed that speech reception thresholds were highest for informational maskers and collocated conditions. Significant interactions indicated that individual differences in memory span and language ability were related to spatial release from masking advantages. Specifically, individual differences in memory span and language were related to the utilization of spatial cues in separated conditions. Language differences were related to auditory stream segregation abilities in collocated conditions that lack helpful spatial cues, pointing to the utilization of language processes to make up for losses in spatial information.

Pitch peaks tend to be higher at the beginning of longer utterances than in shorter ones (e.g., 'The Santa is decorating the Christmas trees' vs. 'The Santa is decorating the Christmas tree and the window'). Given that a rise in pitch frequently occurs in response to increased mental effort, we explore the link between higher pitch at the beginning of an utterance and the cognitive demands of sentence planning for speech production. To modulate the cognitive resources available for generating a message in a visual world speech production task, the study implemented a dual-task paradigm. Participants described pictures depicting events with multiple actors. In one-half of these descriptions, the participants memorized three nouns, later recalling them and answering related questions. The results demonstrate both cognitive and linguistic influences on sentence intonation. Specifically, intonation peaks at the beginning of longer utterances were higher than in shorter ones, and they were lower under the condition of memory load than under no load. Measurements of eye gaze indicated a very short processing delay at the outset of processing the picture and the sentence, which was rapidly overcome by the start of speech. The short time frame of restricted cognitive resources thus was manifested in the lowering of the intonation peaks. These findings establish a novel link between language-related memory span and sentence intonation and warrant further study to investigate the cognitive mechanisms of the planning of intonation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Short-term and working memory vary across individuals and life span. Studies of how cochlear implant (CI) users remember spoken words often do not fully disentangle perceptual influences from memory assessment because stimulus identification is rarely checked; instead, correct perception is assumed by using simple or practiced stimuli. Here, we examine whether the accuracy and speed of auditory digit identification are associated with short-term and working memory in adults with CIs as a function of age. Do perceptual errors and longer processing times depress memory span scores for such listeners? An intensive digit span assessment using manual responses is compared with traditional digit span, which uses only a few speech-based trials. We also assess how vocoder-based degradation impacts identification and digit span in older versus younger listeners with normal hearing (NH). Method: We measured forward and backward recall for spoken digits in 25 adults with CIs (M = 57 years; range = 20-82 years), 10 older adults with NH (> 55 years; M = 64 years), and 11 younger adults with NH (< 22 years). Listeners identified recorded digits one at a time by clicking numerals on a computer screen and then were cued to recall the list. In a comparison condition, listeners only identified each item. Listeners with NH also completed the tasks under four conditions of signal degradation implemented using a channel vocoder: four or eight channels crossed with 0- or 6-mm simulated tonotopic shift, administered in randomized blocks. A mixed design was used, with the effects of degradation examined within subject, across different listener groups, and as a function of age. Results: CI users were near perfect at identifying auditory digits (> 99% correct, on average), both in isolation and while experiencing a memory load. Perceptual accuracy, thus, did not affect digit span in these listeners. Identification times, however, were significantly slower under memory load. Age was only weakly related to span in CI listeners. Instead, individual differences in span in the CI group were better predicted by simple no-load identification times. Among listeners with NH, spans for vocoded digits that were not frequency shifted did not differ from spans for unprocessed stimuli. Frequency-shifted vocoded digits, however, yielded lower scores that could mostly, but not entirely, be accounted for by crediting for perceptual errors. Frequency-shifted vocoded digits were particularly challenging for older adult listeners with NH to identify. Traditional digit span correlated more strongly with our primary span measure for listeners with CIs than for listeners with NH. Conclusions: Digit span can be studied independently of perception in many adult CI users. For both CI listeners and listeners with NH, stimulus degradation does not appear to significantly affect memory span, unless an effect on simple identification is also present. Auditory degradation that may slow, but which does not ultimately prevent identification, appears to have negligible impact on short-term and working memory spans.

Purpose: Measuring working memory at hearing clinics is important. This study attempted to develop a test protocol that measures auditory working memory using a standardized monosyllabic word list in Korean Speech Audiometry (KSA). Method: We included 25 young adults with normal hearing in this study. Participants conducted word recognition and word span tests concurrently using the KSA monosyllabic word lists. We designed four test conditions according to the presence or absence of background noise and word recall order: quietforward (QF), quiet-backward (QB), noise-forward, (NF), and noise-backward (NB). We implemented digit span tests in the Korean Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale--IV (K-WAIS-IV) to determine the validity of the working memory outcomes. Results: Word recognition scores of QF and QB were significantly higher than those of NF and NB. The percentages of correctly recalled words and word recall span scores were highest in QF and lowest in NB. Overall, the Pearson correlation and multiple regression statistics showed that our word span test outcomes for QB and NF were highly associated with digit span scores on the K-WAIS-IV. Conclusion: Our proposed test protocol showed the possibility of measuring auditory working memory and monosyllabic word recognition simultaneously by validating the results with K-WAIS-IV outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Aim Methods Results Conclusion The study aims to assess the feasibility of developing cognitive tools and integrating the cloud‐enabled mobile‐based technology into routine clinical practice for psychotic patients. Furthermore, it aims to investigate the correlation between the results obtained using developed tools and established clinical measures, offering valuable insights into tools for enhancing the accuracy, efficiency and ease of administration of cognitive evaluation.A total of 160 participants were recruited (83 outpatients with early course of schizophrenia (SZs) and 77 healthy controls [HCs]). The participants were subjected to cognitive assessments, and the data were collected by cognitive assessment digital smart tool (CADST) and PGI memory scale (PGIMS) to assess attention (ATT) and working memory (WM). Outcome measures of these parameters were digit span (score,time) for ATT and delayed recall (score,time) for WM.The total average score in HCs was significantly higher than in SZs for ATT and WM, and CADST was significantly correlated with PGIMS for evaluating ATT and WM. Furthermore, test completion times for ATT and WM were observed more in SZs although most of SZs had achieved scores as high as that of HCs.The potential of CADST as a valuable addition to the conventional cognitive assessment method is highlighted, showing promising feasibility and strong correlations with the established tool. The importance of integrating time parameters suggests broader implications for understanding cognitive function beyond conventional scoring metrics. It demonstrates the effective and accurate approach for large‐scale screening of cognitive parameters in public service settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ObjectivesMethodsResultsConclusionCompared to the number of performance validity measures, the range of available symptom validity measures is limited. The Self-Report Symptom Inventory (SRSI) is a recently developed freestanding symptom validity test with promising psychometric characteristics for use on non-criminal forensic and a range of clinical populations. The goal of this study was to evaluate the utility of the SRSI for symptom validity testing in the clinical evaluation of adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).This analogue study compared 76 German patients diagnosed with ADHD (age range 19–63 years) with typically developing individuals from the Netherlands/Germany who were assigned to either a control group (N = 58; age range 18–73 years) or a simulation group (N = 46; age range 18–57 years). All participants completed the Conners’ Adult ADHD Rating Scale (CAARS) with its two embedded validity indicators Infrequency Index (CII) and ADHD Credibility Index (ACI), the SRSI, and the Digit Span (to derive the Reliable Digit Span).Specificity in controls was perfect for the CAARS, but reached only about 90% for the SRSI. In contrast, sensitivity in experimental simulators ranged from 24% to 65% for the CAARS, but reached high rates of 69% to 82% for the SRSI. In the sample of patients with ADHD, the failure rate ranged from 8% to 34% (CAARS), and 33% to 47% (SRSI). Further, we found limited classification agreement between the validity measures.The divergent results on the different validity indicators reflects the ongoing discussion on poor construct unity and clarity, and calls for more research addressing the heterogeneous construct. The utility of the SRSI to reliably distinguish between valid and invalid symptom report in the clinical evaluation of adult ADHD has to be investigated by more refined studies including both symptom and performance validity indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Working memory (WM) involves temporarily storing and manipulating information. Research on the impact of aging on WM has shown inconsistent results regarding the decline in visual and verbal WM, with a lack of studies on tactile WM. This study aimed to assess the effects of aging on WM across verbal, visuospatial, and tactile modalities using span tasks of forward (storage) and backward (manipulation) stages. Methods: A total of 130 participants, divided into four age groups of 20–29, 60–69, 70–79, and 80–89, completed the Digit, Visuospatial, and Tactual Spans. Performance was analyzed using a 3 (Task) × 4 (Group) × 2 (Stage) mixed design repeated measures ANOVA. Results: The analysis revealed significant main effects for modality (p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.15), age (p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.48), and stage (p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.30). Digit Span outperformed the other modalities, while Tactual Span showed the worst performance. Additionally, task performance declined with age, and the forward stage was superior to the backward stage. Interaction effects indicated that Digit Span was less affected by aging compared to the Visuospatial and Tactual Spans (p = 0.004, ηp2 = 0.07). Post hoc analyses further revealed that the Digit Span consistently outperformed the other modalities in both stages, with more pronounced differences observed in the forward stage. Conclusions: Verbal WM is more resilient to aging compared to the other modalities while tactile WM declines with age in a manner similar to verbal and visuospatial WM, suggesting a modality-specific impact of aging on WM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to evaluate multiple embedded performance validity indicators within the Digits Forward and Digits Backward subtests of the Neuropsychological Assessment Battery (NAB), including Reliable Digit Span (RDS), as no published papers have examined embedded digit span validity indicators within these subtests of the NAB. Retrospective archival chart review was conducted at an outpatient neuropsychology clinic. Participants were 92 adults (ages 19−68) who completed NAB Digits Forward and Digits Backward, and the Word Choice Test (WCT). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, t-tests, and sensitivity and specificity analyses were conducted. Analyses showed that RDS demonstrated acceptable classification accuracy between those who passed the WCT and those who did not. The area under the curve (AUC) value for RDS was 0.702; however, AUC values for all other digit span indices were unacceptably low. The optimal cutoff for RDS was identified (<8). RDS for the NAB appears to be an adequate indicator of performance validity; however, considering the very small number of participants who were invalid on the WCT (n = 15), as well as the utilization of only one stand-alone PVT to classify validity status, these findings are preliminary and in need of replication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to explore the unit of information and the size of the unit for designing a voice user interface. Through two experiments, this study investigated what form the information (the unit of information) should take and what size of that (the size of unit) should be when people were provided information by voice interfaces. Participants were presented with a task to recall (OX quiz) by listening to and remembering information (based on an encyclopedia) provided by smart speakers. In Experiment 1, it was revealed that participants stored information in their memory span on a sentence-by-sentences basis to determine how much information they could remember. In Experiment 2, sentence-based information was presented in various sizes, and participants evaluated 17 information units consisting of up to nine words as their memory limit. This information unit-based voice interface design could help improve users' memory performance and usability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Background: Neurofeedback training (NFT) has emerged as a promising approach for enhancing cognitive functions and reducing anxiety, yet its specific impact on university student populations requires further investigation. This study aims to examine the effects of NFT on working memory improvement and anxiety reduction within this demographic. (2) Methods: A total of forty healthy university student volunteers were randomized into two groups: an experimental group that received NFT and a control group. The NFT protocol was administered using a 14-channel Emotiv Epoc X headset (EMOTIV, Inc., San Francisco, CA 94102, USA) and BrainViz software version Brain Visualizer 1.1 (EMOTIV, Inc., San Francisco, CA 94102, USA), focusing on the alpha frequency band to target improvements in working memory and reductions in anxiety. Assessment tools, including the Corsi Block and Memory Span tests for working memory and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-2 (STAI-2) for anxiety, were applied pre- and post-intervention. (3) Results: The findings indicated an increase in alpha wave amplitude in the experimental group from the second day of NFT, with statistically significant differences observed on days 2 (p < 0.05) and 8 (p < 0.01). Contrary to expectations based on the previous literature, the study did not observe a concurrent positive impact on working memory. Nonetheless, a significant reduction in state anxiety levels was recorded in the experimental group (p < 0.001), corroborating NFT's potential for anxiety management. (4) Conclusions: While these results suggest some potential of the technique in enhancing neural efficiency, the variability across different days highlights the need for further investigation to fully ascertain its effectiveness. The study confirms the beneficial impact of NFT on reducing state anxiety among university students, underscoring its value in psychological and cognitive performance enhancement. Despite the lack of observed improvements in working memory, these results highlight the need for continued exploration of NFT applications across different populations and settings, emphasizing its potential utility in educational and therapeutic contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to find the association of receptive vocabulary in the development of speech and language among school-going children (4–13 years) with language disorders. On the basis of non-verbal receptive vocabulary and percentage correct consonants (PCC) scores, children from public schools in Punjab, Pakistan with speech and language issues were separated into three groups; Speech sound disordered (SSD, N = 15), Language Impaired (LI) comorbid with SSD (N = 42) and typically developed (TD, N = 15). Urdu version of Peabody picture vocabulary test, fourth edition (U-PPVT-4), Digit memory test (DMT), and Test for assessment of articulation and phonology in Urdu (TAAPU) were used to assess non-verbal receptive vocabulary, Short-term memory (STM), Working memory (WM), and SSD. Correlation and regression analyses were performed to find the association of receptive vocabulary with other measures used. Receptive vocabulary, STM, WM, omission, substitution, and PCC scores were significantly different (p < 0.01) when compared among LI+SSD, SSD, and TD groups. Regression analysis showed that receptive vocabulary was significantly associated with STM and WM in the LI+SSD group. A positive correlation was found between the U-PPVT-4 standard score with STM and WM for LI+SSD and SSD groups. Our findings in Urdu-speaking children suggested that STM and WM were less developed in children with speech and language impairments. Moreover, children with speech and language deficits not only had weaker receptive vocabulary but also attention should be given to improving STM and WM that contribute to LI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emerging evidence suggests that impaired speech may be related to reduced working memory (WM). The current study aimed to validate and compare the influence of articulation, short-term memory (STM), WM, and receptive vocabulary abilities of Pakistani children with speech sound disorder (SSD; N = 50) versus typically developing (TD; N = 30) children aged 7–13 years. Assessments included the Test for Assessment of Articulation and Phonology in Urdu (TAAPU), Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-4, translated to Urdu (U-PPVT-4), and Digit Memory Test (DMT) used to determine speech articulation, receptive vocabulary, and memory abilities respectively. The percentage correct consonants (PCC) score was used to divide the SSD group further into SSD severity groups. The TD and SSD groups significantly differed in performance on all tasks (p

Children with hearing impairment or deafness experience cognitive function delays but not limited visual-spatial working memory, which is commonly used to solve mathematical problems. Previous studies have discovered that visual or spatial working memory in such children is different because of the communication methods that rely on vision. This study explores the visual-spatial working memory in children with deafness by measuring the memory of 70 elementary school children with deafness and identifying their communication methods through questionnaires. The questionnaires were completed by the children’s parents. The visual-spatial working memory measurement utilized the Lion Game through Zoom meetings. Consequently, it was found that there was no significant difference in visual-spatial working memory capacity in children with hearing impairment using oral, total communication, and sign language. It can be argued that in children with deafness, their visual-spatial working memory span with oral, total, and sign language communication methods have still not reached the maximum point. The use of hearing aids, popular among such children also did not significantly enhance visual-spatial working memory capacity. This research recommends parents be more attentive not only toward the communication methods of children with deafness but also to their cognitive function development.

Objective: The current research was conducted to test the prediction that children who have hearing loss and are developing spoken language can perform at the same level as hearing children in an auditory memory span task if actual production of speech is excluded from task requirement. Method: A listen-and-point digit span task and two sub-tests of Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-IV (Verbal Digit Span and Matrix Reasoning) were administered to thirty hearing children and thirty-three children with hearing loss. A language assessment instrument for Mandarin-speaking preschool children was also administered to the participants with hearing loss. Results: The listen-and-point task not only correlated with the Verbal Digit Span sub-test, but also correlated with the comprehension sub-test of the language assessment instrument. The size of auditory memory span was similar in both groups of participants in the listen-and-point task. Moreover, the memory span estimated in the listen-and-point task was smaller than that estimated in the Verbal Digit Span task. The correlation coefficients between chronological age and the listen-and-point task were also similar in both groups of children. Conclusions: When speech processes are not required in an auditory working memory task, demand for the phonological loop is reduced and the children with hearing loss are able to perform as well as the hearing children. Moreover, the auditory memory span develops at the same rate for the children with hearing loss as for the hearing children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visuospatial working memory is often assessed using the Corsi block-tapping task where set size is used to estimate capacity. It is well established that characteristics of the Corsi task path configuration such as length, crossings, and angles influence recall accuracy suggesting that more complex path configurations increase the load on working memory. However, the interaction between set size and path configuration is not well understood. Here we used a secondary auditory task to probe if set size and path configuration impose a similar type of load on the system. Nineteen participants (age = 25.3 ± 3.9 years) performed a computerized version of the Corsi test either alone (single) or simultaneously with an auditory tone discrimination task (dual). The eCorsi task involved a set of simple (no crosses, shorter lengths, larger angles) or complex (>2 crosses, longer lengths, smaller angles) paths at set sizes of five to eight blocks. Results showed significantly lower recall accuracy for the complex compared to the simple paths (63.32% vs. 86.38%, p < 0.001) at all set sizes, regardless of task condition (single, dual). Auditory performance (accuracy and response time) was significantly lower in the dual compared to single task (85.34% vs. 99.67%, p < 0.001), but performance was not affected by the complexity of the eCorsi path configuration. These findings suggest that set size and path complexity impose a different type of load on the working memory system and may rely on different resources.

Evidence from patients with amnesia suggests that recognition memory span tasks engage both long-term memory (i.e., secondary memory) processes mediated by the diencephalic-medial temporal lobe memory system and working memory processes mediated by fronto-striatal systems. Thus, the recognition memory span task may be particularly effective for detecting memory deficits in disorders that disrupt both memory systems. The presence of unique pathology in fronto-striatal circuits in Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB) compared to AD suggests that performance on the recognition memory span task might be differentially affected in the two disorders even though they have quantitatively similar deficits in secondary memory. In the present study, patients with autopsy-confirmed DLB or AD, and Normal Control (NC) participants, were tested on separate recognition memory span tasks that required them to retain increasing amounts of verbal, spatial, or visual object (i.e., faces) information across trials. Results showed that recognition memory spans for verbal and spatial stimuli, but not face stimuli, were lower in patients with DLB than in those with AD, and more impaired relative to NC performance. This was despite similar deficits in the two patient groups on independent measures of secondary memory such as the total number of words recalled from long-term storage on the Buschke Selective Reminding Test. The disproportionate vulnerability of recognition memory span task performance in DLB compared to AD may be due to greater fronto-striatal involvement in DLB and a corresponding decrement in cooperative interaction between working memory and secondary memory processes. Assessment of recognition memory span may contribute to the ability to distinguish between DLB and AD relatively early in the course of disease.

Two experiments using novel complex working memory spantasks were performed, both requiring the participants toremember a span of letters whilst being distracted by theprocessing of words. Word processing could either be self-referential (SRP) or not. In the first experiment recallperformance was compared between SRP and non-SRPconditions using the same words. In the second experiment,we compared SRP and non-SRP in two tasks equalized insemantic processing but using different words. In bothexperiments recall performance was significantly lower afterSRP compared to non-SRP, indicating that SRP has adisruptive effect on the recall task. A cognitive modelimplemented in PRIMs, using goal competition during SRP,interfering with rehearsal of letters, could account for theobserved experimental results. If SRP interferes withsubsequent tasks in this manner it should also interfere withtasks other than recall, such as SRP occurring in daily life.

AbstractObjective: This study examined the performance validity test (PVT) pass/fail rate in a sample of presurgical epilepsy candidates; assessed whether performance validity was associated with reduced performance across cognitive domains; investigated the relationship between performance validity and self-report mood questionnaires; and assessed whether PVT performance was associated with demographic or clinical factors (i.e. sex, race/ethnicity, age, years of education, reported history of special education, seizure longevity, and number of anti-seizure medications). Methods: One hundred and eighty-three presurgical epilepsy candidates were examined. Each patient’s assessment battery included a stand-alone performance validity measure and two embedded validity measures. Results: PVT failure rate in this sample (10%) was associated with reduced performance on all neurocognitive measures: Full Scale IQ (FSIQ; r = −0.26), CVLT-II Total Learning (r = −0.36) and Long Delay Free Recall (LDFR; r = −0.38), BVMT-R Delayed Recall (r = −0.28), and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (Categories Completed; r = −0.32). In addition, PVT failure rate was associated with elevated scores on the Beck Anxiety Inventory (r = .22) but not on the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II; r = .14). Correlations that were significant at the α = 0.05 level maintained significance following post hoc Bonferroni correction. The valid and invalid groups did not differ significantly in sex, race/ethnicity, age, years of education, reported history of special education, seizure longevity, and number of anti-seizure medications. Conclusions: Results from this study suggest that PVT performance was not impacted by demographic or clinical factors and therefore may be a reliable indicator of performance validity in a presurgical epilepsy sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The digit span test (DST) is one of the most widely used neuropsychological tools to measure two neurocognitive functions of working memory and attention. Objectives: This study aimed to collect Iranian normative data on DST and examine the association between three demographic variables and performance in DST. Materials & Methods: As part of the Iranian brain imaging database (IBID) project, the present study was conducted in 2017-2018 on three hundred normal people aged 20 to 70. They were recruited using convenience sampling in Tehran City, Iran. Each decade consisted of 60 participants, and the gender proportion was equal. Five decades of age, gender and education were the independent variables. The dependent variables were DST scores (the longest digit sequence and total digit span). Results: Age and education had a significant negative and positive correlation with both subtests (P=0.01), respectively; however, no significant correlation was observed between gender and DST scores (P>0.05). According to multivariate analysis of variance, the interaction of age, gender and education did not lead to a significant difference in the DST scores (P=0.309). In addition, The Tukey post hoc test showed that participants under 40 had significantly higher DST scores than older participants (P<0.05). Conclusion: The demographic variables have a significant association with the working memory and attention performance of the normal Iranian population, and it is necessary to interpret DST scores using regional normative data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]