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10.1016/j.cognition.2014.01.007

Cognition

Cognition

Low working memory capacity is only spuriously related to poor reading comprehension.

Accounts of comprehension failure, whether in the case of readers with poor skill or when syntactic complexity is high, have overwhelmingly implicated working memory capacity as the key causal factor. However, extant research suggests that this position is not well supported by evidence on the span of active memory during online sentence processing, nor is it well motivated by models that make explicit claims about the memory mechanisms that support language processing. The current study suggests that sensitivity to interference from similar items in memory may provide a better explanation of comprehension failure. Through administration of a comprehensive skill battery, we found that the previously observed association of working memory with comprehension is likely due to the collinearity of working memory with many other reading-related skills, especially IQ. In analyses which removed variance shared with IQ, we found that receptive vocabulary knowledge was the only significant predictor of comprehension performance in our task out of a battery of 24 skill measures. In addition, receptive vocabulary and non-verbal memory for serial order-but not simple verbal memory or working memory-were the only predictors of reading times in the region where interference had its primary affect. We interpret these results in light of a model that emphasizes retrieval interference and the quality of lexical representations as key determinants of successful comprehension.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.03.020

NeuroImage

Neuroimage

Brain activity is related to individual differences in the number of items stored in auditory short-term memory for pitch: evidence from magnetoencephalography.

We used magnetoencephalography (MEG) to examine brain activity related to the maintenance of non-verbal pitch information in auditory short-term memory (ASTM). We focused on brain activity that increased with the number of items effectively held in memory by the participants during the retention interval of an auditory memory task. We used very simple acoustic materials (i.e., pure tones that varied in pitch) that minimized activation from non-ASTM related systems. MEG revealed neural activity in frontal, temporal, and parietal cortices that increased with a greater number of items effectively held in memory by the participants during the maintenance of pitch representations in ASTM. The present results reinforce the functional role of frontal and temporal cortices in the retention of pitch information in ASTM. This is the first MEG study to provide both fine spatial localization and temporal resolution on the neural mechanisms of non-verbal ASTM for pitch in relation to individual differences in the capacity of ASTM. This research contributes to a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms mediating the representation and maintenance of basic non-verbal auditory features in the human brain.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1007/s11011-014-9511-x

Metabolic brain disease

Metab Brain Dis

Episodic memory impairment in Addison's disease: results from a telephonic cognitive assessment.

Patients with Addison's disease frequently self-report memory and attention difficulties, even when on standard replacement therapy. However, few published studies examine, using objective measures and assessing across multiple domains, the cognitive functioning of Addison's disease patients relative to healthy controls. The primary aim of this study was to investigate whether the previously reported subjective cognitive deficits in Addison's disease are confirmed by objective measures. Conducting comprehensive neuropsychological assessments of patients with relatively rare clinical disorders, such as Addison's disease, is challenging because access to those patients is often limited, and because their medical condition might prevent extended testing sessions. Brief telephonic cognitive assessments are a useful tool in such circumstances. Hence, we administered the Brief Test of Adult Cognition by Telephone to 27 Addison's disease patients and 27 matched healthy controls. The instrument provides objective assessment of episodic memory, working memory, executive functioning, reasoning, and speed of processing. Statistical analyses confirmed that, as expected, patients performed significantly more poorly than controls on the episodic memory subtest. There were, however, no significant between-group differences on the attention, executive functioning, reasoning, and speed of processing subtests. Furthermore, patients with a longer duration of illness performed more poorly across all domains of cognition. We conclude that, for Addison's disease patients, previously reported subjective cognitive deficits are matched by objective impairment, but only in the domain of episodic memory. Future research might investigate (a) whether these memory deficits are material-specific (i.e., whether non-verbal memory is also affected), and (b) the neurobiological mechanisms underlying these deficits.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1016/j.ridd.2014.01.016

Research in developmental disabilities

Res Dev Disabil

Cognitive precursors of arithmetic development in primary school children with cerebral palsy.

The aim of this study was to examine the development of arithmetic performance and its cognitive precursors in children with CP from 7 till 9 years of age. Previous research has shown that children with CP are generally delayed in arithmetic performance compared to their typically developing peers. In children with CP, the developmental trajectory of the ability to solve addition- and subtraction tasks has, however, rarely been studied, as well as the cognitive factors affecting this trajectory. Sixty children (M=7.2 years, SD=.23 months at study entry) with CP participated in this study. Standardized tests were administered to assess arithmetic performance, word decoding skills, non-verbal intelligence, and working memory. The results showed that the ability to solve addition- and subtraction tasks increased over a two year period. Word decoding skills were positively related to the initial status of arithmetic performance. In addition, non-verbal intelligence and working memory were associated with the initial status and growth rate of arithmetic performance from 7 till 9 years of age. The current study highlights the importance of non-verbal intelligence and working memory to the development of arithmetic performance of children with CP.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2013.12.009

Neuropsychologia

Neuropsychologia

The enigma of dyslexic musicians.

Musicians are known to have exceptional sensitivity to sounds, whereas poor phonological representations (or access to these representations) are considered a main characteristic of dyslexic individuals. Though these two characteristics refer to different abilities that are related to non-verbal and verbal skills respectively, the recent literature suggests that they are tightly related. However, there are informal reports of dyslexic musicians. To better understand this enigma, two groups of musicians were recruited, with and without a history of reading difficulties. The pattern of reading difficulties found among musicians was similar to that reported for non-musician dyslexics, though its magnitude was less severe. In contrast to non-musician dyslexics, their performance in pitch and interval discrimination, synchronous tapping and speech perception tasks, did not differ from the performance of their musician peers, and was superior to that of the general population. However, the auditory working memory scores of dyslexic musicians were consistently poor, including memory for rhythm, melody and speech sounds. Moreover, these abilities were inter-correlated, and highly correlated with their reading accuracy. These results point to a discrepancy between their perceptual and working memory skills rather than between sensitivity to speech and non-speech sounds. The results further suggest that in spite of intensive musical training, auditory working memory remains a bottleneck to the reading accuracy of dyslexic musicians.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1007/s10802-013-9832-y

Journal of abnormal child psychology

J Abnorm Child Psychol

Executive functioning and non-verbal intelligence as predictors of bullying in early elementary school.

Executive function and intelligence are negatively associated with aggression, yet the role of executive function has rarely been examined in the context of school bullying. We studied whether different domains of executive function and non-verbal intelligence are associated with bullying involvement in early elementary school. The association was examined in a population-based sample of 1,377 children. At age 4 years we assessed problems in inhibition, shifting, emotional control, working memory and planning/organization, using a validated parental questionnaire (the BRIEF-P). Additionally, we determined child non-verbal IQ at age 6 years. Bullying involvement as a bully, victim or a bully-victim in grades 1-2 of elementary school (mean age 7.7 years) was measured using a peer-nomination procedure. Individual bullying scores were based on the ratings by multiple peers (on average 20 classmates). Analyses were adjusted for various child and maternal socio-demographic and psychosocial covariates. Child score for inhibition problems was associated with the risk of being a bully (OR per SD = 1.35, 95%CI: 1.09-1.66), victim (OR per SD = 1.21, 95%CI: 1.00-1.45) and a bully-victim (OR per SD = 1.55, 95%CI: 1.10-2.17). Children with higher non-verbal IQ were less likely to be victims (OR = 0.99, 95%CI: 0.98-1.00) and bully-victims (OR = 95%CI: 0.93-0.98, respectively). In conclusion, our study showed that peer interactions may be to some extent influenced by children's executive function and non-verbal intelligence. Future studies should examine whether training executive function skills can reduce bullying involvement and improve the quality of peer relationships.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2013.10.021

Neuropsychologia

Neuropsychologia

A matched filter hypothesis for cognitive control.

The prefrontal cortex exerts top-down influences on several aspects of higher-order cognition by functioning as a filtering mechanism that biases bottom-up sensory information toward a response that is optimal in context. However, research also indicates that not all aspects of complex cognition benefit from prefrontal regulation. Here we review and synthesize this research with an emphasis on the domains of learning and creative cognition, and outline how the appropriate level of cognitive control in a given situation can vary depending on the organism's goals and the characteristics of the given task. We offer a matched filter hypothesis for cognitive control, which proposes that the optimal level of cognitive control is task-dependent, with high levels of cognitive control best suited to tasks that are explicit, rule-based, verbal or abstract, and can be accomplished given the capacity limits of working memory and with low levels of cognitive control best suited to tasks that are implicit, reward-based, non-verbal or intuitive, and which can be accomplished irrespective of working memory limitations. Our approach promotes a view of cognitive control as a tool adapted to a subset of common challenges, rather than an all-purpose optimization system suited to every problem the organism might encounter.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.3389/fnhum.2013.00703

Frontiers in human neuroscience

Front Hum Neurosci

Role of the lateral prefrontal cortex in speech monitoring.

The role of lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) in speech monitoring has not been delineated. Recent work suggests that medial frontal cortex (MFC) is involved in overt speech monitoring initiated before auditory feedback. This mechanism is reflected in an event-related potential (ERP), the error negativity (Ne), peaking within 100 ms after vocal-onset. Critically, in healthy individuals the Ne is sensitive to the accuracy of the response; it is larger for error than correct trials. By contrast, patients with LPFC damage are impaired in non-verbal monitoring tasks showing no amplitude difference between the Ne measured in correct vs. error trials. Interactions between the LPFC and the MFC are assumed to play a necessary role for normal action monitoring. We investigated whether the LPFC was involved in speech monitoring to the same extent as in non-linguistic actions by comparing performance and EEG activity in patients with LPFC damage and in aged-matched controls performing linguistic (Picture Naming) and non-linguistic (Simon) tasks. Controls did not produce enough errors to allow the comparison of the Ne or other ERP in error vs. correct trials. PFC patients had worse performance than controls in both tasks, but their Ne was larger for error than correct trials only in Naming. This task-dependent pattern can be explained by LPFC-dependent working-memory requirements present in non-linguistic tasks used to study action monitoring but absent in picture naming. This suggests that LPFC may not be necessary for speech monitoring as assessed by simple picture naming. In addition, bilateral temporal cortex activity starting before and peaking around vocal-onset was observed in LPFC and control groups in both tasks but was larger for error than correct trials only in Naming, suggesting the temporal cortex is associated with on-line monitoring of speech specifically when access to lexical representations is necessary.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1017/S030500091300041X

Journal of child language

J Child Lang

Language and memory abilities of internationally adopted children from China: evidence for early age effects.

The goal of the present study was to examine if internationally adopted (IA) children from China (M = 10;8) adopted by French-speaking families exhibit lags in verbal memory in addition to lags in verbal abilities documented in previous studies (Gauthier & Genesee, 2011). Tests assessing verbal and non-verbal memory, language, non-verbal cognitive ability, and socio-emotional development were administered to thirty adoptees. Their results were compared to those of thirty non-adopted monolingual French-speaking children matched on age, gender, and socioeconomic status. The IA children scored significantly lower than the controls on language, verbal short-term memory, verbal working memory, and verbal long-term memory. No group differences were found on non-verbal memory, non-verbal cognitive ability, and socio-emotional development, suggesting language-specific difficulties. Despite extended exposure to French, adoptees may experience language difficulties due to limitations in verbal memory, possibly as a result of their delayed exposure to that language and/or attrition of the birth language.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1016/j.cpr.2013.09.004

Clinical psychology review

Clin Psychol Rev

The neuropsychology of adult obsessive-compulsive disorder: a meta-analysis.

A vast and heterogeneous body of literature on the neuropsychology of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has accumulated in recent decades, yielding inconsistent results. In an attempt to quantitatively summarize the literature, we conducted a meta-analysis of 115 studies (including 3452 patients), comparing adult OCD patients with healthy controls on tests of 10 neuropsychological domains. Across studies, medium mean effect sizes were found for all executive function subdomains, processing speed, and sustained attention. Small effect sizes were found for visuospatial abilities and working memory. A large effect size was found for non-verbal memory whereas a small effect size was found for verbal memory, where only the former was found to be associated with impairments in executive functions. Moderators of effect sizes were also investigated. Results are discussed in terms of their clinical significance as well as their implications for current neurobiological models of OCD and methodological caveats.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1111/jcpp.12146

Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines

J Child Psychol Psychiatry

A randomized clinical trial of Cogmed Working Memory Training in school-age children with ADHD: a replication in a diverse sample using a control condition.

Cogmed Working Memory Training (CWMT) has received considerable attention as a promising intervention for the treatment of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in children. At the same time, methodological weaknesses in previous clinical trials call into question reported efficacy of CWMT. In particular, lack of equivalence in key aspects of CWMT (i.e., contingent reinforcement, time-on-task with computer training, parent-child interactions, supportive coaching) between CWMT and placebo versions of CWMT used in previous trials may account for the beneficial outcomes favoring CWMT. Eighty-five 7- to 11-year old school-age children with ADHD (66 male; 78%) were randomized to either standard CWMT (CWMT Active) or a well-controlled CWMT placebo condition (CWMT Placebo) and evaluated before and 3 weeks after treatment. Dependent measures included parent and teacher ratings of ADHD symptoms; objective measures of attention, activity level, and impulsivity; and psychometric indices of working memory and academic achievement (Clinical trial title: Combined cognitive remediation and behavioral intervention for the treatment of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder; http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01137318). CWMT Active participants demonstrated significantly greater improvements in verbal and nonverbal working memory storage, but evidenced no discernible gains in working memory storage plus processing/manipulation. In addition, no treatment group differences were observed for any other outcome measures. When a more rigorous comparison condition is utilized, CWMT demonstrates effects on certain aspects of working memory in children with ADHD; however, CWMT does not appear to foster treatment generalization to other domains of functioning. As such, CWMT should not be considered a viable treatment for children with ADHD.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1089/neu.2013.3052

Journal of neurotrauma

J Neurotrauma

A functional magnetic resonance imaging study of working memory in youth after sports-related concussion: is it still working?

Abstract In children, the importance of detecting deficits after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) or concussion has grown with the increasing popularity of leisure physical activities and contact sports. Whereas most postconcussive symptoms (PCS) are similar for children and adults, the breadth of consequences to children remains largely unknown. To investigate the effect of mTBI on brain function, we compared working memory performance and related brain activity using blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in 15 concussed youths and 15 healthy age-matched control subjects. Neuropsychological tests, self-perceived PCS, and levels of anxiety and depression were also assessed. Our results showed that, behaviorally, concussed youths had significantly worse performances on the working memory tasks, as well as on the Rey figure delayed recall and verbal fluency. fMRI results revealed that, compared to healthy children, concussed youths had significantly reduced task-related activity in bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, left premotor cortex, supplementary motor area, and left superior parietal lobule during performance of verbal and nonverbal working memory tasks. Additionally, concussed youths also showed less activation than healthy controls in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, left thalamus, and left caudate nucleus during the nonverbal task. Regression analysis indicated that BOLD signal changes in bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex were significantly correlated with performance such that greater activities in these regions, relative to the control condition, were associated with greater accuracy. Our findings confirmed functional alterations in brain activity after concussion in youths, a result similar to that observed in adults. However, significant differences were noted. In particular, the observation of reduced working memory accuracy suggests that youths may be unable to engage compensatory strategies to maintain cognitive performance after mTBI. This has significant implications for safe return to daily activities, including competitive sport.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1111/desc.12080

Developmental science

Dev Sci

Linking childhood poverty and cognition: environmental mediators of non-verbal executive control in an Argentine sample.

Tests of attentional control, working memory, and planning were administered to compare the non-verbal executive control performance of healthy children from different socioeconomic backgrounds. In addition, mediations of several sociodemographic variables, identified in the literature as part of the experience of child poverty, between socioeconomic status and cognitive performance were assessed. Results show: (1) significant differences in performance between groups in most dependent variables analyzed - however, not in all variables associated with attentional control domains; (2) significant indirect effects of literacy activities on working memory and fluid processing domains, as well as computer resources effects on fluid processing; and (3) marginal indirect effects of computer resources on attentional control and working memory domains. These findings extend analysis of the impact of poverty on the development of executive control, through information based on the assessment of combined neurocognitive paradigms and the identification of specific environmental mediators.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1111/psyg.12019

Psychogeriatrics : the official journal of the Japanese Psychogeriatric Society

Psychogeriatrics

Neuropsychological differentiation between Alzheimer's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies in a memory clinic.

The aim of this study was to identify a useful neuropsychological instrument for making a differential clinical diagnosis between Alzheimer's disease (AD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). We examined 402 AD and 38 DLB patients with neuropsychological tests that covered general cognition, frontal lobe cognitive function, non-verbal abstract reasoning, working memory and attention, and verbal memory. Discriminant analysis using a stepwise method was performed to identify the measures best able to discriminate between AD and DLB. The AD patients performed significantly worse than the DLB patients on orientation to time, delayed recall subtests on the Mini-Mental State Examination, and logical memory subtests 1 and 2 of the Revised Wechsler Memory Scale. The DLB patients performed significantly worse than the AD patients on the attention, repetition, and pentagon copying subtests of the Mini-Mental State Examination, the constructional praxis subtests of the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-cognitive component-Japanese version, the Frontal Assessment Battery total score, Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices (RCPM) sets A, AB, and B, and backward digit span. Discriminant analyses between AD and DLB established the key variables as Logical Memory 1, Logical Memory 2, backward digit span, RCPM, and delayed recall on the Mini-Mental State Examination. We inferred the AD-DLB discriminant index from the following discriminant analyses: AD-DLB discriminant index = (Backward digit span score + RCPM set B score) - (Logical Memory 1 score + Logical Memory 2 score), which offered a highly favourable value for diagnostic utility. The AD-DLB discriminant index, consisting of backward digit span, RCPM set B, and logical memory 1 and 2, is useful to differentiate between AD and DLB.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1007/s00426-013-0505-9

Psychological research

Psychol Res

The impact of finger counting habits on arithmetic in adults and children.

Here, we explored the impact of finger counting habits on arithmetic in both adults and children. Two groups of participants were examined, those that begin counting with their left hand (left-starters) and those that begin counting with their right hand (right-starters). For the adults, performance on an addition task in which participants added 2 two-digit numbers was compared. The results revealed that left-starters were slower than right-starters when adding and they had lower forward and backward digit-span scores. The children (aged 5-12) showed similar results on a single-digit timed addition task-right-starters outperformed left-starters. However, the children did not reveal differences in working memory or verbal and non-verbal intelligence as a function of finger counting habit. We argue that the motor act of finger counting influences how number is represented and suggest that left-starters may have a more bilateral representation that accounts for the slower processing.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.3109/02699052.2013.804203

Brain injury

Brain Inj

The relationship between facial affect recognition and cognitive functioning after traumatic brain injury.

There is considerable evidence suggesting facial affect recognition and cognitive functions are impaired in many people with moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, little is known about the relationship between these two domains in the TBI population. This study investigated the relationship between facial affect recognition and cognitive functioning in 75 adults with moderate-to-severe TBI. Participants were administered three facial affect recognition tests and a computerized cognitive test battery that assessed seven cognitive domains. Deficits in facial affect recognition were significantly correlated with impairments in non-verbal memory, working memory, speed of processing, verbal memory and verbal delayed memory. No significant relationship was found between executive dysfunction and facial affect recognition impairments. Non-verbal memory, working memory and speed of processing significantly predicted overall facial affect recognition performance. It is concluded that impairment in several cognitive processes may contribute to facial affect recognition deficits in TBI, in particular non-verbal memory, working memory and speed of processing. Furthermore, executive functioning may not be a critical factor in facial affect recognition, but would most likely be important in deciding what to do once facial affect is perceived.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1515/jpem-2013-0145

Journal of pediatric endocrinology & metabolism : JPEM

J Pediatr Endocrinol Metab

Cognitive impairment and gray/white matter volume abnormalities in pediatric patients with Turner syndrome presenting with various karyotypes.

To investigate the association between cognitive impairment and gray/white matter volume abnormalities in pediatric patients with Turner syndrome (TS) presenting with various karyotypes. In the present study, 21 pediatric patients with TS and the 45,X karyotype, 24 pediatric patients with TS and other karyotypes, and 20 normal healthy controls, underwent the Wechsler intelligence test, behavioral testing, and a 3.0 T magnetic resonance (MR) scan. Whole-brain high-resolution T1-weighted images were processed with SPM8 software and analyzed using voxel-based morphometry (VBM); differences in gray/white matter volume between the TS groups and healthy controls were compared using analysis of covariance. Pediatric patients in both TS groups had significantly lower IQ scores compared to the normal controls (p<0.05). Furthermore, both TS groups scored significantly less than the normal controls in various composite tests of cognitive function, including verbal comprehension, perceptual reasoning, working memory, and processing speed (p<0.05). There were no significant differences between the two TS patient groups in terms of their scores for verbal comprehension, perceptual reasoning, working memory, and processing speed. However, they did display significant differences in the following tests: accuracy and reaction times in the executive control test, reaction times in the short-, middle-, and long-term attention test, and accuracy in the long-term attention test. Patients in the 45,X karyotype group displayed decreased gray matter volume in the bilateral cuneus, calcarine sulcus postcentral gyrus, right precuneus, superior parietal lobule, lingual gyrus, left precentral gyrus, and cingulate gyrus. However, gray matter volume was increased in the bilateral dorsal midbrain, orbital frontal gyrus, left insular lobe, superior temporal gyrus, inferior temporal gyrus, parahippocampal gyrus, cerebellum, posterior insular lobe, right caudate nucleus, putamen, and temporal pole. Patients with TS with other karyotypes exhibited decreased gray matter volume in the left precuneus, cingulate gyrus, right postcentral gyrus, supramarginal gyrus, angular gyrus, and cuneus; contrastingly, gray matter volume increased in both the epencephals, left caudate nucleus, superior temporal gyrus, right insular lobe, and temporal pole. All volume differences were statistically significant when compared with normal controls [familywise error (FWE)-corrected p<0.05]. With regard to the two TS groups, gray matter volume in the left hippocampus and left caudate nucleus was significantly decreased in the 45,X karyotype group compared to patients with TS with other karyotypes (FWE-corrected p<0.05); conversely, gray matter volume in the right supramarginal gyrus was increased in the 45,X karyotype group (FWE-corrected p<0.05). Pediatric patients with TS display a lower level of intelligence compared to healthy controls, this is complicated by verbal and non-verbal cognitive impairment. The neuropathological basis of such cognitive deficiencies may be as a result of abnormalities in gray matter development.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1080/09658211.2013.797471

Memory (Hove, England)

Memory

Why is working memory related to intelligence? Different contributions from storage and processing.

Domain-specific contributions of working memory (WM), short-term memory (STM), and executive functioning (EF) to individual differences in intelligence were analysed using a latent variable approach. A sample of 345 participants completed a battery of 24 tests tapping the constructs of interests as comprehensively as possible. Visuospatial and verbal STM and WM tasks were administered along with three subcomponents of EF, namely inhibition, planning, and shifting. Intelligence was assessed by non-verbal/abstract/fluid intelligence (Gf) and verbal/crystallised intelligence (Gc) standardised tests. Structural equation modelling results show that EF is the main predictor of Gf, whereas verbal STM is the main predictor of Gc. Storage and processing providing different contributions to the prediction of Gf and Gc supports the view that both short-term storage and executive functioning account for the relationship between WM and intelligence. This main conclusion stresses the importance of acknowledging core cognitive constructs as being hierarchical systems with general and domain-specific mechanisms.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1111/add.12040

Addiction (Abingdon, England)

Addiction

Deficits in social perception in opioid maintenance patients, abstinent opioid users and non-opioid users.

This study aimed to compare emotion perception and social inference in opioid maintenance patients with abstinent ex-users and non-heroin-using controls, and determine whether any deficits in could be accounted for by cognitive deficits and/or risk factors for brain damage. Case-control. Sydney, Australia. A total of 125 maintenance patients (MAIN), 50 abstinent opiate users (ABST) and 50 matched controls (CON). The Awareness of Social Inference Test (TASIT) was used to measure emotion perception and social inference. Measures were also taken of executive function, working memory, information processing speed, verbal/non-verbal learning and psychological distress. After adjusting for age, sex, pre-morbid IQ and psychological distress, the MAIN group was impaired relative to CON (β = -0.19, P < 0.05) and ABST (β = -0.19, P < 0.05) on emotion perception and relative to CON (β = -0.25, P < 0.001) and ABST (β = -0.24, P < 0.01) on social inference. In neither case did the CON and ABST groups differ. For both emotion perception (P < 0.001) and social inference (P < 0.001), pre-morbid IQ was a significant independent predictor. Cognitive function was a major predictor of poor emotion perception (β = -0.44, P < 0.001) and social inference (β = -0.48, P < 0.001). Poor emotion recognition was also predicted by number of heroin overdoses (β = -0.14, P < 0.05). Neither time in treatment or type of maintenance medication (methadone or buprenorphine) were related to performance. People in opioid maintenance treatment may have an impaired capacity for emotion perception and ability to make inferences about social situations.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.5209/rev_sjop.2012.v15.n3.39381

The Spanish journal of psychology

Span J Psychol

Working memory capacity and mental rotation: evidence for a domain-general view.

Despite the existence of numerous studies that examined the relationship between working memory capacity and performance in complex cognitive tasks, it remains unclear whether this capacity is domain specific or domain general. In addition, the available empirical evidence is somewhat contradictory. In this work we have studied the role of verbal working memory capacity in a non-verbal task--mental image rotation. If this capacity were domain specific it would be expected that high and low verbal span participants would obtain similar results in the mental rotation task. We have found that this is not the case as the high span participants performed better in terms of both speed and accuracy. Moreover, these differences depended on the processing component of the mental rotation task: the higher the processing requirements the higher the differences as a function of the working memory capacity. Therefore, the evidence presented here supports the domain general hypothesis.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1371/journal.pone.0048623

PloS one

PLoS One

Individual differences in the discrimination of novel speech sounds: effects of sex, temporal processing, musical and cognitive abilities.

This study examined whether rapid temporal auditory processing, verbal working memory capacity, non-verbal intelligence, executive functioning, musical ability and prior foreign language experience predicted how well native English speakers (N=120) discriminated Norwegian tonal and vowel contrasts as well as a non-speech analogue of the tonal contrast and a native vowel contrast presented over noise. Results confirmed a male advantage for temporal and tonal processing, and also revealed that temporal processing was associated with both non-verbal intelligence and speech processing. In contrast, effects of musical ability on non-native speech-sound processing and of inhibitory control on vowel discrimination were not mediated by temporal processing. These results suggest that individual differences in non-native speech-sound processing are to some extent determined by temporal auditory processing ability, in which males perform better, but are also determined by a host of other abilities that are deployed flexibly depending on the characteristics of the target sounds.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.3389/fnhum.2012.00271

Frontiers in human neuroscience

Front Hum Neurosci

Computerized training of non-verbal reasoning and working memory in children with intellectual disability.

Children with intellectual disabilities show deficits in both reasoning ability and working memory (WM) that impact everyday functioning and academic achievement. In this study we investigated the feasibility of cognitive training for improving WM and non-verbal reasoning (NVR) ability in children with intellectual disability. Participants were randomized to a 5-week adaptive training program (intervention group) or non-adaptive version of the program (active control group). Cognitive assessments were conducted prior to and directly after training and 1 year later to examine effects of the training. Improvements during training varied largely and amount of progress during training predicted transfer to WM and comprehension of instructions, with higher training progress being associated with greater transfer improvements. The strongest predictors for training progress were found to be gender, co-morbidity, and baseline capacity on verbal WM. In particular, females without an additional diagnosis and with higher baseline performance showed greater progress. No significant effects of training were observed at the 1-year follow-up, suggesting that training should be more intense or repeated in order for effects to persist in children with intellectual disabilities. A major finding of this study is that cognitive training is feasible in this clinical sample and can help improve their cognitive performance. However, a minimum cognitive capacity or training ability seems necessary for the training to be beneficial, with some individuals showing little improvement in performance. Future studies of cognitive training should take into consideration how inter-individual differences in training progress influence transfer effects and further investigate how baseline capacities predict training outcome.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1080/13546805.2012.682363

Cognitive neuropsychiatry

Cogn Neuropsychiatry

Neurocognitive performance of a community-based sample of young people at putative ultra high risk for psychosis: support for the processing speed hypothesis.

A wide variety of neurocognitive deficits have been reported for help-seeking individuals who are at clinical or ultra high risk for psychosis based on fulfilling set criteria for prodromal syndromes/at risk mental states. We wished to extend this research by conducting the first population-based assessment of prodromal syndromes and associated neurocognition. A sample of 212 school-based adolescents were assessed for prodromal syndromes using the criteria of prodromal syndromes from the Structured Interview for Prodromal Syndromes. The MATRICS consensus neurocognitive battery was used to assess cognitive functioning in this sample. A total of 8% of the population sample of adolescents met criteria for a prodromal syndrome. These adolescents performed significantly more poorly than controls on two tests of processing speed-Trail-Making Test Part A, F=4.54, p < .01, and the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia Symbol Coding task, F=8.26, p < .0001-and on a test of nonverbal working memory-the Wechsler Memory Scale Spatial Span task, F=3.29, p < .05. Adolescents in the community who fulfil criteria for prodromal syndromes demonstrate deficits on a number of neurocognitive tasks. Deficits are particularly pronounced in symbol coding performance, supporting processing speed as a central deficit associated with psychosis risk.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1093/schbul/sbs086

Schizophrenia bulletin

Schizophr Bull

Neurocognition in the extended psychosis phenotype: performance of a community sample of adolescents with psychotic symptoms on the MATRICS neurocognitive battery.

Neurocognitive dysfunction is well established in psychosis, but recent work suggests that processing speed deficits might represent a particularly important cognitive deficit. A number of significant confounds, however, such as disease chronicity and antipsychotic medication use, have been shown to affect processing speed, causing debate as to the core cognitive features of psychosis. We adopted a novel strategy of testing neurocognitive performance in the "extended psychosis phenotype," involving community-based adolescents who are not clinically psychotic but who report psychotic symptoms and who are at increased risk of psychosis in adulthood. This allows investigation of the earliest cognitive factors associated with psychosis risk, while excluding potential confounds such as disease chronicity and antipsychotic use. A population sample of 212 school-going adolescents aged 11-13 years took part in this study. Psychotic symptoms were assessed using the psychosis section of the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia. Neurocognition was assessed using the Measurement and Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia (MATRICS) consensus neurocognitive battery. Adolescents with psychotic symptoms performed significantly more poorly on 3 processing speed tasks: Trail Making Test-A (F = 3.3, P < .05), Trail Making Test-B (F = 3.1, P < .05), and digit symbol coding task (F = 7.0, P < .001)-as well as on a nonverbal working memory (spatial span) task (F = 3.2, P < .05). Our findings support the idea that neurocognitive impairment, and processing speed impairment in particular, is a core feature of psychosis risk. This group likely demonstrates some of the earliest cognitive impairments associated with psychosis vulnerability.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1177/0022219412454172

Journal of learning disabilities

J Learn Disabil

Poor comprehenders in the classroom: teacher ratings of behavior in children with poor reading comprehension and its relationship with individual differences in working memory.

Differing etiological explanations have been proposed to account for poor comprehenders' difficulties with reading comprehension, with some researchers emphasizing working memory deficits and others arguing for oral language weaknesses playing a key causal role. The authors contrasted these two theoretical accounts using data obtained from direct measures of working memory and from teacher ratings of poor comprehenders' behavior in the classroom. At the group level, poor comprehenders showed weaknesses on verbal but not nonverbal working memory tasks, in keeping with the "language account." However, they also showed evidence of elevated levels of problem behaviors specifically associated with working memory deficits. Further analysis revealed that these group differences in working-memory-related problem behaviors were carried by a small subgroup of poor comprehenders who also displayed domain-general (verbal and nonverbal) working memory problems, argued to be reflective of "genuine" underlying working memory deficits.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1016/j.schres.2012.07.007

Schizophrenia research

Schizophr Res

A broken filter: prefrontal functional connectivity abnormalities in schizophrenia during working memory interference.

Characterizing working memory (WM) abnormalities represents a fundamental challenge in schizophrenia research given the impact of cognitive deficits on life outcome in patients. In prior work we demonstrated that dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) activation was related to successful distracter resistance during WM in healthy controls, but not in schizophrenia. Although understanding the impact of regional functional deficits is critical, functional connectivity abnormalities among nodes within WM networks may constitute a final common pathway for WM impairment. Therefore, this study tested the hypothesis that schizophrenia is associated with functional connectivity abnormalities within DLPFC networks during distraction conditions in WM. 28 patients and 24 controls completed a delayed non-verbal WM task that included transient visual distraction during the WM maintenance phase. We computed DLPFC whole-brain task-based functional connectivity (tb-fcMRI) specifically during the maintenance phase in the presence or absence of distraction. Results revealed that patients failed to modulate tb-fcMRI during distracter presentation in both cortical and sub-cortical regions. Specifically, controls demonstrated reductions in tb-fcMRI between DLPFC and the extended amygdala when distraction was present. Conversely, patients failed to demonstrate a change in coupling with the amygdala, but showed greater connectivity with medio-dorsal thalamus. While controls showed more positive coupling between DLPFC and other prefrontal cortical regions during distracter presentation, patients failed to exhibit such a modulation. Taken together, these findings support the notion that observed distracter resistance deficit involves a breakdown in coupling between DLPFC and distributed regions, encompassing both subcortical (thalamic/limbic) and control region connectivity.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1371/journal.pone.0041784

PloS one

PLoS One

Encoding of physics concepts: concreteness and presentation modality reflected by human brain dynamics.

Previous research into working memory has focused on activations in different brain areas accompanying either different presentation modalities (verbal vs. non-verbal) or concreteness (abstract vs. concrete) of non-science concepts. Less research has been conducted investigating how scientific concepts are learned and further processed in working memory. To bridge this gap, the present study investigated human brain dynamics associated with encoding of physics concepts, taking both presentation modality and concreteness into account. Results of this study revealed greater theta and low-beta synchronization in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) during encoding of concrete pictures as compared to the encoding of both high and low imageable words. In visual brain areas, greater theta activity accompanying stimulus onsets was observed for words as compared to pictures while stronger alpha suppression was observed in responses to pictures as compared to words. In general, the EEG oscillation patterns for encoding words of different levels of abstractness were comparable but differed significantly from encoding of pictures. These results provide insights into the effects of modality of presentation on human encoding of scientific concepts and thus might help in developing new ways to better teach scientific concepts in class.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1016/j.neuropharm.2012.07.009

Neuropharmacology

Neuropharmacology

Effects of modafinil on non-verbal cognition, task enjoyment and creative thinking in healthy volunteers.

Modafinil, a putative cognitive enhancing drug, has previously been shown to improve performance of healthy volunteers as well as patients with attention deficit disorder and schizophrenia, mainly in tests of executive functions. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of modafinil on non-verbal cognitive functions in healthy volunteers, with a particular focus on variations of cognitive load, measures of motivational factors and the effects on creative problem-solving. A double-blind placebo-controlled parallel design study evaluated the effect of 200 mg of modafinil (N = 32) or placebo (N = 32) in non-sleep deprived healthy volunteers. Non-verbal tests of divergent and convergent thinking were used to measure creativity. A new measure of task motivation was used, together with more levels of difficulty on neuropsychological tests from the CANTAB battery. Improvements under modafinil were seen on spatial working memory, planning and decision making at the most difficult levels, as well as visual pattern recognition memory following delay. Subjective ratings of enjoyment of task performance were significantly greater under modafinil compared with placebo, but mood ratings overall were not affected. The effects of modafinil on creativity were inconsistent and did not reach statistical significance. Modafinil reliably enhanced task enjoyment and performance on several cognitive tests of planning and working memory, but did not improve paired associates learning. The findings confirm that modafinil can enhance aspects of highly demanding cognitive performance in non-sleep deprived individuals. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled 'Cognitive Enhancers'.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2012.05.032

Drug and alcohol dependence

Drug Alcohol Depend

Comparative patterns of cognitive performance amongst opioid maintenance patients, abstinent opioid users and non-opioid users.

To compare the cognitive performances of maintenance patients (MAIN), abstinent ex-users (ABST) and healthy non-heroin using controls (CON). Case control study of 125 MAIN (94 subjects maintained on methadone, 31 on buprenorphine), 50 ABST and 50 CON. Neuropsychological tests measuring executive function, working memory, information processing speed, verbal learning and non-verbal learning were administered. There were no differences between the cognitive profiles of those maintained on methadone or buprenorphine on any administered test. After controlling for confounders, the MAIN group had poorer performance than controls in six of the 13 administered tests, and were poorer than the ABST group in five. The MAIN group exhibited poorer performance in the Haylings Sentence Completion, Matrix Reasoning, Digit Symbol, Logical Memory (immediate and delayed recall), and the Complex Figure Test (immediate recall). There were no differences between the ABST and CON groups on any of the administered tests. Poorer cognitive performance, across a range of test and domains, was seen amongst maintenance patients, regardless of their maintenance drug. This is a group that is likely might benefit from approaches for managing individuals with cognitive and behavioural difficulties arising from brain dysfunction.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1016/j.brainres.2012.05.045

Brain research

Brain Res

Contrasting visual working memory for verbal and non-verbal material with multivariate analysis of fMRI.

We performed a Delayed-Item-Recognition task to investigate the neural substrates of non-verbal visual working memory with event-related fMRI ('Shape task'). 25 young subjects (mean age: 24.0 years; STD=3.8 years) were instructed to study a list of either 1, 2 or 3 unnamable nonsense line drawings for 3s ('stimulus phase' or STIM). Subsequently, the screen went blank for 7s ('retention phase' or RET), and then displayed a probe stimulus for 3s in which subjects indicated with a differential button press whether the probe was contained in the studied shape-array or not ('probe phase' or PROBE). Ordinal Trend Canonical Variates Analysis (Habeck et al., 2005a) was performed to identify spatial covariance patterns that showed a monotonic increase in expression with memory load during all task phases. Reliable load-related patterns were identified in the stimulus and retention phase (p<0.01), while no significant pattern could be discerned during the probe phase. Spatial covariance patterns that were obtained from an earlier version of this task (Habeck et al., 2005b) using 1, 3, or 6 letters ('Letter task') were also prospectively applied to their corresponding task phases in the current non-verbal task version. Interestingly, subject expression of covariance patterns from both verbal and non-verbal retention phases correlated positively in the non-verbal task for all memory loads (p<0.0001). Both patterns also involved similar frontoparietal brain regions that were increasing in activity with memory load, and mediofrontal and temporal regions that were decreasing. Mean subject expression of both patterns across memory load during retention also correlated positively with recognition accuracy (d(L)) in the Shape task (p<0.005). These findings point to similarities in the neural substrates of verbal and non-verbal rehearsal processes. Encoding processes, on the other hand, are critically dependent on the to-be-remembered material, and seem to necessitate material-specific neural substrates.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1016/j.jad.2012.02.024

Journal of affective disorders

J Affect Disord

Neurocognitive effects after brief pulse and ultrabrief pulse unilateral electroconvulsive therapy for major depression: a review.

Neurocognitive functioning is well known to be affected after ECT. However quantified data about the severity of the cognitive impairment after ultrabrief pulse and brief pulse ECT are limited, which makes it hard to judge its clinical relevance. To review all prospective studies using right unilateral (ultra) brief pulse index electroconvulsive therapy published up until February 2011 which used at least one instrument for cognitive assessment before and after ECT. The severity and persistence of neurocognitive side effects immediately (one to seven days post ECT), between one and six months and after six months post ECT were assessed by calculating effect sizes using Cohen's d. Ten studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria and provided detailed information to compute effect sizes. The results indicate loss of autobiographical memory and impairment of verbal fluency, anterograde verbal and non-verbal memory immediately after brief pulse RUL ECT. To a lesser extent impairment of working memory and reduced speed of processing is found. Autobiographical memory is the only domain still being impaired between one and six months post ECT, but improved in this period. Verbal fluency normalized to baseline performance between one and six months post ECT whereas anterograde verbal and non-verbal memory normalized or even improved. Speed of processing improved within six months after ECT. Long-term data on these cognitive domains were not available. Based on two of the ten included studies the results suggest that ultrabrief pulse RUL ECT causes less decline in autobiographical and anterograde memory after ECT than brief pulse RUL ECT. This review may be limited because of the small number of included studies and due to unreliable effect sizes. Furthermore, few data were available for non-memory domains and cognitive functioning after six months. Loss of autobiographical memory is still present between one and six months after unilateral brief pulse ECT. Ultrabrief pulse RUL ECT shows less decline in autobiographical memory. Other neurocognitive impairments after brief pulse RUL ECT seem to be transient.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2012.04.014

Neuropsychologia

Neuropsychologia

Poor anchoring limits dyslexics' perceptual, memory, and reading skills.

The basic deficits underlying the severe and persistent reading difficulties in dyslexia are still highly debated. One of the major topics of debate is whether these deficits are language specific, or affect both verbal and non-verbal stimuli. Recently, Ahissar and colleagues proposed the "anchoring-deficit hypothesis" (Ahissar, Lubin, Putter-Katz, & Banai, 2006), which suggests that dyslexics have a general difficulty in automatic extraction of stimulus regularities from auditory inputs. This hypothesis explained a broad range of dyslexics' verbal and non-verbal difficulties. However, it was not directly tested in the context of reading and verbal memory, which poses the main stumbling blocks to dyslexics. Here we assessed the abilities of adult dyslexics to efficiently benefit from ("anchor to") regularities embedded in repeated tones, orally presented syllables, and written words. We also compared dyslexics' performance to that of individuals with attention disorder (ADHD), but no reading disability. We found an anchoring effect in all groups: all gained from stimulus repetition. However, in line with the anchoring-deficit hypothesis, controls and ADHD participants showed a significantly larger anchoring effect in all tasks. This study is the first that directly shows that the same domain-general deficit, poor anchoring, characterizes dyslexics' performance in perceptual, working memory and reading tasks.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1371/journal.pone.0034243

PloS one

PLoS One

The derived allele of ASPM is associated with lexical tone perception.

The ASPM and MCPH1 genes have been implicated in the adaptive evolution of the human brain [Mekel-Bobrov N. et al., 2005. Ongoing adaptive evolution of ASPM, a brain size determinant in homo sapiens. Science 309; Evans P.D. et al., 2005. Microcephalin, a gene regulating brain size, continues to evolve adaptively in humans. Science 309]. Curiously, experimental attempts have failed to connect the implicated SNPs in these genes with higher-level brain functions. These results stand in contrast with a population-level study linking the population frequency of their alleles with the tendency to use lexical tones in a language [Dediu D., Ladd D.R., 2007. Linguistic tone is related to the population frequency of the adaptive haplogroups of two brain size genes, ASPM and microcephalin. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 104]. In the present study, we found a significant correlation between the load of the derived alleles of ASPM and tone perception in a group of European Americans who did not speak a tone language. Moreover, preliminary results showed a significant correlation between ASPM load and hemodynamic responses to lexical tones in the auditory cortex, and such correlation remained after phonemic awareness, auditory working memory, and non-verbal IQ were controlled. As in previous studies, no significant correlation between ASPM and cognitive measures were found. MCPH1 did not correlate with any measures. These results suggest that the association between the recently derived allele of ASPM is likely to be specific and is tied to higher level brain functions in the temporal cortex related to human communication.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1111/j.2044-8279.2011.02034.x

The British journal of educational psychology

Br J Educ Psychol

Cognitive correlates of mathematical achievement in children with cerebral palsy and typically developing children.

Remarkably few studies have investigated the nature and origin of learning difficulties in children with cerebral palsy (CP). To investigate math achievement in terms of word-problem solving ability in children with CP and controls. Because of the potential importance of reading for word-problem solving, we investigated reading as well. Children with CP attending either special (n= 41) or mainstream schools (n= 16) and a control group of typically developing children in mainstream schools (n= 16). Group differences in third grade math and reading, controlled for IQ, were tested with analyses of co-variance (ANCOVAs). Hierarchical regression was used to investigate cognitive correlates of third grade math and reading. Predictors included verbal and non-verbal IQ measured in first grade, components of working memory (WM) and executive function (EF) measured in second grade, and arithmetic fact fluency and reading measured in third grade. Children with CP in special schools performed significantly worse than their peers on word-problem solving and reading. There was a trend towards worse performance in children with CP in mainstream schools compared to typically developing children. Impairments of non-verbal IQ and WM updating predicted future difficulties in both word-problem solving and reading. Impairments of visuospatial sketchpad and inhibition predicted future word-problem, but not reading difficulty. Conversely, deficits of phonological loop predicted reading but not word-problem difficulty. Concurrent arithmetic fact fluency and reading ability were both important for word-problem solving ability. These results could potentially help to predict which children are likely to develop specific learning difficulties, facilitating early intervention.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1111/j.1460-6984.2011.00092.x

International journal of language & communication disorders

Int J Lang Commun Disord

Linguistic transfer in bilingual children with specific language impairment.

In the literature so far the limited research on specific language impairment (SLI) in bilingual children has concentrated on linguistic skills in the first language (L1) and/or the second language (L2) without paying attention to the relations between the two types of skills and to the issue of linguistic transfer. To examine the first and second language proficiency of 75 Turkish-Dutch bilingual children with SLI in the age range between 7 and 11 years living in the Netherlands. A multidimensional perspective on language proficiency was taken in order to assess children's Turkish and Dutch proficiency levels, whereas equivalent tests were used in order to determine language dominance. A second aim was to find out to what extent the children's proficiency in L2 can be predicted from their L1 proficiency, while taking into account their general cognitive abilities. The children's performance on a battery of equivalent language ability tests in Turkish and Dutch was compared at three age levels. By means of analyses of variance, it was explored to what extent the factors of language and grade level as well as their interactions were significant. Bivariate correlations and partial correlations with age level partialled out were computed to examine the relationships between L1 and L2 proficiency levels. Moreover, regression analysis was conducted to find out to what extent the variance in general L2 proficiency levels could be explained by children's L1 proficiency, short-term memory and non-verbal intelligence. Repeated measures analyses showed that the children had generally higher scores on L1 as compared with L2 and that with progression of age the children's scores in L1 and L2 improved. Medium to high correlations were found between phonological memory, phonological awareness, grammatical skills and story comprehension in the two languages. Regression analysis revealed that children's L2 proficiency levels could be explained by their proficiency levels in L1, even after controlling for children's non-verbal intelligence and working memory. It is concluded that children's formal linguistic skills in L1 and L2 tend to be related and that their level of L1 proficiency may help to develop linguistic skills in L2.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1080/13803395.2011.645017

Journal of clinical and experimental neuropsychology

J Clin Exp Neuropsychol

Literacy: Exploring working memory systems.

Previous research showed an important association between reading and writing skills (literacy) and the phonological loop. However, the effects of literacy on other working memory components remain unclear. In this study, we investigated performance of illiterate subjects and their matched literate controls on verbal and nonverbal working memory tasks. Results revealed that the phonological loop is significantly influenced by literacy, while the visuospatial sketchpad appears to be less affected or not at all. Results also suggest that the central executive might be influenced by literacy, possibly as an expression of cognitive reserve.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1111/j.1748-6653.2011.02002.x

Journal of neuropsychology

J Neuropsychol

Cognitive procedural learning in early Alzheimer's disease: impaired processes and compensatory mechanisms.

The aim of this study was to study cognitive procedural learning in early Alzheimer's disease (AD). Cognitive procedural learning was assessed using the Tower of Hanoi (TH) task. In order to take account of possible interactions between different systems during cognitive procedural learning, we also measured non-verbal intellectual functions, working memory, and declarative memory. Our results showed an apparent preservation of cognitive procedural learning in AD and a deleterious effect of the disease on verbal intelligence and declarative memory. Correlational analyses revealed a difference between AD patients and control participants in the type of processing they applied to the task. The non-involvement of declarative memory would appear to be partly responsible for a slowdown in the cognitive procedural dynamics of AD patients. As the AD patients were unable to use their declarative memory, they were still in a problem-solving mode at the end of the learning protocol and had to implement higher order cognitive processes (i.e., compensatory mechanisms) to perform the procedural task.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1111/j.1467-7687.2010.00974.x

Developmental science

Dev Sci

Speed of processing, anticipation, inhibition and working memory in bilinguals.

Literature on the so-called bilingual advantage is directed towards the investigation of whether the mastering of two languages fosters cognitive skills in the non-verbal domain. The present study aimed to evaluate whether the bilingual advantage in non-verbal skills could be best defined as domain-general or domain-specific, and, in the latter case, at identifying the basic cognitive skills involved. Bilingual and monolingual participants were divided into two different age groups (children, youths) and were tested on a battery of elementary cognitive tasks which included a choice reaction time task, a go/no-go task, two working memory tasks (numbers and symbols) and an anticipation task. Bilingual and monolingual children did not differ from each other except for the anticipation task, where bilinguals were found to be faster and more accurate than monolinguals. These findings suggest that anticipation, which has received little attention to date, is an important cognitive domain which needs to be evaluated to a greater extent both in bilingual and monolingual participants.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.3389/fpsyg.2011.00359

Frontiers in psychology

Front Psychol

Five- to 7-year-olds' finger gnosia and calculation abilities.

The research examined the relationship between 65 5- to 7-year-olds' finger gnosia, visuo-spatial working memory, and finger-use in solving single-digit addition problems. Their non-verbal IQ and basic reaction time were also assessed. Previous research has found significant changes in children's representational abilities between 5 and 7 years. One aim of the research was to determine whether changes in finger representational abilities (finger gnosia) occur across these ages and whether they are associated with finger-use in computation. A second aim was to determine whether visuo-spatial working memory is associated with finger gnosia and computation abilities. We used latent class profile analysis to identify patterns of similarities and differences in finger gnosia and computation/finger-use abilities. The analysis yielded four finger gnosia subgroups that differed in finger representation ability. It also yielded four finger/computation subgroups that differed in the relationship between finger-use and computation success. Analysis revealed associations between computation finger-use/success subgroups, finger gnosia subgroups, and visuo-spatial working memory. A multinomial logistic regression analysis showed that finger gnosia subgroup membership and visuo-spatial working memory uniquely contribute to a model predicting finger-use in computation group membership. The results show that finger gnosia abilities change in the early school years, and that these changes are associated with the ability to use fingers to aid computation.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1016/j.ridd.2011.11.004

Research in developmental disabilities

Res Dev Disabil

Strengths and weaknesses in executive functioning in children with intellectual disability.

Children with intellectual disability (ID) were given a comprehensive range of executive functioning measures, which systematically varied in terms of verbal and non-verbal demands. Their performance was compared to the performance of groups matched on mental age (MA) and chronological age (CA), respectively. Twenty-two children were included in each group. Children with ID performed on par with the MA group on switching, verbal executive-loaded working memory and most fluency tasks, but below the MA group on inhibition, planning, and non-verbal executive-loaded working memory. Children with ID performed below CA comparisons on all the executive tasks. We suggest that children with ID have a specific profile of executive functioning, with MA appropriate abilities to generate new exemplars (fluency) and to switch attention between tasks, but difficulties with respect to inhibiting pre-potent responses, planning, and non-verbal executive-loaded working memory The development of different types of executive functioning skills may, to different degrees, be related to mental age and experience.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1016/j.ridd.2011.10.020

Research in developmental disabilities

Res Dev Disabil

Arithmetic performance of children with cerebral palsy: the influence of cognitive and motor factors.

Children diagnosed with cerebral palsy (CP) often show difficulties in arithmetic compared to their typically developing peers. The present study explores whether cognitive and motor variables are related to arithmetic performance of a large group of primary school children with CP. More specifically, the relative influence of non-verbal intelligence, working memory, word decoding capacities, gross- and fine motor skills on arithmetic performance is examined using structural equation modeling. One-hundred sixteen primary school children with a formal diagnosis of CP participated (76 males, M = 7; 3 years, SD = 3 months). In agreement with previous studies our results showed that the cognitive and motor predictors were all positively correlated to each other. Furthermore, in the cognitive model, non-verbal intelligence and word decoding were related to arithmetic in primary school. Our combined model (that included both motor and cognitive variables) showed that word decoding and fine motor skills were the strongest predictors of arithmetic performance. To conclude, this study was the first to show the influence of word decoding and fine motor skills on arithmetic performance of children with CP.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1093/brain/awr260

Brain : a journal of neurology

Brain

Impairments of auditory scene analysis in Alzheimer's disease.

Parsing of sound sources in the auditory environment or 'auditory scene analysis' is a computationally demanding cognitive operation that is likely to be vulnerable to the neurodegenerative process in Alzheimer's disease. However, little information is available concerning auditory scene analysis in Alzheimer's disease. Here we undertook a detailed neuropsychological and neuroanatomical characterization of auditory scene analysis in a cohort of 21 patients with clinically typical Alzheimer's disease versus age-matched healthy control subjects. We designed a novel auditory dual stream paradigm based on synthetic sound sequences to assess two key generic operations in auditory scene analysis (object segregation and grouping) in relation to simpler auditory perceptual, task and general neuropsychological factors. In order to assess neuroanatomical associations of performance on auditory scene analysis tasks, structural brain magnetic resonance imaging data from the patient cohort were analysed using voxel-based morphometry. Compared with healthy controls, patients with Alzheimer's disease had impairments of auditory scene analysis, and segregation and grouping operations were comparably affected. Auditory scene analysis impairments in Alzheimer's disease were not wholly attributable to simple auditory perceptual or task factors; however, the between-group difference relative to healthy controls was attenuated after accounting for non-verbal (visuospatial) working memory capacity. These findings demonstrate that clinically typical Alzheimer's disease is associated with a generic deficit of auditory scene analysis. Neuroanatomical associations of auditory scene analysis performance were identified in posterior cortical areas including the posterior superior temporal lobes and posterior cingulate. This work suggests a basis for understanding a class of clinical symptoms in Alzheimer's disease and for delineating cognitive mechanisms that mediate auditory scene analysis both in health and in neurodegenerative disease.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2011.10.003

Neuropsychologia

Neuropsychologia

A comparative study of working memory: immediate serial spatial recall in baboons (Papio papio) and humans.

Two experiments assessed if non-human primates can be meaningfully compared to humans in a non-verbal test of serial recall. A procedure was used that was derived from variations of the Corsi test, designed to test the effects of sequence structure and movement path length in humans. Two baboons were tested in Experiment 1. The monkeys showed several attributes of human serial recall. These included an easier recall of sequences with a shorter number of items and of sequences characterized by a shorter path length when the number of items was kept constant. However, the accuracy and speed of processing did not indicate that the monkeys were able to benefit from the spatiotemporal structure of sequences. Humans tested in Experiment 2 showed a quantitatively longer memory span, and, in contrast with monkeys, benefitted from sequence structure. The results are discussed in relation to differences in how human and non-human primates segment complex visual patterns.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1111/j.1365-2214.2011.01277.x

Child: care, health and development

Child Care Health Dev

An examination of information-processing skills among inhalant-using adolescents.

This study investigates the association between inhalant use and information processing (IP) in adjudicated polysubstance users. Polysubstance users who used inhalants (n= 158) were compared with polysubstance users who did not use inhalants (n= 303). Hispanic Americans comprised 72% of the participants; European Americans, African Americans and Asian Americans comprised 28% of the participants. Standardized intelligence and achievement tests were used to assess information-processing constructs of working memory and processing speed. Psychosocial and substance abuse standardized surveys were used to assess drug use severity and psychosocial problems associated with substance use. Polysubstance users who used inhalants (PSI users) were younger, used more drugs more frequently and had more psychiatric admissions than non-inhalant polysubstance users (PSO users). Statistical analysis also shows that PSI users performed worse on measures of IP selected tests in comparison with the PSO users. Inhalant users begin abusing substances at a younger age and suffer from more verbal and non-verbal processing, behavioural, language and memory problems than non-inhalant users.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1016/j.psyneuen.2011.05.013

Psychoneuroendocrinology

Psychoneuroendocrinology

Psychosocial stress exposure impairs memory retrieval in children.

Negative consequences of stress on working memory and delayed memory retrieval have been observed in adult humans. Little is known about the occurrence of similar effects in children. Forty-four German full-term children, aged 8-10 years, were randomly assigned to a stressful (Trier Social Stress Test for Children--TSST-C) or to a non-stressful control condition. Afterwards, delayed memory retrieval was tested using a computerized version of the well-known card game "Memory". It contained positive, neutral and negative stimuli. In addition, working memory of verbal and non-verbal material was assessed. The stressed children showed pronounced cortisol increases accompanied by a decrease in mood. Children exposed to the stressor performed poorer in the delayed memory retrieval test (memory card game). They committed more errors. No differences were found for working memory. The stress-induced memory retrieval impairment mirrors findings in adults. In contrast, the missing working memory effects could suggest developmental differences in stress sensitivity.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1111/j.1467-7687.2010.01022.x

Developmental science

Dev Sci

Gains in fluid intelligence after training non-verbal reasoning in 4-year-old children: a controlled, randomized study.

Fluid intelligence (Gf) predicts performance on a wide range of cognitive activities, and children with impaired Gf often experience academic difficulties. Previous attempts to improve Gf have been hampered by poor control conditions and single outcome measures. It is thus still an open question whether Gf can be improved by training. This study included 4-year-old children (N = 101) who performed computerized training (15 min/day for 25 days) of either non-verbal reasoning, working memory, a combination of both, or a placebo version of the combined training. Compared to the placebo group, the non-verbal reasoning training group improved significantly on Gf when analysed as a latent variable of several reasoning tasks. Smaller gains on problem solving tests were seen in the combination training group. The group training working memory improved on measures of working memory, but not on problem solving tests. This study shows that it is possible to improve Gf with training, which could have implications for early interventions in children.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1590/S1980-57642011DN05020012

Dementia & neuropsychologia

Dement Neuropsychol

Memory span measured by the spatial span tests of the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery in a group of Brazilian children and adolescents.

The neuropsychological tests of spatial span are designed to measure attention and working memory. The version of the spatial span test in the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) evaluates these functions through the recall of sequences of spatial locations presented to the subject. The present study investigated how age, gender and educational level might affect the performance of the non-verbal system. A total of 60 children and adolescents aged 6 to 18 years were assessed (25 males and 35 females). The results showed no gender differences in test performance. Children with six or more years of education showed better performance than children with less than three years of education. Older children had more schooling and thus were able to recall a greater number of items. Span length values proved similar to a previous large normative study which also employed the CANTAB Spatial Span (De Luca et al., 2003). The similarity in performance of the Brazilian children and adolescents studied and the group of Australian participants examined by the cited authors, despite the socio-cultural and economical differences, points to the suitability of the task for the assessment of attention and working memory in Brazilian children.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.02.051

NeuroImage

Neuroimage

Individual differences in neural activity during a facial expression vs. identity working memory task.

Facial expressions of emotion constitute a critical portion of our non-verbal social interactions. In addition, the identity of the individual displaying this expression is critical to these interactions as they embody the context in which these expressions will be interpreted. To identify any overlapping and/or unique brain circuitry involved in the processing of these two information streams in a laboratory setting, participants performed a working memory (WM) task (i.e., n-back) in which they were instructed to monitor either the expression (EMO) or the identity (ID) of the same set of face stimuli. Consistent with previous work, during both the EMO and ID tasks, we found a significant increase in activity in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) supporting its generalized role in WM. Further, individuals that showed greater DLPFC activity during both tasks also showed increased amygdala activity during the EMO task and increased lateral fusiform gyrus activity during the ID task. Importantly, the level of activity in these regions significantly correlated with performance on the respective tasks. These findings provide support for two separate neural circuitries, both involving the DLPFC, supporting working memory for the faces and expressions of others.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1017/S1355617711000051

Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society : JINS

J Int Neuropsychol Soc

Activation of the occipital cortex and deactivation of the default mode network during working memory in the early blind.

Although blind people heavily depend on working memory to manage daily life without visual information, it is not clear yet whether their working memory processing involves functional reorganization of the memory-related cortical network. To explore functional reorganization of the cortical network that supports various types of working memory processes in the early blind, we investigated activation differences between 2-back tasks and 0-back tasks using fMRI in 10 congenitally blind subjects and 10 sighted subjects. We used three types of stimulus sequences: words for a verbal task, pitches for a non-verbal task, and sound locations for a spatial task. When compared to the sighted, the blind showed additional activations in the occipital lobe for all types of stimulus sequences for working memory and more significant deactivation in the posterior cingulate cortex of the default mode network. The blind had increased effective connectivity from the default mode network to the left parieto-frontal network and from the occipital cortex to the right parieto-frontal network during the 2-back tasks than the 0-back tasks. These findings suggest not only cortical plasticity of the occipital cortex but also reorganization of the cortical network for the executive control of working memory.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2010.11.013

Early human development

Early Hum Dev

Executive function deficit in preschool children born very low birth weight with normal early development.

many studies showed that children born very low birth weight (VLBW) are at high risk of executive function (EF) deficit, including impulse control, working memory and cognitive flexibility. However, they did not exclude the influence of abnormal early development on EF deficit. The aim was to investigate if six-year-old VLBW children with normal early development still have EF deficit. the research was conducted in two groups. The VLBW group included 37 children at aged 6, with more than 70 of Bayley Scales of Infant Development-Second Edition (BSIDII) before aged 2. The normal group included 22 term children aged 6 who were born healthy and developed normally, with comparable IQ and social economic status. Five instruments, including Comprehensive Nonverbal Attention Test Battery (CNAT), Tower of London (ToL), Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), Knox's Cube Test and Digit Span Subtest of WISC-IV, were analyzed to evaluate four kinds of EF, including impulse control, planning, cognitive flexibility and working memory. the EF of VLBW group was significantly lower in independent t-test on the scores of planning in ToL, cognitive flexibility in WCST and nonverbal working memory in Knox's Cube Test. Yet, the inferiority in EF of VLBW group became less significant when ANCOVA analysis was used to adjust gestation age and birth weight. six-year-old VLBW children even with normal early development are still at risk of deficits in "planning", "cognitive flexibility" and "nonverbal working memory" while the preterm factors, both gestation age and birth weight, were important covariant factors.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1044/1092-4388(2010/10-0119)

Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHR

J Speech Lang Hear Res

Working memory training for children with cochlear implants: a pilot study.

This study investigated the feasibility and efficacy of a working memory training program for improving memory and language skills in a sample of 9 children who are deaf (age 7-15 years) with cochlear implants (CIs). All children completed the Cogmed Working Memory Training program on a home computer over a 5-week period. Feasibility and acceptability of the program were evaluated using parent report and measures of children's performance on the training exercises. Efficacy measures of working memory and sentence repetition were obtained prior to training, immediately after training, and 1 month and 6 months after training. Children's performance improved on most training exercises, and parents reported no problems with children's hearing or understanding of the exercises. After completion of working memory training, children demonstrated significant improvement on measures of verbal and nonverbal working memory, parent-reported working memory behavior, and sentence-repetition skills. The magnitude of improvement in working memory decreased slightly at the 1-month follow-up and more substantially at 6-month follow-up. However, sentence repetition continued to show marked improvement at 6-month follow-up. Working memory training may produce benefit for some memory and language skills for children with CIs, supporting the importance of conducting a large-scale, randomized clinical trial with this population.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1111/j.1365-2788.2010.01344.x

Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR

J Intellect Disabil Res

Neuropsychological differences between survivors of supratentorial and infratentorial brain tumours.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relationship between brain tumour location and core areas of cognitive and behavioural functioning for paediatric brain tumour survivors. The extant literature both supports and refutes an association between paediatric brain tumour location and neurocognitive outcomes. We examined neuropsychological test data to identify any differences in neurocognitive and behavioural profile associated with supratentorial versus infratentorial tumour location. Following Institutional Review Board approval, the medical records and neuropsychological test data collected between 1997 and 2002 for 70 children treated for brain tumour at Children's Hospital Los Angeles were reviewed. Fifty-one per cent of the participants had tumours located in the supratentorial regions of the brain, whereas 49% had infratentorial tumours. Primary medical treatments involved tumour resection (90%), cranial radiation therapy (76%), chemotherapy (71%), and 59% all three medical procedures. The two tumour location groups did not differ significantly in the cumulative treatment dose of irradiation to the tumour bed or in the dose delivered to the whole brain. Neuropsychological test data included measures of verbal and non-verbal intellectual functioning, attention/working memory, processing speed, verbal and visual memory, fine motor skills, visual-motor integration, academic achievement, and social-emotional functioning. Differences between the two groups were evaluated using anova, t-tests and chi-squared statistical tests. The supratentorial and infratentorial tumour location groups did not differ on measures of intellectual functioning. However, survivors of infratentorial tumours performed more poorly on selected measures of more specific cognitive functions and on parent-report of social-emotional functioning relative to survivors of supratentorial tumours, even when age at diagnosis was held as a covariate. Higher frequency of auditory deficits was noted in the infratentorial tumour group and was associated with lowered academic achievement scores. The differences by location found in more specific neurocognitive and social-emotional variables, after controlling for age at diagnosis, may possibly reflect tumour location-specific effects. However, this interpretation remains tentative given the limitations in our study and inability to control for the range of medical and treatment-related factors that may have contributed towards the outcomes observed in our sample. At the same time, most of our findings appear consistent with reports from recent studies in this area.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1016/j.schres.2010.10.023

Schizophrenia research

Schizophr Res

A randomized, controlled trial of computer-assisted cognitive remediation for schizophrenia.

There is considerable interest in cognitive remediation for schizophrenia. Our study aimed to evaluate, in a large sample of patients with schizophrenia, the interest of a computer-assisted cognitive remediation program on cognitive performances of patients as well as in clinical and functional outcome. Seventy-seven patients with remitted schizophrenia were randomly assigned to 14 2-hours individual sessions of computer-assisted cognitive remediation (n=39) or a control condition (n=38). Remediation was performed using RehaCom ® software. Four procedures were chosen to train four cognitive functions involved in different stages of the information processing: attention/concentration, working memory, logic, and executive functions. Primary outcomes were remediation exercise metrics, neuropsychological composites (episodic memory, working memory, attention, executive functioning, and processing speed), clinical and community functioning measures. Cognitive performances concerning Attention/vigilance, verbal working memory and verbal learning memory and reasoning/problem solving improved significantly in the remediation condition when no difference was reported in the control condition between the 2 assessments. However, there were no significant benefits of cognitive remediation on non-verbal working memory and learning and speed of processing or functional outcome measures. Cognitive remediation for people with schizophrenia was effective in improving performance, but the benefits of training did not generalize to functional outcome measures. Long term follow-up studies are needed to confirm the maintenance of such improvements.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1111/j.1460-9568.2010.07470.x

The European journal of neuroscience

Eur J Neurosci

Neural correlates of strategy use during auditory working memory in musicians and non-musicians.

Working memory (WM) performance in humans can be improved by structuring and organizing the material to be remembered. For visual and verbal information, this process of structuring has been associated with the involvement of a prefrontal-parietal network, but for non-verbal auditory material, the brain areas that facilitate WM for structured information have remained elusive. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, this study compared neural correlates underlying encoding and rehearsal of auditory WM for structured and unstructured material. Musicians and non-musicians performed a WM task on five-tone sequences that were either tonally structured (with all tones belonging to one tonal key) or tonally unstructured (atonal) sequences. Functional differences were observed for musicians (who are experts in the music domain), but not for non-musicians - The right pars orbitalis was activated more strongly in musicians during the encoding of unstructured (atonal) vs. structured (tonal) sequences. In addition, data for musicians showed that a lateral (pre)frontal-parietal network (including the right premotor cortex, right inferior precentral sulcus and left intraparietal sulcus) was activated during WM rehearsal of structured, as compared with unstructured, sequences. Our findings indicate that this network plays a role in strategy-based WM for non-verbal auditory information, corroborating previous results showing a similar network for strategy-based WM for visual and verbal information.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1016/j.psychres.2010.08.007

Psychiatry research

Psychiatry Res

Neuropsychological functioning in adult bipolar disorder and ADHD patients: a comparative study.

Bipolar disorder (BD) and adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) usually manifest with shared clinical symptoms, proving quite challenging to thoroughly differentiate one from another. Previous research has characterized these two disorders independently, but no study compared both pathologies from a neuropsychological perspective. The aim of this study was to compare the neuropsychological profile of adult ADHD and BD with each other and against a control group, in order to understand the way in which comprehensive cognitive assessment can contribute to their discrimination as distinct clinical entities as well as their differential diagnosis. All groups were successfully matched for age, sex, years of education, and premorbid IQ. Participants were assessed with an extensive neuropsychological battery evaluating multiple domains. Compared to controls, BD patients had a poorer performance on immediate verbal memory tasks. Both clinical groups exhibited significantly lower scores than controls on the recognition phase of verbal and non-verbal memory tasks, as well as on a task of executive functioning with high working memory demand. Noticeably, however, ADHD had significantly better performance than BD on the recognition phase of both the Rey list memory task and the Rey Figure. The better performance of ADHD patients over BD may reflect the crucial role of the executive component on their memory deficits and gives empirical support to further differentiate the neuropsychological profile of BD and adult ADHD patients in clinical practice.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1016/j.bandc.2010.07.011

Brain and cognition

Brain Cogn

Working memory and mental arithmetic: a case for dual central executive resources.

The current study was designed to examine the possible existence of two limited-capacity pools of central executive resources: one each for verbal and visuospatial processing. Ninety-one college students (M age=19.0, SD=2.2) were administered a verbal working memory task that involved updating numbers in 2-, 3-, and 4-load conditions. The task was administered in both single task (no-interference condition) and dual-task (verbal interference and visuospatial interference conditions) formats. Findings indicated main effects for both memory load and type of interference, as well as, a load × interference interaction. Verbal interference led to a steeper increase in errors on the primary verbal working memory task; whereas, there was a smaller increase in errors across load in both the non-verbal and no-interference conditions. The effect of verbal interference and the lack of a spatial interference effect on a primary task that utilized verbal working memory resources, suggests that the processing of verbal and spatial stimuli in a dual-task paradigm requires separate central executive resources.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1016/j.ridd.2010.07.012

Research in developmental disabilities

Res Dev Disabil

Executive functions in individuals with intellectual disability.

The aim of the present study was to investigate executive functions in adults with intellectual disability, and compare them to a closely matched control group longitudinally for 5 years. In the Betula database, a group of adults with intellectual disability (ID, n=46) was defined from measures of verbal and non-verbal IQ. A control group, with two people for every person with intellectual disability (n=92), was chosen by matching on the following criterion in order of priority: IQ higher than 85, age, sex, sample, level of education, and years of education. Three types of tasks of executive functions were included on two occasions, with 5 years between testing sessions: The Tower of Hanoi, executively loaded dual task versions of word recall, and verbal fluency. Adults with ID showed significant impairments on verbal fluency and on the executively loaded dual task word recall task (at encoding but not at recall). There were no group differences on the Tower of Hanoi. No significant differences between the two test occasions were found. The results are interpreted in terms of individuals with ID having problems with speed of accessing lexical items and difficulties with working memory-related executive control at encoding, which includes shifting between tasks. There are, however, not necessarily problems with inhibition. The dual task results additionally imply that the adults with intellectual disability were more sensitive to strategy interruptions at encoding, but that dividing attention at recall did not have such detrimental effects.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.4088/JCP.9066tx1c

The Journal of clinical psychiatry

J Clin Psychiatry

Differential diagnosis of adults with ADHD: the role of executive function and self-regulation.

Adult ADHD is conceptualized as a disorder of age-inappropriate behavior that occurs because of maldevelopment of 2 related neuropsychological domains. The neuropsychological symptoms seen in adults with ADHD may be explained by deficits in executive function, which can be broadly defined as a set of neurocognitive processes that allow for the organization of behavior across time so as to attain future goals. Executive function is comprised of 2 broad domains: inhibition and metacognition. Inhibition encompasses the ability to inhibit motor, verbal, cognitive, and emotional activities. In turn, deficits in inhibition contribute to deficits in the development of 4 aspects of executive function in the domain of metacognition, which include nonverbal working memory, verbal working memory, planning and problem-solving, and emotional self-regulation. Understanding the ways in which deficits in executive function contribute to the symptoms of ADHD can help in differentiating ADHD from disorders that share similar characteristics.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1093/jpepsy/jsq064

Journal of pediatric psychology

J Pediatr Psychol

Do mothers' play behaviors moderate the associations between socioeconomic status and 24-month neurocognitive outcomes of toddlers born preterm or with low birth weight?

We examined whether neonatal risks and maternal scaffolding (i.e., task changes and flexibility) during a 16-month post-term play interaction moderated the association between socioeconomic status (SES), visual-spatial processing and emerging working memory assessed at 24 months post-term among 75 toddlers born preterm or low birth weight. SES and neonatal risk data were collected at hospital discharge and mother-child play interactions were observed at 16-month post-term. General cognitive abilities, verbal/nonverbal working memory and visual-spatial processing data were collected at 24 months. Neonatal risks did not moderate the associations between SES and 24-month outcomes. However, lower mother-initiated task changes were related to better 24-month visual-spatial processing among children living in higher SES homes. Mothers' flexible responses to child initiated task changes similarly moderated the impact of SES on 24-month visual-spatial processing. Our results suggest that mothers' play behaviors differentially relate to child outcomes depending on household SES.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1111/j.1467-7687.2009.00915.x

Developmental science

Dev Sci

Analogical reasoning ability in autistic and typically developing children.

Recent studies (e.g. Dawson et al., 2007) have reported that autistic people perform in the normal range on the Raven Progressive Matrices test, a formal reasoning test that requires integration of relations as well as the ability to infer rules and form high-level abstractions. Here we compared autistic and typically developing children, matched on age, IQ, and verbal and non-verbal working memory, using both the Raven test and pictorial tests of analogical reasoning. Whereas the Raven test requires only formal analogical reasoning, the other analogy tests require use of real-world knowledge, as well as inhibition of salient distractors. We found that autistic children performed as well as controls on all these tests of reasoning with relations. Our findings indicate that the basic ability to reason systematically with relations, for both abstract and thematic materials, is intact in autism.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1080/09602011003715141

Neuropsychological rehabilitation

Neuropsychol Rehabil

Structured floral arrangement programme for improving visuospatial working memory in schizophrenia.

Several cognitive therapies have been developed for patients with schizophrenia. However, little is known about the outcomes of these therapies in terms of non-verbal/visuospatial working memory, even though this may affect patients' social outcomes. In the present pilot study, we investigated the effect of a structured floral arrangement (SFA) programme, where participants were required to create symmetrical floral arrangements. In this programme, the arrangement pattern and the order of placing each of the natural materials was predetermined. Participants have to identify where to place each material, and memorise the position temporarily to complete the floral arrangement. The schizophrenic patients who participated in this programme showed significant improvement in their scores for a block-tapping task backward version; whereas, non-treated control patients did not show such an improvement. The present results suggest that the SFA programme may positively stimulate visuospatial working memory in patients.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1348/026151009x480185

The British journal of developmental psychology

Br J Dev Psychol

Deductive reasoning in children with specific language impairment.

The diagnosis of specific language impairment (SLI) requires non-verbal ability to be in the normal range, but little is known regarding the extent to which general reasoning skills are preserved during development. A total of 122 children were tested; 40 SLI, 42 age-matched controls, and 40 younger language-matched controls. Deductive reasoning tasks were given in both verbal and pictorial presentation types, namely the relational inference task and the reduced array selection task (RAST). Pictorial presentation facilitated all groups for all tasks equally. For the relational inference task, SLI performance was below both age and language matches. For the RAST, contextual information facilitated all groups equally. SLI performance was intermediate between age and language matches. It is concluded that the non-verbal versus verbal distinction is a complex one and that non-verbal reasoning can draw upon linguistic processes. It is also suggested that SLI reasoning depends upon precise task demands, here the need to sequence information in working memory, and the need for explicit reasoning with conditional rules. Reasoning processes may not be equivalent to normally developing children, even when tasks appear non-verbal.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1111/j.1399-5448.2009.00588.x

Pediatric diabetes

Pediatr Diabetes

Neuropsychological profiles of young people with type 1 diabetes 12 yr after disease onset.

Lowered neuropsychological performance is evident in youth with type 1 diabetes, although evidence for associations with specific illness variables is inconsistent. This study examined the neuropsychological profiles of a cohort of youth with type 1 diabetes studied prospectively from diagnosis 12 yr previously. A total of 106 youth with type 1 diabetes and 75 healthy controls participated. There were no significant group differences on Full-scale IQ assessed on study entry 12 yr previously, current socioeconomic status, gender distribution, or age. Neuropsychological tests assessed eight cognitive domains: verbal abilities, perceptual reasoning, new learning, working memory, non-verbal processing speed, mental efficiency, divided attention, and sustained attention. Episodes of serious hypoglycemia and HbA(1c) levels were recorded from diagnosis. Youth with type 1 diabetes performed more poorly than controls on working memory (p < .05). Early onset diabetes was related to poorer sustained (p < .001) and divided attention (p = .001), new learning, and mental efficiency (both p < .05). Hypoglycemia was found to adversely effect verbal abilities, working memory, and non-verbal processing speed (all p < .05). Poorer working memory was associated with hyperglycemia (p < .05). Youth with any combination of two or three illness risk factors (i.e., early onset diabetes, hypo-, hyperglycemia), performed more poorly than controls and youth with no or one risk on verbal abilities, working memory, and mental efficiency. This study documents poorer neuropsychological performance and its association with illness risk factors in youth with type 1 diabetes. Findings suggest that early disease onset and hypoglycemia impact on the developing central nervous system, with hyperglycemia playing a lesser role.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1017/S1461145709990836

The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology

Int J Neuropsychopharmacol

Improvement of executive functions in boys with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: an open-label follow-up study with once-daily atomoxetine.

Atomoxetine is efficacious in reducing symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) but its effect on executive functions needs more investigation. We examined the effect of atomoxetine on a wide range of non-verbal executive functions among 30 drug-naive male patients with DSM-IV ADHD, aged 8-16 yr, in an open-label 12-wk atomoxetine treatment trial. Before administration of atomoxetine, the participants were assessed by psychiatric interviews, the WISC-III, and the tasks involving executive functions of the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB): Intra-dimensional/Extra-dimensional Shifts (IED), Rapid Visual Information Processing (RVIP), Spatial Span (SSP), Spatial Working Memory (SWM), and Stockings of Cambridge (SOC); and reassessed at weeks 4 and 12. All the raw scores of the CANTAB were transformed to z scores based on a normative sample of 180 children aged 8-16 yr. Results showed significant improvement in executive functions after treatment with atomoxetine for 4 wk or 12 wk including improved shifting and flexibility of attention in the IED; improved spatial short-term memory in the SSP; improved sustained attention and increased response inhibition in the RVIP; improved spatial working memory in the SWM; and improved spatial planning and problem solving in the SOC. Our findings suggested that atomoxetine was associated with significant improvement in various non-verbal executive functions among boys with ADHD, in addition to its well-known efficacy in ADHD-related symptom reductions. However, owing to lack of a placebo-controlled trial design, the findings should be interpreted with caution that changes in performance may be due to practice effects.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1007/s00415-009-5212-5

Journal of neurology

J Neurol

Frontotemporal cognitive function in X-linked spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA): a controlled neuropsychological study of 20 patients.

A cross-sectional neuropsychological study of cognitive functions in 20 male patients with genetically proven spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA) was performed, with a comparison of their cognitive performance with that of 20 age- and education-matched control subjects. Neuropsychological assessment covered executive functioning, memory, and attentional control. The SBMA patients revealed deficits in verbal and non-verbal fluency as well as concept formation. Additionally, they showed significant memory deficits in all of the investigated domains of working memory, short-term and long-term memory. With respect to attentional control, the SBMA patients underperformed in relevant subtests, although performance differences did not reach significance overall. We conclude that fronto-temporal cognitive functions are impaired in SMBA, although at a subclinical level. Thus, functional deficits in SBMA are not confined to motor neurons but also affect extramotor networks.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1002/dys.394

Dyslexia (Chichester, England)

Dyslexia

Can solving of wordchains be explained by phonological skills alone?

The present study focussed on the determinants for effective solving of the Wordchains Test (WCT) in a normative sample of Norwegian junior high-school students. Forty voluntary participants from a rural school district in Western Norway completed the WCT along with tests of general intellectual capacity, single word and non-word reading, auditory working memory, and visual scanning. All measures correlated significantly with each other except for general non-verbal abilities were not correlated with visual scanning. A stepwise multiple regression analysis, using the WCT as the dependent variable, yielded a model that included single word reading, letter recognition, and working memory as independent variables. This model accounted for 75% of the variance in WCT performance. This finding suggests that phonological skills only have an indirect influence on WCT performance. Thus, the core deficit in dyslexia, i.e. impaired phonological skills, may be related to the development of word recognition skills, but have no direct effect on the WCT performance in a normative sample.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1080/09658210902998054

Memory (Hove, England)

Memory

Semantic encoding in working memory: is there a (multi)modality effect?

In spite of a large body of empirical research demonstrating the importance of multisensory integration in cognition, there is still little research about multimodal encoding and maintenance effects in working memory. In this study we investigated multimodal encoding in working memory by means of an immediate serial recall task with different modality and format conditions. In a first non-verbal condition participants were presented with sequences of non-verbal inputs representing familiar (concrete) objects, either in visual, auditory or audio-visual formats. In a second verbal condition participants were presented with written, spoken, or bimodally presented words denoting the same objects represented by pictures or sounds in the non-verbal condition. The effects of articulatory suppression were assessed in both conditions. We found a bimodal superiority effect on memory span with non-verbal material, and a larger span with auditory (or bimodal) versus visual presentation with verbal material, with a significant effect of articulatory suppression in the two conditions.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1093/jpepsy/jsp048

Journal of pediatric psychology

J Pediatr Psychol

Maternal scaffolding and preterm toddlers' visual-spatial processing and emerging working memory.

We examined longitudinal associations among neonatal and socioeconomic risks, maternal scaffolding behaviors, and 24-month visual-spatial processing and working memory in a sample of 73 toddlers born preterm or low birthweight (PT LBW). Risk data were collected at hospital discharge and dyadic play interactions were observed at 16-months postterm. Abbreviated IQ scores, verbal/nonverbal working memory, and verbal/nonverbal visual-spatial processing data were collected at 24-months postterm. Higher attention scaffolding and lower emotion scaffolding during 16-month play were associated with 24-month verbal working memory scores. A joint significance test revealed that maternal attention and emotion scaffolding during 16-month play mediated the relationship between socioeconomic risk and 24-month verbal working memory. These findings suggest areas for future research and intervention with children born PT LBW who also experience high socioeconomic risk.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1017/S0033291709005285

Psychological medicine

Psychol Med

Selective deficit in executive functioning among patients with borderline personality disorder.

The aim of this study was to investigate the functioning of patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) compared to healthy controls on five neuropsychological domains, with regard to the possible effect of differences in IQ.MethodOut-patients and in-patients with BPD (n=35) and healthy comparison subjects (n=35) were tested with an extensive neuropsychological battery, where most cognitive domains were covered by several tests. When controlling for the effect of IQ, patients were found to have reduced executive functioning as compared to healthy controls. With regard to the other neuropsychological domains (working memory, attention, long-term verbal memory, and long-term non-verbal memory), no differences were found between the two groups. Within-subject analyses also identified executive functioning as a selective deficit among patients whereas long-term verbal memory was identified as a relative strength. An association was identified between the covariate general intellectual functioning and every neuropsychological domain. No statistically significant differences were found between the subgroups of patients with and without co-morbid post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or between those with and without co-morbid major depression, or between the medicated and unmedicated subgroups on any of the neuropsychological domains. Patients with BPD demonstrate a selective deficit in executive functioning. This corroborates studies that have identified frontal regions as potential neurobiological substrates of the BPD syndrome. The relative strength of the verbal long-term memory function raises pertinent questions regarding the presumed importance of hippocampal structures.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1111/j.1365-2788.2008.01135.x

Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR

J Intellect Disabil Res

A comparative neuropsychological test battery differentiates cognitive signatures of Fragile X and Down syndrome.

Standardised neuropsychological and cognitive measures present some limitations in their applicability and generalisability to individuals with intellectual disability (ID). Alternative approaches to defining the cognitive signatures of various forms of ID are needed to advance our understanding of the profiles of strengths and weaknesses as well as the affected brain areas. To evaluate the utility and feasibility of six non-verbal comparative neuropsychological (CN) tasks administered in a modified version of the Wisconsin General Test Apparatus (WGTA) to confirm and extend our knowledge of unique cognitive signatures of Fragile X syndrome (FXS) and Down syndrome (DS). A test battery of CN tasks adapted from the animal literature was administered in a modified WGTA. Tasks were selected that have established or emerging brain-behaviour relationships in the domains of visual-perceptual, visual-spatial, working memory and inhibition. Despite the fact that these tasks revealed cognitive signatures for the two ID groups, only some hypotheses were supported. Results suggest that whereas individuals with DS were relatively impaired on visual-perceptual and visual-spatial reversal learning tasks they showed strengths in egocentric spatial learning and object discrimination tasks. Individuals with FXS were relatively impaired on object discrimination learning and reversal tasks, which was attributable to side preferences. In contrast, these same individuals exhibited strengths in egocentric spatial learning and reversal tasks as well as on an object recognition memory task. Both ID groups demonstrated relatively poor performance for a visual-spatial working memory task. Performance on the modified WGTA tasks differentiated cognitive signatures between two of the most common forms of ID. Results are discussed in the context of the literature on the cognitive and neurobiological features of FXS and DS.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1016/j.jocn.2008.03.008

Journal of clinical neuroscience : official journal of the Neurosurgical Society of Australasia

J Clin Neurosci

Changes in cognition and health-related quality of life with unilateral thalamotomy for Parkinsonian tremor.

Cognitive functioning and health-related quality of life were assessed pre- and post-operatively in a consecutive series of 31 Parkinson's disease patients who underwent stereotactic unilateral thalamotomy (22 left-sided, 9 right-sided) for tremor alleviation. Neuropsychological functions assessed included verbal and visual memory, language and speech production, verbal and non-verbal reasoning, and attention and working memory. Health-related quality of life measures included both general and disease-specific questionnaires. We found a statistically significant post-operative decline in phonetic verbal fluency scores for left-operated patients, as well as improvements in self-ratings of stigma and bodily discomfort on the disease-specific quality of life questionnaire. These findings suggest that thalamotomy, when indicated, has limited cognitive sequelae and may result in improved quality of life in areas specific to Parkinson's disease.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1016/j.brainres.2008.10.009

Brain research

Brain Res

Age effects on load-dependent brain activations in working memory for novel material.

Three competing models of cognitive aging (neural compensation, capacity limitations, neural inefficiency) were examined in relation to working memory for novel non-verbal material. To accomplish this goal young (n=25) and old (n=25) participants performed a delayed item recognition (DIR) task while being scanned with bold fMRI. The stimuli in the DIR task consisted of computer-generated closed-curve shapes with each shape presented only once in the testing conditions of each participant. This ensured that both the novelty and appearance of the shapes maximized visual demands and limited the extent of phonologic processing. Behaviorally, as expected, the old participants were slower and less accurate compared to the young participants. Spatial patterns of brain activation that corresponded to load-dependent (stimulus set size ranged from 1 to 3) fMRI signal during the three phases of the DIR task (memory set presentation, retention delay, probe presentation) were evaluated in both age groups. Support for neural compensation and capacity limitation was evident in retention delay and the probe phase, respectively. Data were inconsistent with the neural inefficiency model. The process specific support for the theories we examined is consistent with a large corpus of research showing that the substrates underlying the encoding, retention and probe phases are different. That is, cognitive aging theories can be specific to the neural networks/regions underlying the different phases of working memory. Delineating how these theories work in concert can increase knowledge of age-related effects on working memory.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1016/j.clinthera.2008.09.014

Clinical therapeutics

Clin Ther

Cognitive and psychomotor effects of risperidone in schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder.

The aim of this review was to discuss data from double-blind, randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that have investigated the effects of oral and long-acting injectable risperidone on cognitive and psychomotor functioning in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. PubMed/MEDLINE and the Institute of Scientific Information Web of Science database were searched for relevant English-language double-blind RCTs published between March 2000 and July 2008, using the terms schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, cognition, risperidone, psychomotor, processing speed, attention, vigilance, working memory, verbal learning, visual learning, reasoning, problem solving, social cognition, MATRICS, and long-acting. Relevant studies included patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Cognitive domains were delineated at the Consensus Conferences of the National Institute of Mental Health-Measurement And Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia (NIMH-MATRICS). The tests employed to assess each domain and psychomotor functioning, and the within-group and between-group comparisons of risperidone with haloperidol and other atypical antipsychotics, are presented. The results of individual tests were included when they were individually presented and interpretable for either drug; outcomes that were presented as cluster scores or factor structures were excluded. A total of 12 articles were included in this review. Results suggested that the use of oral risperidone appeared to be associated with within-group improvements on the cognitive domains of processing speed, attention/vigilance, verbal and visual learning and memory, and reasoning and problem solving in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Risperidone and haloperidol seemed to generate similar beneficial effects (on the domains of processing speed, attention/vigilance, [verbal and nonverbal] working memory, and visual learning and memory, as well as psychomotor functioning), although the results for verbal fluency, verbal learning and memory, and reasoning and problem solving were not unanimous, and no comparative data on social cognition were available. Similar cognitive effects were found with risperidone, olanzapine, and quetiapine on the domains of verbal working memory and reasoning and problem solving, as well as verbal fluency. More research is needed on the domains in which study results were contradictory. For olanzapine versus risperidone, these were verbal and visual learning and memory and psychomotor functioning. No comparative data for olanzapine and risperidone were available for the social cognition domain. For quetiapine versus risperidone, the domains in which no unanimity was found were processing speed, attention/vigilance, nonverbal working memory, and verbal learning and memory. The limited available reports on risperidone versus clozapine suggest that: risperidone was associated with improved, and clozapine with worsened, performance on the nonverbal working memory domain; risperidone improved and clozapine did not improve reasoning and problem-solving performance; clozapine improved, and risperidone did not improve, social cognition performance. Use of long-acting injectable risperidone seemed to be associated with improved performance in the domains of attention/vigilance, verbal learning and memory, and reasoning and problem solving, as well as psychomotor functioning. The results for the nonverbal working memory domain were indeterminate, and no clear improvement was seen in the social cognition domain. The domains of processing speed, verbal working memory, and visual learning and memory, as well as verbal fluency, were not assessed. The results of this review of within-group comparisons of oral risperidone suggest that the agent appeared to be associated with improved functioning in the cognitive domains of processing speed, attention/vigilance, verbal and visual learning and memory, and reasoning and problem solving in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Long-acting injectable risperidone seemed to be associated with improved functioning in the domains of attention/vigilance, verbal learning and memory, and reasoning and problem solving, as well as psychomotor functioning, in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1186/1744-9081-4-45

Behavioral and brain functions : BBF

Behav Brain Funct

Persistent spatial working memory deficits in rats with bilateral cortical microgyria.

Anomalies of cortical neuronal migration (e.g., microgyria (MG) and/or ectopias) are associated with a variety of language and cognitive deficits in human populations. In rodents, postnatal focal freezing lesions lead to the formation of cortical microgyria similar to those seen in human dyslexic brains, and also cause subsequent deficits in rapid auditory processing similar to those reported in human language impaired populations. Thus convergent findings support the ongoing study of disruptions in neuronal migration in rats as a putative model to provide insight on human language disability. Since deficits in working memory using both verbal and non-verbal tasks also characterize dyslexic populations, the present study examined the effects of neonatally induced bilateral cortical microgyria (MG) on working memory in adult male rats. A delayed match-to-sample radial water maze task, in which the goal arm was altered among eight locations on a daily basis, was used to assess working memory performance in MG (n = 8) and sham (n = 10) littermates. Over a period of 60 sessions of testing (each session comprising one pre-delay sample trial, and one post-delay test trial), all rats showed learning as evidenced by a significant decrease in overall test errors. However, MG rats made significantly more errors than shams during initial testing, and this memory deficit was still evident after 60 days (12 weeks) of testing. Analyses performed on daily error patterns showed that over the course of testing, MG rats utilized a strategy similar to shams (but with less effectiveness, as indicated by more errors). These results indicate persistent abnormalities in the spatial working memory system in rats with induced disruptions of neocortical neuronal migration.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1093/brain/awn229

Brain : a journal of neurology

Brain

Working memory performance is correlated with local brain morphology in the medial frontal and anterior cingulate cortex in fibromyalgia patients: structural correlates of pain-cognition interaction.

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a disorder of unknown aetiology, characterized by chronic widespread pain, stiffness and sleep disturbances. In addition, patients frequently complain of memory and attention deficits. Accumulating evidence suggests that FM is associated with CNS dysfunction and with an altered brain morphology. However, few studies have specifically investigated neuropsychological issues in patients suffering from FM. We therefore sought to determine whether neuropsychological deficits found in FM patients may be correlated with changes in local brain morphology specifically in the frontal, temporal or cingulate cortices. Twenty FM patients underwent extensive testing for potential neuropsychological deficits, which demonstrated significantly reduced working memory and impaired non-verbal long-term memory (limited to free recall condition) in comparison with normative data from age- and education-matched control groups. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was used to evaluate for potential correlations between test results and local brain morphology. Performance on non-verbal working memory was positively correlated with grey matter values in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, whereas performance on verbal working memory (digit backward) was positively correlated with grey matter values in the supplementary motor cortex. On the other hand, pain scores were negatively correlated with grey matter values in the medial frontal gyrus. White matter analyses revealed comparable correlations for verbal working memory and pain scores in the medial frontal and prefrontal cortex and in the anterior cingulate cortex. Our data suggest that, in addition to chronic pain, FM patients suffer from neurocognitive deficits that correlate with local brain morphology in the frontal lobe and anterior cingulate gyrus, which may be interpreted to indicate structural correlates of pain-cognition interaction.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1159/000156479

European addiction research

Eur Addict Res

Changes in neuropsychological functioning during alcohol detoxification.

This study investigates changes in neuropsychological functioning during early abstinence from alcohol. 30 alcohol-dependent inpatients were tested at intake (day 4 of admission) and post detoxification (day 26), using a test-retest design. The neuropsychological battery included measures of pre-morbid IQ, full-scale IQ, verbal and non-verbal measures of memory and executive function. IQ was within the normal range at intake and comparable with age-adjusted normative values and there were some impairments in memory and executive function. There were significant increases in performance scores post detoxification in working memory, verbal fluency and verbal inhibition but not in non-verbal executive function tasks (mental flexibility and planning ability). Despite increased scores on tests of verbal and memory skills after 3 weeks of abstinence, complex executive abilities showed little change. These may have a negative impact on engagement and response to treatment and compromise clinical outcomes, heightening the risk of relapse.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1176/appi.ajp.2008.08020258

The American journal of psychiatry

Am J Psychiatry

Neuropsychological near normality and brain structure abnormality in schizophrenia.

Cognitive deficits are prominent in schizophrenia. Patients have an average score one standard deviation below normal on a broad spectrum of cognitive tests. It has been repeatedly noted, however, that 20%-25% of patients differ from this general pattern and score close to normal on neuropsychological testing. This study used brain morphometry to 1) identify brain abnormalities associated with more severe cognitive deficits and 2) help determine whether cognitively relatively intact patients perform better because they have less severe illness or because they have a different illness. Patients were assigned to a neuropsychologically near normal (N=21) subgroup if they scored within 0.5 standard deviation of healthy comparison subjects (N=30) on four tests of attention and verbal and nonverbal working memory, and to a neuropsychologically impaired (N=54) group if they scored at least 1.0 standard deviation below that of comparison subjects. Subgroup assignments were confirmed with the California Verbal Learning Test and degraded-stimulus Continuous Performance Test. Volumes of ventricular compartments, hippocampus, amygdala, thalamus, cerebellum, and regional cortical gray and white matter were dependent variables. Differences among groups were evaluated by using linear mixed-model multivariate analyses with gender, age, and height as covariates. Both neuropsychologically near normal and neuropsychologically impaired patients had markedly smaller gray matter and larger third ventricle volumes than healthy comparison subjects. Only neuropsychologically impaired patients, however, had significantly smaller white matter and larger lateral ventricle volumes than healthy comparison subjects. Although both neuropsychologically impaired and neuropsychologically near normal patients have marked neuropathology in their gray matter, the relative absence of white matter pathology in the neuropsychologically near normal group suggests the possibility of differences in the disease process.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1080/09297040701756909

Child neuropsychology : a journal on normal and abnormal development in childhood and adolescence

Child Neuropsychol

On the nature of nonverbal working memory fractionation: a case of selective spatial short-term memory deficit in a child.

Several lines of research on adult subjects demonstrate a visual/spatial fractionation of nonverbal working memory (WM), while behavioral studies on normal children support the idea of a static/dynamic distinction. In the present paper, we report a child (Z.M.) who failed on nonverbal WM tasks. To verify the nature of his defect, we carried out two experiments: in Experiment 1, Z.M. failed on spatial WM tasks but not on visual WM tasks and was not affected by the static/dynamic format of stimulus presentation; in Experiment 2, this visual/spatial dissociation was extended to the imagery domain. These results are best accounted for within the visual/spatial fractionation of WM and confirmed the role of WM in mental imagery. Clinical and rehabilitative implications of the present findings are also discussed.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2008.07.012

Neurobiology of aging

Neurobiol Aging

Leukocyte telomere length is associated with cognitive performance in healthy women.

Age-related cognitive decline begins in mid-life and continues with advancing age. Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) shortens with age, and inflammation and oxidative stress enhance this process. Shorter LTL is associated with dementia. The relationship between cognitive function and LTL was investigated in a cross-sectional study of 382 women (mean age 50.6 years, range 19-78), not diagnosed with any form of dementia or cognitive impairment, from the TwinsUK cohort using six tests from the Cambridge neuropsychological test automated battery (CANTAB). After adjusting for age and estimated prior intellectual ability, we observed significant correlations of LTL with episodic memory and associated learning (PAL, p=0.032), recognition memory for non-verbal patterns (DMS, p=0.007), and working memory capacity (SSP, p=0.003). In pairs of twins discordant for LTL the twin with longer telomeres also had significantly better DMS (p<0.05) and SSP (p<0.013) scores than their co-twin with shorter telomeres. The correlations between these two scores and LTL was significant both in women over the median mean age and in those below the median age, and remained significant after statistical adjustment for potential confounders. Leukocyte telomere length correlates with a subset of measures of cognitive performance, suggesting that it might be a biomarker of cognitive aging in women before the onset of dementia.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1080/10615800701847823

Anxiety, stress, and coping

Anxiety Stress Coping

Processing efficiency theory in children: working memory as a mediator between trait anxiety and academic performance.

Working memory skills are positively associated with academic performance. In contrast, high levels of trait anxiety are linked with educational underachievement. Based on Eysenck and Calvo's (1992) processing efficiency theory (PET), the present study investigated whether associations between anxiety and educational achievement were mediated via poor working memory performance. Fifty children aged 11-12 years completed verbal (backwards digit span; tapping the phonological store/central executive) and spatial (Corsi blocks; tapping the visuospatial sketchpad/central executive) working memory tasks. Trait anxiety was measured using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children. Academic performance was assessed using school administered tests of reasoning (Cognitive Abilities Test) and attainment (Standard Assessment Tests). The results showed that the association between trait anxiety and academic performance was significantly mediated by verbal working memory for three of the six academic performance measures (math, quantitative and non-verbal reasoning). Spatial working memory did not significantly mediate the relationship between trait anxiety and academic performance. On average verbal working memory accounted for 51% of the association between trait anxiety and academic performance, while spatial working memory only accounted for 9%. The findings indicate that PET is a useful framework to assess the impact of children's anxiety on educational achievement.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1016/j.psychres.2007.08.017

Psychiatry research

Psychiatry Res

Cognitive correlates of schizophrenia signs and symptoms: III. Hallucinations and delusions.

We examined the cognitive correlates of hallucinations and delusions in 47 schizophrenia spectrum individuals. Hallucinations were significantly negatively correlated with performance on episodic memory tasks, and were not significantly associated with performance on tasks measuring fluency or concentration/attention. Although hallucinations were more strongly associated with performance on verbal than non-verbal memory tasks, the difference was not statistically significant. There was also a trend for hallucinations to be associated with poorer performance on working memory tasks, though this association was eliminated when episodic memory performance was taken into account. Delusions were not significantly associated with any of the cognitive measures.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1007/s10802-008-9215-y

Journal of abnormal child psychology

J Abnorm Child Psychol

Working memory deficits in boys with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): the contribution of central executive and subsystem processes.

The current study investigated contradictory findings from recent experimental and meta-analytic studies concerning working memory deficits in ADHD. Working memory refers to the cognitive ability to temporarily store and mentally manipulate limited amounts of information for use in guiding behavior. Phonological (verbal) and visuospatial (nonverbal) working memory were assessed across four memory load conditions in 23 boys (12 ADHD, 11 typically developing) using tasks based on Baddeley's (Working memory, thought, and action, Oxford University Press, New York, 2007) working memory model. The model posits separate phonological and visuospatial storage and rehearsal components that are controlled by a single attentional controller (CE: central executive). A latent variable approach was used to partial task performance related to three variables of interest: phonological buffer/rehearsal loop, visuospatial buffer/rehearsal loop, and the CE attentional controller. ADHD-related working memory deficits were apparent across all three cognitive systems--with the largest magnitude of deficits apparent in the CE--even after controlling for reading speed, nonverbal visual encoding, age, IQ, and SES.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1111/j.1365-2788.2007.01015.x

Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR

J Intellect Disabil Res

Improving memory span in children with Down syndrome.

Down syndrome (DS) is characterized by impaired memory span, particularly auditory verbal memory span. Memory span is linked developmentally to several language capabilities, and may be a basic capacity that enables language learning. If children with DS had better memory span, they might benefit more from language intervention. The present study evaluates a home-based parent-implemented intervention designed to improve auditory memory span in children with DS. Sixteen children with DS, age 6-14, completed one or two 3-month periods of memory training using overt cumulative rehearsal and auditory-only procedures. Children were divided into two groups. Group 1 completed 3 months of memory training followed by 3 months of visual activities, followed by three more months of memory training. Group 2 had the opposite schedule. Before and after each 3-month period, children came into the laboratory for memory assessment. Children improved in training sessions and a small amount on digit span, the primary proximal outcome assessment measure. Digit span improvement was linked to the memory training, as indicated by control comparisons and correlations. Improvement was correlated with language comprehension and verbal working memory, but not with non-verbal ability, age or home/behavioural variables. No improvement was evident on distal outcome measures (sentence memory and verbal working memory); however, a phonological similarity effect emerged coincidence with memory training, suggesting increased use of phonological codes in memory. Results suggest that some children with DS can improve their auditory verbal memory span with home-based rehearsal training, at least in limited ways. Children with good language and verbal working memory skills may be the best candidates for this type of training, even though they may show only small improvements. Still, small improvements in a severely impaired function are noteworthy, and justify further investigation.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2007.11.010

Neuropsychologia

Neuropsychologia

Functional developmental similarities and differences in the neural correlates of verbal and nonverbal working memory tasks.

Relatively little is known about the functional development of verbal and nonverbal working memory during adolescence. Behavioral studies have demonstrated that WM capacity increases with age, yet relatively few studies have assessed the relationship between brain-activity and age-related changes in WM capacity, especially as it differs across multiple domains. The present study used an n-back task and functional magnetic resonance imaging to assess age-related differences in the neural correlates of word and face working memory tasks. Seventy-eight individuals between the ages of 14 and 27 underwent scans while performing word and face "n-back" working memory tasks. We found very little evidence for age-related differences in accuracy and reaction time. We did find similarities and differences between adolescents and adults in the neural correlates of word and face working memory tasks, even in the absence of performance differences. More specifically, we found similar age-related differences in left superior parietal cortex for both word and face stimuli. We also found that age-related differences in a number of other regions (including left inferior frontal lobe, left supramarginal gyrus, left rolandic sulcus, right cerebellum and left fusiform gyrus) differed according to stimulus type. Our results provide further evidence for continued functional development through adolescence and into adulthood.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1080/09084280701719203

Applied neuropsychology

Appl Neuropsychol

Learning and memory performance of children with specific language impairment (SLI).

The purpose of this study was to examine learning and memory in children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI) as compared to 30 normally functioning children on the Children's Memory Scale. Results indicated that children in the SLI group exhibited impaired performance on the Attention/Concentration Index (working memory), as well as significantly lower scores on both the immediate and delayed auditory/verbal indices and subtests relative to the control group. In contrast, no between group differences emerged for the visual/non-verbal indices and subtests. Results demonstrated that children with SLI possess normal ability to process, maintain and manipulate visual/non-verbal information in working memory along with normal ability to store and retrieve visual/non-verbal material from long-term storage. These results provide support for the contention that children with SLI have a "diminished verbal capacity" to process, organize, and maintain auditory information in working memory.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1016/j.schres.2007.10.007

Schizophrenia research

Schizophr Res

Are schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder neuropsychologically distinguishable?

This study sought to objectify the distinction between schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder in terms of standard tasks measuring verbal and non-verbal cognitive ability, auditory working memory, verbal declarative memory and visual processing speed. Research participants included 103 outpatients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, 48 with schizoaffective disorder, and 72 non-patients from the community. Schizophrenia patients were impaired on all cognitive measures relative to schizoaffective patients and non-psychiatric participants. Regression-based prediction models revealed that cognitive measures classified schizophrenia patients accurately (91%), but not patients with schizoaffective disorder (35%). In addition, there was no statistical evidence for the unique predictive validity of any specific cognitive task. Patients with schizophrenia were significantly more symptomatic and had greater community support requirements than those with schizoaffective disorder. However, group differences in cognitive performance are insufficient to separate these syndromes of psychotic illness.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1016/j.psychres.2006.09.017

Psychiatry research

Psychiatry Res

Two new scales of formal thought disorder in schizophrenia.

Information provided by patients and respective carers may help to understand formal thought disorder (FTD) in schizophrenia. Two scales, one for patients (FTD-patient) and one for carers (FTD-carer), were constructed to assess pragmatics, cognitive, paralinguistic, and non-verbal aspects of communication. In the first scale the patients themselves assess their verbal communication; in the second scale the carer assesses the speech of the respective patient. Both scales exhibited internal reliability and evidence of good test-retest reliability. Higher total scores on both scales (FTD-patient and FTD-carer) were significantly associated with positive FTD, but not with negative FTD. Principal component analysis of the scales yielded a multidimensional structure. It is suggested that FTD in schizophrenia may be associated with a range of deficits (e.g. pragmatics, lexical activation, working memory, sustained attention). These scales, in conjunction with the clinician's assessment, can provide a more comprehensive picture of FTD in schizophrenia, revealing its dimensions and making it possible to establish associations between symptoms of FTD and neuropsychological, neurophysiologic, and neuroimaging data. In addition, they provide service users' and carers' perspectives for the assessment of communication in schizophrenia.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1111/j.1601-183X.2007.00363.x

Genes, brain, and behavior

Genes Brain Behav

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor polymorphism Val66Met influences cognitive abilities in the elderly.

A functional brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene polymorphism (Val66Met) that alters activity-dependent secretion has previously been reported to influence cognitive functioning. A large proportion of these reports suggest that the Met allele, which results in reduced secretion of BDNF, impairs long-term memory as a direct consequence of its influence on hippocampal function but has little influence on working memory. In contrast, other studies have found that the Met allele can also play a protective role in certain neurological conditions and is associated with improved non-verbal reasoning skills in the elderly suggesting effects that appear disease, domain and age specific. We have investigated six haplotype-tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) using a cohort of 722 elderly individuals who have completed cognitive tests that measured the domains of fluid intelligence, processing speed and memory. We found that the presence of the Met allele reduced cognitive performance on all cognitive tests. This reached nominal significance for tests of processing speed (P = 0.001), delayed recall (P = 0.037) and general intelligence (g) (P = 0.008). No association was observed between cognitive tests and any other SNPs once the Val66Met was adjusted for. Our results support initial findings that the Met allele is associated with reduced cognitive functioning. We found no evidence that the Met allele plays a protective role in older non-demented individuals. Magnetic resonance imaging data collected from a subgroup of 61 volunteers showed that the left and right hippocampus were 5.0% and 3.9% smaller, respectively, in those possessing the Met allele, although only a non-significant trend was observed.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1186/1744-9081-3-56

Behavioral and brain functions : BBF

Behav Brain Funct

Dissociation of neural correlates of verbal and non-verbal visual working memory with different delays.

Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), posterior parietal cortex, and regions in the occipital cortex have been identified as neural sites for visual working memory (WM). The exact involvement of the DLPFC in verbal and non-verbal working memory processes, and how these processes depend on the time-span for retention, remains disputed. We used functional MRI to explore the neural correlates of the delayed discrimination of Gabor stimuli differing in orientation. Twelve subjects were instructed to code the relative orientation either verbally or non-verbally with memory delays of short (2 s) or long (8 s) duration. Blood-oxygen level dependent (BOLD) 3-Tesla fMRI revealed significantly more activity for the short verbal condition compared to the short non-verbal condition in bilateral superior temporal gyrus, insula and supramarginal gyrus. Activity in the long verbal condition was greater than in the long non-verbal condition in left language-associated areas (STG) and bilateral posterior parietal areas, including precuneus. Interestingly, right DLPFC and bilateral superior frontal gyrus was more active in the non-verbal long delay condition than in the long verbal condition. The results point to a dissociation between the cortical sites involved in verbal and non-verbal WM for long and short delays. Right DLPFC seems to be engaged in non-verbal WM tasks especially for long delays. Furthermore, the results indicate that even slightly different memory maintenance intervals engage largely differing networks and that this novel finding may explain differing results in previous verbal/non-verbal WM studies.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1016/j.clinph.2007.07.026

Clinical neurophysiology : official journal of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology

Clin Neurophysiol

Assessment of visual working memory using event-related potentials.

This study sought to determine if recognition/familiarity memory can be measured using event-related potentials (ERP) in response to a computer-adapted version of a commonly used non-verbal memory assessment instrument. If successful, resulting ERP would further our knowledge of the neurophysiology of recognition memory and could be used in a cognitive assessment battery for individuals whose capacity for verbal and/or non-verbal communication is impaired. Behavioral and ERP responses were recorded during performance on a computer-adapted version of the Continuous Visual Memory Test (CVMT) [Trahan DE, Larrabee GJ. Continuous Visual Memory Test. Lutz, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources; 1988] and examined offline for recognition memory old/new effects. Behavioral performance was also compared with performance on an alternate form of the test under standard administration procedures. ERP to old (repeated) visual designs in the CVMT were more positive-going than those to new designs and reflected by both early frontal and late parietal old/new effects as commonly reported in the recognition memory literature. The behavioral results from the computer-adapted and standard administration versions of the CVMT showed a significant correlation. The computer-adapted ERP version of the CVMT provides a way to directly assess, using neurophysiological responses, the cognitive processes associated with recognition memory as measured by the CVMT. The results from this study contribute to linking the functional and neurophysiological profile of memory produced by experimental neuroimaging research with traditional clinical neuropsychological assessment.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1590/S1980-57642008DN10400011

Dementia & neuropsychologia

Dement Neuropsychol

Spatial working memory in Alzheimer's disease: A study using the Corsi block-tapping test.

The Corsi block-tapping test was developed as a non-verbal task to measure spatial memory. In this test, cubes are tapped by the examiner in novel sequences of increasing length after which participants are required to reproduce each sequence immediately. To evaluate spatial working memory in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. 30 elderly control subjects (21 women, 9 men) and 30 patients with probable Alzheimer's disease (15 women and 15 men), with 8 or more years of schooling, were evaluated with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), digit span and Corsi block-tapping test. Proportions were compared using Chi-Square, and continuous variables with the Mann-Whitney tests. AD patients were older than controls (p=0.014), but there were no differences regarding gender or educational level between these groups. The performance on the Corsi block-tapping test differed between AD and control individuals (p=0.010), and between patients with moderate dementia and controls (p=0.032), but not between control individuals and patients with mild dementia (p=0.090). In the present study, AD patients with moderate dementia showed impairment in spatial working memory while those with mild dementia did not. This finding may be due to the relatively small sample size, but it is also possible that spatial memory may be normal in the initial (limbic) phase of AD.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1007/s10339-007-0187-6

Cognitive processing

Cogn Process

Modality and domain specific components in auditory and visual working memory tasks.

In the tripartite model of working memory (WM) it is postulated that a unique part system-the visuo-spatial sketchpad (VSSP)-processes non-verbal content. Due to behavioral and neurophysiological findings, the VSSP was later subdivided into visual object and visual spatial processing, the former representing objects' appearance and the latter spatial information. This distinction is well supported. However, a challenge to this model is the question how spatial information from non-visual sensory modalities, for example the auditory one, is processed. Only a few studies so far have directly compared visual and auditory spatial WM. They suggest that the distinction of two processing domains--one for object and one for spatial information--also holds true for auditory WM, but that only a part of the processes is modality specific. We propose that processing in the object domain (the item's appearance) is modality specific, while spatial WM as well as object-location binding relies on modality general processes.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1016/j.cognition.2007.07.006

Cognition

Cognition

Parallel non-verbal enumeration is constrained by a set-based limit.

Adults can represent approximate numbers of items independently of language. This approximate number system can discriminate and compare entities as varied as dots, sounds, or actions. But can multiple different types of entities be enumerated in parallel and stored as independent numerosities? Subjects who were prevented from verbally counting watched an experimenter hide sequences of objects in two locations. The number of object types, which contrasted in category membership, color, shape, and texture, varied from 1 to 5, and object types were completely temporally intermixed. Subjects were then asked how many objects of each type were in each location. In three experiments, subjects successfully enumerated the objects of each type in each location when 1-3 types were presented, but failed with 4 or 5 types, regardless of the total number of objects seen. Thus, adults can perform simultaneous enumeration of multiple sets that unfold in temporally intermixed fashion, but are limited to 3 such sets at a time. Furthermore, they perform these parallel enumerations in the absence of training or instruction, and can do so for sets of objects that are hidden in distinct locations. The convergence of this 3-set capacity limit with the 3-item capacity limit widely observed in studies of working memory suggests that each enumeration requires a single slot in memory, and that storage in memory is required before enumeration can occur.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1097/CHI.0b013e318076b7ab

Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry

The sounds of silence: language, cognition, and anxiety in selective mutism.

To determine whether oral language, working memory, and social anxiety differentiate children with selective mutism (SM), children with anxiety disorders (ANX), and normal controls (NCs) and explore predictors of mutism severity. Children ages 6 to 10 years with SM (n = 44) were compared with children with ANX (n = 28) and NCs (n = 19) of similar age on standardized measures of language, nonverbal working memory, and social anxiety. Variables correlating with mutism severity were entered in stepwise regressions to determine predictors of mute behavior in SM. Children with SM scored significantly lower on standardized language measures than children with ANX and NCs and showed greater visual memory deficits and social anxiety relative to these two groups. Age and receptive grammar ability predicted less severe mutism, whereas social anxiety predicted more severe mutism. These factors accounted for 38% of the variance in mutism severity. Social anxiety and language deficits are evident in SM, may predict mutism severity, and should be evaluated in clinical assessment. Replication is indicated, as are further studies of cognition and of intervention in SM, using large, diverse samples.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1176/ajp.2007.164.7.1090

The American journal of psychiatry

Am J Psychiatry

Abnormal parietal cortex activation during working memory in schizophrenia: verbal phonological coding disturbances versus domain-general executive dysfunction.

The goal of this study was to determine whether the regions of the prefrontal and parietal cortices showing abnormal activation among individuals with schizophrenia during working memory tasks are associated with either 1) phonological coding processes that may be specific to verbal tasks (i.e., ventral prefrontal and parietal cortices) or 2) domain-general executive processes engaged by verbal and nonverbal tasks (i.e., dorsal prefrontal and parietal cortices). The participants were 57 medicated individuals with schizophrenia and 120 healthy subjects. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to scan all participants during performance of verbal and nonverbal 2-back working memory tasks. In the healthy subjects there was similar bilateral dorsal prefrontal and inferior parietal cortex activation for both the verbal and nonverbal working memory tasks, but greater left ventral prefrontal and parietal cortex activation during verbal compared to nonverbal working memory. Individuals with schizophrenia showed bilateral deficits in dorsal frontal and parietal activation during both verbal and nonverbal working memory tasks. They also demonstrated the typical pattern of greater activity for verbal, as compared to nonverbal, working memory in ventral prefrontal and parietal regions, although they showed less verbal superiority in a left ventral prefrontal region. These results support the hypothesis that working memory deficits in individuals with schizophrenia reflect deficits in activation of brain regions associated with the central executive components of working memory rather than domain-specific storage buffers.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1111/j.1444-0938.2007.00160.x

Clinical & experimental optometry

Clin Exp Optom

The visual attentional blink reflects constraints on temporal visual processing, not just a lapse of visual memory.

Most theories related to the attentional blink (AB), defined as the refractory period of 300 to 500 msecs following a conscious visual identification, during which a second detection task is impaired, argue that limitations of 'visual working memory' (VWM) underlie the phenomenon rather than suppression of attention. The current study examined the relationship between performance on an AB task and classical measures of visual and auditory memory and executive function (EF). Fifty-one adult volunteers completed the AB task but only 27 of these also completed an extensive battery of traditional measures of short-term and working memory, processing speed and EF. Correlation and regression methods were used to analyse the data. Bivariate correlation showed a significant relationship between AB duration and non-verbal intelligence and processing speed. Multiple regression analysis demonstrated that four factors (non-verbal intelligence, letter-number sequencing, visual search and visuo-spatial recognition memory) explained 40 per cent of the variance, with better reasoning skills and letter-number sequencing associated with a shorter AB, and better visuo-spatial recognition memory associated with a longer AB. The positive beta weight in the model for visuo-spatial recognition memory may reflect that the ability to later recall a target depends on its depth of encoding. On the other hand, the negative betas in the regression model for verbal intelligence and processing speed indicate that AB duration may be a potentially useful measure of temporal rate of visual processing. Finally, the lack of any relationship between the AB and executive function performance measures used suggests that the mechanism of the AB is primarily confined to early sensory processing and lower level working memory.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1515/ijamh.2007.19.1.11

International journal of adolescent medicine and health

Int J Adolesc Med Health

Functional magnetic resonance imaging in studies of the neurobiology of suicidal behavior in adolescents with alcohol use disorders.

Functional MRI of the brain is a technique that localizes regions of activity in the brain following task activation. It is useful to neuroscientists interested in interrogating the localization of certain brain functions. Alcohol misuse is a complex, multidimensional disorder involving problematic ethanol ingestion and reflected in behavior. Genetic factors play an important role in the etiopathogenesis of alcohol abuse in adolescents. Alcohol use disorders tend to run in families with 40-60% of the variance of risk explained by genetic influences. Numerous well-designed twin, adoption, and family studies have demonstrated that genetic factors are important in determining vulnerability to alcohol use disorders. There is a tendency for people who misuse alcohol to marry individuals who also abuse alcohol (assortative mating). Thus, many adolescent alcohol misusers are from families with a high proportion of alcohol abuse or dependence. It has been shown that alcohol abusing adolescents have a number of cognitive deficits. Neuropsychological studies of adolescents with alcohol use disorders have reported decrements in language skills, problem solving, verbal and non-verbal retention, working memory, and visuospatial performance. Some cognitive deficits may be present before an adolescent starts drinking and contribute to the development of alcohol use disorders. Data suggest that neuropsychological dysfunction may play a role in determining risk for suicidal acts. Therefore, studies of cognitive impairments and the neural substrate of these impairments in alcohol abusing adolescents may help develop methods of identifying teenagers who are at increased risk for suicide and contribute to our knowledge of the neurobiology of suicidal behavior and may lead to the development of new treatment methods.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1111/j.1399-5618.2007.00428.x

Bipolar disorders

Bipolar Disord

Neuropsychological symptom dimensions in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

While neurocognitive (NC) impairments have been well documented in schizophrenia (SZ), there is limited data as to whether similar impairments are present in other persistent mental illnesses. Recent data indicate that NC impairments may be manifested in bipolar disorder (BPD) and that they persist across disease states, including euthymia. An important question is whether a comparable structure of NC impairments is present in the 2 diagnostic groups. In a previous factor analytic study, we identified 6 factors to describe the basic underlying structure of neuropsychological (NP) functioning in SZ: Attention, Working Memory, Learning, Verbal Knowledge, Non-Verbal Functions, Ideational Fluency. The goal of this study was to investigate whether this factor structure is generalizable for BPD. The BPD sample included patients (n = 155) from an ongoing longitudinal study evaluating BPD at the time of hospitalization for relapse and at multiple time points over the following 2 years. The SZ sample included patients (n = 250) from a 3-year study. For the current examination the baseline NP evaluations were selected for both samples. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses in the BPD sample yielded factors similar to those identified in the SZ sample. The coefficients of congruence ranged between 0.66-0.90 for the individual factors, indicating a good overall correspondence between the factor structures in the 2 diagnostic groups. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) analysis with education level, full scale-IQ, gender and ethnicity as covariates indicated that SZ patients had markedly worse performance on the Attention and Non-Verbal Functioning factors compared to the BPD patients. Together, these data suggest that while the same underlying factor structure describes NP functioning in both groups, the profile of impairments appears to vary with the diagnosis.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1136/jnnp.2006.110395

Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry

J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry

A validation of the post concussion symptom scale in the assessment of complex concussion using cognitive testing and functional MRI.

Clinical assessment of cerebral concussion relies on the presence and duration of post concussive symptoms (PCS). Given that these PCS are subjective reports and not always specific to concussion, their usefulness remains to be validated. To evaluate the usefulness of self-reported PCS by means of cognitive tests and functional MRI (fMRI). 28 male athletes with and without concussion were grouped according to their PCS score. They were then administered a computerised cognitive test battery and submitted to an fMRI session where cerebral activations associated with verbal and non-verbal working memory tasks were analysed. Behaviourally, response accuracy and speed on the cognitive test battery were comparable for the control and low PCS group. The moderate PCS group showed significantly slower response times than the control group on the matching (p<0.05) and one-back tasks (p<0.05). The functional MRI study showed reduced task related activation patterns in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex for both low and moderate PCS groups. Activation peaks outside the regions of interest, not seen in the control group, were also noted for both PCS groups. Regression analyses indicated an inverse relationship between PCS scores and performances on several CogSport subtests. Severity of PCS also predicted fMRI blood oxygen level dependent signal changes in cerebral prefrontal regions. Self-reported PCS is associated with an ongoing cerebral haemodynamic abnormality as well as with mild cognitive impairment. These results support the use of the PCS scale in the assessment of cerebral concussion and in monitoring recovery.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory

10.1080/02699200600782526

Clinical linguistics & phonetics

Clin Linguist Phon

Sentence comprehension and general working memory.

Although the role of working memory in sentence comprehension has received substantial attention, the nature of this relationship remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to examine the interaction between general, nonverbal working memory (WM) and sentence parsing (SP) in normal English-speaking adults. Accuracy and reaction times were recorded for thirty-one young adults during three on-line tasks: nonverbal WM, SP plausibility, and lexical decision (LD). A significant positive correlation was observed between reaction times for WM and SP, but not between LD and SP. These results suggest that SP may be supported by a general WM capacity, and therefore, some sentence comprehension difficulties observed in the clinical population may potentially be related to impairment in general WM.

CognitiveConstruct

NonverbalWorkingMemory