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Neuropsychologia Jun 2016Damage to long white matter pathways in the cerebral cortex is known to affect memory capacity. However, the specific contribution of interhemispheric connectivity in...
Damage to long white matter pathways in the cerebral cortex is known to affect memory capacity. However, the specific contribution of interhemispheric connectivity in memory functioning is only beginning to become understood. The present study examined verbal and visual memory processing in individuals with agenesis of the corpus callosum (AgCC) using the Wechsler Memory Scale-Third Edition (WMS-III; Wechsler, 1997b). Thirty participants with AgCC (FSIQ >78) were compared against 30 healthy age and IQ matched controls on auditory/verbal (Logical Memory, Verbal Paired Associates) and visual (Visual Reproduction, Faces) memory subtests. Performance was worse in AgCC than controls on immediate and delayed verbal recall for rote word pairs and on delayed recall of faces, as well as on percent recall for these tasks. Immediate recall for thematic information from stories was also worse in AgCC, but groups did not differ on memory for details from narratives or on recall for thematic information following a time delay. Groups also did not differ on memory for abstract figures or immediate recall of faces. On all subtests, individuals with AgCC had greater frequency of clinically significant impairments than predicted by the normal distribution. Results suggest less efficient overall verbal and visual learning and memory with relative weaknesses processing verbal pairs and delayed recall for faces. These findings suggest that the corpus callosum facilitates more efficient learning and recall for both verbal and visual information, that individuals with AgCC may benefit from receiving verbal information within semantic context, and that known deficits in facial processing in individuals with AgCC may contribute to their impairments in recall for faces.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Agenesis of Corpus Callosum; Analysis of Variance; Association Learning; Female; Humans; Learning Disabilities; Male; Memory Disorders; Middle Aged; Neuropsychological Tests; Retention, Psychology; Verbal Learning; Young Adult
PubMed: 27091586
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2016.04.013 -
NeuroImage Nov 2021Humans continuously learn new information. Here, we examined the temporal brain dynamics of explicit verbal associative learning between unfamiliar items. In the first...
Humans continuously learn new information. Here, we examined the temporal brain dynamics of explicit verbal associative learning between unfamiliar items. In the first experiment, 25 adults learned object-pseudoword associations during a 5-day training program allowing us to track the N400 dynamics across learning blocks within and across days. Successful learning was accompanied by an initial frontal N400 that decreased in amplitude across blocks during the first day and shifted to parietal sites during the last training day. In Experiment 2, we replicated our findings with 38 new participants randomly assigned to a consistent learning or an inconsistent learning group. The N400 amplitude modulations that we found, both within and between learning sessions, are taken to reflect the emergence of novel lexical traces even when learning concerns items for which no semantic information is provided. The shift in N400 topography suggests that different N400 neural generators may contribute to specific word learning steps through a balance between domain-general and language-specific mechanisms.
Topics: Adult; Brain Mapping; Electroencephalography; Evoked Potentials; Female; Humans; Language; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Reaction Time; Semantics; Verbal Learning; Vocabulary; Young Adult
PubMed: 34352392
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118443 -
Brain and Language Dec 2019Listening to white noise may facilitate cognitive performance, including new word learning, for some individuals. This study investigated whether auditory white noise...
Listening to white noise may facilitate cognitive performance, including new word learning, for some individuals. This study investigated whether auditory white noise facilitates the learning of novel written words from context in healthy young adults. Sixty-nine participants were required to determine the meaning of novel words placed within sentence contexts during a silent reading task. Learning was performed either with or without white noise, and recognition of novel word meanings was tested immediately after learning and after a short delay. Immediate recognition accuracy for learned novel word meanings was higher in the noise group relative to the no noise group, however this effect was no longer evident at the delayed recognition test. These findings suggest that white noise has the capacity to facilitate meaning acquisition from context, however further research is needed to clarify its capacity to improve longer-term retention of meaning.
Topics: Acoustic Stimulation; Auditory Perception; Female; Humans; Male; Noise; Reading; Recognition, Psychology; Verbal Learning; Young Adult
PubMed: 31569040
DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2019.104699 -
Frontiers in Public Health 2023The revised Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised (HVLT-R) and the Brief Visual-Spatial Memory Test-Revised (BVMT-R) are two widely used test involving verbal and visual... (Comparative Study)
Comparative Study
INTRODUCTION
The revised Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised (HVLT-R) and the Brief Visual-Spatial Memory Test-Revised (BVMT-R) are two widely used test involving verbal and visual learning and memory. In the two tests, six different versions are assembled, respectively, to prevent learning effects. Currently, no researchers have compared the six versions of the two tests. Thus, their usefulness in clinical studies requiring multiple follow-ups is limited. In this work, we confirm the equivalence of six HVLT-R and BVMT-R versions.
METHODS
20 people completed all six HVLT-R and BVMT-R versions, while 120 people were randomly assigned to complete one of the six versions of each test. The Intelligence Quotient (IQ) level is measured using the short version of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence test. R4.2.0 is used for statistical analysis. The K-Related sample test (a non-parametric test) is used to observe the differences in test scores among the 20 subjects. The one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) test is utilized to analyze the differences in test scores among the 120 subjects. The scores on different versions are compared using two similar sample tests. The HVLT-R Total Learning, the HVLT-R Delayed Recall, the BVMT-R Total Learning, and the BVMT-R Delayed Recall are indexes for comparison. Version and test scores are used as research factors, while different versions are used as research levels.
RESULTS
The results suggest that HVLT-R and BVMT-R versions 3, 5 and 6 are equally difficult, and relatively easy compared to versions 1, 2 and 4. HVLT-R versions 3, 5, and 6 show good reliability and can be used interchangeably when testing word learning ability or short-term memory; BVMT-R Versions 3, 5, and 6 show acceptable reliability and can be can be used interchangeably.
DISCUSSION
In the study of multiple follow-ups, it is a must to avoid discrepant versions and choose other equivalent versions. The results from this study could be used as a guide for upcoming studies and clinical applications in China.
Topics: Adult; Humans; Cognition; Neuropsychological Tests; Reproducibility of Results; Spatial Memory; Verbal Learning
PubMed: 37033023
DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1096397 -
NeuroImage Jul 2019In a multi- and inter-cultural world, we daily encounter new words. Adult learners often rely on a situational context to learn and understand a new word's meaning....
In a multi- and inter-cultural world, we daily encounter new words. Adult learners often rely on a situational context to learn and understand a new word's meaning. Here, we explored whether interactive learning facilitates word learning by directing the learner's attention to a correct new word referent when a situational context is non-informative. We predicted larger involvement of inferior parietal, frontal, and visual cortices involved in visuo-spatial attention during interactive learning. We scanned participants while they played a visual word learning game with and without a social partner. As hypothesized, interactive learning enhanced activity in the right Supramarginal Gyrus when the situational context provided little information. Activity in the right Inferior Frontal Gyrus during interactive learning correlated with post-scanning behavioral test scores, while these scores correlated with activity in the Fusiform Gyrus in the non-interactive group. These results indicate that attention is involved in interactive learning when the situational context is minimal and suggest that individual learning processes may be largely different from interactive ones. As such, they challenge the ecological validity of what we know about individual learning and advocate the exploration of interactive learning in naturalistic settings.
Topics: Adult; Attention; Brain; Female; Humans; Language; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Social Learning; Verbal Learning
PubMed: 30946951
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.03.071 -
The Clinical Neuropsychologist Apr 2021Although cohort effects on IQ measures have been investigated extensively, studies exploring cohort differences on verbal memory tests, and the extent to which they are...
OBJECTIVE
Although cohort effects on IQ measures have been investigated extensively, studies exploring cohort differences on verbal memory tests, and the extent to which they are influenced by socioenvironmental changes across decades (e.g. educational attainment; ethnic makeup), have been limited.
METHOD
We examined differences in performance between the normative samples of the CVLT-II from 1999 and the CVLT3 from 2016 to 2017 on the immediate- and delayed-recall trials, and we explored the degree to which verbal learning and memory skills might be influenced by the cohort year in which norms were collected versus demographic factors (e.g. education level).
RESULTS
Multivariate analysis of variance tests and follow-up univariate tests yielded evidence for a cohort effect (also referred to as negative Flynn effect) on performance, controlling for demographic factors ( = .001). In particular, findings revealed evidence of a negative Flynn effect on the attention/working memory and learning trials (Trial 1, Trial 2, Trial 3, Trials 1-5 Total, List B; s < .007), with no significant cohort differences found on the delayed-recall trials. As expected, education level, age group, and ethnicity were significant predictors of CVLT performance (s < .01). Importantly, however, there were no interactions between cohort year of norms collection and education level, age group, or ethnicity on performance.
CONCLUSIONS
The clinical implications of the present findings for using word list learning and memory tests like the CVLT, and the potential role of socioenvironmental factors on the observed negative Flynn effect on the attention/working memory and learning trials, are discussed.
Topics: Attention; Humans; Memory, Short-Term; Mental Recall; Neuropsychological Tests; Verbal Learning
PubMed: 31829090
DOI: 10.1080/13854046.2019.1699605 -
Psychiatry Research Aug 2015Findings on longitudinal change of cognitive performance in schizophrenia are extremely variable in the case of verbal learning and memory, and it is still unclear which...
Findings on longitudinal change of cognitive performance in schizophrenia are extremely variable in the case of verbal learning and memory, and it is still unclear which dimensions of verbal learning and memory exhibit possible deterioration over the long-term. Our aim was to compare the change in verbal learning and memory in individuals with schizophrenia 10-20 years after the illness onset and healthy controls during a nine-year follow-up in a general population sample. Our sample included 41 schizophrenia spectrum subjects and 73 controls from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort study 1966. The California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT) was used to estimate the degree of change in verbal learning and memory during a nine-year follow-up from age 34-years to 43- years. Both cases and controls deteriorated. There was statistically significant decline in two out of 20 CVLT items among cases and in 13 out of 20 CVLT items among controls. With the exception of two variables, the decline in verbal learning and memory over nine years was not significantly larger in cases. We conclude that during midlife verbal learning and memory in schizophrenia mostly declines in a normative fashion with aging at the same rate as the general population.
Topics: Adult; Age Factors; Cohort Studies; Female; Finland; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Male; Memory; Memory Disorders; Neuropsychological Tests; Schizophrenia; Time Factors; Verbal Learning
PubMed: 26168931
DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2015.04.048 -
Journal of the International... Jul 2021The variability of findings in studies examining the effects of chronic cannabis use on neuropsychological functioning highlights the importance of examining...
OBJECTIVE
The variability of findings in studies examining the effects of chronic cannabis use on neuropsychological functioning highlights the importance of examining contributing factors. Few studies examine the role of sex in the relationship between cannabis and neuropsychological functioning, despite known neurobiological structural differences between males and females. This study examined whether males and females experience differential cognitive effects of chronic cannabis use.
METHOD
Chronic cannabis users (3+ days per week for >12 months, n = 110, 72% male) and non-users (n = 71, 39% male) completed a neuropsychological test battery. Two multivariate analyses of covariance (MANCOVAs) examined for sex differences in performance within users and non-users on neuropsychological tests, controlling for potential confounding variables. Bonferroni corrections were applied to adjust for multiple comparisons.
RESULTS
Male and female cannabis users did not differ in cannabis use variables. Female cannabis users performed better than males on multiple subtests of the California Verbal Learning Test-II (CVLT-II), a verbal learning and memory test. Male cannabis users performed better than female users on Trial 1 of the CVLT-II (p = .002), and Trail Making Test B (p = .001), which measure attention and cognitive flexibility, respectively. Non-user males and females performed comparably, with the exception of Trail Making Test B (p = .001).
CONCLUSIONS
Results suggest that chronic cannabis use differentially impacts males and females, with females exhibiting better verbal learning and memory despite males demonstrating better attention and cognitive flexibility. Further research is needed to understand the potential protective mechanism of female sex on learning and memory effects of cannabis use.
Topics: Attention; Cannabis; Humans; Neuropsychological Tests; Protective Factors; Verbal Learning
PubMed: 34261552
DOI: 10.1017/S1355617721000217 -
Cognitive Research: Principles and... Dec 2021The spacing effect refers to the improvement in memory retention for materials learned in a series of sessions, as opposed to massing learning in a single session. It...
The spacing effect refers to the improvement in memory retention for materials learned in a series of sessions, as opposed to massing learning in a single session. It has been extensively studied in the domain of verbal learning using word lists. Less evidence is available for connected discourse or tasks requiring the complex coordination of verbal and other domains. In particular, the effect of spacing on the retention of words and music in song has yet to be determined. In this study, university students were taught an unaccompanied two-verse song based on traditional materials to a criterion of 95% correct memory for sung words. Subsequent training sessions were either massed or spaced by two days or one week and tested at a retention interval of three weeks. Performances were evaluated for number of correct and incorrect syllables, number of correctly and incorrectly pitched notes, degree notes were off-pitch, and number of hesitations while singing. The data revealed strong evidence for a spacing effect for song between the massed and spaced conditions at a retention interval of three weeks, and evidence of no difference between the two spaced conditions. These findings suggest that the ongoing cues offered by surface features in the song are strong enough to enable verbatim recall across spaced conditions, as long as the spacing interval reaches a critical threshold.
Topics: Cues; Humans; Learning; Memory; Mental Recall; Verbal Learning
PubMed: 34894323
DOI: 10.1186/s41235-021-00345-7 -
Scientific Reports Apr 2021Physical exercise during adolescence, a critical developmental window, can facilitate neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus and astrogliogenesis in Cornu Ammonis...
Physical exercise during adolescence, a critical developmental window, can facilitate neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus and astrogliogenesis in Cornu Ammonis (CA) hippocampal subfields of rats, and which have been associated with improved hippocampal dependent memory performance. Recent translational studies in humans also suggest that aerobic fitness is associated with hippocampal volume and better spatial memory during adolescence. However, associations between fitness, hippocampal subfield morphology, and learning capabilities in human adolescents remain largely unknown. Employing a translational study design in 34 adolescent males, we explored the relationship between aerobic fitness, hippocampal subfield volumes, and both spatial and verbal memory. Aerobic fitness, assessed by peak oxygen utilization on a high-intensity exercise test (VO peak), was positively associated with the volumetric enlargement of the hippocampal head, and the CA1 head region specifically. Larger CA1 volumes were also associated with spatial learning on a Virtual Morris Water Maze task and verbal learning on the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, but not recall memory. In line with previous animal work, the current findings lend support for the long-axis specialization of the hippocampus in the areas of exercise and learning during adolescence.
Topics: Adolescent; CA1 Region, Hippocampal; Cardiorespiratory Fitness; Exercise Test; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Oxygen Consumption; Spatial Learning; Verbal Learning
PubMed: 33927247
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-88452-9