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Lipids in Health and Disease Nov 2022The relationship between remnant cholesterol (RC) and atherosclerotic cardiovascular risk has been given increasing attention in recent years. However, its association...
BACKGROUND
The relationship between remnant cholesterol (RC) and atherosclerotic cardiovascular risk has been given increasing attention in recent years. However, its association with verbal learning and memory performance has not been reported.
METHODS
Data were extracted from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2011-2014 database. Participants aged ≥60 years with available fasting lipid data were included. Verbal learning and memory performance were evaluated using the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease Word List Memory Task (CERAD-WL) subtest. The CERAD total score was calculated as the mean of three immediate recalls and a delayed recall. RC was calculated as total cholesterol (TC) minus the sum of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). Multivariate ordinal logistic regression was performed to evaluate the association between RC, as well as its derived marker, the TC/RC ratio, and age-stratified quartiles of the CERAD total score.
RESULTS
A total of 1377 participants were analysed. On a continuous scale, per 1 mmol/L increase in RC and per 1 unit increase in the TC/RC ratio were associated with multivariable adjusted odds ratios (95% CI) of 0.74 (0.58-0.94) and 1.45 (1.13-1.87), respectively, for having a CERAD total score in a higher quartile. On a categorical scale, higher RC quartiles were associated with a CERAD total score in a lower quartile; in contrast, the higher TC/RC quartile was associated with a CERAD total score in a higher quartile (all P for trend < 0.05).
CONCLUSIONS
The current study suggests that lower RC levels and a higher TC/RC ratio are associated with better verbal learning and memory function, which indicates that lowering RC levels could be beneficial for preventing cognitive impairment in elderly individuals. Further research is needed to validate the causal roles of RC and the TC/RC ratio in cognition.
Topics: Humans; Aged; Nutrition Surveys; Verbal Learning; Cognition; Cognitive Dysfunction; Cholesterol
PubMed: 36376895
DOI: 10.1186/s12944-022-01729-4 -
Cognitive Science Jul 2020Glossolalia ("speaking in tongues") is a rhythmic utterance of word-like strings of sounds, regularly occurring in religious mass gatherings or various forms of private...
Glossolalia ("speaking in tongues") is a rhythmic utterance of word-like strings of sounds, regularly occurring in religious mass gatherings or various forms of private religious practices (e.g., prayer and meditation). Although specific verbal learning capacities may characterize glossolalists, empirical evidence is lacking. We administered three statistical learning tasks (artificial grammar, phoneme sequence, and visual-response sequence) to 30 glossolalists and 30 matched control volunteers. In artificial grammar, participants decide whether pseudowords and sentences follow previously acquired implicit rules or not. In sequence learning, they gradually draw out rules from repeating regularities in sequences of speech sounds or motor responses. Results revealed enhanced artificial grammar and phoneme sequence learning performances in glossolalists compared to control volunteers. There were significant positive correlations between daily glossolalia activity and artificial grammar learning. These results indicate that glossolalists exhibit enhanced abilities to extract the statistical regularities of verbal information, which may be related to their unusual language abilities.
Topics: Cognition; Humans; Learning; Linguistics; Verbal Learning
PubMed: 32573809
DOI: 10.1111/cogs.12865 -
Psychological Review Jul 2022In the first year of life, infants' word learning is slow, laborious, and requires repeated exposure to word-referent co-occurrences. In contrast, by 14-18 months,... (Review)
Review
In the first year of life, infants' word learning is slow, laborious, and requires repeated exposure to word-referent co-occurrences. In contrast, by 14-18 months, infants learn words from just a few labeling events, use joint attention and eye gaze to decipher word meaning, and begin to use speech to communicate about absent things. We propose that this remarkable advancement in word learning results from attaining a -that words are linked to mental representations and used intentionally to communicate about real-world entities. We suggest that verbal reference is supported by codeveloping conceptual, social, representational, and statistical learning capacities. We also propose that infants' recognition of this tri-directional link between words, referents, and mental representations is enabled by their experience participating in and observing Understanding verbal reference signals a qualitative shift in infants' word learning. This shift enables infants to bootstrap word meanings from syntax and semantics, learn novel words and facts from nonostensive communication, and make inferences about speakers' epistemic competence based on their language production. In this paper, we review empirical findings across multiple facets of infant cognition and propose a novel developmental theory of verbal reference. Finally, we suggest new directions of empirical research that may provide stronger and more direct evidence for our theory and contribute to our understanding of the development of verbal reference and language-mediated learning in infancy and beyond. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
Topics: Humans; Infant; Language; Language Development; Learning; Semantics; Verbal Learning
PubMed: 34370496
DOI: 10.1037/rev0000320 -
Ear and Hearing 2022This study examined the performance of a group of adult cochlear implant (CI) candidates (CIC) on visual tasks of verbal learning and memory. Preoperative verbal...
OBJECTIVES
This study examined the performance of a group of adult cochlear implant (CI) candidates (CIC) on visual tasks of verbal learning and memory. Preoperative verbal learning and memory abilities of the CIC group were compared with a group of older normal-hearing (ONH) control participants. Relations between preoperative verbal learning and memory measures and speech recognition outcomes after 6 mo of CI use were also investigated for a subgroup of the CICs.
DESIGN
A group of 80 older adult participants completed a visually presented multitrial free recall task. Measures of word recall, repetition learning, and the use of self-generated organizational strategies were collected from a group of 49 CICs, before cochlear implantation, and a group of 31 ONH controls. Speech recognition outcomes were also collected from a subgroup of 32 of the CIC participants who returned for testing 6 mo after CI activation.
RESULTS
CICs demonstrated poorer verbal learning performance compared with the group of ONH control participants. Among the preoperative verbal learning and memory measures, repetition learning slope and measures of self-generated organizational clustering strategies were the strongest predictors of post-CI speech recognition outcomes.
CONCLUSIONS
Older adult CI candidates present with verbal learning and memory deficits compared with older adults without hearing loss, even on visual tasks that are independent from the direct effects of audibility. Preoperative verbal learning and memory processes reflecting repetition learning and self-generated organizational strategies in free recall were associated with speech recognition outcomes 6 months after implantation. The pattern of results suggests that visual measures of verbal learning may be a useful predictor of outcomes in postlingual adult CICs.
Topics: Aged; Cochlear Implantation; Cochlear Implants; Deafness; Humans; Speech; Speech Perception; Verbal Learning
PubMed: 35319518
DOI: 10.1097/AUD.0000000000001155 -
Journal of Speech, Language, and... Apr 2019Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate the information-processing strategies of early-implanted, prelingually deaf cochlear implant (CI) users with the...
Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate the information-processing strategies of early-implanted, prelingually deaf cochlear implant (CI) users with the California Verbal Learning Test-Second Edition (CVLT-II; Delis, Kramer, Kaplan, & Ober, 2000 ), a well-established normed measure of verbal learning and memory used in neuropsychological assessments of memory loss. Method Verbal learning and memory skills were compared in 20 older adolescent and young adult prelingually deaf long-term early-implanted CI users and their 24 normal hearing (NH) peers using the CVLT-II, a widely used multitrial free recall test of verbal learning and memory. Results On average, CI users recalled fewer words than their NH peers across the immediate, delayed, and cued recall trials of the CVLT-II but were comparable to their NH peers on yes/no recognition memory. CI users showed little evidence of semantic clustering of words during free recall but greater serial clustering compared to their NH peers, suggesting fundamental disturbances in automatic semantic activation of words from long-term memory. No differences were found in verbal memory between CI users and their NH peers on measures of retroactive interference and encoding/retrieval interactions. Performance on the 2nd word list of the CVLT-II (List B) and amount of semantic clustering of words during recall were correlated with sentence recognition in the CI group. Conclusion Study findings demonstrate significant differences in free recall performance and information-processing strategies that early-implanted, prelingually deaf CI users use to encode, organize, store, and retrieve spoken words in conventional verbal list learning paradigms, compared to their NH peers. Because verbal learning and memory are core foundational processes routinely used in daily functioning for a wide range of neurocognitive and language processing operations, these findings suggest potential domains for assessment and novel interventions to promote the development of optimal outcomes in prelingually deaf early-implanted long-term CI users.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Cochlear Implantation; Cochlear Implants; Cognition; Cues; Deafness; Female; Humans; Male; Mental Recall; Postoperative Period; Recognition, Psychology; Secondary Prevention; Semantics; Time Factors; Verbal Learning; Young Adult
PubMed: 30986141
DOI: 10.1044/2018_JSLHR-H-18-0125 -
Scientific Reports May 2021Vascular contributions to cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID) include structural and functional blood vessel injuries linked to poor neurocognitive outcomes....
Vascular contributions to cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID) include structural and functional blood vessel injuries linked to poor neurocognitive outcomes. Smoking might indirectly increase the likelihood of cognitive impairment by exacerbating vascular disease risks. Sex disparities in VCID have been reported, however, few studies have assessed the sex-specific relationships between smoking and memory performance and with contradictory results. We investigated the associations between sex, smoking, and cardiovascular disease with verbal learning and memory function. Using MindCrowd, an observational web-based cohort of ~ 70,000 people aged 18-85, we investigated whether sex modifies the relationship between smoking and cardiovascular disease with verbal memory performance. We found significant interactions in that smoking is associated with verbal learning performance more in women and cardiovascular disease more in men across a wide age range. These results suggest that smoking and cardiovascular disease may impact verbal learning and memory throughout adulthood differently for men and women.
Topics: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Cigarette Smoking; Cognition; Cognitive Dysfunction; Cohort Studies; Dementia, Vascular; Female; Humans; Male; Memory; Middle Aged; Sex Factors; Verbal Learning
PubMed: 33986309
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-88923-z -
Psychopharmacology May 2021Prolonged use of cannabis, the most widely used illicit drug worldwide, has been consistently associated with impairment in memory and verbal learning. Although the...
RATIONALE
Prolonged use of cannabis, the most widely used illicit drug worldwide, has been consistently associated with impairment in memory and verbal learning. Although the neurophysiological underpinnings of these impairments have been investigated previously using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), while performing memory tasks, the results of these studies have been inconsistent and no clear picture has emerged yet. Furthermore, no previous studies have investigated trial-by-trial learning.
OBJECTIVES
We aimed to investigate the neural underpinnings of impaired verbal learning in cannabis users as estimated over repeated learning trials.
METHODS
We studied 21 adolescent-onset regular cannabis users and 21 non-users using fMRI performed at least 12 h after last cannabis use, while they performed a paired associate verbal learning task that allowed us to examine trial-by-trial learning. Brain activation during repeated verbal encoding and recall conditions of the task was indexed using the blood oxygen level-dependent haemodynamic response fMRI signal.
RESULTS
There was a significant improvement in recall score over repeated trials indicating learning occurring across the two groups of participants. However, learning was significantly slower in cannabis users compared to non-users (p = 0.032, partial eta-squared = 0.108). While learning verbal stimuli over repeated encoding blocks, non-users displayed progressive increase in recruitment of the midbrain, parahippocampal gyrus and thalamus (p = 0.00939, partial eta-squared = 0.180). In contrast, cannabis users displayed a greater but disrupted activation pattern in these regions, which showed a stronger correlation with new word-pairs learnt over the same blocks in cannabis users than in non-users.
CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that disrupted medial temporal and midbrain function underlie slower learning in adolescent-onset cannabis users.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Female; Humans; Learning; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Marijuana Smoking; Memory; Mental Recall; Mesencephalon; Parahippocampal Gyrus; Verbal Learning; Young Adult
PubMed: 31814047
DOI: 10.1007/s00213-019-05407-9 -
Ideggyogyaszati Szemle May 2023
The decline of episodic memory is one of the earliest cognitive markers of mild cognitive impairment and various types of dementia. Until today, however, there is no...
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
The decline of episodic memory is one of the earliest cognitive markers of mild cognitive impairment and various types of dementia. Until today, however, there is no standardized Hungarian episodic memory test that takes into account the characteristics of the Hungarian language. The study presents the structure and standardized use of a new memory test (Verbal Episodic Memory Test, VEMT) as well as normative data in Hungary.
.METHODS
The VEMT is suitable for the comprehensive examination of verbal learning abilities in a broader sense, and more specifically, for the neuropsychological measurement of verbal list learning abilities. In the present study, we constructed a normative database consisting of data from 385 participants.
.RESULTS
We showed that the VEMT is sensitive to demographic factors (e.g., age) which are linked to differences in episodic memory performance. Open access to the test is provided, and the normative scores are presented as well.
.CONCLUSION
The indicators of the test are suitable for drawing a learning curve, for showing the interaction of new and previously learned information (interference effects), and for measuring differences between free recall and cued recall. Furthermore, the test scores are appropriate for distinguishing the effects of different types of memory encoding forms (phonological, semantic, and episodic), for measuring the ability to reconstruct the presentation of a sequence (memory order information), for detecting the rate of forgetting, for measuring recognition abilities, and for detecting hippocampus-related mnemonic pattern separation and completion functions.
.Topics: Humans; Memory, Episodic; Neuropsychological Tests; Mental Recall; Learning; Verbal Learning
PubMed: 37294027
DOI: 10.18071/isz.76.0159 -
Neuropsychologia Apr 2017Variability in drug responsivity has prompted the development of Personalized Medicine, which has shown great promise in utilizing genotypic information to develop safer... (Review)
Review
Variability in drug responsivity has prompted the development of Personalized Medicine, which has shown great promise in utilizing genotypic information to develop safer and more effective drug regimens for patients. Similarly, individual variability in learning outcomes has puzzled researchers who seek to create optimal learning environments for students. "Personalized Learning" seeks to identify genetic, neural and behavioral predictors of individual differences in learning and aims to use predictors to help create optimal teaching paradigms. Evidence for Personalized Learning can be observed by connecting research in pharmacogenomics, cognitive genetics and behavioral experiments across domains of learning, which provides a framework for conducting empirical studies from the laboratory to the classroom and holds promise for addressing learning effectiveness in the individual learners. Evidence can also be seen in the subdomain of speech learning, thus providing initial support for the applicability of Personalized Learning to language.
Topics: Genetic Association Studies; Humans; Individuality; Language; Precision Medicine; Verbal Learning
PubMed: 27720749
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2016.10.002 -
Adicciones Mar 2024Brain damage related to alcohol consumption is associated with impairments in cognitive functions, among which memory and verbal learning stand out. The main objective...
Brain damage related to alcohol consumption is associated with impairments in cognitive functions, among which memory and verbal learning stand out. The main objective is to evaluate memory and verbal learning in a sample of 111 patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD) versus 78 with major depressive disorder (MDD) and 100 healthy controls. The evaluation included sociodemographic and clinical variables, the Hamilton Depression Scale (HDRS) and the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT). One-way ANOVA was used for comparisons between the 3 groups and two-way ANCOVAS including different covariates. The one-way ANOVA shows that patients with AUD and MDD had scores similar to each other and lower than those of the control group (p < 0.001), with the exception of the Cued CVLT (worse scores in MDD vs AUD, p < 0.001). After including age, sex and years of completed studies as covariates, the differences between the AUD and MDD groups persisted compared to the control group (p ≤ 0.003) in all indices except for the Immediate Free CVLT and the Cued CVLT (worse performance in MDD vs AUD, p = 0.022 and p = 0.035, respectively). In the second ANCOVA, after controlling for depression severity, differences were only detected between AUD patients and healthy controls (p ≤ 0.007). Patients with AUD present a significant impairment in learning and verbal memory when compared with patients with MDD and with healthy people.
Topics: Humans; Depressive Disorder, Major; Alcoholism; Alcohol Drinking; Verbal Learning
PubMed: 34882245
DOI: 10.20882/adicciones.1696