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Philosophical Transactions of the Royal... 2014Lexical skills are a crucial component of language comprehension and production. This paper reviews evidence for lexical-level deficits in children and young people with... (Review)
Review
Lexical skills are a crucial component of language comprehension and production. This paper reviews evidence for lexical-level deficits in children and young people with developmental language impairment (LI). Across a range of tasks, LI is associated with reduced vocabulary knowledge in terms of both breadth and depth and difficulty with learning and retaining new words; evidence is emerging from on-line tasks to suggest that low levels of language skill are associated with differences in lexical competition in spoken word recognition. The role of lexical deficits in understanding the nature of LI is also discussed.
Topics: Age Factors; Child; Child Language; Eye Movements; Humans; Language Development Disorders; Models, Psychological; Speech Perception; Verbal Learning; Visual Perception; Vocabulary
PubMed: 24324231
DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2012.0387 -
Arquivos de Neuro-psiquiatria Sep 2013Depressive pseudodementia (DPD) is a clinical condition characterized by depressive symptoms followed by cognitive and functional impairment characteristics of dementia....
OBJECTIVE
Depressive pseudodementia (DPD) is a clinical condition characterized by depressive symptoms followed by cognitive and functional impairment characteristics of dementia. Memory complaints are one of the most related cognitive symptoms in DPD. The present study aims to assess the verbal learning profile of elderly patients with DPD.
METHODS
Ninety-six older adults (34 DPD and 62 controls) were assessed by neuropsychological tests including the Rey auditory-verbal learning test (RAVLT). A multivariate general linear model was used to assess group differences and controlled for demographic factors.
RESULTS
Moderate or large effects were found on all RAVLT components, except for short-term and recognition memory.
CONCLUSION
DPD impairs verbal memory, with large effect size on free recall and moderate effect size on the learning. Short-term storage and recognition memory are useful in clinical contexts when the differential diagnosis is required.
Topics: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Case-Control Studies; Depressive Disorder; Factitious Disorders; Female; Humans; Male; Memory Disorders; Mental Recall; Neuropsychological Tests; Socioeconomic Factors; Verbal Learning
PubMed: 24141438
DOI: 10.1590/0004-282X20130102 -
Cerebral Cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991) Apr 2020Age-related memory impairments have been linked to differences in structural brain parameters, including cerebral white matter (WM) microstructure and hippocampal (HC)...
Age-related memory impairments have been linked to differences in structural brain parameters, including cerebral white matter (WM) microstructure and hippocampal (HC) volume, but their combined influences are rarely investigated. In a population-based sample of 337 older participants aged 61-82 years (Mage = 69.66, SDage = 3.92 years), we modeled the independent and joint effects of limbic WM microstructure and HC subfield volumes on verbal learning. Participants completed a verbal learning task of recall over five repeated trials and underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), including structural and diffusion scans. We segmented three HC subregions on high-resolution MRI data and sampled mean fractional anisotropy (FA) from bilateral limbic WM tracts identified via deterministic fiber tractography. Using structural equation modeling, we evaluated the associations between learning rate and latent factors representing FA sampled from limbic WM tracts, and HC subfield volumes, and their latent interaction. Results showed limbic WM and the interaction of HC and WM-but not HC volume alone-predicted verbal learning rates. Model decomposition revealed HC volume is only positively associated with learning rate in individuals with higher WM anisotropy. We conclude that the structural characteristics of limbic WM regions and HC volume jointly contribute to verbal learning in older adults.
Topics: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Cohort Studies; Female; Forecasting; Hippocampus; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Mental Recall; Middle Aged; Neuropsychological Tests; Verbal Learning; White Matter
PubMed: 31800016
DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhz252 -
Scientific Reports May 2023The current study set out to examine the underlying physiological mechanisms of and the emotional response associated with word learning success in young 3-year-old...
The current study set out to examine the underlying physiological mechanisms of and the emotional response associated with word learning success in young 3-year-old predominantly white children. In particular, we examined whether children's physiological arousal following a word learning task predicts their word learning success and whether successful learning in turn predicts children's subsequent positive emotions. We presented children (n = 50) with a cross-situational word learning task and measured their pupillary arousal following completion of the task, as well as changes to their upper body posture following completion of the task, as indices of children's emotions following task completion. Children who showed greater physiological arousal following the novel word recognition task (n = 40) showed improved subsequent word recognition performance. We found that children showed more elevated posture after completing a familiar word learning task compared to completing a novel word learning task (n = 33) but results on children's individual learning success and postural elevation were mixed. We discuss the findings with regards to children's affective involvement in word learning.
Topics: Humans; Child; Child, Preschool; Verbal Learning; Learning; Arousal; Emotions; Pupil
PubMed: 37147313
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-34049-3 -
PLoS Biology Sep 2021Memory performance is crucial across the human life, from early education to age-related decline. A new study in PLOS Biology found that verbal learning can be enhanced...
Memory performance is crucial across the human life, from early education to age-related decline. A new study in PLOS Biology found that verbal learning can be enhanced by applying repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over the left prefrontal cortex.
Topics: Cognition; Humans; Prefrontal Cortex; Stereotaxic Techniques; Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation; Verbal Learning
PubMed: 34587149
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001404 -
The Clinical Neuropsychologist Aug 2021The Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised (HVLT-R) provides a measure of verbal learning and memory. The aim of this study was to provide normative performance data on...
OBJECTIVE
The Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised (HVLT-R) provides a measure of verbal learning and memory. The aim of this study was to provide normative performance data on the HVLT-R for community-dwelling older individuals according to ethno-racial group, age, gender, and years of completed education, in Australia and the U.S.
METHOD
The ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly (ASPREE) study recruited 19,114 generally healthy community dwelling individuals aged 70 years and over (65 years and over for U.S minorities), who were without a diagnosis of dementia and scored above 77 on the modified Mini-Mental State (3MS) examination. Included in the analysis presented here were 16,251 white Australians, and in the U.S. 1,082 white, 894 African American and 314 Hispanic/Latino individuals at baseline.
RESULTS
Performance on each of the components of the HVLT-R (trials 1-3, total, learning, delayed recall, delayed recognition, percentage retention and recognition discrimination index [RDI]) differed by demographic variables. In country and ethno-racial stratified analyses, female gender, younger age and higher education were significantly associated with better total recall, delayed recall and RDI. Among white Australians these characteristics were also associated with better retention. Age, education and gender-specific reference values across ethno-racial categories were determined.
CONCLUSIONS
Ethno-racial, age, gender and education-stratified normative data from this large cohort of community-dwelling older individuals will serve as important reference standards in Australia and the U.S. to assess cognition in older individuals.
Topics: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Australia; Educational Status; Female; Humans; Neuropsychological Tests; Reference Values; Verbal Learning
PubMed: 32100619
DOI: 10.1080/13854046.2020.1730444 -
PloS One 2019Successful communication often involves comprehension of both spoken language and observed actions with and without objects. Even very young infants can learn... (Clinical Trial)
Clinical Trial
Successful communication often involves comprehension of both spoken language and observed actions with and without objects. Even very young infants can learn associations between actions and objects as well as between words and objects. However, in daily life, children are usually confronted with both kinds of input simultaneously. Choosing the critical information to attend to in such situations might help children structure the input, and thereby, allow for successful learning. In the current study, we therefore, investigated the developmental time course of children's and adults' word and action learning when given the opportunity to learn both word-object and action-object associations for the same object. All participants went through a learning phase and a test phase. In the learning phase, they were presented with two novel objects which were associated with a distinct novel name (e.g., "Look, a Tanu") and a distinct novel action (e.g., moving up and down while tilting sideways). In the test phase, participants were presented with both objects on screen in a baseline phase, then either heard one of the two labels or saw one of the two actions in a prime phase, and then saw the two objects again on screen in a recognition phase. Throughout the trial, participants' target looking was recorded to investigate whether participants looked at the target object upon hearing its label or seeing its action, and thus, would show learning of the word-object and action-object associations. Growth curve analyses revealed that 12-month-olds showed modest learning of action-object associations, 36-month-olds learned word-object associations, and adults learned word-object and action-object associations. These results highlight how children attend to the different information types from the two modalities through which communication is addressed to them. Over time, with increased exposure to systematic word-object mappings, children attend less to action-object mappings, with the latter potentially being mediated by word-object learning even in adulthood. Thus, choosing between different kinds of input that may be more relevant in their rich environment encompassing different modalities might help learning at different points in development.
Topics: Adult; Association Learning; Child, Preschool; Comprehension; Female; Humans; Infant; Language Development; Male; Speech Perception; Verbal Learning
PubMed: 31393901
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0220317 -
Journal of the International... Jul 2021Preclinical and clinical studies suggest that males and females may be differentially affected by cannabis use. This study evaluated the interaction of cannabis use and...
OBJECTIVES
Preclinical and clinical studies suggest that males and females may be differentially affected by cannabis use. This study evaluated the interaction of cannabis use and biological sex on cognition, and the association between observed cognitive deficits and features of cannabis use.
METHODS
Cognitive measures were assessed in those with regular, ongoing, cannabis use (N = 40; 22 female) and non-using peers (N = 40; 23 female). Intelligence, psychomotor speed, and verbal working memory were measured with the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence, Digit Symbol Test, and Digit Span and Hopkins Verbal Learning Test, respectively. Associations between cognitive measures and cannabis use features (e.g., lifetime cannabis use, age of initiation, time since last use of cannabis, recent high-concentration tetrahydrocannabinoid exposure) were also evaluated.
RESULTS
No main effects of group were observed across measures. Significant interactions between group and biological sex were observed on measures of intelligence, psychomotor speed, and verbal learning, with greatest group differences observed between males with and without regular cannabis use. Psychomotor performance was negatively correlated with lifetime cannabis exposure. Female and male cannabis use groups did not differ in features of cannabis use.
CONCLUSIONS
Findings suggest that biological sex influences the relationship between cannabis and cognition, with males potentially being more vulnerable to the neurocognitive deficits related to cannabis use.
Topics: Cannabis; Cognition; Cognition Disorders; Humans; Memory, Short-Term; Neuropsychological Tests; Verbal Learning
PubMed: 34261548
DOI: 10.1017/S1355617721000606 -
Trends in Cognitive Sciences Nov 2011Semantic memory includes all acquired knowledge about the world and is the basis for nearly all human activity, yet its neurobiological foundation is only now becoming... (Review)
Review
Semantic memory includes all acquired knowledge about the world and is the basis for nearly all human activity, yet its neurobiological foundation is only now becoming clear. Recent neuroimaging studies demonstrate two striking results: the participation of modality-specific sensory, motor, and emotion systems in language comprehension, and the existence of large brain regions that participate in comprehension tasks but are not modality-specific. These latter regions, which include the inferior parietal lobe and much of the temporal lobe, lie at convergences of multiple perceptual processing streams. These convergences enable increasingly abstract, supramodal representations of perceptual experience that support a variety of conceptual functions including object recognition, social cognition, language, and the remarkable human capacity to remember the past and imagine the future.
Topics: Animals; Brain; Brain Mapping; Humans; Memory; Neurobiology; Semantics; Verbal Learning
PubMed: 22001867
DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2011.10.001 -
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