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Scientific Reports Dec 2017Learning associations between words and their referents is crucial for language learning in the developing and adult brain and for language re-learning after...
Learning associations between words and their referents is crucial for language learning in the developing and adult brain and for language re-learning after neurological injury. Non-invasive transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to the posterior temporo-parietal cortex has been suggested to enhance this process. However, previous studies employed standard tDCS set-ups that induce diffuse current flow in the brain, preventing the attribution of stimulation effects to the target region. This study employed high-definition tDCS (HD-tDCS) that allowed the current flow to be constrained to the temporo-parietal cortex, to clarify its role in novel word learning. In a sham-controlled, double-blind, between-subjects design, 50 healthy adults learned associations between legal non-words and unfamiliar object pictures. Participants were stratified by baseline learning ability on a short version of the learning paradigm and pairwise randomized to active (20 mins; N = 25) or sham (40 seconds; N = 25) HD-tDCS. Accuracy was comparable during the baseline and experimental phases in both HD-tDCS conditions. However, active HD-tDCS resulted in faster retrieval of correct word-picture pairs. Our findings corroborate the critical role of the temporo-parietal cortex in novel word learning, which has implications for current theories of language acquisition.
Topics: Adult; Brain; Double-Blind Method; Female; Functional Laterality; Humans; Male; Parietal Lobe; Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation; Verbal Learning; Young Adult
PubMed: 29208991
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-17279-0 -
The Journal of Neuroscience : the... Jun 2017Mounting evidence indicates that posterolateral portions of the cerebellum (right Crus I/II) contribute to language processing, but the nature of this role remains...
Mounting evidence indicates that posterolateral portions of the cerebellum (right Crus I/II) contribute to language processing, but the nature of this role remains unclear. Based on a well-supported theory of cerebellar motor function, which ascribes to the cerebellum a role in short-term prediction through internal modeling, we hypothesize that right cerebellar Crus I/II supports prediction of upcoming sentence content. We tested this hypothesis using event-related fMRI in male and female human subjects by manipulating the predictability of written sentences. Our design controlled for motor planning and execution, as well as for linguistic features and working memory load; it also allowed separation of the prediction interval from the presentation of the final sentence item. In addition, three further fMRI tasks captured semantic, phonological, and orthographic processing to shed light on the nature of the information processed. As hypothesized, activity in right posterolateral cerebellum correlated with the predictability of the upcoming target word. This cerebellar region also responded to prediction error during the outcome of the trial. Further, this region was engaged in phonological, but not semantic or orthographic, processing. This is the first imaging study to demonstrate a right cerebellar contribution in language comprehension independently from motor, cognitive, and linguistic confounds. These results complement our work using other methodologies showing cerebellar engagement in linguistic prediction and suggest that internal modeling of phonological representations aids language production and comprehension. The cerebellum is traditionally seen as a motor structure that allows for smooth movement by predicting upcoming signals. However, the cerebellum is also consistently implicated in nonmotor functions such as language and working memory. Using fMRI, we identify a cerebellar area that is active when words are predicted and when these predictions are violated. This area is active in a separate task that requires phonological processing, but not in tasks that require semantic or visuospatial processing. Our results support the idea of prediction as a unifying cerebellar function in motor and nonmotor domains. We provide new insights by linking the cerebellar role in prediction to its role in verbal working memory, suggesting that these predictions involve phonological processing.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Cerebellum; Female; Functional Laterality; Humans; Language; Male; Memory, Short-Term; Nerve Net; Verbal Learning; Young Adult
PubMed: 28546307
DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3203-16.2017 -
Cortex; a Journal Devoted To the Study... Jun 1988The purpose of this investigation was to inquire into the relationship between demographic, seizure related, and language factors with the adequacy of verbal learning...
The purpose of this investigation was to inquire into the relationship between demographic, seizure related, and language factors with the adequacy of verbal learning and memory function in 25 patients with complex partial seizures of dominant temporal lobe origin. Language function in general, and measures of verbal comprehension (aural and reading) and retrieval ability (naming and associative fluency) in particular, emerged as the most robust predictors of verbal learning and memory performance in this sample. Our findings both supported and extended the hypothesis of Mayeux et al. (1980) of a relationship between adequacy of language function and verbal learning and memory performance in patients with complex partial seizures. The implications of these findings for studies investigating the relationship between complex partial seizures/temporal lobe pathology and memory function are discussed.
Topics: Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe; Humans; Intelligence; Language; Language Tests; Memory; Mental Recall; Neuropsychological Tests; Temporal Lobe; Verbal Learning
PubMed: 3416607
DOI: 10.1016/s0010-9452(88)80033-9 -
Schizophrenia Research Jun 2019Targeted cognitive training (TCT) has been reported to improve verbal learning deficits in patients with schizophrenia (SZ). Despite positive findings, it is not clear... (Randomized Controlled Trial)
Randomized Controlled Trial
Targeted cognitive training (TCT) has been reported to improve verbal learning deficits in patients with schizophrenia (SZ). Despite positive findings, it is not clear whether demographic factors and clinical characteristics contribute to the success of TCT on an individual basis. Medication-associated anticholinergic burden has been shown to impact TCT-associated verbal learning gains in SZ outpatients, but the role of anticholinergic medication burden on TCT gains in treatment refractory SZ patients has not been described. In this study, SZ patients mandated to a locked residential rehabilitation center were randomized to treatment as usual (TAU; n=22) or a course of TAU augmented with TCT (n=24). Anticholinergic medication burden was calculated from medication data at baseline and follow-up using the Anticholinergic Cognitive Burden (ACB) Scale. MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery Verbal Learning domain scores were used as the primary outcome variable. The TAU and TCT groups were matched in ACB at baseline and follow-up. While baseline ACB was not associated with verbal learning in either group, increases in ACB over the course of the study were significantly associated with deterioration of verbal learning in the TAU group (r=-0.51, p=0.02). This was not seen in subjects randomized to TCT (r=-0.13, p=0.62). Our results suggest that TCT may blunt anticholinergic medication burden associated reduction in verbal learning in severely disabled SZ inpatients.
Topics: Adult; Cholinergic Antagonists; Cognition Disorders; Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; Female; Humans; Male; Rehabilitation Centers; Schizophrenia; Schizophrenic Psychology; Verbal Learning
PubMed: 30738698
DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2019.01.016 -
Journal of Clinical and Experimental... Aug 2011Memory and executive functioning are two important components of clinical neuropsychological (NP) practice and research. Multiple demographic factors are known to affect...
Demographically corrected norms for African Americans and Caucasians on the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised, Brief Visuospatial Memory Test-Revised, Stroop Color and Word Test, and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test 64-Card Version.
Memory and executive functioning are two important components of clinical neuropsychological (NP) practice and research. Multiple demographic factors are known to affect performance differentially on most NP tests, but adequate normative corrections, inclusive of race/ethnicity, are not available for many widely used instruments. This study compared demographic contributions for widely used tests of verbal and visual learning and memory (Brief Visual Memory Test-Revised, Hopkins Verbal Memory Test-Revised) and executive functioning (Stroop Color and Word Test, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test-64) in groups of healthy Caucasians (n = 143) and African Americans (n = 103). Demographic factors of age, education, gender, and race/ethnicity were found to be significant factors on some indices of all four tests. The magnitude of demographic contributions (especially age) was greater for African Americans than for Caucasians on most measures. New, demographically corrected T-score formulas were calculated for each race/ethnicity. The rates of NP impairment using previously published normative standards significantly overestimated NP impairment in African Americans. Utilizing the new demographic corrections developed and presented herein, NP impairment rates were comparable between the two race/ethnicities and were unrelated to the other demographic characteristics (age, education, gender) in either race/ethnicity group. Findings support the need to consider extended demographic contributions to neuropsychological test performance in clinical and research settings.
Topics: Adult; Black or African American; Age Factors; Aged; Cross-Cultural Comparison; Demography; Educational Status; Executive Function; Female; Humans; Language; Male; Memory; Middle Aged; Neuropsychological Tests; Reference Values; Verbal Learning; White People
PubMed: 21547817
DOI: 10.1080/13803395.2011.559157 -
Arquivos de Neuro-psiquiatria Dec 2012
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Brazil; Educational Status; Female; Humans; Male; Memory, Episodic; Middle Aged; Neuropsychological Tests; Reference Values; Reproducibility of Results; Verbal Learning; Young Adult
PubMed: 23295429
DOI: 10.1590/s0004-282x2012001200014 -
Cerebral Cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991) Nov 2015Reactivating memories during sleep by re-exposure to associated memory cues (e.g., odors or sounds) improves memory consolidation. Here, we tested for the first time...
Reactivating memories during sleep by re-exposure to associated memory cues (e.g., odors or sounds) improves memory consolidation. Here, we tested for the first time whether verbal cueing during sleep can improve vocabulary learning. We cued prior learned Dutch words either during non-rapid eye movement sleep (NonREM) or during active or passive waking. Re-exposure to Dutch words during sleep improved later memory for the German translation of the cued words when compared with uncued words. Recall of uncued words was similar to an additional group receiving no verbal cues during sleep. Furthermore, verbal cueing failed to improve memory during active and passive waking. High-density electroencephalographic recordings revealed that successful verbal cueing during NonREM sleep is associated with a pronounced frontal negativity in event-related potentials, a higher frequency of frontal slow waves as well as a cueing-related increase in right frontal and left parietal oscillatory theta power. Our results indicate that verbal cues presented during NonREM sleep reactivate associated memories, and facilitate later recall of foreign vocabulary without impairing ongoing consolidation processes. Likewise, our oscillatory analysis suggests that both sleep-specific slow waves as well as theta oscillations (typically associated with successful memory encoding during wakefulness) might be involved in strengthening memories by cueing during sleep.
Topics: Adult; Analysis of Variance; Association Learning; Brain Mapping; Cues; Electroencephalography; Evoked Potentials; Female; Humans; Male; Mental Recall; Sleep; Verbal Learning; Vocabulary; Young Adult
PubMed: 24962994
DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhu139 -
Neuropsychology, Development, and... Jan 2020Sex is an important factor to consider when evaluating memory with older adults. This present study aimed to examine sex differences in memory within a clinical sample...
Sex is an important factor to consider when evaluating memory with older adults. This present study aimed to examine sex differences in memory within a clinical sample of older adults ( = 1084). Raw learning and recall scores on the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test, Revised (HVLT-R) and Brief Visuospatial Memory Test, Revised (BVMT-R) were compared between sexes within the entire sample and cohorts stratified by age. Within the entire sample, women outperformed men in HVLT-R learning and recall, and there were no sex differences in BVMT-R performance. These sex differences, however, were absent or reversed for those with impaired HVLT-R performance and functional deficits, indicating that women retain an early advantage in verbal memory, which is lost with greater indication of disease severity. These findings indicate that women retain an advantage in verbal learning and memory, at least before significant levels of impairment, within a sample of older adults seen at an outpatient neurology clinic, which may have implications for diagnosing memory disorders.
Topics: Aged; Cognitive Dysfunction; Female; Humans; Male; Mental Recall; Neuropsychological Tests; Severity of Illness Index; Sex Characteristics; Sex Factors; Spatial Memory; Verbal Learning; Visual Perception
PubMed: 30663493
DOI: 10.1080/13825585.2019.1566433 -
International Journal of... Dec 2022Human beings continuously make use of learned associations to generate predictions about future occurrences in the environment. Such memory-related predictive processes...
Human beings continuously make use of learned associations to generate predictions about future occurrences in the environment. Such memory-related predictive processes provide a scaffold for learning in that mental representations of foreseeable events can be adjusted or strengthened based on a specific outcome. Learning the meaning of novel words through picture-word associations constitutes a prime example of associative learning because pictures preceding words can trigger word prediction through the pre-activation of the related mnemonic representations. In the present electroencephalography (EEG) study, we used event-related potentials (ERPs) to compare neural indices of word pre-activation between a word learning condition with maximal prediction likelihood and a non-learning control condition with low prediction. Results revealed that prediction-related N400 amplitudes in response to pictures decreased over time at central electrodes as a function of word learning, whereas late positive component (LPC) amplitudes increased. Notably, N400 but not LPC changes were also predictive of word learning performance, suggesting that the N400 component constitutes a sensitive marker of word pre-activation during associative word learning.
Topics: Humans; Male; Female; Evoked Potentials; Electroencephalography; Semantics; Reaction Time; Verbal Learning
PubMed: 36167179
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2022.09.007 -
Revista Brasileira de Psiquiatria (Sao... Dec 2007The Rey Auditory-Verbal Learning Test is a widely recognized test in neuropsychological literature to evaluate learning and memory. This paper presents the performance...
OBJECTIVE
The Rey Auditory-Verbal Learning Test is a widely recognized test in neuropsychological literature to evaluate learning and memory. This paper presents the performance of six age groups of Brazilian elderly on the Rey Auditory-Verbal Learning Test.
METHOD
A version of the test was developed with a list of high-frequency one-syllable and two-syllable concrete Portuguese substantives. Two hundred and twenty-three subjects of both genders were allocated to 6 age groups (60-64, 65-69; 70-74; 75-79; 80-84 and 85-89 years old) and tested with the Rey Auditory-Verbal Learning Test.
RESULTS
Educational level and age had a positive and a negative correlation, respectively, with performance on the Rey Auditory-Verbal Learning Test. Women performed significantly better than men. Our results were similar to those found for the Rey Auditory-Verbal Learning Test English version, across similar age ranges.
CONCLUSION
Our results suggest that the Brazilian Portuguese Rey Auditory-Verbal Learning Test adaptation was adequate and applicable for evaluating the memory capacity of Brazilian subjects, across similar age and educational levels.
Topics: Age Distribution; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Aging; Analysis of Variance; Brazil; Cross-Cultural Comparison; Educational Status; Female; Humans; Language; Male; Memory; Middle Aged; Neuropsychological Tests; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Sex Distribution; Sex Factors; Space Perception; Verbal Learning
PubMed: 17713697
DOI: 10.1590/s1516-44462006005000053