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Schematic representations of the six verbal span tasks. The three left panels show the simple working memory tasks requiring storage of digits, letters, and words. The three right panels show the corresponding complex working memory tasks requiring storage of digits, letters, and words, but also require processing irrelevant verbal information interleaved between the presentations of each primary memory item. The actual sentences in the Reading Span task were 7 to 10 words; simplified versions are shown here for purposes of illustration. Also note that the participant stated each memory item aloud as it appeared on the screen in both the simple and complex versions of the task.
Source publication
The present study addresses three questions regarding age differences in working memory: (1) whether performance on complex span tasks decreases as a function of age at a faster rate than performance on simple span tasks; (2) whether spatial working memory decreases at a faster rate than verbal working memory; and (3) whether the structure of worki...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... Domain-Three simple verbal span tasks were administered: Digit Span, Letter Span, and Word Span (see the left-hand panels of Figure 1). Each item appeared for 1500 ms, followed by a blank screen for 500 ms. ...
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This study addressed the respective contributions of inhibition and working memory to two underlying components of flexibility, goal representation (as assessed by mixing costs) and switch implementation (as assessed by local costs), across the preschool period. By later preschool age (4 years, 6 months and 5 years, 3 months), both inhibition and w...
Citations
... Alternative Explanation: Long-Term Memory Account of Age Differences in WM An LTM account suggests that switching attention away from an item, and passively retaining and reactivating such latent items back into the focus of attention, involves episodic LTM retrieval processes, even for small amounts of information maintained over delays of only a few seconds (Beukers et al., 2021;Foster et al., 2024;Greene et al., 2020;Hale et al., 2011;Rose, 2020). If that was the case for this WM task, an alternative explanation for the current findings could be attributed to older adults' deficiencies with episodic LTM, such as deficient feature-binding or sourcemonitoring abilities (Henkel et al., 1998). ...
Age-related differences in working memory (WM) can be large, but the exact sources are unclear. We hypothesized that young adults outperform older adults on WM tasks because they use controlled attention processes to prioritize the maintenance of relevant information in WM in a proactive mode, whereas older adults tend to rely on the strength of familiarity signals to make memory decisions in a reactive mode. We used a WM task that cued participants to prioritize one item over others and presented repeated lure probes that cause errors when one is engaged in a reactive mode. Results showed that, relative to young adults with full attention available to use proactive control during the delays, older adults with full attention (and young adults with divided attention) during the delays had exaggerated error rates to repeated lure probes compared to control probes. When the amount of proactive interference was increased (by repeating stimuli across trials), older adults were able to engage in proactive control, and this eliminated their exaggerated error rate (while young adults with divided attention could not). These results provide evidence for a dual mechanisms of control account of age differences in WM.
... Beyond temporarily helping you remember a phone number until you can write it down, WM also supports a wide range of cognitive functions that are fundamental to many everyday tasks, such as decision-making, problemsolving, medication adherence, and language comprehension [1][2][3][4] . Given its functional importance and its vulnerability to age-related decline 5 , cognitive training to improve WM function has become a focus of research. The hope is that by improving WM, executive functions will also improve, which could mitigate cognitive aging. ...
... A total of seven letters were shown in each 28s OSPAN block. The OSPAN blocks were always followed by 21 s Serial Recognition (R) epochs, in which participants identified the letter shown in each serial position (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7), by choosing between four letters across seven prompts. During the Math condition, participants also viewed math equations and judged if each was correct, but an asterisk was shown in between the equations instead of a letter (shown for the same duration as the letter). ...
Working memory (WM), the temporary mental storage and manipulation of information, is a skill that can improve with training. Sleep, and specifically slow oscillations (SOs), has been linked with WM improvement, yet it is unknown how processing during SOs modulates WM function across sleep. The current study examines how WM-related neural processing changes with sleep, and how these changes are related to activity during SOs. To do so, participants performed a WM task during fMRI before and after sleep, and the first 2.5 hrs of sleep was monitored by simultaneous EEG-fMRI. Reliable overnight changes in WM-related activity patterns were found, with reduced recruitment of the dorsal precuneus after compared to before sleep. Moreover, greater neural activation during SOs was associated with reduced overnight recruitment during WM across multiple levels of analysis. Our findings highlight the important role of SOs, elucidating how SOs may support changes in WM function across sleep.
... Episodic memory losses are closely related to age-related structural and functional changes in brain regions such as the prefrontal cortex, medial temporal lobe, parietal lobe, cingulate gyrus, and cerebellum (Tromp et al. 2015). Additionally, it is known that working memory functions also significantly decline with age (Park et al. 2002, Borella et al. 2008, Hale et al. 2011). The cognitive system of working memory permits the storage and active processing of a specific amount of information (Baddeley et al. 2020). ...
... Working memory is one of the cognitive areas with the highest deterioration in the aging process (Park et al. 2002, Borella et al. 2008, Hale et al. 2011. Standard working memory tasks such as verbal or non-verbal spatial tests or N-back tasks are mostly used in training to improve working memory. ...
Aging is a life stage in which progressive deterioration occurs in biological, psychological, and socio-cultural processes. Therefore, along with all the other changes observed in aging, cognitive change is inevitable. In older adulthood, the speed of processing information, the ability to remember contextual information such as where and when events occur, and executive function performance are impaired. Moreover, this change in cognitive processes causes the deterioration of functionality in daily life. Although it is well known that physical activity, nutrition, and social support play a key role in preventing the adverse effects of aging, the impact of cognitive training and rehabilitation have been relatively less studied. This review aims to examine cognitive training and rehabilitation practices applied to different cognitive processes (episodic memory, working memory, executive functions, attention and processing speed) to help compensate for or regain cognitive functions that are impaired in older adults. In this context, the effectiveness of the practices, the transfer of gains to different cognitive areas, and whether they are preserved for long periods were examined. The contribution of conscious and systematic practices, such as cognitive training and rehabilitation, in reducing the adverse effects of aging has been discussed.
... Executive functioning is particularly developed in humans compared to other animals, and is important for performing everyday tasks ranging from getting dressed, following a recipe, driving a car to more complex problems [7]. During adulthood, executive function declines with age along with several other cognitive domains [8][9][10]. Furthermore, executive function is commonly affected across a wide range of neurological and psychological disorders such as dementia (particularly fronto-temporal dementia), stroke, and head trauma [11][12][13][14]. ...
... Sleep efficiency (SE) (time spent asleep between first falling asleep and waking in the morning) decreases from 89 to 79% from middle age to 70 years old, and the change accelerates over the age of 70 [87]. Given there is concurrent cognitive decline naturally in this time [8][9][10], parsing out the effect of sleep and other factors is difficult but important. ...
Purpose of Review
To review the literature examining the relationship between sleep and cognition, specifically examining the sub-domain of executive function. We explore the impact of sleep deprivation and the important question of how much sleep is required for optimal cognitive performance. We consider how other sleep metrics, such as sleep quality, may be a more meaningful measure of sleep. We then discuss the putative mechanisms between sleep and cognition followed by their contribution to developing dementia.
Recent Findings
Sleep duration and executive function display a quadratic relationship. This suggests an optimal amount of sleep is required for daily cognitive processes. Poor sleep efficiency and sleep fragmentation are linked with poorer executive function and increased risk of dementia during follow-up. Sleep quality may therefore be more important than absolute duration. Biological mechanisms which may underpin the relationship between sleep and cognition include brain structural and functional changes as well as disruption of the glymphatic system.
Summary
Sleep is an important modifiable lifestyle factor to improve daily cognition and, possibly, reduce the risk of developing dementia. The impact of optimal sleep duration and sleep quality may have important implications for every ageing individual.
... Working memory is the cognitive system responsible for temporarily holding information and using it for the execution of cognitive tasks, and is related to information processing, comprehension, problem-solving, and learning [17]. Prior research has shown that older adults are likely to experience a decline in working memory [11,[18][19][20][21][22], with Elliott et al. [19] reporting that older adults experienced increased difficulty across all working memory tasks in their study. A decline in working memory can affect performance on a learning task, such as not being able to remember instructions [23], or not being able to assess relationships between pieces of information or create new associations. ...
Ageing is accompanied by a multitude of changes in cognitive abilities, which in turn affect learning. Learning collaboratively may benefit older adults by negating some of these age-related changes. However, studies on collaborative learning in older age differ in their methodology and findings. This systematic review provides an overview of the current research on collaborative learning in older age, exploring what factors influence collaborative learning in this age group. The titles and abstracts of imported 6629 works were screened, as well as four works added manually, which resulted in 29 studies. These studies were conducted across five countries (Canada, United States, United Kingdom, Switzerland and Belgium) between 1993 and 2023. Most studies were quantitative with a non-randomized (n = 16) design. Of the 29 studies, almost all studied collaboration in pairs (n = 28). The results suggest that the benefits of collaborating in older age may depend on the type of learning material, that familiarity between partners does not affect learning, and that age differences appear to decrease or disappear when older adults are provided with adequate time or trials. In addition, this systematic review identifies several gaps in the literature that future research should investigate further. This study was preregistered prior to its commencement on 21 January 2022. The accepted Stage 1 manuscript, unchanged from the point of in-principle acceptance, may be viewed at https://osf.io/tj4w7/. The data and materials of this study can be found at https://osf.io/8xvqf/.
... To obtain a relatively homogeneous sample and reduce other potentially confounding factors associated with cognitive abilities, we recruited participants aged between 18 and 32 years. This age range was chosen because, according to Hale et al. (2011), the basic multi-components of working memory tend to persist in adulthood. Furthermore, to avoid gender differences, only male participants were included. ...
Performance pressure and caffeine consumption, a common combination in daily life, have both been shown to affect cognitive performance. However, previous research has not fully elucidated the extent to which the effects of caffeine and performance pressure impact cognitive function, especially working memory. This study aims to examine the possibility that caffeine can enhance working memory performance under pressure. A total of 61 participants aged 18 to 32 participated, divided into four groups. Experiment-based data collection was conducted with a single-blind design. Working memory was measured by Modular Arithmetic Tasks with the OpenSesame program. All participants were asked to perform arithmetic tasks and arousal levels were measured using the Galvanic Skin Response (GSR). The findings revealed no evidence of an interaction effect of caffeine intake and performance pressure on working memory (F= .632, p= .431,hp2= .012). Given the prevalence of caffeine intake prior to facing high-pressure situations, the consumption of a cup of coffee does not improve cognitive performance as many would expect. However, caffeine intake had a stabilizing effect on the skin conductance response values during performance under pressure. Clinical psychologists can use a daily dose of caffeine as an alternative intervention or preventative measure to help patients reduce performance pressure-related anxiety.
... In contrast, in McNab et al. (2008) the flanker effect was strongly associated with spatial but not verbal WM. It is therefore important to assess different types of WM to better understand how each of them relates to different inhibitory functions, especially as age-related deficits in WM appear to be domain-specific (Jenkins et al., 2000), with performance on spatial WM tasks deteriorating at a faster rate than performance on verbal WM tasks (Hale et al., 2011). ...
... We used forward, backward, and addition digit span tasks (based on the subscale of the Wechsler Memory Scale III) to measure the functioning of the verbal WM system, and forward and backward spatial span tasks to measure the functioning of the spatial WM system (Forsyth et al., 2016;White et al., 2018White et al., , 2019White et al., , 2020. Although performance on forward span tasks is often considered a measure of STM and performance on backward and addition span tasks a measure of WM as these require manipulation of information in STM stores (Hester et al., 2004), it has been argued that all of these span tasks tap components of the WM system (albeit to different degrees; Hale et al., 2011). For this reason, and to fit with previous research comparing inhibitory functioning in participants with varying levels of WM ability, in the current study we used combined forward and backward scores as a measure of WM ability (Kiefer et al., 2005). ...
... For this reason, and to fit with previous research comparing inhibitory functioning in participants with varying levels of WM ability, in the current study we used combined forward and backward scores as a measure of WM ability (Kiefer et al., 2005). Consistent with previous findings, we expected performance deficits in older compared to young adults to be greater for the spatial than verbal WM tasks (Hale et al., 2011). ...
Debate persists regarding the nature of age-related deficits in inhibition, and whether inhibitory functioning depends on working memory systems. The current research aimed to measure age-related differences in inhibition and working memory, characterize the relationship between inhibitory functions and working memory performance, and determine how these relationships are affected by age. Toward these ends, we measured performance on a range of established paradigms in 60 young adults (18-30 years) and 60 older adults (60-88 years). Our findings support age-related increases in reflexive inhibition (based on the fixation offset effect and inhibition of return) and age-related decrements in volitional inhibition (based on several paradigms: antisaccade, Stroop, flanker, and Simon). This evidence of stronger reflexive inhibition combined with weaker volitional inhibition suggests that age-related deterioration of cortical structures may allow subcortical structures to operate less controlled. Regarding working memory, older adults had lower backward digit scores and lower forward and backward spatial scores. However, of the 32 analyses (16 in each age group) that tested for dependence of inhibitory functioning on working memory functioning, only one (in young adults) indicated that inhibition performance significantly depended on working memory performance. These results indicate that inhibition and working memory function largely independently in both age groups, and age-related working memory difficulties cannot account for age-related declines in inhibitory control.
... The most affected cognitive functions are working memory and executive functions 4 . These changes are gradual and expressed when the elderly person has difficulty combining new information with long-term memory, controlling attention, and responding effectively to complex problems 4,5 . Evidence from randomized studies proves that the promotion of cognitive health is capable of increasing the cognitive reserve of the elderly, suggesting that even neuroanatomical differences can be influenced, to some extent, by environmental factors 6,7 . ...
Group cognitive interventions can promote a sense of self-efficacy to older adults. Due to restrictive social distancing measures in the COVID-19 pandemic, face-to-face interventions that aimed to promote cognitive health needed to be adapted to a virtual offering.
Objectives
This study aimed to analyze the effects of promoting cognitive health in a virtual group intervention for community-living older adults.
Methods
This is a mixed, prospective, and analytical study. Before and after the intervention, the tests were applied: Brief Cognitive Screening Battery (BCSB) and the Subjective Memory Complaints Questionnaire (MAC-Q). Data were collected at semi-structured interviews related to the adoption of memory strategies. Statistical tests were conducted for initial and final intragroup comparison. The qualitative data were assessed using thematic analysis.
Results
A total of 14 participants concluded the intervention. With respect to mnemonic strategies, the most relevant for the qualifier “Did not use it before and started to do so after the group” were association (n=10; 71.4%) and dual-task inhibition (n=9; 64.3%). According to the tests, the intervention improved incidental, immediate, and delayed recall, as well as the perception of memory for “Remembering the name of the person they just met,” “Remembering the telephone number you use at least once a week,” “Remembering where they put an object,” “Remembering news from a magazine article or television program,” and “In general, how would you describe your memory now compared to when you were 40 years old.”
Conclusions
The synchronous virtual group intervention was shown to be feasible for the elderly in the community who participated in the study.
Keywords:
Aged; Cognition; Remote Consultation; COVID-19
... Yet, overall, certain cognitive abilities decline in late life (Gauthier et al., 2006;Salthouse, 2004;Verhaeghen & Salthouse, 1997). This includes, notably, executive function (e.g., Ferguson et al., 2021;Hale et al., 2011;Park & Bischof, 2013), which makes it possible to mentally work through ideas, take time to think before acting, meet novel challenges, resist temptations, and stay focused (Diamond, 2013). Executive function is central to many cognitive abilities, such as working memory (i.e., the ability to hold in mind and manipulate mental representations), inhibition (i.e., the ability to stop automatic thoughts or actions from occurring), and verbal fluency (i.e., the ability to generate language and language-based ideas; Diamond, 2013). ...
Emotional acceptance is thought to play an important role in protecting mental health. However, few studies have examined emotional acceptance among older adults who may experience declines in functioning, including executive functioning. The present laboratory-based study examined whether emotional acceptance and (to determine specificity) detachment and positive reappraisal moderated links between executive functioning and mental health symptoms in a sample of healthy older adults. Emotion regulation strategies were measured using questionnaire-based measures (using established questionnaires) as well as performance-based measures (instructing individuals to use emotional acceptance, detachment, and positive reappraisal in response to sad film clips). Executive functioning was measured using a battery of working memory, inhibition, and verbal fluency tasks. Mental health symptoms were measured using questionnaires to assess anxiety and depressive symptoms. Results showed that (a) emotional acceptance moderated the link between executive functioning and mental health such that lower executive functioning predicted higher levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms at low but not at high levels of emotional acceptance. Moderation effects tended to be (b) stronger for emotional acceptance compared to the other emotion regulation strategies (though not all comparisons were statistically significant). Findings were (c) robust when controlling for age, gender, and education for questionnaire-based (but not performance-based) emotional acceptance. These findings contribute to the literature on emotion regulation specificity and highlight the mental health benefits of emotional acceptance in the face of low executive functioning.
... There are two versions of the Seven Deadly Sins of Human Memory. The first paper, written by Schacter in 1999, investigated how memory biases can get us into trouble [15]. He categorizes memory errors into seven basic sins: transience, absentmindedness, blocking, misattribution, suggestibility, bias, and persistence. ...
Memory is the basis of learning and work for humans, and is generally divided into short-term memory, working memory and long-term memory. The current study demonstrates the physiological basis of neuronal memory formation and processing. However, neuron theory cannot explain all human memory phenomena. There is also a lot of controversy about the relevant assumptions. Memory is an important aspect of human brain biology, and many researchers have spent their entire lives studying the components of memory. Over the past few years, a number of articles have appeared on memory that is critical to anyone learning memory and should be of interest. Memory, as an important aspect of human life to work and learn in this world, is receiving increasing attention, focusing on its function and utilization. The authors review the literature on memory decay and chunking techniques through targeted articles on many aspects of human memory. In recent developments, the author will talk about chunking, learning and synaptic plasticity.
