Working Memory Load Impairs Iowa Gambling Task Performance

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Pang ◽  
Kaileigh A. Byrne ◽  
Darrell Worthy
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Iowa Gambling Task ◽  
Memory Load ◽  
Gambling Task ◽  
Working Memory Load

scholarly journals Effects of working memory load on uncertain decision-making: evidence from the Iowa Gambling Task

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ji-Fang Cui ◽  
Ya Wang ◽  
Hai-Song Shi ◽  
Lu-Lu Liu ◽  
Xing-Jie Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Iowa Gambling Task ◽  
Memory Load ◽  
Gambling Task ◽  
Working Memory Load

Working Memory Involvement in Emotion-Based Processes Underlying Choosing Advantageously

2006 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 191-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Pecchinenda ◽  
Michael Dretsch ◽  
Paul Chapman
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Iowa Gambling Task ◽  
Memory Load ◽  
Gambling Task ◽  
Working Memory Load ◽  
Memory Functions ◽  
Normal Performance

The Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) is widely used to assess decision making under conditions of uncertainty in clinical as well as in nonclinical populations. However, there is still debate as to whether normal performance at this task relies on implicit, emotion-based processes that are independent of working memory. To clarify the role of working memory on normal performance on the IGT, participants performed the task under low or high working memory load. We used a modified version of the original task, in which the position of the four decks was randomized between trials. Results showed that only participants performing under low memory load significantly chose more advantageously halfway through the task. In addition, when comparing the number of cards chosen from the two decks with frequent losses, one advantageous and one disadvantageous, only participants performing under low memory load chose more cards from the advantageous deck. The present findings indicate that the processes underlying optimal advantageous performance on the IGT rely on working memory functions.

scholarly journals Genetic Polymorphisms Regulating Dopamine Signaling in the Frontal Cortex Interact to Affect Target Detection under High Working Memory Load

2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 395-407 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher T. Smith ◽  
Theresa Swift-Scanlan ◽  
Charlotte A. Boettiger
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Frontal Cortex ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Target Detection ◽  
Memory Load ◽  
Adult Population ◽  
False Alarms ◽  
Nucleotide Polymorphisms ◽  
Working Memory Load ◽  
Dopamine Signaling

Frontal-dependent task performance is typically modulated by dopamine (DA) according to an inverted-U pattern, whereby intermediate levels of DA signaling optimizes performance. Numerous studies implicate trait differences in DA signaling based on differences in the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene in executive function task performance. However, little work has investigated genetic variations in DA signaling downstream from COMT. One candidate is the DA- and cAMP-regulated phosphoprotein of molecular weight 32 kDa (DARPP-32), which mediates signaling through the D1-type DA receptor, the dominant DA receptor in the frontal cortex. Using an n-back task, we used signal detection theory to measure performance in a healthy adult population (n = 97) genotyped for single nucleotide polymorphisms in the COMT (rs4680) and DARPP-32 (rs907094) genes. Correct target detection (hits) and false alarms were used to calculate d′ measures for each working memory load (0-, 2-, and 3-back). At the highest load (3-back) only, we observed a significant COMT × DARPP-32 interaction, such that the DARPP-32 T/T genotype enhanced target detection in COMTValVal individuals, but impaired target detection in COMTMet carriers. These findings suggest that enhanced dopaminergic signaling via the DARPP-32 T allele aids target detection in individuals with presumed low frontal DA (COMTValVal) but impairs target detection in those with putatively higher frontal DA levels (COMTMet carriers). Moreover, these data support an inverted-U model with intermediate levels of DA signaling optimizing performance on tasks requiring maintenance of mental representations in working memory.

Visual Search Facilitation in Repeated Displays Depends on Visuospatial Working Memory

2012 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela A. Manginelli ◽  
Franziska Geringswald ◽  
Stefan Pollmann
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Visual Search ◽  
Control Experiment ◽  
Memory Load ◽  
Contextual Cueing ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
Visuospatial Working Memory ◽  
Working Memory Load ◽  
Memory Resources

When distractor configurations are repeated over time, visual search becomes more efficient, even if participants are unaware of the repetition. This contextual cueing is a form of incidental, implicit learning. One might therefore expect that contextual cueing does not (or only minimally) rely on working memory resources. This, however, is debated in the literature. We investigated contextual cueing under either a visuospatial or a nonspatial (color) visual working memory load. We found that contextual cueing was disrupted by the concurrent visuospatial, but not by the color working memory load. A control experiment ruled out that unspecific attentional factors of the dual-task situation disrupted contextual cueing. Visuospatial working memory may be needed to match current display items with long-term memory traces of previously learned displays.

A high working memory load eliminates the numerical distance effect

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin A. Maloney ◽  
Evan F. Risko ◽  
Derek Besner ◽  
Jonathan A. Fugelsang
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Memory Load ◽  
Distance Effect ◽  
Numerical Distance ◽  
Working Memory Load ◽  
Numerical Distance Effect
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