scholarly journals Deconstructing Procedural Memory: Different Learning Trajectories and Consolidation of Sequence and Statistical Learning

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Simor ◽  
Zsofia Zavecz ◽  
Kata Horváth ◽  
Noémi Éltető ◽  
Csenge Török ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Learning ◽  
Sequence Learning ◽  
Reaction Time Task ◽  
Procedural Memory ◽  
Procedural Learning ◽  
Cortical Oscillations ◽  
Statistical Knowledge ◽  
Practice Performance ◽  
Extended Practice ◽  
Efficient Processing

AbstractProcedural learning is a fundamental cognitive function that facilitates efficient processing of and automatic responses to complex environmental stimuli. Here, we examined training-dependent and off-line changes of two sub-processes of procedural learning: namely, sequence learning and statistical learning. Whereas sequence learning requires the acquisition of order-based relationships between the elements of a sequence, statistical learning is based on the acquisition of probabilistic associations between elements. Seventy-eight healthy young adults (58 females and 20 males) completed the modified version of the Alternating Serial Reaction Time task that was designed to measure Sequence and Statistical Learning simultaneously. After training, participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: active wakefulness, quiet rest, or daytime sleep. We examined off-line changes in Sequence and Statistical Learning as well as further improvements after extended practice. Performance in Sequence Learning increased during training, while Statistical Learning plateaued relatively rapidly. After the off-line period, both the acquired sequence and statistical knowledge was preserved, irrespective of the vigilance state (awake, quiet rest or sleep). Sequence Learning further improved during extended practice, while Statistical Learning did not. Moreover, within the sleep group, cortical oscillations and sleep spindle parameters showed differential associations with Sequence and Statistical Learning. Our findings can contribute to a deeper understanding of the dynamic changes of multiple parallel learning and consolidation processes that occur during procedural memory formation.

scholarly journals Intention to learn differentially affects subprocesses of procedural learning and consolidation: Evidence from a probabilistic sequence learning task

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kata Horváth ◽  
Csenge Török ◽  
Orsolya Pesthy ◽  
Dezso Nemeth ◽  
Karolina Janacsek
Keyword(s):  
Sequence Learning ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Procedural Memory ◽  
Memory Formation ◽  
Procedural Learning ◽  
Learning Performance ◽  
Sequential Order ◽  
Statistical Knowledge ◽  
Statistical Frequency ◽  
Efficient Processing

AbstractProcedural memory facilitates the efficient processing of complex environmental stimuli and contributes to the acquisition of automatic behaviours and habits. Learning can occur intentionally or incidentally, yet, how the mode of learning affects procedural memory is still poorly understood. Importantly, procedural memory is a complex cognitive function composed of different subprocesses, including the acquisition and consolidation of statistical, frequency-based and sequential, order-based knowledge. Therefore, we tested how statistical and sequence knowledge develops during incidental versus intentional procedural memory formation and during consolidation. Seventy-four young adults performed either the uncued, incidental (N = 37) or the cued, intentional (N = 37) version of a probabilistic sequence learning task. Performance was retested after a 12-hour offline period, enabling us to test the effect of sleep on consolidation; therefore, half of the participants slept during the delay, while the other half had normal daily activity (PM-AM versus AM-PM design). The mode of learning (incidental versus intentional) had no effect on the acquisition of statistical knowledge, while intention to learn increased sequence learning performance. Consolidation was not affected by intention to learn: Both statistical and sequence knowledge was retained over the 12-hour delay, irrespective of the mode of learning and whether the delay included sleep or wake activity. These results suggest a time-dependent instead of sleep-dependent consolidation of both statistical and sequence knowledge. Our findings could contribute to a better understanding of how the mode of learning (intentional or incidental) affects procedural memory formation and consolidation.

scholarly journals Divided attention does not affect the acquisition and consolidation of transitional probabilities

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kata Horváth ◽  
Csenge Török ◽  
Orsolya Pesthy ◽  
Dezso Nemeth ◽  
Karolina Janacsek
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Learning ◽  
Divided Attention ◽  
Reaction Time Task ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Second Order ◽  
The Other ◽  
Attentional Processes ◽  
Statistical Knowledge ◽  
Environmental Events ◽  
Transitional Probabilities

AbstractStatistical learning facilitates the efficient processing and prediction of environmental events and contributes to the acquisition of automatic behaviors. Whereas a minimal level of attention seems to be required for learning to occur, it is still unclear how acquisition and consolidation of statistical knowledge are affected when attention is divided during learning. To test the effect of divided attention on statistical learning and consolidation, ninety-six healthy young adults performed the Alternating Serial Reaction Time task in which they incidentally acquired second-order transitional probabilities. Half of the participants completed the task with a concurrent secondary intentional sequence learning task that was applied to the same stimulus stream. The other half of the participants performed the task without any attention manipulation. Performance was retested after a 12-h post-learning offline period. Half of each group slept during the delay, while the other half had normal daily activity, enabling us to test the effect of delay activity (sleep vs. wake) on the consolidation of statistical knowledge. Divided attention had no effect on statistical learning: The acquisition of second-order transitional probabilities was comparable with and without the secondary task. Consolidation was neither affected by divided attention: Statistical knowledge was similarly retained over the 12-h delay, irrespective of the delay activity. Our findings can contribute to a better understanding of the role of attentional processes in and the robustness of visuomotor statistical learning and consolidation.

scholarly journals The Evolution of Chunks in Sequence Learning

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laure Tosatto ◽  
Joël Fagot ◽  
Dezso Nemeth ◽  
Arnaud Rey
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Learning ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Sequence Learning ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Moving Target ◽  
Motor Tasks ◽  
Fixed Sequence ◽  
Extended Practice ◽  
New Evidence ◽  
Papio Papio

AbstractChunking mechanisms are central to several cognitive processes and notably to the acquisition of visuo-motor sequences. Individuals segment sequences into chunks of items to perform visuo-motor tasks more fluidly, rapidly, and accurately. However, the exact dynamics of chunking processes in the case of extended practice remain unclear. Using an operant conditioning device, eighteen Guinea baboons (Papio papio) produced a fixed sequence of nine movements during 1,000 trials by pointing to a moving target on a touch screen. Response times analyses revealed a specific chunking pattern of the sequence for each baboon. More importantly, we found that these patterns evolved during the course of the experiment, with chunks becoming progressively fewer and longer. We identified two chunk reorganization mechanisms: the recombination of preexisting chunks and the concatenation of two distinct chunks into a single one. These results provide new evidence on chunking mechanisms in sequence learning and challenge current models of associative and statistical learning.

scholarly journals Access to Procedural Memories After One Year: Evidence for Robust Memory Consolidation in Tourette Syndrome

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eszter Tóth-Fáber ◽  
Zsanett Tárnok ◽  
Ádám Takács ◽  
Karolina Janacsek ◽  
Dezső Németh
Keyword(s):  
Tourette Syndrome ◽  
Neurodevelopmental Disorder ◽  
Serial Order ◽  
Reaction Time Task ◽  
Procedural Memory ◽  
Procedural Learning ◽  
Order Information ◽  
Procedural Information ◽  
Comparable Performance

Tourette syndrome is a childhood-onset neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by motor and vocal tics. On the neural level, tics are thought to be related to the disturbances of the cortico-basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical loops, which also play an important role in procedural learning. Several studies have investigated the acquisition of procedural information and the access to established procedural information in TS. Based on these, the notion of procedural hyperfunctioning, i.e., enhanced procedural learning, has been proposed. However, one neglected area is the retention of acquired procedural information, especially following a long-term offline period. Here, we investigated the 5-hour and 1-year consolidation of two aspects of procedural memory, namely serial-order and probability-based information. Nineteen children with TS between the ages of 10 and 15 as well as 19 typically developing gender- and age-matched controls were tested on a visuomotor four-choice reaction time task that enables the simultaneous assessment of the two aspects. They were retested on the same task 5 hours and 1 year later without any practice in the offline periods. Both groups successfully acquired and retained the probability-based information both when tested 5 hours and then 1 year later, with comparable performance between the TS and control groups. Children with TS did not acquire the serial-order information during the learning phase; hence, retention could not be reliably tested. Our study showed evidence for short-term and long-term retention of one aspect of procedural memory, namely probability-based information in TS, whereas learning of serial-order information might be impaired in this disorder.

Deficits in Explicit Language Problem Solving Rather Than in Implicit Learning in Specific Language Impairment: Evidence From Learning an Artificial Morphological Rule

2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (10) ◽  
pp. 3790-3807 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Ferman ◽  
Liat Kishon-Rabin ◽  
Hila Ganot-Budaga ◽  
Avi Karni
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Impairment ◽  
Specific Language Impairment ◽  
Explicit Knowledge ◽  
Procedural Memory ◽  
Procedural Learning ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
Language Problems ◽  
Morphological Rule ◽  
Semantic Distinction

Purpose The purpose of this study was to delineate differences between children with specific language impairment (SLI), typical age–matched (TAM) children, and typical younger (TY) children in learning and mastering an undisclosed artificial morphological rule (AMR) through exposure and usage. Method Twenty-six participants (eight 10-year-old children with SLI, 8 TAM children, and ten 8-year-old TY children) were trained to master an AMR across multiple training sessions. The AMR required a phonological transformation of verbs depending on a semantic distinction: whether the preceding noun was animate or inanimate. All participants practiced the application of the AMR to repeated and new (generalization) items, via judgment and production tasks. Results The children with SLI derived significantly less benefit from practice than their peers in learning most aspects of the AMR, even exhibiting smaller gains compared to the TY group in some aspects. Children with SLI benefited less than TAM and even TY children from training to judge and produce repeated items of the AMR. Nevertheless, despite a significant disadvantage in baseline performance, the rate at which they mastered the task-specific phonological regularities was as robust as that of their peers. On the other hand, like 8-year-olds, only half of the SLI group succeeded in uncovering the nature of the AMR and, consequently, in generalizing it to new items. Conclusions Children with SLI were able to learn language aspects that rely on implicit, procedural learning, but experienced difficulties in learning aspects that relied on the explicit uncovering of the semantic principle of the AMR. The results suggest that some of the difficulties experienced by children with SLI when learning a complex language regularity cannot be accounted for by a broad, language-related, procedural memory disability. Rather, a deficit—perhaps a developmental delay in the ability to recruit and solve language problems and establish explicit knowledge regarding a language task—can better explain their difficulties in language learning.

Dissociation between two aspects of procedural learning in Tourette syndrome: Enhanced statistical and impaired sequence learning

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
Eszter Tóth-Fáber ◽  
Zsanett Tárnok ◽  
Karolina Janacsek ◽  
Andrea Kóbor ◽  
Péter Nagy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tourette Syndrome ◽  
Sequence Learning ◽  
Procedural Learning

THE RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY OF PROCEDURAL MEMORY ASSESSMENTS USED IN SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION RESEARCH

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
Joshua Buffington ◽  
Alexander P. Demos ◽  
Kara Morgan-Short
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Time ◽  
Discriminant Validity ◽  
Declarative Memory ◽  
Reliability And Validity ◽  
Reaction Time Task ◽  
Serial Reaction Time Task ◽  
Procedural Memory ◽  
Learning Ability ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Serial Reaction

Abstract Evidence for the role of procedural memory in second language (L2) acquisition has emerged in our field. However, little is known about the reliability and validity of the procedural memory measures used in this research. The present study (N = 119) examined the reliability and the convergent and discriminant validity of three assessments that have previously been used to examine procedural memory learning ability in L2 acquisition, the dual-task Weather Prediction Task (DT-WPT), the Alternating Serial Reaction Time Task (ASRT), and the Tower of London (TOL). Measures of declarative memory learning ability were also collected. For reliability, the DT-WPT and TOL tasks met acceptable standards. For validity, an exploratory factor analysis did not provide evidence for convergent validity, but the ASRT and the TOL showed reasonable discriminant validity with declarative memory measures. We argue that the ASRT may provide the purest engagement of procedural memory learning ability, although more reliable dependent measures for this task should be considered. The Serial Reaction Time task also appears promising, although we recommend further consideration of this task as the present analyses were post hoc and based on a smaller sample. We discuss these results regarding the assessment of procedural memory learning ability as well as implications for implicit language aptitude.

scholarly journals THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF IMPLICIT-STATISTICAL LEARNING APTITUDE TO IMPLICIT SECOND-LANGUAGE KNOWLEDGE

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-29
Author(s):  
Aline Godfroid ◽  
Kathy MinHye Kim
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Reaction Time ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Statistical Learning ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Reaction Time Task ◽  
Implicit Knowledge ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Language Tests ◽  
Language Knowledge

Abstract This study addresses the role of domain-general mechanisms in second-language learning and knowledge using an individual differences approach. We examine the predictive validity of implicit-statistical learning aptitude for implicit second-language knowledge. Participants (n = 131) completed a battery of four aptitude measures and nine grammar tests. Structural equation modeling revealed that only the alternating serial reaction time task (a measure of implicit-statistical learning aptitude) significantly predicted learners’ performance on timed, accuracy-based language tests, but not their performance on reaction-time measures. These results inform ongoing debates about the nature of implicit knowledge in SLA: they lend support to the validity of timed, accuracy-based language tests as measures of implicit knowledge. Auditory and visual statistical learning were correlated with medium strength, while the remaining implicit-statistical learning aptitude measures were not correlated, highlighting the multicomponential nature of implicit-statistical learning aptitude and the corresponding need for a multitest approach to assess its different facets.

Contribution of the Premotor Cortex to Consolidation of Motor Sequence Learning in Humans During Sleep

2010 ◽  
Vol 104 (5) ◽  
pp. 2603-2614 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael A. Nitsche ◽  
Michaela Jakoubkova ◽  
Nivethida Thirugnanasambandam ◽  
Leonie Schmalfuss ◽  
Sandra Hullemann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Time ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Rem Sleep ◽  
Sequence Learning ◽  
Memory Consolidation ◽  
Primary Motor Cortex ◽  
Premotor Cortex ◽  
Reaction Time Task ◽  
Motor Memory ◽  
Motor Sequence

Motor learning and memory consolidation require the contribution of different cortices. For motor sequence learning, the primary motor cortex is involved primarily in its acquisition. Premotor areas might be important for consolidation. In accordance, modulation of cortical excitability via transcranial DC stimulation (tDCS) during learning affects performance when applied to the primary motor cortex, but not premotor cortex. We aimed to explore whether premotor tDCS influences task performance during motor memory consolidation. The impact of excitability-enhancing, -diminishing, or placebo premotor tDCS during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep on recall in the serial reaction time task (SRTT) was explored in healthy humans. The motor task was learned in the evening. Recall was performed immediately after tDCS or the following morning. In two separate control experiments, excitability-enhancing premotor tDCS was performed 4 h after task learning during daytime or immediately before conduction of a simple reaction time task. Excitability-enhancing tDCS performed during REM sleep increased recall of the learned movement sequences, when tested immediately after stimulation. REM density was enhanced by excitability-increasing tDCS and reduced by inhibitory tDCS, but did not correlate with task performance. In the control experiments, tDCS did not improve performance. We conclude that the premotor cortex is involved in motor memory consolidation during REM sleep.

scholarly journals Convergent and Distinct Effects of Multisensory Combination on Statistical Learning Using a Computer Glove

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher R. Madan ◽  
Anthony Singhal
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Learning ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
Explicit Knowledge ◽  
Reaction Time Task ◽  
Musical Instrument ◽  
Implicit Knowledge ◽  
Auditory Cues ◽  
Motor Movements ◽  
Explicit And Implicit Knowledge ◽  
Single Modality

Learning to play a musical instrument involves mapping visual + auditory cues to motor movements and anticipating transitions. Inspired by the serial reaction time task and artificial grammar learning, we investigated explicit and implicit knowledge of statistical learning in a sensorimotor task. Using a between-subjects design with four groups, one group of participants were provided with visual cues and followed along by tapping the corresponding fingertip to their thumb, while using a computer glove. Another group additionally received accompanying auditory tones; the final two groups received sensory (visual or visual + auditory) cues but did not provide a motor response—all together following a 2 × 2 design. Implicit knowledge was measured by response time, whereas explicit knowledge was assessed using probe tests. Findings indicate that explicit knowledge was best with only the single modality, but implicit knowledge was best when all three modalities were involved.

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