scholarly journals The role of executive processes in working memory deficits in Parkinson’s Disease

2016 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Gruszka ◽  
Daniel Bor ◽  
Roger R. Barker ◽  
Edward Necka ◽  
Adrian M. Owen
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Spatial Working Memory ◽  
Clinical Symptoms ◽  
Memory Load ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Memory Deficits ◽  
Exact Nature

Abstract Idiopathic Parkinson’s disease (PD) impairs working memory, but the exact nature of this deficit in terms of the underlying cognitive mechanisms is not well understood. In this study patients with mild clinical symptoms of PD were compared with matched healthy control subjects on a computerized battery of tests designed to assess spatial working memory and verbal working memory. In the spatial working memory task, subjects were required to recall a sequence of four locations. The verbal working memory task was methodologically identical except for the modality of the stimuli used, requiring subjects to orally recall a sequence of six digits. In either case, half of the sequences were structured in a way that allowed ‘chunking’, while others were unstructured. This manipulation was designed to dissociate the strategic component of task performance from the memory-load component. Mild medicated patients with PD were impaired only on the structured versions of the verbal working memory tasks. The analogous deficit in the spatial working memory was less pronounced. These findings are in agreement with the hypothesis that working memory deficits in PD reflect mainly the executive component of the tasks and that the deficits may be at least partly modality-independent.

scholarly journals Learning to suppress a distractor is not affected by working memory load

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 96-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ya Gao ◽  
Jan Theeuwes
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
High Probability ◽  
Spatial Working Memory ◽  
Memory Load ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Automatic Process ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
Working Memory Load ◽  
Statistical Regularities

AbstractWhere and what we attend to is not only determined by our current goals but also by what we have encountered in the past. Recent studies have shown that people learn to extract statistical regularities in the environment resulting in attentional suppression of high-probability distractor locations, effectively reducing capture by a distractor. Here, we asked whether this statistical learning is dependent on working memory resources. The additional singleton task in which one location was more likely to contain a distractor was combined with a concurrent visual working memory task (Experiment 1) and a spatial working memory task (Experiment 2). The result showed that learning to suppress this high-probability location was not at all affected by working memory load. We conclude that learning to suppress a location is an implicit and automatic process that does not rely on visual or spatial working memory capacity, nor on executive control resources. We speculate that extracting regularities from the environment likely relies on long-term memory processes.

Performance Dissociation during Verbal and Spatial Working Memory Tasks

2007 ◽  
Vol 105 (1) ◽  
pp. 243-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bonnie J. Nagel ◽  
Arthur Ohannessian ◽  
Kevin Cummins
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Spatial Working Memory ◽  
Memory Load ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Neural Substrates ◽  
Individual Performance ◽  
Task Design ◽  
Brain Response ◽  
Working Memory Load

Past research has inconsistently distinguished the neural substrates of various types of working memory. Task design and individual performance differences are known to alter patterns of brain response during working-memory tasks. These task and individual differences may have produced discrepancies in imaging findings. This study of 50 healthy adults ( Mage = 19.6 yr., SD = .8) examined performance during various parametric manipulations of a verbal and spatial n-back working-memory task. Performance systematically dissociated on the basis of working-memory load, working memory type, and stimulus difficulty, with participants having greater accuracy but slower response time during conditions requiring verbal versus spatial working memory. These findings hold implications for cognitive and neuroimaging studies of verbal and spatial working memory and highlight the importance of considering both task design and individual behavior.

scholarly journals Social Skills Intervention Participation and Associated Improvements in Executive Function Performance

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shawn E. Christ ◽  
Janine P. Stichter ◽  
Karen V. O’Connor ◽  
Kimberly Bodner ◽  
Amanda J. Moffitt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Social Competence ◽  
Spatial Working Memory ◽  
Neurodevelopmental Disorder ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Mixing Costs ◽  
Adolescents With Asd

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impairments in social communication. It has been postulated that such difficulties are related to disruptions in underlying cognitive processes such as executive function. The present study examined potential changes in executive function performance associated with participation in the Social Competence Intervention (SCI) program, a short-term intervention designed to improve social competence in adolescents with ASD. Laboratory behavioral performance measures were used to separately evaluate potential intervention-related changes in individual executive function component processes (i.e., working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility) in a sample of 22 adolescents with ASD both before and after intervention. For comparison purposes, a demographically matched sample of 14 individuals without ASD was assessed at identical time intervals. Intervention-related improvements were observed on the working memory task, with gains evident in spatial working memory and, to a slightly lesser degree, verbal working memory. Significant improvements were also found for a working memory-related aspect of the task switching test (i.e., mixing costs). Taken together, these findings provide preliminary support for the hypothesis that participation in the SCI program is accompanied by changes in underlying neurocognitive processes such as working memory.

Spatial working memory deficits and clinical symptoms in schizophrenia: a 4-month follow-up study

1999 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 392-400 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sohee Park ◽  
Jörg Püschel ◽  
Barbara H Sauter ◽  
Markus Rentsch ◽  
Daniel Hell
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Spatial Working Memory ◽  
Clinical Symptoms ◽  
Memory Deficits ◽  
Follow Up Study

The α2 agonist, clonidine, improves spatial working memory performance in Parkinson's disease

Neuroscience ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 92 (3) ◽  
pp. 983-989 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Riekkinen ◽  
P. Jäkälä ◽  
K. Kejonen ◽  
P. Riekkinen
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Spatial Working Memory ◽  
Memory Performance

Spatial and non-spatial working memory at different stages of Parkinson's disease

1997 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 519-532 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian M Owen ◽  
Joanna L Iddon ◽  
John R Hodges ◽  
Beatrice A Summers ◽  
Trevor W Robbins
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Spatial Working Memory

scholarly journals Planning and spatial working memory in Parkinson's disease.

1988 ◽  
Vol 51 (6) ◽  
pp. 757-766 ◽  
Author(s):  
R G Morris ◽  
J J Downes ◽  
B J Sahakian ◽  
J L Evenden ◽  
A Heald ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Spatial Working Memory
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