The influence of levels of processing on recall from working memory and delayed recall tasks.

Recent research in working memory has highlighted the similarities involved in retrieval from complex span tasks and episodic memory tasks, suggesting that these tasks are influenced by similar memory processes. In the present article, the authors manipulated the level of processing engaged when studying to-be-remembered words during a reading span task (Experiment 1) and an operation span task (Experiment 2) in order to assess the role of retrieval from secondary memory during complex span tasks. Immediate recall from both span tasks was greater for items studied under deep processing instructions compared with items studied under shallow processing instructions regardless of trial length. Recall was better for deep than for shallow levels of processing on delayed recall tests as well. These data are consistent with the primary-secondary memory framework, which suggests that to-be-remembered items are displaced from primary memory (i.e., the focus of attention) during the processing phases of complex span tasks and therefore must be retrieved from secondary memory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development of the ability to distinguish between comprehension and memory: Evidence from strategy-selection tasks.

Four experiments investigated developmental changes in children's knowledge about the types of strategies that are appropriate for achieving the goals of comprehension or memorization. We assessed 1st and 3rd graders' recognition of the differential effectiveness of a memorization strategy (repetition) and a comprehension strategy (pictorial clarification of problematic words) for achieving memorization (verbatim recall of block-building instructions) or comprehension (following instructions for constructing a block building). Only 3rd graders distinguished between comprehension and memorization by consistently selecting the more effective strategy for both memorization and comprehension. Children's ability to distinguish between comprehension and memory in their strategy selections may depend, in part, on whether the context provides clear, concrete, overt, behavioral criteria for defining memorization and comprehension as distinct goals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Young children's knowledge of the relative difficulty of recognition and recall memory tasks.

16 kindergarten and 16 1st-grade children were told stories about twins who were given recognition and recall memory tasks; Ss judged which of the twins remembered more of identical sets of to-be-remembered items. Contrary to the implications of other recent work, it was found that a number of Ss gave clear evidence that they believe recognition tasks to be easier than recall tasks. It is argued that this item of acquired metamemory may be important in the later development of the retrieval strategy of converting recall tasks into recognition tasks. (2 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of task-specific instructions on the picture memory of children in recall and recognition tasks.

A total of 72 kindergartners and 2nd and 5th graders were assigned to either a recall-specific instruction group or a remember instruction group to determine the developmental stage at which children are able to fashion stimulus encoding and/or storage activities so as to effectively meet the demands of an anticipated recall or recognition task. Results indicate that at least by age 11 (Grade 5), some recall-specific mediational capabilities have been developed and can be used effectively to facilitate performance in an anticipated recall task. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development of the ability to distinguish between comprehension and memory: Evidence from goal-state evaluation tasks.

Three experiments investigated developmental changes in children's ability to monitor and evaluate memorization and comprehension. First and 3rd graders rated the perceived difficulty of memorization (verbatim recall) and comprehension (block-building construction) after engaging in (a) a memory strategy (rote repetition) or a comprehension strategy (pictorial clarification of unfamiliar words; Exp 1); (b) no strategy or repetition (Exp 2); and (c) no strategy or clarification (Exp 3). In Exp 1, children recognized that clarification aided construction more than recall, but not that repetition aided recall more than construction. In Exp 2, children recognized that repetition aided recall but not construction. In Exp 3, children recognized that clarification aided construction more than recall. Thus, by 1st grade, children are sensitive to some aspects of the comprehension-memory distinction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attention and recognition memory in the 1st year of life: A longitudinal study of preterm and full-term infants.

Several aspects of visual attention and their implications for recognition memory were examined in a longitudinal sample of full-term and preterm (birth weight?     

Heroin impairs map-picture-following and memory tasks dependent on gender and orientation of the tasks.

Male and female heroin-dependent patients (HDPs) matched with "normal" people were tested on 4 topographical orientation tasks: schematic map-following, map-memory, schematic picture-following, and picture-memory tasks. The results showed that, in general, female HDPs demonstrated greater performance deficits in map-following and map-picture-memory tasks than did other participants. In the map-picture-following tasks, participants showed a preference for turning right versus turning left, reflected by lower correct scores and longer latencies in completing left-oriented tasks. In contrast, no difference in orientation preference was found for participants in memory tasks, except for female HDPs. Asymmetric dopamine receptor distribution in the brain, sex steroidal hormone, brain areas related to motor functioning and working memory, and gender-dependent lateralization may be involved in the different effects of heroin and rightward bias between men and women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Analyses of response patterns clarify lead effects in olfactory reversal and extradimensional shift tasks: Assessment of inhibitory control, associative ability, and memory.

Rats exposed to lead (Pb) chronically from conception were tested on (a) an olfactory serial reversal task, and (b) an extradimensional shift (EDS) task. Pb exposure did not impair learning of the original olfactory discrimination but did impair learning of the 5 reversals and the EDS task. In the reversals, Pb exposure tended to shorten the initial period of persistent responding to the previously correct cue, but significantly prolonged the postperseverative learning phase (both the "chance" and "greater-than-chance" components). These effects are similar to those produced by lesions of the amygdala, a structure implicated in the process by which stimuli acquire incentive value. This similarity, coupled with the pattern of findings, suggests that Pb-induced impairment of reversal learning is due to a deficiency in learning the new contingencies of the task (an associative deficit), not inflexibility or deficient inhibitory control. These findings also illustrate the importance of analyzing the types of errors committed, rather than focusing solely on learning rate. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of decision making by group members on recall of finished and unfinished tasks.

The hypothesis is suggested that as a result of decision making, motivational energy tends to be channeled into action which may be indexed by the tendency to recall unfinished tasks; and in the absence of decision making, motivational energy tends to be channeled into wish fulfillment which may be indexed by the tendency to recall finished tasks. The data presented tend to support this hypothesis. 20 references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Binding, relational memory, and recall of naturalistic events: A developmental perspective.

This research was an investigation of children's performance on a task that requires memory binding. In Experiments 1 and 2, 4-year-olds, 6-year-olds, and adults viewed complex pictures and were tested on memory for isolated parts in the pictures and on the part combinations (combination condition). The results suggested improvement in memory for the combinations between the ages of 4 and 6 years but not in memory for the isolated parts. In Experiments 2 and 3, the authors also examined the developmental relationship between performance in the combination condition and free recall of a naturalistic event, finding preliminary evidence that performance on a memory task that requires binding is positively related to performance in episodic memory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of subject-generated and experimenter-provided memory tags on free recall.

64 children from Grades 2 and 5 participated in a recall task. There were 4 instructional conditions distinguished by the type of retrieval cue: sign, subcategory, supracategory, and control. The task required that the Ss image and recall items from 6 successively presented sets of categorized pictorial stimuli. These categories, however, were not mentioned; instead, a sign representing an activity for each set was emphasized as the retrieval cue. Significant effects of grade and of condition, favoring the subcategory condition, were determined by ANOVA. The results, based upon total recall as well as items-per-category and category recall, are discussed in relation to E. Tulving and M. J. Watkins's (see record 1975-26816-001) encoding specificity principle, A. Paivio's (1971) 2-process theory of memory, and F. I. Craik and R. S. Lockhart's (see record 1973-20189-001) levels-of-processing approach to memory. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of orienting tasks on the recall and recognition performance of subjects differing in age.

Investigated the recall and recognition performance of 498 adults in 3 age groups (20–39, 40–59, and 60–80 yrs) following different orienting-task requirements. It was demonstrated that young and old adults are differentially affected by task requirements. The youngest group was disproportionately benefited by an orienting task that involved semantic processing. Results support the notion of an age-related processing deficit. (3 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Implicit memory: Effects of network size and interconnectivity on cued recall.

Previous findings have indicated that the recall of a recently studied word is affected by how many associates it has in long-term memory (set size). The purpose of these experiments was to determine whether recall is also affected by the connectivity of these associates. Studied words were preselected to represent combinations of set size and connectivity and, in different experiments, recall was cued with extralist or intralist cues and with cues sharing few or many associates with the studied words. Effects of study time, encoding context, and levels of processing were also investigated. The results indicated that recall was more likely for words with smaller associative sets and for words with more interconnected sets of associates. These findings demonstrate that the recall of a recently presented word in the presence of a retrieval cue is affected by both the size and organization of its implicitly activated associative structure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dyadic performance on two tasks as a function of task difficulty, work strategy, and member ability.

Replicated the manipulation of divided and shared labor used in previous studies by the present author (see PA, Vol 49:1265 and Vol 51:2005), while varying task difficulty and member ability in order to examine their combined effects upon dyadic performance on 2 tasks: analogies and crossword puzzles. Ss were 72 US Army enlisted men; 54 had a mean of 12.4 yrs of education, and 18 were technicians with a mean of 3.6 yrs of higher education. Dividing labor was found to be more efficient in terms of man-hours to a performance criterion, but sharing labor was more effective (i.e., it produced greater total performance). The efficiency effect was more pronounced on the analogies tasks, while the effectiveness findings were more pronounced on the crossword puzzles. Results occurred across task difficulty and group ability. The hypothesis that task difficulty would indicate the importance of ability redundancy on group performance was not supported. Differences in the performance curves for the 2 tasks are discussed in terms of the role of feedback regarding the adequacy of a response to the task. It is suggested that a distinction be made between task difficulty and task complementarity when considering the effects of ability redundancy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of structure and clustering on recall and recognition memory in clinical depression.

Compared retrieval of high, medium, and low structured material, using word lists consisting of uncategorized words and categorized words presented in randomized and clustered order. Clinically depressed Ss were found to be significantly impaired relative to controls only on the medium level of structure and the randomized categories list when measured by free recall. There were no effects of group nor any interactions for recognition memory, although there was a main effect for group on d′ when signal detection analysis was applied. The implications of the findings for models of memory deficits in depression are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Postnatal changes of leptin levels in full-term and preterm neonates: their relation to intrauterine growth, gender and testosterone

The present study was carried out to investigate leptin levels in arterial and venous cord serum and in amniotic fluid in full-term infants at birth and on the 5th postnatal day to define the relationship of leptin to intrauterine growth rate, gender and early postnatal life. The relation of weight gain to serum leptin levels in male preterm infants was determined measuring leptin concentration weekly in the first 5 postnatal weeks. Testosterone levels were determined simultaneously to explore a possible relationship between leptin and testosterone concentrations. Fifty-three term newborn infants with mean birth weight and gestational age of 3,419 g (range 2,150-4,480) and 38.9 weeks (range 36-41) and 19 preterm male infants (mean birth weight and gestational age were 1,416 g (770-1,800) and 30.2 weeks (26-35) were enrolled into the study. Leptin and testosterone levels were determined by radioimmunoassay. It was demonstrated that serum leptin levels were markedly elevated in the cord blood without discernible arteriovenous differences. Cord blood leptin was found to correlate with birth weight (r = 0.40, p < 0.002), weight to length ratio (r = 0.40, p < 0.002) and body mass index (r = 0.35, p < 0.005). It was significantly lower in boys as opposed to girls (p < 0.01) and there was an apparent fall by the 5th postnatal day (p < 0.001). Amniotic fluid contained leptin in much less concentration than cord blood and it proved to be independent of intrauterine growth or gender. Serum leptin concentration in preterm infants at 1 week of age was significantly lower compared with term infants (p < 0.002) and it increased progressively with age (p < 0.01). An inverse relationship was found between leptin and testosterone level (r = -0.358, p < 0.01) and a positive correlation between leptin level and weight/height ratio (r = 0.674, p < 0.01). It is concluded that leptin derived either from placenta or fetal adipose tissue may be involved in regulating fetal growth and development and it may be related to energy intake, storage and expenditure. In preterm male infants serum leptin concentration increases with postnatal weight and testosterone may suppress leptin synthesis.     

Erroneous knowledge of results affects decision and memory processes on timing tasks.

On mental timing tasks, erroneous knowledge of results (KR) leads to incorrect performance accompanied by the subjective judgment of accurate performance. Using the start-stop technique (an analogue of the peak interval procedure) with both reproduction and production timing tasks, the authors analyze what processes erroneous KR alters. KR provides guidance (performance error information) that lowers decision thresholds. Erroneous KR also provides targeting information that alters response durations proportionately to the magnitude of the feedback error. On the production task, this shift results from changes in the reference memory, whereas on the reproduction task this shift results from changes in the decision threshold for responding. The idea that erroneous KR can alter different cognitive processes on related tasks is supported by the authors' demonstration that the learned strategies can transfer from the reproduction task to the production task but not visa versa. Thus effects of KR are both task and context dependent. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Physician opinions of preterm infant outcome and their effect on antenatal corticosteroid use

A patient suffering from esophagorespiratory fistula after bougienage of a benign stricture at the site of the anastomosis between a jejunal interposition and the esophagus was referred for interventional treatment. A prototype nitinol stent centrally covered with Dacron was implanted under regional anesthesia and fluoroscopic guidance. The self-expanding prosthesis dilated the stenosis completely and closed the fistula, with consequent improvement in respiratory and nutritional status and thus the general quality of life. The patient was able to eat and drink normally until death 3 months later due to progression of his underlying malignant disease.     

Performance of schizophrenia and bipolar patients on verbal and figural working memory tasks.

Working memory (WM) was studied in 82 healthy volunteers, 43 schizophrenia patients, and 81 bipolar patients. Schizophrenia patients were impaired on verbal and figural WM tasks that possessed similar test discriminating power. Bipolar patients performed similarly to healthy volunteers. A mathematical model of WM performance revealed a primary role for reduced WM span in accounting for the impaired verbal WM of schizophrenia patients and a primary role for diminished attention in accounting for impaired figural WM. Although WM impairment in schizophrenia is due neither to the general effects of severe mental illness nor to the specific type of material studied, the microarchitecture of abnormal WM in schizophrenia may depend on the stimulus material presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intralist distractors and recall direction: Constraints on models of memory for serial order.

The serial-order version of the theory of distributed associative memory (TODAM; S. Lewandowsky and B. B. Murdock [see PA, Vol 76:14457]) predicts that disuption of forward serial recall should leave backward recall largely unaffected. This article reports 4 experiments in which the effects of an intralist distractor task were compared for forward and backward serial recall. Regardless of whether Ss could anticipate recall direction at study, the distractor task was found to disrupt forward but not backward recall. Although the existence of that dissociation had been predicted by TODAM, the theory was unable to provide a quantitative account of the data. Instead the authors provide a retrieval-based account within the framework of temporal distinctiveness theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)