Learning rate equivalency of two narcotic gases.

Two groups of US Navy divers were tested for (a) digit span forward and backward and (b) simple and difficult paired-associate learning while breathing normal air or a narcotic gas (nitrous oxide or hyperbaric nitrogen). The 1st group of 21 divers (mean age 30.3 yrs) breathed 30% nitrous oxide (N?O), and the 2nd groups of 11 divers (mean age 30.0 yrs) breathed hyperbaric nitrogen (Hyper N?) at a simulated ocean depth of 65 m. The 2 forms of the digit span and paired-associate measures were from the Wechsler Memory Scale and were administered in a counterbalanced fashion between normal and narcotic conditions. Forward and backward digit span remained normal during N?O and Hyper N? narcosis, whereas simple and difficult paired-associate learning was impaired uniformly and significantly by both of the narcotic gases. Results indicate that the long-term memory effects of these 2 narcotic gases are similar and that the narcotic properties of both gases may be equivalent. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Working and strategic memory deficits in schizophrenia.

Working memory and its contribution to performance on strategic memory tests in schizophrenia were studied. Patients (n?=?18) and control participants (n?=?15), all men, received tests of immediate memory (forward digit span), working memory (listening, computation, and backward digit span), and long-term strategic (free recall, temporal order, and self-ordered pointing) and nonstrategic (recognition) memory. Schizophrenia patients performed worse on all tests. Education, verbal intelligence, and immediate memory capacity did not account for deficits in working memory in schizophrenia patients. Reduced working memory capacity accounted for group differences in strategic memory but not in recognition memory. Working memory impairment may be central to the profile of impaired cognitive performance in schizophrenia and is consistent with hypothesized frontal lobe dysfunction associated with this disease. Additional medial-temporal dysfunction may account for the recognition memory deficit. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Modification of glassy carbon surfaces with synthetic laminin-derived peptides for nerve cell attachment and neurite growth

Working memory and its contribution to performance on strategic memory tests in schizophrenia were studied. Patients (n = 18) and control participants (n = 15), all men, received tests of immediate memory (forward digit span), working memory (listening, computation, and backward digit span), and long-term strategic (free recall, temporal order, and self-ordered pointing) and nonstrategic (recognition) memory. Schizophrenia patients performed worse on all tests. Education, verbal intelligence, and immediate memory capacity did not account for deficits in working memory in schizophrenia patients. Reduced working memory capacity accounted for group differences in strategic memory but not in recognition memory. Working memory impairment may be central to the profile of impaired cognitive performance in schizophrenia and is consistent with hypothesized frontal lobe dysfunction associated with this disease. Additional medial-temporal dysfunction may account for the recognition memory deficit.     

Forward and backward digit span interaction with race and IQ: Predictions from Jensen's theory.

From A. Jensen's 1969 2-level theory of mental disabilities (Level I: rote learning and memory; Level II: complex cognitive processing) it was predicted that forward digit span (FDS) should correlate less with IQ than backward digit span (BDS), and age and race should interact with FDS-BDS, with the FDS-BDS difference decreasing as a junction of age and a greater White-Black difference in BDS than in FDS. The predictions were substantiated at a high level of significance in large representative samples of 669 White and 622 Black 5-12 yr olds who were given the revised WISC. Socioeconomic differences accounted for less of the predicted effects than race. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship between visual memory function and lesions detected by magnetic resonance imaging after closed head injury.

45 patients (aged 16–73 yrs) with closed head injuries were followed up 6 mo postinjury with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and neuropsychological assessments. Ss were tested on visual and verbal measures of short-term memory and learning: pattern span, pattern learning, path span, path learning, digit span, and digit learning. Visual memory for patterns and paths was tested using a recall procedure. Compared with 22 controls (aged 15–70 yrs), Ss were significantly impaired on pattern span. Ss were also significantly impaired on measures of path learning and digit learning. Performance on the visual memory tasks was related to a rating of ventricular enlargement derived from MRI. It appears that diffuse damage remains of importance in predicting neuropsychological impairment in head injury. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship between selected cognitive abilities and learning: A second look.

Examined the relationship between learning strategies and cognitive abilities in 3 experiments using a total of 420 3rd-12th graders from rural school as Ss. Ability tests given to Ss included Raven's Progressive Matrices and a digit span test. Based on the argument that such relationships ought to follow predictable and differentiated patterns, different strategy manipulations were used in an attempt to moderate the relationship between reasoning and memory abilities and free recall and paired associate learning. Results suggest that meaningful differential interrelations can be demonstrated as long as the processes and strategies forming the link between learning and ability test performance are both potent and well understood. Implications for future research into the cross-linkages between intelligence and learning tasks are discussed. (38 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Deterioration of frontal lobe function in normal aging: Influences of fluid intelligence versus perceptual speed.

A group of young participants were compared with 2 groups of older participants (young-old, 65–74 years and old-old, 75 years or over) on a range of frontal lobe tasks. They were also assessed on the Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST), a test of digit cancellation (DC), the AH4 test of fluid intelligence, and the National Adult Reading Test (NART)—a measure of crystalized intelligence. Reliable age differences on all frontal measures except word fluency (FAS) were found. However, age effects were radically attenuated when either DSST speed or Alice Heim 4 (AH4) performance was used as a covariate. In contrast, DC and NART attenuated age-related variance to a much lesser degree. The authors conclude that a large proportion of age-related variance on measures of frontal lobe function may be attributed to a more general factor characterized jointly by DSST and AH4 performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Associative strength and word frequency as related to stages of paired-associate learning.

Conducted a study with 240 undergraduates to examine the contribution of response-word frequency and associative strength of paired-associates (PA) on the 2 stages of PA learning. 2 levels of word frequency and 2 associative strength levels were used to form 4 PA lists. 4 study-test trials were provided, with separate groups being given matching or free-recall test trials on either the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th trials, and a conventional PA test on all other trials. Overall PA learning revealed the influence of both variables. Associative strength played a significant role on both the matching and free-recall tests; word frequency, however, did not. Matching trials revealed superior learning to that obtained by free-recall. Results suggest the need for some revision of the 2-stage analysis of PA learning. (French summary) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the relationship between Gf/Gc theory and Jensen's Level I/Level II theory.

Gave 201 14–16 yr old urban Australian students in 6 Catholic high schools a battery of 27 ability tests strategically chosen to provide composite measures of 12 primary mental abilities selected to indicate 2nd-order abilities known as fluid intelligence (Gf), crystallized intelligence (Gc), and short-term acquisition retrieval (SAR). Factor analysis of the 12 primaries provided evidence of the Gf, Gc, and SAR dimensions. The SAR dimension is similar to a Level I form of intelligence (LI) and the Gf and/or Gc factors relate to a Level II intelligence (LII) in a theory sponsored by A. R. Jensen (1973, 1974). Analyses of social class differences in respect to SAR (LI) in contrast to Gf and Gc (LII) did not provide convincing evidence in support of a hypothesis that the social classes differ primarily in respect to LII (Gf and Gc) rather than in respect to LI (SAR). (50 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of speech characteristics in scholastic success.

Compared 2 groups of 93 French-Canadian 3rd grade boys in terms of verbal intelligence and various characteristics of speech. Ss in both groups came from low social class homes, and were similar in measured nonverbal intelligence. The essential difference between groups was school achievement; 1 group had average grades of B or above, the other, C or below. It was found that the groups differed reliably in verbal intelligence and in particular speech characteristics, analyzed by an experienced linguist. Distinctive patterns of speech differentiated the 2 groups even with verbal intelligence statistically controlled. Results are discussed in terms of current psycholinguistic theories of social-class differences in speech and language. (French summary) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Neuropsychological changes in adolescents with insulin-dependent diabetes.

Assessed the neurobehavioral status of 40 12–19 yr olds with a long history (at least 3 yrs) of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and of 40 demographically similar nondiabetic adolescents. A detailed social and medical history was obtained from parents, and the degree of recent metabolic control was determined by examining the glycosolated hemoglobin values of diabetic Ss. Ss under age 16 yrs were given 7 subtests of the WISC—R; Ss aged 16 yrs and older were given the same subtests from the WAIS. Ss also completed tests that assessed associative learning and memory; visuospatial ability; speed, dexterity, and visuomotor integration; CFF; and self-concept. Results show that diabetics performed within normal limits on all tests, although significant between-groups differences did appear on measures of verbal intelligence, visuomotor coordination, and CFF. Although it could be argued that these results are indicative of structural brain damage, the possibility is discussed that the differences observed may be a function of transient metabolic abnormalities at the time of testing or, alternately, may be a reflection of the behavioral changes associated with having a life-threatening illness. (46 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A note on class effects in Aptitude?×?Treatment interactions.

Results pertaining to methodological aspects of an Aptitude?×?Treatment interaction study previously conducted by the author (1977) with 271 5th graders are presented. One treatment group in the study was given imagery instructions, the other had no imagery instructions. Among the aptitude variables were 2 versions of a paired-associates learning task. Within-class analyses and analyses in which class effects were allowed to have influence were conducted. In the latter analyses there were several significant Aptitude?×?Treatment interactions with subscores derived from the paired-associates tasks, but this was not the case in the within-class analyses. The interactions found are interpreted as being consequences of class effects with respect to errors of measurement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depression does not aggravate the episodic memory deficits associated with Alzheimer's disease.

In a population-based study of persons between 75 and 96 years of age, normal old adults (n?=?296), patients with Alzheimer"s disease (AD; n?=?45), and patients with concomitant AD and depression (AD-D; n?=?9) were compared on free recall and recognition of slowly and rapidly presented words and digit span. With the exception of forward digit span, the normal old group outperformed the 2 AD groups across all tasks. In free recall, only the normal old group performed better as task pacing decreased; however, all groups benefited from more study time in recognition. This suggests that both AD and AD-D patients have deficits in the ability to use more study time for remembering. Of most importance, the 2 AD groups were indistinguishable for all task variables. This lack of comorbidity effects is discussed relative to the view that depression, much like many other individual-difference variables that affect memory performance in normal aging, may be overshadowed by the influence of the process in AD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Follow-up of the later careers and lives of 1,000 boys who dropped out of high school.

Compared a dropout group and a nondropout group of high school boys on several psychometric and demographic variables. The data both predated and postdated (by about 10 yr.) the time of dropout. The group were subdivided by intelligence, additional training, and early vs. late dropouts for the dropout group. The later lives of dropouts were characterized in general by relatively low socioeconomic status (SES), a downward social mobility, a higher incidence of criminal activity, and bigger families. 9th grade MMPI tests showed some personality differences between dropouts and nondropouts. When dropout and nondropout groups were matched by intelligence, most of the differences persisted. Training after dropout is of some help in future SES. Few differences were found between early and late dropouts. (16 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adolescents' Performance on the Iowa Gambling Task: Implications for the Development of Decision Making and Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex.

Healthy adolescents (79 girls, 66 boys), ages 9-17, completed the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT; A. Bechara, A. R. Damasio, H. Damasio, & S. W. Anderson, 1994) as well as working memory (digit span) and behavioral inhibition (go/no-go) tasks. Cross-sectional age-related changes were seen on all 3 tasks. Gender differences were seen in IGT deck preference and attentional variables (i.e., go/no-go hit rate and forward digit span). After age, gender, and general intellectual abilities were controlled for, IGT performance was not predicted by working memory or behavioral inhibition scores. Findings suggest that the ventromedial prefrontal cortex or its connections are functionally maturing during adolescence in a manner that can be distinguished from maturation of other prefrontal regions. Development of these functions may continue into young adulthood. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A cross-cultural examination of some of Jensen's hypotheses.

Examined Level 1 and 2 intelligence in Inuit and White 2nd–5th graders through an examination of several of Jensen's major hypotheses. The sample consisted of 559 80–150 mo old students. Of the 559, there were 148 middle-class urban White children, 173 low socioeconomic urban children, 175 White children living in Labrador, and 63 Inuit children also living in Labrador. The Level 1 and Level 2 intelligence measures were a series of digit span tests and the Raven Progressive Matrices, respectively. Results do not support the generality of some of A. R. Jensen's propositions. However, there can be no clear-cut rejection of the genetic hypothesis based on the present results. (French summary) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive functioning of older people in relation to social and personality variables.

Examined age differences in performance on memory measures and in subjective ratings of memory adequacy in the context of 12 social, personality, adjustment, and lifestyle measures. Ss were 285 men and women (aged 65–93 yrs) of middle- and working-class backgrounds. Cognitive measures included digit span, word recall, and memory and elaborative processing of a prose passage. Multivariate and univariate analyses revealed that a large proportion of the age differences and virtually all of the social-class differences on memory measures could be accounted for by contextual variables. Education; Intellectual activity; and Extroversion, Neuroticism, and Lie scores on the Eysenck Personality Inventory all accounted for more of the variance in memory performance than did age. Self-rated memory adequacy was not correlated with performance, and although the expected finding of lower ratings by older Ss was obtained with the working-class group, the opposite was true for the middle-class group. (46 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Distractibility in children vulnerable to psychopathology.

Evaluated children (mean age 15.25 yrs) of schizophrenics (n?=?36), unipolars (n?=?57), bipolars (n?=?60), and normals (n?=?65) on a digit span measure of distractibility with the distraction and nondistraction conditions matched for discrimination power. Whereas there were no between-groups differences in performance in the nondistraction condition, children of schizophrenics and unipolars performed more poorly than children of normal parents in the distraction condition. Analyses of serial position curves revealed that children of schizophrenics performed more poorly on primacy as compared to recency portions of distraction trials. This finding differentiated children with a schizophrenic parent from children in each of the other groups. Results indicate that children of schizophrenics have a deficit in controlled information processing. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Transfer of leptophos in hen eggs and tissues of embryonic rats

This study reports the relations among normal aging, intelligence, and frontal lobe functioning. Intelligence tasks and frontal lobe functioning tasks were administered to 107 adults from two age groups (25 to 46 years and 70 to 99 years). Intelligence measures were assessed with two crystallized tests (WAIS Vocabulary and Information subtests), one fluid intelligence test (Cattell's Matrices), and one mixed, crystallized and fluid test (WAIS Similarities subtest). Frontal functioning was assessed using the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and two tests of verbal fluency. Significant age differences in favor of the young were found on the two intelligence tests with a fluid component and on all measures of frontal lobe functioning. Correlational analyses examining the relationship of intelligence measures to frontal variables indicated that these last measures were significantly correlated with only fluid intelligence tests in the elderly group. The implications for the relations among aging, fluid intelligence, and frontal lobe functioning are discussed.