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Gesturing During Mental Problem Solving Reduces Eye Movements, Especially For Individuals With Lower Visual Working Memory Capacity, Wim T. Pouw, Myrto F. Mavilidi, Tamara Van Gog, Fred Paas

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Non-communicative hand gestures have been found to benefit problem-solving performance. These gestures seem to compensate for limited internal cognitive capacities, such as visual working memory capacity. Yet, it is not clear how gestures might perform this cognitive function. One hypothesis is that gesturing is a means to spatially index mental simulations, thereby reducing the need for visually projecting the mental simulation onto the visual presentation of the task. If that hypothesis is correct, less eye movements should be made when participants gesture during problem solving than when they do not gesture. We therefore used mobile eye tracking to investigate the …

Electrophysiology Of Memory-Updating Differs With Age, Genevieve Z. Steiner, Craig J. Gonsalvez, Frances M. De Blasio, Robert J. Barry

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

In oddball tasks, the P3 component of the event-related potential systematically varies with the time between target stimuli-the target-to-target interval (TTI). Longer TTIs result in larger P3 amplitudes and shorter latencies, and this pattern of results has been linked with working memory-updating processes. Given that working memory and the P3 have both been shown to diminish with age, the current study aimed to determine whether the linear relationship between P3 and TTI is compromised in healthy aging by comparing TTI effects on P3 amplitudes and latencies, and reaction time (RT), in young and older adults. Older adults were found to …

Using Cognitive Load Compliant Instructions To Support Working Memory For Anxious Students, Deborah Chadwick, Sharon K. Tindall-Ford, Shirley Agostinho, Fred Paas

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Abstract presented at the 8th Cognitive Load Theory Conference, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA, June 15th - 17th, 2015.

Timely Sleep Facilitates Declarative Memory Consolidation In Infants, Sabine Seehagen, Carolin Konrad, Jane S. Herbert, Silvia Schneider

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Human infants devote the majority of their time to sleeping. However, very little is known about the role of sleep in early memory processing. Here we test 6- and 12-mo-old infants' declarative memory for novel actions after a 4-h [Experiment (Exp.) 1] and 24-h delay (Exp. 2). Infants in a nap condition took an extended nap (≥30 min) within 4 h after learning, whereas infants in a no-nap condition did not. A comparison with age-matched control groups revealed that after both delays, only infants who had napped after learning remembered the target actions at the test. Additionally, after the 24-h …

Reducing Cognitive Load: The Effects Of Gesturing On Children's Effective Working Memory Capacity, Sahar Bokosmaty, Steven J. Howard, Myrto F. Mavilidi, Fred Paas

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Abstract presented at the 8th Cognitive Load Theory Conference, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA, June 15th - 17th, 2015.

Steady State Visually Evoked Potential (Ssvep) Phase Change As An Index Of Spatial Working Memory Task Performance: The Influence Of Nootropic Supplementation, David A. Camfield, Andrew Scholey, Richard B. Silberstein, Andrew Pipingas, Con Stough

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Abstract presented at the 17th World Congress of Psychophysiology (IOP2014) of the International Organization of Psychophysiology (IOP) Hiroshima, Japan, September 23rd to 27th, 2014

Recent Advances In Early Memory Development: Research On Typical And Atypical Children, Mikael Heimann, Jane S. Herbert, Tomas Tjus, Jerker Rönnberg

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

In order to learn about memory development one must start from the beginning. An infant goes through remarkable changes during the first years of life; they begin to crawl, talk, and actively engage with the world around them. Much too often in the history of psychology, the abilities present during the first years of life have been neglected, overlooked, or not given much weight in theory building. For example, because adults fail to recall events from the first years of their life, assumptions were made about the nature and form of memory during early development (for review,see Hayne & Jack, …

Can Working Memory Predict Target-To-Target Interval Effects In The P300?, Genevieve Z. Steiner, Robert J. Barry, Craig J. Gonsalvez

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

It has been suggested that the P300 component of the ERP is an electrophysiological index of memory-updating processes associated with task-relevant stimuli. Component magnitude varies with the time separating target stimuli (target-to-target interval: TTI), with longer TTIs eliciting larger P300 amplitudes. According to the template-update perspective, TTI effects observable in the P300 reflect the updating of stimulus-templates in working memory (WM). The current study explored whether young adults' memory-task ability could predict TTI effects in P300. EEG activity was recorded from 50 university students (aged 18–25 years) while they completed an auditory equiprobable Go/NoGo task with manipulations of TTIs. Participants …

Combined Cognitive And State-Control Training For Children With And Without Ad/Hd: Effects On Behaviour, Working Memory And Resting Eeg, Rebecca Bonfield, Stuart Johnstone, Kirsten Johnson, Stephanie Carrigan, Steven Roodenrys, Sue Bennett, Emily Church, Jacob Sargeant

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Abstract presented at the 23rd Australasian Society for Psychophysiology Conference, 20-22 Nov 2013, Wollongong, Australia

Eye Tracking Infants: Investigating The Role Of Attention During Learning On Recognition Memory, Gemma Taylor, Jane S. Herbert

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

In the present study, eye tracker methodology was used to explore whether there were age-related changes in the focus of infant attention during a learning event and subsequent recognition memory for event features. Six- and 9-month old infants watched a video of an adult demonstrating a sequence of actions with an object while visual attention was recorded using an eye tracker. At both ages, attention was focused primarily on the object and person, with the background attended to for approximately 12% of their viewing time. Recognition memory for the person, object and background from the video was assessed immediately using …

A Randomized Controlled Trial Investigating The Neurocognitive Effects Of Lacprodan® Pl-20, A Phospholipid-Rich Milk Protein Concentrate, In Elderly Participants With Age-Associated Memory Impairment: The Phospholipid Intervention For Cognitive Ageing Reversal (Plicar): Study Protocol For A Randomized Controlled Trial, Andrew B. Scholey, David A. Camfield, Matthew E. Hughes, Will Woods, Con K. Stough, David J. White, Shakuntla V. Gondalia, Pernille D. Frederiksen

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background: Age-related cognitive decline (ARCD) is of major societal concern in an ageing population, with the development of dietary supplements providing a promising avenue for amelioration of associated deficits. Despite initial interest in the use of phospholipids (PLs) for ARCD, in recent years there has been a hiatus in such research. Because of safety concerns regarding PLs derived from bovine cortex, and the equivocal efficacy of soybean-derived PLs, there is an important need for the development of new PL alternatives. Phospholipids derived from milk proteins represent one potential candidate treatment.

Methods: In order to reduce the effects of age-associated memory …

The Potent M1 Receptor Allosteric Agonist Gsk1034702 Improves Episodic Memory In Humans In The Nicotine Abstinence Model Of Cognitive Dysfunction, Pradeep J. Nathan, Jeannette Watson, Jesper Lund, Ceri H. Davies, Gary Peters, Chris M. Dodds, Bridget Swirski, Philip Lawrence, Graham D. Bentley, Barry V. O'Neill, Jon Robertson, Stephen Watson, Gareth A. Jones, Paul Maruff, Rodney J. Croft, Marc Laruelle, Edward T. Bullmore

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Episodic memory deficits are a core feature of neurodegenerative disorders. Muscarinic M1 receptors play a critical role in modulating learning and memory and are highly expressed in the hippocampus. We examined the effect of GSK1034702, a potent M1 receptor allosteric agonist, on cognitive function, and in particular episodic memory, in healthy smokers using the nicotine abstinence model of cognitive dysfunction. The study utilized a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over design in which 20 male nicotine abstained smokers were tested following single doses of placebo, 4 and 8 mg GSK1034702. Compared to the baseline (nicotine on-state), nicotine abstinence showed statistical significance in …

Effects Of Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol Administration On Human Encoding And Recall Memory Function: A Pharmacological Fmri Study, Matthijs G. Bossong, Gerry Jager, Hendrika H. Van Hell, Lineke Zuurman, J Martijn Jansma, Mitul A. Mehta, Joop M. A Van Gerven, Rene S. Kahn, Nick F. Ramsey

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Deficits in memory function are an incapacitating aspect of various psychiatric and neurological disorders. Animal studies have recently provided strong evidence for involvement of the endocannabinoid (eCB) system in memory function. Neuropsychological studies in humans have shown less convincing evidence but suggest that administration of cannabinoid substances affects encoding rather than recall of information. In this study, we examined the effects of perturbation of the eCB system on memory function during both encoding and recall. We performed a pharmacological MRI study with a placebo-controlled, crossover design, investigating the effects of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) inhalation on associative memory-related brain function in 13 …

Examining Brain-Cognition Effects Of Ginkgo Biloba Extract: Brain Activation In The Left Temporal And Left Prefrontal Cortex In An Object Working Memory Task, R B. Silberstein, A Pipingas, J Song, David Camfield, P J. Nathan, C Stough

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Ginkgo Biloba extract (GBE) is increasingly used to alleviate symptoms of age related cognitive impairment, with preclinical evidence pointing to a pro-cholinergic effect. While a number of behavioral studies have reported improvements to working memory (WM) associated with GBE, electrophysiological studies of GBE have typically been limited to recordings during a resting state. The current study investigated the chronic effects of GBE on steady state visually evoked potential (SSVEP) topography in nineteen healthy middle-aged (50-61 year old) male participants whilst completing an object WM task. A randomized double-blind crossover design was employed in which participants were allocated to receive 14 …

Visuospatial Memory Deficits In Long Term Heavy Cannabis Users: Relation To Psychotic Symptoms And Regional Brain Volumes, Nadia Solowij, Colleen Respondek, Robert A. Battisti, Sarah Whittle, Daniel Dr Daniel Lubman, Murat Yucel

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Abstract from the XXVI CINP Congress, Munich, 13-17 July 2008