A signal-to-noise theory of the effects of luminance on picture memory: comment on Loftus

In studies of picture memory, subjects typically view a sequence of pictures. Their memory is tested either after each picture is presented (short-term recall) or at the end of the sequence (long-term recall). The increase in performance as a function of picture viewing time defines "the rate of information acquisition." Loftus (1985) found that reducing the luminance of a picture reduces the rate at which information is acquired (for both short-term and long-term tests) and, for long viewing times, reduces the total amount of recall. The theory proposed here assumes that both of these effects are consequences of intrinsic noise in the visual system that becomes relatively more prominent as signal (picture luminance or contrast) is reduced. Noise shares a limited capacity channel with signal, and thus noise reduces the rate of information acquisition; noise, as well as signal, occupies space in memory, and thus noise reduces recall performance.     

Capacity and limits of associative memory in pigeons

How much information can a brain store over a lifetime’s experience? The answer to this important, but little researched, question was investigated by looking at the long-term visual memory capacity of 2 pigeons. Over 700 sessions, the pigeons were tested with an increasingly larger pool of pictorial stimuli in a two-alternative discrimination task (incremented in sets of 20 or 30 pictures). Each picture was randomly assigned to either a right or a left choice response, forcing the pigeons to memorize each picture and its associated response. At the end of testing, 1 pigeon was performing at 73% accuracy with a memory set of over 1,800 pictures, and the 2nd was at 76% accuracy with a memory set of over 1,600 pictures. Adjusted for guessing, models of the birds’ performance suggested that the birds had access, on average, to approximately 830 memorized picture—response associations and that these were retained for months at a time. Reaction time analyses suggested that access to these memories was parallel in nature. Over the last 6 months of testing, this capacity estimate was stable for both birds, despite their learning increasingly more items, suggesting some limit on the number of picture—response associations that could be discriminated and retained in the long-term memory portion of this task. This represents the first empirically established limit on long-term memory use for any vertebrate species. The existence of this large exemplar-specific memory capacity has important implications for the evolution of stimulus control and for current theories of avian and human cognition.     

Enhanced recognition of memorable pictures in ultra-fast RSVP

Long-term recognition memory for some pictures is consistently better than for others (Isola, Xiao, Parikh, Torralba, & Oliva, IEEE Transaction on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence (PAMI), 36(7), 1469–1482, 2014). Here, we investigated whether pictures found to be memorable in a long-term memory test are also perceived more easily when presented in ultra-rapid RSVP. Participants viewed 6 pictures they had never seen before that were presented for 13 to 360 ms per picture in a rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) sequence. In half the trials, one of the pictures was a memorable or a nonmemorable picture and perception of this picture was probed by a visual recognition test at the end of the sequence. Recognition for pictures from the memorable set was higher than for those from the nonmemorable set, and this difference increased with increasing duration. Nonmemorable picture recognition was low initially, did not increase until 120 ms, and never caught up with memorable picture recognition performance. Thus, the long-term memorability of an image is associated with initial perceptibility: A picture that is hard to grasp quickly is hard to remember later.     

Lines of Advance in Treating People of Color with Borderline Personality Disorder: Alloying the “gold” of Vocational Rehabilitation with the “Copper” of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

People of color with borderline personality disorder (PoCwBPD), in particular African-Americans and Latinxs in the inner city, present a special population at risk for unemployment and long-term impairment in psychiatric and psychosocial recovery. A growing literature points to the need for comprehensive care that addresses the symptoms of the borderline syndrome alongside social, vocational, and educational achievement. This article paints a picture of the individual, communal, and systemic complexities involved in aiding PoCwBPD achieve psychosocial recovery. After contextualizing the historical and systemic forces that impact recovery for PoCwBPD, I discuss principles of intervention to assist clinicians tailor treatment to this population. Drawing on insights from Transference-Focused Psychotherapy, an evidence-based psychodynamic therapy for BPD, I offer a theoretical cultural adaptation for people of color. This article provides clinical vignettes to illustrate the resulting model, and shows that helping the patient engage in productive activity provides the foundation for exploratory work, which in turn addresses intrapsychic obstacles to psychosocial success.     

Retrograde amnesia for visual memories after hippocampal damage in rats

It is generally believed that the hippocampus is not required for simple discrimination learning. However, a small number of studies have shown that hippocampus damage impairs retention of a previously learned visual discrimination task. We propose that, although simple discrimination learning may proceed in the absence of the hippocampus, it plays an important role in this type of learning when it is intact. In order to test the role of the hippocampus in simple discrimination learning, we performed a series of experiments utilizing a two-choice picture discrimination task. Our experiments confirm that rats readily learn simple two-choice picture discriminations after hippocampus damage. However, if such discriminations are first learned while the hippocampus is intact, subsequent hippocampus damage causes severe retrograde amnesia for the discriminations. Furthermore, retrograde amnesia for simple picture discriminations was equally severe when the interval between training and damage was 1 d or 60 d; remote picture memories are not spared. Similarly, the rule or schema underlying a recently or remotely acquired picture discrimination learning set was lost after hippocampus damage. The severity of retrograde amnesia for simple picture discriminations is negatively correlated with the volume of spared hippocampus tissue. Thus, the hippocampus plays an essential role in long-term memories supporting simple picture discriminations.     

Picture Naming Deficits in Developmental Dyslexia: The Phonological Representations Hypothesis

The picture and word naming performance of developmental dyslexics was compared to the picture and word naming performance of non-dyslexic (“garden variety”) poor readers, reading age, and chronological age-matched controls. The stimulus list used for both tasks was systematically manipulated for word length and word frequency. In order to examine picture naming errors in more depth, an object name recognition test assessed each subject's vocabulary knowledge of those names which they were unable to spontaneously label in the picture naming task. Findings indicated that the dyslexic and the garden variety poor readers exhibited a picture naming deficit relative to both chronological and reading age-matched controls. Findings also indicated that both groups of impaired readers obtained superior scores in the word naming task than in the picture naming task, while both groups of controls showed no difference in performance across tasks. The dyslexics' picture naming errors, but not those of the garden variety poor readers, were particularly marked on polysyllabic and/or low frequency words, indicating a possible phonological basis to the picture naming deficit of the dyslexic children. These children also recognized significantly more unnamed target words than all comparison groups, suggesting a particular difficulty inretrievingthe phonological codes of known picture names rather than a vocabulary deficit. Results are discussed in terms of dyslexics' difficulty in encoding full segmental phonological representations of names in long-term memory and/or in processing these representations in order to generate required names on demand.     

Generalisation of threat expectancy increases with time

Excessive fear generalisation is a feature characteristic of clinical anxiety and has been linked to its aetiology. Previous animal studies have shown that the mere passage of time increases fear generalisation and that brief exposure to training cues prior to long-term testing reverses this effect. The current study examined these phenomena in humans. Healthy participants learned the relationship between the presentation of a picture of a neutral male face and the delivery of a mild shock. One group was immediately tested with a novel picture of a somewhat different male face (generalisation test). Another group was tested one week later. A third group was also tested one week later and was additionally exposed to the training picture prior to testing. During picture presentations, shock-expectancy ratings were obtained as a measure of fear. Fear generalisation increased from the immediate test to the 1-week follow-up test. This result could not be attributed to level of neuroticism or a general increase in fear (incubation). Furthermore, the time-dependent increase in fear generalisation vanished following brief exposure to the training picture. Results indicate that human fear generalisation is a temporally dynamic process and that memory for stimulus details can be re-established following a reminder treatment.     

The representation of nonstructural information in visual memory: Evidence from image combination

Two experiments investigated the differential representation of the figure and ground of a picture in visual short-term and long-term memory. It is known (Hitch, Brandimonte, & Walker, 1995) that subjects find it more difficult to combine mental images of two separately presented pictures in order to identify a novel form when the two pictures are incongruent in color (i.e., when a black-on-white line drawing has to be combined with a white-on-black drawing). In the present experiments, thefigures were depicted in solid form to allow color congruity to be varied independently for figure and ground. Results showed a clear impairment in image combination when the to-be-combined figures were incongruent in color (black-on-gray and white-on-gray) but not when theirgrounds were incongruently colored (gray-on-black and gray-on-white). In this way, image combination was seen to be supported by a representation of the object depicted in the picture rather than by a literal representation of the picture itself (i.e., a pictorial code). In line with previous findings, the same representation was seen to support image combination based on short-term memory (Experiment 1) and long-term memory (Experiment 2), provided that in the latter case verbal recoding was precluded. When verbal recoding was allowed, image combination based on long-term memory was insensitive to color congruity, implying the involvement of a more abstract structural representation.     

Long-term transfer of learning from books and video during toddlerhood

Television viewing and picture book reading are prevalent activities during toddlerhood, and research has shown that toddlers can imitate from both books and videos after short delays. This is the first study to directly compare toddlers' long-term retention rates for target actions learned from a video or book. Toddlers (N=158) at 18- and 24-months of age saw an experimenter demonstrating how to make a novel three-step toy rattle via a prerecorded video or a picture book. The toddlers' imitation of the target actions was tested after a specific delay (e.g., 2, 4 weeks), and their performance was compared with that of age-matched controls who did not see a demonstration. The 18-month-olds retained the target actions for 2 weeks, exhibiting forgetting at 4 weeks, whereas the 24-month-olds retained the information for up to 4 weeks, exhibiting forgetting at 8 weeks. Retention rates for books and videos did not differ at either age. These findings demonstrate very impressive retention from a brief two-dimensional media demonstration, and they contribute to our overall understanding of long-term memory processes during infancy.     

Memory coding in individuals with Down syndrome

Previous research has identified a deficit in phonological short-term memory in individuals with Down syndrome.

The present work aimed to analyze how a group of 30 individuals with Down syndrome performed in a picture span task compared with 30 typically developing children of the same mental age. The task involved four conditions (i.e., dissimilar, phonologically similar, visually similar, and long-name items) chosen to analyze the strategy used by individuals with Down syndrome to code visually presented nameable items.

Individuals with Down syndrome performed less well than typically developing children. Both groups showed the visual similarity effect.

Taken together, our results confirm that individuals with Down syndrome have a verbal working memory deficit, even when nameable items are presented visually. Mental age appears to be an important determinant of memory coding stage in individuals with Down syndrome.     

THE EFFECTS OF SEQUENTIAL PICTORIAL CUES,SELF-RECORDING,AND PRAISE ON THE JOB TASK SEQUENCING OF RETARDED ADULTS

The present study investigated the effects of a self-recording procedure using sequentially organized picture cues on independent task changes of four mentally retarded adults. Independent task changes were identified as the beginning of new tasks without directives or instruction. In addition to investigating treatment effects, the long-term maintenance of the task-change behavior was measured. During self-recording and picture-cue training, the subjects completed an increased proportion of independent task changes, and this behavior was maintained for more than 10 wk following removal of the training procedures. Self-recording using picture cues was shown to be an effective procedure for teaching mentally retarded adults to function more independently in a job setting.     

FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS AND INTERVENTION FOR BREATH HOLDING

We conducted a functional analysis of breath-holding episodes in a 7-year-old girl with severe mental retardation and Cornelia-de-Lange syndrome. The results showed that breath holding served an operant function, primarily to gain access to attention. The intervention, consisting of extinction, scheduled attention, and use of a picture card communication system, resulted in decreased breath holding.     

The effects of emotional content on source monitoring in fibromyalgia patients

Source confusion refers to a person’s failure to distinguish whether an event has been actually seen or simply imagined. Nevertheless, prior research has demonstrated a reduction of source confusion for negative arousing information. According to the emotional-congruence effect, this emotional benefit is likely observed in patients suffering from chronic pain. This hypothesis was tested on 15 patients suffering of fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) and 15 healthy women. In a source-monitoring task, participants had to decide whether positive, negative, and neutral words were imagined or seen with a picture. The results showed recognition deficits and more source confusion for FMS patients compared to controls. Contrary to the hypothesis of negativity bias in fibromyalgia, patients exhibited enhanced recognition for both positive and negative words. Moreover, they showed better source memory for the imagined items than for those seen with a picture. Overall, these results indicate that FMS affects episodic memory.     

Acute and long-term administration of anticholinergics in Parkinson's disease: specific effects on the subcortico-frontal syndrome.

Parkinson's Disease (PD) is often associated with a subcortico-frontal syndrome (SCFS) that is mainly characterized by executive dysfunctions. The complete biochemistry of these dysfunctions remain misunderstood. Most studies have focused on the well-known nigro-striatal dopaminergic degenerations of PD, but a more satisfying understanding of the SCFS has come from the study of the cholinergic systems. We present here two new experiments carried out with long-term and acute anticholinergic treatments in PD. In the first experiment, the effects of a 2-week treatment with trihexyphenidyl were compared to those observed under placebo on a neuropsychological battery. Results showed that anticholinergic-induced deficits in PD were exclusively concerned with executive functions. In the second experiment, the effects of an acute subclinical dose of scopolamine were compared between normal controls and PD patients who were devoid of cognitive deficit on a subset of executive tasks. Results indicates that PD patients but not normal controls developed a transient SCFS for the duration of the drug action. In contrast to other populations with cholinergic depletions-such as Alzheimer's disease-cholinergic blockade in PD exacerbates specifically the SCFS. Such a discrepancy between these two neuropsychological profiles are discussed in terms of the specificity of the underlying cholinergic lesions.     

The picture absurdities test in the evaluation of dementia

Recognition of picture absurdities was found to be significantly impaired in a group of patients with dementia of Alzheimer type compared to patients with dementia syndrome of depression and cerebrovascular dementia, even when matched for age, education, and dementia severity. None of the other neuropsychological measures investigated, including visual recent memory, Raven's progressive matrices, geographic orientation, and copying of geometric figures, resulted in a similar pattern. Although uncertainty remains as to what the picture absurdities test measures, normal performance likely depends on the integrity of many independently assessable variables, in addition to cognition and judgment utilizing visual data.     

Auditory comprehension: is multiple choice really good enough?

Auditory comprehension is commonly measured with multiple choice tasks. The sensitivity of these tasks in identifying deficits, however, is limited by credit given for correct guesses by forced choice. In this study, we compare performance on the multiple choice task to an alternative word/picture verification task, in 122 subjects with acute left hemisphere stroke. As predicted, word/picture verification identifies significantly more subjects with deficits in auditory comprehension. Furthermore, the pattern of errors in the two tasks is consistent with a current distributed model of semantic memory, and inconsistent with alternative local models.     

Auditory word comprehension impairment in acute stroke: relative contribution of phonemic versus semantic factors

Auditory word comprehension was assessed in a series of 289 acute left hemisphere stroke patients. Participants decided whether an auditorily presented word matched a picture. On different trials, words were presented with a matching picture, a semantic foil, or a phonemic foil. Participants had significantly more trouble with semantic foils across all levels of impairment.     

情绪记忆增强效应的时间依赖性

探讨情绪记忆短时和长时增强效应相对特异性机制以及唤醒度和效价在情绪记忆中的作用。运用不同阶段提取和不同情绪类别相结合的多因素设计方法, 对20位正常年轻成人进行行为学检测。结果显示, 情绪对记忆加工不同阶段(短时和长时)的调节作用(增强效应)具有时间依赖性, 且主要取决于情绪唤醒度, 而无显著正负效价性差异。在短时阶段主要涉及高唤醒度的增强; 而长时阶段涉及不同水平唤醒度的增强, 不同唤醒度的增强效应存在相对分离。     

Independence of long-term contextual memory and short-term perceptual hypotheses: Evidence from contextual cueing of interrupted search

Observers are able to resume an interrupted search trial faster relative to responding to a new, unseen display. This finding of rapid resumption is attributed to short-term perceptual hypotheses generated on the current look and confirmed upon subsequent looks at the same display. It has been suggested that the contents of perceptual hypotheses are similar to those of other forms of memory acquired long-term through repeated exposure to the same search displays over the course of several trials, that is, the memory supporting “contextual cueing.” In three experiments, we investigated the relationship between short-term perceptual hypotheses and long-term contextual memory. The results indicated that long-term, contextual memory of repeated displays neither affected the generation nor the confirmation of short-term perceptual hypotheses for these displays. Furthermore, the analysis of eye movements suggests that long-term memory provides an initial benefit in guiding attention to the target, whereas in subsequent looks guidance is entirely based on short-term perceptual hypotheses. Overall, the results reveal a picture of both long- and short-term memory contributing to reliable performance gains in interrupted search, while exerting their effects in an independent manner.     

Words translated in sentence contexts produce repetition priming in visual word comprehension and spoken word production

Previous research with words read in context at encoding showed little if any long-term repetition priming. In Experiment 1, 96 Spanish–English bilinguals translated words in isolation or in sentence contexts at encoding. At test, they translated words or named pictures corresponding to words produced at encoding and control words not previously presented. Repetition priming was reliable in all conditions, but priming effects were generally smaller for contextualized than for isolated words. Repetition priming in picture naming indicated priming from production in context. A componential analysis indicated priming from comprehension in context, but only in the less fluent language. Experiment 2 was a replication of Experiment 1 with auditory presentation of the words and sentences to be translated. Repetition priming was reliable in all conditions, but priming effects were again smaller for contextualized than for isolated words. Priming in picture naming indicated priming from production in context, but the componential analysis indicated no detectable priming for auditory comprehension. The results of the two experiments taken together suggest that repetition priming reflects the long-term learning that occurs with comprehension and production exposures to words in the context of natural language.