Gender, Video Game Playing Habits and Visual Memory Tasks

The current research examined whether visuospatial recall of both abstract and common objects was related to gender or object familiarity. Seventy two undergraduates from a university in the Southern U.S. were asked to draw the Rey Complex Figure and a series of common objects from memory. A pilot sample of seventy three undergraduates had previously identified common objects as “male” “female” and “neutral” exemplars. Males were significantly better at drawing “male” and “neutral” exemplars whereas females were better at drawing “female” exemplars. Neither gender was significantly better at the Rey task. These results question whether males have an inherent advantage in visual memory. Results also found that experience with playing violent video games was associated with higher visual memory recall.     

Strategies in visuospatial working memory for learning virtual shapes

This study investigated visuospatial working memory (WM) strategies people use to remember unfamiliar randomly generated shapes in the context of an interactive computer‐based visuospatial WM task. In a three‐phase experiment with random shapes, participants (n = 94) first interactively determined if two equivalent shapes were rotated or reflected; second, memorized the shape; and third, determined if an imprint in a profile view of the ground was a rotated, reflected imprint of the shape, or an imprint not matching the original shape. Participants self‐reported these strategies: Key feature, shape interaction, association/elaboration, holistic/perspective, divide and conquer, mental rotation/reflection and others. Participants reporting key features strategy were significantly more accurate on the computer‐based visuospatial WM task. These results highlight the importance of strategy in visuospatial WM. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Performances on Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test and Rey Complex Figure Test in a healthy, elderly Danish sample--reference data and validity issues

This study presents Danish data for Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) and Rey Complex Figure Test (RCFT) from 100 subjects aged 60-87 years. Education and estimated verbal intelligence (DART score) had a significant impact on the RAVLT trial 1-5 score but not on other RAVLT measures. The RCFT copy score was significantly related to age and the DART score. On RCFT recall a highly significant difference was found between persons who could make a faultless copy and persons with incomplete copy performance. Thus, this study presents separate data for RCFT recall scores according to the subjects' copying performance (in separate tables for age and education groups). For all measures on both RAVLT and RCFT wide distributions of scores were found and the impact of this broad score range on the tests' discriminative validity is discussed. RAVLT performances for elderly were similar to previous published meta-norms, but the included sample of elderly Danes performed better on RCFT (copy and recall) than elderly from the United States.     

Impact of executive dysfunctions on episodic memory abilities in patients with ruptured aneurysm of the anterior communicating artery

Executive and memory dysfunctions are among the most frequently reported deficits following a ruptured aneurysm of the anterior communicating artery (ACoA). In order to study the impact of the dysexecutive syndrome on episodic and semantic memory, the data obtained from 59 ACoA patients were examined retrospectively. All patients were assessed on a variety of episodic memory tests (Rey Auditory-Verbal Learning Test, Rey Complex Figure Test, Weschler Memory Scale), semantic memory (verbal fluency), and standardized tests of executive functions (Trail Making Test, Maze tests, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test). There was a strong positive correlation between executive dysfunction and retrieval difficulties in episodic and semantic memory tasks. Comparisons of subgroups of patients with high and low frontal lobe functioning on delayed recall and recognition revealed a significant group X condition interaction in addition to significant group and condition main effects. ACoAs patients with low frontal lobe functioning were particularly deficient in free recall (immediate and delayed) while recognition was equally well preserved in the two subgroups. Neither subgroup presented with an abnormal forgetting over time suggesting a retrieval deficit rather than a true retention impairment.     

The visuospatial functions in children after cerebellar low‐grade astrocytoma surgery: A contribution to the pediatric neuropsychology of the cerebellum

The aim of this study was to specify whether cerebellar lesions cause visuospatial impairments in children. The study sample consisted of 40 children with low‐grade cerebellar astrocytoma, who underwent surgical treatment and 40 healthy controls matched with regard to age and sex. Visuospatial abilities were tested using the spatial WISC‐R subtests (Block Design and Object Assembly), Rey–Osterrieth Complex Figure, Benton Judgment of Line Orientation Test, PEBL Mental Rotation Task, and Benton Visual Retention Test. To exclude general diffuse intellectual dysfunction, the WISC‐R Verbal Intelligence IQ, Performance IQ, and Full‐Scale IQ scores were analysed. Post‐surgical medical consequences were measured with the International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale. Compared to controls, the cerebellar group manifested problems with mental rotation of objects, visuospatial organization, planning, and spatial construction processes which could not be explained by medical complications or general intellectual retardation. The intensity of visuospatial syndrome highly depends on cerebellar lesion side. Patients with left‐sided cerebellar lesions display more severe spatial problems than those with right‐sided cerebellar lesions. In conclusion, focal cerebellar lesions in children affect their visuospatial ability. The impairments profile is characterized by deficits in complex spatial processes such as visuospatial organization and mental rotation, requiring reconstruction of visual stimuli using the imagination, while elementary sensory analysis and perception as well as spatial processes requiring direct manipulation of objects are relatively better preserved. This pattern is analogous to the one previously observed in adult population and appears to be typical for cerebellar pathology in general, regardless of age.     

Comparability of the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure, the Taylor Complex Figure, and the Modified Taylor Complex Figure in a normal sample of Japanese speakers

The comparability of recall performance was examined on the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure, the Taylor Complex Figure, and the Modified Taylor Complex Figure as measures of visuospatial abilities and visual memory in 66 healthy Japanese university students. A between-subjects design was used in which each of the participants received the three figures. The interrater reliability of each was excellent. While the three figures yielded equivalent copy scores, the Taylor Complex Figure produced significantly higher scores than the other two on both short (3-min.) and delayed (30-min.) recall tests. There were no significant differences between recall scores of the Rey-Osterrieth and the Modified Taylor figures. These results are consistent with the findings of the 2002 study of English-speakers by Hubley and Tremblay, and support that the Modified Taylor Figure is superior to the original one for the companion figure to the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure.     

Object permanence in dogs: Invisible displacement in a rotation task

Dogs were tested for object permanence using an invisible displacement in which an object was hidden in one of two containers at either end of a beam and the beam was rotated. Consistent with earlier research, when the beam was rotated 180°, the dogs failed to find the object. However, when the beam was rotated only 90°, they were successful. Furthermore, when the dogs were led either 90° or 180° around the apparatus, they were also successful. In a control condition, when the dogs could not see the direction of the 90° rotation, they failed to find the object. The results suggest that the 180° rotation may produce an interfering context that can be reduced by rotating the apparatus only 90° or by changing the dogs’ perspective. Once the conflict is eliminated, dogs show evidence of object permanence that includes invisibly displaced objects.     

Visuospatial working memory in Turner's syndrome

Turner's syndrome is a genetic disorder, specific to women, in which one of the X chromosomes is partially or completely deleted. This syndrome is associated with physical features such as short stature or failure in primary and secondary sexual development, together with a specific pattern of cognitive functions. It has been suggested that women affected by Turner's syndrome perform poorly in tasks measuring visuospatial abilities and have a verbal IQ significantly higher than performance IQ. Although this result has received strong empirical support, the nature of the visuospatial deficit is still unclear. Recent studies on visuospatial processes have highlighted that the underlying cognitive structure is more complex than previously suggested and several dissociations have been reported (e.g., visual vs spatial, sequential vs simultaneous, or passive vs active processes). In the present study we analyze in detail the characteristics of the visuospatial deficit associated with Turner's syndrome by presenting four young women with a comprehensive battery of tasks designed to tap all aspects of visuospatial working memory. Results confirm that Turner's syndrome is associated with a general visuospatial working memory deficit, but the pattern of performance of different cases can be different, with a greater emphasis on active visuospatial processes. and on either sequential or simultaneous spatial processes.     

视觉表象操作加工的眼动实验研究

本研究通过视觉表象旋转和扫描的眼动实验探讨表象的心理表征方式。实验一结果表明,眼动指标具有与反应时相类似的旋转角度效应。实验二结果显示,表象扫描的反应时和眼动指标都具有与知觉扫描加工一样的距离效应。由此可以认为,表象眼动与知觉眼动模式具有相似性;表象具有相对独立的心理表征方式并有其特殊的加工过程;表象的心理表征可以是形象表征,而非一定是抽象的命题或符号表征     

Analysis of the development of children's spatial reference systems

Four, six, and ten-year-old children were required to copy an object's location and orientation within a two-dimensional spatial layout under two conditions: when both E's standard board and that of the S's were in the same orientation and when they were rotated 180 ° from each other. The failure of the 4-yr-olds to copy location and orientation under both conditions even when space was topographically coded indicates that at this age the child does not conceptualize space within two dimensions. Although the errors of the 4-yr-olds tended to be of a self-reference nature with respect to orientation and location on rotation trials the axes of the self-reference system were not coordinated. Six and 10-yr-old children performed significantly better on both conditions, with the exceptions that the 6-yr-olds continued to preserve some orientations within a self-reference system. When topographical codes were removed and S imagined rotation there were no significant age differences in total errors; however, older children organized entire subspaces within a self-reference system. The findings support Piaget and Inhelder's hypothesis that two-dimensional reference systems do not develop until the period of concrete operational thought, and they also indicate that even at age 10, the self-reference system continues to function when topographical codes are absent. Several cognitive mechanisms proposed to account for the development of spatial abilities are critically discussed.     

Neuropsychological predictors of conversion to probable Alzheimer disease in elderly with mild cognitive impairment

In the field of neuropsychology, it is essential to determine which neuropsychological tests predict Alzheimer's disease (AD) in people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and which cut‐off points should be used to identify people at greater risk for converting to dementia. The aim of the present study was to analyse the predictive value of the cognitive tests included in a neuropsychological battery for conversion to AD among MCI participants and to analyse the influence of some sociodemographic variables – sex, age, schooling – and others, such as follow‐up time and emotional state. A total of 105 participants were assessed with a neuropsychological battery at baseline and during a 3‐year follow‐up period. For the present study, the data were analysed at baseline. During the follow‐up period, 24 participants (22.85%) converted to dementia (2.79 ± 1.14 years) and 81 (77.14%) remained as MCI. The logistic regression analysis determined that the long delay cued recall and the performance time of the Rey figure test were the best predictive tests of conversion to dementia after an MCI diagnosis. Concerning the sociodemographic factors, sex had the highest predictive power. The results reveal the relevance of the neuropsychological data obtained in the first assessment. Specifically, the data obtained in the episodic verbal memory tests and tests that assess visuospatial and executive components may help to identify people with MCI who may develop AD in an interval not longer than 4 years, with the masculine gender being an added risk factor.     

The effects of ventriloquism on the right-side advantage for verbal material

Subjects were asked to recall one of two simultaneous messages coming from hidden loudspeakers situated either at 90° or at 45° from the median plane to the left and to the right. They were told that the messages were coming from two visible dummy loudspeakers which were also situated either at 90° or at 45°. Pre-stimulus cueing of the side to be recalled was given. Significant right-side advantage was obtained in the 90° real-fictitious condition, not in the other conditions. These results show that right-side advantage can be obtained with presentation over loudspeakers and unilateral recall, and dismiss a purely structural or purely cognitive view of lateral asymmetries in audition. Role of structural and cognitive factors is discussed.     

The utility of visuospatial mnemonics is dependent on visuospatial aptitudes

Classic studies in cognition have demonstrated that the use of appropriate memory mnemonics can reliably increase recall performance. However, is the facilitative effect of mnemonics consistent across all individuals? As some mnemonics explicitly contain a large visuospatial component, does normal variance in visuospatial aptitudes predict the effectiveness of such strategy usage? To explore this question, participants who varied in visuospatial ability were asked to recall several lists of words, and either did or did not use a visuospatial mnemonic. Results indicated that effective mnemonic usage was directly dependent on participants' visuospatial ability, and those lower in visuospatial aptitudes actually produced lower recall performance when asked to use such a mnemonic. Similarly, those lower in visuospatial aptitude also reported that mnemonic usage made the task significantly more difficult. These findings suggest that individual differences in relevant cognitive abilities can influence the effectiveness of memory strategies commonly used to enhance recall.     

Attending to a misoriented word causes the eyeball to rotate in the head

Torsional eye movements are triggered by head tilt and a rotating visual field. We examined whether attention to a misoriented form could also induce torsion. Thirty-six observers viewed an adapting field containing a bright vertical Une, and then they viewed a display that was composed of two misoriented words (one rotated clockwise, the other counterclockwise, by 15°, 30°, or 45°). The subjects were instructed to attend to one of the words. The subjects’ adjustments of a reference line to match the tilt of the afterimage showed that attention to a misoriented word produces torsional eye movement (verified with direct measurements on 4 additional subjects). This eye movement reduces the retinal misorientation of the word by about 1°. The results of this study reinforce the linkage between selective attention and eye movements and may provide a useful tool for dissecting different forms of “mental rotation” and other adjustments in internal reference frames. Apparent-motion displays confirming that the eye rotated in the head may be downloaded from www.psychonomic.org/archive.     

The differential effect of background music on memory for verbal and visuospatial information

Background music is a part of our everyday activities. Considerable evidence suggests that listening to music while performing cognitive tasks may negatively influence performance. However, other studies have shown that it can benefit memory when the music played during the encoding of information is also provided during the retrieval of that information, in the so-called context dependent memory effect. Since controversial results may be attributed to the nature of the material to be memorized, the aim of the present study is to compare the potential effect of consistent background music on the immediate and long-term recall of verbal and visuospatial information. Experiment 1 showed that instrumental background music does not benefit nor decrease recall of a list of unrelated words, both at the immediate and the 48-hours-delayed tests. By contrast, Experiment 2 revealed that the same background music can impair immediate and therefore long-term memory for visuospatial information. Results are interpreted in terms of competition for neurocognitive resources, with tasks mostly relying on the same brain hemisphere competing for a limited set of resources. Hence, background music might impair visuospatial memory to a greater extent than verbal memory, in the context of limited capacity cognitive system. In conclusion, the nature of the material to be learnt must be considered to fully understand the effect of background music on memory.     

Executive dysfunction affects word list recall performance: Evidence from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and other neurodegenerative diseases

The Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) is widely used in clinical practice to evaluate verbal episodic memory. While there is evidence that RAVLT performance can be influenced by executive dysfunction, the way executive disorders affect the serial position curve (SPC) has not been yet explored. To this aim, we analysed immediate and delayed recall performances of 13 non‐demented amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients with a specific mild executive dysfunction (ALSci) and compared their performances to those of 48 healthy controls (HC) and 13 cognitively normal patients with ALS. Moreover, to control for the impact of a severe dysexecutive syndrome and a genuine episodic memory deficit on the SPC, we enrolled 15 patients with a diagnosis of behavioural variant of frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) and 18 patients with probable Alzheimer's disease (AD). Results documented that, compared to cognitively normal subjects, ALSci patients had a selective mid‐list impairment for immediate recall scores. The bvFTD group obtained low performances with a selectively increased forgetting rate for terminal items, whereas the AD group showed a disproportionately large memory loss on the primary and middle part of the SPC for immediate recall scores and were severely impaired in the delayed recall trial. These results suggested that subtle executive dysfunctions might influence the recall of mid‐list items, possibly reflecting deficiency in control strategies at retrieval of word lists, whereas severer dysexecutive syndrome might also affect the recall of terminal items possibly due to attention deficit or retroactive interference.     

Cognitive and motor deficits in older adults with HIV infection: Comparison with normal ageing and Parkinson’s disease

Despite the life-extending success of antiretroviral pharmacotherapy in HIV infection (HIV), the prevalence of mild cognitive impairment in HIV remains high. Near-normal life expectancy invokes an emerging role for age–infection interaction and a potential synergy between immunosenescence and HIV-related health factors, increasing risk of cognitive and motor impairment associated with degradation in corticostriatal circuits. These neural systems are also compromised in Parkinson’s disease (PD), which could help model the cognitive deficit pattern in HIV. This cross-sectional study examined three groups, age 45–79 years: 42 HIV, 41 PD, and 37 control (CTRL) participants, tested at Stanford University Medical School and SRI International. Neuropsychological tests assessed executive function (EF), information processing speed (IPS), episodic memory (MEM), visuospatial processing (VSP), and upper motor (MOT) speed and dexterity. The HIV and PD deficit profiles were similar for EF, MEM, and VSP. Although only the PD group was impaired on MOT compared with CTRL, MOT scores were related to cognitive scores in HIV but not PD. Performance was not related to depressive symptoms, socioeconomic status, or CD4⁺ T-cell counts. The overlap of HIV-PD cognitive deficits implicates frontostriatal disruption in both conditions. The motor-cognitive score relation in HIV provides further support for the hypothesis that these processes share similar underlying mechanisms in HIV infection possibly expressed with or exacerbated by ageing.     

Copy and recall performance of 6-8-year-old children after standard vs. Step-by-step administration of the Rey-Osterrieth complex figure.

The Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure (ROCF; Rey 1941; Osterrieth, 1944) is frequently used in the neuropsychological assessment of children and adults. The present study was designed, in part, to examine the impact of providing organizational scaffolding to young children being tested with the ROCF. To this end, 6-, 7-, and 8-year-old children were administered the test either in the standard fashion, or using a format in which the 18 key elements of the figure were introduced sequentially. Participants included 132 children who were randomly assigned to the standard or step-by-step administration groups. Significantly higher accuracy and organization scores for both copy and recall were seen with the step-by-step format than with the standard format, even though children in the step-by-step condition took less time to execute their drawings. Retention of encoded information was not affected by age or testing format. The fact that 6-year-olds in the step-by-step condition performed as well as, or better than, 8-year-olds in the standard condition suggests that the primary problem young children experience with the ROCF lies with organizational strategy formation. Advantages of using the Step-by-step ROCF in clinical practice are discussed.     

The utility of the spatial span in a clinical geriatric population

Spatial Span subtest of the Wechsler Memory Scale has been viewed as an indicator of working memory and visuospatial processing. The current study examined the impact of cognitive impairment and its severity on Spatial Span performance. A neuropsychological battery including Spatial Span was administered to 538 individuals (65-89) who were grouped by consensus into Alzheimer's disease, Vascular Dementia, Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment, Non-Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment and cognitively normal. Increase in level of impairment resulted in a decrease in Spatial Span Total Score. A weak relationship between age and Spatial Span Total Score was found. Spatial Span Forward remains relatively stable regardless of level of impairment. Spatial Span Backward was more sensitive to severity. No significant differences were found between individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and those with Vascular Dementia suggesting similar deficit patterns in the cognitive abilities measured by the Spatial Span. Mild Cognitive Impairment groups and normals did not differ suggesting visuospatial processes are not affected early in the dementing process.     

Effects of orientation on Rey complex figure performance

An experiment was performed that examined the impact of stimulus orientation on performance on the Rey complex figure. A total of 48 undergraduates (24 men, 24 women) were randomly assigned to one of four Rey figure orientation groups (0 degrees, 90 degrees, 180 degrees, and 270 degrees ). Participants followed standard procedures for the Rey figure, initially copying it in whatever orientation group they were assigned to. Next, all participants performed a 15-20 min lexical decision experiment, used as a filler task. Finally, and unbeknownest to them, participants were asked to recall as much of the figure as they could. As expected, results revealed a main effect of Task (F = 83.92, p < .01), in which copy performance was superior to recall performance. However, the main effect for orientation was not significant, nor did orientation interact with task (Fs < .68, ps > .57). The results are important from an applied setting, especially if testing conditions are less than optimal and a fixed stimulus position is not possible (e.g., testing at the bedside).