Absence of priming coupled with substantially preserved recognition in lorazepam-induced amnesia

Two experiments are reported on priming when subjects are in an amnesic state induced by lorazepam. The primed tasks were completion of word-stems and generation of words from specified categories. In both experiments, lorazepam subjects showed no evidence of priming, whereas control subjects showed substantial priming. Recognition by the amnesic subjects of items produced in the priming tests, although impaired, was well above the chance level. These findings contrast with those obtained with organic amnesic subjects, for whom priming is typically normal but recognition is grossly impaired. The theoretical implications of this double dissociation between priming and recognition are discussed.     

Working memory period: the endurance of mental representations.

Working memory span assesses the maximum number of items that can be remembered in the face of concurrent processing. Models of working memory differ on several dimensions, yet many rely exclusively on this span procedure for their evidence. Three experiments consider an alternative paradigm that attempts to capture the endurance limits for remembering a fixed number of items during concurrent processing. Eight-year-old children performed two versions of this working memory period measure--operation period and reading period. Period scores show healthy test-retest reliability and external validity for scholastic attainment, comparing well with span scores in these respects. In addition, period is highly correlated with span and shows similar effects of varying the order in which stimuli are presented. We conclude that the durability of representations is an important factor in both span and period.     

An investigation of the role of scale values in the DS/AHP method of multi‐criteria decision making

DS/AHP is a method of multi‐criteria decision making based on the Dempster–Shafer theory of evidence and the analytic hierarchy process. Central to the utilization of DS/AHP is the composing of preference judgements on identified groups of decision alternatives (DA) across a number of criteria against all the DA present in the problem in question. This paper exposits a series of results whose objectives are to aid in the development of an effective set of preference scale values for use within DS/AHP. These results relate directly to the concomitant level of ignorance (uncertainty) with the judgements made on a single criterion. Two particular directions of investigation are undertaken, firstly in determining the necessary number of scale values available and secondly finding the necessary differences between scale values, dependent on whether an arithmetic or geometric progression is the basis for the scale values. Through an example, the implications and utilization of these results within DS/AHP are illustrated. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.