Working memory predicts subsequent episodic memory decline during healthy cognitive aging: evidence from a cross-lagged panel design

Aging adults experience declines in working memory and episodic memory, however, it is unclear how these declines operate over time. Decreased working memory may be associated with early changes in episodic memory, by reducing older adults’ ability to meaningfully integrate new information into pre-existing schemas and recall information without the assistance of cues. Given the increased prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease, and concerns based on subjective memory changes, it is important to understand how these processes interact over time. To assess the relationship between working memory and episodic memory during healthy cognitive aging, we performed neuropsychological assessments at multiple time points in a sample of 310 community-dwelling older adults. Using a cross-lagged panel design, we demonstrated that the lagged associations between working memory and later episodic free recall were 50% larger than the lagged associations between episodic recall and later working memory, suggesting working memory may be a useful metric of future episodic memory decline.     

Friendlessness and theory of mind: A prospective longitudinal study

Chronic friendlessness in childhood predicts adverse mental health outcomes throughout life, yet its earliest roots are poorly understood. In theory, developing a theory of mind (ToM) should help children gain mutual friends and one preschool study (Peterson & Siegal, 2002. Br J Dev Psychol, 20, 205) suggested a cross‐sectional connection. We therefore used a 2‐year prospective longitudinal design to explore ToM as a predictor of mutual friendship in 114 children from age 5 to 7 years after controlling potential confounds including language ability and group popularity. Confirming friendship's distinctiveness from group sociometric status, numerous group‐rejected children (53%) had a mutual friend whereas 23% of those highest in group status did not. Five‐year‐olds with a mutual friend significantly outperformed their friendless peers on a comprehensive ToM battery (basic and advanced false belief). Longitudinally, chronically friendless 7‐year‐olds (no friends at either testing time) stood out for their exceptionally poor Time 1 ToM understanding even after controlling for group popularity, age, and language skill. Extending previous evidence of ToM's predictive links with later social and cognitive outcomes, these results for mutual friendship suggest possible interventions to help reduce the lifelong mental health costs of chronic friendlessness.     

More evidence on the latent benefits of work: bolstered by volunteering while threatened by job insecurity

ABSTRACT

This research examined whether volunteering would grant an alternative route to meaning at work (in the form of the latent benefits of work), even when people are deprived of meaning in times of job insecurity. Two longitudinal studies conducted in Germany (2 waves; n = 110) and the United Kingdom (3 waves; n = 377) showed that volunteering was related to more latent benefits in general, although the specific relationships differed between the countries: In the German sample, volunteering led to more collective purpose and social contacts over time, in the UK sample, it increased time structure and activity. Cross-lagged path analyses further showed that the relationship between volunteering and the latent benefits was reciprocal in both countries: volunteering increased the latent benefits and vice versa. There was limited evidence for the depriving effect of job insecurity, which was found only cross-sectionally. In sum, the results confirm that volunteering can enhance the benefits of work in times of job insecurity and that the effect is reciprocal.     

小学低年级儿童汉语语素意识、口语词汇知识对阅读能力的影响:一项追踪研究

以149名小学一年级儿童为被试，进行为期三年的追踪，采用交叉滞后的分析方法考察了儿童汉语语素意识、口语词汇知识与阅读能力的关系。结果发现：（1）儿童汉语语素意识、口语词汇知识、阅读准确性和阅读流畅性在小学1~3年级间有显著增长；（2）控制一般认知能力、语音意识、快速命名后，口语词汇知识在儿童早期的语素意识与后期的阅读能力之间起跨时间点的中介作用。结果表明，儿童早期的语素意识水平能够提高词汇知识获得的效率，进而促进阅读能力的发展。     

Comparison of Common Amplitude Metrics in Event-Related Potential Analysis

Abstract

Waveform data resulting from time-intensive longitudinal designs require careful treatment. In particular, the statistical properties of summary metrics in this area are crucial. We draw on event-related potential (ERP) studies, a field with a relatively long history of collecting and analyzing such data, to illustrate our points. In particular, three summary measures for a component in the average ERP waveform feature prominently in the literature: the maximum (or peak amplitude), the average (or mean amplitude) and a combination (or adaptive mean). We discuss the methodological divide associated with these summary measures. Through both analytic work and simulation study, we explore the properties (e.g., Type I and Type II errors) of these competing metrics for assessing the amplitude of an ERP component across experimental conditions. The theoretical and simulation-based arguments in this article illustrate how design (e.g., number of trials per condition) and analytic (e.g., window location) choices affect the behavior of these amplitude summary measures in statistical tests and highlight the need for transparency in reporting the analytic steps taken. There is an increased need for analytic tools for waveform data. As new analytic methods are developed to address these time-intensive longitudinal data, careful treatment of the statistical properties of summary metrics used for null hypothesis testing is crucial.     

元认知监测与算术知识制约小学儿童心算策略运用能力的发展:一年纵向考察

为探究元认知监测与算术知识对儿童心算策略运用能力的影响如何随个体发展而变化，采用计算机任务与纸笔测量的方法，对85名小学三、五年级儿童进行了历时一年的纵向追踪研究。研究发现：（1）两组儿童的元认知监测和算术知识均呈增长趋势，算术知识的增长速度五年级显著快于三年级，且元认知监测增长速度与算术知识增长速度显著相关；（2）两组儿童中，元认知监测与算术知识增长速度更快的个体策略执行反应时与错误率的减少速度也更快；（3）五年级儿童的算术知识在元认知监测影响策略选择发展中起着完全中介作用。     

Advanced theory of mind in children with mild intellectual disability and deaf or hard of hearing children: A two-year longitudinal study in middle childhood

The present study investigates the development of advanced theory of mind (AToM) among typically developing (TD) children, children with mild intellectual disability (MID), and deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) children. The 2-year longitudinal study comprised three waves and included a large sample of children from Poland in middle childhood aged around 7.5–9.5 years (N = 779; M = 7.7, SD = 0.92 at wave 1). The analysis of children’s understanding of second-order false belief and the Faux-Pas Recognition Test showed that TD children outperformed children with MID and DHH children on both measures. At 7.5 years, almost 60% of the TD children correctly solved the second-order false belief task; correct performance at 7.5 years in children with MID and DHH children was 27 and 38% respectively. Two years later, correct performance rose to 80% (TD children), 45% (children with MID), and 63% (DHH children). Despite these differences, the speed of AToM development did not differ across the groups. The development of faux-pas recognition followed a non-linear pattern, with TD children showing no further significant development after mid-elementary school. Our findings show differences in AToM development between TD children, children with MID, and DHH children, and they suggest that children’s development of AToM may follow different developmental pathways, depending on the aspect of AToM under study.