ABSTRACT
The goal of this study was to investigate if the selection of external information for storage in visual working memory requires control by the central executive when the categorization of targets is guided by instructions. The design was experimental 3 (concurrent task) x 2 (instruction). Forty-eight university students saw eight colored shapes, four of them surrounded by square outlines. Memory was assessed using a recognition task. Targets varied with instructions: targets were presented within squares in the first block and outside squares in the second block. There were three concurrent tasks: no task, articulatory suppression, and backward counting. Performance was measured by hits, false alarms, corrected recognition, and sensitivity (A'), compared using within-subject ANOVAs. Results showed a main effect only for concurrent task, with lower performance in the backward counting condition for all measures. These results suggest that the central executive does not control the perceptual filter, corroborating earlier results. (AU)
O objetivo deste estudo foi investigar se a seleção de informações externas para manutenção na memória de trabalho visual requer controle do executivo central, quando a categorização de alvos depende de instrução. O delineamento foi experimental três (tarefa concorrente) x duas (instrução). Participaram 48 universitários. Os participantes viam oito formas coloridas, quatro delas dentro de quadrados. A memória foi avaliada por reconhecimento. Os alvos dependiam de instrução: no primeiro bloco estavam dentro de quadrados e no segundo, fora de quadrados. Havia três tarefas concorrentes: sem tarefa, supressão articulatória e contagem inversa. O desempenho foi avaliado por acertos, alarmes falsos, taxa de reconhecimento correto e índice de sensibilidade A', comparados por meio de ANOVAs intrassujeitos. Os resultados mostraram apenas efeito principal da tarefa concorrente, com menor desempenho na condição contagem inversa em todas as medidas. Esse resultado sugere que o executivo central não controla o filtro perceptual, corroborando resultados anteriores. (AU)
El objetivo fue investigar si la selección de información externa para el mantenimiento de la memoria de trabajo visual requiere un control del ejecutivo central, cuando la categorización de los estímulos depende de instrucciones. El diseño fue experimental 3 (tarea concurrente) x 2 (instrucción). Los 48 estudiantes universitarios participantes vieron ocho formas de colores, cuatro de ellas dentro de cuadrados. La memoria se evaluó por reconocimiento. Los estímulos dependían de la instrucción: en el primer bloque estaban dentro de los cuadrados, y en el segundo, fuera de ellos. Hubo tres tareas recurrentes: ninguna tarea, supresión articulatoria y conteo inverso. El rendimiento se evaluó mediante aciertos, falsas alarmas, tasa de reconocimiento correcto e índice de sensibilidad A', mediante ANOVAs intrasujeto Los resultados mostraron solo el efecto principal de la tarea concurrente, con menor rendimiento en la condición de conteo inverso en todas las medidas. Los resultados sugieren que el ejecutivo central no controla el filtro perceptual, corroborando resultados anteriores. (AU)
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Adolescent , Adult , Young Adult , Attention , Executive Function , Memory, Short-Term , Students/psychology , Universities , Visual Perception , Surveys and Questionnaires , Analysis of Variance , Sociodemographic FactorsABSTRACT
Electrocardiogram (ECG) can visually reflect the physiological electrical activity of human heart, which is important in the field of arrhythmia detection and classification. To address the negative effect of label imbalance in ECG data on arrhythmia classification, this paper proposes a nested long short-term memory network (NLSTM) model for unbalanced ECG signal classification. The NLSTM is built to learn and memorize the temporal characteristics in complex signals, and the focal loss function is used to reduce the weights of easily identifiable samples. Then the residual attention mechanism is used to modify the assigned weights according to the importance of sample characteristic to solve the sample imbalance problem. Then the synthetic minority over-sampling technique is used to perform a simple manual oversampling process on the Massachusetts institute of technology and Beth Israel hospital arrhythmia (MIT-BIH-AR) database to further increase the classification accuracy of the model. Finally, the MIT-BIH arrhythmia database is applied to experimentally verify the above algorithms. The experimental results show that the proposed method can effectively solve the issues of imbalanced samples and unremarkable features in ECG signals, and the overall accuracy of the model reaches 98.34%. It also significantly improves the recognition and classification of minority samples and has provided a new feasible method for ECG-assisted diagnosis, which has practical application significance.
Subject(s)
Algorithms , Arrhythmias, Cardiac/diagnosis , Electrocardiography , Humans , Memory, Short-Term , Neural Networks, Computer , Signal Processing, Computer-AssistedABSTRACT
Transcranial magneto-acoustic-electrical stimulation is a new non-invasive neuromodulation technology, in which the induced electric field generated by the coupling effect of ultrasound and static magnetic field are used to regulate the neural rhythm oscillation activity in the corresponding brain region. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of transcranial magneto-acoustic-electrical stimulation on the information transfer and communication in neuronal clusters during memory. In the experiment, twenty healthy adult Wistar rats were randomly divided into a control group (five rats) and stimulation groups (fifteen rats). Transcranial magneto-acoustic-electrical stimulation of 0.05~0.15 T and 2.66~13.33 W/cm 2 was applied to the rats in stimulation groups, and no stimulation was applied to the rats in the control group. The local field potentials signals in the prefrontal cortex of rats during the T-maze working memory tasks were acquired. Then the coupling differences between delta rhythm phase, theta rhythm phase and gamma rhythm amplitude of rats in different parameter stimulation groups and control group were compared. The experimental results showed that the coupling intensity of delta and gamma rhythm in stimulation groups was significantly lower than that in the control group ( P<0.05), while the coupling intensity of theta and gamma rhythm was significantly higher than that in the control group ( P<0.05). With the increase of stimulation parameters, the degree of coupling between delta and gamma rhythm showed a decreasing trend, while the degree of coupling between theta and gamma rhythm tended to increase. The preliminary results of this paper indicated that transcranial magneto-acoustic-electrical stimulation inhibited delta rhythmic neuronal activity and enhanced the oscillation of theta and gamma rhythm in the prefrontal cortex, thus promoted the exchange and transmission of information between neuronal clusters in different spatial scales. This lays the foundation for further exploring the mechanism of transcranial magneto-acoustic-electrical stimulation in regulating brain memory function.
Subject(s)
Acoustics , Animals , Electric Stimulation , Memory, Short-Term/physiology , Rats , Rats, Wistar , Theta Rhythm/physiology , Transcranial Direct Current StimulationABSTRACT
Working memory is an important foundation for advanced cognitive function. The paper combines the spatiotemporal advantages of electroencephalography (EEG) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to explore the neurovascular coupling mechanism of working memory. In the data analysis, the convolution matrix of time series of different trials in EEG data and hemodynamic response function (HRF) and the blood oxygen change matrix of fNIRS are extracted as the coupling characteristics. Then, canonical correlation analysis (CCA) is used to calculate the cross correlation between the two modal features. The results show that CCA algorithm can extract the similar change trend of related components between trials, and fNIRS activation of frontal pole region and dorsolateral prefrontal lobe are correlated with the delta, theta, and alpha rhythms of EEG data. This study reveals the mechanism of neurovascular coupling of working memory, and provides a new method for fusion of EEG data and fNIRS data.
Subject(s)
Electroencephalography/methods , Memory, Short-Term , Neurovascular Coupling/physiology , Prefrontal Cortex , Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared/methodsABSTRACT
RESUMO Objetivo investigar o desempenho de crianças com histórico de subnutrição de grau leve na primeira infância, em tarefas que avaliam a linguagem oral, processamento fonológico e memória visuoespacial. Método participaram 36 crianças (media de idade 5,3 anos; desvio padrão = 0,57), sendo nove crianças que tiveram diagnóstico de subnutrição entre 0 e 3 anos de idade (G1); nove eutróficas e com atraso de linguagem (G2) e 18 crianças eutróficas com desenvolvimento típico de linguagem (G3). Todas foram submetidas a procedimentos de triagem auditiva, diagnóstico do estado nutricional atual e testes de linguagem, processamento fonológico e de memória operacional - esboço visuoespacial. Foi realizada análise estatística por meio do Teste de Igualdade de Proporções e Kruskal-Wallis (α = 5%). Resultados foram observadas diferenças no desempenho nas tarefas de linguagem receptiva e expressiva de G1 e G2, em relação ao G3. O desempenho nas tarefas de memória de trabalho - esboço visuoespacial foi significativamente diferente entre G1 e G3 e G2 e G3. Não houve diferença entre os grupos no teste de vocabulário emissivo, aspecto fonológico, consciência fonológica e memória operacional fonológica. Conclusão crianças com histórico de subnutrição de grau leve durante o período crítico de desenvolvimento cerebral podem apresentar prejuízos na linguagem, principalmente na área receptiva, e desempenho restrito em outras habilidades cognitivas, tais como memória de trabalho - esboço visuoespacial.
ABSTRACT Purpose To investigate the performance of children with a history of mild malnutrition in early childhood in tasks that assess oral language, phonological processing and visuospatial memory. Methods Thirty-six children participated (mean age 5.3 years; standard deviation = 0.57), with 9 children diagnosed with malnutrition between 0 and 3 years old (G1); 9 eutrophic and with language delay (G2) and; 18 eutrophic children with typical language development (G3). All were submitted to hearing screening procedures, diagnosis of current nutritional status and tests of language, phonological processing and working memory - visuospatial sketch. Statistical analysis was performed using the Test of Equality of Proportions and the Kruskal-Wallis test (α = 5%). Results Differences were observed in the performance in receptive and expressive language tasks of G1 and G2 in relation to G3. Performance on working memory tasks - visuospatial sketch was significantly different between G1 and G3 and G2 and G3. There was no difference between the groups concerning expressivevocabulary, phonological aspect, phonological awareness and phonological working memory. Conclusion Children with a history of mild malnutrition during the critical period of brain development may have language impairments, especially in the receptive area, and restricted performance in other cognitive skills, such as working memory - visuospatial sketch.
Subject(s)
Humans , Child, Preschool , Child , Child Language , Nutritional Status , Malnutrition/complications , Language Development Disorders , Learning Disabilities , Memory, Short-Term , Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences , Language TestsABSTRACT
The study explored the mediating effect of number sense between nonverbal intelligence and children's mathematical performance. The sample consisted of 131 pupils in Shaoxing City of China from grades 1, 3, and 5. The students completed measures of nonverbal intelligence, number sense, basic arithmetic ability, mathematical performance, rapid automatized naming, and working memory. Results show that although all variables significantly relate with each other (all p < .01), only nonverbal intelligence, number sense, and basic arithmetic ability significantly affect children's mathematical performance (all p < .01). According to multiple-mediation model, nonverbal intelligence significantly predicts children's mathematical performance through number sense and basic arithmetic ability. These findings suggest that domain-specific mathematical skills play a prominent role in children's mathematical performance in primary school, rather than domain-general cognitive functions. Educators should pay attention to develop children's number sense in order to improve children's mathematical ability. (AU)
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Child , Cognition , Intelligence , Learning , Mathematics , Memory, Short-Term , China , Education, Primary and SecondaryABSTRACT
Astrocytes are increasingly recognized to play an active role in learning and memory, but whether neural inputs can trigger event-specific astrocytic Ca2+ dynamics in real time to participate in working memory remains unclear due to the difficulties in directly monitoring astrocytic Ca2+ dynamics in animals performing tasks. Here, using fiber photometry, we showed that population astrocytic Ca2+ dynamics in the hippocampus were gated by sensory inputs (centered at the turning point of the T-maze) and modified by the reward delivery during the encoding and retrieval phases. Notably, there was a strong inter-locked and antagonistic relationship between the astrocytic and neuronal Ca2+ dynamics with a 3-s phase difference. Furthermore, there was a robust synchronization of astrocytic Ca2+ at the population level among the hippocampus, medial prefrontal cortex, and striatum. The inter-locked, bidirectional communication between astrocytes and neurons at the population level may contribute to the modulation of information processing in working memory.
Subject(s)
Animals , Astrocytes , Hippocampus/physiology , Humans , Memory, Short-Term/physiology , Mice , Neurons/physiology , Population DynamicsABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE@#Exploring the effectiveness of using EEG linear and nonlinear features for accessing mental workload in different tasks.@*METHODS@#Working memory tasks with different information types and various mental loads were designed based on N-Back paradigm. EEG signals from 18 normal adults were acquired when tasks were being performed. Linear and nonlinear features of EEGs were then extracted. Indices that can effectively reflect mental workload levels were selected by using multivariate analysis of variance statistical approach.@*RESULTS@#With the increment of task load, power of frontal Theta, Theta/Alpha ratio, and sample entropies (scales>10) in parietal regions increased significantly first and decreased slightly then, while the power of central-parietal Alpha decreased significantly first and increased slightly then. No difference in power of frontal Theta, central-parietal Alpha, and sample entropies (scales>10) of parietal regions were found between verbal and object tasks, as well as between two spatial tasks. No difference of frontal Theta/Alpha ratio was found in all the four tasks.@*CONCLUSIONS@#The results can provide evidence for the mental workload evaluation in tasks with different information types.
Subject(s)
Electroencephalography , Memory, Short-Term , WorkloadABSTRACT
To compare the performance of generalized additive model (GAM) and long short-term memory recurrent neural network (LSTM-RNN) on the prediction of daily admissions of respiratory diseases with comorbid diabetes. Daily data on air pollutants, meteorological factors and hospital admissions for respiratory diseases from Jan 1st, 2014 to Dec 31st, 2019 in Beijing were collected. LSTM-RNN was used to predict the daily admissions of respiratory diseases with comorbid diabetes, and the results were compared with those of GAM. The evaluation indexes were calculated by five-fold cross validation. Compared with the GAM, the prediction errors of LSTM-RNN were significantly lower [root mean squared error (RMSE): 21.21±3.30 vs. 46.13±7.60, <0.01; mean absolute error (MAE): 14.64±1.99 vs. 36.08±6.20, <0.01], and the value was significantly higher (0.79±0.06 vs. 0.57±0.12, <0.01). In gender stratification, RMSE, MAE and values of LSTM-RNN were better than those of GAM in predicting female admission (all <0.05), but there were no significant difference in predicting male admission between two models (all >0.05). In seasonal stratification, RMSE and MAE of LSTM-RNN were lower than those of GAM in predicting warm season admission (all <0.05), but there was no significant difference in value (>0.05). There were no significant difference in RMSE, MAE and between the two models in predicting cold season admission (all >0.05). In the stratification of functional areas, the RMSE, MAE and values of LSTM-RNN were better than those of GAM in predicting core area admission (all <0.05). has lower prediction errors and better fitting than the GAM, which can provide scientific basis for precise allocation of medical resources in polluted weather in advance.
Subject(s)
Beijing/epidemiology , Diabetes Mellitus/epidemiology , Female , Hospitalization , Humans , Male , Memory, Short-Term , Neural Networks, ComputerABSTRACT
The automatic recognition technology of muscle fatigue has widespread application in the field of kinesiology and rehabilitation medicine. In this paper, we used surface electromyography (sEMG) to study the recognition of leg muscle fatigue during circuit resistance training. The purpose of this study was to solve the problem that the sEMG signals have a lot of noise interference and the recognition accuracy of the existing muscle fatigue recognition model is not high enough. First, we proposed an improved wavelet threshold function denoising algorithm to denoise the sEMG signal. Then, we build a muscle fatigue state recognition model based on long short-term memory (LSTM), and used the Holdout method to evaluate the performance of the model. Finally, the denoising effect of the improved wavelet threshold function denoising method proposed in this paper was compared with the denoising effect of the traditional wavelet threshold denoising method. We compared the performance of the proposed muscle fatigue recognition model with that of particle swarm optimization support vector machine (PSO-SVM) and convolutional neural network (CNN). The results showed that the new wavelet threshold function had better denoising performance than hard and soft threshold functions. The accuracy of LSTM network model in identifying muscle fatigue was 4.89% and 2.47% higher than that of PSO-SVM and CNN, respectively. The sEMG signal denoising method and muscle fatigue recognition model proposed in this paper have important implications for monitoring muscle fatigue during rehabilitation training and exercise.
Subject(s)
Electromyography , Memory, Short-Term , Muscle Fatigue , Neural Networks, Computer , Recognition, PsychologyABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE@#To select variables related to mortality risk of stroke patients in intensive care unit (ICU) through long short-term memory (LSTM) with attention mechanisms and Logistic regression with L1 norm, and to construct mortality risk prediction model based on conventional Logistic regression with important variables selected from the two models and to evaluate the model performance.@*METHODS@#Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care (MIMIC)-Ⅳ database was retrospectively analyzed and the patients who were primarily diagnosed with stroke were selected as study population. The outcome was defined as whether the patient died in hospital after admission. Candidate predictors included demogra-phic information, complications, laboratory tests and vital signs in the initial 48 h after ICU admission. The data were randomly divided into a training set and a test set for ten times at a ratio of 8 ∶2. In training sets, LSTM with attention mechanisms and Logistic regression with L1 norm were constructed to select important variables. In the test sets, the mean importance of variables of ten times was used as a reference to pick out the top 10 variables in each of the two models, and then these variables were included in conventional Logistic regression to build the final prediction model. Model evaluation was based on the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy. And the model performance was compared with the forward Logistic regression model which hadn't conducted variable selection previously.@*RESULTS@#A total of 2 755 patients with 2 979 ICU admission records were included in the analysis, of which 526 recorded deaths. The AUC of Logistic regression model with L1 norm was statistically better than that of LSTM with attention mechanisms (0.819±0.031 vs. 0.760±0.018, P < 0.001). Age, blood glucose, and blood urea nitrogen were at the top ten important variables in both of the two models. AUC, sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of Logistic regression models were 0.85, 85.98%, 71.74% and 74.26%, respectively. And the final prediction model was superior to forward Logistic regression model.@*CONCLUSION@#The variables selected by Logistic regression with L1 norm and LSTM with attention mechanisms had good prediction performance, which showed important implications on the mortality prediction of stroke patients in ICU.
Subject(s)
Critical Care , Humans , Intensive Care Units , Logistic Models , Memory, Short-Term , Prognosis , ROC Curve , Retrospective Studies , StrokeABSTRACT
Reading in a foreign language is considered a high cognitive function, believed, thus, to impose demands on working memory resources. Studies have shown significant correlations between working memory capacity and foreign language reading comprehension, but its underlying mechanisms are still open to discussion. This article reports on a study whose objective was to investigate possible correlations between working memory capacity and foreign language reading comprehension considering the knowledge of the first language as a possible source of interference. A recall task was conducted in two conditions, one in which readers performed the task in English and another, in Portuguese. Results showed a weak but statistically significant correlation between working memory capacity and recall scores in the second condition and no correlations between working memory capacity and reading time. Exploratory data analyses suggested that the correlation observed was influenced by foreign language reading proficiency and that the ratio of recall scores to reading time is a better measure of comprehension efficiency.
A leitura em língua estrangeira é considerada uma função cognitiva de alto nível que se acredita, portanto, impor demandas nos recursos da memória de trabalho. Estudos mostram correlações significativas entre capacidade de memória de trabalho e compreensão leitora em língua estrangeira, mas seus mecanismos subjacentes ainda estão abertos a discussões. Esse artigo reporta um estudo cujo objetivo foi investigar possíveis correlações entre capacidade de memória de trabalho e compreensão leitora em língua estrangeira considerando o conhecimento da primeira língua como uma possível fonte de interferência. Uma tarefa de recordação foi conduzida em duas condições, uma em que os leitores realizaram a tarefa em inglês e outra, em português. Os resultados mostraram uma correlação fraca, mas estatisticamente significativa entre capacidade de memória de trabalho e pontuações no teste de recordação na segunda condição e nenhuma correlação entre capacidade de memória de trabalho e tempo de leitura. Análises exploratórias dos dados apontaram que a correlação observada foi influenciada pela proficiência de leitura em língua estrangeira e que a razão entre pontuações do teste de recordação e tempo de leitura é uma medida mais apropriada para a eficiência da compreensão leitora.
Subject(s)
Humans , Comprehension , Language , Learning , Memory, Short-TermABSTRACT
Esse estudo teve como objetivo comparar o desempenho de memória operacional e memória episódica em estudantes do ensino público e privado. A amostra foi composta por 79 crianças, com idades entre 9 e 12 anos, divididos por gênero, idade e tipo de escola. A avaliação foi realizada individualmente por meio da CMS e Raven. Para a análise dos dados, foi utilizado o teste t de Student, com nível de significância adotado de 5%. Os resultados evidenciam melhor desempenho das crianças de escola pública nas tarefas de inteligência e memória visual, enquanto os estudantes de escola particular apresentaram melhor desempenho em memória verbal e visual, corroborando com estudos que apontam diferenças em tarefas cognitivas para crianças de níveis socioeconômicos diferentes. Esses resultados fomentam a importância de mais pesquisas na área, para compreensão e melhorias no desenvolvimento cognitivo das crianças e adolescentes brasileiros. (AU)
This study aimed to compare the performance of working memory and episodic memory in students from public and private schools. A sample consisted of 79 children, aged between 9 and 12 years; divided by gender, age and type of school. The assessment was carried out individually using the CMS and Raven's test. For the data analysis student's t-test was used, the level of significance adopted was 5%. The results showed better performance by the public school children in tasks of intelligence and visual memory, while the students from private schools showed better performance in verbal and visual memory, corroborating studies that highlight differences in cognitive tasks for children with different socioeconomic levels. These results demonstrate the importance of more research in the area, aiming to better understand and improve the cognitive development of Brazilian children and adolescents. (AU)
Este estudio tuvo como objetivo comparar el rendimiento de la memoria de trabajo y la memoria episódica en estudiantes de escuelas públicas y privadas. La muestra se compuso por 79 niños, con edades comprendidas entre 9 y 12 años; divididos por género, edad y tipo de escuela. La evaluación se realizó individualmente a través de la CMS y Raven. Se utilizó la prueba t de student para el análisis de datos, el nivel de significación adoptado fue del 5%. Los resultados evidenciaron un mejor rendimiento de los niños de las escuelas públicas en tareas de inteligencia y memoria visual, mientras que los estudiantes de la escuela privada mostraron un mejor rendimiento en la memoria verbal y visual, corroborando con estudios que señalan diferencias en las tareas cognitivas para niños de diferentes niveles socioeconómicos. Estos resultados alientan la importancia de una mayor investigación en el área, para comprender y mejorar el desarrollo cognitivo de los niños y adolescentes brasileños. (AU)
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Child , Cognition , Memory, Episodic , Memory, Short-Term , Socioeconomic Factors , Students/psychology , Data Interpretation, Statistical , Surveys and Questionnaires , Intelligence Tests , Medical History TakingABSTRACT
El presente estudio tuvo como objetivo desarrollar y validar el Cuestionario de Funciones Ejecutivas (CUFE), un cuestionario accesible para evaluar las tres principales funciones ejecutivas (memoria de trabajo, inhibición y flexibilidad cognitiva) en niños de 9 a 12 años y, así, proporcionar valores descriptivos de referencia y evidencias acerca de su confiabilidad y validez. Para ello se analizó su funcionamiento en una muestra de 269 niños argentinos de 9 a 12 años de edad, alumnos del segundo ciclo de la escuela primaria. El análisis factorial exploratorio reveló una estructura de tres factores que explicaban 49.08 % de la varianza, con cargas factoriales unidimensionales y satisfactorias. Los factores retenidos presentaron buenos índices de confiabilidad y fueron llamados: memoria de trabajo, inhibición y flexibilidad y con-trol emocional. La memoria de trabajo se asoció con la comprensión lectora, el cálculo matemático y las calificaciones escolares de Prácticas del lenguaje y Matemática. Las restantes dos subescalas se asociaron con las calificaciones escolares de ambas asignaturas. Las dimensiones del cuestionario coinciden con los actuales modelos teóricos de funcionamiento ejecutivo. En función de las evidencias de validez y confiabilidad, el CUFE se presenta como un instrumento ecológico y valioso para la medición de las funciones ejecutivas en el contexto de la evaluación infantil
The present study aimed to develop and validate an accessible questionnaire to assess the three core execu-tive functions (working memory, inhibition, cognitive flexibility) in children aged 9-12 years: the Executive Function Questionnaire (CUFE), and to provide descrip-tive baseline values and evidence about its reliability and validity. The questionnaire was tested on a sample of 269 Argentinean children from 9 to 12 years old. Children attended elementary schools in Mar del Plata's city. The exploratory factorial analysis revealed a three-factor structure that explained 49.08% of the variance. The items were unidimensional and showed satisfactory factor loadings. The retained factors presented good reliability and were called working memory, inhibition and flexibility, and emotional control. Working memory was associated with reading comprehension, mathemat-ical skills, and school grades (language practices and mathematics). Inhibition and flexibility, and emotional control were associated with school grades. The factors were consistent with current theoretical models on executive functioning. Based on the evidence obtained, the cufe represents an ecological and valuable instru-ment for measuring executive functions on children
O presente estudo teve como objetivo desenvolver e validar um questionário acessível para avaliar as três principais funções executivas (memória de trabalho, inibição, flexibilidade cognitiva) em crianças de 9 a 12 anos: o Questionário de Funções Executivas (cufe); e fornecer valores de referência descritivos e evidên-cias sobre sua confiabilidade e validade. Para tanto, foi analisado seu funcionamento em uma amostra de 269 crianças argentinas entre 9 e 12 anos, estudantes do se-gundo ciclo do ensino fundamental. A análise fatorial exploratória revelou uma estrutura de três fatores que explicou 49.08% da variância, com cargas fatoriais unidi-mensionais satisfatórias. Os fatores retidos apresentaram bons índices de confiabilidade e foram denominados Memória de trabalho, Inibição e Flexibilidade e con-trole emocional. A memória de trabalho foi associada à compreensão de leitura, ao cálculo matemático e às notas escolares de Prática de Linguagem e Matemática. As duas subescalas restantes foram associadas às notas escolares de ambas as disciplinas. As dimensões do ques-tionário coincidem com os modelos teóricos atuais de funcionamento executivo. Com base nas evidências de validade e confiabilidade, o cufe apresenta-se como um instrumento ecológico e valioso para a mensuração das funções executivas no contexto da avaliação infantil
Subject(s)
Humans , Child , Memory, Short-Term , Argentina , Child , Surveys and Questionnaires , Reproducibility of Results , Educational Measurement , Inhibition, PsychologicalABSTRACT
ABSTRACT. The literature indicates that cognitive stimulation interventions have shown promising results. Abacus represents a tool with great potential in such interventions. Objectives: To carry out a systematic review of studies published in recent years that entailed the delivery of a cognitive training program using an abacus to boost target cognitive abilities of older persons and also other age groups, with or without cognitive impairment. Methods: A systematic review study was conducted in July 2020 involving PubMed, MedLine, LILACS, and SciELO databases. Results: A total of 29 studies were retrieved, of which 8 aimed to identify the effect of abacus-based mental calculation (AMC) for different age groups and to determine its applicability as a method of cognitive stimulation for older adults. In AMC technique, participants first learn to use the physical abacus (PA) and after achieving proficiency they perform calculations using a mental image of the device, manipulating the beads of the so-called mental abacus (MA). Conclusions: The number of studies addressing abacus use as a cognitive training tool was rather limited, considering the relevance of the theme. Their interventions have shown benefits for cognitive functioning of individuals of various age groups, including older adults with cognitive impairment. Future studies that involve larger samples of healthy and/or cognitively impaired older adults with a longitudinal design and a more elaborate methodological design are suggested.
RESUMO. A literatura aponta que intervenções de estimulação cognitiva têm mostrado resultados promissores. O ábaco representa uma ferramenta com grande potencial nesse tipo de intervenções. Objetivo: Realizar uma revisão sistemática de estudos publicados nos últimos anos que buscaram, em seus métodos, oferecer um programa de treino cognitivo com o uso do ábaco para estimular habilidades-alvo em idosos e em pessoas de outras faixas etárias, com ou sem comprometimento cognitivo. Métodos: Estudo de revisão sistemática, realizado em julho de 2020, utilizando-se as bases de dados PubMed, MedLine, LILACS e SciELO. Resultados: Um total de 29 estudos foram encontrados, dos quais oito objetivaram identificar o efeito do treino de uma técnica chamada abacus-based mental calculation (AMC) em diferentes faixas etárias e verificar sua aplicabilidade como método de estimulação cognitiva para idosos. No AMC, os participantes aprendem inicialmente a manipular o ábaco físico (PA, na sigla em inglês) e, após adquirirem agilidade, passam a realizar cálculos com uma imagem mental do instrumento, manipulando as contas do denominado ábaco mental (MA, na sigla em inglês). Conclusões: O número de estudos que abordaram o uso do ábaco como ferramenta para realização de treino cognitivo foi bastante limitado diante da relevância do tema. Os estudos analisados apresentaram benefícios do treino cognitivo com uso do ábaco para o desempenho cognitivo de indivíduos de diversas faixas etárias, inclusive em idosos com comprometimento cognitivo. Para estudos futuros, espera-se a realização de mais pesquisas com amostras maiores, com delineamento longitudinal e com métodos bem elaborados, com enfoque em pessoas idosas, saudáveis e/ou com comprometimento cognitivo.
Subject(s)
Humans , Mental Health , Aging , Cognition , Executive Function , Spatial Memory , Memory, Short-TermABSTRACT
Objetivo: La capacidad intelectual (CI) y las funciones ejecutivas (FE) influyen en el rendimiento académico, lo que a su vez se asocia con la deserción universitaria que es un fenómeno que afecta a la sociedad colombiana en general. El objetivo de este trabajo fue analizar los factores de la CI y de la FE que tienen que ver con el bajo rendimiento y con el alto rendimiento académico en una muestra de estudiantes universitarios. Metodología: Estudio observacional, transversal de dos grupos (bajo y alto rendimiento académico), de tipo analítico, prospectivo. Resultados: Todas las variables de CI y de FE mostraron diferencias significativas entre los grupos del estudio (p≤0.05), con mejor ejecución por parte de los estudiantes con alto rendimiento académico. Conclusiones: Se encontraron déficits ejecutivos y en el CI, así como en la mayoría de las dimensiones de FE en los estudiantes con bajo rendimiento, tales como menor rendimiento en la organización y categorización verbal, la memoria operativa verbal, la categorización visual y el control inhibitorio, sin que hubiera alteraciones en flexibilidad cognitiva. En el grupo de menor rendimiento también se observó mayor velocidad de la memoria operativa visual que podría entenderse como compensatoria.
Introduction: Intellectual capacity (IQ) and executive functions (EF) influence students' academic performance, which in turn is associated with university dropout, a phenomenon that affects Colombian society in general. The objective of this work was to analyze the factors of IQ and EF that have to do with low performance and high academic perfor-mance in a sample of university students. Methodology: Observational, analytical, prospective cross-sectional study carried out in 2 groups (low and high academic performance). Results: All IQ and FE variables showed significant differences between the study groups (p≤0.05), with better performance by students with high academic performance. Conclusions: Executive and IQ deficits were found, as well as in most of the EF dimensions in students with low performance, such as lower performance in verbal organization and categorization, verbal working memory, visual categorization and inhibitory control, without alterations in cognitive flexibility. In the group with the lowest performance, a higher speed of visual working memory was also observed, which could be understood as compensatory.
Objetivo: a capacidade intelectual (QI) e as funções executivas (EF) influenciam o des-empenho acadêmico, que por sua vez está associado à evasão universitária, fenômeno que afeta a sociedade colombiana em geral. O objetivo deste trabalho foi analisar os fatores de QI e FE que têm a ver com baixo desempenho e alto desempenho acadêmico em uma amostra de estudantes universitários. Metodologia: Estudo observacional, transversal de dois grupos (baixo e alto rendimento escolar), analítico, prospectivo. Resultados: Todas as variáveis de QI e FE apresentaram diferenças significativas entre os grupos de estudo (p≤0,05), com melhor desempenho dos alunos com alto rendimento acadêmico. Conclusões: Foram encontrados déficits executivos e de QI, assim como na maioria das dimensões de FE em escolares com baixo desempenho, como menor desempenho em organização e categorização verbal, memória de trabalho verbal, categorização e controle visual. Inibitórios, sem alterações na flexibilidade cognitiva. No grupo de pior desempenho, também foi observada maior velocidade de memória visual de trabalho, o que pode ser entendido como compensatório.
Subject(s)
Humans , Adolescent , Adult , Executive Function , Universities , Qi , Affect , Academic Performance , Memory, Short-TermABSTRACT
The capacity of visual working memory (VWM) depends on the complexity of the stimuli being processed. Emotional characteristics increase stimulus complexity and can interfere with the competition for cognitive resources. Studies involving emotional information processing are scarce and still produce contradicting results. In the present study, we investigated the capacity of VWM for faces with positive, negative, and neutral expressions. A modified change-detection task was used in two experiments, in which the number of faces and the emotional valence were manipulated. The results showed that VWM has a storage capacity of approximately two faces, which is fewer than the storage capacity identified for simpler stimuli. Our results reinforce the evidence that working memory can dynamically distribute its storage resources depending on both the amount and the emotional nature of the stimuli. (AU)
A capacidade da Memória Visual de Trabalho (MTV) depende da complexidade dos estímulos que estão sendo processados. As características emocionais aumentam a complexidade do estímulo e podem interferir na competição por recursos cognitivos. Estudos envolvendo processamento de informações emocionais são escassos e ainda produzem resultados contraditórios. No presente estudo, investiga-se a capacidade da MTV para faces com expressões positivas, negativas e neutras. Uma tarefa modificada de detecção de mudança foi usada em dois experimentos, nos quais o número de faces e a valência emocional foram manipulados. Os resultados mostraram que a MTV tem uma capacidade de armazenamento de aproximadamente duas faces, menor que a capacidade de armazenamento identificada para estímulos mais simples. Os resultados reforçam as evidências de que a memória de trabalho consegue distribuir dinamicamente seus recursos de armazenamento em função tanto da quantidade como da natureza emocional dos estímulos. (AU
La capacidad de la memoria de trabajo visual (MTV) puede variar dependiendo de la complejidad de los estímulos procesados. Las características emocionales aumentan la complejidad del estímulo y pueden interferir con la competencia por los recursos cognitivos. Los estudios que relacionan el procesamiento de informaciones emocionales son todavía escasos y aún producen resultados contradictorios. En el presente estudio, investigamos la capacidad de la MTV de rostros con valencia emocional positiva, negativa y neutra. Se utilizó una tarea de detección de cambios modificada en dos experimentos, en los que se manipuló la cantidad de rostros y niveles de valencia emocional. Nuestros resultados refuerzan la evidencia de que la memoria de trabajo es capaz de distribuir dinámicamente sus recursos de almacenamiento dependiendo tanto de la cantidad, como de la naturaleza emocional de los estímulos. (AU)
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Adult , Emotions , Facial Expression , Memory, Short-TermABSTRACT
Antecedentes y objetivo: El entrenamiento cognitivo puede tener repercusiones positivas en el proceso de envejecimiento, numerosos estudios evidencian el efecto positivo que produce. El objetivo de esta investigación es detrerminar si existe variabilidad positiva en la autopercepción cognitiva de los adultos mayores posterior a la aplicación de un programa de entrenamiento cognitivo. Materiales y Método: La investigación es de tipo cuantitativa, enmarcada en un diseño preexperimental dada la necesidad de valorar y comparar la autopercepción de los participantes pre y post entrenamiento cognitivo. La muestra estuvo constituida por 14 adultos mayores residentes en la zona norte de Chile. Luego de establecer el cumplimiento de todos los criterios de inclusión y exclusión se procedió a la aplicación de un programa de entrenamiento cognitivo intensivo de 15 sesiones con una duración estimada de 20 minutos por sesión que fueron realizadas de forma diaria, en las sesiones se trabajó de forma equitativa actividades de memoria de trabajo, atención, fluidez verbal y flexibilidad cognitiva. Resultados: Se establece que existe una diferenciación significativa en la autopercepción de las habilidades cognitivas (t = 0.036) pre y post entrenamiento cognitivo. Conclusiones: En la actualidad se conoce la repercusión que tienen los programas de estimulación cognitiva desde un enfoque rehabilitador, pero limitados solo a medidas diagnósticas clínicas, sin embargo, la calidad de vida siempre involucra aspectos subjetivos que pueden ser obtenidos del autoreporte como ocurre con las encuestas de autopercepción.
Background and objective: Cognitive training can have a positive impact on the aging process, numerous studies show the positive effect it produces. The objective of this research is to determine whether there is positive variability in the cognitive self-perception of older adults after the application of a cognitive training program. Materials and Method: The research is quantitative, framed in a pre-experimental design given the need to assess and compare the self-perception of the participants before and after cognitive training. The sample consisted of 14 older adults residing in the northern part of Chile. After establishing compliance with all the inclusion and exclusion criteria, an intensive cognitive training program of 15 sessions with an estimated duration of 20 minutes per session was applied, which were carried out on a daily basis. equitably activities of working memory, attention, verbal fluency and cognitive flexibility. Results: It is established that there is a significant differentiation in the self-perception of cognitive abilities (t = 0.036) before and after cognitive training. Conclusions: At present, the repercussion that cognitive stimulation programs have from a rehabilitative approach is known, but limited only to clinical diagnostic measures, however, quality of life always involves subjective aspects that can be obtained from self-report as occurs with self- perception surveys.
Subject(s)
Perception , Attention , Aging , Quality of Life , Research , Research Design , Work , Surveys and Questionnaires , Education , Memory, Short-TermABSTRACT
RESUMO Objetivo analisar a autoavaliação da memória de jovens universitários. Métodos trata-se de um estudo observacional, transversal, de caráter analítico, com abordagem quantitativa. Participaram 519 estudantes, matriculados regularmente em instituições de ensino superior, com média de idade de 22,9 anos (±5,5), sendo 408 mulheres e 111 homens. Os instrumentos utilizados foram o Questionário de Memória Prospectiva e Retrospectiva - QMPR (Prospective and Retrospective Memory Questionnaire - PRMQ-10) e um questionário com informações sociodemográficas e com queixas de memória relacionadas às atividades acadêmicas. Os dados foram analisados quantitativamente, de forma descritiva e inferencial, com uso do teste Qui-quadrado, considerando o valor de p<5%. Resultados os jovens universitários relataram dificuldades frequentes de memória, em especial na prospectiva e de curto prazo. Foi visto que 46,6% dos participantes apresentaram queixas de memória e 62,8% referiram acreditar que a rotina na universidade pode provocar aumento nas falhas de memória. Na autoavaliação, verificou-se que 47,7% mencionaram dificuldades na memória prospectiva e de curto prazo e, em relação à rotina acadêmica dos universitários, 46,4% relataram dificuldades na memória retrospectiva. Conclusão há associação entre a presença de queixa e os dados da autoavaliação da memória.
ABSTRACT Purpose To investigate the memory self-assessment of university students. Methods Observational, cross-sectional, analytical study with a quantitative approach. A total of 519 students regularly enrolled in higher education institutions participated, with a mean age of 22.9 years (±5.5), being 408 women and 111 men. Data was collected through the Prospective and Retrospective Memory Questionnaire (PRMQ-10) and a questionnaire with sociodemographic information and memory complaints related to academic activities. Data were evaluated quantitatively, descriptively and inferentially, using the Chi-Squared Test with a p-value <5%. Results University students reported frequent memory difficulties, especially in the prospective and short term memory. It was found that 46.6% of the participants had memory complaints and 62.8% reported believing that routine at the university may lead to an increase in memory failure. In the self-assessment, 47.7% reported difficulties in prospective and short-term memory and, in relation to the academic routine of university students, 46.4% reported difficulties in retrospective memory. Conclusion There is an association between the presence of a memory complaint and the self-assessment of memory data.
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Adult , Self-Assessment , Students , Universities , Memory , Memory, Short-Term , Socioeconomic Factors , Chi-Square Distribution , Surveys and Questionnaires , Academic PerformanceABSTRACT
Abstract Working memory (WM) is a predictor of school learning. This study aimed to investigate the predictive power of verbal and non-verbal working memory (WM) on students' performance in arithmetic. 126 children between 6 and 11 years old participated in the research. The instruments were: School Performance Test, Raven's Colored Progressive Matrices, Corsi Block-tapping Test, and Digits Subtest. The results showed strong and positive correlations of school performance with fluid intelligence r = 0.64, with verbal WM and non-verbal WM, both with r = 0.51 (p < 0.001). After multiple linear regression, it was found that the performance in visuospatial WM was a strong predictor for arithmetic, an effect not found for reading. The regression showed that WM explains 38% of the variance for arithmetic. It is concluded that WM has an expressive contribution to school performance, being more specific the contributions of visuospatial WM for arithmetic.
Resumo A memória de trabalho (MT) é um preditor da aprendizagem escolar. Este estudo teve por objetivo investigar o poder preditivo da memória de trabalho (MT) verbal e não verbal sobre o desempenho da aritmética. Participaram 126 crianças entre 6 e 11 anos. Os instrumentos foram: Teste de Desempenho Escolar, Matrizes Progressivas Colorida de Raven, Cubos de Corsi e Subteste Dígitos. Os resultados demonstraram correlações fortes e positivas do desempenho escolar com inteligência fluida r = 0,64 com MT verbal e com a MT não verbal, ambas com r = 0,51 (p < 0,001). Após regressão linear múltipla, verificou-se que o desempenho na MT visuoespacial foi um forte preditor para a aritmética, efeito não encontrado para a leitura. A regressão demonstrou que a MT explica 38% da variância para a aritmética. Conclui-se que a MT tem uma contribuição expressiva para o desempenho escolar, sendo mais específicas as contribuições do esboço visuoespacial para a aritmética.
Resumen La memoria de trabajo (MT) es un predictor del aprendizaje escolar. Este estudio tuvo como objetivo investigar el potencial predictivo de la MT verbal y no verbal en el rendimiento aritmético. Participaron 126 niños de entre 6 y 11 años. Los instrumentos fueron: Prueba de Rendimiento Escolar, Matrices Progresivas de Raven, Cubes de Corsi y Subprueba Dígitos. Los resultados mostraron correlaciones fuertes y positivas en el rendimiento escolar con inteligencia fluida r = 0,64 con MT verbal y MT no verbal, ambas con r = 0,51 (p < 0,001). Después de la regresión lineal, se observó que el rendimiento en la MT visuoespacial era fuerte predictor aritmético, efecto no encontrado en lectura. La regresión demostró que MT explica el 38% de la varianza en la aritmética. Se concluye que la MT tiene una contribución expresiva al rendimiento escolar, siendo las contribuciones visuoespaciales a la aritmética más específicas.