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"Learning. Memory"
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Does Early-Life Exposure to Stress Shape or Impair Cognition?
A predominant view in psychology is that early psychosocial adversity (e.g., abuse) impairs cognition, because children from stressful backgrounds (e.g., violent households) score lower on standard tests of intelligence, language, memory, inhibition, and other abilities. However, recent studies indicate that these people may exhibit improved detection, learning, and memory on tasks involving stimuli that are ecologically relevant to them (e.g., dangers), compared with safely nurtured peers. These findings contradict the view that cognition of stressed people is generally impaired; they suggest, rather, that these people's minds are developmentally specialized toward local environmental conditions. Here, we review recent research supporting this hypothesis. In addition, we propose that novel studies should examine whether stressed children show not only improved detection but also improved memory and reasoning on tasks involving stimuli that are ecologically relevant to them. Finally, we discuss clinical implications of switching from conceptualizing stressed minds as \"adapted\" rather than \"impaired.\"
Journal Article
Digitally translated Self-Administered Gerocognitive Examination (eSAGE): relationship with its validated paper version, neuropsychological evaluations, and clinical assessments
Background
The original paper Self-Administered Gerocognitive Examination (SAGE) is a valid and reliable cognitive assessment tool used to identify individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or early dementia. We evaluated identical test questions in a digital format (eSAGE) made for tablet use with the goals of calibrating it against SAGE and establishing its association with other neuropsychological tests and clinical assessments of cognitive impairment.
Methods
Subjects aged 50 and over who had taken SAGE were recruited from community and clinic settings. Subjects were randomly selected to participate in a clinical evaluation including neuropsychological evaluations. SAGE and eSAGE were administered using a crossover design. Subjects were identified as dementia, MCI, or normal based on standard clinical criteria. Associations were investigated using Spearman correlations, linear regression, and sensitivity and specificity measures.
Results
Of the 426 subjects screened, 66 completed the evaluation. eSAGE score correlation to a battery of neuropsychological tests was 0.73 (
p
< 0.0001) with no significant difference between the paper and digital format. Spearman correlation of SAGE versus eSAGE was 0.88 (
p
< 0.0001), and they are related by the formula: eSAGE score = –1.05 + 0.99 × SAGE score. Since the slope is very close to 1 (
p
= 0.86) there is strong evidence that the scaling is identical between eSAGE and SAGE, with no scale bias. Overall, eSAGE scores are lower by an average of 1.21 and the decrease is statistically significant (
p
< 0.0001). For those subjects familiar with smartphones or tablets (one measure of digital proficiency), eSAGE scores are lower by an average of 0.83 points (
p
= 0.029). With a score 16 and higher being classified as normal, eSAGE had 90% specificity and 71% sensitivity in detecting those with cognitive impairment from normal subjects.
Conclusions
Tablet-based eSAGE shows a strong association with the validated paper SAGE and a neuropsychological battery. It shows no scale bias compared to SAGE. Both have the advantage of self-administration, brevity, four interchangeable forms, and high sensitivity and specificity in detecting cognitive impairment from normal subjects. Their potential widespread availability will be a major factor in overcoming the many obstacles in identifying early cognitive changes.
Trial registration
ClinicalTrials.gov,
NCT02544074
. Registered on 18 March 2015.
Journal Article
Dual-learning systems during speech category learning
Dual-system models of visual category learning posit the existence of an explicit, hypothesis-testing
reflective
system, as well as an implicit, procedural-based
reflexive
system. The reflective and reflexive learning systems are competitive and neurally dissociable. Relatively little is known about the role of these domain-general learning systems in speech category learning. Given the multidimensional, redundant, and variable nature of acoustic cues in speech categories, our working hypothesis is that speech categories are learned reflexively. To this end, we examined the relative contribution of these learning systems to speech learning in adults. Native English speakers learned to categorize Mandarin tone categories over 480 trials. The training protocol involved trial-by-trial feedback and multiple talkers. Experiments
1
and
2
examined the effect of manipulating the timing (immediate vs. delayed) and information content (full vs. minimal) of feedback. Dual-system models of visual category learning predict that delayed feedback and providing rich, informational feedback enhance
reflective
learning, while immediate and minimally informative feedback enhance
reflexive
learning. Across the two experiments, our results show that feedback manipulations that targeted reflexive learning enhanced category learning success. In Experiment
3
, we examined the role of trial-to-trial talker information (mixed vs. blocked presentation) on speech category learning success. We hypothesized that the mixed condition would enhance reflexive learning by not allowing an association between talker-related acoustic cues and speech categories. Our results show that the mixed talker condition led to relatively greater accuracies. Our experiments demonstrate that speech categories are optimally learned by training methods that target the reflexive learning system.
Journal Article
A study protocol for a randomised trial of adjunct computerised memory specificity training (c-MeST) for major depression in youth: targeting cognitive mechanisms to enhance usual care outcomes in mental health settings
Background
Youth depression is highly prevalent and is related to impairments in academic, social and behavioural functioning. Evidence-based treatments are available, but many young people do not respond or sufficiently recover with first-line options, and a significant proportion experience relapse. Consequently, there is clear scope to enhance intervention in this critical period of early-onset depression. Memory specificity training (MeST) is a low-intensity intervention for depression that targets reduced specificity when recalling memories of the past, a common cognitive vulnerability in depression. This randomised controlled trial will assess the efficacy of adding a computerised version of MeST (c-MeST) to usual care for youth depression.
Methods/design
Young people aged 15–25 years with a major depressive episode (MDE) will be recruited and randomised to have immediate access to the seven session online c-MeST program in addition to usual care, or to usual care and wait-list for c-MeST. The primary outcomes will be diagnostic status of an MDE and self-reported depressive symptoms assessed at baseline, 1-, 3- and 6-month intervals. Autobiographical memory specificity and other variables thought to contribute to the maintenance of reduced memory specificity and depression will be assessed as mediators of change.
Discussion
Online provision of c-MeST provides a simple, low-intensity option for targeting a cognitive vulnerability that predicts the persistence of depressive symptoms. If found to be efficacious as an adjunct to usual care for depressed youth, it could be suitable for broader roll-out, as c-MeST is highly accessible and implementation requires only minimal resources due to the online and automated nature of intervention.
Trial registration
Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry,
ACTRN12619000234112p
. Registered on the 18 February 2019. All items from the WHO Trial Registration Data Set can be found within the protocol.
Protocol version
1.0
Journal Article
Retrieval practice over the long term: Should spacing be expanding or equal-interval?
If multiple opportunities are available to review to-be-learned material, should a review occur soon after initial study and recur at progressively expanding intervals, or should the reviews occur at equal intervals? Landauer and Bjork (
1978
) argued for the superiority of expanding intervals, whereas more recent research has often failed to find any advantage. However, these prior studies have generally compared expanding versus equal-interval training within a
single session
, and have assessed effects only
upon a single final test
. We argue that a more generally important goal would be to maintain high average performance over a considerable period of training. For the learning of foreign vocabulary spread over four weeks, we found that expanding retrieval practice (i.e., sessions separated by increasing numbers of days) produced recall equivalent to that from equal-interval practice on a final test given eight weeks after training. However, the expanding schedule yielded much higher average recallability over the whole training period.
Journal Article