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Evidence of Robust Recognition Memory Early in Life Even When Assessed by Reaching Behavior
Abstract
Infants of only 5-6 months prefer to look at something new when given the choice of looking at a stimulus shown earlier or something new, even after a long delay (the visual paired comparison task). However, if infants must reach and displace a stimulus to retrieve a reward, even 18-month-olds respond randomly when given the choice of reaching to the stimulus shown earlier or to something new, even after a brief delay (the delayed nonmatching to sample task). To investigate this paradox we modified the delayed nonmatching to sample task to make it more similar to visual paired comparison. Each stimulus served as its own reward; no rewards were hidden under any stimuli. Infants were habituated to a sample object, a delay was imposed, and then the sample and a new object were presented. Infants could choose to look at (in visual paired comparison) or reach for (in delayed nonmatching to sample (stimulus = reward)) either object. One hundred twenty infants were tested: 60 (20 each at 4, 6, and 9 months) on visual paired comparison and 60 (20 each at 6, 9, and 12 months) on delayed nonmatching to sample (stimulus = reward). The same 10 pairs of stimuli were used on both tasks. Each subject was tested twice at all five delays (10, 15, 60, 180, and 600 s). At even the youngest age that reaching was tested (6 months), infants showed evidence of recognition memory on the reaching task at delays at least as long as those at which they demonstrated recognition memory on the looking task. Indeed, when subjects reached, not in order to obtain something else, but to obtain the stimulus itself, they succeeded on a recognition memory task even at delays 10 min long very early in life.
... Pancratz and Cohen (1970) demon-strated that 4-month-old infants show a novelty preference immediately after the familiarization period but not when tested after a 5-min retention interval. More recently, Diamond (1995) observed a preference for novelty in 4-month-old infants when tested with a 10-s but not a 15-s retention interval. In contrast, 6-month-old infants showed a novelty preference with a 1-min, but not at 10-min, retention interval. ...
... Moreover, we showed the existence in 3-month-old infants of a cortical electrophysiological correlate of this recognition memory after a delay of 2 min. Our results differ from Diamond's (1995) results despite the fact that the same habituation technique (control procedure) was used in both studies. Diamond demonstrated that 4-month-old infants tested with VPC showed recognition memory after a 10-s, but not a 15-s, retention interval, whereas 6-month-olds showed recognition memory after a 1-min, but not a 3-min, retention interval. ...
... The use of VPC allowed us to compare our results with results obtained with monkeys with lesions of the hippocampal formation and adjacent cortex and with adult amnesic patients with similar lesions. We agree with Diamond's (1990Diamond's ( , 1995 claim that recognition memory as assessed by VPC involves the hippocampal formation and adjacent cortex. On the basis of the behavioral and electrophysiological data reported here, we can say that the kind of memory called pre-explicit memory by Nelson (1995), which is believed to be different from procedural memory, is present at least from the age of 3 months in human infants. ...
It has been argued that operant conditioning is the only type of long-term memory present in infants prior to 6 months of age. In this study, memory for faces was investigated in 3- and 6-month-old infants with a visual paired-comparison task. In Experiment 1, infants were habituated to a face presented in different poses; recognition was assessed after a 2-min or a 24-hr retention interval. The 6-month-old infants and the male but not the female 3-month-old infants exhibited novelty preferences. A 2nd experiment showed that 3-month-old female infants were delayed relative to male infants in their face-processing ability rather than in their memory capacity. The results of Experiment 3 demonstrated in 3-month-olds an electrophysiological correlate of delayed recognition memory. These findings are discussed in the context of the neural systems thought to be involved in visual recognition memory (but not in procedural memory), namely the limbic system.
... In support of the second possibility. Diamond (1995) found that a slightly modified version of the DNMS allows infants to demonstrate robust recognition memory on this measure at ages more comparable with the VPC. Diamond (1995) hypothesised that the reason infants fail DNMS in the first year of life is due to an immature concept of how a reward is contingent on a particular object, rather than a failure of recognition memory per se. ...
... Diamond (1995) found that a slightly modified version of the DNMS allows infants to demonstrate robust recognition memory on this measure at ages more comparable with the VPC. Diamond (1995) hypothesised that the reason infants fail DNMS in the first year of life is due to an immature concept of how a reward is contingent on a particular object, rather than a failure of recognition memory per se. In the traditional DNMS paradigm the reward is underneath the stimulus object, thus the infant must perform two actions; first identify the novel object then displace this object to obtain a reward. ...
... In summary, the recognition memory requirements of the VPC and DNMS tasks may be mediated by limbic networks including temporal lobe structures, whereas mle-leaming and/or reward-related aspects of the DNMS may be additionally associated with the inferior frontal lobes. As the modified version of the DNMS (Diamond 1995) was designed to minimise the rule-leaming requirement of the original task, it is reasonable to assume that the abilities assessed by the modified task are more reflective of temporal lobe function. The modified DNMS (mDNMS) was administered to SCD and control infants at 9-and 12-months in order to compare recognition memory performance between these two groups. ...
Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is an inherited disorder of haemoglobin, mainly affecting people of Afro-Caribbean origin. SCD often becomes symptomatic from the first year of life, when foetal haemoglobin is replaced by adult haemoglobin. Up to 25% of patients have discrete white matter brain lesions by mid-childhood, which may be detected on MRI but are not usually associated with neurological signs or symptoms. There is evidence that the frontal lobes are the most common site of neuropathology, but few studies have systematically attempted to examine executive function and/or relate the locus of lesion to cognitive dysfunction. Moreover, although neuropathology is evident very early in life, its possible relationship to neuro-developmental delay in infants has been largely ignored. Two longitudinal studies are reported in this thesis. The first was a prospective study of a group of infants with SCD (n=15) and controls (n=14) at three critical ages of early development (3-, 9-, and 12-months). Infants with SCD were impaired relative to controls from age 3-months on a neurodevelopmental screen, but not on experimental measures purporting to assess the early development of executive function. There were differences, however, in the event related potentials (ERPs) of SCD infants compared to controls, suggesting early abnormality in attention and recognition memory. The second study examined long-term cognitive outcome in children and young adults with SCD (n=50) and a group of sibling controls (n=26). Patients with and without brain lesions (confirmed by MRI) showed deficits in attention, whereas only patients with brain lesions were impaired on tests of working memory and response inhibition. Abnormalities were also evident in two ERP experiments assessing neural response to novelty and action-monitoring. It is concluded that patients with SCD may be at risk of neuro-developmental delay from infancy, and that this may manifest as executive dysfunction as the child matures into adolescence.
... Infant monkeys as young as 10 weeks old, were able to demonstrate adult-like abilities of the determination of size and texture in a tactile discrimination task (Carlson, 1984) indicative of a certain degree of primary somatosensory cortex maturation. Finally, the monkey DLPFC first exhibits signs of its most distinctive function at between 2-4 months of age, with regard to working memory ability in the delayed response task, object retrieval task and Piaget's Anot-B hiding task (Harlow et al, 1964;Diamond andGoldman-Rakic, 1986, 1989). ...
... In the first task, rapid learning was seen in the ability to adjust hand posture to the orientation of an object on the basis of visual inspection (von Hofsten and Fazel-Zandy, 1984) and in the second task, significant improvement in the ability to modify distance between thumb and fingers prior to contact with an object rather than in reaction to it (von Hofsten and Ronnqvist, 1988), was evident during the above period of development. In the case of medial temporal lobe and hippocampal functions, the ability to perform well in a visual-paired comparison task, by comparative recognition of novel objects, is present prior to 4-6 months in human infants (Overman et al, 1993) and also the ability to perform on singleand multiple-object discrimination is present by at least 12 months of age (Overman et al, 1992) if not as early as 5-6 months of age (Diamond, 1995). There is also evidence for some degree of recognition-memory emergence in the early postnatal period, as measured by successful performance in a reaching task-with-delay in infants as young as 6 months of age (Diamond et al, 1994). ...
The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) of the monkey brain exhibits a unique combination of intraareal and interareal connections, as well as distinctive neuronal properties, which correlate with diverse cognitive and mnemonic behaviours. Many of these attributes are found in the homologous region of the human brain. This thesis describes and compares the developmental time courses of two important components of the cortical circuitry in the monkey DLPFC: pyramidal neurons providing extensive, elaborately-patterned intrinsic connections in the superficial layers and the serotonin (5-HT) innervation in the same region. We hope that the results from these studies will contribute to a model of the human DLPFC; aiding the understanding of complex interactions within the DLPFC during postnatal development. The layer 3 pyramidal neurons providing intrinsic lattice connectivity within layers 1-3, are also the sources and targets for efferent and afferent corticocortical connections between the DLPFC and the rest of the brain. The postnatal time course of maturation for layer 3 pyramidal neurons was quantified by means of the changes in the relative density of their dendritic spines, which represent the postsynaptic sites of excitatory (asymmetric) synapses. We compared the developmental sequence for dendritic spines to the time courses of maturation for other components of layer 3 circuitry, e.g. asymmetric synapses, inhibitory parvalbumin-immunoreactive (PV-IR) cartridges, dopaminergic (DAergic) axons and we comment on possible implications for observed temporal similarities or differences between them. Layer 3 is also the site of a dense 5-HTergic axon innervation, which originates from the mid-brain raphe nuclei and comprises 2 classes of axon fibres ("thick" and "thin"). We examined the time-scale of postnatal development for 5-HTergic axons in layer 3 and attempted to find temporal correlation's between 5-HT axon maturation and pyramidal neuron dendritic spine development, as well as with previously examined layer 3 components, including DAergic axons and 5-HT tissue concentration. Findings included the demonstration of concurrent time courses of maturation for dendritic spines and PV-IR cartridges; synchrony between rates of spine and excitatory synapse production in the first 2 postnatal months and a subsequent plateau phase, but different time periods of decline (from 1.5 and 3.0 years, respectively) and complex relationships between the stages of spine maturation and changes in density of DAergic axons coinciding with the rise (birth-2 months) and fall (1.5-4.6 years) of spine numbers. We also demonstrated temporal interrelations between 5-HTergic axon development and that of other neuropil components, including modulatory interaction between the density of 5-HTergic axons and dendritic spines as well as strong reciprocal correlation's between the 5-HTergic and DAergic axon innervations.
... The BabyScreen was developed for use with children aged 12-36 months and is based on infant measures of cognitive control and emergent EFs (Twomey et al., 2018). For example, the BabyScreen captures responses on hidden object retrieval tasks (an early measure of WM (Diamond et al., 1985(Diamond et al., , 1995Katus et al., 2023;Marcovitch & Zelazo, 2009) and the picture deletion tasks which measure inhibition and selective attention (Twomey et al., 2018). The BabyScreen score is a combined measure of performance on all tasks and so is considered a measure of global emerging cognitive control abilities. ...
Cognitive control is a predictor of later‐life outcomes and may underpin higher order executive processes. The present study examines the development of early cognitive control during the first 24‐month. We evaluated a tablet‐based assessment of cognitive control among infants aged 18‐ and 24‐month. We also examined concurrent and longitudinal associations between attentional disengagement, general cognitive skills and cognitive control. Participants ( N = 60, 30 female) completed the tablet‐task at 18‐ and 24‐month of age. Attentional disengagement and general cognitive development were assessed at 5‐, 8‐, 12‐, 18‐ and 24‐month using an eye‐tracking measure and the Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL), respectively. The cognitive control task demonstrated good internal consistency, sensitivity to age‐related change in performance and stable individual differences. No associations were found between infant cognitive control and MSEL scores longitudinally or concurrently. The eye‐tracking task revealed that slower attentional disengagement at 8‐month, but faster disengagement at 18‐month, predicted higher cognitive control scores at 24‐month. This task may represent a useful tool for measuring emergent cognitive control. The multifaceted relationship between attention and infant cognitive control suggests that the rapid development of the attentional system in infancy results in distinct attentional skills, at different ages, being relevant for cognitive control development.
... Inhibitory control is very difficult for young children and it continues to develop during adolescence [2]. Instead, the ability to remember information develops extremely early; new-borns and young children can remember one or two things for a long time [3]. However, the ability to hold more things in mind or perform any type of mental manipulation takes much longer to develop and has a much longer developmental progression [4,5]. ...
... Early in life, infants and young children are able to hold information in their minds for quite a long time (Diamond, 1995;Nelson et al., 2012). In tasks such as A-not-B, infants of 9 to 12 months can update their WM contents (Diamond, 1985;Bell and Cuevas, 2016). ...
Considering that the cognitive and motor dimensions of human beings grow together and that primary school age is one of the most important stages of children’s cognitive and motor development, the aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between executive functions and motor activity in the teaching-learning process. Primary school students (N = 40; 6.3 years) participated in this study. They were divided into two groups: an experimental group (20 students) and a control group (20 students). The first group followed a 12-week motors activity program with 5 sessions of 40 minutes per week and the second a regular math sessions program. The results of the experimental group show a clear improvement in most of the study variables. Also, these results highlight the value of actively involving the student in the task and the importance of using active methods in the teaching-learning process.
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... Early in life, infants and young children are able to hold information in their minds for quite a long time (Diamond, 1995;Nelson et al., 2012). In tasks such as A-not-B, infants of 9 to 12 months can update their WM contents (Diamond, 1985;Bell and Cuevas, 2016). ...
Introduction
In the past three decades, there has been increasing interest in assessing children’s Executive Functions (EF). However, studies on the conceptualization and operationalization of this construct are incongruent and guidance for clinicians and researchers aiming to assess EF is insufficient due to measurement variability.
Aims
The purpose of this article was to examine current theories and models of EF in children, identify their assessment instruments, issues, and challenges, and discuss their impact on children’s cognitive, behavioral, social and/or emotional development.
Methods
This narrative review reflected on English and French scholarly articles on EF assessment in children. References were identified through searches of PubMed, Medline, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar, and APA PsychNet throughout the last two decades up to June 2022.
Results
There are commonalities despite divergence in the definition and operationalization of EF. Assessment of EF requires psychometric tests as well as rating scales that must be integrated and interpreted considering the child’s biological makeup, environmental background, and cultural specificities.
Conclusion
Current EF theories, assessment tools, issues, and challenges were discussed in addition to the impact of their components’ dysfunctions on children’s development. Further studies should be conducted to develop new measurement methods and technologies to improve the ecological and ethological validity of youth assessment, treatment, and interventions.
... The ability to withhold information in mind emerges already in infancy and 9-12-month-old infants can maintain one or two items in memory for 10 min (Diamond, 1995) and can update the content in their working memory . However, the ability to maintain several items in memory or to perform any kind of mental manipulation develops relatively slowly and is closely related to the development of inhibition (Davidson et al., 2006). ...
Numerous studies have been conducted on the impact of the educational environment on children’s development in kindergarten. However, very little is known about the impact of the quality of the educational environment in kindergarten classrooms on children’s emotional development. This chapter examines, first, the nature of the educational environment from the cultural-historical and ecological perspectives. Second, it describes the stages of emotional development in preschool age. Third, it presents the results of a study on the impact of structural and processual aspects of the educational environment on the development of emotional understanding in preschool children.KeywordsClassroom qualityEducational environmentECERS-REmotion understanding
... The ability to withhold information in mind emerges already in infancy and 9-12-month-old infants can maintain one or two items in memory for 10 min (Diamond, 1995) and can update the content in their working memory . However, the ability to maintain several items in memory or to perform any kind of mental manipulation develops relatively slowly and is closely related to the development of inhibition (Davidson et al., 2006). ...
Digital gadgets are an important part of the socialization of children in contemporary society. In the context of the gadgets’ important role in the life of children, we have carried out a number of studies in order to understand the specifics of gadgets usage by modern preschoolers. In our research, we studied the relationship between the digital devices use (frequency and digital activity type) and the executive functions in preschoolers. The sample of our study consisted of 417 children (202 boys and 215 girls) aged 6–7 years who attended preparatory groups of Moscow kindergartens. To study how often, for what and in what context children use digital devices, a semi-structured interview was compiled, consisting of 9 questions that required a detailed answer from children. Our research has shown that the use of gadgets as a cultural tool compared to the use of gadgets as an entertainment (playing games and watching cartoons) is associated with a higher level of executive functions development. This is due to the fact that for digital device usage as a psychological means the participation of an adult is required, who shows a child various options for interacting with a gadget and also controls the screen time.KeywordsGadgetsDigital activityCultural toolsScreen timeExecutive functions
... The ability to withhold information in mind emerges already in infancy and 9-12-month-old infants can maintain one or two items in memory for 10 min (Diamond, 1995) and can update the content in their working memory . However, the ability to maintain several items in memory or to perform any kind of mental manipulation develops relatively slowly and is closely related to the development of inhibition (Davidson et al., 2006). ...
Interaction with peers is of great importance for preschoolers mental development. Sociometric status in preschool is a prognostic characteristic of child’s future social and academic success. In this regard, the purpose of this study was to study the sociometric status of children in kindergarten group and the characteristics of their cognitive and socio-emotional development. The study involved 444 children aged 6 to 7 years from 18 kindergarten groups in Moscow. The study showed that for the successful socialization of preschoolers in a peer group, it is important to support the development of their executive functions, the ability to understand emotions, as well as vocabulary, and the ability to compose stories. In case of non-acceptance of a child by a group of peers, timely assessment and correction of these cognitive abilities can be effective in improving the sociometric status of the child in the kindergarten group.
... The ability to withhold information in mind emerges already in infancy and 9-12-month-old infants can maintain one or two items in memory for 10 min (Diamond, 1995) and can update the content in their working memory . However, the ability to maintain several items in memory or to perform any kind of mental manipulation develops relatively slowly and is closely related to the development of inhibition (Davidson et al., 2006). ...
Development of the preschoolers’ executive functions is a powerful predictor of the success of mastering early mathematical skills as well as of the further mathematical achievements at school (Bull and Lee, Child Development Perspectives 8:36–41, 2014; Fuhs et al., Developmental Psychology 50:1698–1709, 2014; Gilmore et al., PLoS ONE 8, 2013; Welsch et al., Journal of Educational Psychology 102:43–53, 2010; Willoughby et al., Child Neuropsychology: A Journal on Normal and Abnormal Development in Childhood and Adolescence 18:79–91, 2012, etc.). Despite a large body of research investigating the relation between executive functions and math skill development, there are multiple questions that still need to be addressed. One of them has to do with a distinct contribution of different components of executive functions to math achievement. Therefore, the present longitudinal study focused on examining the relationship between all three components of executive functions (working memory, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility) and different aspects of symbolic numerical development in children between preschool and early elementary school (from 5 to 8 years). The present investigation provided results that support and extend prior findings of the relation between early executive functions and math learning. Our results highlight the role of early math knowledge as a potential mediator of the relation between preschoolers’ executive functions and first graders’ math skills. This has to be taken into account when designing for children’s educational programs in mathematics.KeywordsChild developmentPreschool ageElementary school ageExecutive functionsEarly mathematicsSymbolic numeric skillsNumber knowledge
... The ability to withhold information in mind emerges already in infancy and 9-12-month-old infants can maintain one or two items in memory for 10 min (Diamond, 1995) and can update the content in their working memory . However, the ability to maintain several items in memory or to perform any kind of mental manipulation develops relatively slowly and is closely related to the development of inhibition (Davidson et al., 2006). ...
Russian Federation is home to many nationalities that speak more than 120 ethnic languages. The ethnic languages are often spoken in households, whereas the education in kindergartens and schools is carried out, to a great extent, in the official language, Russian. Thus, a large number of Russian children acquire, simultaneously, two or more languages. A growing body of research recognizes the impact of regular dual language use on children’s executive functions and social and emotional development (Halle in Early Childhood Research Quarterly 29:734–739, 2014), though research in the latter two domains is sparse, when compared to the former. More research and from different languages and cultures is needed to shed light on differences in cognitive development between monolingual and bilingual children. The current study focused on the development of executive functions and emotion understanding in bilingual and monolingual Russian preschool children. Bilingual children were recruited in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) and Tatarstan, these are two Russian regions where (at least) two languages are used officially. Monolingual children were recruited in the central region of Russia, where, typically, only Russian is spoken. The analysis revealed that, when compared to monolingual peers, bilingual children demonstrated slightly higher results in verbal working memory and motor persistence skills. Monolingual children, on the other hand, outperformed bilingual peers in emotion understanding tasks. The results of the current study provide novel and constructive insights on bilingual child development that can guide educational policymakers in multicultural and multilingual countries, as well as professionals working on psychological adaptation and preparation of bilingual children to school.KeywordsBilingualismCultureLanguageExecutive functionsEmotion understanding
... The ability to withhold information in mind emerges already in infancy and 9-12-month-old infants can maintain one or two items in memory for 10 min (Diamond, 1995) and can update the content in their working memory . However, the ability to maintain several items in memory or to perform any kind of mental manipulation develops relatively slowly and is closely related to the development of inhibition (Davidson et al., 2006). ...
This chapter describes the main features of preschool education development in Russia and the influence of psychological science on this process. Special attention is given to the works of Vygotsky, who has formulated principles of education as guiding the development of a child. Education in the frame of Vygotsky’s theory is shown to be dedicated to cultural tools acquisition. In the theory of activity elaborated by Leontiev, activity practice is understood as a way of education, which leads to the corresponding organization of the educational program. In the works of the followers of Vygotsky (Galperin, Zaporozhets, Venger) it is shown that different higher mental functions can be obtained in preschool age through the acquisition of cultural means through specially organized activities. An example of a typical education preschool program is given, which is based on the research described. Also, the chapter provides an overview of the study facets described in the book and their relation to the changes in the structure of modern childhood.KeywordsPreschool educationActivity principleEducation and developmentSocial situation of development
... The ability to withhold information in mind emerges already in infancy and 9-12-month-old infants can maintain one or two items in memory for 10 min (Diamond, 1995) and can update the content in their working memory . However, the ability to maintain several items in memory or to perform any kind of mental manipulation develops relatively slowly and is closely related to the development of inhibition (Davidson et al., 2006). ...
Preparation for the acquisition of mathematical concepts is a significant line of educational work in preschool institutions in Russia. At the same time, the development of concepts, according to Vygotsky, is available to the child in a figurative form, and only then, with the help of the word, which passes into the category of cultural means, the development of the system of concepts becomes available to children. The research was aimed at seeing the possibilities of using different types of cultural means (sign, visual model, symbolic image) depending on the level of development of cognitive abilities of preschoolers. The results obtained showed that the symbolic image, being the basis for constructing an imaginary situation in play and possessing vivid emotionality, acts as the most effective means of mastering concepts by those children whose level of cognitive abilities development turned out to be below the average for a given age.KeywordsCognitive toolsSymbolic imageSymbolSignVisual model
... The ability to withhold information in mind emerges already in infancy and 9-12-month-old infants can maintain one or two items in memory for 10 min (Diamond, 1995) and can update the content in their working memory . However, the ability to maintain several items in memory or to perform any kind of mental manipulation develops relatively slowly and is closely related to the development of inhibition (Davidson et al., 2006). ...
Early childhood is the period of life in which the conditions of children’s development can have the longest and most significant impacts (Heckman and Masterov, Review of Agricultural Economics 29:446–493, 2007). One of the key activities in the early childhood period—play—will be considered in this chapter from a cultural–historical perspective. Based on theoretical approaches in play research and the research questions of interest to our laboratory at the Lomonosov Moscow State University, we conducted two studies. Based on the common anecdote that play is less valued today than in previous generations, Study 1 sought to explore that if there are significant differences in beliefs between the two generations (parents and grandparents) regarding the value of play in preschool childhood and their willingness to support children's free play in principle and in their participation together with their child or grandchild. Results suggested that the younger generation value play more for its potential academic value than did their parents and, plausibly as a result of this belief, will be more likely to engage in play with their child. The goal of Study 2 was to examine the impact that different roles (protagonist, sage, villain or the child’s normal role) can have on preschooler’s completion of executive functions (EF) tasks, as previous research has not examined whether the imaginary topics themselves might impact children’s real-world abilities differently. The results imply that different roles could have both positive and negative effects on performance on various tasks of EF. Moreover, for children with high levels of EF, it appeared beneficial to adopt a role, whereas low-EF children benefitted from skill training. Findings from this chapter are of a particular relevance for policymakers when developing educational programs as well as when designing teaching trainings for pedagogues and psychologists.
... Evidence showed that infants can hold simple representations of objects in memory during the first 6 months of life (Pelphrey et al., 2004;Reznick et al., 2004). The ability to hold information in mind emerges very early and 9-12 months infants can update their WM (Diamond, 1995). By 12 months of age, the length of time that representations can be held in mind and the number of the retained items increases (Diamond and Doar, 1989). ...
It has been demonstrated that executive functions play a significant role in different aspects of the development of children. Development of language is also one of the most important accomplishments of the preschool years, and it has been linked to many outcomes in life. Despite substantial research demonstrating the association between executive function and language development in childhood, only a handful of studies have examined the direction of the developmental pathways between EF skills and language skills, therefore little is known about how these two constructs are connected. In this review paper, we discuss three possible directional relationships between EFs and language development throughout childhood. First, we discuss how EF might affect language functioning. Next, we discuss how language functioning might affect EF. Lastly, we consider other possible relationships between EF and language. Given that children with better EF and language skills are more likely to succeed in educational settings and demonstrate greater social–emotional competencies, investigating the relationship between EF and language in the preschool period provides insight into mechanisms that have not been extensively studied. Furthermore, it could create new opportunities for designing effective and efficient interventions aimed at addressing EF and language deficits during the preschool period which could in turn influence later development.
... Bilgileri akılda tutma yeteneği küçük çocuklarda çok erken gelişmektedir; bebekler ve küçük çocuklar bile bir veya iki şeyi uzun süre akıllarında tutabilirler (Diamond 1995, Nelson, Sheffield, Chevalier, Clark ve Espy, 2012 (Diamond, 2013). Ketleme, hedefe ulaşmayı desteklemeyen ve bunun yerine uygun bir alternatifi etkinleştiren bir yanıtı kontrol etme yeteneğidir (Calhoun, 2006). ...
4-6 yaş tipik gelişim gösteren (TGG) ve Otizm spektrum bozukluğu (OSB) olan çocuklarda zihin kuramı (ZK), yönetici işlevler (Yİ) ve dil ilişkisinin ve bu değişkenlerin aracı etkisinin incelenmesi amaçlanan bu araştırma korelasyonel (ilişkisel) araştırmadır. Çalışma grubunu Gaziantep ilinde bulunan, Milli Eğitim Bakanlığı’na bağlı okullarda eğitimlerine devam eden, herhangi bir gelişimsel yetersizlik tanısı almamış 4-6 yaşlarında olan 44 TGG çocuk ile Gaziantep ve Diyarbakır illerinde bulunan özel eğitim ve rehabilitasyon merkezlerine devam eden 44 OSB tanısı almış çocuklar oluşturmaktadır. Çalışma grubunun belirlenmesinde aile izin formu, Gilliam Otistik Derecelendirme Ölçeği (GOBDÖ-2) ve Raven Renkli Progresif Matrisler Testi (RPM) kullanılmıştır. Çalışma verilerinin toplanmasında dil becerilerinin değerlendirilmesi amacıyla Türkçe Erken Dil Gelişimi Testi (TEDİL); Yİ değerlendirilmesinde gece-gündüz görevi, boyut değiştirerek kart eşleme görevi (BDKE), anlamsız sözcük tekrarı listesi ve ZK becerilerini değerlendirmede ise sözel ve SOYİ yer değişikliği işlemleri kullanılmıştır. Araştırmaya başlamadan önce uygulanacak işlemlerin ve kullanılacak materyallerin çocukların yaşına uygunluğu, materyallerin dikkat dağıtıcı olup olmaması, yönergelerin uygunluğu gibi süreçte yaşanabilecek herhangi bir sorunu değerlendirmek amaçlı pilot uygulamalar yapılmıştır. Araştırmada tüm veri araçlarının uygulama güvenirliğini belirlemek amacıyla video kayıtları bağımsız gözlemci tarafından izlenmiştir.
Araştırma sonuçları incelendiğinde; OSB olan ve TGG katılımcılara uygulanan sözel yanlış inanç işlemi (SYİ) ile SOYİ yanlış inanç işlemleri (SOYİ) arasında farklılık bulunmamıştır. Yİ bileşenlerinin gruplar arasındaki farklılıkları incelendiğinde; bilişsel esneklik (BE) görevinde gruplar arasında fark bulunmazken ketleme ve çalışma belleği (ÇB) TGG çocukların lehine anlamlı farklılık bulunmuştur.
Değişkenler arasında ilişkiye bakıldığında; SYİ ile SOYİ arasındaki ilişkinin OSB olan 4 yaş grup ile TGG olan 6 yaş çocuklarda orta düzey pozitif yönde anlamlı ilişkili olduğu bulunmuştur. 6 yaş OSB olan grupta SYİ ile ketleme arasında; 4 yaş TGG olan grupta SOYİ ile ketleme arasında düşük düzey pozitif yönde ilişki bulunmuştur. Ketleme ile BE arasındaki ilişkinin ise sadece TGG çocuklarda 4 yaş grubunda düşük düzey pozitif yönde ilişkili olduğu; ÇB ile ketleme arasındaki ilişkinin ise OSB çocuklarda 5 yaş grubunda düşük düzey pozitif yönde ilişkili olduğu görülmüştür. TGG çocuklarda 6 yaş grubunda ÇB ile BE arasında düşük düzey pozitif yönde ilişki olduğu ; ÇB ve dil arasındaki ilişkinin ise TGG çocuklarda 5 yaş grubunda düşük düzey pozitif yönde ilişkili olduğu görülmektedir. 6 yaş OSB olan grupta ise dil-SYİ ve dil-ketleme arasında orta düzey pozitif yönde ilişki anlamlı olduğu görülmüştür.
Araştırmada Hayes tarafından geliştirilmiş bir makro olan bootstrap yöntemiyle güven aralığı hesaplanarak değişkenlerin birbirleri üzerindeki aracı değişken etkisi incelenmiştir. 6 yaş OSB olan çocuklarda ZK’nın dil üzerindeki etkisinde ÇB’nin aracı rolü olduğu bulunmuştur. TGG 6 yaş grupta ise ÇB’nin dil üzerinde etkisinde ZK’nın aracı rolü olduğu belirlenmiştir.
Dil ile ZK ilişkisinde ketlemenin aracı rolünü tespit etmek amacıyla gerçekleştirilen aracı değişken etkisi sonuçlarında ise TGG 5 yaş ve TGG 6 yaş olan grupta dilin ketleme üzerinde ZK’nın aracı rolü olduğu görülmekteyken OSB 6 yaş grubunda dilin ketleme üzerinde etkisinde ZK’nın aracı rolü görülmemektedir. Elde edilen bulgular dahilinde OSB olan çocuklarda dil, yanlış inanç işlemleri ve Yİ bileşenlerinin ilişkisi alanyazın temelinde tartışılmıştır.
... WM is critical for making sense of events which unfold over time (Garon et al., 2008) and the executive attention system is central to the ability to hold prior events in mind and relate these to what comes later. While infants can hold representations in WM before 6 months of age (Dempster, 1985;Diamond, 1995), the ability to maintain and manipulate representations in memory does not begin to emerge until 2 years and shows protracted development across the pre-school period (Alloway, Gathercole, Willis, & Adams, 2004;Gathercole, 1998). Critical to these age-related improvements in WM is an improved ability to inhibit interference (Hale, Bronik, & Fry, 1997), with co-ordination between the two essential for successful 'shifting'. ...
Evidence from multiple empirical studies suggests children’s Executive Functions are depleted immediately after viewing some types of TV content but not others. Correlational evidence suggests any such effects may be most problematic during the pre-school years. To establish whether “screen-time” is developmentally appropriate at this age we believe a nuanced approach must be taken to the analysis of individual pieces of media and their potential demands on viewer cognition. To this end we apply a cognitive theory of visual narrative processing, the Scene Perception and Event Comprehension Theory (SPECT; Loschky, Larson, Smith, & Magliano, 2020) to the analysis of TV shows previously used to investigate short-term effects of TV viewing. A theoretical formalisation of individual content properties, together with a quantitative content-based analysis of previously used children’s content (Lillard & Peterson, 2011; Lillard et al., 2015b) is presented. This analysis found a pattern of greater stimulus saliency, increased situational change and a greater combined presence of cognitively demanding features for videos previously shown to reduce children’s EF after viewing. Limitations of this pilot application of SPECT are presented and proposals for future empirical investigations of the psychological mechanisms activated by specific TV viewing content are considered.
... If a transparent barrier is between them and the reward, infants of 6 to 11 months have great difficulty inhibiting the perceptual pull to keep trying to reach straight for the reward despite repeatedly being thwarted by the clear barrier. If the barrier is opaque, thus removing the perceptual pull, more infants at each age succeed in detouring around the barrier and succeed in less time (Diamond 1990(Diamond , 1991. Many adults use a related strategy by eliminating fattening foods from view when they are trying to diet, thus reducing the degree of self-control needed. ...
First, executive functions are defined. Then the development of executive functions in children, from infancy to 10-11 years of age, is briefly described. The relation between the speed of processing and the development of executive functions is addressed. Finally, tools and pointers for evaluating executive functioning in younger and older children are discussed. A cautionary note is sounded, in that almost no executive function measure requires only one executive function. A child might fail a working memory task because of problems with inhibitory control (not working memory), fail an inhibitory control task because of working memory problems, or fail a cognitive flexibility, planning, or reasoning task because of problems with inhibitory control or working memory.
... Aside from these results demonstrating that individual differences in working memory performance are related to academic achievement, there is also evidence for a general increase in working memory skills from childhood into adulthood. Behavioral research shows that even in very young infants, basic forms of working memory (keeping information in mind) are already present (Diamond, 1995).Studies in children and adolescents however, have revealed that working memory capacity, measured using a wide range of tasks, continues to develop well into adolescence (Crone,Wendelken,Donohue,van Leijenhorst,& Bunge,6 2006; Luciana, Conklin, Hooper, & Yarger, 2005;Peters, Van Duijvenvoorde, Koolschijn, & Crone, 2016). In addition, neuroimaging studies have investigated how brain regions important for working memory develop across adolescence. ...
... The ability to withhold information in mind emerges already in infancy and 9-12-month-old infants can maintain one or two items in memory for 10 min (Diamond, 1995) and can update the content in their working memory . However, the ability to maintain several items in memory or to perform any kind of mental manipulation develops relatively slowly and is closely related to the development of inhibition (Davidson et al., 2006). ...
The aim of this study is to explore the relationship between cooperative play and cognitive development in preschool age. The study involved 56 children aged 5-6 years (29 boys and 27 girls) of Moscow kindergartens. The article describes the main parameters of the observations of peer play (indicators of substitution, implementation of plan, play interaction). Analysis of the results revealed the presence of two correlation pleiades. The first one shows significant relationships between a child's ability to draw up a story and different play aspects associated with the development of the internal action plan and visual thinking (sustainability of play plot, subject substitution, substitution of playing space, organizing character of interaction, level of ideas). The second correlation pleiade centers around the unfolding of the play idea which is linked with the ability to understand emotions of others, with self-regulation of cognitive processes, and with visual memory. The obtained data show the presence of two sources of development in child play: one is associated with visual-imaginative thinking, and the other with partner interaction.
... This error may reflect infants' LTM for the previous hiding location interfering with their memory for the most recent hiding location (Diedrich, Thelen, Smith, & Corbetta, 2000;Munakata, 1998). Thus, infants' responding in this task seems to reflect a complex interaction of STM and LTM systems: over development, infants (1) become able to maintain information for increasingly longer durations, and (2) are increasingly effective at inhibiting their response based on LTM for previous hiding locations (Diamond, 1990b(Diamond, , 1995. Interestingly, the ability to avoid interference from previous trials is also a major determinant of individual differences among adults in the performance of complex WM span tasks (Kane & Engle, 2000;Lustig et al., 2001). ...
This chapter provides an overview of the development of short-term memory (STM) in infancy. It describes the historical basis of the concept of STM in the adult literature and discusses the connection between STM and working memory (WM). The chapter also discusses work on different aspects of infant's memory and also describes how particular experimental paradigms may isolate or conflate different memory systems. Finally, it focuses on research aimed at uncovering the development of STM in infancy.
... The estimates of the duration of infant retention that were based on novelty detection paled in comparison to estimates that were based on her operant conditioning procedures. With few exceptions (Fagan, 1973;Pascalis, De Haan, Nelson, & de Schonen, 1998), researchers using the VRM task found that retention by infants less than 6 months of age persisted for seconds or minutes at best (Diamond, 1995;Fagan, 1973;Olson, 1976;Pancrantz & Cohen, 1970;Slater, Morrison, & Rose, 1983;Strauss, 1981), while infants of the same age exhibited retention for days or weeks when tested in the mobile conjugate reinforcement and train paradigms (for review, see Hartshorn et al., 1998). ...
The visual recognition memory (VRM) paradigm has been widely used to measure memory during infancy and early childhood; it has also been used to study memory in human and nonhuman adults. Typically, participants are familiarized with stimuli that have no special significance to them. Under these conditions, greater attention to the novel stimulus during the test (i.e., novelty preference) is used as the primary index of memory. Here, we took a novel approach to the VRM paradigm and tested 1-, 2-, and 3-year olds using photos of meaningful stimuli that were drawn from the participants’ own environment (e.g., photos of their mother, father, siblings, house). We also compared their performance to that of participants of the same age who were tested in an explicit pointing version of the VRM task. Two- and 3-year olds exhibited a strong familiarity preference for some, but not all, of the meaningful stimuli; 1-year olds did not. At no age did participants exhibit the kind of novelty preference that is commonly used to define memory in the VRM task. Furthermore, when compared to pointing, looking measures provided a rough approximation of recognition memory, but in some instances, the looking measure underestimated retention. The use of meaningful stimuli raise important questions about the way in which visual attention is interpreted in the VRM paradigm, and may provide new opportunities to measure memory during infancy and early childhood.
Experience with an object's photograph changes 9‐month‐olds’ preference for the referent object, confirming they can represent objects from pictures. However, picture‐based representations appear weaker than object‐based representations. The current study's first objective was to investigate age differences in object recognition memory after familiarization with objects' pictures. The second objective was to test whether age differences in object permanence sensitivity with picture‐based representations match those found with object‐based representations, whereby 7‐month‐olds search more for familiar hidden objects but 11‐month‐olds search more for novel ones. Six‐ and 11‐month‐olds were familiarized with an object's photo and tested on their representation of the real object by comparing their reaching for it versus a novel object. Objects were visible under conditions testing recognition memory and hidden under conditions testing object permanence. Like 9‐month‐olds, 6‐ and 11‐month‐olds preferred novelty with visible objects, showing early object recognition after picture familiarization, as well as developmental continuity. Unlike 9‐month‐olds, who switched to preferring familiarity with hidden objects, 6‐ and 11‐month‐olds switched to null preference. This pattern fails to match 7‐ and 11‐month‐olds’ hidden‐object preferences after familiarization with real objects, revealing discontinuity in sensitivity to object permanence after picture familiarization, and suggesting that picture‐based representations are weaker than object‐based ones.
The current study examined the association between executive functions and the performance of high-level football players. Participants of the study (N = 176) were male football players of the same club, who played in the teams of the U12 up to the U23. Executive functions, consisting of the subcomponents cognitive flexibility, inhibition, and working memory, were assessed with the Determination Test, the Response Inhibition task, and multiple-object tracking, respectively. Football performance was operationalized through a subjective performance rating by three independent raters and an objective Footbonaut score. The Footbonaut (C-Goal GmbH, Berlin, Germany) is a football training machine which passes balls to players who then have to control the ball and pass it through highlighted squares. Using two multiple regressions—for subjective and objective performance ratings, respectively—the separate associations of the three subcomponents of the executive functions with football performance were examined. Only the score of the Determination Test (as a measure of cognitive flexibility) was significantly associated with football performance (for both the subjective and objective measures). When controlling for age, cognitive flexibility was no longer a significant predictor for athletic performance. Further research is needed to determine whether the training of cognitive flexibility in addition to physical skills might be a possible approach to further increase performance and to improve talent development in youth athletes.
Las estructuras mediales temporales,principalmente el hipocampo, cumplenuna labor fundamental para el desarrollode la memoria asociativa. Estas estructurastienen un desarrollo más tardío queaquellas que sostienen la memoria procedimentaly el condicionamiento.El presente trabajo se centró en la valoraciónconductual de la memoria asociativaen dos momentos evolutivos distintos.Comparamos el desempeño de un grupode niños pequeños (6-7 años) y un grupode niños mayores (11-12 años) en dostareas de memoria, una tarea de paresasociados y una tarea de ítems simples.Los niños pequeños realizaron la tareade aprendizaje de ítems simples significativamentemejor y más rápido quela tarea de aprendizaje de pares asociados.Por otro lado, los niños mayorestuvieron un desempeño mejor ymás rápido en ambas tareas mostrando,también, una disminución del tiempode reacción en la tarea de paresasociados.
Executive dysfunction occurs in many clinical conditions and has significant impact on multiple facets of life. This book summarizes executive function and dysfunction for practitioners, researchers and educators, covering lifespan development, assessment, impact and interventions. Drawing together clinical, neurobiological and developmental viewpoints, the authors summarize the latest research findings in practical and applied terms, and review conceptual approaches to assessing and identifying executive function and dysfunction. Several chapters are devoted to practical aspects of executive dysfunction, including research-based treatment strategies, educational implications, forensic cautions and intervention resources. Executive dysfunction in ADHD, LD, MR, autism, mood disorders, epilepsy, cancer and TBI is covered, with test performance, neuroimaging and clinical presentation for these clinical conditions. The book concludes with anticipation of future work in the field. This is a key reference for medical, psychological and educational professionals who work with children, adolescents and young adults in clinical and educational settings.
Executive dysfunction occurs in many clinical conditions and has significant impact on multiple facets of life. This book summarizes executive function and dysfunction for practitioners, researchers and educators, covering lifespan development, assessment, impact and interventions. Drawing together clinical, neurobiological and developmental viewpoints, the authors summarize the latest research findings in practical and applied terms, and review conceptual approaches to assessing and identifying executive function and dysfunction. Several chapters are devoted to practical aspects of executive dysfunction, including research-based treatment strategies, educational implications, forensic cautions and intervention resources. Executive dysfunction in ADHD, LD, MR, autism, mood disorders, epilepsy, cancer and TBI is covered, with test performance, neuroimaging and clinical presentation for these clinical conditions. The book concludes with anticipation of future work in the field. This is a key reference for medical, psychological and educational professionals who work with children, adolescents and young adults in clinical and educational settings.
Executive dysfunction occurs in many clinical conditions and has significant impact on multiple facets of life. This book summarizes executive function and dysfunction for practitioners, researchers and educators, covering lifespan development, assessment, impact and interventions. Drawing together clinical, neurobiological and developmental viewpoints, the authors summarize the latest research findings in practical and applied terms, and review conceptual approaches to assessing and identifying executive function and dysfunction. Several chapters are devoted to practical aspects of executive dysfunction, including research-based treatment strategies, educational implications, forensic cautions and intervention resources. Executive dysfunction in ADHD, LD, MR, autism, mood disorders, epilepsy, cancer and TBI is covered, with test performance, neuroimaging and clinical presentation for these clinical conditions. The book concludes with anticipation of future work in the field. This is a key reference for medical, psychological and educational professionals who work with children, adolescents and young adults in clinical and educational settings.
Executive dysfunction occurs in many clinical conditions and has significant impact on multiple facets of life. This book summarizes executive function and dysfunction for practitioners, researchers and educators, covering lifespan development, assessment, impact and interventions. Drawing together clinical, neurobiological and developmental viewpoints, the authors summarize the latest research findings in practical and applied terms, and review conceptual approaches to assessing and identifying executive function and dysfunction. Several chapters are devoted to practical aspects of executive dysfunction, including research-based treatment strategies, educational implications, forensic cautions and intervention resources. Executive dysfunction in ADHD, LD, MR, autism, mood disorders, epilepsy, cancer and TBI is covered, with test performance, neuroimaging and clinical presentation for these clinical conditions. The book concludes with anticipation of future work in the field. This is a key reference for medical, psychological and educational professionals who work with children, adolescents and young adults in clinical and educational settings.
Executive dysfunction occurs in many clinical conditions and has significant impact on multiple facets of life. This book summarizes executive function and dysfunction for practitioners, researchers and educators, covering lifespan development, assessment, impact and interventions. Drawing together clinical, neurobiological and developmental viewpoints, the authors summarize the latest research findings in practical and applied terms, and review conceptual approaches to assessing and identifying executive function and dysfunction. Several chapters are devoted to practical aspects of executive dysfunction, including research-based treatment strategies, educational implications, forensic cautions and intervention resources. Executive dysfunction in ADHD, LD, MR, autism, mood disorders, epilepsy, cancer and TBI is covered, with test performance, neuroimaging and clinical presentation for these clinical conditions. The book concludes with anticipation of future work in the field. This is a key reference for medical, psychological and educational professionals who work with children, adolescents and young adults in clinical and educational settings.
Executive dysfunction occurs in many clinical conditions and has significant impact on multiple facets of life. This book summarizes executive function and dysfunction for practitioners, researchers and educators, covering lifespan development, assessment, impact and interventions. Drawing together clinical, neurobiological and developmental viewpoints, the authors summarize the latest research findings in practical and applied terms, and review conceptual approaches to assessing and identifying executive function and dysfunction. Several chapters are devoted to practical aspects of executive dysfunction, including research-based treatment strategies, educational implications, forensic cautions and intervention resources. Executive dysfunction in ADHD, LD, MR, autism, mood disorders, epilepsy, cancer and TBI is covered, with test performance, neuroimaging and clinical presentation for these clinical conditions. The book concludes with anticipation of future work in the field. This is a key reference for medical, psychological and educational professionals who work with children, adolescents and young adults in clinical and educational settings.
Executive dysfunction occurs in many clinical conditions and has significant impact on multiple facets of life. This book summarizes executive function and dysfunction for practitioners, researchers and educators, covering lifespan development, assessment, impact and interventions. Drawing together clinical, neurobiological and developmental viewpoints, the authors summarize the latest research findings in practical and applied terms, and review conceptual approaches to assessing and identifying executive function and dysfunction. Several chapters are devoted to practical aspects of executive dysfunction, including research-based treatment strategies, educational implications, forensic cautions and intervention resources. Executive dysfunction in ADHD, LD, MR, autism, mood disorders, epilepsy, cancer and TBI is covered, with test performance, neuroimaging and clinical presentation for these clinical conditions. The book concludes with anticipation of future work in the field. This is a key reference for medical, psychological and educational professionals who work with children, adolescents and young adults in clinical and educational settings.
Executive dysfunction occurs in many clinical conditions and has significant impact on multiple facets of life. This book summarizes executive function and dysfunction for practitioners, researchers and educators, covering lifespan development, assessment, impact and interventions. Drawing together clinical, neurobiological and developmental viewpoints, the authors summarize the latest research findings in practical and applied terms, and review conceptual approaches to assessing and identifying executive function and dysfunction. Several chapters are devoted to practical aspects of executive dysfunction, including research-based treatment strategies, educational implications, forensic cautions and intervention resources. Executive dysfunction in ADHD, LD, MR, autism, mood disorders, epilepsy, cancer and TBI is covered, with test performance, neuroimaging and clinical presentation for these clinical conditions. The book concludes with anticipation of future work in the field. This is a key reference for medical, psychological and educational professionals who work with children, adolescents and young adults in clinical and educational settings.
Executive dysfunction occurs in many clinical conditions and has significant impact on multiple facets of life. This book summarizes executive function and dysfunction for practitioners, researchers and educators, covering lifespan development, assessment, impact and interventions. Drawing together clinical, neurobiological and developmental viewpoints, the authors summarize the latest research findings in practical and applied terms, and review conceptual approaches to assessing and identifying executive function and dysfunction. Several chapters are devoted to practical aspects of executive dysfunction, including research-based treatment strategies, educational implications, forensic cautions and intervention resources. Executive dysfunction in ADHD, LD, MR, autism, mood disorders, epilepsy, cancer and TBI is covered, with test performance, neuroimaging and clinical presentation for these clinical conditions. The book concludes with anticipation of future work in the field. This is a key reference for medical, psychological and educational professionals who work with children, adolescents and young adults in clinical and educational settings.
Executive dysfunction occurs in many clinical conditions and has significant impact on multiple facets of life. This book summarizes executive function and dysfunction for practitioners, researchers and educators, covering lifespan development, assessment, impact and interventions. Drawing together clinical, neurobiological and developmental viewpoints, the authors summarize the latest research findings in practical and applied terms, and review conceptual approaches to assessing and identifying executive function and dysfunction. Several chapters are devoted to practical aspects of executive dysfunction, including research-based treatment strategies, educational implications, forensic cautions and intervention resources. Executive dysfunction in ADHD, LD, MR, autism, mood disorders, epilepsy, cancer and TBI is covered, with test performance, neuroimaging and clinical presentation for these clinical conditions. The book concludes with anticipation of future work in the field. This is a key reference for medical, psychological and educational professionals who work with children, adolescents and young adults in clinical and educational settings.
Executive dysfunction occurs in many clinical conditions and has significant impact on multiple facets of life. This book summarizes executive function and dysfunction for practitioners, researchers and educators, covering lifespan development, assessment, impact and interventions. Drawing together clinical, neurobiological and developmental viewpoints, the authors summarize the latest research findings in practical and applied terms, and review conceptual approaches to assessing and identifying executive function and dysfunction. Several chapters are devoted to practical aspects of executive dysfunction, including research-based treatment strategies, educational implications, forensic cautions and intervention resources. Executive dysfunction in ADHD, LD, MR, autism, mood disorders, epilepsy, cancer and TBI is covered, with test performance, neuroimaging and clinical presentation for these clinical conditions. The book concludes with anticipation of future work in the field. This is a key reference for medical, psychological and educational professionals who work with children, adolescents and young adults in clinical and educational settings.
Executive dysfunction occurs in many clinical conditions and has significant impact on multiple facets of life. This book summarizes executive function and dysfunction for practitioners, researchers and educators, covering lifespan development, assessment, impact and interventions. Drawing together clinical, neurobiological and developmental viewpoints, the authors summarize the latest research findings in practical and applied terms, and review conceptual approaches to assessing and identifying executive function and dysfunction. Several chapters are devoted to practical aspects of executive dysfunction, including research-based treatment strategies, educational implications, forensic cautions and intervention resources. Executive dysfunction in ADHD, LD, MR, autism, mood disorders, epilepsy, cancer and TBI is covered, with test performance, neuroimaging and clinical presentation for these clinical conditions. The book concludes with anticipation of future work in the field. This is a key reference for medical, psychological and educational professionals who work with children, adolescents and young adults in clinical and educational settings.
Executive dysfunction occurs in many clinical conditions and has significant impact on multiple facets of life. This book summarizes executive function and dysfunction for practitioners, researchers and educators, covering lifespan development, assessment, impact and interventions. Drawing together clinical, neurobiological and developmental viewpoints, the authors summarize the latest research findings in practical and applied terms, and review conceptual approaches to assessing and identifying executive function and dysfunction. Several chapters are devoted to practical aspects of executive dysfunction, including research-based treatment strategies, educational implications, forensic cautions and intervention resources. Executive dysfunction in ADHD, LD, MR, autism, mood disorders, epilepsy, cancer and TBI is covered, with test performance, neuroimaging and clinical presentation for these clinical conditions. The book concludes with anticipation of future work in the field. This is a key reference for medical, psychological and educational professionals who work with children, adolescents and young adults in clinical and educational settings.
Executive dysfunction occurs in many clinical conditions and has significant impact on multiple facets of life. This book summarizes executive function and dysfunction for practitioners, researchers and educators, covering lifespan development, assessment, impact and interventions. Drawing together clinical, neurobiological and developmental viewpoints, the authors summarize the latest research findings in practical and applied terms, and review conceptual approaches to assessing and identifying executive function and dysfunction. Several chapters are devoted to practical aspects of executive dysfunction, including research-based treatment strategies, educational implications, forensic cautions and intervention resources. Executive dysfunction in ADHD, LD, MR, autism, mood disorders, epilepsy, cancer and TBI is covered, with test performance, neuroimaging and clinical presentation for these clinical conditions. The book concludes with anticipation of future work in the field. This is a key reference for medical, psychological and educational professionals who work with children, adolescents and young adults in clinical and educational settings.
Executive dysfunction occurs in many clinical conditions and has significant impact on multiple facets of life. This book summarizes executive function and dysfunction for practitioners, researchers and educators, covering lifespan development, assessment, impact and interventions. Drawing together clinical, neurobiological and developmental viewpoints, the authors summarize the latest research findings in practical and applied terms, and review conceptual approaches to assessing and identifying executive function and dysfunction. Several chapters are devoted to practical aspects of executive dysfunction, including research-based treatment strategies, educational implications, forensic cautions and intervention resources. Executive dysfunction in ADHD, LD, MR, autism, mood disorders, epilepsy, cancer and TBI is covered, with test performance, neuroimaging and clinical presentation for these clinical conditions. The book concludes with anticipation of future work in the field. This is a key reference for medical, psychological and educational professionals who work with children, adolescents and young adults in clinical and educational settings.
In this chapter, we examined the relationship between language development and the development of executive functions (EF) in Russian 5–7-year-old children. We assessed, first, language development (e.g., phonology, vocabulary, and grammar) in Russian-speaking children, with a special emphasis on the development of narrative skills. Then, we examined the relationship between the components of the EF (verbal and visual working memory, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility) and language skills. The results revealed that: (1) significant changes in language skills occurred every 6 months in the period from 5 to 7 years old; (2) changes in narrative skills were more remarkable than changes in lexical and grammatical skills; and (3) verbal working memory was related to language skills stronger than other components of the EF. We discuss the results in light of the theories on children’s cognitive development and offer suggestions for future research.KeywordsLanguage developmentExecutive functionsVocabularyPhonemic awarenessGrammarNarratives
Background:
Working memory (WM) is critical for problem solving and reasoning. Beginning in infancy, children show WM capacity increasing with age but there are few validated tests of WM in very young children. Because rapid brain development may increase susceptibility to adverse impacts of prenatal neurotoxicant exposure, such as lead, tests of WM in very young children would help to delineate onset of developmental problems and windows of susceptibility.
Purpose:
Our objective was to assess the feasibility of administering a Delayed Spatial Alternation Task (DSAT) to measure WM among 18- and 24-month old children enrolled in an ongoing longitudinal birth cohort study and compare DSAT performance with age and general cognitive development. We further explored whether prenatal lead exposure impacted DSAT performance.
Methods:
We assessed 457 mother-child pairs participating in the Programming Research in Obesity, GRowth, Environment and Social Stressors (PROGRESS) Study in Mexico City. The DSAT and Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID-III) were administered at 18- and 24-months. Lead was measured in maternal blood collected during pregnancy (MBPb) and in a subsample of children at 24-months (CBPb). We regressed DSAT measures on MBPb and CBPb, child sex, and maternal age, education, socioeconomic status, and household smoking. We compared DSAT performance to BSID-III performance with adjusted residuals.
Results:
24-month children perform better on the DSAT than 18-month children; 24-month subjects reached a higher level on the DSAT (3.3 (0.86) vs. 2.4 (0.97), p < 0.01), and had a higher number of correct responses (20.3 vs. 17.2, p < 0.01). In all DSAT parameters, females performed better than males. Maternal education predicted better DSAT performance; household smoking predicted worse DSAT performance. A higher number of correct responses was associated with higher BSID-III Cognitive scales at 18 months (r = 0.20, p < 0.01) and 24 months (r = 0.27, p < 0.01). MBPb and CPBb did not significantly predict DSAT performance.
Conclusion:
Improved performance on the DSAT with increasing age, the positive correlation with the BSID-III cognitive and language scales and the correlation with common sociodemographic predictors of neurodevelopment demonstrate the validity of the DSAT as a test of infant development.
Executive dysfunction occurs in many clinical conditions and has significant impact on multiple facets of life. This book summarizes executive function and dysfunction for practitioners, researchers and educators, covering lifespan development, assessment, impact and interventions. Drawing together clinical, neurobiological and developmental viewpoints, the authors summarize the latest research findings in practical and applied terms, and review conceptual approaches to assessing and identifying executive function and dysfunction. Several chapters are devoted to practical aspects of executive dysfunction, including research-based treatment strategies, educational implications, forensic cautions and intervention resources. Executive dysfunction in ADHD, LD, MR, autism, mood disorders, epilepsy, cancer and TBI is covered, with test performance, neuroimaging and clinical presentation for these clinical conditions. The book concludes with anticipation of future work in the field. This is a key reference for medical, psychological and educational professionals who work with children, adolescents and young adults in clinical and educational settings.
Executive dysfunction occurs in many clinical conditions and has significant impact on multiple facets of life. This book summarizes executive function and dysfunction for practitioners, researchers and educators, covering lifespan development, assessment, impact and interventions. Drawing together clinical, neurobiological and developmental viewpoints, the authors summarize the latest research findings in practical and applied terms, and review conceptual approaches to assessing and identifying executive function and dysfunction. Several chapters are devoted to practical aspects of executive dysfunction, including research-based treatment strategies, educational implications, forensic cautions and intervention resources. Executive dysfunction in ADHD, LD, MR, autism, mood disorders, epilepsy, cancer and TBI is covered, with test performance, neuroimaging and clinical presentation for these clinical conditions. The book concludes with anticipation of future work in the field. This is a key reference for medical, psychological and educational professionals who work with children, adolescents and young adults in clinical and educational settings.
Executive dysfunction occurs in many clinical conditions and has significant impact on multiple facets of life. This book summarizes executive function and dysfunction for practitioners, researchers and educators, covering lifespan development, assessment, impact and interventions. Drawing together clinical, neurobiological and developmental viewpoints, the authors summarize the latest research findings in practical and applied terms, and review conceptual approaches to assessing and identifying executive function and dysfunction. Several chapters are devoted to practical aspects of executive dysfunction, including research-based treatment strategies, educational implications, forensic cautions and intervention resources. Executive dysfunction in ADHD, LD, MR, autism, mood disorders, epilepsy, cancer and TBI is covered, with test performance, neuroimaging and clinical presentation for these clinical conditions. The book concludes with anticipation of future work in the field. This is a key reference for medical, psychological and educational professionals who work with children, adolescents and young adults in clinical and educational settings.
Executive dysfunction occurs in many clinical conditions and has significant impact on multiple facets of life. This book summarizes executive function and dysfunction for practitioners, researchers and educators, covering lifespan development, assessment, impact and interventions. Drawing together clinical, neurobiological and developmental viewpoints, the authors summarize the latest research findings in practical and applied terms, and review conceptual approaches to assessing and identifying executive function and dysfunction. Several chapters are devoted to practical aspects of executive dysfunction, including research-based treatment strategies, educational implications, forensic cautions and intervention resources. Executive dysfunction in ADHD, LD, MR, autism, mood disorders, epilepsy, cancer and TBI is covered, with test performance, neuroimaging and clinical presentation for these clinical conditions. The book concludes with anticipation of future work in the field. This is a key reference for medical, psychological and educational professionals who work with children, adolescents and young adults in clinical and educational settings.
Tested 40 41-57 mo old children on the number of trials they took to learn the identical form-discrimination problem given in either visual or tactual modalities in either "held" (E gave S the reward) or "platform" (S himself picked up the reward) conditions. It appears that when testing methodology is equated in the 2 modalities, cross-modal transfer of a simple form discrimination is not asymmetrical, but rather is equivalent to the transfer from the tactual to the visual modality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).
Investigated the suggestion that young infants show a preference for familiar stimuli that is supplanted by a preference for novel stimuli as they get older and the act of recognition becomes commonplace. In Study 1, 84 Ss (3.5, 4.5, and 6.5 mo old) were tested for visual recognition memory of shapes, using the paired comparison procedure. The 3.5-mo-olds showed a strong preference for the familiar, whereas the older Ss preferred the novel stimulus. In Study 2 with 72 3.5- and 6.5-mo-old Ss, these shifts were found to depend more on familiarization time than on age. Ss of both ages showed a preference for the familiar stimulus after limited exposure to it but shifted to a preference for the novel stimulus after more extended exposure. It is concluded that regardless of age, infants prefer to look at that which is familiar as they begin to process a stimulus; once processing becomes more advanced, their preference shifts to the novel. Findings are therefore contrary to the developmental view investigated. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
A total of 48 infants, divided into age groups of 2, 31/2, and 5 mo, were given habituation training during 2 experimental sessions taking place on consecutive days. Stimuli varying in familiarity and complexity were presented for 17 trials in each session. The S's attention to the stimulus was measured through the use of corneal reflections. 31/2- and 5-mo-old Ss showed habituation of looking to a familiarized stimulus within test sessions and between test sessions, demonstrating both short- and long-term memory effects. All 3 groups preferred to fixate complex stimuli over simple stimuli. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Describes "aspects of relating and uniting . . . in the area of human learning and memory." The problems of the formation of associations and associative recall are discussed, followed by a "proposal for a changed perspective on the problem of association and for new directions of investigation." (15 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
These experiments tested object permanence in 3-12- and 4-12-month-old infants. The method used in the experiments was similar to that used by Baillargeon, Spelke, and Wasserman (1985). The infants were habituated to a solid screen that rotated back and forth through a 180° arc, in the manner of a drawbridge. Following habituation, a box was placed behind the screen and the infants were shown two test events. In one (possible event), the screen rotated until it reached the occluded box; in the other (impossible event), the screen rotated through a full 180° arc, as though the box were no longer behind it. The 4-12-month-olds, and the 3-12-month-olds who were fast habituators, looked reliably longer at the impossible than at the possible event, suggesting that they understood that (a) the box continued to exist after it was occluded by the screen and (b) the screen could not rotate through the space occupied by the occluded box. Control experiments conducted without the box supported this interpretation. The results of these experiments call into serious question Piaget's (1954) claims about the age at which object permanence emerges and about the processes responsible for its emergence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Monkeys with inferotemporal lesions were impaired on 10-trial object discriminations regardless of whether or not the object chosen on the first trial was baited; Ss with frontal lesions were affected primarily when the object chosen was unbaited. A 2nd experiment, in which single objects were presented either with or without reward before being paired with indifferent objects, confirmed the hypotheses that frontal operates have abnormal difficulty in overcoming either spontaneous or experimentally-induced object preferences, and that inferotemporal operates have an impairment "closely related to the discrimination aspects of the test." From Psyc Abstracts 36:01:3DC19B. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Human infants (12-32 months old) and adults learned a delayed nonmatching-to-sample (DNMS) task and single- and multiple-pair discrimination tasks using nonverbal procedures previously used with monkeys. Infants learned discriminations rapidly and at a young age (12 months), but they required prolonged training and maturation before learning the DNMS task. Adults learned all tasks rapidly. After learning the DNMS task to criterion, memory performance declined systematically in an inverse relation to age. The dissociation in ability of infants on the DNMS versus discrimination tasks closely resembles the dissociation previously reported with infant monkeys (Bachevalier & Mishkin, 1984). Results from both infant humans and monkeys support a neurocognitive maturational model.
Infants were presented with two sounding objects of different sizes in light and dark, in which sound cued the object's identity. Reaching behavior was assessed to determine if object size influenced preparation for grasping the object. In both light and dark, infants aligned their hands when contacting the large object compared with the small object, which resulted in a reach with both hands extended for the large object and reach with one hand more extended for the small object. Infants contacted the large object more frequently on the bottom and sides rather than the top, where the sound source was located. Reaching in the dark by 6 1/2-month-olds is not merely directed toward a sound source but rather shows preparation in relation to the object's size. These findings were interpreted as evidence that mental representation of previously seen objects can guide subsequent motor action by 6 1/2-month-old infants.
This study addressed the question of how severe a memory impairment is produced by a lesion limited to the hippocampus. Monkeys with circumscribed hippocampal lesions were tested on the delayed-nonmatching-to-sample task, a test of recognition memory that is sensitive to amnesia in humans. Monkeys were given no preoperative training and were given no postoperative experience prior to training on the delayed-nonmatching-to-sample task. A marked deficit was observed. The results, taken together with those from previous studies, also provided information about the role of several factors that could potentially influence the level of memory impairment following hippocampal lesions. The level of impairment does not appear to be due to any of the following factors: time of testing after surgery, prior postoperative testing, surgical techniques, species differences, or behavioral training methods. However, preoperative training experience does appear to reduce the severity of the impairment, and this factor may account for the observation that the memory impairment associated with hippocampal lesions is sometimes very mild. Finally, a recent case of human amnesia studied in this laboratory is discussed in which a bilateral lesion limited to a portion of the hippocampus produced a well-documented memory deficit.
A new method was devised to test object permanence in young infants. Five- month-old infants were habituated to a screen that moved back and forth through a 180-degree arc, in the manner of a drawbridge. After infants reached habituation, a box was centered behind the screen. Infants were shown two test events: a possible event and an impossible event. In the possible event, the screen stopped when it reached the occluded box; in the impossible event, the screen moved through the space occupied by the box. The results indicated that infants looked reliably longer at the impossible than at the possible event. This finding suggested that infants (1) understood that the box continued to exist, in its same location, after it was occluded by the screen, and (2) expected the screen to stop against the occluded box and were surprised, or puzzled, when it failed to do so. A control experiment in which the box was placed next to the screen provided support for this interpretation of the results. Together, the results of these experiments indicate that, contrary to Piaget's (1954) claims, infants as young as 5 months of age understand that objects continue to exist when occluded. The results also indicate that 5-month-old infants realize that solid objects do not move through the space occupied by other solid objects.
Three rhesus monkeys with transection of the fornix were compared with 3 operated control monkeys in 4 memory tasks. They were tested repeatedly at each task until a stable level of performance was achieved. Ss with transection of the fornix were severely impaired in the 3 tasks that tested recognition memory and unimpaired in a test of pure associative memory which was very similar in all but the essential respects to one of the recognition tasks. It is suggested that damage to the hippocampal system in monkeys causes an anterograde amnesia comparable to that observed in human patients with similar lesions and consisting in a specific deficit of recognition memory.
2 experiments were carried out to investigate 18- to 30-month-old children's memory for the location of a hidden object. In the first experiment, young children were observed in 2 different memory-for-location tasks, both conducted in their own homes. In 1, a toy was hidden in a natural location, and in the other it was hidden in one of a set of boxes with picture cues on top of them. Memory performance was significantly better when the toy was hidden within the natural environment. The effect of different types of hiding locations was examined further in the second experiment. No age differences were found when an object was hidden either in the natural environment or in 1 of a set of unmarked boxes (although performance was better in the former condition). However, in the third condition the older subjects (24-30 months) effectively used a landmark cue (a nearby piece of furniture) to help them remember in which plain box a toy had been hidden, but the young subjects (18-22 months) did not profit from such potential cues. The results, as well as some previous research with delayed-response tasks, were interpreted as reflecting developmental changes in very young children's ability to exploit available cues. The pattern of results suggested the possibility that 2-year-old children are capable of a simple form of mnemonic strategy, actively associating an available cue with the information to be remembered.
Animals learned readily to discriminate peanut shells of a color containing food from those of another color empty. Tasks using the Klüver testing situation were learned most readily when the food incentive was placed within rather than under the plaques. "Further evidence is thus provided for the important role of temporal and spatial contiguity in the formation of associations." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
To determine why the familiarization-novelty paradigm tends to underestimate the ability of infants under 4 months of age to detect unidimensional differences between stimuli, groups of 14- and 20-week-olds were given unidimensional discrimination problems of varying difficulty under conditions of brief and prolonged familiarization. For both age groups, magnitude of novelty preference was a positive function of length of familiarization, ease of problem, and, to some extent, degree of habituation during familiarization. For young infants, performance was constrained by 3 additional factors: (1) they are more position biased than older infants and thus lose the advantage of the paired-comparison test; (2) they are more subject to the influence of attention tropisms elicited by specific stimuli; and (3) they take much longer to process stimuli. That these constraints apply only to unidimensional discrepancies is indicated by the strong effects obtained on a multidimensional version of 1 of the problems.
Forty-four children ranging in mental age from 3 to 6 years were divided into two matched groups. The two groups were trained to select the smaller of a pair of squares (37.8 vs. 68.0 sq. in.) and then tested in counter-balanced order with two pairs of still smaller stimuli (21.0 vs. 37.8, and 2.0 vs. 3.6 sq. in.). The median number of correct responses on the far transposition test (2.0 vs. 3.6 sq. in.) increased from 50% or chance at a mental age of 3 years to 100% at 6 years. The corresponding value for the near transposition test (21.0 vs. 37.8 sq. in.) was 90% or above at all 4 age levels. These results confirm the hypothesis that the mechanisms assumed by Spence to underlie transposition behavior in animals are also operative in the preverbal child, and that with increasing mental age a shift occurs to the verbal type of control. Thus, as would be expected from Spence's theory, the mentally younger and presumably preverbal children transposed consistently to the test stimuli near on the dimension to the training pair, but showed only chance responses on the test with distant stimuli. On the other hand, the mentally older children, in whom the verbal-type mechanism was established, showed transposition on both near and far tests. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
"Eleven monkeys were run on a series of 200 six-trial discriminations utilizing 10 different positional sequences… . Data from a series of 344 discrimination problems were analyzed in terms of progressive improvement in performance from problem to problem. This progressive improvement has been described as the formation of a learning set… . Early in the discrimination series, the monkeys learned discriminations gradually. On later problems, the monkeys learned most of the discriminations in a single trial… . The acquisition of the discrimination learning set was gradual and appeared to be a continuous rather than a discontinuous process… . The rate and degree of reduction of the different error-producing factors were found to vary." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Chimpanzees and monkeys can form very rapid color discriminations when the reward substance (bread) is colored and impregnated with desirable or non-desirable flavoring. Control tests with colored plaques showed little better than chance discrimination. It is suggested that "spatial and temporal proximity of cue to reward may play an important role in rapidity of discrimination." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Comparative studies of memory in monkey and human subjects suggest similarities in visual recognition memory across human and nonhuman primates. In order to investigate developmental aspects of visual recognition memory in monkey infants, the familiarization-novelty procedure, developed for use with human infants, was employed with pigtailed monkey infants to study long-delay recognition memory. Subjects were familiarized with a black-and-white abstract pattern. Twenty-four hours later they were tested with the familiar pattern paired with a novel one. Results indicated a significant visual preference for the novel stimulus, providing evidence for recognition memory. These results parallel those obtained with human infants, suggesting further similarities in the development of visual recognition memory.
Two experiments investigated very young children's use of different kinds of stimulus information to encode and search for the location of a hidden object. Two age groups (21- and 27-month-old children) watched as a small object was hidden in one of four containers. After a 30-second delay, they were encouraged to retrieve the object. When the hiding places were visually distinctive, performance was excellent, and there were no age differences. However, when the same distinctive visual information was a less integral aspect of the hiding location, age differences appeared; older children were more successful than younger ones at using the distinctive cues that were associated with (but not intrinsic to) the hiding place. Cue salience was also shown to be important, with real-object cues facilitating performance more than picture cues. In addition, performance varied as a function of whether the cues remained stationary or not. The data indicate that very young children have difficulty integrating unrelated information. Information that is successfully exploited when it is intrinsic to the hiding place of an object may be ineffective when it is not intrinsic, that is, when the children must themselves integrate it with what must be remembered. In particular, young children have difficulty linking together separate relations among objects. The results from these studies are related to the existing literature on location memory in young children, and a general progression in the ability to integrate information in the service of memory is identified.
A conception of development is offered emphasizing that the child must not only acquire knowledge, but must also inhibit reactions that get in the way of expressing knowledge that is already present. In Experiment 1, 60 infants—12 each at 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 months of age-were tested with a rectangular toy and a small box open at the top. All succeeded when the toy was in the box not touching the front wall, and in all conditions of contiguity where the toy could be retrieved by reaching along a straight line. However, all 7-month-olds failed the contiguous condition when required first to reach over the front wall and then back for the toy. Eleven-month-olds succeeded from the outset; 8 to 10-month-olds benefitted most from experience during testing. In Experiment 2, 16 infants of 7 months and 8 infants of 10 months retrieved the toy under all conditions of contiguity where any portion of the toy was in front of the wall, extended farther from the wall than one half the wall's height, or rose to the same height as the wall or higher. In all of these conditions, the toy could be retrieved by reaching along a straight line. Seven-month-olds failed to retrieve the toy, however, even when it did not share a boundary with the front wall of the box, if distance from wall plus width of toy was less than half the wall's height. Here, infants had to first reach over the front wall and then reverse direction to retrieve the toy. Seven-month-olds touched the edge of the box significantly more often on these trials, and reacted to those touches by reflexively grasping the box or withdrawing their hand. We conclude that 7-month-old infants understand that an object is still there when it shares a boundary with another object (contrary to the theorizing of Piaget and of Bower).
Lighting conditions during the delay period in a delayed matching-to-sample paradigm were found to affect performance greatly after delay. Capuchin monkeys performed significantly better after a dark delay than after a lighted one. This relationship was found to hold for both spatial and nonspatial problems. Apparently the results were not mediated by activity differences during delay. The data were interpreted as support for an interference interpretation of memory loss. An attempt was made to integrate the current findings and interpretations with some earlier reports.
The relationship between the amount of fixation to a stimulus and preference for it or a novel stimulus in six-month-old infants was investigated in a series of experiments. In all of the experiments, a preference for the novel stimulus was observed only after a sufficient amount of prior fixation to the familiar stimulus. There was no strong evidence for a preference for the familiar stimulus preceding a preference for novel stimuli.
THE profound anterograde amnesia that has been attributed in the clinical literature to damage of the hippocampal system1,2 has not been observed in animals with such damage. Hippocampal-system lesions in animals do markedly impair some forms of spatial memory3,4, but the effects on other forms of memory have generally seemed minor5,6 compared with the dramatic disorder described in man7,8. This discrepancy between the clinical and animal literature could indicate a true evolutionary shift in the functions of the hippocampus9,10, or, at the other extreme, it could simply reflect the use of incommensurate measures across species11,12. (Strong support for this second interpretation has been provided by Gaffan13.) A third possibility, however, is that the discrepancy points to inaccurate localisation of the neuropathology in man that is responsible for the profound amnesia. Support for this last alternative comes from new evidence in monkeys indicating that a striking impairment in visual memory can be produced by the combined ablation of the hippocampal formation and the amygdaloid body, but not by ablation of either of these structures alone.
Although it has been widely speculated that the hippocampus, and the type of memory dependent upon the hippocampus, develops late in primates just as it does in rats (e.g., Nadel & Zola-Morgan, 1984; Bachevalier & Mishkin, 1984; Schacter & Moscovitch, 1984), the evidence to date would not seem to support this. Instead, there is behavioral evidence of very early recognition memory and anatomical evidence of very early hippocampal maturation in human and non-human primates. It is true, however, that the standard delayed non-matching to sample task, which requires recognition memory, is not mastered until quite late. The reason for this late mastery would appear to be the late emergence of some other ability required for the task, not recognition memory. The candidates for what that ability might be are (1) the capacity to plan and execute an indirect, two-action sequence, (2) the capacity to understand that the object stands for the reward, but is not the reward itself, (3) the ability to deduce an abstract rule, (4) the ability to make explicit on testing what can be shown implicitly during play, (5) the ability to quickly encode visual stimuli (speed of encoding), and (6) the ability to resist interference. Only empirical work will enable us to decide among these candidate abilities; that work is currently underway.
Children 12 to 36 months old were tested on DMS, DNMS, and object discrimination tasks in a WGTA with procedures that closely followed those used previously with monkeys. Mastery of DNMS showed a clear developmental progression. The youngest children (12-15 months old) required extensive training, and they failed to reach criterion until they were 15-18 months old. The differentially slower learning of the youngest children cannot be attributed to "performance" deficits (perceptual, motivational, or associational inabilities) or the inability to make 2-part responses, because a test of object discrimination showed that even 12-month-old children can perform with accuracy in the WGTA testing situation. Analysis of learning curves along with additional tests of memory provided evidence that the youngest children are (1) less proficient in learning the novelty-reward rule and (2) less proficient in memory for a particular stimulus item. Furthermore, we found that a task that we think requires learning two rules, a DMS task, was even more difficult for children to master. These results together with data collected on brain-damaged humans and monkeys indicate that the DNMS and DMS tasks, when applied to children, may provide insight into the functional maturation of brain areas responsible for memory, rule-learning, and behavioral inhibition.
The early development of inhibited approach was studied through the observation of infants' reaching toward objects. 48 infants were observed longitudinally at 6.5, 10, and 13.5 months as they reached for toys under high- and low-intensity/novelty conditions. It was predicted that if an approach system related to positive affect were in place by 6 months, infants should show relative interindividual stability across age in their latency to approach low-intensity/novelty toys. This latency would also be inversely related to temperamental positive affect, that is, children who smiled and laughed more would reach more quickly. It was also predicted that, if behavioral inhibition to high-intensity/novelty stimuli were developing over this period, relative instability of latency to grasp high-intensity/novelty toys would be found. This latency would also be positively related to temperamental ratings of fearfulness, that is, children who were more fearful, would grasp more slowly. These hypotheses were generally supported, with the exception of the relation between parent-reported fearfulness and latency to approach and grasp. In addition, sex differences in frequency of hesitations were found.
Cortical association areas direct their influence on motor cortex via premotor and supplementary motor cortex. In the present experiment premotor cortex was removed bilaterally in monkeys. The monkeys were unable to relearn a visual conditional motor task on which the correct action is specified by visual cues. It was shown that the same monkeys were unable to learn a non motor visual conditional task on which the visual cues specified which object should be chosen. It is concluded that the monkeys are only impaired when they must recall a movement from memory on the basis of a visual cue.
There are suggestions that premotor cortex might play a role either in the execution of axial and proximal movements or in the sensory guidance of movement. Monkeys with bilateral premotor lesions were therefore studied on a series of behavioural tests; the tasks differed either in the movements to be performed or in the nature of the sensory cues that guided the animals. It was found that the success or failure of the monkeys depended on the way in which they received instructions as to what to do. These results are consistent with the view that premotor cortex is involved in the direction of movement but not in its execution.
Infants 21- to 25-weeks-old devoted more visual fixation to novel than to previously exposed stimuli on immediate and delayed tests of recognition. Abstract black and white patterns were recognized following a 48-hour delay and photos of faces after a 2-week delay. A decline in recognition over 3 hours for targets (face masks) most akin to objects (real faces) in S's environment led to studies of the effect on delayed recognition of exposure to stimuli similar to those to be retained. One-minute delayed recognition for face photos was disrupted by intervening exposure to intermediate similarity stimuli (rotated photos) but was unaffected by exposure to either high (upright photos) or low (rotated line drawings) similarity stimuli. Differentiation among intervening stimuli occurred only for the upright photos used as high-similarity intervening material. In addition, immediate exposure to rotated photos also prevented 3-hour-delayed recognition of upright photos but had no such effect when delayed for 3 hours. The present experiments confirm the existence of long-term recognition memory for pictorial stimuli in the early months of life and show that one source of forgetting is due to a diversion of the infant's attention to material bearing some perceptual similarity to the material to be retained. This diversion of attention must occur soon after immediate recognition testing to produce a reduction of recognition and such deleterious effects last for an appreciable period of time.
A 6-month-old infant who can remove a transparent cloth from his hand when it is covered after he grasps a toy may not be able to remove an opaque cover. The difficulty level of the task of removing the opaque cover was found to be greater than Piaget's partial-hiding task and less than his hiding-while-reaching and hiding-before-reaching tasks. Infants who do not remove the opaque cover appear to gain no information about the toy when they touch it. Alternative interpretations of the phenomenon, that is, degree of bimanual coordination and focus of attention, are discussed.
An interstimulus familiarization technique which combined several important features of previous interstimulus familiarization methods was developed to explore infant retention for visual stimuli. Infants in the age range from 3 to 6 months demonstrated differential fixation time to novel and familiar targets. Novel targets commanded significantly more attention on both immediate and delayed tests of stimulus recognition.
On the basis of studies of habituation in animals it was predicted that infants would exhibit habituation of fixation time to a visual stimulus and recovery of fixation time over time. Thirty-two 4-month-old infants were given 10 familiarization trials with one stimulus followed by a retention interval and then presentation of both the familiar and a novel stimulus.Males but not females habituated their fixation time over trials and differentiated between the novel and familiar stimuli when the posthabituation interval was 15 sec, but neither males nor females did so when the interval was 5 min. Evidence for recovery to the familiar stimulus over 5 min was inconclusive due to possible effects of situational fatigue. The results were interpreted in terms of Sokolov's neuronal model of memory.
Maternal attentiveness was time-sampled in the homes of 44 5-month-old infants who were later examined at 6 months for exploratory behavior. 3 groups of babies were distinguished at 5 months, receiving high, low, or medium attentiveness. The high-attentiveness group significantly exceeded the low-attentiveness group in looking at, tactile manipulation of, and vocalizing to a novel stimulus presented alone, and exceeded both other groups in looking at and manipulating novel stimuli in preference to familiar ones. Maternal attentiveness was related to 2 measures of variety of stimulation offered the infant. The data are interpreted as suggesting that maternal attentiveness may facilitate exploratory behavior in the infant.
Using a task known to be sensitive to human amnesia, we have evaluated two current hypotheses about which brain regions must be damaged to produce the disorder. Monkeys with bilateral transections of the white matter of the temporal stem were unimpaired, but monkeys with conjoint amygdala-hippocampal lesions exhibited a severe memory deficit. The results indicate that the hippocampus, amygdala, or both, but not the temporal stem, are involved in memory in the monkey and suggest that a rapprochement between the findings for the human and the nonhuman primate may be close at hand.
Amnesic patients acquired a mirror-reading skill at a rate equivalent to that of matched control subjects and retained it
for at least 3 months. The results indicate that the class of preserved learning skills in amnesia is broader than previously
reported. Amnesia seems to spare information that is based on rules or procedures, as contrasted with information that is
data-based or declarative--"knowing how rather than "knowing that." The results support the hypothesis that such a distinction
is honored by the nervous system.
Infantile amnesia, the absence of memories from infancy and early childhood, has been attributed to an immaturity of the limbic system in infancy. Contrary to this view, we now report that limbic-dependent recognition memory is present as early as one month of age in monkeys. Memory measured by the paired-comparison preferential looking task, normally present in infant monkeys within the first month of life, is absent after damage to the amygdaloid complex and hippocampal formation, suggesting that limbic structures make a critical contribution to visual recognition memory even at this early age. The findings reopen the question of the locus of the neural immaturity that underlies infantile amnesia.
40 children were divided into two groups, the first ranging in age from 3-0 to 3-11, the second from 4-5 to 5-6. All were trained to choose the smaller of a pair of squares Ss from each group were tested at points one, two, four, and five steps from the original stimuli From an analysis of the results the following conclusions were drawn: The gradient for the older group is horizontal at a high level of transposition score The gradient for the younger group drops from a high to a low transposition score as test stimuli are removed from training stimuli The various data lend striking confirmation to the theory of transposition advanced by Spence.
Experiment 1 demonstrated that delayed matching-to-sample in the capuchin monkey was superior when the delay interval was spent in darkness rather than in moderate illumination. In contrast with previous studies in which the delayed-matching ability of primates appeared limited to 60 sec or less, in the dark condition all subjects showed above-chance matching at a 120-sec delay interval. Experiment 2 verified that darkness during the delay interval can facilitate delayed matching and provided evidence that the effective variable was the illumination level of the delay interval rather than change in illumination, which in Exp. 1 was confounded with illumination level.