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Varieties of learning and developmental theories of memory
Published in Romain Meeusen, Sabine Schaefer, Phillip Tomporowski, Richard Bailey, Physical Activity and Educational Achievement, 2017
Phillip Tomporowski, Daniel M. Pendleton, Bryan A. McCullick
Metamemory refers to knowledge about one’s memory processes (Flavell, 1971). The term metacognition is used by contemporary developmental researchers to include not only metamemory but also comprehension, communication and problem-solving skills (Flavell, 2000). Further, the construct is delineated as procedural metamemory, which is awareness that a particular well-learned and automatized movement or complex action requires some form of preplanning prior to execution, and declarative metamemory, which is the awareness of explicit factual knowledge that requires selection and proper utilization (Schneider, 2015).
Losing and finding words and names
Published in Patrick Rabbitt, The Aging Mind, 2019
This raises interesting questions as to how any of us, at any age, know whether or not we know something that we cannot, at the moment, precisely recall, and whether the accuracy with which we know what we know (but can’t at the moment remember) changes as we grow old. Although research on this almost metaphysical question is still rather sparse (to acknowledge its philosophical significance it is, rather pompously, termed “metamemory”), some studies find that the accuracy with which we can decide whether we know or do not know a word or fact that we cannot currently recall does not decline with age, though the confidence with which we make these judgements may be affected [6]. However, other studies do find some loss of accuracy of “feelings of knowing” in old age that are correlated with scores on behavioural tests of frontal lobe function, on which older people perform less well [7]. A particularly well-conducted study found that even demented patients who have lost much of their vocabulary do not seem to have lost the ability to decide whether a familiar word will be retrievable on a later occasion [8]. However, at least one other research group has found that metamemory is impaired in patients with “mild cognitive impairment” who may, of course, be in the early stages of dementias [9]. Studies of brain-damaged patients agree with the behavioural evidence that the frontal lobes of the brain are involved in metamemory, since patients with lesions to the right pre-frontal cortex have less accurate “feelings of knowing” [10]. Brain images from intact and conscious volunteers agree with this [7] and also show that, although the right and left inferior frontal gyri are involved in “feeling of knowing” judgements, they are not involved in direct recall of immediately remembered information [11].
Aging, Sleep, and Neuropsychological Functioning Outcomes
Published in José León-Carrión, Margaret J. Giannini, Behavioral Neurology in the Elderly, 2001
María José Ramos-Platón, Antonio Benetó-Pascual
The most recent research has afforded data that have been instrumental in understanding the nature of disturbance in the cognitive processes of patients with narcolepsy and what kind of functions are affected by the kind of drowsiness that they experience. It has been demonstrated that in a state of high arousal, these patients show normal performance in automatic tasks, but that this specifically diminishes in complex cognitive tasks when they swing to a state of low arousal. This means that the functions most affected by narcolepsy are higher cognitive functions and tasks requiring high-speed cognitive processing, perceptual–motor coordination, as well as speed and precision in motor response. Naps have a beneficial effect on the overall cognitive performance of patients with narcolepsy, in spite of the effect of “sleep inertia,” which diminishes their cognitive performance immediately after awakening. These data support the theory that the reduced performance found in patients with narcolepsy is essentially due to the effects of somnolence and partially confirm their subjective complaints of cognitive dysfunction. Another important factor influencing the cognitive performance of these patients affects their meta-memory processes. They show little confidence in their own cognitive ability, especially with regard to memory, which adversely affects their performance. In regard to the emotional well-being of patients with narcolepsy–cataplexy, the syndrome is associated with psychopathological disorders that have generally been interpreted as a consequence of the illness. Nonetheless, some authors have suggested that they may be a constituent part, or biological predisposition, of these patients. The most frequent symptoms are depression, anxiety, inhibition, low selfesteem, and social withdrawal. It is interesting to point out the high prevalence of depression and anxiety found in several studies. According to the authors’ data, the MMPI personality profile of patients with narcolepsy is of the neurotic type, although within the normal range (T score <70), with significant elevations with regard to normal controls on the hypochondriasis, psychasthenia and schizophrenia scales, and a moderate elevation (T > 60) in the depression scale.126 This personality profile is different from those of patients with SAS and, when comparing the two profiles, significant elevations are observed in patients with narcolepsy on the psychasthenia and schizophrenia scales (which are part of the so-called “psychotic” scales). This is worthy of note given that it can be interpreted as a sign of organicity. There have also been reports that there is no significant remission in the depression, symptoms of fatigue, and lack of motivation in these patients with the use of various medications that control EDS. These symptoms seem to be independent of the presence of cataplexy and the degree of the effects of the syndrome on the patient’s work and social life. Such anomalies could thus be more endogenous in nature than secondary to the illness.
Memory and Executive Functions Subserving Judgments of Learning: Cognitive Reorganization After Traumatic Brain Injury
Published in Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 2022
Pradeep Ramanathan, Ran Liu, Ming-Hui Chen, Mary R. T. Kennedy
Moderate-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a chronic condition, and recovery is an ongoing process with many individuals eventually able to return to some form of work or school (Benedictus et al., 2010; Dikmen et al., 2003; van Velzen et al., 2009). Recovery of metacognitive self-monitoring and self-regulation of memory and learning (i.e., metamemory) is important for return to work or school (Ownsworth & McKenna, 2004; Robertson & Schmitter-Edgecombe, 2015; Sigurdardottir et al., 2020). There is evidence of functional reorganization1 and/or compensatory engagement supporting such recovery. For example, individuals may compensate for impaired memory by increasing effort, internal monitoring, selective attention, or by increasing metacognitive self-regulation in allocating more time for study (Levine et al., 2002; Turner et al., 2011). Our purpose is to investigate the potential reorganization of the cognitive functions which may subserve metamemory by studying individuals with TBI who have had good long-term recovery (e.g., are community dwelling, independent in activities of daily living, and have either returned to college or to at least part time work in either paid employment or a volunteer position). In particular, we investigate metamemory Judgments of Learning (JOLs) in such individuals, and how JOL-related measures draw on the functions that comprise memory and executive functions (EFs).
Beyond memory problems: multiple obstacles to health and quality of life in older people seeking help for subjective memory complaints
Published in Disability and Rehabilitation, 2019
Shlomit Rotenberg Shpigelman, Shelley Sternberg, Adina Maeir
Depressive symptoms are common in older people with SMC [2]. Severity of memory complaints was shown to be associated with depression, more than with cognitive status [11,22,23]. The reported prevalence of depressive symptoms in help-seekers varied from 27% to 60% [10,14,17,24]. Several studies found that help-seekers exhibited more depressive symptoms compared to healthy controls [10,25–27], yet no significant difference was found in depressive symptoms of help-seekers compared to non-help-seekers with SMC [18,19]. Meta-memory is defined as knowledge, perception, and beliefs about one’s own memory [28]. Research on meta-memory in help-seekers is sparse and reveals significantly lower memory self-efficacy and contentment in help-seekers compared to non-help-seekers with SMC [19]. Additionally, help-seekers with mild cognitive impairment exhibited less strategy knowledge and decreased use of internal memory strategies compared to healthy controls [29]. Mental QoL and daily functioning were found to be lower in help-seekers compared to non-help-seekers with SMC [19]. Help-seekers reported difficulties in instrumental activities of daily living and in complex social functioning [30].
Memory Self-Efficacy and Beliefs about Memory and Aging in Oldest-Old Adults in the Louisiana Healthy Aging Study (LHAS)
Published in Experimental Aging Research, 2019
Katie E. Cherry, Bethany A. Lyon, Emily O. Boudreaux, Alyse B. Blanchard, Jason L. Hicks, Emily M. Elliott, Leann Myers, Sangkyu Kim, S. Michal Jazwinski
These implications should be interpreted in light of at least four methodological limitations. First, a potential sampling bias may exist, because LHAS participants were physically active and socially engaged (Cherry, Jackson Walker, et al., 2013). Many older adults are not as healthy or highly involved as the current sample. People in worse health may not be as optimistic in their self-assessments of memory, especially if they are comparing themselves to their healthier, more active peers. Our nonagenarian sample had less age variability than the younger comparison groups which may also limit the generalizability of our findings. Future studies should explore the subjective memory views held by those older adults in worse health and social conditions to determine whether the patterns found here still persist. Additionally, younger adults were college students and the older adults also had high levels of education, so the findings reported here may not generalize well to those with less education. Cohort effects may also play a role in participants’ beliefs about aging, which could be the underlying cause behind the null effects across these metamemory measures. Future research to explore this possibility concerning what various generations believe about memory abilities would be valuable.