Young and Older Adults Benefit From Sleep, but Not From Active Wakefulness for Memory Consolidation of What-Where-When Naturalistic Events

An extensive psychological literature shows that sleep actively promotes human episodic memory (EM) consolidation in younger adults. However, evidence for the benefit of sleep for EM consolidation in aging is still elusive. In addition, most of the previous studies used EM assessments that are very different from everyday life conditions and are far from considering all the hallmarks of this memory system. In this study, the effect of an extended period of sleep was compared to the effect of an extended period of active wakefulness on the EM consolidation of naturalistic events, using a novel (What-Where-When) EM task, rich in perceptual details and spatio-temporal context, presented in a virtual environment. We investigated the long-term What-Where-When and Details binding performances of young and elderly people before and after an interval of sleep or active wakefulness. Although we found a noticeable age-related decline in EM, both age groups benefited from sleep, but not from active wakefulness. In younger adults, only the period of sleep significantly enhanced the capacity to associate different components of EM (binding performance) and more specifically the free recall of what-when information. Interestingly, in the elderly, sleep significantly enhanced not only the recall of factual elements but also associated details and contextual information as well as the amount of high feature binding (i.e., What-Where-When and Details). Thus, this study evidences the benefit of sleep, and the detrimental effect of active wakefulness, on long-term feature binding, which is one of the core characteristics of EM, and its effectiveness in normal aging. However, further research should investigate whether this benefit is specific to sleep or more generally results from the effect of a post-learning period of reduced interference, which could also concern quiet wakefulness

Arqueologia de un campo de batalla: las fortifiaciones de la montaña de sant Corneli

Les noves tècniques i metodologies de l’arqueologia del conflicte han permès documentar de forma exhaustiva les restes dels camps de batalla sense la necessitat d’excavar de forma extensiva tota l’àrea d’estudi. Aquest nou camp d’investigació ha estat especialment prolífic en l’estudi de les restes bèl·liques de la Guerra Civil Espanyola, tot i que malauradament tant l’arqueologia com la historiografia es continuen centrant en aquelles batalles més conegudes. En el present article, es pretén demostrar que gràcies a un equip de reduïdes dimensions s’aconsegueix obtenir un gran volum d’informació sobre un dels fronts de guerra considerats per a molts com a secundaris, com és el cas de Tremp, amb una de les seves posicions més destacades, la muntanya de Sant Corneli.The new techniques and methodologies of conflict archeology have made it possible to comprehensively document the remains of the battlefields without the need to extensively excavate the entire study area. This new field of research has been particularly prolific in the study of the war remains of the Spanish Civil War, although unfortunately both archeology and historiography continue to focus on those better-known battles. In this article, it is intended to show that thanks to a team of small dimensions it is possible to obtain a large volume of information on one of the war fronts considered by many as secondary, as is the case of Tremp, with one of its most outstanding positions, the mountain of Sant Corneli.Las nuevas técnicas y metodologías de la arqueología del conflicto han permitido documentar de forma exhaustiva los restos de los campos de batalla sin necesidad de excavar de forma extensiva todo el área de estudio. Este nuevo campo de investigación ha sido especialmente prolífico en el estudio de los restos bélicos de la Guerra Civil Española, aunque desgraciadamente tanto la arqueología como la historiografía se siguen centrando en aquellas batallas más conocidas. En el presente artículo, se pretende demostrar que gracias a un equipo de reducidas dimensiones se consigue obtener un gran volumen de información sobre uno de los frentes de guerra considerados para muchos como secundarios, como es el caso de Tremp, con una de sus posiciones más destacadas, la montaña de Sant Corneli

Children’s spatial representation of virtual itineraries: The role of working memory

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Virtual reality as an ecologically valid tool for assessing multifaceted episodic memory in children and adolescents

International audienceThe majority of episodic memory (EM) tests are far removed from what we experience in daily life and from the definition of this type of memory. This study examines the developmental trajectory of the main aspects of episodic memory—what, where, and when—and of feature binding in a naturalistic virtual environment. A population of 125 participants aged from 6 to 24 years was asked to navigate, by using a joystick, in a virtual urban environment composed of specific areas, and to memorize as many elements as possible (e.g., scenes, details, spatial and temporal contexts). The ability to recall factual content associated to details or spatiotemporal context increased steadily from the age of 8 to young adulthood. These results indicate main developmental differences in feature binding abilities in naturalistic events which are very sensitive to age in comparison with a standard EM assessment. Virtual reality therefore appears to be an appropriate technique to assess crucial aspects of EM development in children and adolescents and it should provide helpful tools for the detection of subtle memory deficits

Which direction to take? Cognitive and linguistic factors in children’s spatial representations of virtual itineraries

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Learning to indicate directions: Cognitive and linguistic factors in children’s spatial representations of virtual itineraries

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Saccade dynamics before, during, and after saccadic adaptation in humans

PURPOSE. When saccade amplitude is systematically inadequate relative to the desired target position, the saccadic system adaptively modifies the amplitude of subsequent saccades so as to recover precise targeting capabilities. The effect of saccadic adaptation on saccade metrics (amplitude, direction) is well documented, but the effect on dynamics (velocity, duration, acceleration, deceleration) remains to be fully elucidated. METHODS. The dynamics of adapted saccades were compared with that of baseline saccades of similar amplitudes. RESULTS. The peak deceleration and skewness (duration of the acceleration period/duration of the deceleration period) were modified by adaptation. CONCLUSIONS. The results point toward involvement of the cerebellum rather than the brain stem saccade generator in human saccadic adaptation. (Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2008;49: 604 -612

Le rôle de la mémoire de travail verbale et visuo-spatiale dans la représentation d’itinéraires virtuels chez l’enfant

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Les enfants utilisent-ils les repères dans les itinéraires virtuels ?

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Is binding decline the main source of the ageing effect on prospective memory? A ride in a virtual town

Objective: This study was designed to improve our understanding of prospective memory (PM) changes in ageing, and to identify the cognitive correlates of PM decline, using a virtual environment, to provide a more realistic assessment than traditional laboratory tasks. Design: Thirty-five young and 29 older individuals exposed to a virtual town were asked to recall three event-based intentions with a strong link between prospective and retrospective components, three event-based intentions with a weak link, and three time-based intentions. They also underwent retrospective episodic memory, executive functions, binding in working memory, processing speed, and time estimation assessments. Results: Older individuals recalled fewer intentions than young adults. While age-related PM decline affected the recall of both prospective and retrospective components, the recall of the latter seemed more challenging for older individuals when the link was weak. This PM decline was linked to an age-related decline in the binding process in working memory, as well as in processing speed, executive functioning, and episodic memory, depending on the nature of intentions. Conclusion: PM appears to be sensitive to ageing, even when the device is thought to be ecological. This decline is particularly pronounced when controlled processes are needed