Improving working memory abilities in individuals with Down syndrome: a treatment case study

Working memory (WM) skills of individuals with Down’s syndrome (DS) tend to be very poor compared to typically developing children of similar mental age. In particular, research has found that in individuals with DS visuo-spatial WM is better preserved than verbal WM. This study investigated whether it is possible to train short-term memory (STM) and WM abilities in individuals with DS. The cases of two teenage children are reported: EH, 17 years and 3 months, and AS, 15 years and 11 months. A school-based treatment targeting visuo-spatial WM was given to EH and AS for six weeks. Both prior to and after the treatment, they completed a set of assessments to measure WM abilities and their performance was compared with younger typically developing non-verbal mental age controls. The results showed that the trained participants improved their performance in some of the trained and non-trained WM tasks proposed, especially with regard to the tasks assessing visuo-spatial WM abilities. These findings are discussed on the basis of their theoretical, educational, and clinical implications

Executive functions, math anxiety and math performance in middle school students

Previous studies mainly investigated working memory (WM) and math anxiety (MA) leaving almost unexplored other aspects of executive functions (EFs) in middle school period. Filling the gap in the literature, the aims of this study were: (1) to better examine the relationship between MA and math performance, (2) to better examine the relationship between EFs and math performance and (3) to investigate the interplay between EFs and MA on math performances. This study confirmed a significant and negative relationship between MA and math performance, indicates a significant and positive relationship between visuospatial WM and math performance, shifting and math performance and highlight a scarcely investigated indirect influence of MA through the measure of shifting on math performance. Our findings shed further light on the mediating role of EFs between MA and math performance and underline some future perspectives

Improving approximate number sense abilities in preschoolers: PLUS game

Previous studies in both typically and atypically developing children have shown that approximate number system (ANS) abilities predict formal mathematical knowledge later on in life. The current study investigated whether playing specially designed training games that targets the ANS system using nonsymbolic stimuli only would improve preschool children’s ANS abilities. Thirty-eight preschool children were randomly allocated to either the training or control group. For 5 weeks, 20 preschoolers (9 girls) in the training group played daily games for 10 min that included guessing and comparing numerosities, whereas 18 control children (6 girls) were involved in interactive picture book reading sessions. Children’s ANS abilities were assessed using a computerized task before and after the training program. An analysis of covariance with posttraining ANS scores as dependent variable and pretraining scores as a covariate showed that the children in the training group had higher ANS abilities after the training, in contrast to children in the control group (p = .012, ηp2 = .171). This study provides evidence that ANS abilities can be improved in preschool children through a daily training program that targets the ANS specifically. These findings provide support for further training programs for preschool children who show mathematical difficulties early on in life. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved

Interactivity Mitigates the Impact of Working Memory Depletion on Mental Arithmetic Performance

Doing long sums in the absence of complementary actions or artefacts is a multi-step procedure that quickly taxes working memory; congesting the phonological loop further handicaps performance. In the experiment reported here, participants completed long sums either with hands down?the low interactivity condition?or by moving numbered tokens?the high interactivity condition?while they repeated ?the? continuously, loading the phonological loop, or not. As expected, interactivity and articulatory suppression substantially affected performance; critically, the effect of articulatory suppression was stronger in the low than in the high interactivity condition. In addition, independent measure of mathematics anxiety predicted the impact of articulatory suppression on performance only in the low (not high) interactivity condition. These findings suggest that interactivity augmented overall or systemic working memory resources and diminished the effect of mathematics anxiety, underscoring the importance of characterizing the properties of the system as it is configured by the dynamic agent-environment coupling

Spatial working memory is enhanced in children by differential outcomes

Working memory (WM) is essential to academic achievement. Any enhancement of WM abilities may improve children's school performance. We tested the usefulness of the differential outcomes procedure (DOP) to enhance typically developing children's performance on a spatial WM task. The DOP involves a conditional discriminative learning task in which a correct choice response to a specific stimulus-stimulus association is reinforced with a particular reinforcer (outcome). We adapted a spatial memory task to be used with the DOP. Participants had to learn and retain in their WM four target locations of eight possible locations where a shape could be presented. Two groups of 5- and 7-year-old children performed the low-attentional version of the spatial task, and an additional group of 7-year-old children performed the high-attentional version. The results showed that compared with the standard non-differential outcomes procedure (NOP), the DOP produced better memory-based performance in 5-year-old children with the low-attentional task and in 7-year-old children with the high-attentional task. Additionally, delay intervals impaired performance in the NOP but not in the DOP. These findings suggest that the DOP may be a useful complement to other WM intervention programs targeted to improve children's academic performance at school

Impact of High Mathematics Education on the Number Sense

In adult number processing two mechanisms are commonly used: approximate estimation of quantity and exact calculation. While the former relies on the approximate number sense (ANS) which we share with animals and preverbal infants, the latter has been proposed to rely on an exact number system (ENS) which develops later in life following the acquisition of symbolic number knowledge. The current study investigated the influence of high level math education on the ANS and the ENS. Our results showed that the precision of non-symbolic quantity representation was not significantly altered by high level math education. However, performance in a symbolic number comparison task as well as the ability to map accurately between symbolic and non-symbolic quantities was significantly better the higher mathematics achievement. Our findings suggest that high level math education in adults shows little influence on their ANS, but it seems to be associated with a better anchored ENS and better mapping abilities between ENS and ANS

Augmented Reality for the assessment of children's spatial memory in real settings

Short-term memory can be defined as the capacity for holding a small amount of information in mind in an active state for a short period of time. There are no available, specific, and adapted instruments to study the development of memory and spatial orientation in people while they are moving. In this paper, we present the ARSM (Augmented Reality Spatial Memory) task, the first Augmented Reality task that involves a user's movement to assess spatial short-term memory in healthy children. The experimental procedure of the ARSM task was designed to assess the children s skill to retain visuospatial information. They were individually asked to remember the real place where augmented reality objects were located. The children (N=76) were divided into two groups: preschool (5-6 year olds) and primary school (7-8 year olds). We found a significant improvement in ARSM task performance in the older group. The correlations between scores for the ARSM task and traditional procedures were significant. These traditional procedures were the Dot Matrix subtest for the assessment of visuospatial short-term memory of the computerized AWMA-2 battery and a parent s questionnaire about a child s everyday spatial memory. Hence, we suggest that the ARSM task has high verisimilitude with spatial short-term memory skills in real life. In addition, we evaluated the ARSM task s usability and perceived satisfaction. The study revealed that the younger children were more satisfied with the ARSM task. This novel instrument could be useful in detecting visuospatial short-term difficulties that affect school academic achievementFunded by the Spanish Government (MINECO) and European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) in the CHILDMNEMOS project TIN2012-37381-C02-01, Gobierno de Aragon (Dpt. Industria e Innovacion), Fondo Social Europeo, Fundacion Universitaria Antonio Gargallo and Obra Social Ibercaja. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Juan, M.; Mendez Lopez, M.; Pérez Hernández, E.; Albiol Pérez, S. (2014). Augmented Reality for the assessment of children's spatial memory in real settings. PLoS ONE. 9(12):113751-113771. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0113751S113751113771912Linn, M. C., & Petersen, A. C. (1985). Emergence and Characterization of Sex Differences in Spatial Ability: A Meta-Analysis. Child Development, 56(6), 1479. doi:10.2307/1130467Simmons, F. R., Willis, C., & Adams, A.-M. (2012). Different components of working memory have different relationships with different mathematical skills. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 111(2), 139-155. doi:10.1016/j.jecp.2011.08.011Alloway, T. P., & Alloway, R. G. (2010). Investigating the predictive roles of working memory and IQ in academic attainment. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 106(1), 20-29. doi:10.1016/j.jecp.2009.11.003Bavin, E. L., Wilson, P. H., Maruff, P., & Sleeman, F. (2005). Spatio‐visual memory of children with specific language impairment: evidence for generalized processing problems. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 40(3), 319-332. doi:10.1080/13682820400027750Szucs, D., Devine, A., Soltesz, F., Nobes, A., & Gabriel, F. (2013). Developmental dyscalculia is related to visuo-spatial memory and inhibition impairment. Cortex, 49(10), 2674-2688. doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2013.06.007Mammarella, I. C., & Cornoldi, C. (2013). An analysis of the criteria used to diagnose children with Nonverbal Learning Disability (NLD). Child Neuropsychology, 20(3), 255-280. doi:10.1080/09297049.2013.796920Alloway TP (2007) Automated Working Memory Assessment. London: The Psychological Corporation.Oades, R. D., & Isaacson, R. L. (1978). The development of food search behavior by rats: The effects of hippocampal damage and haloperidol. Behavioral Biology, 24(3), 327-337. doi:10.1016/s0091-6773(79)90184-6Morris, R. (1984). Developments of a water-maze procedure for studying spatial learning in the rat. Journal of Neuroscience Methods, 11(1), 47-60. doi:10.1016/0165-0270(84)90007-4Olton, D. S. (1987). The radial arm maze as a tool in behavioral pharmacology. Physiology & Behavior, 40(6), 793-797. doi:10.1016/0031-9384(87)90286-1Méndez-López, M., Méndez, M., López, L., & Arias, J. L. (2009). Sexually dimorphic c-Fos expression following spatial working memory in young and adult rats. Physiology & Behavior, 98(3), 307-317. doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2009.06.006Munoz M, Morris RGM (2009) Episodic memory in animals. In:Squire LR editor. New Encyclopedia of Neuroscience. Oxford: Academic Press. pp.1173–1182.SHORE, D. I., STANFORD, L., MACINNES, W. J., KLEIN, R. M., & BROWN, R. E. (2001). Of mice and men: Virtual Hebb-Williams mazes permit comparison of spatial learning across species. Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, 1(1), 83-89. doi:10.3758/cabn.1.1.83Astur, R. S., Taylor, L. B., Mamelak, A. N., Philpott, L., & Sutherland, R. J. (2002). Humans with hippocampus damage display severe spatial memory impairments in a virtual Morris water task. Behavioural Brain Research, 132(1), 77-84. doi:10.1016/s0166-4328(01)00399-0Astur, R. S., Tropp, J., Sava, S., Constable, R. T., & Markus, E. J. (2004). Sex differences and correlations in a virtual Morris water task, a virtual radial arm maze, and mental rotation☆. Behavioural Brain Research, 151(1-2), 103-115. doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2003.08.024Sturz, B. R., & Bodily, K. D. (2010). Encoding of variability of landmark-based spatial information. Psychological Research, 74(6), 560-567. doi:10.1007/s00426-010-0277-4Cánovas, R., García, R. F., & Cimadevilla, J. M. (2011). Effect of reference frames and number of cues available on the spatial orientation of males and females in a virtual memory task. Behavioural Brain Research, 216(1), 116-121. doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2010.07.026Cimadevilla, J. M., Cánovas, R., Iribarne, L., Soria, A., & López, L. (2011). A virtual-based task to assess place avoidance in humans. Journal of Neuroscience Methods, 196(1), 45-50. doi:10.1016/j.jneumeth.2010.12.026Cheng, K. (1986). A purely geometric module in the rat’s spatial representation. Cognition, 23(2), 149-178. doi:10.1016/0010-0277(86)90041-7Burgess, N., Maguire, E. A., Spiers, H. J., & O’Keefe, J. (2001). A Temporoparietal and Prefrontal Network for Retrieving the Spatial Context of Lifelike Events. NeuroImage, 14(2), 439-453. doi:10.1006/nimg.2001.0806Burgess, N., Maguire, E. A., & O’Keefe, J. (2002). The Human Hippocampus and Spatial and Episodic Memory. Neuron, 35(4), 625-641. doi:10.1016/s0896-6273(02)00830-9Passolunghi, M. C., & Mammarella, I. C. (2011). Selective Spatial Working Memory Impairment in a Group of Children With Mathematics Learning Disabilities and Poor Problem-Solving Skills. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 45(4), 341-350. doi:10.1177/0022219411400746Thomas, E., Reeve, R., Fredrickson, A., & Maruff, P. (2011). Spatial memory and executive functions in children. Child Neuropsychology, 17(6), 599-615. doi:10.1080/09297049.2011.567980SPOONER, D., & PACHANA, N. (2006). Ecological validity in neuropsychological assessment: A case for greater consideration in research with neurologically intact populations. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 21(4), 327-337. doi:10.1016/j.acn.2006.04.004Juan, M. C., Alcaniz, M., Monserrat, C., Botella, C., Banos, R. M., & Guerrero, B. (2005). Using Augmented Reality to Treat Phobias. IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, 25(6), 31-37. doi:10.1109/mcg.2005.143Furió, D., González-Gancedo, S., Juan, M.-C., Seguí, I., & Costa, M. (2013). The effects of the size and weight of a mobile device on an educational game. Computers & Education, 64, 24-41. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2012.12.015Juan MC, Furió D, Alem L, Ashworth P, Cano J (2011) ARGreenet and BasicGreenet: Two mobile games for learning how to recycle. Proceedings of the 19th International Conference on Computer Graphics, Visualization and Computer Vision. pp.25–32.Furió, D., González-Gancedo, S., Juan, M.-C., Seguí, I., & Rando, N. (2013). Evaluation of learning outcomes using an educational iPhone game vs. traditional game. Computers & Education, 64, 1-23. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2012.12.001Albrecht, U.-V., Folta-Schoofs, K., Behrends, M., & von Jan, U. (2013). Effects of Mobile Augmented Reality Learning Compared to Textbook Learning on Medical Students: Randomized Controlled Pilot Study. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 15(8), e182. doi:10.2196/jmir.2497Liu, P.-H. E., & Tsai, M.-K. (2012). Using augmented-reality-based mobile learning material in EFL English composition: An exploratory case study. British Journal of Educational Technology, 44(1), E1-E4. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2012.01302.xBaddeley AD (1986) Working memory. Oxford: Clarendon Press.Alloway TP (2012) Working Memory Assessment. Second Edi. London: Pearson Assessment.Kamphaus KW, Perez-Hernandez E, Sanchez-Sanchez F (2014) Cuestionario de Evaluación Clínica de la Memoria. In press. Madrid: TEA Ediciones.Smith, A. D., Gilchrist, I. D., & Hood, B. M. (2005). Children’s Search Behaviour in Large-Scale Space: Developmental Components of Exploration. Perception, 34(10), 1221-1229. doi:10.1068/p5270Piccardi, L., Palermo, L., Leonzi, M., Risetti, M., Zompanti, L., D’Amico, S., & Guariglia, C. (2014). The Walking Corsi Test (WalCT): A Normative Study of Topographical Working Memory in a Sample of 4- to 11-Year-Olds. The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 28(1), 84-96. doi:10.1080/13854046.2013.863976Gathercole, S. E., Pickering, S. J., Ambridge, B., & Wearing, H. (2004). The Structure of Working Memory From 4 to 15 Years of Age. Developmental Psychology, 40(2), 177-190. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.40.2.177Best, J. R., & Miller, P. H. (2010). A Developmental Perspective on Executive Function. Child Development, 81(6), 1641-1660. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01499.xBianchini, F., Incoccia, C., Palermo, L., Piccardi, L., Zompanti, L., Sabatini, U., … Guariglia, C. (2010). Developmental topographical disorientation in a healthy subject. Neuropsychologia, 48(6), 1563-1573. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2010.01.025Iaria, G., & Barton, J. J. S. (2010). Developmental topographical disorientation: a newly discovered cognitive disorder. Experimental Brain Research, 206(2), 189-196. doi:10.1007/s00221-010-2256-9Lowe, P. A., Mayfield, J. W., & Reynolds, C. R. (2003). Gender differences in memory test performance among children and adolescents. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 18(8), 865-878. doi:10.1093/arclin/18.8.865Barnfield, A. M. C. (1999). Development of Sex Differences in Spatial Memory. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 89(1), 339-350. doi:10.2466/pms.1999.89.1.339Alloway, T. P., Gathercole, S. E., Kirkwood, H., & Elliott, J. (2009). The working memory rating scale: A classroom-based behavioral assessment of working memory. Learning and Individual Differences, 19(2), 242-245. doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2008.10.003Injoque-Ricle, I., Calero, A. D., Alloway, T. P., & Burin, D. I. (2011). Assessing working memory in Spanish-speaking children: Automated Working Memory Assessment battery adaptation. Learning and Individual Differences, 21(1), 78-84. doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2010.09.012Jones, A., Scanlon, E., Tosunoglu, C., Morris, E., Ross, S., Butcher, P., & Greenberg, J. (1999). Contexts for evaluating educational software. Interacting with Computers, 11(5), 499-516. doi:10.1016/s0953-5438(98)00064-2Mayes, J. ., & Fowler, C. . (1999). Learning technology and usability: a framework for understanding courseware. Interacting with Computers, 11(5), 485-497. doi:10.1016/s0953-5438(98)00065-4Squires, D., & Preece, J. (1999). Predicting quality in educational software: Interacting with Computers, 11(5), 467-483. doi:10.1016/s0953-5438(98)00063-0Sun, P.-C., Tsai, R. J., Finger, G., Chen, Y.-Y., & Yeh, D. (2008). What drives a successful e-Learning? An empirical investigation of the critical factors influencing learner satisfaction. Computers & Education, 50(4), 1183-1202. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2006.11.007Lee, S. J., Srinivasan, S., Trail, T., Lewis, D., & Lopez, S. (2011). Examining the relationship among student perception of support, course satisfaction, and learning outcomes in online learning. The Internet and Higher Education, 14(3), 158-163. doi:10.1016/j.iheduc.2011.04.001Lyons KE, Zelazo PD (2011) Monitoring, metacognition, and executive function: elucidating the role of self-reflection in the development of self-regulation. In:Benson Jeditor. Advances in Child Development and Behavior. Burlington: Academic Press. pp.379–412

Detection and elimination of cellular bottlenecks in protein-producing yeasts

Yeasts are efficient cell factories and are commonly used for the production of recombinant proteins for biopharmaceutical and industrial purposes. For such products high levels of correctly folded proteins are needed, which sometimes requires improvement and engineering of the expression system. The article summarizes major breakthroughs that led to the efficient use of yeasts as production platforms and reviews bottlenecks occurring during protein production. Special focus is given to the metabolic impact of protein production. Furthermore, strategies that were shown to enhance secretion of recombinant proteins in different yeast species are presented

Naming speed and effortful and automatic inhibition in children with arithmetic learning disabilities.

We report a two-year longitudinal study aimed at investigating the rate of access to numerical and nonnumerical information in long-term memory and the functioning of automatic and effortful cognitive inhibition processes in children with arithmetical learning disabilities (ALDs). Twelve children with ALDs, of age 9.3 years, and twelve gender–age-matched controls were involved in the study. Rate of access was measured through digit- and letter-naming tasks, automatic cognitive inhibition was measured using a negative priming paradigm, and effortful cognitive inhibition was measured rating intrusion errors in a working memory task. Children with ALDs suffered from a deficit in the speed of activating both numerical and non-numerical information from long-term memory and in effortful inhibition mechanisms. No evidence for dysfunction of the automatic inhibition processes was found