Age-related differences in episodic memory retrieval : ERP evidence for differential developmental changes in item and source recognition memory

Two cross-sectional studies aimed at investigating the development of different episodic retrieval processes and their neural correlates from childhood over adolescence until adulthood. A particular focus was put on those processes that are mediated by cognitive control functions and which support the retrieval of source information. The results show that processes related to the conscious remembering of episodic information in item recognition memory tasks are relatively mature in middle childhood. The findings suggest, however, that strategic retrieval processing and its neural correlates follows a longer developmental trajectory until adulthood.In zwei altersvergleichenden Untersuchen wurde die Entwicklung verschiedener Abrufprozesse des episodischen Gedächtnisses und ihrer neuronalen Korrelate während Kindheit und Jugend bis zum Erwachsenenalter untersucht. Ein besonderer Schwerpunkt lag dabei auf solchen Prozessen, die kognitiven Kontrollfunktionen unterliegen und den Abruf von Quelleninformation unterstützen. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass Prozesse, die mit dem bewussten Erinnern episodischer Information in Itemrekognitionsaufgaben in Verbindung stehen, im mittleren Kindheitsalter ausgereift sind. Hingegen legen die Befunde nahe, dass die strategisch kontrollierte Abrufverarbeitung und ihre neuronalen Substrate einem längeren Entwicklungsgradienten unterliegt, der sich bis zum Erwachsenenalter erstreckt

Urban climate and heat stress: how likely is the implementation of adaptation measures in mid-latitude cities? The case of façade greening analyzed with Bayesian networks

Urban heat is a challenge for mid-latitude cities possibly aggravated by global climate change making it necessary to adapt the urban fabric. Façade greening has been identified as an important measure to adjust the building stock and new buildings to adverse climatic impacts. Yet, little is known on factors that influence implementation probabilities for adaptation measures. Therefore, we tried to figure out the driving forces and barriers for implementation of façade greening applying the methodology of Bayesian networks. The article presents the Bayesian network as an analytical system to examine the probability for the implementation of adaptation measures by including expert opinions. The results show that experts in Berlin estimate the likelihood of an implementation of façade greening under current conditions at 2 %. The article also examines further supportive factors that exist to raise this comparatively low value. A scenario including financial incentives from a backyard greening program raises the chances to 14 %. However, BN results confirm that it depends on the factor of “willingness” of involved actors and the right combination of supportive factors, as there are no regulations to fix the implementation of a façade greening legally

Aging, working memory capacity and the proactive control of recollection:An event-related potential study

The present study investigated the role of working memory capacity (WMC) in the control of recollection in young and older adults. We used electroencephalographic event-related potentials (ERPs) to examine the effects of age and of individual differences in WMC on the ability to prioritize recollection according to current goals. Targets in a recognition exclusion task were words encoded using two alternative decisions. The left parietal ERP old/new effect was used as an electrophysiological index of recollection, and the selectivity of recollection measured in terms of the difference in its magnitude according to whether recognized items were targets or non-targets. Young adults with higher WMC showed greater recollection selectivity than those with lower WMC, while older adults showed nonselective recollection which did not vary with WMC. The data suggest that aging impairs the ability to engage cognitive control effectively to prioritize what will be recollected

Altersunterschiede im Episodischen Gedächtnisabruf : EKP-Evidenz für differentielle Entwicklungsveränderungen des Item- und Quellenrekognitionsgedächtnisses

Two cross-sectional studies aimed at investigating the development of different episodic retrieval processes and their neural correlates from childhood over adolescence until adulthood. A particular focus was put on those processes that are mediated by cognitive control functions and which support the retrieval of source information. The results show that processes related to the conscious remembering of episodic information in item recognition memory tasks are relatively mature in middle childhood. The findings suggest, however, that strategic retrieval processing and its neural correlates follows a longer developmental trajectory until adulthood.In zwei altersvergleichenden Untersuchen wurde die Entwicklung verschiedener Abrufprozesse des episodischen Gedächtnisses und ihrer neuronalen Korrelate während Kindheit und Jugend bis zum Erwachsenenalter untersucht. Ein besonderer Schwerpunkt lag dabei auf solchen Prozessen, die kognitiven Kontrollfunktionen unterliegen und den Abruf von Quelleninformation unterstützen. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass Prozesse, die mit dem bewussten Erinnern episodischer Information in Itemrekognitionsaufgaben in Verbindung stehen, im mittleren Kindheitsalter ausgereift sind. Hingegen legen die Befunde nahe, dass die strategisch kontrollierte Abrufverarbeitung und ihre neuronalen Substrate einem längeren Entwicklungsgradienten unterliegt, der sich bis zum Erwachsenenalter erstreckt

Retrieving self-vocalized information: An event-related potential (ERP) study on the effect of retrieval orientation

Retrieval orientation refers to a pre-retrieval process and conceptualizes the specific form of processing that is applied to a retrieval cue. In the current event-related potential (ERP) study, we sought to find evidence for an involvement of the auditory cortex when subjects attempt to retrieve vocalized information, and hypothesized that adopting retrieval orientation would be beneficial for retrieval accuracy. During study, participants saw object words that they subsequently vocalized or visually imagined. At test, participants had to identify object names of one study condition as targets and to reject object names of the second condition together with new items. Target category switched after half of the test trials. Behaviorally, participants responded less accurately and more slowly to targets of the vocalize condition than to targets of the imagine condition. ERPs to new items varied at a single left electrode (T7) between 500 and 800 ms, indicating a moderate retrieval orientation effect in the subject group as a whole. However, whereas the effect was strongly pronounced in participants with high retrieval accuracy, it was absent in participants with low retrieval accuracy. A current source density (CSD) mapping of the retrieval orientation effect indicated a source over left temporal regions. Independently from retrieval accuracy, the ERP retrieval orientation effect was surprisingly also modulated by test order. Findings are suggestive for an involvement of the auditory cortex in retrieval attempts of vocalized information and confirm that adopting retrieval orientation is potentially beneficial for retrieval accuracy. The effects of test order on retrieval-related processes might reflect a stronger focus on the newness of items in the more difficult test condition when participants started with this condition

Control over recollection varies with context-type: ERP evidence from the exclusion task

The left-parietal ERP old/new effect—an index of recollection—is often larger for classes of item to-be-endorsed as old (targets) than to-be-rejected items (nontargets), and this has been interpreted as an index of selective retrieval. The question of interest here was whether selective retrieval would be more pronounced when targets are allocated according to distinct conceptual encoding tasks than when designated according to spatial location. Participants saw words on the left/right side of fixation and made a pleasantness or function judgment to each. Across test-blocks, target designation varied according to the kind of task judgment or the study location. Robust target old/new effects were observed for both classes of target designation but the nontarget amplitude was smaller when conceptual information was targeted. The current data indicate that the class of to-be-retrieved information determines the extent to which recollection can be controlled when all other factors are held constant