Publisher Summary This chapter discusses data concerning the time course of word identification in a discourse context. A simulation of arithmetic word-problem understanding provides a plausible account for some well-known phenomena. The current theories use representations with several mutually constraining layers. There is typically a linguistic level of representation, conceptual levels to represent both the local and global meaning and structure of a text, and a level at which the text itself has lost its individuality and its information content. Knowledge provides part of the context within which a discourse interpreted. The integration phase is the price the model pays for the necessary flexibility in the construction process.

http://www.texai.org/papers/Kintsch_1988.pdf

The role of knowledge in discourse comprehension : a construction-integration model

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/5/110/206.full.pdf

The american psychological association.

(1998). Human cognitive abilities: A survey of factor analytic studies. Gifted and Talented International: Vol. 13, No. 2, pp. 97-98.

Human cognitive abilities: A survey of factor analytic studies

This article reviews research on the use of situation models in language comprehension and memory retrieval over the past 15 years. Situation models are integrated mental representations of a described state of affairs. Significant progress has been made in the scientific understanding of how situation models are involved in language comprehension and memory retrieval. Much of this research focuses on establishing the existence of situation models, often by using tasks that assess one dimension of a situation model. However, the authors argue that the time has now come for researchers to begin to take the multidimensionality of situation models seriously. The authors offer a theoretical framework and some methodological observations that may help researchers to tackle this issue.

/pdf/situation-models-in-language-comprehension-and-memory-1geul7x1or.pdf

Situation Models in Language Comprehension and Memory

https://www.heartmathbenelux.com/doc/Thayer%20meta%20analysis%20heart%20rate%20variability%20pfc%20NBR%2012.pdf

A meta-analysis of heart rate variability and neuroimaging studies: implications for heart rate variability as a marker of stress and health.

Background: Little research has been conducted to assess the effect of using memory training with schoolaged children who were born very preterm. This study aimed to determine whether two types of memory training approaches resulted in an improvement of trained functions and/or a generalization of the training effect to non-trained cognitive domains. Methods: Sixty-eight children born very preterm (7-12 years) were randomly allocated to a group undertaking memory strategy training (n=23), working memory training (n=22), or a waiting control group (n=23). Neuropsychological assessment was performed before and immediately after the training or waiting period, and at a six-month follow-up. Results: In both training groups, significant improvement of different memory domains occurred immediately after training (near transfer). Improvement of non-trained arithmetic performance was observed after strategy training (far transfer). At a six-month follow-up assessment, children in both training groups demonstrated better working memory, and their parents rated their memory functions to be better than controls. Performance level before the training was negatively associated with the training gain. Conclusions: These results highlight the importance of cognitive interventions, in particular the teaching of memory strategies, in very preterm-born children at early school age to strengthen cognitive performance and prevent problems at school.

/pdf/effects-of-two-different-memory-training-approaches-in-very-l7j0nyee54.pdf

Effects of two different memory training approaches in very preterm-born children

Lesions of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex can result in a deficient decision-making behavior. So far, most experimental results in the neuropsychological decision-making research have been obtained with gambling tasks. Due to their high complexity, it is difficult to evaluate the underlying processes of the decision-making deficits. The aim of this study was to assess if patients with ventromedial prefrontal damage compared to patients with dorsolateral prefrontal damage and controls show a deficit in an early stage of the decision-making process. Nine patients with ventromedial prefrontal damage, three with dorsolateral prefrontal damage, and eleven healthy controls were tested with a newly developed decision task in which they had to search actively for the information they needed for their decisions. Our results show that patients with ventromedial prefrontal damage compared to the brain-lesioned dorsolateral prefrontal control group and healthy controls searched less for information with regard to risk defusing operators or consequences of their decisions indicating impairment already in the early stage of the decision-making process.

Impairments in an early stage of the decision-making process in patients with ventromedial prefrontal damage: preliminary results

Hier wird ein Uberblick uber den aktuellen Forschungsstand zu Wohlbefinden, Gesundheit und Gedachtnis im Alter gegeben, der erganzt wird mit Ergebnissen einer grossen interdisziplinaren Studie, die u.a. auf folgende Themenkomplexe eingeht -> Stellenwert des Gesundheitsverhaltens Ernahrung, Vitaminstatus, Sport, Rauchen) und sozialer Netzwerke in Bezug auf Wohlbefinden, Gesundheit und Gedachtnis. -> Effiziez vn Interventionsmoglichkeiten (Gedachtnistraining, Schauspieltraining, Krafttraining) fur die Erhaltung von Wohlbefinden, Gesundheit udn geistiger Leistungsfahigkeit. -> Welche Rolle spielen diesbezuglich Personlichkeit und Selbstverantwortlichkeit? Angesichts der grossen sozialpolitischen Bedeutung, die den Fragen nach den Determinanten gesunden und autonomen Alterns zukommt, gibt dieses Buch neue Impulse fur prophylaktische und diagnostische Interventionsmassnahmen.

Wohlbefinden, Gesundheit und kognitive Kompetenz im Alter : Ergebnisse der Basler Interdisziplinären Altersstudie IDA

Implizites Wissen. Eine Herausforderung für die Kognitionspsychologie

There are high individual capacity differences in working memory (WM), a core cognitive ability influencing the development of basic academic skills. Furthermore, the sparse studies investigating the possibility to train WM in children found high individual differences regarding training success. The investigation of the relationship between WM and personality is an important process to find out more about possible reasons for such differences. In Study 1, we examined the performance of 258 school-age children (7 to 12 years) in two WM tasks in relation to their level of neuroticism (emotional instability). Children completed measures of WM (visual n-back task; complex animal span task) and general intellectual abilities (fluid and crystallized intelligence). Our results indicate that high neuroticism scores predict poorer performance in WM tasks, even when controlling for age and general intelligence. In Study 2, we investigated the influence of neuroticism on WM training performance. During four weeks, 34 of the children trained on the same two WM tasks. Even though children with high and low neuroticism, respectively, significantly improved their performance in the WM tasks, there was a detrimental effect of neuroticism on training improvement. We conclude that the level of neuroticism can be considered as a negatively modulating psychological variable on WM capacity and WM training gain. Notwithstanding, higher levels of neuroticism do not prevent training-related improvements in WM performance. The results are discussed in the context of the attentional control theory and implications are made regarding the importance of special support of emotionally instable children with WM-related or non-cognitive interventions.

/pdf/neuroticism-affects-working-memory-and-training-performance-59yckezblx.pdf

Walter J. Perrig

Papers

Effects of two different memory training approaches in very preterm-born children

Impairments in an early stage of the decision-making process in patients with ventromedial prefrontal damage: preliminary results

Wohlbefinden, Gesundheit und kognitive Kompetenz im Alter : Ergebnisse der Basler Interdisziplinären Altersstudie IDA

Implizites Wissen. Eine Herausforderung für die Kognitionspsychologie

Neuroticism affects working memory and training performance in regularly developed school children