The document summarizes a study that investigated the effects of total sleep deprivation on visual search abilities and short-term memory performance. 14 college students completed two cognitive tasks - a visual search task and the Brown-Peterson task - following a night of total sleep deprivation and again following a night of normal sleep. The results showed that total sleep deprivation had detrimental effects on visual filtering efficiency and encoding of information to short-term memory. This confirms previous research findings that sleep deprivation impairs cognitive functions like working memory, attention, and higher-order thinking.
- Subjects experienced vivid hallucinations, impaired intellectual functioning, and increased suggestibility when placed in environments with limited sensory stimulation and social isolation for periods of time.
- Over 200 research studies on the effects of sensory deprivation have been conducted since the pioneering experiments in the 1950s and 1960s. These studies use a variety of techniques to limit sensory input including darkened rooms, goggles, flotation tanks, and respirators.
- Findings from these studies show that subjects find prolonged sensory deprivation difficult and unpleasant, experiencing anxiety, restlessness, and difficulty concentrating. However, some tasks like vigilance and certain types of learning may be improved with sensory deprivation. Subjects also show increased desire for stimulation and
Why Screen Design is the Second – Not The First – Step in App DesignUX Antwerp Meetup
UX Antwerp Meetup, 23rd of February 2016
Tommy De Kimpe, UX Designer at Human Interface Group (Belgium)
Design-wise, you’ve done everything right, but customers still don’t like the user experience of your app. Chances are you jumped right into early sketching and wireframing without thinking about the experience you want to offer. In this session, he will explain how to start from a UX Framework to create that great user experience you’re looking for.
Centro Villa San José - Reglas europeas de lectura fácilCentrovillasanjose
Este documento presenta las reglas europeas para hacer la información fácil de leer y comprender. Proporciona instrucciones sobre cómo ordenar la información de manera clara, usar un lenguaje sencillo, diseñar el texto con fuentes legibles, e incluir imágenes que ayuden a entender el contenido. La clave es involucrar a personas con discapacidad intelectual en el proceso de creación de la información para asegurar que sea accesible para todos.
This document discusses the external costs and public health threats of nutrient pollution from agricultural watersheds in Iowa. It notes the persistent problem of high pollutant levels in Iowa's surface waters, especially nutrients from agriculture. While approximately 90% of Iowa's food is imported, drainage systems are increasing water quantity but reducing quality by transporting nitrates and other contaminants. The document outlines the key pollutant concerns for Des Moines' source water and details a lawsuit by Des Moines Water Works in response to escalating nitrate risks. It argues for treating pollution at its source and holding agriculture accountable for environmental protection.
This document summarizes the work of Bi-Rite Family of Businesses, which operates grocery stores and creameries in San Francisco. It discusses the people who work at Bi-Rite, including store managers and department supervisors. It also provides financial details on the true costs of operating including payroll, benefits, expenses and profits. Additionally, it outlines several policy and community initiatives Bi-Rite is involved in to promote health, education, hiring of youth and supporting local farmers and producers. These initiatives aim to empower people and create systemic change around access to good, real food.
- Subjects experienced vivid hallucinations, impaired intellectual functioning, and increased suggestibility when placed in environments with limited sensory stimulation and social isolation for periods of time.
- Over 200 research studies on the effects of sensory deprivation have been conducted since the pioneering experiments in the 1950s and 1960s. These studies use a variety of techniques to limit sensory input including darkened rooms, goggles, flotation tanks, and respirators.
- Findings from these studies show that subjects find prolonged sensory deprivation difficult and unpleasant, experiencing anxiety, restlessness, and difficulty concentrating. However, some tasks like vigilance and certain types of learning may be improved with sensory deprivation. Subjects also show increased desire for stimulation and
Why Screen Design is the Second – Not The First – Step in App DesignUX Antwerp Meetup
UX Antwerp Meetup, 23rd of February 2016
Tommy De Kimpe, UX Designer at Human Interface Group (Belgium)
Design-wise, you’ve done everything right, but customers still don’t like the user experience of your app. Chances are you jumped right into early sketching and wireframing without thinking about the experience you want to offer. In this session, he will explain how to start from a UX Framework to create that great user experience you’re looking for.
Centro Villa San José - Reglas europeas de lectura fácilCentrovillasanjose
Este documento presenta las reglas europeas para hacer la información fácil de leer y comprender. Proporciona instrucciones sobre cómo ordenar la información de manera clara, usar un lenguaje sencillo, diseñar el texto con fuentes legibles, e incluir imágenes que ayuden a entender el contenido. La clave es involucrar a personas con discapacidad intelectual en el proceso de creación de la información para asegurar que sea accesible para todos.
This document discusses the external costs and public health threats of nutrient pollution from agricultural watersheds in Iowa. It notes the persistent problem of high pollutant levels in Iowa's surface waters, especially nutrients from agriculture. While approximately 90% of Iowa's food is imported, drainage systems are increasing water quantity but reducing quality by transporting nitrates and other contaminants. The document outlines the key pollutant concerns for Des Moines' source water and details a lawsuit by Des Moines Water Works in response to escalating nitrate risks. It argues for treating pollution at its source and holding agriculture accountable for environmental protection.
This document summarizes the work of Bi-Rite Family of Businesses, which operates grocery stores and creameries in San Francisco. It discusses the people who work at Bi-Rite, including store managers and department supervisors. It also provides financial details on the true costs of operating including payroll, benefits, expenses and profits. Additionally, it outlines several policy and community initiatives Bi-Rite is involved in to promote health, education, hiring of youth and supporting local farmers and producers. These initiatives aim to empower people and create systemic change around access to good, real food.
The document discusses the Stroop color-word interference test. It is a neuropsychological test used to measure selective attention and cognitive flexibility. It involves naming the ink color of words describing colors, with the goal being to ignore the word meaning and focus only on the ink color. Performance is measured by comparing response times on congruent versus incongruent trials, with longer response times on incongruent trials indicating poorer cognitive inhibition. The test is discussed as having applications in evaluating executive functioning and neurological conditions.
IMPACT OF BRAIN-BASED LEARNING TOOLS IN MAINTAINING COGNITIVE RESERVE OF DEME...IAEME Publication
This document discusses using brain-based learning tools like Islamic songs ("nasheed") to maintain cognitive reserve in dementia patients. It reviews literature on cognitive reserve and how education, occupation, and leisure activities can build reserve. The author then presents observations from caring for a dementia patient, finding that listening to nasheed improved attention, learning, and memory over 18 months. Nasheed may create a relaxed yet alert state that enhances comprehension. The paper concludes that brain-based tools tailored to a patient's culture could help preserve cognitive abilities as dementia progresses by engaging compensatory neural networks.
HOW CAN SLEEP DEPRIVATION IMPACTS VIGILANCE RESPONSE TIMES: AN ANALYSIS OF SL...KaylahPolzin
- The document is a research paper that analyzes the impact of sleepiness on response times during a vigilance task called the Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT).
- The study found a strong, positive correlation between self-reported sleepiness levels and increased lapses (slower response times over 500ms) on the PVT, suggesting increased sleepiness is linked to poorer cognitive performance. However, there was no correlation found between hours slept and PVT lapses.
- The findings indicate that feeling sleepy, rather than simply hours slept, is a better predictor of vigilance and sustained attention performance according to the PVT results. This suggests sleepiness significantly impacts cognitive functions like vigilance.
Do I Have Your Attention: Examining the Influence of Unconscious Memories on ...Innocence Smith
This document provides a literature review on unconscious memories and their influence on behaviors and perceptions. It summarizes several studies that show how unconscious memories can influence eye movements and attention even when explicit memories fail. The studies demonstrate that hippocampal activity predicts expressions of relational memory through indirect measures like eye tracking. Both explicit and implicit memory processes influence experience-dependent eye movements on tasks with novel or repeated scenes. The relationship between attention and memory is bidirectional, as memory can guide attention and perception. However, memory is also susceptible to distortion from misinformation, as shown in a classic study on the misinformation effect.
Divided Attention Can Enhance Memory Encoding The Attentional.docxjacksnathalie
Divided Attention Can Enhance Memory Encoding: The Attentional Boost
Effect in Implicit Memory
Pietro Spataro
Sapienza University of Rome
Neil W. Mulligan
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Clelia Rossi-Arnaud
Sapienza University of Rome
Distraction during encoding has long been known to disrupt later memory performance. Contrary to this
long-standing result, we show that detecting an infrequent target in a dual-task paradigm actually
improves memory encoding for a concurrently presented word, above and beyond the performance
reached in the full-attention condition. This absolute facilitation was obtained in 2 perceptual implicit
tasks (lexical decision and word fragment completion) but not in a conceptual implicit task (semantic
classification). In the case of recognition memory, the facilitation was relative, bringing accuracy in the
divided attention condition up to the level of accuracy in the full attention condition. The findings follow
from the hypothesis that the attentional boost effect reflects enhanced visual encoding of the study
stimulus consequent to the transient orienting response to the dual-task target.
Keywords: implicit memory, divided attention, attention and memory, repetition priming
The deleterious effects of distraction on memory encoding have
been amply documented from the earliest days of psychological
research (see Mulligan, 2008, for review). A common experimen-
tal technique uses the dual-task paradigm, in which memory en-
coding is carried out under full-attention (FA) or divided-attention
(DA) conditions (i.e., while simultaneously carrying out a second
task designed to compete for attentional resources). The results of
numberless studies make it abundantly clear that DA during en-
coding degrades later memory on tests such as recognition, free
recall, and cued recall (e.g., Craik et al., 1996; Mulligan, 1998,
2008).
Recently, Swallow and Jiang (2010) reported a surprising twist
on the usual adverse effects of DA. In these experiments, partic-
ipants studied a sequence of pictures, each with a small square
superimposed at the center. In the DA condition, participants were
instructed to remember all of the images and to monitor the color
of the square, pressing the space bar whenever they detected an
infrequent white square (targets) among frequent black squares
(distractors). In the FA condition, participants were told to ignore
the squares and to focus only on encoding the pictures. When
memory for the pictures was later tested in a four-choice recogni-
tion task, Swallow and Jiang (2010) found that in the DA condi-
tion, the images encoded together with the target squares (i.e.,
corresponding to the press response) were recognized significantly
better than were those encoded with the distractor squares (the
attentional boost effect). In the FA condition, in which the partic-
ipants made no response to the squares, no attentional boost effect
was found. What is importantly for present purposes ...
This document contains an ethical statement, acknowledgements, abstract, introduction, materials and methods, and references sections from a research paper. The introduction discusses implicit and explicit memory systems and how they are affected differently by stimulus exposure duration based on prior research. The study aims to investigate how varying exposure durations from 40ms to 1900ms impacts performance on implicit (priming) and explicit (recognition) memory tasks. It is hypothesized that priming performance will increase up to 250ms exposure and then decrease, while recognition performance will increase with longer exposures. The materials and methods section describes that 20 participants were split into implicit and explicit memory conditions and completed a priming or recognition task with pictures exposed for different durations.
This document discusses sleep disruption and cognitive impairment. It presents a modified modal model of memory that includes perception, attention, and short-term and long-term memory stores. Sleep fragmentation and reduced slow-wave sleep and REM sleep are linked to impairments in these cognitive functions. Studies show reduced brain activity in older adults' prefrontal cortex is associated with changes in slow-wave sleep and poor long-term memory. Sleep disruption from sleep apnea is also linked to deficits in attention, memory, and executive function. New technologies may help better measure sleep to improve treatment and reduce cognitive decline with age.
This document provides an overview of memory classification and neurocognitive testing. It begins by defining cognition and discussing types of information processing deficits like global deficits in general intelligence and specific deficits in memory, executive function, attention, and working memory. It then reviews models of working memory, neuroanatomical correlates, common memory tests used in cognitive batteries, and cognitive impairments seen in schizophrenia like problems with attention, memory, and executive function.
The objective of this study was to review recent literature on sensory and cognitive interactions in older adults published since 2009. After searching databases for articles on hearing, vision, and cognition, 34 relevant articles were identified and reviewed. The key findings were:
1) Studies found associations between declines in vision, hearing, or both with declines in cognition among older adults.
2) The observed sensory-cognitive associations tended to be stronger when declines were measured in more than one sensory domain and when sensory measures involved more than just threshold sensitivity.
3) Evidence continues to accumulate supporting a link between decline in sensory function and cognitive decline in older adults.
Following Your Dreams
REM sleep behavior disorder and resulting cognitive decline
Sleep plays an important role in cognitive functioning, notably in learning and
memory. Parasomnias, such as REM Sleep Behavioral disorder (RBD), have been
associated with sleep issues, such as attaining as well as sustaining sleep. As a result of
this deficit, many individuals afflicted with this disorder struggle in remembering as well
as learning. In many cases its idiopathic form (iRBD) may be an early indicator of later,
more severe neurodegenerative disease. Knowing that those afflicted with iRBD may also
be at risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases, the prolonged time frame between
diagnosis of iRBD and the subsequent onset of diseases, such as Parkinson’s, provides an
excellent opportunity for potential treatment (Postuma, Gagnon & Montplaisir, 2011;
Fantini et al. 2011). As research on this topic continues to develop, more recent data has
indicated a significant improvement and normalization of symptoms of RBD with the use
of exogenous, or synthetic, melatonin, which is the hormone found in mammals that is
most associated with sleep. Sleep quality and quantity was also positively affected, thus
patients often retained cognitive capacity that otherwise may have deteriorated (Kunz &
Mahlberg, 2010).
REM sleep behavior disorder is characterized by the loss of muscle atonia that is
present during a normal REM cycle. The demographic most commonly diagnosed with
the disorder is generally males over fifty, although it does not exclude females and
symptoms can also be triggered by anti-depressents, which could include younger
individuals (Postuma, Gagnon & Montplaisir, 2011). REM atonia normally disables
motor or muscle activity during the rapid eye movement stage of the sleep cycle, which is
the stage associated with dreaming. Atonia is generally attributed as one of many
functions associated or regulated by the lower brainstem (Kunz & Mahlberg, 2010). Lack
of atonia, therefore, could be due to malfunction or physical damage to this area. Without
inhibition, the muscles may be active and the sleeping individual is able to move, even
act out their dreams (Fantini et al. 2011). This ability may not only lead to physical harm
to the dreamer, who may injure themselves or others while moving around, but also
presents possible psychological harm as well, since the REM cycle and rest overall is
disturbed. (Kunz & Mahlberg, 2010).
While so much about the roles and purposes of sleep are unclear, many studies
have provided evidence that sleep plays an important role in memory consolidation.
Sleep-dependent memory processing has been investigated via the use of many
behavioral paradigms in humans and other species alike. Although not completely agreed
upon, as any research rarely goes without debate, there is a substantial amount of data
that has indicated a rel ...
This document summarizes a study that investigated the effect of dynamic visual noise on younger and older adults' visual working memory as measured by a Visual Patterns Test. The study found that older adults performed worse than younger adults on the test, supporting previous research showing working memory capacity declines with age. The dynamic visual noise did not significantly impact performance, though it may have had a greater effect on younger adults who tended to use a visual strategy while older adults used less sensitive spatial or verbal strategies. The document provides background on models of working memory and discusses research on visual and visuo-spatial memory.
Vlastos, D., Kyritsis, M., Papaioannou-Spiroulia, A., & Varela V.-A. (2017). ...Dimitris Vlastos
Oral Presentation, 22nd International Conference of the Association of Psychology & Psychiatry for Adults & Children (A.P.P.A.C.): Recent Advances in Neuropsychiatric, Psychological and Social Sciences in Psychological Research, 16th – 19th May 2017, Athens, Greece.
A research proposal concerning various problems and ideas about neuroscience and human consciousness. I have wanted to work on human consciousness and neuroscience for a long time. Eventually I came up with this research proposal. This is not an exhaustive research proposal however. Moreover, it does not contain any citations. I hope to be able to add them in the due course.
The risk of cognitive impairment assosiated with congenital deafness in child...MaritLobben
Overall poor performance of cognitive and behavioral skills are predictors of poor language skills and vice versa: we need to realise that language, perception, thought, and problem-solving constitute a continuum of interdependent functions.
Some refer to this as polymodal development of the sensory apparatus, as the developing trend in typically developing individuals (Bailey, 2002).
Sensory input participates not only in a simple additive way but also has a reciprocal influence in that it modulates synergistically the unyielding of neural networks.
This is probably why children with deafness exhibit subtle differences from hearing subjects also in functions that seem far removed from the auditory function, such as visuomotor integration or abstract thinking.
From a neuroscientific perspective, this is an interesting demonstration in relation to the extent of the role of hearing in the building of neural networks that result from sensorimotor exposure and practice.
This document summarizes a student research project that aims to study the effects of chronic stress on recognition memory in young adults. It provides background on chronic stress and how it can impact physical and mental health. Chronic stress is associated with increased cortisol levels and research shows cortisol can impair memory retrieval and negatively impact brain structures involved in memory like the hippocampus. The study aims to assess recognition memory performance in university students in relation to their self-reported chronic stress levels using questionnaires. It is hypothesized that students with higher chronic stress will perform more poorly on memory tasks based on previous research linking chronic stress to memory impairments. The document outlines the study methods which involve assessing chronic stress, administering a memory task, and analyzing performance between high and
This document summarizes research on the impact of cognitive loading on recall of names. It discusses how working memory has limited capacity and includes four components (central executive, phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad, episodic buffer) that process and store temporary information. Previous research found that task loading through dual tasks can negatively impact performance due to limited resources but that verbal and visual working memory may operate independently. The present study examines how task loading during an introduction activity impacts later name recall.
The Stroop Effect And Visual Perception Overview Write a 2-part .docxsuzannewarch
The Stroop Effect And Visual Perception
Overview
Write a 2-part assessment that discusses your experience with the Stroop Effect and concepts related to visual perception. This assessment should be a minimum of 4 pages long.
One of the central hypotheses in psychology is the relationship between stimulus and response. Sight and language are two human abilities relevant to the hypothesis of stimulus and response. Your understanding of these two abilities will help you build up a concept of the neural basis of human behaviors interacting with the world.
Show More
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:
•
Competency 2: Employ critical and creative thinking to evaluate problems, conflicts, and unresolved issues in the study of biological psychology.
▪
Discuss whether a person with dyslexia or a brain injury would have more or less trouble with completing the Stroop test.
▪
Discuss the results of the Stroop test.
•
Competency 3: Examine the research methodology and tools typically associated with the study of biological psychology.
▪
Explain the role of the anterior cingulate in audiovisual processing, and the symptoms of brain injury to this area.
•
Competency 4: Assess the important theories, paradigms, research findings, and conclusions in biological psychology.
▪
Define the problem of final integration of visual information.
▪
Discuss whether there is a problem with final integration of visual information.
•
Competency 6: Communicate effectively in a variety of formats.
▪
Write coherently to support a central idea with correct grammar, usage, and mechanics as expected of a
psychology professional.
▪
Use APA style and format.
Context
Recent technologies employed in the study of the brain regions regulating speech are helping scientists better understand the neural basis of human behaviors interacting with the world. For example, MRI imaging studies are revealing other areas within the brain that may also play a role in language and reading. Another example is that both Broca's and Wernicke's areas are fundamental to speech ability, but the specific mechanism of how each plays into oral language is still unclear. This is still a new area that challenges psychologists, neurologists, and speech therapists.
Humans use different parts of their brain to discriminate objects from people. In fact, we may have specialized neurons for recognizing faces. This relates to the main theme of this assessment: vision and visual perception. Many questions about human vision are unanswered. For example, different areas of the brain respond differently to visual recognition tasks, but how and why these areas cooperate to process visual information remains unclear. Another example: The visual cortex contains several layers, the functional roles of which are the subject of intense investigation. Questions include, .
Running Head BACKGROUND AND SIGNIFICANCE1Running Head BACKGR.docxsusanschei
Running Head: BACKGROUND AND SIGNIFICANCE 1
Running Head: BACKGROUND AND SIGNIFICANCE 1
Background and Significance
Lana Eliot
Psychology 625
Professor Weniger
July 29, 2018
Specific Aims:
The effect of stress on human beings is terrible that leads them to different diseases. The stress comes from environment and change in human behavior. Stress profoundly impacts or minds that leads to damages of prefrontal cortex which plays a prominent role in cognition (Andrew Holmesa, 2010 ). The cognitive abilities of a human being the effect a lot in the presences of stress. That leads to mood swings, schizophrenia and anxiety disorder. Hence, numerous studies are carried out on the stress-induced cognitive abilities (Joëls, 2006).
Intense stress and even the minor stress is responsible for changes in cognition impairment. It is responsible for significant changes in the remodeling of neurons. It also brings changes in neuronal morphology and effects the working memory of human beings (Luine, 1994). This study demonstrates that how stress-induced cognitive impairment affects the different areas of the brain (Maroun, 2008). The impact of stress on the human brain is studied under molecular basis induced changes. There is numerous significance of this study that includes how the brain is affected by stress and what stress causes cognition problems. It will further demonstrate how molecular basis changes the prefrontal cortex. It also gives details about pathophysiology and its association with dysfunction in neuropsychiatric diseases. Further strategies will also have introduced for its treatment that helps in overcoming stress-induced cognitive impairments.
Background
Stress have destructive effects on human. These results are related to all internal and external development of human body and mind. Humans are exposed to multiple stressors in their daily routine that leads to severe problems. When the human body is exposed to stress at that time that time, they did notice that how this stress affects them. But later, when they are more frequently exposed to stress they feel changes in their behavior and brain as well. Mood swings and unpredicted behavior of humans are the results of this stress. As well as the brain is concerned, stress disturbs the chemical balance that restricts brains from performing their ordinary functions. Most importantly it affects the cognition problems in humans. They more frequently started to forget about different things that they did not realize initially. But with the passage of time when these things get severe, they know that how this stress negatively affect this stress. Furthermore, stress is the only factors that induce cognition and learning problems in humans.
Bondi et al. (2007) conducted a study on chronic unpredictable stress that induces cognitive deficit as well as anxiety problems. Keeping in view the aim of this study, he experiments on rats where he injected the chronic antidepr ...
The document is a research paper that examines how light deprivation affects mood regulation and depressive symptoms. It discusses several studies that investigated the effects of light deprivation on neurotransmitter levels, circadian rhythms, and depressive behaviors in rats and mice. The studies found that light deprivation disrupted circadian rhythms and caused neuronal death, especially of dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin producing neurons. It also reduced dopamine synthesis and disrupted sleep, leading to increased depressive behaviors in the animal subjects. The document hypothesizes that light deprivation reduces dopamine replenishment in individuals prone to depressive mood symptoms.
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Similar to Guzzetti_Cognitive Processing Impairments of Sleep Deprivation
The document discusses the Stroop color-word interference test. It is a neuropsychological test used to measure selective attention and cognitive flexibility. It involves naming the ink color of words describing colors, with the goal being to ignore the word meaning and focus only on the ink color. Performance is measured by comparing response times on congruent versus incongruent trials, with longer response times on incongruent trials indicating poorer cognitive inhibition. The test is discussed as having applications in evaluating executive functioning and neurological conditions.
IMPACT OF BRAIN-BASED LEARNING TOOLS IN MAINTAINING COGNITIVE RESERVE OF DEME...IAEME Publication
This document discusses using brain-based learning tools like Islamic songs ("nasheed") to maintain cognitive reserve in dementia patients. It reviews literature on cognitive reserve and how education, occupation, and leisure activities can build reserve. The author then presents observations from caring for a dementia patient, finding that listening to nasheed improved attention, learning, and memory over 18 months. Nasheed may create a relaxed yet alert state that enhances comprehension. The paper concludes that brain-based tools tailored to a patient's culture could help preserve cognitive abilities as dementia progresses by engaging compensatory neural networks.
HOW CAN SLEEP DEPRIVATION IMPACTS VIGILANCE RESPONSE TIMES: AN ANALYSIS OF SL...KaylahPolzin
- The document is a research paper that analyzes the impact of sleepiness on response times during a vigilance task called the Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT).
- The study found a strong, positive correlation between self-reported sleepiness levels and increased lapses (slower response times over 500ms) on the PVT, suggesting increased sleepiness is linked to poorer cognitive performance. However, there was no correlation found between hours slept and PVT lapses.
- The findings indicate that feeling sleepy, rather than simply hours slept, is a better predictor of vigilance and sustained attention performance according to the PVT results. This suggests sleepiness significantly impacts cognitive functions like vigilance.
Do I Have Your Attention: Examining the Influence of Unconscious Memories on ...Innocence Smith
This document provides a literature review on unconscious memories and their influence on behaviors and perceptions. It summarizes several studies that show how unconscious memories can influence eye movements and attention even when explicit memories fail. The studies demonstrate that hippocampal activity predicts expressions of relational memory through indirect measures like eye tracking. Both explicit and implicit memory processes influence experience-dependent eye movements on tasks with novel or repeated scenes. The relationship between attention and memory is bidirectional, as memory can guide attention and perception. However, memory is also susceptible to distortion from misinformation, as shown in a classic study on the misinformation effect.
Divided Attention Can Enhance Memory Encoding The Attentional.docxjacksnathalie
Divided Attention Can Enhance Memory Encoding: The Attentional Boost
Effect in Implicit Memory
Pietro Spataro
Sapienza University of Rome
Neil W. Mulligan
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Clelia Rossi-Arnaud
Sapienza University of Rome
Distraction during encoding has long been known to disrupt later memory performance. Contrary to this
long-standing result, we show that detecting an infrequent target in a dual-task paradigm actually
improves memory encoding for a concurrently presented word, above and beyond the performance
reached in the full-attention condition. This absolute facilitation was obtained in 2 perceptual implicit
tasks (lexical decision and word fragment completion) but not in a conceptual implicit task (semantic
classification). In the case of recognition memory, the facilitation was relative, bringing accuracy in the
divided attention condition up to the level of accuracy in the full attention condition. The findings follow
from the hypothesis that the attentional boost effect reflects enhanced visual encoding of the study
stimulus consequent to the transient orienting response to the dual-task target.
Keywords: implicit memory, divided attention, attention and memory, repetition priming
The deleterious effects of distraction on memory encoding have
been amply documented from the earliest days of psychological
research (see Mulligan, 2008, for review). A common experimen-
tal technique uses the dual-task paradigm, in which memory en-
coding is carried out under full-attention (FA) or divided-attention
(DA) conditions (i.e., while simultaneously carrying out a second
task designed to compete for attentional resources). The results of
numberless studies make it abundantly clear that DA during en-
coding degrades later memory on tests such as recognition, free
recall, and cued recall (e.g., Craik et al., 1996; Mulligan, 1998,
2008).
Recently, Swallow and Jiang (2010) reported a surprising twist
on the usual adverse effects of DA. In these experiments, partic-
ipants studied a sequence of pictures, each with a small square
superimposed at the center. In the DA condition, participants were
instructed to remember all of the images and to monitor the color
of the square, pressing the space bar whenever they detected an
infrequent white square (targets) among frequent black squares
(distractors). In the FA condition, participants were told to ignore
the squares and to focus only on encoding the pictures. When
memory for the pictures was later tested in a four-choice recogni-
tion task, Swallow and Jiang (2010) found that in the DA condi-
tion, the images encoded together with the target squares (i.e.,
corresponding to the press response) were recognized significantly
better than were those encoded with the distractor squares (the
attentional boost effect). In the FA condition, in which the partic-
ipants made no response to the squares, no attentional boost effect
was found. What is importantly for present purposes ...
This document contains an ethical statement, acknowledgements, abstract, introduction, materials and methods, and references sections from a research paper. The introduction discusses implicit and explicit memory systems and how they are affected differently by stimulus exposure duration based on prior research. The study aims to investigate how varying exposure durations from 40ms to 1900ms impacts performance on implicit (priming) and explicit (recognition) memory tasks. It is hypothesized that priming performance will increase up to 250ms exposure and then decrease, while recognition performance will increase with longer exposures. The materials and methods section describes that 20 participants were split into implicit and explicit memory conditions and completed a priming or recognition task with pictures exposed for different durations.
This document discusses sleep disruption and cognitive impairment. It presents a modified modal model of memory that includes perception, attention, and short-term and long-term memory stores. Sleep fragmentation and reduced slow-wave sleep and REM sleep are linked to impairments in these cognitive functions. Studies show reduced brain activity in older adults' prefrontal cortex is associated with changes in slow-wave sleep and poor long-term memory. Sleep disruption from sleep apnea is also linked to deficits in attention, memory, and executive function. New technologies may help better measure sleep to improve treatment and reduce cognitive decline with age.
This document provides an overview of memory classification and neurocognitive testing. It begins by defining cognition and discussing types of information processing deficits like global deficits in general intelligence and specific deficits in memory, executive function, attention, and working memory. It then reviews models of working memory, neuroanatomical correlates, common memory tests used in cognitive batteries, and cognitive impairments seen in schizophrenia like problems with attention, memory, and executive function.
The objective of this study was to review recent literature on sensory and cognitive interactions in older adults published since 2009. After searching databases for articles on hearing, vision, and cognition, 34 relevant articles were identified and reviewed. The key findings were:
1) Studies found associations between declines in vision, hearing, or both with declines in cognition among older adults.
2) The observed sensory-cognitive associations tended to be stronger when declines were measured in more than one sensory domain and when sensory measures involved more than just threshold sensitivity.
3) Evidence continues to accumulate supporting a link between decline in sensory function and cognitive decline in older adults.
Following Your Dreams
REM sleep behavior disorder and resulting cognitive decline
Sleep plays an important role in cognitive functioning, notably in learning and
memory. Parasomnias, such as REM Sleep Behavioral disorder (RBD), have been
associated with sleep issues, such as attaining as well as sustaining sleep. As a result of
this deficit, many individuals afflicted with this disorder struggle in remembering as well
as learning. In many cases its idiopathic form (iRBD) may be an early indicator of later,
more severe neurodegenerative disease. Knowing that those afflicted with iRBD may also
be at risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases, the prolonged time frame between
diagnosis of iRBD and the subsequent onset of diseases, such as Parkinson’s, provides an
excellent opportunity for potential treatment (Postuma, Gagnon & Montplaisir, 2011;
Fantini et al. 2011). As research on this topic continues to develop, more recent data has
indicated a significant improvement and normalization of symptoms of RBD with the use
of exogenous, or synthetic, melatonin, which is the hormone found in mammals that is
most associated with sleep. Sleep quality and quantity was also positively affected, thus
patients often retained cognitive capacity that otherwise may have deteriorated (Kunz &
Mahlberg, 2010).
REM sleep behavior disorder is characterized by the loss of muscle atonia that is
present during a normal REM cycle. The demographic most commonly diagnosed with
the disorder is generally males over fifty, although it does not exclude females and
symptoms can also be triggered by anti-depressents, which could include younger
individuals (Postuma, Gagnon & Montplaisir, 2011). REM atonia normally disables
motor or muscle activity during the rapid eye movement stage of the sleep cycle, which is
the stage associated with dreaming. Atonia is generally attributed as one of many
functions associated or regulated by the lower brainstem (Kunz & Mahlberg, 2010). Lack
of atonia, therefore, could be due to malfunction or physical damage to this area. Without
inhibition, the muscles may be active and the sleeping individual is able to move, even
act out their dreams (Fantini et al. 2011). This ability may not only lead to physical harm
to the dreamer, who may injure themselves or others while moving around, but also
presents possible psychological harm as well, since the REM cycle and rest overall is
disturbed. (Kunz & Mahlberg, 2010).
While so much about the roles and purposes of sleep are unclear, many studies
have provided evidence that sleep plays an important role in memory consolidation.
Sleep-dependent memory processing has been investigated via the use of many
behavioral paradigms in humans and other species alike. Although not completely agreed
upon, as any research rarely goes without debate, there is a substantial amount of data
that has indicated a rel ...
This document summarizes a study that investigated the effect of dynamic visual noise on younger and older adults' visual working memory as measured by a Visual Patterns Test. The study found that older adults performed worse than younger adults on the test, supporting previous research showing working memory capacity declines with age. The dynamic visual noise did not significantly impact performance, though it may have had a greater effect on younger adults who tended to use a visual strategy while older adults used less sensitive spatial or verbal strategies. The document provides background on models of working memory and discusses research on visual and visuo-spatial memory.
Vlastos, D., Kyritsis, M., Papaioannou-Spiroulia, A., & Varela V.-A. (2017). ...Dimitris Vlastos
Oral Presentation, 22nd International Conference of the Association of Psychology & Psychiatry for Adults & Children (A.P.P.A.C.): Recent Advances in Neuropsychiatric, Psychological and Social Sciences in Psychological Research, 16th – 19th May 2017, Athens, Greece.
A research proposal concerning various problems and ideas about neuroscience and human consciousness. I have wanted to work on human consciousness and neuroscience for a long time. Eventually I came up with this research proposal. This is not an exhaustive research proposal however. Moreover, it does not contain any citations. I hope to be able to add them in the due course.
The risk of cognitive impairment assosiated with congenital deafness in child...MaritLobben
Overall poor performance of cognitive and behavioral skills are predictors of poor language skills and vice versa: we need to realise that language, perception, thought, and problem-solving constitute a continuum of interdependent functions.
Some refer to this as polymodal development of the sensory apparatus, as the developing trend in typically developing individuals (Bailey, 2002).
Sensory input participates not only in a simple additive way but also has a reciprocal influence in that it modulates synergistically the unyielding of neural networks.
This is probably why children with deafness exhibit subtle differences from hearing subjects also in functions that seem far removed from the auditory function, such as visuomotor integration or abstract thinking.
From a neuroscientific perspective, this is an interesting demonstration in relation to the extent of the role of hearing in the building of neural networks that result from sensorimotor exposure and practice.
This document summarizes a student research project that aims to study the effects of chronic stress on recognition memory in young adults. It provides background on chronic stress and how it can impact physical and mental health. Chronic stress is associated with increased cortisol levels and research shows cortisol can impair memory retrieval and negatively impact brain structures involved in memory like the hippocampus. The study aims to assess recognition memory performance in university students in relation to their self-reported chronic stress levels using questionnaires. It is hypothesized that students with higher chronic stress will perform more poorly on memory tasks based on previous research linking chronic stress to memory impairments. The document outlines the study methods which involve assessing chronic stress, administering a memory task, and analyzing performance between high and
This document summarizes research on the impact of cognitive loading on recall of names. It discusses how working memory has limited capacity and includes four components (central executive, phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad, episodic buffer) that process and store temporary information. Previous research found that task loading through dual tasks can negatively impact performance due to limited resources but that verbal and visual working memory may operate independently. The present study examines how task loading during an introduction activity impacts later name recall.
The Stroop Effect And Visual Perception Overview Write a 2-part .docxsuzannewarch
The Stroop Effect And Visual Perception
Overview
Write a 2-part assessment that discusses your experience with the Stroop Effect and concepts related to visual perception. This assessment should be a minimum of 4 pages long.
One of the central hypotheses in psychology is the relationship between stimulus and response. Sight and language are two human abilities relevant to the hypothesis of stimulus and response. Your understanding of these two abilities will help you build up a concept of the neural basis of human behaviors interacting with the world.
Show More
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:
•
Competency 2: Employ critical and creative thinking to evaluate problems, conflicts, and unresolved issues in the study of biological psychology.
▪
Discuss whether a person with dyslexia or a brain injury would have more or less trouble with completing the Stroop test.
▪
Discuss the results of the Stroop test.
•
Competency 3: Examine the research methodology and tools typically associated with the study of biological psychology.
▪
Explain the role of the anterior cingulate in audiovisual processing, and the symptoms of brain injury to this area.
•
Competency 4: Assess the important theories, paradigms, research findings, and conclusions in biological psychology.
▪
Define the problem of final integration of visual information.
▪
Discuss whether there is a problem with final integration of visual information.
•
Competency 6: Communicate effectively in a variety of formats.
▪
Write coherently to support a central idea with correct grammar, usage, and mechanics as expected of a
psychology professional.
▪
Use APA style and format.
Context
Recent technologies employed in the study of the brain regions regulating speech are helping scientists better understand the neural basis of human behaviors interacting with the world. For example, MRI imaging studies are revealing other areas within the brain that may also play a role in language and reading. Another example is that both Broca's and Wernicke's areas are fundamental to speech ability, but the specific mechanism of how each plays into oral language is still unclear. This is still a new area that challenges psychologists, neurologists, and speech therapists.
Humans use different parts of their brain to discriminate objects from people. In fact, we may have specialized neurons for recognizing faces. This relates to the main theme of this assessment: vision and visual perception. Many questions about human vision are unanswered. For example, different areas of the brain respond differently to visual recognition tasks, but how and why these areas cooperate to process visual information remains unclear. Another example: The visual cortex contains several layers, the functional roles of which are the subject of intense investigation. Questions include, .
Running Head BACKGROUND AND SIGNIFICANCE1Running Head BACKGR.docxsusanschei
Running Head: BACKGROUND AND SIGNIFICANCE 1
Running Head: BACKGROUND AND SIGNIFICANCE 1
Background and Significance
Lana Eliot
Psychology 625
Professor Weniger
July 29, 2018
Specific Aims:
The effect of stress on human beings is terrible that leads them to different diseases. The stress comes from environment and change in human behavior. Stress profoundly impacts or minds that leads to damages of prefrontal cortex which plays a prominent role in cognition (Andrew Holmesa, 2010 ). The cognitive abilities of a human being the effect a lot in the presences of stress. That leads to mood swings, schizophrenia and anxiety disorder. Hence, numerous studies are carried out on the stress-induced cognitive abilities (Joëls, 2006).
Intense stress and even the minor stress is responsible for changes in cognition impairment. It is responsible for significant changes in the remodeling of neurons. It also brings changes in neuronal morphology and effects the working memory of human beings (Luine, 1994). This study demonstrates that how stress-induced cognitive impairment affects the different areas of the brain (Maroun, 2008). The impact of stress on the human brain is studied under molecular basis induced changes. There is numerous significance of this study that includes how the brain is affected by stress and what stress causes cognition problems. It will further demonstrate how molecular basis changes the prefrontal cortex. It also gives details about pathophysiology and its association with dysfunction in neuropsychiatric diseases. Further strategies will also have introduced for its treatment that helps in overcoming stress-induced cognitive impairments.
Background
Stress have destructive effects on human. These results are related to all internal and external development of human body and mind. Humans are exposed to multiple stressors in their daily routine that leads to severe problems. When the human body is exposed to stress at that time that time, they did notice that how this stress affects them. But later, when they are more frequently exposed to stress they feel changes in their behavior and brain as well. Mood swings and unpredicted behavior of humans are the results of this stress. As well as the brain is concerned, stress disturbs the chemical balance that restricts brains from performing their ordinary functions. Most importantly it affects the cognition problems in humans. They more frequently started to forget about different things that they did not realize initially. But with the passage of time when these things get severe, they know that how this stress negatively affect this stress. Furthermore, stress is the only factors that induce cognition and learning problems in humans.
Bondi et al. (2007) conducted a study on chronic unpredictable stress that induces cognitive deficit as well as anxiety problems. Keeping in view the aim of this study, he experiments on rats where he injected the chronic antidepr ...
The document is a research paper that examines how light deprivation affects mood regulation and depressive symptoms. It discusses several studies that investigated the effects of light deprivation on neurotransmitter levels, circadian rhythms, and depressive behaviors in rats and mice. The studies found that light deprivation disrupted circadian rhythms and caused neuronal death, especially of dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin producing neurons. It also reduced dopamine synthesis and disrupted sleep, leading to increased depressive behaviors in the animal subjects. The document hypothesizes that light deprivation reduces dopamine replenishment in individuals prone to depressive mood symptoms.
Similar to Guzzetti_Cognitive Processing Impairments of Sleep Deprivation (20)
Guzzetti_Cognitive Processing Impairments of Sleep Deprivation
1. 1
Cognitive Processing Impairments of Sleep Deprivation: Visual Search and Brown-
Peterson Task Performance Analysis
Guzzetti, J.R.
Department of Neuroscience, Hiram College, Hiram, Ohio
ABSTRACT
With a surge in cultural prevalence, the operational impairments of sleep deprivation (SD) have
been well documented in recent decades. Previous research exploring the influence of SD on
functional memory and visual sensory impairments has uncovered one which is detrimental. The
present research aimed to investigate the specific visual sensory systematic impairments endured
during total SD, in addition to the impairments on short-term memory. Fourteen college
undergraduates completed two cognitive assays, the Brown-Peterson Task and Visual Search
following a night of total SD, and on another occasion following a solid night sleep. The results
herein assist in the affirmation of a number of previous findings in the field of sleep deprivation
research. The findings herein imply that total SD has a detrimental effect on the filtering
efficiency of vision and on the encryption of information to short-term memory. Implications of
the findings and possible directions for future research are explored in the discussion.
INTRODUCTION
The occurrence of total sleep deprivation, or
one whole night with absolutely no sleep,
has become an occurrence in a frequency on
the rise in a number of cultures around the
world, for a variety of purposes. For many
individuals, there are occasions when total
SD is electively endured—with the apparent
view of a sleeping period as a necessary
tradeoff for the time-consuming, punctual
completion of a task. Of course, there are
numerous, unfortunate instances of total SD,
brought about from a number of reasons,
such as emotional restlessness in any of its
many forms, the unmanageable anxiety
toward a future event, or any other various
reasons. The general impairments of SD
have previously been extensively explored
in a number of scientific disciplines.
Additionally, the impact of SD on neural
circulatory control has been documented.
Kato (2000) sought to record blood pressure,
heart rate (HR), as well as muscle
sympathetic nerve activity in total SD
individuals. He and colleagues found that
SD induced increased resting blood
pressure, decreased muscle sympathetic
nerve activity; however, it had little
influence on HR.[5] Pilcher and Huffcutt
(1996) carried out a meta-analysis outlining
the cognitive and motor impairments of SD,
as well as the negative influence of SD on
mood, which seems to be the most robust. [7]
Durmer and Dinges (2005) carried out an
investigation of the specific regions of
cognition that are hindered by SD, beyond
mood and motor impairments. Their
findings suggest that the cognitive deficits
endured through SD are highly subjective,
and most typically area of working memory,
executive attention, and higher cognitive
functioning are distinctly vulnerable. [2] The
present research deals with instances of
2. 2
planned SD in order to complete one or
many time-consuming tasks. Arguably, the
most chronically sleep-deprived age groups
in most societies are young adults, the
student population, in particular. Often
times, the degree of the workload taken on
at a college level may lead a student to
resort to total SD in order to satisfy their
goals. It is young adults belonging to this
population that comprise the sample herein.
Understanding the exact nature of the
cognitive impairments of SD may aid these
individuals by providing them with
knowledge of the adverse consequences of
their actions. This education may be a
resolving factor when facing indecision on
proceeding with potentially dangerous tasks
such as driving a motor vehicle or intense
physical activity.
The purpose of this study was to
explore the potential impairments of short-
term memory and visual attention and
discrimination induced by SD.
Undergraduate students whom intended to
sacrifice a night of sleep, typically in order
to address academic obligations, performed
two cognitive assays. The assays
administered here in were Visual Search, to
examine visual discrimination/attention and
the Brown-Peterson task, to analyze
functional short-term memory. Common
Visual Search assays impart the test-taker
with the responsibility of distinguishing
targeted from untargeted/distractor stimuli
and as quickly as possible report whether or
not (Y/N-typically by keystroke) the
consistent target stimulus is present. For
instance, a trial of Visual Search may
present an image with numerous red
triangles and blue squares, with only a
single target item (e.g. blue triangle) either
singularly present or absent on the screen
with the various distractor stimuli. The
Brown-Peterson Task, developed in the
latter half of the 1950s, was developed in
order to record the limits of, and influential
factors on short-term memory. The task
explores the influence of interference on
short-term memory. The task itself is
composed of a series of trials which initially
present the test-taker with a randomized
consonant trigram (e.g. TQW, PZC).
Trigrams employed by the Brown-Peterson
Task are generated through evasion of
common acronyms, arrangements
representative of small words, and
arrangements which can easily be
committed to a mnemonic device, as use of
such tactics by the test-taker are
discouraged. After which, the test-taker is
prompted with simple computation
instructions (e.g. Count backwards by 4’s
from 345), for thirty seconds, which is spent
by the test-taker performing the counting
aloud. The count backwards was varied
across trials, starting and ending numbers
were inconsistent (always started in the
hundreds), and the counting increment was
slightly and randomly varied (by 3’s – by
5’s). Finally, following the thirty second
period, the test-taker’s counting is
interrupted and they are asked to recall the
most recent trigram presented. [9] Herein, a
cross-over repeated-measure experimental
design was incorporated, in which the
participants were assigned to either the
control, or randomly to one of the two cross-
over experimental conditions. Participants in
Condition 1 completed the assays following
SD first, and then a second time when well-
rested (FSD). Condition 2 completed the
assays first when well-rested, then second
when SD (FWR). Participants in these two
conditions had deprived themselves of sleep
for between 18-30 h, in many cases, to
address academic responsibilities. Those
assigned to the control completed the tasks
twice, well-rested each occasion in order to
inspect the significance of potential
improvement upon practice of the tasks
(CWR).
3. 3
In light of the prevalence of SD
occurrence as an intertwined, recurrent
aspect of numerous modern lifestyles, SD
has become a popular division of research in
a wide ray of biological fields. Prior
research has indicated that SD is a condition
which can occur under multiple,
distinguishable instances with somewhat
differing impacts. The impairments of total
SD have been shown to vary considerably,
as discovered by Raidy and Scharff (2005).
Raidy and Scharff discovered that no
significant deficits are experienced in visual
memory processing until the SD has reached
an approximate length of 18-20 h. [8] These
findings offer a highly important quantified
estimate of when the impact of SD becomes
apparent and detrimental. Kong, Soon, and
Chee (2011) found decreased activation of
visual processing brain regions in SD
subjects, suggesting componential
impairment of visual processing under this
condition. [6] In recent years, Drummond
(2012) conducted an experiment exploring
visual working memory system
impairments, focusing on both total SD, and
partial SD (inadequate sleep over the course
of several nights). Drummond’s findings
suggest that partial and total SD have no
considerable adverse effects on the capacity
of visual working memory; however, total
SD can weaken filtering efficiency, or the
ability to quickly discriminate targeted from
untargeted stimuli. [1] Collectively, a
broadening range of research has indicated
the presence of visual sensory system
impairments, when SD.
The deficits of short-term memory
experienced when SD, additionally, have
been extensively examined. Forest and
Godbout (2000) found increased
vulnerability to distraction during
performance on the Brown-Peterson task in
SD subjects. [3] Similarly, Harrison and
Horne (2000) discovered SD impairments
affecting temporal memory, or recollection
of the chronological order of recent
happenings. [4] These findings carry the
implication that SD can impair short-term
memory mediation and efficiency. Much of
prior SD literature has aimed to investigate
the specific SD impairments of long-term
memory, as well. Findings by Vecsay (2009)
indicated that SD has negative effects on
short-term memory maintenance and
encoding (to long-term memory), as SD
impairs neuronal signaling to the
hippocampus, a region of the brain known to
be the center of learning and long term
memory storage/retrieval. [9] Therefore, the
assumption can be made that short-term
memory function is hindered by SD.
Extensive prior research suggests that SD
may yield short-term memory and visual
sensory systematic impairments.
The present research further
investigated the nature of the known deficits
of SD. I hypothesized that poorer
performance would be exhibited on the
cognitive assays following SD, compared to
being well-rested; as SD should, to some
degree negatively impact the cognitive
processing required for short-term memory
and visual information distinction.
MATERIALS AND METHOD
Participants
Twelve males and eight females, ages 19-22
years (M age=20.1) were recruited through
personal encounter to participate in the
present research. Participants were college
undergraduates who admitted to having
little-to-no familiarity with sleep deprivation
research. Only prospects that planned to
endure one night of total SD by their own
accord were asked to participate in an
experimental group of the study. Participants
were advised to use to the night of total SD
to address academic obligations. If not using
the time to handle academic responsibilities,
4. 4
participants were simply advised to keep
themselves occupied. Many sleep-deprived
participants underwent the deprivation in
groups. Use of medication, stimulant or
otherwise was not suggested. Participants
undergoing SD were instructed to moderate
their caffeine intake, if choosing to do so.
Additionally, they were advised to avoid
caffeine consumption altogether in the 1.5
hour period before assay completion. All
participants gave written informed consent
before admittance in the study. The study
was approved by the Institutional Review
Board of Hiram College, United States.
Design and Procedure
In a randomized, repeated-measure, cross
over design, participants completed two
cognitive assays on two separate occasions:
when sleep-deprived and when well-rested.
Participants were randomly assigned to
either of the two experimental groups of the
control. Condition 1 (FSD, n=7) performed
the assays first when sleep-deprived, and
then second when well-rested. Condition 2
(FWR, n=7) performed the assays first when
well-rested, and then second when sleep-
deprived. The control (CWR, n=6)
completed the tasks twice, well-rested on
each occasion in order to investigate the
potential for improvement upon practice of
the tasks. The gap between testing sessions
for participants in all groups stretched from
several days, to weeks. Subjects were
politely greeted upon their scheduled arrival
to the laboratory for completion of the
cognitive assays. Prior to arrival for post-SD
testing, participants resided in lecture or
residence halls within the campus where of
which they were addressing academic
obligation, or occupying themselves
otherwise. All data from SD testing sessions
were collected between 8-11 A.M. on any
given day. Administration of caffeine was
inspected through verbal self-report prior to
testing.
Cognitive Assays
The cognitive assays, Visual Search, and the
Brown-Peterson task were performed in that
order at the time of testing sessions. The
Visual Search assay was completed on a
Dell OptiPlex 360 desktop computer. The
Brown-Peterson Task was carried out at the
experimenter’s control via Microsoft Office
Power Point on a Dell OptiPlex 360 desktop
computer with the aid of a stopwatch.
Measures
Participant trial completion time and/or
correctness were analyzed and compared
from the WR and SD sessions in order to
examine the specific short-term memory and
visual working memory impairments.
Reaction times (RT) were averaged from
sixty-four Visual Search trials in order to
compute mean RT. Incorrectly-answered
trials were discarded from the calculation of
the mean RT. Additional analysis was
conducted through record of the number of
mistakes made by participants in WR and
SD sessions. The percent correctly-recalled
for the fourteen Brown-Peterson Task trials
was calculated for each participant in each
session.
RESULTS
Figures 1a & 1b comparatively display the
scores of CWR on the first and second
testing sessions for both cognitive assays.
There was no consistent trend of
improvement for either task in the control
group, some improved the second time
around whereas some did worse. Figure 2
displays the scores on the Brown-Peterson
Task for all participants in FSD as well as
FWR. Analysis of solely RTs from the
Visual Search trials failed to express
significantly improved performance when
WR as opposed to SD. Figure 3 displays the
5. 5
number of errors made of the sixty-four
trials (per session) by participants when SD
and WR. All but one SD participant, made at
least one mistake during at least one of their
testing sessions, removing the option of an
analysis of SD vs. WR scores for strictly
participants correctly answering all trials
sixty-four trials.
(A) Brown Peterson Task
(B) Visual Search
Figure 1. Results of Brown-Peterson Task
for the first and second testing sessions of
the control are graphed (A) Results of the
Visual Search for the first and second testing
sessions of the control are graphed (B).
Brown-Peterson Task
Figure 2. Results of Brown-Peterson Task
for all SD participants. Almost all
participants exhibited better performance
when WR (M score=74.25%) as opposed to
SD (M score=61.3%).
Visual Search
Figure 3. Mean number of errors committed
by SD participants. More errors occurred on
average when SD (M nerror=4.1) than when
WR (M nerror=2.8).
Implications of the findings in terms of the
support within for the hypothesis are
0
20
40
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80
100
120
First Second
%Correct
Session
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
First Second
MeanRT(inmsec)
Session
0
20
40
60
80
100
Sleep Deprived Well-rested
%Correct
Condition/Session
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3
4
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Sleep Deprived Well-rested
Mean#ofErrors
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6. 6
discussed in the forthcoming section, in
addition to directions for future studies.
Discussion
The hypothesis that a poorer performance
would be exhibited on the Brown-Peterson
Task when participants were SD was
supported. The hypothesis that a poorer
performance would be exhibited on the
Visual Search was not strongly supported
through analysis of RT, but supported to
some degree through analysis of trial error
frequency. The results of the present study
are directly in line with what much of
previous research has indicated, regarding
the cognitive deficits of SD. As Durmer and
Dinges (2005) had suggested, subjectivity in
this type of research is nearly an
unmanageable factor when experimentally
exploring the deficits of SD. [2] This was
seen herein as many individuals performed
considerably more poorly than others when
both SD and/or WR. The differences seen in
error frequency on the Visual Search trials
reaffirm a recent study conducted by
Drummond (2012). Also using visual
search, Drummond has asserted that SD
does not so much limit our capacity for
visual sensory information as much as it
hinders filtering efficiency, or the ability to
distinguish targeted from untargeted visual
stimuli. [1] Filtering efficiency is effectively
examined through Visual Search
administration. Additionally, the
aforementioned findings of Harrison and
Horne (2000), made through the exploration
of the impact of SD on short-term memory
mediation as well as temporal memory were
reaffirmed herein. [4] Although not
graphically depicted in the results, hindrance
of temporal memory was directly observed.
This was seen with SD participants in the
midst of Brown-Peterson Task
administration. On numerous occasions,
when asked to report the most recent
trigram, SD participants would confidently
report trigrams from several trials prior,
clearly indicative of some minor distortion
of time due to SD. I speculate that it may be
fruitful to experimentally explore the
potential of SD-induced strategic neural
signaling inhibition from particular external
information mediums. That is, STM system
maintenance may understandably be more
negligible than visual sensory maintenance,
as the latter is arguable more critical to
survival.
Much of what can be drawn from the
findings herein is supplemental to a large
body of existing research focusing on the
impairments of SD. Evidently the properties
of the visual sensory system and working
short-term memory function are negatively
affected in the absence of sufficient sleep.
Alarmingly, countless individuals frequently
suffer from SD, yet that does not cause them
to refrain from daily activities such as
working and driving while experiencing the
impairments. Performance of simple tasks
such as driving immediately qualifies the
detriments of SD as dangerous, to not only
the SD individual but those crossing in close
proximity. The present findings suggest that
one’s driving ability is considerably
impaired by SD, likely as well as
performance at work. Perhaps those who
need to be most cognoscente of their subpar
SD performance are individuals whose work
involves the operation of heavy machinery
(construction worker, crane op, factory
workers, etc.) for palpable reasons. Also,
students undergoing higher learning should
recognize the importance of understanding
that their [typical] SD performance is not
optimal, and that they are not maximizing
their abilities when suffering from SD. This
is of pivotal importance as numerous
students may be doing more harm than good
when depriving themselves of sleep in order
to address academic obligations. For
instance, completely depriving one’s self of
sleep in order to complete a ten page term
7. 7
paper would likely prove to be a more
efficient and effective strategy than doing so
in order to study extensive material for a
midterm exam. Individuals may benefit from
analyzing the negative impacts of SD prior
to selectively and strategically undergoing
total SD, in order to understand how they
will be affected.
The most outstanding limitations of
the research herein are undoubtedly the
sample size, and the 12-week max
timeframe allocated for the research.
Limited manpower was also problematic for
the demand of data collection. Additionally,
inability to actually limit participants
caffeine intake was problematic, as many
failed to adhere to the advisory of limiting
their intake. Considering the subjective
variety of general neurocognitive
impairments brought about during SD, it
may be a stretch to apply the findings herein
to the general population.
Future research investigating the
cognitive processing impairments of SD
should take care to incorporate the
administration of additional cognitive
assays, such as change blindness, and
operation span, in order to further
investigate the extent of the impairments.
Additionally, future research addressing
similar domains of cognition should
compose experiments using the same assays,
however, with the employment of auditory
and visual distractors during assay
completion in order to examine the impact
of SD on distraction susceptibility.
Administration of the assays used herein and
possibly others should be carried out
experimentally with a variety of age groups
in order to examine the potential for
increased impairment susceptibility with
aging. Additionally an experiment should be
designed which accurately explores the
potential for recruitment of compensatory
mechanisms in individuals who frequently
electively endure total SD, compared to
those who rarely or have never undergone
total SD. Conclusively, future SD research
should seek to unveil the reaches of the
deficits of SD and also address the potential
health issues presented by chronic SD in
order to effectively educate a considerable
portion of the population on what their
bodies are enduring when undergoing SD.
REFERENCES
1. Drummond, S. A., Anderson, D. E.,
Straus, L. D., Vogel, E. K., & Perez,
V. B. (2012). The effects of two
types of sleep deprivation on visual
working memory capacity and
filtering efficiency. Plos ONE, 7(4),
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0035653
2. Durmer, J.S. & Dinges, D.F. (2005).
Neurocognitive consequences of
sleep deprivation. Seminars in
Neurology, 25(1).
3. Forest, G., & Godbout, R. (2000).
Effects of sleep deprivation on
performance and EEG spectral
analysis in young adults. Brain And
Cognition, 43(1-3), 195-200
4. Harrison, Y. A. (2000). Sleep Loss
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Journal Of Experimental
Psychology: Section A, 53(1), 271-
279.
5. Kato, M., Philips, B.G., Sigurdsson,
G., Pesek, C.A., & Somers, V.K.
(2000). Effects of sleep deprivation
on neural circulatory control.
Hypertension, 35(5), Article
10818083. Retrieved April 12, 2014
from PubMed.
6. Kong, D., Soon, C., & Chee, M. L.
(2011). Reduced visual processing
capacity in sleep deprived persons.
Neuroimage, 55(2), 629-634.
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7. Pilcher, J.J., & Huffcutt, A.J. (1996).
Effects of sleep deprivation on
8. 8
performance: A meta-analysis.
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