From task-general towards task-specific cognitive operations in a few minutes? Working memory performance as an adaptive process.

Measurement of cognitive functions is typically based on the implicit assumption that the mental architecture underlying cognitive task performance is constant throughout the task. In contrast, skill learning theory implies that cognitively demanding task performance is an adaptive process that progresses from initial heavy engagement of effortful and task-general metacognitive and executive control processes towards more automatic and task-specific performance. However, this hypothesis is rarely applied to the short time spans of traditional cognitive tasks such as working memory (WM) tasks. We utilised longitudinal structural equation models on two well-powered data sets to test the hypothesis that the initial stages of WM task performances load heavily on a task-general g-factor and then start to diverge towards factors specific to task structure. In line with the hypothesis, data from the first experiment (N = 296) were successfully fitted in a model with task-initial unity of the WM paradigm-specific latent factors, after which their intercorrelations started to diverge. The second experiment (N = 201) replicated this pattern except for one paradigm-specific latent factor. These preliminary results suggest that the processes underlying WM task performance tend to progress rapidly from more task-general towards task-specific, in line with the cognitive skill learning framework. Such task-internal dynamics has important implications for the measurement of complex cognitive functions.

Self-reported strategy use in working memory tasks.

Mnemonic strategies can facilitate working memory performance, but our knowledge on strategy use as a function of task characteristics remains limited. We examined self-reported strategy use in several working memory tasks with pretest data from two large-scale online training experiments. A three-level measure of strategy sophistication (no strategy, maintenance, manipulation) was coded based on participants' open-ended strategy reports. A considerable portion of participants reported some memory strategy, and strategy sophistication was associated with objective task performance. We found a consistent effect of stimulus type: verbal stimuli (letters or digits) elicited higher strategy sophistication than nonverbal ones (colours or spatial positions). In contrast, the association between task paradigm and strategy sophistication was less consistent in the two experiments. The present results highlight the importance of self-generated strategies in understanding individual differences in working memory performance and the role of stimulus characteristics as one of the task-related determinants of strategy use.

Strategy use and its evolvement in word list learning: a replication study.

Spontaneous strategy employment is important for memory performance, but systematic research on strategy use and within-task evolvement is limited. This online study aimed to replicate three main findings by Waris and colleagues in Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology (2021): in word-list learning, spontaneous strategy use (1) predicts better task performance, (2) stabilizes along the task, and (3) increases during the first two task blocks. We administered a shortened version of their original real-word list-learning task to 209 neurotypical adults. Their first finding was partly replicated: manipulation strategies (grouping, visualization, association, narrative, other strategy) but not maintenance strategies (rehearsal/repetition, selective focus) were associated with superior word recall. The second finding on the decrease in strategy changers over task blocks was replicated. The third finding turned out to be misguided: neither our nor the original study showed task-initial increase in strategy use in the real-word learning condition. Our results confirm the important role of spontaneous strategies in understanding memory performance and the existence of task-initial dynamics in strategy employment. They support the general conclusions by Waris and colleagues: task demands can trigger strategy use even in a familiar task like learning a list of common words, and evolution of strategy use during a memory task reflects cognitive skill learning.

Spontaneous memory strategies in a videogame simulating everyday memory tasks.

People can use different internal strategies to manage their daily tasks, but systematic research on these strategies and their significance for actual performance is still quite sparse. Here we examined self-reported internal strategy use with a 10-block version of the videogame EPELI (Executive Performance in Everyday LIving) in a group of 202 neurotypical adults of 18-50 years of age. In the game, participants perform lists of everyday tasks from memory while navigating in a virtual apartment. Open-ended strategy reports were collected after each EPELI task block, and for comparison also after an EPELI Instruction Recall task and a Word List Learning task assessing episodic memory. On average, 45% of the participants reported using some strategy in EPELI, the most common types being grouping (e.g., performing the tasks room by room), utilising a familiar action schema, and condensing information (e.g., memorising only keywords). Our pre-registered hypothesis on the beneficial effect of self-initiated strategy use gained support, as strategy users showed better performance on EPELI as compared with no strategy users. One of the strategies, grouping, was identified as a clearly effective strategy type. Block-by-block transitions suggested gradual stabilisation of strategy use over the 10 EPELI blocks. The proneness to use strategies showed a weak but reliable association between EPELI and Word List Learning. Overall, the present results highlight the importance of internal strategy use for understanding individual differences in memory performance, as well as the potential benefit for internal strategy employment when faced with everyday memory tasks.

Assessment of goal-directed behavior and prospective memory in adult ADHD with an online 3D videogame simulating everyday tasks.

The diagnosis of ADHD is based on real-life attentional-executive deficits, but they are harder to detect in adults than in children and objective quantitative measures reflecting these everyday problems are lacking. We developed an online version of EPELI 3D videogame for naturalistic and scalable assessment of goal-directed action and prospective memory in adult ADHD. In EPELI, participants perform instructed everyday chores in a virtual apartment from memory. Our pre-registered hypothesis predicted weaker EPELI performances in adult ADHD compared to controls. The sample comprised 112 adults with ADHD and 255 neurotypical controls comparable in age (mean 31, SD = 8 years), gender distribution (71% females) and educational level. Using web-browser, the participants performed EPELI and other cognitive tasks, including Conner's Continuous Performance Test (CPT). They also filled out questionnaires probing everyday executive performance and kept a 5-day diary of everyday prospective memory errors. Self-reported strategy use in the EPELI game was also examined. The ADHD participants' self-ratings indicated clearly more everyday executive problems than in the controls. Differences in the EPELI game were mostly seen in the ADHD participants' higher rates of task-irrelevant actions. Gender differences and a group × gender interaction was found in the number of correctly performed tasks, indicating poorer performance particularly in ADHD males. Discriminant validity of EPELI was similar to CPT. Strategy use strongly predicted EPELI performance in both groups. The results demonstrate the feasibility of EPELI for online assessment and highlight the role of impulsivity as a distinctive everyday life problem in adult ADHD.

Assessment of goal-directed behavior with the 3D videogame EPELI: Psychometric features in a web-based adult sample.

EPELI (Executive Performance in Everyday LIving) is a recently developed gaming tool for objective assessment of goal-directed behavior and prospective memory (PM) in everyday contexts. This pre-registered study examined psychometric features of a new EPELI adult online version, modified from the original child version and further developed for self-administered web-based testing at home. A sample of 255 healthy adults completed EPELI where their task was to perform household chores instructed by a virtual character. The participants also filled out PM-related questionnaires and a diary and performed two conventional PM tasks and an intelligence test. We expected that the more "life-like" EPELI task would show stronger associations with conventional PM questionnaires and diary-based everyday PM reports than traditional PM tasks would do. This hypothesis did not receive support. Although EPELI was rated as more similar to everyday tasks, performance in it was not associated with the questionnaires and the diary. However, there were associations between time-monitoring behavior in EPELI and the traditional PM tasks. Taken together, online adult-EPELI was found to be a reliable method with high ecological face validity, but its convergent validity requires further research.

Beginning of the Pandemic: COVID-19-Elicited Anxiety as a Predictor of Working Memory Performance.

Increasing evidence indicates that the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is associated with adverse psychological effects, including heightened levels of anxiety. This study examined whether COVID-19-related anxiety levels during the early stage of the pandemic predicted demanding working memory (WM) updating performance. Altogether, 201 healthy adults (age range, 18-50) mostly from North America and the British Isles were recruited to this study via the crowdsourcing site www.prolific.co. The results showed that higher levels of COVID-19-related anxiety during the first weeks of the pandemic outbreak were associated with poorer WM performance as measured by the n-back paradigm. Critically, the unique role of COVID-19-related anxiety on WM could not be explained by demographic factors, or other psychological factors such as state and trait anxiety or fluid intelligence. Moreover, across three assessment points spanning 5-6 weeks, COVID-19-related anxiety levels tended to decrease over time. This pattern of results may reflect an initial psychological "shock wave" of the pandemic, the cognitive effects of which may linger for some time, albeit the initial anxiety associated with the pandemic would change with habituation and increasing information. Our results contribute to the understanding of cognitive-affective reactions to a major disaster.

Disentangling the Role of Working Memory in Parkinson's Disease.

Working memory (WM) represents a core cognitive function with a major striatal contribution, and thus WM deficits, commonly observed in Parkinson's disease (PD), could also relate to many other problems in PD patients. Our online study aimed to determine the subdomains of WM that are particularly affected in PD and to clarify the links between WM and everyday cognitive deficits, other executive functions, psychiatric and PD symptoms, as well as early cognitive impairment. Fifty-two mild-to-moderate PD patients and 54 healthy controls performed seven WM tasks tapping selective updating, continuous monitoring, or maintenance of currently active information. Self-ratings of everyday cognition, depression, and apathy symptoms, as well as screenings of global cognitive impairment, were also collected. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Of the three WM domains, only selective updating was directly predictive of PD group membership. More widespread WM deficits were observed only in relation to global cognitive impairment in PD patients. Self-rated everyday cognition or psychiatric symptoms were not linked to WM performance but correlated with each other. Our findings suggest that WM has a rather limited role in the clinical manifestation of PD. Nevertheless, due to its elementary link to striatal function, the updating component of WM could be a candidate for a cognitive marker of PD also in patients who are otherwise cognitively well-preserved.

Training working memory updating in Parkinson's disease: A randomised controlled trial.

Frontostriatal dysfunction in Parkinson's disease (PD) increases the risk for working memory (WM) impairment and depression, calling for counteractive measures. Computerised cognitive rehabilitation is a promising option, but targeted training protocols are lacking and lab-based training can be demanding due to the repeated visits. This study tested the feasibility and efficacy of home-based computerised training targeting mainly WM updating in PD. Fifty-two cognitively well-preserved PD patients were randomised to a WM training group and an active control group for five weeks of training (three 30-min sessions per week). WM training included three computerised adaptive WM tasks (two updating, one maintenance). The outcomes were examined pre- and post-training with trained and untrained WM tasks, tasks tapping other cognitive domains, and self-ratings of executive functioning and depression. Home-based training was feasible for the patients. The training group improved particularly on the updating training tasks, and showed posttest improvement on untrained WM tasks structurally similar to the trained ones. Moreover, their depression scores decreased compared to the controls. Our study indicates that patients with mild-to-moderate PD can self-administer home-based computerised WM training, and that they yield a similar transfer pattern to untrained WM tasks as has been observed in healthy older adults.