The relationship between interactive-imagery instructions and association memory.

Interactive imagery, one of the most effective strategies for remembering pairs of words, involves asking participants to form mental images during study. We tested the hypothesis that the visual image is, in fact, responsible for its memory benefit. Neither subjectively reported vividness (all experiments) nor objective imagery skill (experiments 1 and 3) could explain the benefit of interactive imagery for cued recall. Aphantasic participants, who self-identified little to no mental imagery, benefited from interactive-imagery instructions as much as controls (experiment 3). Imagery instructions did not improve memory for the constituent order of associations (AB versus BA), even when participants were told how to incorporate order within their images (experiments 1 and 2). Taken together, our results suggest that the visual format of images may not be responsible for the effectiveness of the interactive-imagery instruction and moreover, interactive imagery may not result in qualitatively different associative memories.

Mnemonic scaffolds vary in effectiveness for serial recall.

Memory champions remember vast amounts of information in order and at first encounter by associating each study item to an anchor within a scaffold - a pre-learned, structured memory. The scaffold provides direct-access retrieval cues. Dominated by the familiar-route scaffold (Method of Loci), researchers have little insight into what characteristics of scaffolds make them effective, nor whether individual differences might play a role. We compared participant-generated mnemonic scaffolds: (a) familiar routes (Loci), (b) autobiographical stories (Story), (c) parts of the human body (Body), and (d) routine activities (Routine Activity). Loci, Body, and Story Scaffolds benefited serial recall over Control (no scaffold). The Body and Loci Scaffold were equally superior to the other scaffolds. Measures of visual imagery aptitude and vividness and body responsiveness did not predict accuracy. A second experiment tested whether embodiment could be responsible for the high level of effectiveness of the Body Scaffold; this was not supported. In short, mnemonic scaffolds are not equally effective and embodied cognition may not directly contribute to memory success. The Body Scaffold may be a strong alternative to the Method of Loci and may enhance learning for most learners, including those who do not find the Method of Loci useful.

Clinical and Genetic Features in Patients With Reflex Bathing Epilepsy.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the clinical and genetic findings in a cohort of individuals with bathing epilepsy, a rare form of reflex epilepsy. METHODS: We investigated by Sanger and targeted resequencing the SYN1 gene in 12 individuals from 10 different families presenting with seizures triggered primarily by bathing or showering. An additional 12 individuals with hot-water epilepsy were also screened. RESULTS: In all families with bathing epilepsy, we identified 8 distinct pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants and 2 variants of unknown significance in SYN1, 9 of which are novel. Conversely, none of the individuals with hot-water epilepsy displayed SYN1 variants. In mutated individuals, seizures were typically triggered by showering or bathing regardless of the water temperature. Additional triggers included fingernail clipping, haircutting, or watching someone take a shower. Unprovoked seizures and a variable degree of developmental delay were also common. CONCLUSION: Bathing epilepsy is genetically distinct reflex epilepsy caused mainly by SYN1 mutations.

Chewing induced reflex seizures ("eating epilepsy") and eye closure sensitivity as a common feature in pediatric patients with SYNGAP1 mutations: Review of literature and report of 8 cases.

PURPOSE: Heterozygous SYNGAP1 gene mutations have been associated with several forms of idiopathic generalized epilepsy, autism spectrum disorders and delay of psychomotor development. We report eight patients with a SYNGAP1 mutation and chewing/eating induced reflex seizures as new phenotype and compare them to other patients with eating epilepsy and genetic mutations. METHODS: Presentation of clinical and anamnestic features and retrospective analysis of Video-EEG data of a 4 year old index patient with SYNGAP1 mutation and chewing /eating induced seizures. Clinical and anamnestic features and home videos of seven additional patients (4 female; age: 4-14 years) with SYNGAP1 mutation and eating induced reflex seizures were compared. RESULTS: All reflex seizures of the index patient showed similar focal EEG pattern with 1-5 seconds high amplitude, irregular 3/sec spike-wave complexes with initiation from left temporo-occipital, right temporo-occipital or bi- occipital / temporo-occipital regions. Eyelid myoclonia, the most common seizure type in all 8 patients, were typically initiated by eating or other simple orofacial stimuli. In the index patient eye closure preceded eating induced-eyelid myoclonia in 30/38 seizures. CONCLUSION: The main clinical features of our patient (i.e. intellectual disability, epilepsy, autistic features) are compatible with previous reports on patients with SYNGAP1 mutations. This is the first complete description of eating induced seizures in association with SYNGAP1 mutations. Whether eye closure sensitivity (ECS) represents an independent reflex epileptic trait, as seen in other patients with idiopathic "generalized" epilepsies (IGE), or eye closure is part of a complex trigger mechanism in SYNGAP1 patients' remains to be elucidated.