Substance abuse and susceptibility to false memory formation: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Substance abuse has an impact on various cognitive domains, including memory. Even though this impact has been extensively examined across different subdomains, false memory has been sparsely studied. This systematic review and meta-analysis seek to synthesize the current scientific data concerning false memory formation in individuals with a history of substance abuse. Methods: PubMed, Scopus, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and PsycINFO were searched to identify all experimental and observational studies in English, Portuguese, and Spanish. Studies were then examined by four independent reviewers and, if they met the inclusion criteria, assessed for their quality. The Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool for randomized controlled trials (RCT) and the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) critical appraisal checklists for quasi-experimental and analytic cross-sectional studies were used to assess the risk of bias. Results: From the 443 screened studies, 27 (and two more from other sources) were considered eligible for full-text review. A final 18 studies were included in the present review. Of these, 10 were conducted with alcoholics or heavy drinkers, four focused on ecstasy/polydrug users, three were done with cannabis users and one focused on methadone maintenance patients with current cocaine dependence. Regarding false memory type, 15 studies focused on false recognition/recall, and three on provoked confabulation. Conclusions: None but one of the studies considering false recognition/recall of critical lures found any significant differences between individuals with a history of substance abuse and healthy controls. However, most of the studies taking into account false recognition/recall of related and unrelated events found that individuals with a history of substance abuse showed significantly higher rates of false memories than controls. Future research should continue to consider different types of false memories as well as their potential association with relevant clinical variables. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=266503, identifier: CRD42021266503.

Cognitive Training Effectiveness on Memory, Executive Functioning, and Processing Speed in Individuals With Substance Use Disorders: A Systematic Review.

Background: Cerebral neuroplasticity is compromised due to substance abuse. There is damage to neuronal areas that are involved in memory and executive functioning. Treatments with worse outcomes are often associated with cognitive deficits that have resulted from substance dependence. However, there is evidence that cognitive training can lead to improvements in cognitive functions and can be useful when treating addictions. This systematic review aims to synthesize evidence on the effectiveness of cognitive training in memory, executive functioning, and processing speed in individuals with substance use disorder (SUD). Methods: The Joanna Briggs Institute's PICO strategy was used to develop this systematic literature review. Four databases were searched (PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and PsycINFO) to identify controlled randomized clinical studies and quasi-experimental studies, in English, Portuguese, and Spanish, from 1985 to 2019. The literature found was examined by two independent reviewers, who assessed the quality of studies that met the inclusion criteria. The Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for the randomized controlled trials and the ROBINS-I tool for non-randomized studies were used to assess the risk of bias. In data extraction, the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews was considered. Results: From a total of 470 studies, 319 were selected for analysis after the elimination of duplicates. According to the inclusion criteria defined, 26 studies were eligible and evaluated. An evaluation was performed considering the participant characteristics, countries, substance type, study and intervention details, and key findings. Of the 26 selected studies, 14 considered only alcoholics, six included participants with various SUD (alcohol and other substances), three exclusively looked into methamphetamine-consuming users and another three into opioid/methadone users. Moreover, 18 studies found some kind of cognitive improvement, with two of these reporting only marginally significant effects. One study found improvements only in measures similar to the training tasks, and two others had ambiguous results. Conclusions: The included studies revealed the benefits of cognitive training with regard to improving cognitive functions in individuals with SUD. Memory was the most scrutinized cognitive function in this type of intervention, and it is also one of the areas most affected by substance use. Systematic Review Registration: [PROSPERO], identifier [CRD42020161039].

The effects of aging and an episodic specificity induction on spontaneous task-unrelated thought.

When voluntarily describing their past or future, older adults typically show a reduction in episodic specificity (e.g., including fewer details reflecting a specific event, time and/or place). However, aging has less impact on other types of tasks that place minimal demands on strategic retrieval such as spontaneous thoughts. In the current study, we investigated age-related differences in the episodic specificity of spontaneous thoughts using experimenter-based coding of thought descriptions. Additionally, we tested whether an episodic specificity induction, which increases episodic detail during deliberate retrieval of events in young and older adults, has the same effect under spontaneous retrieval. Twenty-four younger and 24 healthy older adults performed two counterbalanced sessions including a video, the episodic specificity or control induction, and a vigilance task. In the episodic specificity induction, participants recalled the details of the video while in the control they solved math exercises. The impact of this manipulation on the episodic specificity of spontaneous thoughts was assessed in the subsequent vigilance task, in which participants were randomly stopped to describe their thoughts and classify them as deliberate/spontaneous. We found no differences in episodic specificity between age groups in spontaneous thoughts, supporting the prediction that automatic retrieval attenuates the episodic specificity decrease in aging. The lack of age differences was present regardless of the induction, showing no interactions. For the induction, we also found no main effect, indicating that automatic retrieval bypasses event construction and accesses pre-stored events. Overall, our evidence suggests that spontaneous retrieval is a promising strategy to support episodic specificity in aging.

A comparison of two personalization and adaptive cognitive rehabilitation approaches: a randomized controlled trial with chronic stroke patients.

BACKGROUND: Paper-and-pencil tasks are still widely used for cognitive rehabilitation despite the proliferation of new computer-based methods, like VR-based simulations of ADL's. Studies have established construct validity of VR assessment tools with their paper-and-pencil version by demonstrating significant associations with their traditional construct-driven measures. However, VR rehabilitation intervention tools are mostly developed to include mechanisms such as personalization and adaptation, elements that are disregarded in their paper-and-pencil counterparts, which is a strong limitation of comparison studies. Here we compare the clinical impact of a personalized and adapted paper-and-pencil training and a content equivalent and more ecologically valid VR-based ADL's simulation. METHODS: We have performed a trial with 36 stroke patients comparing Reh@City v2.0 (adaptive cognitive training through everyday tasks VR simulations) with Task Generator (TG: content equivalent and adaptive paper-and-pencil training). The intervention comprised 12 sessions, with a neuropsychological assessment pre, post-intervention and follow-up, having as primary outcomes: general cognitive functioning (assessed by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment - MoCA), attention, memory, executive functions and language specific domains. RESULTS: A within-group analysis revealed that the Reh@City v2.0 improved general cognitive functioning, attention, visuospatial ability and executive functions. These improvements generalized to verbal memory, processing speed and self-perceived cognitive deficits specific assessments. TG only improved in orientation domain on the MoCA, and specific processing speed and verbal memory outcomes. However, at follow-up, processing speed and verbal memory improvements were maintained, and a new one was revealed in language. A between-groups analysis revealed Reh@City v2.0 superiority in general cognitive functioning, visuospatial ability, and executive functions on the MoCA. CONCLUSIONS: The Reh@City v2.0 intervention with higher ecological validity revealed higher effectiveness with improvements in different cognitive domains and self-perceived cognitive deficits in everyday life, and the TG intervention retained fewer cognitive gains for longer. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02857803. Registered 5 August 2016, .

Meta-analysis of aging effects in mind wandering: Methodological and sociodemographic factors.

Our attention frequently shifts from ongoing tasks to internal content such that we find ourselves mind wandering (MW). Recent research has revealed that increasing age in adulthood is associated with a decrease in the frequency of MW, but the factors that contribute to this age-related effect are unclear. Thus, in the present study we conducted a meta-analysis of age differences in MW that aimed to analyze (a) the size and consistency of the age-related decrease in MW frequency, and (b) the moderating impact of methodological and sociodemographic factors. We analyzed studies comparing MW frequency in healthy younger and older groups and found a large effect in older adults. The age-related decrease in MW was more pronounced for probe compared to self-caught procedures, when task-related interfering thoughts were measured separately, when visual masks were presented, as the proportion of targets increased, and as older participants and fewer women were included in older adult groups. In discussing the theoretical and practical implications of these findings, we highlight the role of motivation and response options and provide recommendations for future research. These included emphasizing the need for open-ended methods in order to avoid bias due to MW instructions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Inducing spontaneous future thoughts in younger and older adults by priming future-oriented personal goals.

In the past 15 years, the study of spontaneous thoughts (i.e., thoughts coming to mind without intention and effort) has received increased attention. Spontaneous future thoughts (SFTs) are particularly important (e.g., in planning), yet difficult to study with regard to age differences. Two main problems arise: (1) lab tasks including word-cues induce more past than future thoughts; (2) younger adults report more spontaneous thoughts than older adults. To improve the elicitation of SFTs, we developed a future-oriented goal-related priming procedure and analyzed the extension of the goal-related priming effect in SFTs to older adults, to examine whether age-related changes in personal goals compromise the elicitation of SFTs. We also controlled for methodological factors that could influence age groups differently (including demand, retrospection, meta-awareness and instruction bias). Twenty-seven younger and 27 older adults performed a low-demand vigilance task including word-cues and were periodically stopped to describe their thoughts. The vigilance task was divided into two parts and, between them, participants performed a future-oriented goal-related priming task. An additional group of 27 younger participants performed the same procedure with a control task based on word counting. We found a significant increase in SFTs after priming in both age groups, but not in the control group, indicating that the priming manipulation was effective. This result suggests that age-related changes in personal goals do not disrupt the relation between personal goals and SFT frequency. The similar pattern of overall spontaneous thought in both age groups is also discussed considering methodological factors.

Capturing Expert Knowledge for the Personalization of Cognitive Rehabilitation: Study Combining Computational Modeling and a Participatory Design Strategy.

BACKGROUND: Cognitive impairments after stroke are not always given sufficient attention despite the critical limitations they impose on activities of daily living (ADLs). Although there is substantial evidence on cognitive rehabilitation benefits, its implementation is limited because of time and human resource's demands. Moreover, many cognitive rehabilitation interventions lack a robust theoretical framework in the selection of paper-and-pencil tasks by the clinicians. In this endeavor, it would be useful to have a tool that could generate standardized paper-and-pencil tasks, parameterized according to patients' needs. OBJECTIVE: In this study, we aimed to present a framework for the creation of personalized cognitive rehabilitation tasks based on a participatory design strategy. METHODS: We selected 11 paper-and-pencil tasks from standard clinical practice and parameterized them with multiple configurations. A total of 67 tasks were assessed according to their cognitive demands (attention, memory, language, and executive functions) and overall difficulty by 20 rehabilitation professionals. RESULTS: After assessing the internal consistency of the data-that is, alpha values from .918 to .997-we identified the parameters that significantly affected cognitive functions and proposed specific models for each task. Through computational modeling, we operationalized the tasks into their intrinsic parameters and developed a Web tool that generates personalized paper-and-pencil tasks-the Task Generator (TG). CONCLUSIONS: Our framework proposes an objective and quantitative personalization strategy tailored to each patient in multiple cognitive domains (attention, memory, language, and executive functions) derived from expert knowledge and materialized in the TG app, a cognitive rehabilitation Web tool.

Construct and concurrent validity of the Cambridge neuropsychological automated tests in Portuguese older adults without neuropsychiatric diagnoses and with Alzheimer's disease dementia.

We aimed to analyze the construct and concurrent validity of the Rapid Visual Information Processing (RVP), Paired Associates Learning (PAL), Reaction Time (RTI), and Spatial Working Memory (SWM) tests from the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB®). Inclusion criteria were checked in a first session. The CANTAB and additional pencil-and-paper tests were administered within 1 week. The participants (aged 69-96 years) were 137 Portuguese adults without neuropsychiatric diagnoses and 37 adults with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease dementia. Comparisons were made between the CANTAB tests and between these tests and the Rey Complex Figure Test (RCFT), Verbal Fluency (VF) test, and some Wechsler Memory Scale-III and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III subtests. Most intra-test correlations were stronger than the CANTAB inter-test correlations. The RVP correlated more with VF animals (.44), the PAL with RCFT immediate recall (-.52), the RTI with RVP mean latency (.42), and the SWM with Spatial Span backward (-.39).

The Cognitive Effects of Wearable Cameras in Mild Alzheimer Disease - An Experimental Study.

BACKGROUND: Wearable cameras are a new type of intervention aimed at stimulating memory in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Such passive external memory aids have started to be considered as alternatives to both more active external aids (such as writing in diaries, journals, and timetables) and to internal cognitive strategies (such as spaced retrieval, errorless learning). OBJECTIVE: In order to understand the benefits of these innovative devices for memory compensation, the present experiment examined the effectiveness of two memory training strategies: SenseCam, a wearable camera, a passive external memory aid and a memory training programme (MEMO+) created from tasks known to stimulate memory, in comparison with a control condition, a personal written diary. METHOD: Fifty-one patients with mild AD were randomly assigned to one of these three groups. Training lasted for six consecutive weeks, two sessions a week, one hour each, for all groups. Patients underwent a neuropsychological assessment at baseline, after treatment and at follow up (six months later). RESULTS: Groups showed non-significant differences at baseline. After treatment and at follow up, the SenseCam group had a superior autobiographical memory (AM) performance, compared to the Memo+ and Diary groups. The SenseCam and the Memo+ groups both showed improved episodic and semantic memory, and somewhat improved executive function. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that passive memory training with SenseCam is a promising alternative to traditional memory training programs to help AD patients with autobiographical memory performance.

It is not only memory: effects of sensecam on improving well-being in patients with mild alzheimer disease.

BACKGROUND: Cognitive interventions (either restorative or compensatory) developed for mild Alzheimer's Disease (AD) have been tested widely with cognitive measures, but less is known about how the effects of such interventions are generalizable to daily functioning. In the present study, we looked at affective state and perceived functionality and quality of life indicators, for three different cognitive rehabilitation programs. METHODS: Fifty-one AD patients in the mild stage of the disease were selected for the study and were randomly assigned to one of three cognitive training groups: (1) Memo+ (a paper and pencil memory training program); (2) SenseCam (wearable camera used as a passive external memory aid); (3) Written diary (a personal journal, used as control condition). All patients attended 11 sessions, twice a week, of 1-hour length. The three outcome indicators were examined with standardized instruments applied before the intervention, one week after and at six months follow-up. RESULTS: After treatment, the SenseCam and Memo+ groups had significantly reduced depressive symptoms compared to the Diary control condition. The same was found for measures of perceived functional capacity. No intervention effects were found for quality of life measures. The immediate effects of the interventions were not maintained at follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that two types of memory rehabilitation can improve depressive symptomology and instrumental activities of daily living, suggesting that these interventions can stimulate not only cognition but also well-being, at least in the short term.

Mnemonic anosognosia in Alzheimer's disease is caused by a failure to transfer online evaluations of performance: Evidence from memory training programs.

INTRODUCTION: There is a debate about the ability of patients with Alzheimer's disease to build an up-to-date representation of their memory function, which has been termed mnemonic anosognosia. This form of anosognosia is typified by accurate online evaluations of performance, but dysfunctional or outmoded representations of function more generally. METHOD: We tested whether people with Alzheimer's disease could adapt or change their representations of memory performance across three different six-week memory training programs using global judgements of learning. RESULTS: We showed that whereas online assessments of performance were accurate, patients continued to make inaccurate overestimations of their memory performance. This was despite the fact that the magnitude of predictions shifted according to the memory training. That is, on some level patients showed an ability to change and retain a representation of performance over time, but it was a dysfunctional one. For the first time in the literature we were able to use an analysis using correlations to support this claim, based on a large heterogeneous sample of 51 patients with Alzheimer's disease. CONCLUSION: The results point not to a failure to retain online metamemory information, but rather that this information is never used or incorporated into longer term representations, supporting but refining the mnemonic anosognosia hypothesis.

Effects of socio-demographic variables on performance on the Cambridge neuropsychological automated tests for the assessment of dementia and Portuguese norms for older adults living in retirement homes.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to analyze the effects of age, education, gender, computer experience, institutionalization time, and psychotropic drug use on performance on four tests of the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) which are recommended for the assessment of dementia (Rapid Visual Information Processing [RVP], Paired Associates Learning [PAL], Spatial Working Memory [SWM], and Reaction Time [RTI]), and to provide norms for Portuguese older persons without neuropsychiatric diagnoses who are living in retirement homes. METHOD: The normative sample included 128 adults aged 69-96 years who had no neuropsychiatric diagnosis and who had lived in retirement homes for 3-232 months. The CANTAB was administered, at the latest, one week after a screening session that comprised an interview and the administration of pencil-and-paper tests. RESULTS: The simultaneous multiple linear regression models were significant (p < .05) for all tests except the RTI five-choice movement time measure. The total variance explained by the socio-demographic variables was smaller for the CANTAB measures (4-14%) than for the pencil-and-paper tests (10-33%). Significant effects involving age or gender were observed for RVP, PAL, and SWM. A marginally significant computer experience effect was found for the RTI simple movement time measure. We additionally observed significant effects of education, age, gender, and computer experience on several pencil-and-paper tests. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that different socio-demographic variables influence distinct tests and measures of the same test, and that the associations between computer experience and several pencil-and-paper tests may be mediated by possible cognitive skills developed through computer use.

Test-retest reliability analysis of the Cambridge Neuropsychological Automated Tests for the assessment of dementia in older people living in retirement homes.

The validity of the Cambridge Neuropsychological Automated Tests has been widely studied, but their reliability has not. This study aimed to estimate the test-retest reliability of these tests in a sample of 34 older adults, aged 69 to 90 years old, without neuropsychiatric diagnoses and living in retirement homes in the district of Lisbon, Portugal. The battery was administered twice, with a 4-week interval between sessions. The Paired Associates Learning (PAL), Spatial Working Memory (SWM), Rapid Visual Information Processing, and Reaction Time tests revealed measures with high-to-adequate test-retest correlations (.71-.89), although several PAL and SWM measures showed susceptibility to practice effects. Two estimated standardized regression-based methods were found to be more efficient at correcting for practice effects than a method of fixed correction. We also found weak test-retest correlations (.56-.68) for several measures. These results suggest that some, but not all, measures are suitable for cognitive assessment and monitoring in this population.

A Consistência das Memórias da Infância / The Consistency of Childhood Memories

Resumo A coleta de relatos retrospetivos constitui um procedimento frequente em psicologia. Neste estudo, analisou-se, em uma amostra de adultos jovens não institucionalizados, a consistência desses relatos sobre diversas experiências da infância (vitimação, medos, dificuldades de aprendizagem), confrontando-os com os relatos atuais dos seus pais e/ou professores. Os resultados mostraram uma relação significativa entre os relatos retrospetivos dos próprios participantes e as informações atuais fornecidas pelas outras fontes, exceto para os medos na infância. A magnitude dessa relação variou entre pequena e média. Com base nesses resultados, sugere-se que, nos estudos que recorram a relatos retrospetivos e atuais, indiquem-se medidas de relação entre relatos, bem como a sua magnitude, de modo a melhor se avaliar a qualidade das inferências baseadas nesses relatos.

Abstract Retrospective self-reports are a common procedure in psychology. The aim of the present study was to analyze, in a large sample of not institutionalized young adults, the consistency of their reports on several childhood experiences (victimization, fears, learning difficulties), by contrasting them with concurrent reports provided by their parents and/or teachers. Results showed a significant relationship between participants` retrospective self-reports and concurrent information provided by other sources, with the exception of childhood fears. The size of that relationship varied between poor and average. Accordingly, it is recommended that studies using retrospective self-reports provide a measure of the relationship between reports, as well as a size measure, so that the quality of inferences based on these reports could be more easily evaluated.

Evaluating the subject-performed task effect in healthy older adults: relationship with neuropsychological tests.

BACKGROUND: An enhancement in recall of simple instructions is found when actions are performed in comparison to when they are verbally presented - the subject-performed task (SPT) effect. This enhancement has also been found with older adults. However, the reason why older adults, known to present a deficit in episodic memory, have a better performance for this type of information remains unclear. In this article, we explored this effect by comparing the performance on the SPT task with the performance on other tasks, in order to understand the underlying mechanisms that may explain this effect. OBJECTIVE: We hypothesized that both young and older adult groups should show higher recall in SPT compared with the verbal learning condition, and that the differences between age groups should be lower in the SPT condition. We aimed to explore the correlations between these tasks and known neuropsychological tests, and we also measured source memory for the encoding condition. DESIGN: A mixed design was used with 30 healthy older adults, comparing their performance with 30 healthy younger adults. Each participant was asked to perform 16 simple instructions (SPT condition) and to only read the other 16 instructions (Verbal condition - VT). The test phase included a free recall task. Participants were also tested with a set of neuropsychological measures (speed of processing, working memory and verbal episodic memory). RESULTS: The SPT effect was found for both age groups; but even for SPT materials, group differences in recall persisted. Source memory was found to be preserved for the two groups. Simple correlations suggested differences in correlates of SPT performance between the two groups. However, when controlling for age, the SPT and VT tasks correlate with each other, and a measure of episodic memory correlated moderately with both SPT and VT performance. CONCLUSIONS: A strong effect of SPT was observed for all but one, which still displayed the expected aging deficit. The correlations and source memory data suggest that the SPT and VT are possibly related in respect to their underlying processes, and SPT, instead of being an isolated process, is in connection with both the episodic memory and executive function processes. Under these circumstances, the SPT seems to contribute to an enhancement of the episodic memory trace, presumably from the multimodality it provides, without involving a separated set of cognitive mechanisms. Future research using more pure measures of other cognitive processes that could be related to SPT is necessary.

The Portuguese version of Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-Revised (ACE-R) in the diagnosis of subcortical vascular dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

The aim of this study was to investigate the accuracy of the Portuguese version of Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-Revised (ACE-R) in detecting and differentiating early stage subcortical vascular dementia (SVD) from early stage Alzheimer's disease (AD). Ninety-two subjects (18 SVD patients, 36 AD patients, and 38 healthy controls) were assessed using the ACE-R. Between-group's differences were evaluated using the Quade's rank analysis of covariance. The diagnostic accuracy and discriminatory ability of the ACE-R were examined via receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. The ACE-R was able to successfully discriminate between patients and healthy subjects. The mean ACE-R total scores differed between SVD and AD patients; there were also significant differences in attention and orientation and in memory measures between the groups. An optimal cut-off of 72/73 was found for the detection of AD (sensitivity: 97%; specificity: 92%) and SVD (sensitivity: 100%; specificity: 92%).

No effect of stress on false recognition / Ausencia de efecto del estrés sobre el reconocimiento falso

Background: The present study aimed to analyze the effect of acute stress on false recognition in the Deese/Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm. In this paradigm, lists of words associated with a non-presented critical lure are studied and, in a subsequent memory test, critical lures are often falsely remembered. Method: In two experiments, participants were randomly assigned to either the stress group (Trier Social Stress Test) or the nostress control group. Because we sought to control the level-of-processing at encoding, in Experiment 1, participants created a visual mental image for each presented word (deep encoding). In Experiment 2, participants performed a shallow encoding (to respond whether each word contained the letter “o”). Results: The results indicated that, in both experiments, as predicted, heart rate and STAI-S scores increased only in the stress group. However, false recognition did not differ across stress and nostress groups. Conclusions: Results suggest that, although psychosocial stress was successfully induced, it does not enhance the vulnerability of individuals with acute stress to DRM false recognition, regardless of the level of processing (AU)

Antecedentes: en este estudio se analiza el efecto del estrés agudo sobre el reconocimiento falso empleando el paradigma Deese/Roediger-McDermott (DRM). En este paradigma se estudian listas de palabras asociadas a una palabra crítica no presentada, palabras a menudo falsamente recordadas en una posterior prueba de memoria. Método: se realizaron dos experimentos en los que los participantes se distribuían aleatoriamente en dos grupos: grupo estrés (Trier Social Stress Test) y grupo control no-estrés. En los dos experimentos se controló el nivel de procesamiento empleado durante la codificación. En el Experimento 1, los participantes debían crear una imagen visual mental para cada palabra estudiada (codificación profunda). En el Experimento 2, los participantes realizaban una codificación superficial (responder si cada palabra contenía la letra “o”). Resultados: los resultados indicaban que, en ambos experimentos, como se predecía, la tasa cardiaca y las puntuaciones en el STAI-E aumentaban solo en el grupo estrés. En cambio, el reconocimiento falso no difería entre los grupos. Conclusiones: los datos sugieren que, aunque se consiguió inducir adecuadamente estrés psicosocial, no se incrementó la vulnerabilidad de los individuos sometidos a estrés al reconocimiento falso, con independencia del nivel de procesamiento que se hubiera empleado (AU)

No effect of stress on false recognition.

BACKGROUND: The present study aimed to analyze the effect of acute stress on false recognition in the Deese/Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm. In this paradigm, lists of words associated with a non-presented critical lure are studied and, in a subsequent memory test, critical lures are often falsely remembered. METHOD: In two experiments, participants were randomly assigned to either the stress group (Trier Social Stress Test) or the no-stress control group. Because we sought to control the level-of-processing at encoding, in Experiment 1, participants created a visual mental image for each presented word (deep encoding). In Experiment 2, participants performed a shallow encoding (to respond whether each word contained the letter "o"). RESULTS: The results indicated that, in both experiments, as predicted, heart rate and STAI-S scores increased only in the stress group. However, false recognition did not differ across stress and no-stress groups. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that, although psychosocial stress was successfully induced, it does not enhance the vulnerability of individuals with acute stress to DRM false recognition, regardless of the level of processing.

Reconocimiento falso y ansiedad estado/rasgo / False recognition and state/trait anxiety

En este estudio se analiza la relación entre la ansiedad estado/rasgo (STAI, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory) y el reconocimiento falso empleando el paradigma Deese/Roediger-McDermott (DRM). En este paradigma, los participantes estudian palabras altamente asociadas a una palabra crítica no presentada; posteriormente, en el test de reconocimiento la palabra crítica se reconoce falsamente. Se presentaron 10 listas de palabras a 161 participantes para estudiar las ilusiones asociativas de memoria. Los resultados mostraron que no existía correlación entre la ansiedad, ni en su modalidad estado ni en su modalidad rasgo, y el reconocimiento falso. Solamente encontramos la esperada correlación positiva entre ansiedad estado y ansiedad rasgo. Posteriormente, los datos obtenidos se analizaron teniendo en cuenta las puntuaciones extremas en ansiedad según el STAI. Así, se comparó el reconocimiento falso de los individuos con alta y baja ansiedad estado, por un lado, y con alta y baja ansiedad rasgo, por otro. De nuevo, los análisis indicaron que no existían diferencia en el nivel de reconocimiento falso ni entre los grupos de alta/baja ansiedad estado ni entre los grupos de alta/baja ansiedad rasgo. En conclusión, estos resultados sugieren que los individuos con alta ansiedad no son más susceptibles a producir ilusiones asociativas de memoria que los individuos con baja ansiedad(AU)

The present study analyzed the relationship between state/trait anxiety and false recognition using the Deese/Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm. In this paradigm, participants study words that are highly associated with a non-presented critical lure; subsequently, when a memory test is administered, the critical lure is consistently recognized falsely. Ten 10-word DRM lists were presented to 161 participants to study associative memory illusions. The results showed no correlation between anxiety (either state or trait assessed using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory; STAI) and false recognition. Only the expected positive correlation between state anxiety and trait anxiety was found. Thereafter, the results were analyzed according to extreme scores on the STAI. So, high state anxiety individuals were compared with low state anxiety individuals in false recognition, and the same was done with individuals with high versus low trait anxiety. Again, these detailed analyses revealed no differences on the level of false recognition, neither between high/low state anxiety nor between high/low trait anxiety. In conclusion, these findings suggest that individuals with high state anxiety and individuals with high trait anxiety were no more prone to produce associative illusions of memory than individuals with low state and trait anxiet(AU)

[Adaptation to Spanish of the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire-Revised Version (VVIQRV)]. / Adaptación al castellano del Cuestionario de Viveza de Imágenes Visuales-versión revisada (VVIQRV).

Adaptation to Spanish of the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire-Revised Version (VVIQRV). The main goal of this paper was to adapt to Spanish language and to examine the psychometric properties of the "Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire-Revised Version" (VVIQRV), an instrument that can be used to assess vividness of visual imagery. The adaptation was carried out starting from the Spanish version of VVIQ and taking into consideration improvement proposals suggested in other studies. The questionnaire was then administered to a sample of 414 Spanish university students and the psychometric characteristics were estimated on the basis of the classic theory and the Rasch rating scale model (RSM). The results were convergent with previous studies and indicated that the Spanish VVIQRV has good internal consistency and can be characterized by a single main factor structure. Also, the RSM analysis showed that the increment in the number of response categories, a proposal to improve the instrument, was not appropriate.