Aging and the statistical learning of grammatical form classes.

Schwab, Jessica F.; Schuler, Kathryn D.; Stillman, Chelsea M.; Newport, Elissa L.; Howard, James H.; Howard, Darlene V.

doi:10.1037/pag0000110

Cited by 49 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 51 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Increased cognitive control narrows attention and suppress distractions to allow for speeded responding [41]. Alternatively, cognitive control weakening affords speeded responding through anticipatory response planning based on development of a sequential representation although attention is still tonically active [42]. Whether sequential behaviour occurs under states of increased or decreased cognitive control can be determined by a preceding, unrelated goal-oriented task since cognitive control states are thought to be inert when shifting between different tasks [40,43,44].…”

Section: Cognitive Control In Sequential Behaviourmentioning

confidence: 99%

Focused-attention meditation increases cognitive control during motor sequence performance: Evidence from the N2 cortical evoked potential

Chan

Alday

Zou-Williams

et al. 2020

Behavioural Brain Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Previous work found that single-session focused attention meditation (FAM) enhanced motor sequence learning through increased cognitive control as a mechanistic action, although electrophysiological correlates of sequence learning performance following FAM were not investigated. We measured the persistent frontal N2 event-related potential (ERP) that is closely related to cognitive control processes and its ability to predict behavioural measures. Twenty-nine participants were randomised to one of three conditions reflecting the level of FAM experienced prior to a serial reaction time task (SRTT): 21 sessions of FAM (FAM21, N= 12), a single FAM session (FAM1, N= 9) or no preceding FAM control (Control, N= 8). Continuous 64-channel EEG were recorded during SRTT and N2 amplitudes for correct trials were extracted. Component amplitude, regions of interests, and behavioural outcomes were compared using mixed effects regression models between groups. FAM21 exhibited faster reaction time performances in majority of the learning blocks compared to FAM1 and Control. FAM21 also demonstrated a significantly more pronounced N2 over majority of anterior and central regions of interests during SRTT compared to the other groups. When N2 amplitudes were modelled against general learning performance, FAM21 showed the greatest rate of amplitude decline over anterior and central regions. The combined results suggest that FAM training provided greater cognitive control enhancement for improved sequence learning performance compared to the other groups. Importantly, FAM training facilitates dynamic modulation of cognitive control: lower levels of general learning performance was supported by greater levels of activation, whilst higher levels of general learning required less activation.

show abstract

Section: Cognitive Control In Sequential Behaviourmentioning

confidence: 99%

Focused-attention meditation increases cognitive control during motor sequence performance: Evidence from the N2 cortical evoked potential

Chan

Alday

Zou-Williams

et al. 2020

Behavioural Brain Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Janacsek, Fiser, and Nemeth [2012] hypothesize that decreased implicit statistical learning abilities (input-driven learning in CALLA), in addition to increasingly solidified internal cognitive models (knowledge-driven learning in CALLA), constitute a significant factor contributing to decreased behavioral performance in older adults. However, aging adults are able to engage in statistical learning [e.g., Campbell et al, 2012], though aspects may be qualitatively different from infants and children [Schwab et al, 2016].…”

Section: The Steep Decline Of the Six Factors During Older Adulthoodmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Novel Theoretical Life Course Framework for Triggering Cognitive Development across the Lifespan

Rebok

Lin

2016

Human Development

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Although intellectual engagement is a significant factor associated with adult cognitive health, it is unclear what it includes, why and how it declines across the lifespan, and importantly, whether its decline has a causal role in cognitive aging. This integrative review introduces a novel theoretical life course framework that synthesizes research on early childhood experiences and cognitive aging to address the following three points. First, we specify six critical factors of intellectual engagement for long-term, broad cognitive development: (a) open-minded input-driven learning, (b) individualized scaffolding, (c) growth mindset, (d) forgiving environment, (e) serious commitment to learning, and (f) learning multiple skills simultaneously. We show that these factors increase basic cognitive abilities (e.g., working memory, inhibition) and promote far transfer. Second, we trace the decline of the six factors from infancy to aging adulthood (broad learning to specialization). Finally, we propose that these six factors can be applied to expand cognitive functioning in aging adults beyond currently known limits.

show abstract

“…Finally, there is some evidence that another form of SL, namely artificial grammar learning, shows some age-related decline (e.g., Lukács & Kemény, 2015 ; Midford & Kirsner, 2005 ; Schwab at al. 2016 ).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Statistical learning for speech segmentation: Age-related changes and underlying mechanisms.

Palmer¹,

Hutson²,

Mattys³

2018

Psychology and Aging

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Statistical learning (SL) is a powerful learning mechanism that supports word segmentation and language acquisition in infants and young adults. However, little is known about how this ability changes over the life span and interacts with age-related cognitive decline. The aims of this study were to: (a) examine the effect of aging on speech segmentation by SL, and (b) explore core mechanisms underlying SL. Across four testing sessions, young, middle-aged, and older adults were exposed to continuous speech streams at two different speech rates, both with and without cognitive load. Learning was assessed using a two-alterative forced-choice task in which words from the stream were pitted against either part-words, which occurred across word boundaries in the stream, or nonwords, which never appeared in the stream. Participants also completed a battery of cognitive tests assessing working memory and executive functions. The results showed that speech segmentation by SL was remarkably resilient to aging, although age effects were visible in the more challenging conditions, namely, when words had to be discriminated from part-words, which required the formation of detailed phonological representations, and when SL was performed under cognitive load. Moreover, an analysis of the cognitive test data indicated that performance against part-words was predicted mostly by memory updating, whereas performance against nonwords was predicted mostly by working memory storage capacity. Taken together, the data show that SL relies on a combination of implicit and explicit skills, and that age effects on SL are likely to be linked to an age-related selective decline in memory updating.

show abstract

Aging and the statistical learning of grammatical form classes.

Cited by 49 publications

References 51 publications

Focused-attention meditation increases cognitive control during motor sequence performance: Evidence from the N2 cortical evoked potential

Focused-attention meditation increases cognitive control during motor sequence performance: Evidence from the N2 cortical evoked potential

A Novel Theoretical Life Course Framework for Triggering Cognitive Development across the Lifespan

Statistical learning for speech segmentation: Age-related changes and underlying mechanisms.

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About