Hayes, Rebecca A. (2011) The Inner Workings of Working Memory:The Effects of Aging and Language Impairment on Tasks Examining Verbal Working Memory. Undergraduate Thesis, University of Pittsburgh.
Abstract
Wright et al. (2007) tested Persons with Aphasia (PWA) using three N-Back tasks featuring different types of linguistic information - phonological, semantic, and syntactic -- to determine whether Verbal Working Memory (VWM) is a single, united resource. The current study tested three PWA with the same tasks, as well as an additional vision-focused task, to expand on this previous research; two groups of cognitively normal individuals were tested using the same protocol to provide a baseline for comparison. Results from the unimpaired groups indicated no effects of aging, and significant differences in performance across all types of information except phonological and visual cues. Results from PWA were inconclusive. The N-Back task, however, was found to cause misleading patterns in accuracy scores for some tests; sensitivity scores are suggested as a better measure of performance on this testing paradigm.
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Details |
| Item Type: | University of Pittsburgh ETD |
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| ETD Committee: | | ETD Committee Type | Committee Member | Email |
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| Committee Chair | Dickey, Michael Walsh | mdickey@pitt.edu | | Committee Member | Harris Wright, Heather | Heather.Wright.1@asu.edu | | Committee Member | Warren, Tessa C | tessa@pitt.edu | | Committee Member | Hula, William D | wdh1@pitt.edu |
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| Title: | The Inner Workings of Working Memory:The Effects of Aging and Language Impairment on Tasks Examining Verbal Working Memory |
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| Status: | Unpublished |
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| Abstract: | Wright et al. (2007) tested Persons with Aphasia (PWA) using three N-Back tasks featuring different types of linguistic information - phonological, semantic, and syntactic -- to determine whether Verbal Working Memory (VWM) is a single, united resource. The current study tested three PWA with the same tasks, as well as an additional vision-focused task, to expand on this previous research; two groups of cognitively normal individuals were tested using the same protocol to provide a baseline for comparison. Results from the unimpaired groups indicated no effects of aging, and significant differences in performance across all types of information except phonological and visual cues. Results from PWA were inconclusive. The N-Back task, however, was found to cause misleading patterns in accuracy scores for some tests; sensitivity scores are suggested as a better measure of performance on this testing paradigm. |
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| Date: | 09 May 2011 |
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| Date Type: | Completion |
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| Defense Date: | 11 April 2011 |
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| Approval Date: | 09 May 2011 |
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| Submission Date: | 22 April 2011 |
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| Access Restriction: | No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
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| Patent pending: | No |
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| Institution: | University of Pittsburgh |
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| Thesis Type: | Undergraduate Thesis |
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| Refereed: | Yes |
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| Degree: | BPhil - Bachelor of Philosophy |
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| URN: | etd-04222011-092905 |
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| Uncontrolled Keywords: | aphasia; modularity; n back; persons with aphasia; verbal working memory; working memory |
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| Schools and Programs: | Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences > Communication Science and Disorders
University Honors College |
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| Date Deposited: | 10 Nov 2011 14:41 |
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| Last Modified: | 30 May 2012 13:11 |
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| Other ID: | http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-04222011-092905/, etd-04222011-092905 |
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