The Role of Experience in the Development of Spatial Working Memory

经验在空间工作记忆发展中的作用

• 批准号: 7129679
• 负责人: ANNE R SCHUTTE
• 金额: $ 7.15万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA LINCOLN
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2006-08-01 至 2008-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/7129679
• 关键词: behavior test; behavioral /social science research tag; bias; child psychology; clinical research; developmental neurobiology; discrimination learning; early experience; human subject; learning transfer; preschool child (1-5); short term memory; space perception

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Spatial working memory deficits occur in many developmental disabilities, including ADHD, Williams Syndrome, and autism. Despite the ubiquitous nature of spatial working memory deficits, very little is known about the normative development of spatial working memory. One thing researchers have identified, is a transition in spatial working memory early in development; however, researchers examining this transition have focused on what is changing, and have not explained what causes this change in spatial working memory. Before interventions can be developed for children with spatial memory deficits, it is necessary to determine what affects the development of spatial working memory. The goal of the research proposed here is to begin to examine how experience modulates spatial working memory development using a neural network model, the dynamic field theory, as a guide. The proposed research will use microgenetic methods to begin to examine the role of different types of experience in stimulating the development of spatial working memory. Specifically, children near the transition point will be given additional experience to determine if experience can "push" them through the transition earlier than children not receiving additional experience. Thus, the first aim of this research is to determine whether children given task-specific experience in a SWM task will transition earlier than a control group not receiving this experience. The second aim is to determine whether children given experience discriminating locations around the midline reference axis will transition earlier in the SWM task than a control group that does not receive any relevant experience. Experience that makes the reference axis more salient should cause children to transition. The third aim is to examine whether experience in one task generalizes to a second task. If the changes that result from additional experience are task general, they should generalize to a different SWM task. Determining how different types of experience affect the development of spatial working memory will provide us with a better understanding of the processes underlying spatial working memory. Understanding these processes will lead to a better understanding of spatial working memory deficits, and the development of interventions to alleviate these deficits.

描述（由申请人提供）：空间工作记忆缺陷发生在许多发育障碍中，包括多动症、威廉姆斯综合症和自闭症。尽管空间工作记忆缺陷普遍存在，但人们对空间工作记忆的规范发展知之甚少。研究人员已经发现，空间工作记忆在发育早期会发生转变。然而，研究这一转变的研究人员关注的是正在发生的变化，并没有解释是什么导致了空间工作记忆的这种变化。在针对空间记忆缺陷儿童制定干预措施之前，有必要确定影响空间工作记忆发展的因素。这里提出的研究的目标是开始研究经验如何使用神经网络模型（动态场理论）作为指导来调节空间工作记忆的发展。拟议的研究将使用微观遗传学方法开始研究不同类型的经验在刺激空间工作记忆发展中的作用。具体来说，接近过渡点的儿童将获得额外的经验，以确定经验是否可以比没有接受额外经验的儿童更早“推动”他们完成过渡。因此，这项研究的首要目的是确定在 SWM 任务中获得特定任务经验的儿童是否会比未接受这种经验的对照组更早进行过渡。第二个目标是确定给予中线参考轴周围辨别位置经验的儿童是否会比没有接受任何相关经验的对照组更早地在 SWM 任务中过渡。使参考轴更加突出的经验应该会导致孩子发生转变。第三个目标是检查一项任务的经验是否可以推广到第二项任务。如果额外经验导致的变化是通用任务，则它们应该推广到不同的 SWM 任务。确定不同类型的经历如何影响空间工作记忆的发展将使我们更好地理解空间工作记忆的基本过程。了解这些过程将有助于更好地理解空间工作记忆缺陷，并制定干预措施来缓解这些缺陷。