1
|
Hirnstein M, Stuebs J, Moè A, Hausmann M. Sex/Gender Differences in Verbal Fluency and Verbal-Episodic Memory: A Meta-Analysis. PERSPECTIVES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2023; 18:67-90. [PMID: 35867343 PMCID: PMC9896545 DOI: 10.1177/17456916221082116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Women are thought to fare better in verbal abilities, especially in verbal-fluency and verbal-memory tasks. However, the last meta-analysis on sex/gender differences in verbal fluency dates from 1988. Although verbal memory has only recently been investigated meta-analytically, a comprehensive meta-analysis is lacking that focuses on verbal memory as it is typically assessed, for example, in neuropsychological settings. On the basis of 496 effect sizes and 355,173 participants, in the current meta-analysis, we found that women/girls outperformed men/boys in phonemic fluency (ds = 0.12-0.13) but not in semantic fluency (ds = 0.01-0.02), for which the sex/gender difference appeared to be category-dependent. Women/girls also outperformed men/boys in recall (d = 0.28) and recognition (ds = 0.12-0.17). Although effect sizes are small, the female advantage was relatively stable over the past 50 years and across lifetime. Published articles reported stronger female advantages than unpublished studies, and first authors reported better performance for members of their own sex/gender. We conclude that a small female advantage in phonemic fluency, recall, and recognition exists and is partly subject to publication bias. Considerable variance suggests further contributing factors, such as participants' language and country/region.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Marco Hirnstein
- Department of Biological and Medical
Psychology, University of Bergen
| | - Josephine Stuebs
- Department of Biological and Medical
Psychology, University of Bergen
- Department of Neuropsychology and
Psychopharmacology, Maastricht University
- Institute of Clinical Medicine,
University of Oslo
| | - Angelica Moè
- Department of General Psychology,
University of Padua
| | | |
Collapse
|
2
|
Whyte AR, Schafer G, Williams CM. Cognitive effects following acute wild blueberry supplementation in 7- to 10-year-old children. Eur J Nutr 2015; 55:2151-62. [PMID: 26437830 DOI: 10.1007/s00394-015-1029-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2015] [Accepted: 08/25/2015] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Previously, anthocyanin-rich blueberry treatments have shown positive effects on cognition in both animals and human adults. However, little research has considered whether these benefits transfer to children. Here we describe an acute time-course and dose-response investigation considering whether these cognitive benefits extend to children. METHODS Using a double-blind cross-over design, on three occasions children (n = 21; 7-10 years) consumed placebo (vehicle) or blueberry drinks containing 15 or 30 g freeze-dried wild blueberry (WBB) powder. A cognitive battery including tests of verbal memory, word recognition, response interference, response inhibition and levels of processing was performed at baseline, and 1.15, 3 and 6 h following treatment. RESULTS Significant WBB-related improvements included final immediate recall at 1.15 h, delayed word recognition sustained over each period, and accuracy on cognitively demanding incongruent trials in the interference task at 3 h. Importantly, across all measures, cognitive performance improved, consistent with a dose-response model, with the best performance following 30 g WBB and the worst following vehicle. CONCLUSION Findings demonstrate WBB-related cognitive improvements in 7- to 10-year-old children. These effects would seem to be particularly sensitive to the cognitive demand of task.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Adrian R Whyte
- School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Earley Gate, Whiteknights, Reading, RG6 6AL, UK
| | - Graham Schafer
- School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Earley Gate, Whiteknights, Reading, RG6 6AL, UK
| | - Claire M Williams
- School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Earley Gate, Whiteknights, Reading, RG6 6AL, UK.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Silberg T, Ahonniska-Assa J, Levav M, Eliyahu R, Peleg-Pilowsky T, Brezner A, Vakil E. The effect of age-at-testing on verbal memory among children following severe traumatic brain injury. Child Neuropsychol 2015; 22:600-17. [DOI: 10.1080/09297049.2015.1028348] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
|
4
|
Whyte AR, Williams CM. Effects of a single dose of a flavonoid-rich blueberry drink on memory in 8 to 10 y old children. Nutrition 2014; 31:531-4. [PMID: 25701345 DOI: 10.1016/j.nut.2014.09.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2014] [Revised: 08/18/2014] [Accepted: 09/23/2014] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Recent evidence from animals and adult humans has demonstrated potential benefits to cognition from flavonoid supplementation. The aim of this study was to investigate whether these cognitive benefits extended to a sample of school-aged children. METHOD Using a crossover design, with a washout of at least 7 d between drinks, 14 children ages 8 to 10 y consumed either a flavonoid-rich blueberry drink or a matched vehicle. Two h after consumption, the children completed a battery of five cognitive tests comprising the Go-NoGo, Stroop, Rey's Auditory Verbal Learning Task, Object Location Task, and a Visual N-back. RESULTS In comparison to the vehicle, the blueberry drink produced significant improvements in the delayed recall of a previously learned list of words, showing for the first time a cognitive benefit for acute flavonoid intervention in children. However, performance on a measure of proactive interference indicated that the blueberry intervention led to a greater negative impact of previously memorized words on the encoding of a set of new words. There was no benefit of our blueberry intervention for measures of attention, response inhibition, or visuospatial memory. CONCLUSIONS Although findings are mixed, the improvements in delayed recall found in this pilot study suggest that, following acute flavonoid-rich blueberry interventions, school-aged children encode memory items more effectively.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Adrian R Whyte
- School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Earley Gate, Whiteknights, Reading, United Kingdom
| | - Claire M Williams
- School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Earley Gate, Whiteknights, Reading, United Kingdom.
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Bowers AR, Anastasio RJ, Sheldon SS, O'Connor MG, Hollis AM, Howe PD, Horowitz TS. Can we improve clinical prediction of at-risk older drivers? ACCIDENT; ANALYSIS AND PREVENTION 2013; 59:537-547. [PMID: 23954688 PMCID: PMC3769510 DOI: 10.1016/j.aap.2013.06.037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2012] [Revised: 06/28/2013] [Accepted: 06/30/2013] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To conduct a pilot study to evaluate the predictive value of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment test (MoCA) and a brief test of multiple object tracking (MOT) relative to other tests of cognition and attention in identifying at-risk older drivers, and to determine which combination of tests provided the best overall prediction. METHODS Forty-seven currently licensed drivers (58-95 years), primarily from a clinical driving evaluation program, participated. Their performance was measured on: (1) a screening test battery, comprising MoCA, MOT, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Trail-Making Test, visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, and Useful Field of View (UFOV) and (2) a standardized road test. RESULTS Eighteen participants were rated at-risk on the road test. UFOV subtest 2 was the best single predictor with an area under the curve (AUC) of .84. Neither MoCA nor MOT was a better predictor of the at-risk outcome than either MMSE or UFOV, respectively. The best four-test combination (MMSE, UFOV subtest 2, visual acuity and contrast sensitivity) was able to identify at-risk drivers with 95% specificity and 80% sensitivity (.91 AUC). CONCLUSIONS Although the best four-test combination was much better than a single test in identifying at-risk drivers, there is still much work to do in this field to establish test batteries that have both high sensitivity and specificity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alex R Bowers
- Schepens Eye Research Institute, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
6
|
Vakil E, Blachstein H, Wertman-Elad R, Greenstein Y. Verbal learning and memory as measured by the Rey-Auditory Verbal Learning Test: ADHD with and without learning disabilities. Child Neuropsychol 2012; 18:449-66. [DOI: 10.1080/09297049.2011.613816] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
|
7
|
Memory performance and normalized regional brain volumes in patients with pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis. J Int Neuropsychol Soc 2012; 18:471-80. [PMID: 22321690 DOI: 10.1017/s1355617711001913] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Studies in adults with multiple sclerosis (MS) have associated regional brain abnormalities with memory impairment. While memory problems in children with MS are often reported, little is known about the neural correlates that may contribute to these difficulties. We measured verbal and nonverbal memory using the Test of Memory and Learning (TOMAL-2) in 32 children and adolescents with MS and 26 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Memory performance was correlated with volumetric measures of the whole brain, hippocampus, amygdala, and thalamus. Brain volumes were normalized for age and sex using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data from the National Institutes of Health MRI Study of Normal Brain development. With the exception of story recall, performance on memory tests was similar to that of the control group. Relative to controls, patient with MS showed reduced volume in the whole brain (p < .001), amygdala (p < .005), and thalamus (p < .001), but not the hippocampus. In the patient group, word-list learning correlated with whole brain volume (r = .53) and hippocampal volume (r = .43), whereas visual recognition memory correlated with thalamic volume (r = .48). Findings are consistent with the well-established role of the hippocampus in learning and consolidation and also highlight the importance of diffuse brain pathology on memory function.
Collapse
|
8
|
Gur RC, Richard J, Calkins ME, Chiavacci R, Hansen JA, Bilker WB, Loughead J, Connolly JJ, Qiu H, Mentch FD, Abou-Sleiman PM, Hakonarson H, Gur RE. Age group and sex differences in performance on a computerized neurocognitive battery in children age 8-21. Neuropsychology 2012; 26:251-265. [PMID: 22251308 PMCID: PMC3295891 DOI: 10.1037/a0026712] [Citation(s) in RCA: 353] [Impact Index Per Article: 29.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Examine age group effects and sex differences by applying a comprehensive computerized battery of identical behavioral measures linked to brain systems in youths that were already genotyped. Such information is needed to incorporate behavioral data as neuropsychological "biomarkers" in large-scale genomic studies. METHOD We developed and applied a brief computerized neurocognitive battery that provides measures of performance accuracy and response time for executive-control, episodic memory, complex cognition, social cognition, and sensorimotor speed domains. We tested a population-based sample of 3,500 genotyped youths ages 8-21 years. RESULTS Substantial improvement with age occurred for both accuracy and speed, but the rates varied by domain. The most pronounced improvement was noted in executive control functions, specifically attention, and in motor speed, with some effect sizes exceeding 1.8 standard deviation units. The least pronounced age group effect was in memory, where only face memory showed a large effect size on improved accuracy. Sex differences had much smaller effect sizes but were evident, with females outperforming males on attention, word and face memory, reasoning speed, and all social cognition tests and males outperforming females in spatial processing and sensorimotor and motor speed. These sex differences in most domains were seen already at the youngest age groups, and age group × sex interactions indicated divergence at the oldest groups with females becoming faster but less accurate than males. CONCLUSIONS The results indicate that cognitive performance improves substantially in this age span, with large effect sizes that differ by domain. The more pronounced improvement for executive and reasoning domains than for memory suggests that memory capacities have reached their apex before age 8. Performance was sexually modulated and most sex differences were apparent by early adolescence.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ruben C. Gur
- Brain Behavior Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, USA
| | - Jan Richard
- Brain Behavior Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, USA
| | - Monica E. Calkins
- Brain Behavior Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, USA
| | - Rosetta Chiavacci
- Center for Applied Genomics, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, USA
| | - John A. Hansen
- Brain Behavior Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, USA
| | - Warren B. Bilker
- Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, USA
| | - James Loughead
- Brain Behavior Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, USA
| | - John J. Connolly
- Center for Applied Genomics, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, USA
| | - Haijun Qiu
- Center for Applied Genomics, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, USA
| | - Frank D. Mentch
- Center for Applied Genomics, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, USA
| | - Patrick M. Abou-Sleiman
- Center for Applied Genomics, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, USA
| | - Hakon Hakonarson
- Center for Applied Genomics, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, USA
| | - Raquel E. Gur
- Brain Behavior Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, USA
| |
Collapse
|