College of Behavioral & Social Sciences
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Item MULTIMODAL ANALYSIS OF NEURAL SIGNALS RELATED TO SOURCE MEMORY ENCODING IN YOUNG CHILDREN(2024) Lei, Yuqing; Riggins, Tracy; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The emergence of source memory is an important milestone during memory development. Decades of research has explored neural correlates of source memory using electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). However, connections between findings from the two approaches, particularly within children, remain unclear. This dissertation identified fMRI-informed cortical sources of two EEG signals during memory encoding, the P2 and the late slow wave (LSW), that predicted subsequent source memory performance in a sample of children aged 4 to 8 years. Both P2 and LSW were source localized to cortical areas of the medial temporal lobe (MTL), reflecting MTL’s crucial role in both early-stage information processing and late-stage integration of memory, which also validated LSW’s suspected role in memory updating. The P2 effect was localized to all six tested subregions of cortical MTL in both left and right hemispheres, whereas the LSW effect was only present in the parahippocampal cortex and entorhinal cortex. P2 was additionally localized to multiple areas in the frontoparietal network, a cortical network known as the “attention network”, highlighting interactions between memory encoding and other cognitive functions. These results reflect the importance of considering both spatial and temporal aspects of neural activity to decode memory mechanism, and demonstrated the potential of combining multimodal measures in children, paving the way for future developmental research.Item Early emotional caregiving environment and associations with memory performance and hippocampal volume in adolescents with prenatal drug exposure(2023) Kohn, Brooke Hannah; Riggins, Tracy; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Early adversities, including prenatal drug exposure (PDE) and a negative postnatal emotional caregiving environment, impact children’s long-term development. The protracted developmental course of memory and its underlying neural systems offer a valuable framework for understanding the longitudinal associations of pre- and postnatal factors on children with PDE. This study longitudinally examines memory and hippocampal development in 69 parent-child dyads with PDE histories to investigate how the early emotional caregiving environment affects children with PDE’s neural and cognitive systems. Measures of physical health, drug exposure, and the emotional caregiving environment were collected between 0-24 months. At age 14 years, adolescents (N=69, 52.17% Female) completed multiple measures of episodic memory. at ages 14 (n=27) and 18 (n=17) years, a subset of adolescents underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. Latent constructs of episodic memory and the caregiving environment were created using Confirmatory Factor Analysis. Multiple regressions revealed a negative emotional caregiving environment during infancy was associated with poor memory performance and smaller left hippocampal volumes at 14 years. Better memory performance at 14 years predicted larger right hippocampal volume at 18 years. At 18 years, the association between the emotional caregiving environment and hippocampal volume was moderated by sex, such that a negative emotional caregiving environment was associated with larger left hippocampal volumes in males but not females. Findings suggest that the postnatal caregiving environment may modulate the effects of PDE across development, influencing neurocognitive development.Item Is nap status related to memory, sleep physiology, and the hippocampus in early childhood?(2020) Allard, Tamara L; Riggins, Tracy; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Research suggests there may be links between developmental changes in sleep (e.g., transition out of a nap), memory, and brain (specifically, hippocampus). The purpose of this investigation was to explore differences in sleep physiology, visuospatial memory, and hippocampal volume based on nap status. Participants were 3 to 5-year-old children (n=51) who were habitual nappers (napping >5 days/week), semi-habitual nappers (3–4 days/week), or non-nappers (<2 days/week). Participants completed a memory task before and after a wake and nap session. Polysomnography (PSG) and hippocampal volumes were also assessed. Findings demonstrated that, regardless of nap status, children performed better on a memory task following a nap. PSG revealed that habitual nappers spent marginally more time in nREM2 sleep and less time in SWS compared to semi-habitual nappers. Finally, non-nappers demonstrated a larger hippocampus than the other groups. These findings support the suggestion that developmental differences in these domains are related during childhood.Item Exploring Differences in Hippocampal Structure between Habitual vs Non-habitual Nappers during Early Childhood(2020) Meredith, Lena; Riggins, TracyWhen we sleep, our memories are consolidated and become less vulnerable to interference, both during overnight sleep and during naps. Previous research in adults suggests this effect is at least partially due to a “transfer” of these memories from the hippocampus to the cortex. Although a similar process likely takes place in young children, there is little research investigating it. The existing literature suggests habitually napping children may need naps more than non-habitually napping children because their brain is less mature. This study aims to examine relations between habitual versus non-habitual nappers and brain development in early childhood. The focus was on the hippocampus, a structure that is critical for memory and shows protected development during early childhood. At the time of this report, 21 children provided useable data (Mage = 4.49 years, SD = 0.51, 9 female). Of these participants, 8 were habitual nappers and 13 were non-habitual nappers. Hippocampal volumes were extracted using a combination of manual and automated methods. Results revealed in the left hippocampal tail, habitual nappers had larger volumes compared to non-habitual nappers. Although these are preliminary results and do not survive correction for multiple comparisons, the findings support that variation in hippocampal development may relate to nap status in developing children. Future research will examine a larger sample size and investigate other brain regions to determine the specificity of these effects.Item Understanding and remembering pragmatic inferences(2018) Kowalski, Alix; Huang, Yi Ting; Hearing and Speech Sciences; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This dissertation examines the extent to which sentence interpretations are incrementally encoded in memory. While traditional models of sentence processing assume that comprehension results in a single interpretation, evidence from syntactic parsing indicates that initial misinterpretations are sometimes maintained in memory along with their revised counterparts (e.g., Christianson, Hollingworth, Halliwell & Ferreira, 2001). However, this evidence has largely come from experiments featuring sentences that are presented in isolation and words that are biased toward incorrect syntactic analyses. Because there is typically enough sentential context in natural speech to avoid the incorrect analysis (Roland, Elman, & Ferreira, 2006), it is unclear whether initial interpretations are incrementally encoded in memory when there is sufficient context. The scalar term “some” provides a test case where context is necessary to select between two interpretations, one based on semantics (some and possibly all) and one based on pragmatic inference (some but not all) (Horn, 1989). Although listeners strongly prefer the pragmatic interpretation (e.g., Van Tiel, Van Miltenburg, Zevakhina, & Geurts, 2016), prior research suggests that the semantic meaning is considered before the inference is adopted (Rips, 1975; Noveck & Posada, 2003; Bott & Noveck, 2004; Breheny, Katsos, & Williams, 2006; De Neys & Schaeken, 2007; Huang & Snedeker, 2009, 2011). I used a word-learning and recall task to show that there is evidence of the semantic meaning in the memory representation of sentences featuring “some,” even when the pragmatic interpretation is ultimately adopted. This raises two possibilities: first, the memory representation was of poor quality because both interpretations were available during encoding, or the semantic meaning was computed and encoded first and lingered even after the pragmatic interpretation was computed and encoded. Data from a conflict-adaptation experiment revealed a facilitating effect of cognitive control engagement. However, there was still a delay before the pragmatic inference was adopted. This suggests that only the semantic meaning is available initially and the system failed to override it in memory when the pragmatic interpretation was computed. Taken together, these findings demonstrate the incrementality of memory encoding during sentence processing.Item The benefits of testing: Individual differences based on student factors(2017) Robey, Alison Marie; Dougherty, Michael R; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The testing effect, the notion that retrieval practice compared to restudying information leads to greater and longer retention, is one of the most robust findings in cognitive science. However, not all learners experience a benefit from retrieval practice. Many manipulations that influence the benefits of the testing effect have been explored, however, there is still much to learn about potential individual differences in the benefits of retrieval practice over restudy. As the testing effect grows in popularity and increasing numbers of classrooms begin implementing retrieval practice, it is essential to understanding how students’ individual differences and cognitive abilities contribute to the effect. For my dissertation, I explore how students’ cognitive abilities, specifically, episodic memory, general fluid intelligence, and strategy use, relate to the benefit of retrieval practice. In Study 1, I developed a new measure to simultaneously capture two aspects of strategy use: variation in what strategies learners use and variation in how learners use strategies. In Study 2, I examine how these two types of strategy use, along with episodic memory and general fluid intelligence can be used to predict the magnitude of the testing effect. Converging evidence from multiple analyses suggests variation in how learners use strategies was the only individual difference to influence the benefit learners receive from retrieval practice. More specifically, learners who are less adaptive and flexible in their strategy use show a greater benefit than more skilled strategy users. These findings have implications both for improving existing theories of the mechanisms of the testing effect and for determining how to best incorporate retrieval practice into classroom settings.Item Social Emotional Memory and Negative Symptoms in Individuals with Schizophrenia(2015) Bradshaw, Kristen Renee; Blanchard, Jack J; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The current study investigated social and nonsocial emotional memory in schizophrenia, the relation of impairments in the recall of positive stimuli to increased negative symptoms, and the mediating role of defeatist performance beliefs. Twenty-three individuals with schizophrenia and twenty-four healthy controls completed clinical symptom interviews, social and nonsocial laboratory emotional memory tasks, and a measure of dysfunctional attitudes. Results indicated that on a social affective learning task, in comparison to controls, the schizophrenia participants were impaired in their ability to exhibit minimal affective learning of positive pairings. Defeatist performance beliefs did not mediate the relation between recall of positive stimuli and experiential negative symptoms. These findings suggest that it is primarily in the social domain that we see deficits in emotional memory in schizophrenia, and that this impairment in the ability to learn positive social associations may be linked to decreased motivation to engage in social, vocational, and recreational activities.Item THE EFFECTS OF VALENCE AND AROUSAL ON ITEM AND SOURCE MEMORY IN CHILDHOOD(2011) Graham, Meghan; Riggins, Tracy L.; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Emotion can be characterized in terms of valence and arousal. Both of these dimensions enhance memory in adults by specifically enhancing a form of memory called recollection. Recollection is required for memory of source or encoding context, and shows prolonged development throughout childhood. The specific effects of valence and arousal on memory, and specifically on recollection, have thus far not been studied developmentally. The current study examined how valence and arousal affect memory in 8-year-olds, using a source memory paradigm that allowed for the examination of emotion effects on recollection. Results showed that, after statistically controlling for effects of age, valence enhanced memory for items, but not source, and that there were gender differences in the effects of arousal on source memory, with girls showing better performance in the high-arousal condition and boys showing better performance in the low-arousal condition.Item CONTRIBUTIONS OF AGENCY VS. NON-AGENCY TO SEQUENTIAL MEMORY IN 3-YEAR OLDS(2010) Shuck, Lauren Haumesser; Woodward, Amanda L.; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Two studies explored the effect of agency on memory in 3-year-old children when learning a sequence in a picture-book format. Previous research has shown that with both adults and older children, the inclusion of agency in free verbal recall is a central theme. However, very young children are often thought to have poor memory for social events because of their verbal limitations. By using a form of deferred imitation, Study 1 explored social episodic memory in a non-verbal sequential reconstruction task. Children who saw an agent in the picture sequence reconstructed more steps than those that did not see an agent present in the picture-books. Study 2 expanded upon these results by investigating the extent to which agency is necessary in order to improve memory, and what properties of the Study 1 increased performance. In this study, participants who were presented with an agent in only the first and last picture of the sequence did not reconstruct more steps than those that did not see an agent present. Taken together, agency may increase memory for a sequence but only if ample amounts of agentive cues are present throughout.Item Monuments as a National Practice: The Dilemmas of Liberal Nationalism(2007-04-27) Shein, Avital; Terchek, Ronald; Tismaneanu, Vladimir; Government and Politics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)At first glance, the very idea of liberal nationalism appears to be an oxymoron. It is dedicated to universal liberal values but it maintains that a nation, a particularistic entity par excellence, is a justifiable, legitimate, and even beneficial entity. Liberal nationalism, in other words, tries to reconcile two seemingly irreconcilable values: national and liberal ones. However, if one thinks of liberal nationalism as a set of practices, it becomes clear that liberal nationalism is both possible and actual: it exists, and it is articulated in diverse spheres that touch our everyday lives as well as the foundations of liberal polities. In this study, I consider nationalism (and liberal nationalism in particular) to be a set of practices that continuously create and define the image of the nation, its boundaries, and the meaning of national identity. This dissertation focuses on one of these national practices: national monuments. I argue that as an example of a national practice in the built environment, they are appropriate grounds for exploring the intersection between space and nationalism and, more specifically, between space and liberal nationalism. At the heart of my discussion is the assumption that as a national practice, monuments must operate not only in a traditional (e.g., ethnic) national context, but also in a liberal national one. Therefore, I argue that within a liberal national context, monuments would construct an image of a liberal nation--a nation that melds together national and liberal values. To do so, I first examine how monuments construct an image of a nation; specifically, I focus on the politics of memory and death. This, in turn, leads to my discussion of liberal monuments. I explore the ways in which national monuments can be liberal, as well. Overall, the dissertation seeks to show that liberal monuments capture the dilemmas of liberal nationalism, and that they articulate these dilemmas in space.