Relations among fluid intelligence, sensory discrimination and working memory in middle to late childhood – A latent variable approach

Voelke, Annik E.; Troche, Stefan J.; Rammsayer, Thomas; Wagner, Felicitas L.; Roebers, Claudia M.

doi:10.1016/j.cogdev.2014.08.002

Cited by 5 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 57 publications

(100 reference statements)

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“…As expected, mapping all span tasks on one general WM factor revealed a significant relation among the resulting WM factor and Gf. This finding is in line with several other studies showing that WM explains a large proportion of variance in Gf [11,73]. Including age into the model as a predictor of Gf resulted in even more variance of Gf being explained.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

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Short-Term Storage and Executive Working Memory Processing Predict Fluid Intelligence in Primary School Children

2017

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Working memory (WM) includes short-term storage and executive processing of information. WM has been suggested to be one of the key concepts to explain individual differences in fluid intelligence (Gf). However, only a few studies have investigated the association of the two different aspects of WM in relation to Gf. Furthermore, even fewer studies have included children. Therefore, we first investigated the inter-relations between the WM aspects (verbal and visual-spatial storage, verbal and visual-spatial executive processing). Second, we explored the relation between a general WM factor and Gf. Third, we analyzed the relations between the different WM aspects and Gf while we controlled for common variance among all WM tasks. Nine-to 11-year olds had to solve simple and complex span tasks. Correlations and structural equation modeling techniques were used to examine these relations. Most inter-relations among simple and complex spans were found to be substantial and positive. The general WM factor was related to Gf. Furthermore, after controlling for common variance among all WM tasks, individual differences in verbal storage, visual-spatial storage and verbal processing still uniquely related to Gf. Visual-spatial processing, however, was not related to Gf. Results are discussed in terms of underlying mechanisms.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…WM has been investigated intensively in relation to intelligence, regarding its relation with fluid intelligence (Gf). Previous studies consistently report that higher WM performance is associated with higher intelligence [9,10,11,12]. The reasons for this substantial relation, however, are still being discussed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Short-Term Storage and Executive Working Memory Processing Predict Fluid Intelligence in Primary School Children

2017

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“…In particular, executive function partially mediated the association between sensory discrimination and the magnitude of the nocebo-like effect. This is supported by previous studies reporting positive associations between better executive function and sensory modalities such as smell [odor discrimination (44)], vision [visual discrimination (17,18)], hearing [pitch discrimination (18)], and touch [haptic weight discrimination (17)] on the one hand, and previous research showing that IQ predicted the strength of the placebo effect in patients with intellectual disabilities on the other hand (23). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study, to establish a relationship between thermal perception and executive function in youth, which may have important implications for our understanding of cognitive/learning processes involved in pain and nocebo effects.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

“…In more recent years, this association has been supported by findings that higher intelligence test-scores correlated with better visual, auditory, and tactile discrimination in school children (16)(17)(18). Importantly, a few studies have specifically looked at this association with tasks related to executive function (17,18). Although, Spearman himself (19) did not assume that sensory discrimination was more basic and therefore a cause of differences in intelligence (he assumed "some deeper fundamental cause" was underlying these two variables), to date significant correlations between sensory discrimination and intelligence have usually been seen as a support of the hypothesis that intelligence is based on various basic processes, such as processing speed and accuracy as well as sensory discrimination [e.g., (17,20)].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 78%

“…Spearman has suggested over a century ago that sensory discrimination is associated with higher cognitive functioning (15). In more recent years, this association has been supported by findings that higher intelligence test-scores correlated with better visual, auditory, and tactile discrimination in school children (16)(17)(18). Importantly, a few studies have specifically looked at this association with tasks related to executive function (17,18).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

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Conditioned Placebo- and Nocebo-Like Effects in Adolescents: The Role of Conscious Awareness, Sensory Discrimination, and Executive Function

et al. 2020

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Background: Conditioning is a key mechanism of placebo and nocebo effects in adults. Little is known about the underlying mechanisms of placebo and nocebo effects in youth and how they might be influenced by conscious awareness and cognitive abilities. In this study, the role of conditioning on thermal perception in youth was investigated. Methods: Differences in thermal ratings were assessed in response to consciously and non-consciously perceived cues that were conditioned to either low or high heat. Furthermore, we tested whether executive function mediates the effect of conditioning on thermal perception. Thirty-five high-school students (14-17 years) completed an executive function task and underwent a sensory perception paradigm. In a conditioning phase, two distinct neutral faces (conditioned cues) were coupled to either a low or a high temperature stimulus delivered to participants' forearms. In a testing phase, the conditioned cues, and novel faces (non-conditioned control cues), were paired with identical moderate thermal stimuli. In this testing phase, for half of the participants cues were presented consciously (supraliminally) and for the other half non-consciously (subliminally). Results: We found a significant main effect of cue type on thermal ratings (p = 0.003) in spite of identical heat being administered following all cues. Post-hoc analyses indicated that the nocebo-like effect (conditioned high cue compared to control) was significant (p = 0.027); the placebo-like effect (conditioned low cue compared to control) was non-significant. No difference between cues presented supra-vs. subliminally and no significant interaction effects were found. The association between sensory discrimination and the magnitude of the nocebo-like effect was mediated by executive function. Conclusions: To our best knowledge, this is the first study establishing a relationship between thermal perception, nocebo effects, and executive function in youth. Our results may have important implications for understanding cognitive/ learning processes involved in nocebo effects.

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Conditioning induced placebo-like and nocebo-like effects of thermal discomfort in adults but not in youth

Weik

Neuenschwander

Edgington

et al. 2023

British Journal of Pain

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Introduction Conditioning can be used to modulate the perception of pain, in the form of placebo and nocebo effects. Previous studies show inconsistent results as to whether adolescents show similar, weaker, or non-significant conditioned placebo and nocebo effects compared to effects found in adults. There are suggestions that such differences (if any) may dependent on the cues used in the thermal conditioning paradigms. Therefore, in this current study, we utilized novel, neutral 3D-shaped visual cues to implicitly induce conditioned placebo-like and nocebo-like effects in adolescents and adults. Methods During the conditioning paradigm, distinct cues (Fribbles) were paired with low and high temperatures in 24 adults and 20 adolescents (mean age = 25.5 years). In the testing phase, these conditioned cues as well as a neutral (unconditioned) cue were presented with moderate temperatures. Results Thermal discomfort of moderate temperatures was lower when presented with the conditioned low heat cue (placebo-like effect) and higher when thermal stimuli were presented with the high heat cue (nocebo-like effect) compared to the neutral cue. The effects were driven by adults, as neither the placebo-like nor the nocebo-like effect was significant in adolescents. The difference between adolescents and adults was not explained by differences in temperature or discomfort levels, as adults and adolescents had comparable calibrated temperatures and levels of discomfort during heat stimuli. Conclusion Our findings suggest that thermal perception in adolescents is less influenced by conditioning to an engaging novel visual cue, compared to adults. Our work may have implications for better understanding the scope and limitations of conditioning as a key mechanism of placebo and nocebo effects in youth.

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Relations among fluid intelligence, sensory discrimination and working memory in middle to late childhood – A latent variable approach

Cited by 5 publications

References 57 publications

Short-Term Storage and Executive Working Memory Processing Predict Fluid Intelligence in Primary School Children

Short-Term Storage and Executive Working Memory Processing Predict Fluid Intelligence in Primary School Children

Conditioned Placebo- and Nocebo-Like Effects in Adolescents: The Role of Conscious Awareness, Sensory Discrimination, and Executive Function

Conditioning induced placebo-like and nocebo-like effects of thermal discomfort in adults but not in youth

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