Frontiers | Musical Instrument Practice Predicts White Matter Microstructure and Cognitive Abilities in Childhood | Psychology

Musical training has been associated with advantages in cognitive measures of IQ and verbal ability, as well as neural measures including white matter microstructural properties in the corpus callosum (CC) and the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF). We hypothesized that children who have musical training will have different microstructural properties in the SLF and CC. One hundred children aged 7.9–9.9 years (mean age 8.7) were surveyed for their musical activities, completed neuropsychological testing for general cognitive abilities, and underwent diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) as part of a larger study. Children who play a musical instrument for more than 0.5 h per week (n = 34) had higher scores on verbal ability and intellectual ability (standardized scores from the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Abilities), as well as higher axial diffusivity (AD) in the left SLF than those who did not play a musical instrument (n = 66). Furthermore, the intensity of musical practice, quantified as the number of hours of music practice per week, was correlated with axial diffusivity (AD) in the left SLF. Results are not explained by age, sex, socio-economic status, or physical fitness of the participants. The results suggest that the relationship between musical practice and intellectual ability is related to the maturation of white matter pathways in the auditory-motor system. The findings suggest that musical training may be a means of improving cognitive and brain health during development.

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01198/full

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Kevin McGrew, PhD

Educational Psychologist

Director, Institute for Applied Psychometrics

IAP

www.themindhub.com

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Factor analysis in psychological assessment research: Common pitfalls and recommendations. - PsycNET

Abstract

This article provides a summary and discussion of major challenges and pitfalls in factor analysis as observed in psychological assessment research, as well as our recommendations within each of these areas. More specifically, we discuss a need to be more careful about item distribution properties in light of their potential impact on model estimation as well as providing a very strong caution against item parceling in the evaluation of psychological test instruments. Moreover, we consider the important issue of estimation, with a particular emphasis on selecting the most appropriate estimator to match the scaling properties of test item indicators. Next, we turn our attention to the issues of model fit and comparison of alternative models with the strong recommendation to allow for theoretical guidance rather than being overly influenced by model fit indices. In addition, since most models in psychological assessment research involve multidimensional items that often do not map neatly onto a priori confirmatory models, we provide recommendations about model respecification. Finally, we end our article with a discussion of alternative forms of model specification that have become particularly popular recently: exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) and bifactor modeling. We discuss various important areas of consideration for the applied use of these model specifications, with a conclusion that, whereas ESEM models can offer a useful avenue for the evaluation of internal structure of test items, researchers should be very careful about using bifactor models for this purpose. Instead, we highlight other, more appropriate applications of such models. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved)

https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2019-28376-001

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Kevin McGrew, PhD

Educational Psychologist

Director, Institute for Applied Psychometrics

IAP

www.themindhub.com

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Brain network modularity predicts cognitive training-related gains in young adults - ScienceDirect

Abstract

The brain operates via networked activity in separable groups of regions called modules. The quantification of modularity compares the number of connections within and between modules, with high modularity indicating greater segregation, or dense connections within sub-networks and sparse connections between sub-networks. Previous work has demonstrated that baseline brain network modularity predicts executive function outcomes in older adults and patients with traumatic brain injury after cognitive and exercise interventions. In healthy young adults, however, the functional significance of brain modularity in predicting training-related cognitive improvements is not fully understood. Here, we quantified brain network modularity in young adults who underwent cognitive training with casual video games that engaged working memory and reasoning processes. Network modularity assessed at baseline was positively correlated with training-related improvements on untrained tasks. The relationship between baseline modularity and training gain was especially evident in initially lower performing individuals and was not present in a group of control participants that did not show training-related gains. These results suggest that a more modular brain network organization may allow for greater training responsiveness. On a broader scale, these findings suggest that, particularly in low-performing individuals, global network properties can capture aspects of brain function that are important in understanding individual differences in learning.

Keywords

Functional connectivity

Brain network modularity

Cognitive training

Working memory

Reasoning

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0028393218306249

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Kevin McGrew, PhD

Educational Psychologist

Director, Institute for Applied Psychometrics

IAP

www.themindhub.com

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Toward a New Frontier in Human Intelligence: The Person-Centered Approach

Toward a New Frontier in Human Intelligence: The Person-Centered Approach
https://scottbarrykaufman.com/toward-a-new-frontier-in-human-intelligence-the-person-centered-approach/

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Kevin McGrew, PhD

Educational Psychologist

Director, Institute for Applied Psychometrics

IAP

www.themindhub.com

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Direct Instruction: The Rodney Dangerfield of curriculum

Direct Instruction: The Rodney Dangerfield of curriculum
https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/commentary/direct-instruction-rodney-dangerfield-curriculum

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Pilot study opens new possibilities for AI to enhance cognitive performance - Neuroscience News

Pilot study opens new possibilities for AI to enhance cognitive performance - Neuroscience News
https://neurosciencenews.com/ai-cognitive-performance-14083/

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IQ rates are dropping in many developed countries and that doesn't bode well for humanity

https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/iq-rates-are-dropping-many-developed-countries-doesn-t-bode-ncna1008576

A longitudinal study of spatial skills and number sense development in elementary school children. - PsycNET

Citation

Carr, M., Horan, E., Alexeev, N., Barned, N., Wang, L., & Otumfuor, B. (2019). A longitudinal study of spatial skills and number sense development in elementary school children. Journal of Educational Psychology. Advance online publication. 

http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/edu0000363

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Abstract

Spatial skills have been consistently linked to mathematics achievement in older students and adults, but we know little about their relationship to mathematics achievement in elementary school. This study examined how spatial skills influenced the development of number sense, and subsequent mathematics competency, as students progressed from the 2nd to the 4th grade. Gender, verbal working memory (VWM), and socioeconomic status (SES) have also been found to predict number sense development and to be linked to spatial skills; as such, they were included as covariates in this study. Participants were 304 second graders who were assessed at 5 points between 2nd and 4th grade. Two growth mixture models (spatial skills as time-invariant and time-variant covariates) were tested to determine whether different developmental trajectories were needed to explain the development of number sense. Both models revealed the presence of 2 latent classes. The classes differed in their initial level and in their growth rate, with the higher performing class beginning the second grade at an advantage and increasing that advantage over time. SES, VWM, and spatial skills influenced latent class membership and subsequent mathematics competency. SES, spatial skills, and VWM, but not gender, predicted the intercept but differences were found in predictors of the slope of number sense. The impact of number sense changed over time and differed as a function of latent class having an earlier impact on the higher performing class. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved)

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https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2019-27245-001

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Kevin McGrew, PhD

Educational Psychologist 

Director

Institute for Applied Psychometrics

www.themindhum.com

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Affective Working Memory: An Integrative Psychological Construct - Joseph A. Mikels, Patricia A. Reuter-Lorenz, 2019

Abstract

When people ruminate about an unfortunate encounter with a loved one, savor a long-sought accomplishment, or hold in mind feelings from a marvelous or regretfully tragic moment, what mental processes orchestrate these psychological phenomena? Such experiences typify how affect interacts with working memory, which we posit can occur in three primary ways: emotional experiences can modulate working memory, working memory can modulate emotional experiences, and feelings can be the mental representations maintained by working memory. We propose that this last mode constitutes distinct neuropsychological processes that support the integration of particular cognitive and affective processes: affective working memory. Accumulating behavioral and neural evidence suggests that affective working memory processes maintain feelings and are partially separable from their cognitive working memory counterparts. Affective working memory may be important for elucidating the contribution of affect to decision making, preserved emotional processes in later life, and mechanisms of psychological dysfunction in clinical disorders. We review basic behavioral, neuroscience, and clinical research that provides evidence for affective working memory; consider its theoretical implications; and evaluate its functional role within the psychological architecture. In sum, the perspective we advocate is that affective working memory is a fundamental mechanism of mind.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1745691619837597

Creative ideation, broad retrieval ability, and processing speed: A confirmatory study of nested cognitive abilities - ScienceDirect

Highlights

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A set of nested basic cognitive abilities underlying creative ideation in divergent thinking was proposed.

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A nested cognitive abilities structural model had excellent fit to the data.

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Mental speed, broad retrieval ability, and divergent thinking were all measured within the verbal domain.

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The proposed model is more effective for prediction of real-life criteria as compared to a classic three-dimensional CFA model.

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The used modeling approach allows to disentangle relevant cognitive components in the multipart concept of divergent thinking.

Abstract

Divergent thinking (DT) ability (i.e., the ability to come up with creative ideas) is a complex cognitive construct that has been associated with several specific components of the Cattel-Horn-Carroll (CHC) model. In this study, we employed a nested latent variable approach to examine the specific role of mental speed (Gs) and general retrieval ability (Gr) in DT ability, which was assessed by DT tasks that instructed to be creative and were scored for creative quality. Specifically, Gs was assumed to facilitate both Gr and DT, and Gr was assumed to contribute to DT. Successive latent variable models with orthogonal factors were tested to reflect these nested cognitive basic abilities. The proposed model of nested factors fit the data well: Latent Gs accounted for variation in Gs, Gr, and DT creative quality scores, latent Gr predicted performance in Gr and DT scores beyond Gs, and latent DT explained variation in DT scores beyond Gs and Gr. In addition, we related the resulting orthogonal latent variables to the external criteria of school grades to illustrate the explanatory power of the modeling approach. This study provides evidence that divergent thinking performance relies on mental speed and retrieval ability, as well as cognitive abilities unique to divergent thinking. We discuss consequences for the understanding of divergent thinking ability in the context of the CHC model.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160289618301211

Different Types Of Meditation Change Different Areas Of The Brain, Study Finds

Different Types Of Meditation Change Different Areas Of The Brain, Study Finds
https://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2017/10/05/different-types-of-meditation-change-the-brain-in-different-ways-study-finds/

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Do Schools Promote Executive Functions? Differential Working Memory Growth Across School-Year and Summer Months - Jenna E. Finch, 2019

Abstract

Children's working memory (WM) skills, which support both academic and social success, continue to improve significantly through the school years. This study leverages the first nationally representative data set with direct assessments of elementary school students' WM skills to examine whether WM grows more during the school year or summer months and whether WM growth rates differ by household income. Results demonstrate that WM skills grow more during the school-year months compared to the summer months, suggesting that school environments provide children with unique opportunities to improve and practice their WM skills. Further, lower-income children have significantly faster WM growth rates in the first 2 years of school and the intervening summer, compared to their peers from higher-income families, leading to an overall narrowing in WM disparities by household income during the early school years. However, there was no evidence that schools equalize or exacerbate differences in WM skills between children from lower-income and higher-income households.

Do Schools Promote Executive Functions? Differential Working Memory Growth Across School-Year and Summer Months - Jenna E. Finch, 2019
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2332858419848443

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IQ and Society

IQ and Society
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/beautiful-minds/iq-and-society/

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Kevin McGrew, PhD

Educational Psychologist

Director, Institute for Applied Psychometrics

IAP

www.themindhub.com

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Differential Contribution of Cortical Thickness, Surface Area, and Gyrification to Fluid and Crystallized Intelligence | Cerebral Cortex | Oxford Academic

https://academic.oup.com/cercor/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/cercor/bhz082/5482386

WJ IV Visual-Auditory Learning correlation with Basic Reading Skills by age (4-18)

In a recent thread on the IAPCHC listserv, a question was asked about the correlation of the WJ IV Visual-Auditory Learning test with Basic Reading Skills.  I ran the correlation (by ages 4-18) in the WJ IV norm data.  The raw correlations, along with a smoothed fitted curve, is presented below.  It is obvious (and makes sense given the developmental nature of reading skill development) that the VAL test shows developmental trends, with the highest correlations occurring at the youngest ages (4-7/8).

Click on image to enlarge

Music and the Brain

Music and the Brain
http://jonlieffmd.com/blog/music-and-the-brain

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