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The Impact of Visual Complexity on Visual Short-Term Memory in Children with Specific Language Impairment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 March 2012

Anne-Lise Leclercq ,
Christelle Maillart ,
Sarah Pauquay  and
Steve Majerus
Anne-Lise Leclercq*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology: Cognition and Behavior, University of Liege, Liege, Belgium Fund of Scientific Research, Belgium
Christelle Maillart
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology: Cognition and Behavior, University of Liege, Liege, Belgium
Sarah Pauquay
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology: Cognition and Behavior, University of Liege, Liege, Belgium
Steve Majerus
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology: Cognition and Behavior, University of Liege, Liege, Belgium Fund of Scientific Research, Belgium
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to: Anne-Lise Leclercq, University of Liege, Department of Psychology: Behaviour and Cognition, 30 rue de l'Aunaie, B.38, 4000 Liege, Belgium. E-mail: al.leclercq@ulg.ac.be
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Abstract

Many studies have assessed visual short-term memory (VSTM) abilities in children with specific language impairment (SLI), with contrasting results: some studies observed preserved VSTM capacities, while others reported impaired VSTM. The present study explores the hypothesis that the complexity of the visual information to be encoded and stored might underlie these discrepancies. Four VSTM conditions were administered to a group of 15 children with SLI, as well as to two groups of typically developing children, matched for chronological age and for VSTM capacity for visually simple stimuli, respectively. The stimuli to be remembered varied in their visual similarity and in the number of their visual features. Across the four VSTM conditions, children with SLI showed significantly reduced performance relative to an age-matched control group, and they were more strongly affected by visual similarity and number of features when compared to a control group matched for VSTM capacity for visually simple stimuli. The present results support the hypothesis that stimulus complexity is a determining factor of the poor VSTM performances in children with SLI. (JINS, 2012, 18, 501–510)

Keywords

Working memoryLanguage delayLanguage development disordersMental processesForm perceptionPattern recognitionVisual
Type
Research Articles
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 18 , Issue 3 , May 2012 , pp. 501 - 510
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 2012

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