Sex-dependent neurofunctional predictors of long-term maintenance of visual word learning

Neurosci Lett. 2008 Jan 10;430(2):87-91. doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2007.09.078. Epub 2007 Oct 17.

Abstract

A previous study has revealed sex-dependent neurofunctional predictors of visual word learning [C. Chen, G. Xue, Q. Dong, Z. Jin, T. Li, F. Xue, L. Zhao, Y. Guo, Sex determines the neurofunctional predictors of visual word learning, Neuropsychologia 45 (2007) 741-747]. The present study aimed to extend that study to investigate sex-dependent neurofunctional predictors of long-term maintenance. Twenty-three Chinese college students trained in the previous study were followed up twice: immediately (T1) and 6 months after the training (T2). At both T1 and T2, subjects were tested with the simultaneously presented same-different judgment task. Compared with the T1 performance, subjects (both males and females) showed a small but significant amount of forgetting (i.e., longer reaction times) at T2. Consistent with our hypothesis, males' performance at both T1 and T2 was predicted by the pre-training left-lateralized fusiform activation, whereas females' performance was predicted by symmetrical bilateral fusiform activation.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Analysis of Variance
  • Female
  • Functional Laterality
  • Humans
  • Judgment / physiology
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Male
  • Mental Recall / physiology*
  • Pattern Recognition, Visual / physiology*
  • Predictive Value of Tests
  • Reaction Time / physiology
  • Sex Characteristics*
  • Statistics as Topic
  • Time Factors
  • Verbal Learning / physiology*