We examined the role of mental imagery skills on story comprehension in 150 fifth graders (10- to 12-year-olds), when reading a narrative book chapter with alternating words and pictures (i.e.,... Show more We examined the role of mental imagery skills on story comprehension in 150 fifth graders (10- to 12-year-olds), when reading a narrative book chapter with alternating words and pictures (i.e., text blocks were alternated by one- or two-page picture spreads). A parallel group design was used, in which we compared our experimental book version, in which pictures were used to replace parts of the corresponding text, to two control versions, i.e., a text-only version and a version with the full story text and all pictures. Analyses showed an interaction between mental imagery and book version: children with higher mental imagery skills outperformed children with lower mental imagery skills on story comprehension after reading the experimental narrative. This was not the case for both control conditions. This suggests that children’s mental imagery skills significantly contributed to the mental representation of the story that they created, by successfully integrating information from both words and pictures. The results emphasize the importance of mental imagery skills for explaining individual variability in reading development. Implications for educational practice are that we should find effective ways to instruct children how to "read" pictures and how to develop and use their mental imagery skills. This will probably contribute to their mental models and therefore their story comprehension. Show less
Mol, S.E.; Jolles, J.; Batenburg-Eddes, T. van; Bult, M.K. 2016
This study investigates whether children's verbal reports accurately represent their thinking processes when solving simple multiplication problems. A total of 106 third graders in Dutch mainstream... Show moreThis study investigates whether children's verbal reports accurately represent their thinking processes when solving simple multiplication problems. A total of 106 third graders in Dutch mainstream primary schools solved simple multiplication problems and retrospectively reported how they had done this. The degree to which verbal reports predict children's problem-solving performance in ways that correspond to known patterns of response latency, accuracy, errors and strategy choice was assessed. The analyses took account of relevant problem characteristics and child cognitive characteristics (i.e., math ability, verbal ability, phonological decoding speed) known to affect the relation between strategy use and multiplication performance. The verbal reports were largely consistent with known patterns, supporting the use of verbal reports in assessing multiplication strategy use. Moreover, verbal reports provide valuable information that can alert teachers and educational researchers to specific issues that students face when solving simple multiplication problems. Considerations for soliciting reliable verbal reports are suggested. Show less
Groot, R.H.M. de; Stein, A.D.; Jolles, J.; Boxtel, M.P.J. van; Blauw, G.J.; Bor, M. van de; Lumey, L.H. 2011
BACKGROUND: Despite the perceived importance of early life nutrition for mental development, few studies have related gestational undernutrition to later-life cognitive functioning. We investigated... Show moreBACKGROUND: Despite the perceived importance of early life nutrition for mental development, few studies have related gestational undernutrition to later-life cognitive functioning. We investigated the consequences of gestational exposure to the Dutch famine of 1944-45 for cognitive functioning at the age of 59 years. METHODS: We recruited men and women who were (i) born in birth clinics in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Leiden, between January 1945 and March 1946, whose mothers experienced famine during or immediately preceding pregnancy (n = 354); (ii) born in the same three institutions during 1943 and 1947, whose mothers did not experience famine during this pregnancy (n = 292); or (iii) same-sex siblings of those in the first two categories (n = 311). We assessed cognitive performance at the age of 59 years by means of a comprehensive test battery. RESULTS: All cognitive functioning test scores were within normal ranges for this age group. There were no differences in cognitive performance at the age of 59 years between individuals exposed to gestational undernutrition and those without this exposure. For the general cognitive index, a summary measure across six functional domains (mean 100, standard deviation (SD) 15 points), famine exposure was associated with a decrease of 0.57 points [95% confidence interval (95% CI) -2.41 to 1.28] points. Individuals exposed to famine in gestational weeks 1-10 had a cognitive functioning index 4.36 (95% CI 8.04-0.67) points lower than those without this exposure. Within-sibling-pair analyses gave consistent results. CONCLUSION: We found no overall association between maternal exposure to acute famine in pregnancy and cognitive performance of the offspring at the age of 59 years, but cannot rule out an association specific to early pregnancy exposure. Show less
Observational studies have given conflicting results about the effect of statins in preventing dementia and cognitive decline. Moreover, observational studies are subject to prescription bias,... Show moreObservational studies have given conflicting results about the effect of statins in preventing dementia and cognitive decline. Moreover, observational studies are subject to prescription bias, making it hard to draw definite conclusions from them. Randomized controlled trials are therefore the preferred study design to investigate the association between statins and cognition. Here we present detailed cognitive outcomes from the randomized placebo-controlled PROspective Study of Pravastatin in the Elderly at Risk (PROSPER). Cognitive function was assessed repeatedly in all 5,804 PROSPER participants at six different time points during the study using four neuropsychological performance tests. After a mean follow-up period of 42 months, no difference in cognitive decline at any of the cognitive domains was found in subjects treated with pravastatin compared to placebo (all p > 0.05). Pravastatin treatment in old age did not affect cognitive decline during a 3 year follow-up period. Employing statin therapy in the elderly in an attempt to prevent cognitive decline therefore seems to be futile. Show less
