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Response modularity moderates how executive control aids fluent semantic memory retrieval.

Drahomír Michalko¹, Martin Marko^1,2, Igor Riečanský^1,3

¹Department of Behavioural Neuroscience, Centre of Experimental Medicine, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia.

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Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Semantic cognition research shows how semantic memory structure influences goal-directed retrieval. Working memory and interference control predict verbal fluency, depending on how semantic knowledge is organized.

Keywords:

Semantic verbal fluency interference control modularity semantic memory working memory

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Area of Science:

Cognitive Psychology
Neuroscience
Linguistics

Background:

Semantic cognition research explores semantic memory structure and goal-directed retrieval.
Semantic verbal fluency (SVF) tasks are crucial for assessing these processes but are often overlooked.
Understanding the interplay between semantic organization and retrieval strategies is essential for both basic and applied research.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the association between semantic memory structure and controlled cognitive processes in verbal fluency.
To examine how the modularity of semantic responses moderates the relationship between retrieval fluency and executive functions.
To determine the differential roles of working memory and interference control in semantic verbal fluency based on semantic organization.

Main Methods:

Participants completed semantic verbal fluency tasks.
The degree of semantic clustering (modularity) in their responses was analyzed.
The relationship between retrieval fluency, working memory capacity, and interference control was assessed, considering response modularity.

Main Results:

Working memory capacity predicted retrieval fluency in individuals with highly modular (fine-grained) semantic responses.
Interference control predicted retrieval fluency in individuals with less modular (broad) semantic responses.
These findings indicate that the organization of semantic knowledge influences the cognitive demands of verbal fluency tasks.

Conclusions:

The study supports the roles of working memory and interference control in semantic verbal fluency.
Novel evidence suggests that the specific executive functions engaged depend on the structure of an individual's semantic knowledge.
This research highlights the importance of considering semantic organization when assessing and interpreting verbal fluency performance.