Verbal short-term memory and vocabulary learning in polyglots.
Polyglot and non-polyglot Italian subjects were given tests assessing verbal (phonological) and visuo-spatial short-term and long-term memory, general intelligence, and vocabulary knowledge in their native language. Polyglots had a superior level of performance in verbal short-term memory tasks (auditory digit span and nonword repetition) and in a paired-associate learning test, which assessed the subjects' ability to acquire new (Russian) words. By contrast, the two groups had comparable performance levels in tasks assessing general intelligence, visuo-spatial short-term memory and learning, and paired-associate learning of Italian words. These findings, which are in line with neuropsychological and developmental evidence, as well as with data from normal subjects, suggest a close relationship between the capacity of phonological memory and the acquisition of foreign languages.
Papagno
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Clinica Neurologica III, Università di Milano, Italy.
Vallar
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D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence; D007558:Italy; D007802:Language; D008570:Memory, Short-Term; D011939:Mental Recall; D009949:Orientation; D010153:Paired-Associate Learning; D010700:Phonetics; D012153:Retention, Psychology; D014706:Verbal Learning; D014825:Vocabulary