Discriminative learning and associative memory under the differential outcomes procedure is modulated by cognitive load.

Working memory (WM) has been thought to be the cause of associative memory deficits in older adults. Previous research has demonstrated the benefits of a discriminative learning procedure, the differential outcomes procedure (DOP), to ameliorate such associative-memory maintenance deficits in situations that simulate adherence to medical prescriptions in both healthy and pathological ageing. Specifically, the DOP involves rewarding each correct response to each stimulus-stimulus association with a distinct and unique outcome (reinforcer).

Enhanced learning and retention of medical information in Alzheimer's disease after differential outcomes training.

Background: Adherence to treatment is a crucial factor for patients who have chronic illnesses or multiple morbidities and polypharmacy, which is frequently found in older adults. The non-adherence to medications has important economic and social consequences as well as impacts on the health of the patients. One of the reasons that can explain the low adherence to treatment, is the memory deficits that are characteristics of this population and that are even more evident in cases that involve neurodegenerative diseases.

Learning and Recall of Medical Treatment-Related Information in Older Adults Using the Differential Outcomes Procedure.

It has recently been reported that the differential outcomes procedure (DOP) might be one of the therapeutical techniques focused at promoting autonomy in the elderly to deal with their medical issues. Molina et al. (2015) found that a group of healthy young adults improved their learning and long-term retention of six disorder/pill associations when each relationship to be learned was associated with a particular reinforcer (the differential outcomes condition) compared to when they were randomly administered (the non-differential outcomes condition).

The Differential Outcomes Procedure Enhances Adherence to Treatment: A Simulated Study with Healthy Adults.

Memory for medical recommendations is a prerequisite for good adherence to treatment, and therefore to ameliorate the negative effects of the disease, a problem that mainly affects people with memory deficits. We conducted a simulated study to test the utility of a procedure (the differential outcomes procedure, DOP) that may improve adherence to treatment by increasing the patient's learning and retention of medical recommendations regarding medication. The DOP requires the structure of a conditional discriminative learning task in which correct choice responses to specific stimulus-stimulus associations are reinforced with a particular reinforcer or outcome.

Differential outcomes training improves face recognition memory in children and in adults with Down syndrome.

Previous studies have demonstrated that the differential outcomes procedure (DOP), which involves paring a unique reward with a specific stimulus, enhances discriminative learning and memory performance in several populations. The present study aimed to further investigate whether this procedure would improve face recognition memory in 5- and 7-year-old children (Experiment 1) and adults with Down syndrome (Experiment 2). In a delayed matching-to-sample task, participants had to select the previously shown face (sample stimulus) among six alternatives faces (comparison stimuli) in four different delays (1, 5, 10, or 15s).

Improving delayed face recognition in Alzheimer's disease by differential outcomes.

Objective: Previous studies have demonstrated the benefit of the differential outcomes procedure (DOP) in human learning. In the present study we aimed to explore whether the DOP might also help to overcome the face recognition memory deficit commonly observed in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients.

Method: A delayed matching-to-sample task was used.

Minimizing sleep deprivation effects in healthy adults by differential outcomes.

Sleep deprivation reduces vigilance or arousal levels, affecting the efficiency of certain cognitive functions such as learning and memory. Here we assessed whether the differential outcomes procedure (DOP), a learning procedure that has proved useful to ameliorate episodic memory deficits, can also improve memory performance in sleep-deprived participants. Photographs were presented as sample faces.

Enhancing recognition memory in adults through differential outcomes.

It has been widely demonstrated that the differential outcomes procedure (DOP) facilitates both the learning of conditional relationships and the memory for the conditional stimuli in animal subjects. For conditional discriminations in humans, the DOP also produces an increase in the speed of acquisition and/or final accuracy. However, the potential facilitative effects of differential outcomes in human memory have not been fully assessed.

Improvement of age-related memory deficits by differential outcomes.

Background: The differential outcomes procedure (DOP) has proved useful to improve discrimination learning in both animals and humans. Here we adapted DOP to assess its utility to overcome the memory loss commonly associated with normal aging.

Methods: In a delayed matching-to-sample task, subjects were exposed to a man's face, and after a delay, they were required to decide if the previously seen face was within a set of six men's faces.