Open research questions in Cognitive Functions and Memory

What the literature leaves open

• BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Menopause and menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) affect cognition, although existing studies are inconclusive.

  Association Between Menopause Age and Estradiol-Based Hormone Therapy With Cognitive Performance in Cognitively Normal Women in the CLSA · 2025 · DOI

• Few studies have explored how menopause age and estradiol (E2)-based MHT by administration route affect these domains, a gap that this study addresses.

  Association Between Menopause Age and Estradiol-Based Hormone Therapy With Cognitive Performance in Cognitively Normal Women in the CLSA · 2025 · DOI

• Introduction: The neural mechanisms that underpin cognitive impairments in patients with schizophrenia remain unclear.

  Differences in EEG complexity of cognitive activities among subtypes of schizophrenia · 2025 · DOI

• Earlier pretest administration of the GRE would provide an institution with baseline data against which to assess cognitive outcomes on exit; however, the full benefit of this pre- and posttest approach is again limited to the aggregate level, given the GRE’s scaled scores. As with other ETS-College Board instruments, full talent de- velopment benefits are limited by the lack of specific informa- tion on responses. They demonstrate that schools can design their own instruments for areas of special concern to them, especially when adequate as- sessment instruments are lacking.

  Cognitive outcome instruments · 1987 · DOI

• The study only investigated the effects of cognitive offloading on internal memory processing in children. The sample size was limited to 40 children and 40 adults.

  Cognitive offloading reduces internal memory processing in children · 2026 · DOI

• The lack of understanding of how children use cognitive offloading. The gap in the literature on the effects of cognitive offloading on internal memory processing in children.

  Cognitive offloading reduces internal memory processing in children · 2026 · DOI

• There is a lack of research on the impact of performance invalidity on premorbid intellectual function estimation. Prior studies have not examined the effect of invalid performance on different premorbid estimation models.

  Performance Invalidity is Associated with Lower Test of Premorbid Functioning IQ Estimates in Performance-Based Versus Demographics-Based Prediction Models: Implications for Neuropsychological Practice and Research · 2026 · DOI

• Prior studies have not examined both prosaccade and antisaccade metrics in relation to age. Prior studies have not used advanced statistical analysis to examine the effects of age on saccade behavior. The study fills the gap by examining age-related changes in saccade behavior using eye-tracking data and statistical analysis.

  Age-related changes in saccade behavior · 2026 · DOI

• The lack of synthesis of evidence on the association between short-form video use and neurocognitive outcomes in youth. The lack of understanding of the effects of short-form video use on attention, memory, and emotional wellbeing in youth.

  Taming the endless scroll? Short-form videos, digital routines and neurocognitive outcomes in youth · 2026 · DOI

• One limitation of this review relates to the underlying data- base. China accounts for 76% of the available evidence, and 88% of the studies employ cross-sectional surveys. Such a geographically concentrated and cross-sectional corpus identifies associations but provides limited basis for causal inference regarding anxiety, ADHD-like symptoms, or com- pulsive short-video use, and it offers no basis for assess- ing international generalisability. A further limitation is that heavy, severe, or excessive use was not defined uniformly across studies, which makes direct comparison across find- ings harder and means that any single threshold should be treated as study-specific rather than field-wide. Existing laboratory experiments enrol very small samples, and none incorporate objective exposure metrics (e.g., device logs or in-app analytics). Additional bias derives from the search strategy. The present review deliberately oversampled neuro-cognitive and negative-valence keywords. Terms such as ‘depres- sion’ greatly exceeded positive constructs such as ‘flour- ishing’. Nonetheless, the corpus includes a null finding for anger and a positive association with flourishing, indicat- ing that the strategy did not exclude all neutral or beneficial outcomes. Limiting the search to English- and German- language publications may have excluded region-specific studies published in other languages. Furthermore, because we replaced a full snowball strategy with only on review [32] as the primary citation benchmark, the resulting cor- pus of 42 studies is unlikely to be exhaustive. In addition, measurement heterogeneity complicated the synthesis. The researchers in the present review deployed no fewer than 15 different addiction scales, which diminishes the precision of the pooled estimate on short-video addiction. The developmental interpretation of this review is lim- ited by the scarcity of childhood studies, which may partly reflect platform age restrictions and the ethical and practical difficulties of studying potentially harmful digital exposures in younger children. Available childhood studies also often lack precise age reporting, referring broadly to “primary school students” rather than providing exact age ranges. Future childhood media research should routinely assess short-form video use and distinguish it from other activities occurring on the same platforms. For example, YouTube use should differentiate watching Shorts from watching long- form videos, while Instagram use should distinguish view- ing Reels from messaging friends or browsing image-based posts. Without this distinction, platform-level measures may obscure the specific delivery mechanics of short-form video exposure, including algorithmic curation, infinite scroll, and rapidity. Collectively, these constraints mean that the convergent patterns should be read as provisional signals rather than definitive causal evidence. The strengths of the present work lie elsewhere: this review isolates SFVs from gaming and legacy social media, foregrounds the role of their user interface design for neuroscience, and frames the evidence within a developmental biopsychosocial model to identify candidate levers for future research and practice.

  Taming the endless scroll? Short-form videos, digital routines and neurocognitive outcomes in youth · 2026 · DOI

• Direct evidence in military populations remains limited. Heterogeneity across roles and units constrains generalizability. The link between proximal change and downstream operational outcomes is not guaranteed.

  Metacognitive Therapy as an Acceptability Bridge for Military Mental Health: A Prevention-Oriented Framework · 2026 · DOI

• To evaluate the effectiveness of MCT in military populations. To examine the link between proximal change and downstream operational outcomes. To develop more robust measures of metacognitive beliefs and attentional control.

  Metacognitive Therapy as an Acceptability Bridge for Military Mental Health: A Prevention-Oriented Framework · 2026 · DOI

• There is a gap in understanding the role of student activities in supporting key cognitive functions. Little empirical attention has been paid to the specific role of student activities in supporting cognitive development.

  Student Activities and Cognitive Development: A Psychological Perspective on Memory and Attention · 2026 · DOI

• Investigate the neural mechanisms underlying the shift from proactive to reactive control in GD - Examine the effects of different types of games and gaming habits on cognitive control - Explore the potential benefits of cognitive training programs for individuals with GD

  Shifting from Proactive to Reactive Control: Cognitive Control in Action Video Game Players with Gaming Disorder · 2026 · DOI

• The lack of studies on Hikikomori in the Middle East. The need for region-specific diagnostic frameworks and interventions. The importance of investigating the cognitive aspects of Hikikomori in Oman.

  Executive Dysfunction and Memory Impairments in Hikikomori: A Neuropsychological Case-Control Study from Oman · 2026 · DOI

• Several limitations should be considered. First, the case–control design precludes causal inference; cognitive differences may precede social withdrawal or emerge because of prolonged disengagement. Longitudinal studies are needed to clarify directionality. Second, multiple cognitive domains were examined, raising the possibility of type I error due to multiple comparisons. Although results showed a coherent pattern across key domains, findings should be interpreted cautiously. Third, participants were recruited from a hospital-based behavioral medicine clinic, introducing potential selection bias. While inclusion of non-patient attendees broadened representation, results may not fully generalize to community samples. Fourth, although assessors administering CANTAB were blinded to case status, psychiatric comorbidities—particularly depression and anxiety—were not statistically controlled in the cognitive analyses. As such, observed differences may reflect comorbidity-related cognitive effects rather than Hikikomori-specific mechanisms. Finally, medication status was not systematically assessed. Psychotropic medications may influence attention, processing speed, and memory, representing a potential confound. Future research should integrate neuroimaging techniques to identify neural correlates of Hikikomori-related cognitive dysfunction, examine cultural variations across populations (Kubo et al., 2022), and distinguish between primary Hikikomori and cases with psychiatric comorbidities. Given the high rates of co-occurring conditions such as social anxiety disorder, depression, and personality disorders among Hikikomori cases (Teo & Gaw, 2010), it remains unclear whether the observed cognitive deficits are specific to Hikikomori itself.

  Executive Dysfunction and Memory Impairments in Hikikomori: A Neuropsychological Case-Control Study from Oman · 2026 · DOI

• Further validation of the Puppy Escape task in different populations. Comparison of the Puppy Escape task with other narrative recall instruments. Evaluation of the task's sensitivity to change over time.

  The Puppy Escape Narrative: Validation of an Openly Available Recall Task for MCI Detection · 2026 · DOI

• The need for a freely available narrative recall task for detecting mild cognitive impairment. The lack of a non-proprietary narrative recall task with psychometric properties on par with the NACC UDS-3 standard.

  The Puppy Escape Narrative: Validation of an Openly Available Recall Task for MCI Detection · 2026 · DOI

• Evaluate the framework in a clinical setting. Compare the framework to other cognitive screening tools. Investigate the use of the framework in different populations.

  Human factor integrated MMSE for improved cognitive screening · 2026 · DOI

• The MMSE ignores heterogeneity in age, education, and language, producing inconsistent thresholds and referral decisions. Prior work has not integrated human factors into the MMSE for improved cognitive screening.

  Human factor integrated MMSE for improved cognitive screening · 2026 · DOI

• The challenge of developing a comprehensive test battery that can measure cognition in daily life. The challenge of examining the sensitivity of each test to contextual factors, such as stress, affect, and social interactions. The challenge of determining the optimal assessment strategy, including the number of assessments and participants needed.

  Developing a psychological test battery to measure cognition in daily life · 2026 · DOI

• The limited number of brief cognitive tests used in high-frequency cognitive assessment (HFCA) studies. The lack of understanding of the psychometric characteristics of various cognitive tasks. The need for guidance on task selection and assessment strategy in HFCA studies.

  Developing a psychological test battery to measure cognition in daily life · 2026 · DOI

• This study replicates earlier findings of reduced intention execution in ADHD and provides preliminary support for episodic future thinking as a strategy to enhance PM in daily life, though its effects may depend on verbal ability, warranting further research.

  Episodic Future Thinking Improves Everyday Prospective Memory Performance in Adults With a Previous Diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder by Community Providers · 2026 · DOI

• The study had a limited sample size. The experiment was conducted in a quiet location at the participants' school. Some participants were unable to attend the second testing session due to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.

  Working memory capacity and self‐cues: Consistent benefits in children and adults · 2025 · DOI

• The impact of self-cues on core indices of working memory function has not been directly demonstrated. The relationship between self-cues and attentional processing is unclear. The effect of self-cues on working memory capacity in different age groups is unknown.

  Working memory capacity and self‐cues: Consistent benefits in children and adults · 2025 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Cognitive Functions and Memory

• Measuring individual differences in implicit cognition: The implicit association test. · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · 1998 · 7,925 citations
• Unskilled and unaware of it: How difficulties in recognizing one's own incompetence lead to inflated self-assessments. · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · 1999 · 6,290 citations
• Working Memory · Science · 1992 · 4,884 citations
• The Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ) and its correlates · British Journal of Clinical Psychology · 1982 · 2,218 citations
• A Standardized Memory Scale for Clinical Use · The Journal of Psychology · 1945 · 2,113 citations
• Long-term working memory. · Psychological Review · 1995 · 2,106 citations
• Working memory, short-term memory, and general fluid intelligence: A latent-variable approach. · Journal of Experimental Psychology General · 1999 · 2,072 citations
• The Efficient Assessment of Need for Cognition · Journal of Personality Assessment · 1984 · 2,016 citations
• Cognitive impairment in depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis · Psychological Medicine · 2013 · 1,905 citations
• The Relations Among Inhibition and Interference Control Functions: A Latent-Variable Analysis. · Journal of Experimental Psychology General · 2004 · 1,642 citations

Most recent work

• Executive function and social behavior: Causal evidence from loading working memory and inhibitory control. · Journal of Experimental Psychology General · 2026
• Cued to think, not speak faster: Selective benefits of brief cueing for propositional speech in healthy older adults. · Psychology and Aging · 2026
• Maximizer's asymmetric memory: Amplified negativity for selected options, attenuated for foregone options · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · 2026
• Young Adult Substance Use as a Predictor of Poor Self-Rated Memory Decades Later in Midlife · Journal of Aging and Health · 2026
• Cognitive offloading reduces internal memory processing in children · Scientific Reports · 2026
• The functional neuroanatomy of event-based and time-based prospective memory, and its improvement · Communications Biology · 2026
• Performance Invalidity is Associated with Lower Test of Premorbid Functioning IQ Estimates in Performance-Based Versus Demographics-Based Prediction Models: Implications for Neuropsychological Practice and Research · Psychological Injury and Law · 2026
• The Impact of Cognitive Load and Encoding Strategies on Prospective Memory in Children with ADHD: Performance and Processing Differences · medRxiv · 2026
• Eye‐Tracking‐Based Cognitive Assessment and Memory Decline: Need for Clinically Anchored Endpoints · Geriatrics & Gerontology International · 2026
• Supplemental Material for Validation of the Prospective Memory Concerns Questionnaire Informant Scale (PMCQi): How Personality and Self/Proxy Relationships Influence Prospective Memory Ratings · Psychological Assessment · 2026

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