CCC- working memory

Question 1

What is working memory?

Answer 1

The system/ systems necessary to keep things in mind- whilst performing complex tasks such as reasoning, comprehension & learning.

Also needed- for not so complex tasks- e.g. daydreaming.

Question 2

What model did Atkinson & Shiffrin introduce & what year?

Answer 2

Modal model of memory- 1968

Question 3

What is the modal model of memory?

Answer 3

Multiple memory stores
Information passes between the stores via attention, encoding & retrieval.
Information maintained in the STS via rehearsal.

Question 4

Modal model of memory

What are the problems with this model?

Answer 4

There is only one short term store (STS)
How can you do two things at once? e.g. drawing something whilst listening to a lecture.

The amount of items spent in the STS dictates how well they are stores in the long term memory.

Patients were found that have selective damage to the STS but no major problems with comprehension, problem solving, general intelligence etc.

Question 5

What others models are there?

Answer 5

Baddeley & Hitch 1986- working memory model.

Question 6

What is in Baddeleys working memory model?

Answer 6

Central executive
Visuospatial sketchpad
Phonological loop

Question 7

Baddeleys working memory model

What does the central executive do?

Answer 7

Drives the whole system (e.g., the boss of working memory)

Allocates data to the subsystems: the phonological loop and the visuospatial sketchpad. It also deals with cognitive tasks such as mental arithmetic and problem-solving.

Question 8

Baddeleys working memory model

What does the visuospatial sketchpad do?

Answer 8

The visuospatial sketchpad is a component of working memory model which stores and processes information in a visual or spatial form.

The visuospatial sketchpad is used for navigation.

Question 9

What does the phonological loop do?

Answer 9

The phonological loop is a component of working memory model that deals with spoken and written material.

It is subdivided into the phonological store (which holds information in a speech-based form) and the articulatory process (which allows us to repeat verbal information in a loop).

Question 10

What is within the phonological loop?

Answer 10

Phonological Store (inner ear) processes speech perception and stores spoken words we hear for 1-2 seconds.

Articulatory control process (inner voice) processes speech production, and rehearses and stores verbal information from the phonological store.

Question 11

What is the capacity of the phonological loop?

Answer 11

Around 7 items.

Question 12

Capacity of phonological loop

What affects it?

Answer 12

Word length effect

Study- 1975, participants presented with lists of 5 words to write down in order- as they were read out.

The longer the words were - the fewer that were remembered.
Better at remembering shorter words.
Correlated strongly with how long it took to read the words out loud.

Question 13

How can the capacity of the phonological loop be tested?

Answer 13

Asking participants to repeat back to you random words/ digits.

Question 14

What is the capacity of the phonological loop?

Answer 14

Around 7 items- can be a few more/ few less.

Question 15

What does the word length effect say?

Answer 15

People can only remember what they say in around 1.5 seconds (as long as you can repeat it in 1.5 seconds- you will remember it.)
To remember words or numbers- people will generally repeat them to themselves (under their breath- “sub vocally”)
This is done via an articulatory loop.

Question 16

The visuospatial sketchpad

What are the functions?

Answer 16

Sequences of visually guided actions
Seeing things in the minds eye.

Question 17

The visuospatial sketchpad

How can you test the capacity of this?
What does the capacity appear to be ?

Answer 17

e.g- having different squares that change colour at different times- having to remember the sequence of changing colour squares.

Similar to the phonological loop- the capacity of the visuo-spatial sketchpad appears to be around 6-7 items.

Question 18

The visuo-spatial sketchpad-

What have people argued?

Answer 18

Some argued the visuo-spatial sketchpad can contain a fixed number of items (e.g. 4 or 7)

Others argued working memory is a limited resource which is shared between all items.

Question 19

The visuo-spatial sketchpad

What other tasks have participants been asked to do?

Answer 19

Given a computer based task.
Shown 3 objects on the screen- different colours & locations.
After one location is highlighted- they have to match up what colour the square/ object was in each location.

Shows how accurate participants are at matching the colour.
People better- if there were fewer items.
People can flexibly allocate their attentional store- that we can flexibly allocate depending on the situation we are in.

Question 20

Baddeleys working memory model

Summary- of this model?

Answer 20

We have dedicated working memory “buffers”/ systems for some specialized types of information.

The buffers are independent from each other- the info from one buffer doesn’t interfere with the information from another buffer (so we can do two things at the same time)

e.g we can juggle as well as hold a string of digits in mind.

The buffers are thought to be controlled by the Central executive.

Question 21

Baddeleys working memory model

What does the capacity of the buffers depend on?

What can brain damage result in?

Answer 21

Depends on whats being stored.

Result in damage to these buffers- can result in damage independently!

Question 22

Baddeleys working memory model

What are the issues with this model?

Answer 22

People are able to repeat back meaningful paragraphs & sentences- far better than unrelated words!

Question 23

Problems with Baddeleys working memory model

What study did Baddeley do & what were the results?

Answer 23

Baddeley & Wilson 2002

Tested 23 amnesic patients- all had severe memory/ cognitive problems.
Found many examples where immediate prose recall-short paragraphs was normal- they could repeat it back relatively well.
This suggests there is more going on.
Recall after a delay was highly impaired.

Question 24

How was Baddeleys working memory model updated?

Answer 24

Baddeley proposed the episodic buffer.
Also introduced how the different systems interact with Long Term Memory.

Question 25

What are the features of the episodic buffer?

Answer 25

A limited capacity- temporary storage system that is capable of integrating information from a variety of sources.

Episodic in the sense- it holds episodes whereby information is integrated across space & time.

Plays an important role in feeding information into & retrieving information from episodic long term memory.

Question 26

Evidence for reactivation of episodic information

What were participants asked to do in the study?

Answer 26

Had to watch sequences of videos whilst in an MRI scanner- short movies around 40 seconds long- all different from each other.

People then queued with the titles of the videos- and had to remember as much information from each video as possible- whilst in the scanner.

They looked at the different brain regions that were active & took the pattern of brain activity- from the particular regions

When people then retrieved the information- they saw if they reactivated the same pattern of activity.

Question 27

Evidence for reactivation of episodic information

What did they find with activation of different brain regions?

Answer 27

There was reactivation in a large network of brain regions.

Brain regions - the same as we see in lots of tasks involving navigation, or remembering events of our past/ or even when engaged with mind wandering.

We can see event specific patterns of brain activity.

Question 28

Evidence for reactivation of episodic information

What evidence is there?

Answer 28

Episodic information (an event unfolding over time) activated widespread regions of the brain.
These activation patterns are event specific.
Same patterns of activity are reactivated whenever an event is retrieved.
The “holding in mind” of the main features of the event involves something like the episodic buffer.

Question 29

What is the newer perspective of how working memory might work in the brain?

Answer 29

Hierachal process view- Hasson et al 2015

Question 30

What is the Hierachal process view of working memory- Hasson 2015?

Answer 30

Most working memory models separate ongoing information processing (attending to whats around us) from information that we are holding in mind.

But ongoing information processing requires us to accumulate information over time.

This happens over different timescales in different brain circuits.

Question 31

A newer perspective, integrating information over different timescales.

What different timescales were there?

Answer 31

Coherent at word level- short timescale.
Coherent at sentence level- medium timescale.
Coherent at paragraph level- long timescale.

Question 32

A newer perspective, integrating information over different timescales.

Lerner et al- what did he do?

What were the findings?

Answer 32

Scanned people listening to the different conditions.
Looked for brain regions that showed coherent activity across individuals.
Supports the hierarchical process view.

Findings:
If randomized at word levels- see strong correlations- only happens in the auditory cortex (only where you are hearing information)

If look at middle - green/ yellow- they spread further- people extracting meaning - higher order brain regions used.

Working memory- make sense of what’s going on- get internal representation.

Question 33

Concluding comments

Answer 33

Working memory is a big concept- its unlikely that there can be a single model of it.

Specific buffers have specific purposes- but understanding one may not help us understand other aspects of working memory.

The hierachal process view addresses how working memory supports ongoing information processing.
- But what about when reasoning or problem solving?

Question 34

What are the different models for working memory?

Answer 34

Attkinson & Shiffrins Modal model of working memory
Baddeleys multi component model of working memory