Week 5- Memory

Question 1

What is working memory?

Answer 1

• Short-term storage and mental manipulation of information: Limited capacity system, temporary store—order of seconds
• It does transformation, which is the interaction between perception, long-term memory and action.
• WM tasks often involve remembering information, performing some other distracting activity, and sometimes updating information
• Working memory is highly accessible and easily erasable, the blackboard of the mind.

Question 2

Explain the fractionation of working memory.

Answer 2

Central Executive breaks down into phonological loop, episodic buffer and visual-spatial sketchpad.

Question 3

What are the two models of visual working memory?

Answer 3

Slots- The idea that we have certain ‘physical’ ‘slots’ to remember things, if it is out of that ‘slot; we will not remember it.
Equal resources- If you try to remember more things, each thing gets a little less focus or “memory power.”

Question 4

Explain the EEG evidence for fixed-slot models.

Answer 4

ERP- Event related potential (neuron stuff)
These EEGs measure the ERP average over the occipital and posterior parietal regions.
This graph shows the average activity during delay period (during retention interval) and the Contralateral Delay Activity (CDA). This is the way in which when we try to remember something that is on the left side of a picture, the right side of our brain is working to remember it, and visa versa, think of the way that we remember things in sight as-well.
These graphs are taken to reflect activation-based maintenance of visual information (the graphs are made to show how we are shown things visually and then try to keep them in our head and remember them).

Question 5

What happens when load is varied (how much we have to remember)?

Answer 5

CDA is measured to see how much the brain is working.
Increasing load (number of items to remember) increases CDA, but only to a point.
The CDA amplitude only increases up to 3ish items
* Modern estimate of capacity of WM
* …and the increase is correlated with behavioural estimate of working memory capacity
* it picks up individual differences