Working Memory

Question 1

What is working memory? (WM)

Answer 1

• Limited capacity store for maintenance and manipulation of information
• information may originate from environment (sensory) or internally (memory
• ideally, the info in WM should be relevant to goals
• Different forms of working memory based on type of information
• Central to human cognition & theories of intelligence

Question 3

simple WM span tasks

Answer 3

• measure the ability to maintain information
• change the level of difficulty by changing what they have to remember and how they have to remember

Question 4

complex WM span tasks

Answer 4

measure the ability to maintain & manipulate
information in working memory

Question 5

corsi block test

Answer 5

• looks at maintenance
• experimenter points to 1 block and asks participant to point to the same block
• gradually increase the # of blocks you point to
• have to remember blocks in exact order
• can add manipulation by asking them to recite the info given to them in reverse order

Question 6

When is PFC needed in WM?

Answer 6

• Previously relevant information is now irrelevant (or vice versa)
• necessary to filter out distracting stimuli/thoughts
• necessary to manipulate the representations

Question 7

When is PFC not needed in WM?

Answer 7

when the info can be maintained and retrieved immediately with little
distraction

Question 8

Interaction of dopamine levels and stress

Answer 8

fatigue: too little dopamine, all signals become potent and difficulty focusing on goal-relevant information
stress: too much dopamine, no activity for goal relevant and irrelevant info

Question 9

Age-related differences on simple & complex WM span tasks

Answer 9

simple WM tasks: improvement tends to flatten out after 9 years old and matures more quickly
complex WM task: matures later, keeps improving after 9 years of age

Question 10

Developmental fMRI study of WM

Answer 10

forward task (maintenance)
- remember order of 3 memory items
- will then be shown picture and asked if it was 1st, 2nd, or 3rd
backward task (maintenance and manipulation)
- remember order of 3 memory items in reverse order
- will then be shown picture and asked if it was 1st, 2nd, or 3rd

Question 11

Developmental fMRI study of WM: behavioural results

Answer 11

Effect of age: older ages perform better regardless of condition
Effect of mental operation: lower accuracy in the backwards condition at all ages

Question 12

Developmental fMRI study of WM: neuroimaging results

Answer 12

more brain activity in both sides of the brain during the memory delay period for the backwards condition
- it is more demanding

Question 13

Developmental fMRI study of WM: Extent and magnitude of activation across ages

Answer 13

• teenagers activate same brain areas as adults, but adults are activating to an increased degree
• teenagers activating similar regions as children but to a higher degree
• significantly higher activation in the left VLPFC for all ages in backwards task
• significantly more activation for adults and teenagers in right DLPFC for backwards task
• right DLPFC involved in manipulating info
• no difference for children, suggests brain area has not matured to be used for manipulation tasks

Question 14

functional connectivity

Answer 14

statistical dependencies or temporal correlations between spatially distinct brain regions, reflecting how they interact or work together
- looking at how brain regions work together

Question 15

path analysis

Answer 15

• similar to regression
• using variables to predict another variable
• allows you to look at multiple predicted variables

Question 16

WM, anxiety, media exposure and COVID-19

Answer 16

• media exposure can significantly increase anxiety
• anxiety can increase media exposure
• anxiety can predict subjective loneliness (and vice versa)
• anxiety can have a deleterious effect on RT for visual and auditory WM
• media exposure also affects visual and auditory WM accuracy