Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Human verbal working memory impairments associated with thalamic damage.

D Dagenbach1, A K Kubat-Silman, J R Absher

  • 1Dept. of Psychology, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC 27109, USA. dagenbac@wfu.edu

The International Journal of Neuroscience
|March 27, 2002
PubMed
Summary

The thalamus plays a role in working memory, as evidenced by impairments in individuals with thalamic stroke on specific working memory tasks. This challenges previous findings of minimal deficits after thalamic damage.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

A constraint on eliminating semantic priming by repeating a prime.

The American journal of psychology·2001
Same author

Hypersexuality and hemiballism due to subthalamic infarction.

Neuropsychiatry, neuropsychology, and behavioral neurology·2000
Same author

Event-related potentials correlate with task-dependent glucose metabolism.

NeuroImage·2000
Same author

Human retrosplenial cortex: where is it and is it involved in emotion?

Trends in neurosciences·2000
Same author

Further considerations regarding inhibitory processes, working memory, and cognitive aging.

The American journal of psychology·2000
Same author

Cortical activity related to accuracy of letter recognition.

NeuroImage·2000

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Psychology

Background:

  • Theoretical models and animal studies suggest the thalamus is involved in working memory.
  • However, human studies show limited evidence of working memory deficits after thalamic lesions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of the thalamus in human working memory.
  • To examine working memory performance in individuals with isolated thalamic stroke.

Main Methods:

  • Assessed working memory in six individuals with isolated thalamic stroke.
  • Utilized various working memory span tasks, including forward digit span, spatial, and object working memory assessments.
  • Conducted functional neuroimaging analysis.

Main Results:

  • Individuals with thalamic stroke showed impairments on several working memory span tasks.

Related Experiment Videos

  • No significant deficits were observed on a forward digit-span measure.
  • Further analysis of different working memory aspects and lesion sites supported the thalamus's role.
  • Conclusions:

    • The thalamus is implicated in working memory function.
    • Thalamic lesions can lead to specific working memory deficits, contrary to some previous observations.