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Related Concept Videos

Working Memory01:24

Working Memory

Working memory refers to a combination of components, including short-term memory and attention, that allow an individual to hold information temporarily as we perform cognitive tasks. It is an essential cognitive function that enables the execution of complex tasks such as problem-solving, comprehension, and reasoning. Unlike short-term memory, which simply involves the storage of information for a brief period, working memory involves the active manipulation and processing of this information.
Visual Agnosia01:12

Visual Agnosia

Visual agnosia is a condition characterized by the inability to recognize visually presented objects despite having normal vision. For instance, a person with visual agnosia can describe the shape and color of an object but cannot identify or name it. This impairment does not affect their visual field, acuity, color vision, brightness discrimination, language, or memory. An example of this condition in a social setting is someone at a dinner party asking for "that silver thing with a round end"...
Depth Perception and Spatial Vision01:15

Depth Perception and Spatial Vision

Depth perception is the ability to perceive objects three-dimensionally. It relies on two types of cues: binocular and monocular. Binocular cues depend on the combination of images from both eyes and how the eyes work together. Since the eyes are in slightly different positions, each eye captures a slightly different image. This disparity between images, known as binocular disparity, helps the brain interpret depth. When the brain compares these images, it determines the distance to an object.
System of Memory01:23

System of Memory

Memory is categorized into three major systems: sensory memory, short-term memory (STM), and long-term memory (LTM). These systems differ in their capacity and the duration for which they can hold information. Sensory memory captures raw sensory input from the environment, holding it for just a few seconds or less. For example, on hearing a brief, loud sound, like a car horn honking, the sound seems to linger in the mind for a moment even after it stops. This is an instance of sensory memory...
Higher Mental Functions of Brain: Learning and Memory01:26

Higher Mental Functions of Brain: Learning and Memory

Memory is one of the most vital higher mental functions of the brain. Memory is closely related to learning because it enables us to retain information and experiences from our past to use them in our present life. It also helps us to remember facts, events, and skills, such as riding a bike or swimming. There are two types of memory — declarative memory, which involves memorizing facts or events, and procedural memory, which enables us to remember how to do something like writing or playing an...
Sensory Memory01:14

Sensory Memory

Sensory memory captures information from the environment in its original form for a very brief duration, just long enough to be exposed to visual, auditory, and other senses. This type of memory is detailed and rich but quickly lost unless certain strategies are employed to transfer it into short-term or long-term memory. Sensory information is continuously bombarding the human brain, yet only a small fraction is absorbed, as most of it does not significantly impact daily life. For instance,...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 3, 2026

An Appetitive Spatial Working Memory Task for Mice in a Semi-Automated 8-Arm Radial Maze, Reducing Fearful Memory Association in the Maze
14:24

An Appetitive Spatial Working Memory Task for Mice in a Semi-Automated 8-Arm Radial Maze, Reducing Fearful Memory Association in the Maze

Published on: July 29, 2025

Visual and spatial working memory: from boxes to networks.

Hubert D Zimmer1

  • 1Department of Psychology, Brain & Cognition Unit, Saarland University, 66041 Saarbruecken, Germany. huzimmer@mx.uni-saarland.de

Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
|July 8, 2008
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Visuo-spatial working memory involves distributed brain networks processing visual appearance and spatial location. This network, including the prefrontal cortex, supports both passive and active memory tasks, utilizing shared neural pathways for perception and imagery.

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Assessing Working Memory in Children: The Comprehensive Assessment Battery for Children – Working Memory (CABC-WM)
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Assessing Working Memory in Children: The Comprehensive Assessment Battery for Children – Working Memory (CABC-WM)

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Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 3, 2026

An Appetitive Spatial Working Memory Task for Mice in a Semi-Automated 8-Arm Radial Maze, Reducing Fearful Memory Association in the Maze
14:24

An Appetitive Spatial Working Memory Task for Mice in a Semi-Automated 8-Arm Radial Maze, Reducing Fearful Memory Association in the Maze

Published on: July 29, 2025

Assessing Working Memory in Children: The Comprehensive Assessment Battery for Children – Working Memory (CABC-WM)
09:05

Assessing Working Memory in Children: The Comprehensive Assessment Battery for Children – Working Memory (CABC-WM)

Published on: June 12, 2017

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Neuroimaging
  • Psychology

Background:

  • The traditional view of working memory as a unitary slave system is being challenged.
  • Understanding the neural basis of visuo-spatial working memory is crucial for cognitive science.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To characterize visuo-spatial working memory as a distributed network.
  • To identify the neural components and processes involved in visual appearance and spatial location memory.
  • To explore the relationship between perception, working memory, and imagery.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of results from passive (short-term) and active (imagery) memory tasks.
  • Neuroimaging techniques to identify brain regions involved in specific memory processes.

Main Results:

  • Visuo-spatial working memory operates across a distributed network, not a unitary system.
  • The prefrontal cortex acts as a control structure, with dorsal and ventral regions showing differential engagement in active and passive tasks, respectively.
  • Visual appearance is processed in the ventral occipital cortex, while spatial coordinates are represented in the parietal cortex.
  • Imagery activates occipito-temporal structures, and spatial transformations/mental rotation engage the parietal cortex.
  • Perception, working memory, and imagery share common neural networks.

Conclusions:

  • Visuo-spatial working memory is best understood as a distributed network processing sensory information and spatial location.
  • The prefrontal cortex plays a key role in executive control, while occipital and parietal cortices are specialized for visual and spatial information, respectively.
  • Shared neural substrates underlie perception, working memory, and imagery, with task differences arising from network demands and configurations.