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 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.

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Analysis of Risk Factors for High-Risk Lymph Node Metastasis in Papillary Thyroid Microcarcinoma.

Cancers·2025
Same author

Individuals with developmental disabilities make their own stylistic contributions to text written with physical facilitation.

Frontiers in child and adolescent psychiatry·2025
Same author

Social Robots and Sensors for Enhanced Aging at Home: Mixed Methods Study With a Focus on Mobility and Socioeconomic Factors.

JMIR aging·2024
Same author

The Association between the Severity of Distal Sensorimotor Polyneuropathy and Increased Carotid Atherosclerosis in Individuals with Type 2 Diabetes.

Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland)·2024
Same author

Baroreflex Sensitivity as a Surrogate Biomarker for Concurrently Assessing the Severity of Arterial Stiffness and Cardiovascular Autonomic Neuropathy in Individuals with Type 2 Diabetes.

Journal of personalized medicine·2024
Same author

Instruments for Measuring Psychological Dimensions in Human-Robot Interaction: Systematic Review of Psychometric Properties.

Journal of medical Internet research·2024
Same journal

Leiomyosarcoma of the adrenal vein.

Chang Gung medical journal·2012
Same journal

Chemotherapy with gemcitabine plus cisplatin in patients with advanced biliary tract carcinoma at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital: a retrospective analysis.

Chang Gung medical journal·2012
Same journal

Team innovation climate and knowledge sharing among healthcare managers: mediating effects of altruistic intentions.

Chang Gung medical journal·2012
Same journal

Everolimus in metastatic renal cell carcinoma: preliminary experience from Chang Gung Memorial Hospital.

Chang Gung medical journal·2012
Same journal

Factors associated with strain in informal caregivers of stroke patients.

Chang Gung medical journal·2012
Same journal

Serum lipid profile could predict the inception and impacts of violent behaviors among acute psychiatric inpatients.

Chang Gung medical journal·2012
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 21, 2026

A Semantic Priming Event-related Potential (ERP) Task to Study Lexico-semantic and Visuo-semantic Processing in Autism Spectrum Disorder
08:17

A Semantic Priming Event-related Potential (ERP) Task to Study Lexico-semantic and Visuo-semantic Processing in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Published on: April 12, 2018

Distinctions between spatial and verbal working memory: a study using event-related potentials.

Yung-Nien Chen1, Suvobrata Mitra

  • 1Department of Neurology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital-Kaohsiung Medical Center, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Allen@ynchen.plus.com

Chang Gung Medical Journal
|August 12, 2009
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Working memory defects in dementia are studied using N-back tasks. Event-related potentials reveal distinct brain responses for verbal versus spatial N-back tasks, highlighting differences beyond simple brain lateralization.

More Related Videos

How to Find Effects of Stimulus Processing on Event Related Brain Potentials of Close Others when Hyperscanning Partners
09:52

How to Find Effects of Stimulus Processing on Event Related Brain Potentials of Close Others when Hyperscanning Partners

Published on: May 31, 2018

A Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate Interference in Working Memory by Distractions and Interruptions
10:38

A Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate Interference in Working Memory by Distractions and Interruptions

Published on: July 16, 2015

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 21, 2026

A Semantic Priming Event-related Potential (ERP) Task to Study Lexico-semantic and Visuo-semantic Processing in Autism Spectrum Disorder
08:17

A Semantic Priming Event-related Potential (ERP) Task to Study Lexico-semantic and Visuo-semantic Processing in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Published on: April 12, 2018

How to Find Effects of Stimulus Processing on Event Related Brain Potentials of Close Others when Hyperscanning Partners
09:52

How to Find Effects of Stimulus Processing on Event Related Brain Potentials of Close Others when Hyperscanning Partners

Published on: May 31, 2018

A Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate Interference in Working Memory by Distractions and Interruptions
10:38

A Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate Interference in Working Memory by Distractions and Interruptions

Published on: July 16, 2015

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Neuropsychology

Background:

  • Working memory deficits are a primary symptom of dementia.
  • N-back tasks are crucial tools for studying working memory and cognitive load.
  • N-back tasks can be presented in verbal or visual-spatial formats.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the electrophysiological differences between verbal and visual-spatial N-back tasks.
  • To analyze event-related potentials (ERPs) and behavioral data under varying cognitive loads.
  • To explore brain lateralization patterns during different N-back task modalities.

Main Methods:

  • Digital electroencephalogram (EEG) was used to record event-related potentials.
  • Participants completed verbal and visual-spatial N-back tasks with controlled N-factors (loadings).
  • Behavioral performance data were analyzed alongside EEG recordings.

Main Results:

  • Distinct ERP components differentiated verbal and spatial processing: P3 for verbal, P2a for spatial tasks.
  • P3 enhancement was observed in the left hemisphere for target stimuli in verbal tasks.
  • N2 component showed enhanced amplitudes for verbal non-target stimuli, with no significant lateralization between task types.

Conclusions:

  • Differences between spatial and verbal N-back tasks involve complex ERP patterns, not just lateralization.
  • Specific ERPs like P2a (spatial), P3 (verbal), and N2 (verbal non-target) characterize task modality.
  • Findings provide insights into the neural mechanisms underlying working memory in different cognitive domains.