Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 18, 2026

Methods for Presenting Real-world Objects Under Controlled Laboratory Conditions
Published on: June 21, 2019
Maintenance of real objects and their verbal designations in working memory
Stefan Kaiser1, Marie-Luise Kopka, Mirjam Rentrop
1Section of Experimental Psychopathology, Department of Psychiatry, Centre for Psychosocial Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Voss-Strasse 4, 69115 Heidelberg, Germany. stefan.kaiser@med.uni-heidelberg.de
Abstract:
The present study investigated the neural correlates of working memory maintenance for real objects in contrast to their verbal designations. For this purpose we employed a delayed match-to-sample task using functional magnetic resonance imaging. The conjunction of load effects for objects and for words revealed a common bilateral network with main foci in the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex and the intraparietal sulcus. Load effect for objects in comparison to load effect for words revealed stronger activation of bilateral precuneus, which suggests the use of mental imagery of objects and object features. The opposite comparison load words versus load objects showed premotor and auditory areas to be activated in association with phonological rehearsal. The bilateral common activation indicates overlapping codes for real-world objects and their verbal designations. Importantly, there is also a dissociation between maintenance of words and objects, which indicates that phonological rehearsal and mental imagery are employed to different degrees.
Related Concept Videos
Working Memory
Elaborative Rehearsals
The effectiveness of...
Storage
Long-Term Memory
Long-term memory can be categorized into two primary types: explicit and implicit memory. Explicit memory, also known as declarative memory, involves the conscious recollection of information that we deliberately try to remember, recall, and articulate. This type of memory encompasses specific facts, events, and...
Mnemonic Devices
Acronyms
Acronyms are created by using the initial letters of a series of words to form a new word or phrase. This approach condenses complex information into a single, memorable entity. For example,...
Higher Mental Functions of Brain: Learning and Memory
