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Updated: Jun 3, 2026
09:05
Assessing Working Memory in Children: The Comprehensive Assessment Battery for Children – Working Memory (CABC-WM)
Published on: June 12, 2017
Processing speed and working memory span: their differential role in superficial and deep memory processes in
Gildas Brébion1, Rodrigo A Bressan2, Lyn S Pilowsky1
11Section of Cognitive Neuropsychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, United Kingdom.
Summary
Processing speed significantly impacts memory deficits in schizophrenia patients, affecting both verbal and visual recall. Working memory is crucial only for more demanding memory tasks.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
Background:
- Schizophrenia is associated with memory impairment.
- Processing speed and working memory capacity are hypothesized contributors to this deficit.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the simultaneous effects of processing speed and working memory span on memory performance in schizophrenia patients.
- To differentiate the roles of these cognitive functions in various memory encoding depths.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of 49 schizophrenia patients and 43 healthy controls completed verbal and visual memory tasks.
- Superficial and deep encoding memory measures were assessed.
- Regression analyses were performed using processing speed and working memory span as predictors.
Main Results:
- Processing speed significantly predicted both superficial and deep memory measures across verbal and visual domains in patients.
- Working memory span additionally predicted deep memory measures.
- The diagnostic effect of schizophrenia on deep memory was non-significant when processing speed was controlled.
Conclusions:
- Reduced processing speed is a key factor in verbal and visual memory deficits in schizophrenia, irrespective of encoding depth.
- Working memory's contribution is limited to tasks requiring greater cognitive effort.
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