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Working Memory

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.

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The cerebral cortex, the brain's outermost layer, is pivotal in processing complex cognitive tasks, emotions, and various sensory inputs and executing voluntary motor activities. This intricate structure is divided into three primary functional areas: the motor areas, sensory areas, and association areas.
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Vision

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Vision is the result of light being detected and transduced into neural signals by the retina of the eye. This information is then further analyzed and interpreted by the brain. First, light enters the front of the eye and is focused by the cornea and lens onto the retina—a thin sheet of neural tissue lining the back of the eye. Because of refraction through the convex lens of the eye, images are projected onto the retina upside-down and reversed.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 28, 2026

Brain Imaging Investigation of the Neural Correlates of Emotional Autobiographical Recollection

Brain Imaging Investigation of the Neural Correlates of Emotional Autobiographical Recollection

Published on: August 26, 2011

Mapping brain activation and information during category-specific visual working memory.

David E J Linden¹, Nikolaas N Oosterhof, Christoph Klein

¹Wolfson Centre for Clinical and Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology, Bangor University, Bangor, United Kingdom. lindend@cardiff.ac.uk

Journal of Neurophysiology

|October 21, 2011

Summary

Brain regions supporting visual working memory differ between encoding and maintenance. Encoding relies on specialized visual areas, while maintenance involves a general frontoparietal network, showing category information can be decoded even without strong activation.

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Area of Science:

Cognitive Neuroscience
Neuroimaging
Visual Perception

Background:

Cortical specialization governs visual processing and encoding.
The role of this specialization in short-term visual memory maintenance is unclear.
Understanding brain mechanisms for visual working memory is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate how the brain supports working memory for diverse visual categories.
To determine if cortical specialization principles apply to both visual encoding and maintenance.
To compare brain activity patterns during encoding versus delay periods in visual working memory.

Main Methods:

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used in a delayed discrimination task.
Participants discriminated between faces, bodies, flowers, and scenes.
Both univariate and multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) were applied to fMRI data.

Main Results:

Encoding activity showed category specialization in posterior visual areas.
During the delay interval, activity shifted to frontal and parietal regions, lacking category specialization.
MVPA revealed category information in visual areas during the delay, despite absent suprathreshold activation.

Conclusions:

Cortical activation principles differ for encoding and maintenance of visual information.
Visual maintenance relies on a frontoparietal network with minimal category-specific specialization.
MVPA can detect stored visual information in the absence of clear univariate activation.