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.
Hearing01:31

Hearing

When we hear a sound, our nervous system is detecting sound waves—pressure waves of mechanical energy traveling through a medium. The frequency of the wave is perceived as pitch, while the amplitude is perceived as loudness.
Perceiving Loudness, Pitch, and Location01:21

Perceiving Loudness, Pitch, and Location

The human brain perceives pitch through two primary mechanisms reflected in place theory and frequency theory. Each mechanism describes how sound waves are interpreted as specific pitches by the brain, offering insights into the intricate processes of auditory perception.
Place theory, or place coding, suggests that different pitches are heard because various sound waves activate specific locations along the cochlea's basilar membrane. The brain determines the pitch of a sound by identifying...
Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language01:10

Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language

Language is a system of communication that allows the expression of thoughts, ideas, and feelings. The brain processes language in both hemispheres.
Language formation and comprehension take place in the dominant hemisphere. The dominant hemisphere is responsible for understanding the meaning of spoken, written, or sign language, as well as the ability to communicate. For most people, the left hemisphere is the dominant one. The right hemisphere, then, gives tone and emotional context to the...
Perception of Sound Waves01:01

Perception of Sound Waves

The human ear is not equally sensitive to all frequencies in the audible range. It may perceive sound waves with the same pressure but different frequencies as having different loudness. Moreover, the perception of sound waves depends on the health of an individual's ears, which decays with age. The health of one's ears may also be affected by regular exposure to loud noises.
The pitch of a sound depends on the frequency and the pressure amplitude of the source. Two sounds of the same frequency...
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...

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Training of pitch contour perception: Influence of pitch processing abilities and multisensory interactions.

Hearing research·2026
Same author

Atypical Change Detection in Sound Sequences: A Behavioral and Magnetoencephalography Study in Congenital Amusia.

The European journal of neuroscience·2026
Same author

Rethinking the link between cognitive control and emotion regulation: A meta-analytic review.

Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews·2026
Same author

Joint music listening enhances interpersonal affective and neural synchrony.

Cortex; a journal devoted to the study of the nervous system and behavior·2026
Same author

Music Ensemble: a large dataset on musicianship, cognition, and personality in musicians and nonmusicians.

Scientific data·2026
Same author

Rhythm Processing Across Development: Origins, Links to Language Processing, and Perspectives for Intervention.

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences·2025

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 17, 2026

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

Working memory for pitch, timbre, and words.

Katrin Schulze1, Barbara Tillmann

  • 1Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Auditory Cognition and Psychoacoustics Team, CNRS UMR5292, INSERM U1028, Université de Lyon, Lyon, France. kschulze@ich.ucl.ac.uk

Memory (Hove, England)
|November 3, 2012
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Auditory working memory (WM) is not a single system. This study found that memory for tones and words relies on rehearsal, while memory for timbres is distinct, highlighting cross-material differences in auditory WM.

More Related Videos

Modulating Cognition Using Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation of the Cerebellum
11:47

Modulating Cognition Using Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation of the Cerebellum

Published on: February 15, 2015

Working Memory Training for Older Participants: A Control Group Training Regimen and Initial Intellectual Functioning Assessment
07:01

Working Memory Training for Older Participants: A Control Group Training Regimen and Initial Intellectual Functioning Assessment

Published on: September 20, 2020

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 17, 2026

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

Modulating Cognition Using Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation of the Cerebellum
11:47

Modulating Cognition Using Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation of the Cerebellum

Published on: February 15, 2015

Working Memory Training for Older Participants: A Control Group Training Regimen and Initial Intellectual Functioning Assessment
07:01

Working Memory Training for Older Participants: A Control Group Training Regimen and Initial Intellectual Functioning Assessment

Published on: September 20, 2020

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Auditory Perception

Background:

  • Auditory working memory (WM) is crucial for processing sequential sounds.
  • Understanding the fundamental mechanisms of auditory WM requires examining different types of auditory stimuli.
  • Previous research has not extensively compared WM performance across diverse auditory materials like words, tones, and timbres.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the fundamental mechanisms of auditory working memory (WM).
  • To compare human auditory WM performance across three distinct materials: words, tones, and timbres.
  • To explore potential differences and similarities in WM processing based on stimulus type.

Main Methods:

  • Conducted three experiments using forward and backward recognition tasks.
  • Manipulated the number of items per sequence to assess length effects.
  • Included an articulatory suppression task to probe verbal rehearsal mechanisms.

Main Results:

  • Auditory working memory (WM) is not a unitary system, showing material-specific processing.
  • WM for timbres differed significantly from WM for tones and words.
  • Both tones and words engaged rehearsal mechanisms, but may involve distinct sensorimotor codes.

Conclusions:

  • A cross-material experimental approach is beneficial for understanding auditory WM.
  • Human auditory WM demonstrates distinct processing pathways for different sound types.
  • Findings suggest that while tones and words share rehearsal-based WM, they may recruit different neural or sensorimotor representations.