Working Memory From the Psychological and Neurosciences Perspectives: A Review

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Psychology

Background:

• Working memory (WM) is crucial for goal-directed behavior, involving information retention and manipulation.
• Early models like Baddeley and Hitch's multicomponent model defined WM.
• Diverse cognitive domains contribute to various WM frameworks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize neuroscientific and psychological findings on working memory.
• To examine the theoretical framework of working memory, including capacity and storage.
• To explore how aging, neurological disorders, and brain injuries impact working memory.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing literature on working memory across healthy, aging, and clinical populations.
• Analysis of neuroimaging studies identifying brain regions involved in working memory.
• Examination of psychological studies on working memory performance and deficits.

Main Results:

• Working memory primarily activates fronto-parietal regions, with recent evidence implicating subcortical areas.
• Aging modulates working memory, influenced by factors like emotion and hormones, leading to deficits in older adults.
• Impairments in working memory are observed in individuals with neurological and psychiatric disorders, showing altered neural patterns.

Conclusions:

• Understanding working memory's neural mechanisms enhances theoretical frameworks.
• Insights into working memory deficits can inform the development of targeted rehabilitation strategies.
• Further research can bridge neuroscientific and psychological perspectives for comprehensive working memory understanding.