Translating words into actions in working memory: The role of spatial-motoric coding

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Human Memory
• Motor Control

Background:

• Working memory research indicates an advantage for enacted recall over verbal recall of sequential instructions.
• This advantage is theorized to stem from action planning mechanisms for anticipated movements.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the influence of concurrent motor tasks on the enacted recall advantage.
• To examine how movement complexity and familiarity affect sequence memory performance.

Main Methods:

• Five experiments compared verbal and enacted recall of action-object sequences.
• Concurrent tasks involving repetitive fine and gross motor movements were introduced.

Main Results:

• A general advantage for enacted recall was consistently observed.
• Concurrent motor actions tended to impair sequence memory performance.
• The enacted recall advantage was reduced by concurrent actions, with disruption varying by movement complexity and familiarity.

Conclusions:

• The findings support the role of an output buffer store in holding motor plans for sequential actions.
• Motoric planning is crucial for enacted recall, and concurrent actions can interfere with this process.