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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...

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Central and Divided Visual Field Presentation of Emotional Images to Measure Hemispheric Differences in Motivated Attention

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Sex differences in visual working memory processing dynamics.

Andrés A González-Garrido¹, Adrián Ávila-Garibay¹, Steven Woltering²

¹Instituto de Neurociencias, Universidad de Guadalajara, Francisco de Quevedo 180, Col. Arcos Vallarta, Guadalajara, Jalisco 44130, Mexico.

Behavioural Brain Research

|February 23, 2026

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Sex influences visuospatial working memory (WM) performance and brain connectivity. Males and females exhibit distinct neural strategies, with females showing higher theta connectivity and males demonstrating greater fronto-parietal alpha and beta band connectivity during WM tasks.

Keywords:

Brain connectivity EEG Sex differences Sternberg task Working memory

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Cognitive Psychology
Human Behavior

Background:

Sex differences in visuospatial working memory (WM) are well-documented, often favoring males.
The dynamic brain connectivity patterns underlying these sex differences during WM processing remain largely unexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the influence of sex on electroencephalographic (EEG) functional connectivity during different stages of visuospatial working memory (WM).
To explore sex-specific brain activity patterns during encoding, maintenance, and retrieval phases of a WM task.

Main Methods:

Utilized electroencephalography (EEG) to analyze functional connectivity using phase-locking synchronization across various frequency bands.
Assessed 45 university students (23 female, 22 male) performing a modified Sternberg task involving encoding, maintenance, and retrieval of visual information.

Main Results:

Females exhibited slower reaction times and higher theta band connectivity during WM maintenance, particularly in left frontal and right posterior temporal regions.
Males demonstrated increased fronto-parietal connectivity in the alpha band during maintenance and retrieval, and in the beta band during retrieval.

Conclusions:

Sex significantly impacts both behavioral performance and dynamic brain functional connectivity during visuospatial working memory (WM) tasks.
Distinct neural processing strategies are employed by males and females, highlighting sex-specific cognitive mechanisms in WM.