Short-term Memory vs Working Memory

Short-Term Memory and Working Memory

• Short-term memory (STM) is our conscious representation of the present moment, where information from sensory and long-term memory is integrated to achieve current goals.

• STM has a limited capacity of seven plus or minus two items and a duration of 15-30 seconds, with maintenance rehearsal being the primary encoding mechanism for transfer to long-term memory (LTM).

• The digit span task is used to assess verbal STM capacity, where participants recall a sequence of verbally presented digits in the order they were presented, with an average span of 7 items.

• The Brown-Peterson task is used to measure the decay of the STM trace over time, with the retention interval filled with a task that prevents verbal rehearsal of the information.

• Serial position effects provide evidence for separate STM and LTM stores, with transfer to LTM through rehearsal, where the primacy effect reflects good retrieval of the first items presented, and the recency effect reflects good retrieval of the last items presented.

• Levels of processing experiments challenge the original model of STM, where meaningful processing of information during encoding produces long-term memory traces, and shallow processing is less effective for long-term retention.

• Alan Baddeley's working memory model consists of a multi-component system that supports meaningful encoding and active reasoning and problem-solving, with the central executive, phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad, and episodic buffer as its components.

• The central executive directs attention and retrieves information from the phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad for integration in the episodic buffer, where multi-modal memory traces are formed and stored in episodic LTM.

• The episodic buffer provides a storage system that binds together the inputs from the visual/spatial and auditory systems and integrates them in a multisensory representation of the current contents of awareness.

• The episodic buffer serves as a modelling space that is separate from LTM, but which forms an important stage in long-term episodic learning.

• Baddeley's working memory model differs from the Atkinson and Shiffrin model by abandoning the concept of a unitary short-term store in favor of a multi-component system and emphasizing the function of such a system in problem-solving and complex cognition.

• The levels of processing experiments shifted memory researchers to think about STM as a system that supports learning and reasoning rather than focusing on mere rehearsal of information with the primary goal being immediate recall.Working Memory: Components and Neural Basis

• Working memory is a multicomponent, multi-modal system governed by executive processes.

• The system comprises of the phonological loop, visuo-spatial sketchpad, and the central executive.

• The phonological loop is a mental workspace for manipulating auditory and verbal information and is important in language development and verbal reasoning tasks.

• The visuo-spatial sketchpad is a temporary store for representations of visual and spatial information and enables the mental manipulation of visually and spatially represented information.

• The central executive is responsible for executive processes such as goal orientation, focus attention, control of social behavior, and planning and problem solving.

• Executive processes are governed by circuitry in the pre-frontal cortex, especially dorsalateral prefrontal cortex and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC).

• Working memory functions include a wide range of cognitive processes and behavioral competencies, such as verbal reasoning, problem-solving, planning, sequencing, and multitasking.

• The neural basis of working memory is located across an integrated cortical network.

• The phonological loop is a left hemisphere fronto-temporal lobe network, while the visuo-spatial sketchpad is a right occipital-parietal network.

• The episodic buffer integrates multi-modal information in an integrated ‘episodic trace’ within the parietal cortex (association cortex).

• Levels of processing affect transfer to long-term memory and suggest a working-memory rather than a system for shallow maintenance of information.

• Baddeley's model of working memory expands the concept of short-term memory to a multicomponent, multi-modal system governed by executive processes and provides an active workspace for reasoning and problem-solving.

Short-Term Memory and Working Memory

• Short-term memory (STM) is our conscious representation of the present moment, where information from sensory and long-term memory is integrated to achieve current goals.

• STM has a limited capacity of seven plus or minus two items and a duration of 15-30 seconds, with maintenance rehearsal being the primary encoding mechanism for transfer to long-term memory (LTM).

• The digit span task is used to assess verbal STM capacity, where participants recall a sequence of verbally presented digits in the order they were presented, with an average span of 7 items.

• The Brown-Peterson task is used to measure the decay of the STM trace over time, with the retention interval filled with a task that prevents verbal rehearsal of the information.

• Serial position effects provide evidence for separate STM and LTM stores, with transfer to LTM through rehearsal, where the primacy effect reflects good retrieval of the first items presented, and the recency effect reflects good retrieval of the last items presented.

• Levels of processing experiments challenge the original model of STM, where meaningful processing of information during encoding produces long-term memory traces, and shallow processing is less effective for long-term retention.

• Alan Baddeley's working memory model consists of a multi-component system that supports meaningful encoding and active reasoning and problem-solving, with the central executive, phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad, and episodic buffer as its components.

• The central executive directs attention and retrieves information from the phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad for integration in the episodic buffer, where multi-modal memory traces are formed and stored in episodic LTM.

• The episodic buffer provides a storage system that binds together the inputs from the visual/spatial and auditory systems and integrates them in a multisensory representation of the current contents of awareness.

• The episodic buffer serves as a modelling space that is separate from LTM, but which forms an important stage in long-term episodic learning.

• Baddeley's working memory model differs from the Atkinson and Shiffrin model by abandoning the concept of a unitary short-term store in favor of a multi-component system and emphasizing the function of such a system in problem-solving and complex cognition.

• The levels of processing experiments shifted memory researchers to think about STM as a system that supports learning and reasoning rather than focusing on mere rehearsal of information with the primary goal being immediate recall.Working Memory: Components and Neural Basis

• Working memory is a multicomponent, multi-modal system governed by executive processes.

• The system comprises of the phonological loop, visuo-spatial sketchpad, and the central executive.

• The phonological loop is a mental workspace for manipulating auditory and verbal information and is important in language development and verbal reasoning tasks.

• The visuo-spatial sketchpad is a temporary store for representations of visual and spatial information and enables the mental manipulation of visually and spatially represented information.

• The central executive is responsible for executive processes such as goal orientation, focus attention, control of social behavior, and planning and problem solving.

• Executive processes are governed by circuitry in the pre-frontal cortex, especially dorsalateral prefrontal cortex and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC).

• Working memory functions include a wide range of cognitive processes and behavioral competencies, such as verbal reasoning, problem-solving, planning, sequencing, and multitasking.

• The neural basis of working memory is located across an integrated cortical network.

• The phonological loop is a left hemisphere fronto-temporal lobe network, while the visuo-spatial sketchpad is a right occipital-parietal network.

• The episodic buffer integrates multi-modal information in an integrated ‘episodic trace’ within the parietal cortex (association cortex).

• Levels of processing affect transfer to long-term memory and suggest a working-memory rather than a system for shallow maintenance of information.

• Baddeley's model of working memory expands the concept of short-term memory to a multicomponent, multi-modal system governed by executive processes and provides an active workspace for reasoning and problem-solving.