ABSTRACT
The aim of the present study was to review the tasks that have been used to assess the functioning of the episodic buffer in Baddeley's multicomponent model of working memory. A systematic review of studies published from January 2000 to February 2013 was conducted. The search term "episodic buffer" was used in the Web of Knowledge, PsycINFO, PubMed, Embase, and BVS-Psi databases. The selected articles consisted of empirical studies that used tasks to assess the episodic buffer. Theoretical and review papers and studies with animals were excluded. The final sample comprised 36 papers. The tasks were categorized as experimental tasks or standardized tests. The experimental tasks were grouped by modality (unimodal or crossmodal) and described according to four criteria: task to be performed, type of stimulus used, secondary task employed, if any, and retention interval. The standardized tests included classical measures of working memory. Some tasks were found not to meet experimental criteria that were needed to evaluate the episodic buffer. Moreover, some of the standardized tests did not provide theoretical arguments or empirical evidence that the episodic buffer is recruited to perform them. The results are discussed in the context of the multicomponent model of working memory...
Subject(s)
Humans , Memory, Episodic , Memory, Short-Term , Neuropsychological TestsABSTRACT
Para resolver problemas aritméticos, los humanos necesitamos tratar con diferentes piezas de información. Por esta razón, parece plausible que necesitemos de algún sistema capaz de procesar, retener y manipular dicha información. La memoria de trabajo es el sistema encargado de llevar a cabo estos procesos, por lo que podría estar implicado en la resolución de operaciones aritméticas. En este sentido, la investigación empírica ha mostrado que los diferentes componentes de la memoria de trabajo (el ejecutivo central, el bucle fonológico, y la agenda visoespacial) juegan diferentes roles en el proceso de resolución de problemas aritméticos. Por otro lado, algunos investigadores sugieren que la discalculia evolutiva, la dificultad para llevar a cabo operaciones matemáticas más frecuente en la población, se caracteriza por un déficit principal en la memoria de trabajo. Sin embargo, estos resultados no han sido siempre replicados. En este artículo se presenta una revisión actualizada de la implicación de la memoria de trabajo en la resolución de operaciones aritméticas. Como se verá, cada componente cumple con una función específica en el proceso de resolución de operaciones aritméticas. Además, la evidencia en contra y apoyando un déficit principal en memoria de trabajo en pacientes con discalculia del desarrollo será revisada.
To solve arithmetic problems, humans need to deal with several pieces of information. The working memory system actively stores and manipulates information. For this reason, it seems plausible that this system is involved in solving arithmetic problems. In fact, it has been shown that the different subcomponents of working memory (central executive, phonological loop and visual sketchpad) play different roles in solving arithmetic problems. On the other hand, some research has shown that the most typical arithmetic disability, that is developmental dyscalculia, is characterized by a main deficit in working memory. However, these results have not been always obtained. In the present article the involvement of working memory in solving arithmetic operations is reviewed. Moreover, the evidence supporting and against a main impairment in working memory in people with developmental dyscalculia will be discussed.
Subject(s)
Humans , Dyscalculia/physiopathology , Executive Function , Memory, Short-Term/physiologyABSTRACT
In this study we used the dual-task paradigm to investigate the involvement of attention in the binding of verbal and visual information in working memory. A secondary task, backward counting by threes (BCT), was performed during the retention interval of the primary recognition task based on either visual or verbal information or the binding of both. The BCT affected accuracy and response time. Accuracy was affected only in the binding condition; response time was affected only in the isolated information condition. Together these results suggest that storing integrated visual and verbal information requires more attentional resources than storing information received separately. These results are discussed in terms of involvement of the central executive in storing integrated information in working memory.