The Working Memory Brain
Read these sentences and decide if they are true or false:
1. Bananas live in water: True or False
2. Flowers smell nice: True or False
3. Dogs have four legs: True or False
Now, without looking at those sentences, can you remember the last word in each sentence in the correct order? If you were able to remember them, congratulate yourself. Your working memory is like an average 10 year old. This test is an example of the Listening Recall test from the Automated Working Memory Assessment. It measures verbal (auditory) working memory.
Brain imaging has confirmed that when we perform working memory tests, like the one above, there is electrical activity of neurons in the prefrontal cortex. We use different parts of the brain to remember verbal and visual-spatial information. Scientists suggest that the lower area of the prefrontal cortex (ventrolateral) is responsible for verbal working memory, while the higher area (dorsolateral) is linked to spatial working memory. These two areas are also linked to the different processes in performing a working memory task: the ventrolateral areas are engaged with keeping information active and the dorsolateral areas are involved in processing or managing information. Other areas of the brain are also activated during working memory tasks. When we engage in visual-spatial tasks, parts of the right-hemisphere and the hippocampus are also activated. In verbal working memory tasks, there is activation in the left-hemisphere, particularly in the ‘language centers’ such as Broca’s area. What is the take home message? Protect your head, you will need it for the rest of your life!
Adapted from Improing Working Memory: Supporting Students’ Learning (Sage Publication, 2010)
