Activation of the prefrontal cortex improves working memory

April 02, 2009

Psychologists and neurologists invest considerable effort in the study of working memory. In terms of information retention, there is a difference between long-term memory, which is affected in diseases such as Alzheimer, and short-term or working memory, which allows us to make immediate decisions or structure a discourse. This more ephemeral memory is affected in diseases such as schizophrenia and depression, although a cause-effect relationship has not been established. People with a higher working-memory capacity score higher on intelligence tests and, for this reason, it is thought that it may be intimately linked to people's cognitive ability. A study by IDIBAPS uses computational systems neurobiology models and functional magnetic resonance imaging scans to show that there are two parts of the cerebral cortex with highly differentiated roles implicated in this type of memory. The results of the study were published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), in an article headed by Dr. Albert Compte of the Systems Neuroscience team of the Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), and with Fredrik Edin as the first author. This study was carried out in collaboration with two other laboratories of the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, led by professors Torkel Klingberg and Jesper Tegnér.

Thanks to complex computer algorithms, it is possible to simulate a virtual network in which a large number of neurons interact. These models can simulate the functioning of the structures in our brains. According to the computer model published in PNAS, when the working memory needs to be increased, the prefrontal cortex reinforces the activation of the parietal cortex, in which the information is temporarily stored. A brief stimulus that reaches the parietal cortex generates a reverberating activation that maintains a subpopulation active, while inhibitory interactions with neurons further away (lateral inhibition) prevents activation of the entire network. This lateral inhibition is also responsible for limiting the mnemonic capacity of the parietal network. The reinforcement of the parietal cortex by the prefrontal cortex prevents its inhibition, thereby temporarily improving working memory.

To verify this hypothesis, 25 healthy individuals carried out simple visual-memory tests while inside a functional magnetic resonance scanner. The differences in their ability to complete the exercises were linked to the intensity of activation of the prefrontal cortex and to their interconnection with the parietal cortex. The IDIBAPS and Karolinska researchers thus confirmed the hypothesis formulated based on the computer model. The more the prefrontal cortex is activated, the greater the capacity of the parietal cortex for retaining short-term visual information - an indicator of working-memory capacity.

This study explains many diverse results that have been obtained in recent years in psychology and neuroimaging studies on working memory. This is an innovative view of the neurobiological mechanisms of cognitive control and opens up new lines of research. Clinical studies will be needed to determine whether the stimulus of the prefrontal cortex, or its training by means of memory exercises and games, can have an effect on diseases in which working memory is damaged, such as depression or schizophrenia.

IDIBAPS - Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer

Working Memory and Academic Learning: Assessment and Intervention
by Milton J. Dehn (Author)

Equipping school and child psychologists, and neuropsychologists with critical information on the role of working memory in learning and achievement, Working Memory and Academic Learning offers guidance on assessment tools, interventions, and current evidence-based best practices. Its specific, step-by-step guidance and hands-on case studies enables you to identify how working memory relates to academic attainment and how to apply this knowledge in professional practice.

Working Memory and Learning: A Practical Guide for Teachers
by Susan E Gathercole (Author), Tracy Packiam Alloway (Author)

A good working memory is crucial to becoming a successful leaner, yet there is very little material available in an easy-to-use format that explains the concept and offers practitioners ways to support children with poor working memory in the classroom. This book provides a coherent overview of the role played by working memory in learning during the school years, and uses theory to inform good practice.Topics covered include:" the link between working memory skills and key areas of learning (such as literacy & numeracy)" the relationship between working memory and children with developmental disorders " assessment of children for working memory deficits " strategies for supporting working memory in under-performing childrenThis accessible guide will help SENCOs, teachers, teaching...

Improving Working Memory: Supporting Students' Learning
by Tracy Packiam Alloway (Author)

Your working memory is the information your brain stores for a short period of time, it is your brain's post-it note if you like, and how much information you can remember has a huge influence on how well you do at school, and beyond. By understanding a child's working memory, you will be able to support their learning at school, and their concentration. Better working memory can be particularly useful to children with conditions where poor working memory is thought to be an underlying factor. Such conditions include:dyslexiadyscalculiaspeech and language difficultiesdevelopmental coordination disorders (motor dyspraxia)ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder)autistic spectrum disordersThis book explains how to spot problems early, and how to work with children to improve their...

Working Memory, Thought, and Action (Oxford Psychology Series)
by Alan Baddeley (Author)

The first edition of Working Memory was published in 1986 and was both widely cited and highly influential. The follow-up to this classic book has two aims - to discuss the developments that have occurred within the multicomponent model, since the publication of Working Memory, and secondly, to place the concept of multicomponent working memory in a broader context. The updating section of the book comprises two chapters each on the phonological loop, the visuo-spatial sketchpad, the central executive and the episodic buffer, with further chapters on the relevance to working memory of studies of the recency effect, of work based on individual differences, and of neuroimaging research.

The broader implications of the concept of working memory are discussed in chapters on social...

The Overflowing Brain: Information Overload and the Limits of Working Memory
by Torkel Klingberg (Author)

As the pace of technological change accelerates, we are increasingly experiencing a state of information overload. Statistics show that we are interrupted every three minutes during the course of the work day. Multitasking between email, cell-phone, text messages, and four or five websites while listening to an iPod forces the brain to process more and more informaton at greater and greater speeds. And yet the human brain has hardly changed in the last 40,000 years.

Are all these high-tech advances overtaxing our Stone Age brains or is the constant flood of information good for us, giving our brains the daily exercise they seem to crave? In The Overflowing Brain, cognitive scientist Torkel Klingberg takes us on a journey into the limits and possibilities of the brain. He suggests...

Smart but Scattered: The Revolutionary "Executive Skills" Approach to Helping Kids Reach Their Potential
by Peg Dawson (Author), Richard Guare (Author)

There’s nothing more frustrating than watching your bright, talented son or daughter struggle with everyday tasks like finishing homework, putting away toys, or following instructions at school. Your “smart but scattered” child might also have trouble coping with disappointment or managing anger. Drs. Peg Dawson and Richard Guare have great news: there’s a lot you can do to help.

The latest research in child development shows that many kids who have the brain and heart to succeed lack or lag behind in crucial “executive skills”--the fundamental habits of mind required for getting organized, staying focused, and controlling impulses and emotions. Learn easy-to-follow steps to identify your child’s strengths and weaknesses, use activities and techniques proven to...

Help for the Struggling Student: Ready-to-Use Strategies and Lessons to Build Attention, Memory, and Organizational Skills
by Mimi Gold (Author)

Here is a unique picture book of learning solutions for teachers who are trying to help students struggling in three main areas of learning - attention, memory, and organization. For each area, it identifies specific problems such as difficulties with left to right scanning (an attention problem), presents an observed student behavior, explains the problem, and provides strategies and visuals to correct it, including illustrated worksheets.

The Cognitive Neuroscience of Working Memory
by Naoyuki Osaka (Editor), Robert Logie (Editor), Mark D'Esposito (Editor)

Working memory has been one of the most intensively studied systems in cognitive psychology. It is only relatively recently however that researchers have been able to study the neural processes might underlye working memory, leading to a proliferation of research in this domain.

The Cognitive Neuroscience of Working Memory brings together world class researchers from around the world to summarize our current knowledge of this field, and directions for future research. An historical opening chapter by Alan Baddeley and Graham Hitch sets the context for the subsequent chapters. The scope of the book is exceptionally broad, providing a showcase for leading edge research on all contemporary concepts of working memory, using techniques from experimental psychology, from single cell...

Variation in Working Memory
by Andrew Conway (Editor), Chris Jarrold (Editor), Michael Kane (Editor), Akira Miyake (Editor), John Towse (Editor)

Working memory--the ability to keep important information in mind while comprehending, thinking, and acting--varies considerably from person to person and changes dramatically during each person's life. Understanding such individual and developmental differences is crucial because working memory is a major contributor to general intellectual functioning. This volume offers a state-of-the-art, integrative, and comprehensive approach to understanding variation in working memory by presenting explicit, detailed comparisons of the leading theories. It incorporates views from the different research groups that operate on each side of the Atlantic, and covers working-memory research on a wide variety of populations, including healthy adults, children with and without learning difficulties,...

Working Memory and Neurodevelopmental Disorders
by Tracy Packiam Alloway (Author), Susan E. Gathercole (Author)

Short-term or working memory - the capacity to hold and manipulate information mentally over brief periods of time - plays an important role in supporting a wide range of everyday activities, particularly in childhood. Children with weak working memory skills often struggle in key areas of learning and, given its impact on cognitive abilities, the identification of working memory impairments is a priority for those who work with children with learning disabilities. Working Memory and Neurodevelopmental Disorders supports clinical assessment and management of working memory deficits by summarising the current theoretical understanding and methods of assessment of working memory. It outlines the working memory profiles of individuals with a range of neurodevelopmental disorders...