Spatial and verbal working memory: A functional magnetic resonance imaging study

According to numerous studies, working memory is not a unitary system. Baddeley's model of working memory includes besides central executive also two separate systems for verbal and visuo-spatial information processing. A modality- and process-specific specialization presumably exists in wor...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Blaž Koritnik, Miha Kočevar, Jernej Knific, Rok Tavčar, Lilijana Šprah
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Slovenian Psychologists' Association 2004-08-01
Series:Psihološka Obzorja
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Online Access:http://psiholoska-obzorja.si/arhiv_clanki/2004_2/koritnik_et_al.pdf
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Summary:According to numerous studies, working memory is not a unitary system. Baddeley's model of working memory includes besides central executive also two separate systems for verbal and visuo-spatial information processing. A modality- and process-specific specialization presumably exists in working memory system of the frontal lobes. In our preliminary study, we have used functional magnetic resonance imaging to study the pattern of cortical activation during spatial and verbal n-back task in six healthy subjects. A bilateral fronto-parietal cortical network was activated in both tasks. There was larger activation of right parietal and bilateral occipital areas in spatial than in vebal task. Activation of left sensorimotor area was larger in verbal compared to spatial task. No task-specific differences were found in the prefrontal cortex. Our results support the assumption that modality-specific processes exist within the working-memory system.
ISSN:2350-5141