Editing Working memory (section)

{{Short description|Cognitive system for temporarily holding information}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
'''Working memory''' is a cognitive system with a limited capacity that can [[Memory|hold information]] temporarily.<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Miyake A, Shah P |title=Models of working memory: Mechanisms of Active Maintenance and Executive Control |date=1999 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=978-0-521-58325-1 }}{{pn|date=July 2024}}</ref> It is important for reasoning and the guidance of decision-making and behavior.<ref name="Executive functions">{{cite journal | vauthors = Diamond A | title = Executive functions | journal = Annual Review of Psychology | volume = 64 | pages = 135–168 | year = 2013 | pmid = 23020641 | pmc = 4084861 | doi = 10.1146/annurev-psych-113011-143750 | quote = WM (holding information in mind and manipulating it) is distinct from short-term memory (just holding information in mind). They cluster onto separate factors in factor analyses of children, adolescents, and adults (Alloway et al. 2004, Gathercole et al. 2004). They are linked to different neural subsystems. WM relies more on dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, whereas maintaining information in mind but not manipulating it [as long as the number of items is not huge (suprathreshold)] does not need involvement of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (D'Esposito et al. 1999, Eldreth et al. 2006, Smith & Jonides 1999). Imaging studies show frontal activation only in ventrolateral prefrontal cortex for memory maintenance that is not suprathreshold.<br /><br />WM and short-term memory also show different developmental progressions; the latter develops earlier and faster. }}</ref><ref name="NHM-Cognitive Control">{{cite book|title=Molecular Neuropharmacology: A Foundation for Clinical Neuroscience|vauthors=Malenka RC, Nestler EJ, Hyman SE|publisher=McGraw-Hill Medical|year=2009|isbn=978-0-07-148127-4|veditors=Sydor A, Brown RY|edition=2nd|location=New York|pages=313–321|chapter=Chapter 13: Higher Cognitive Function and Behavioral Control|quote={{bull}} Executive function, the cognitive control of behavior, depends on the prefrontal cortex, which is highly developed in higher primates and especially humans.<br />{{bull}} Working memory is a short-term, capacity-limited cognitive buffer that stores information and permits its manipulation to guide decision-making and behavior.&nbsp;...<br /> working memory may be impaired in ADHD, the most common childhood psychiatric disorder seen in clinical settings&nbsp;... ADHD can be conceptualized as a disorder of executive function; specifically, ADHD is characterized by reduced ability to exert and maintain cognitive control of behavior. Compared with healthy individuals, those with ADHD have diminished ability to suppress inappropriate prepotent responses to stimuli (impaired response inhibition) and diminished ability to inhibit responses to irrelevant stimuli (impaired interference suppression).&nbsp;... Early results with structural MRI show thinning of the cerebral cortex in ADHD subjects compared with age-matched controls in prefrontal cortex and posterior parietal cortex, areas involved in working memory and attention.}}</ref> Working memory is often used synonymously with [[short-term memory]], but some theorists consider the two forms of memory distinct, assuming that working memory allows for the manipulation of stored information, whereas short-term memory only refers to the short-term storage of information.<ref name="Executive functions" /><ref name="Cowan">{{cite book | vauthors = Cowan N | title = Essence of Memory | chapter = Chapter 20 What are the differences between long-term, short-term, and working memory? | series = Progress in Brain Research | volume = 169 | issue = 169 | pages = 323–338 | year = 2008 | publisher = Elsevier | pmid = 18394484 | pmc = 2657600 | doi = 10.1016/S0079-6123(07)00020-9 | isbn = 978-0-444-53164-3 }}</ref> Working memory is a theoretical concept central to [[cognitive psychology]], neuropsychology, and [[neuroscience]].