Editing Spatial memory (section)

===The role of the central executive===
Research into the exact function of the visuo-spatial sketchpad has indicated that both spatial [[short-term memory]] and working memory are dependent on executive resources and are not entirely distinct.<ref name = "Ang & Lee" /> For instance, performance on a working memory but not on a short-term memory task was affected by [[articulatory suppression]] suggesting that impairment on the spatial task was caused by the concurrent performance on a task that had extensive use of executive resources.<ref name = "Ang & Lee" /> Results have also found that performances were impaired on STM and WM tasks with executive suppression.<ref name = "Ang & Lee" /> This illustrates how, within the visuo-spatial domain, both STM and WM require similar utility of the central executive.<ref name = "Ang & Lee" />

Additionally, during a spatial visualisation task (which is related to executive functioning and not STM or WM) concurrent executive suppression impaired performance indicating that the effects were due to common demands on the central executive and not short-term storage.<ref name = "Ang & Lee" /> The researchers concluded with the explanation that the central executive employs [[Cognitive style|cognitive strategies]] enabling participants to both encode and maintain mental representations during short-term memory tasks.<ref name = "Ang & Lee" />

Although studies suggest that the central executive is intimately involved in a number of spatial tasks, the exact way in which they are connected remains to be seen.<ref name = "Fisk et al.">{{cite journal | last1 = Fisk | first1 = J. E. | last2 = Sharp | first2 = C. A.| year = 2003 | title = The role of the executive system in visuo-spatial memory functioning | journal = Brain and Cognition | volume = 52 | issue = 3| pages = 364–381 | doi = 10.1016/S0278-2626(03)00183-0 | pmid = 12907181 |display-authors=etal}}</ref>