Original Research Article
Year: 2014 | Month: February | Volume: 4 | Issue: 2 | Pages: 40-45
Assessment of Working Memory in Young Adults
Swasti Banerjee1, Tanya Das2, Soumya Mishra1, Jayanti Mishra3
1Post graduate student, Dept. of Physiology, Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences, KIIT University, Bhubaneswar.
2MBBS student, Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences, KIIT University, Bhubaneswar.
3Professor, Department of Physiology, Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences, KIIT University, Bhubaneswar.
Corresponding Author:Soumya Mishra
ABSTRACT
Background: Working memory is the system that actively holds multiple pieces of transitory information in the mind, where they can be manipulated. Working memory includes subsystems that store and manipulate visual images or verbal information, as well as a central executive that coordinates the subsystems. It includes visual representation of the possible moves, and awareness of the flow of information into and out of memory, all stored for a limited amount of time. The cognitive processes needed to achieve this include the executive and attention control of short-term memory, which permit interim integration, processing, disposal, and retrieval of information.
Methods: 250 healthy young adults were tested in 3 sessions.20 set of mutually exclusive words were spoken to verbally, then written words and finally 20 visual objects were shown to the subjects for 30seconds each followed by 1 minute of discussion for distraction. Thereafter, the subjects wrote as many words as they could recall.
Results: The mean test scores of each session were higher in case of females as compared to males; also they scored much higher values as compared to males. Verbal word testing can be a better method of assessment of working memory.
Conclusion: Working memory can be a central problem for many people with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Those with weak working memory are likely to have learning disorders, too. This can be used as a reliable indicator of such disorders.
Key words: Working memory, attention deficit, learning disorders, verbal word testing, visual object testing, written word testing