Verbal and visuospatial working memory can be segregated using the n-back paradigm
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The retrieved evidence discusses verbal and visuospatial working memory domains and mentions the use of the n-back task with specific stimulus modalities, but does not establish whether verbal and visuospatial working memory can be segregated using the n-back paradigm.
The n-back task has been widely used to study working memory. Previous studies investigating the electrophysiological (electroencephalogram [EEG]) and hemodynamic correlates (functional near-infrared spectroscopy [fNIRS]) of the n-back task have been generally based on verbal stimuli and only investigated EEG frequency bands. We simultaneously acquired the EEG and fNIRS in 35 participants (16 males; age = 26.4 ± 4.3 years; educational attainment = 18 ± 2 years) during a visuospatial n-back task. The task encompassed a control condition and a low (requiring to recall one previous stimulus) and a high (requiring to recall two previous stimuli) working memory load experimental conditions. Accuracy decreased and reaction times slowed in the high compared to both low load and control conditions. Regarding EEG, P3a showed higher amplitude in the experimental conditions compared to the control one, and P3b exhibited higher amplitude in the low compared to the high load condition. Regarding fNIRS, the high load condition showed higher deoxygenated hemoglobin compared to the control one. Moreover, the central frontopolar cortex showed higher activation compared with the left frontal cortex. Our study showed that working memory load during a visuospatial n-back task influenced behavioral and electrophysiological indices. Even if the load effect was only observed for deoxygenated hemoglobin on hemodynamic data, this was in line with previous studies and coherent with its electrophysiological correlates. Thus, our study confirms that EEG and fNIRS can be successfully used in multimodal acquisitions, but also highlights that future studies are needed to develop a novel version of the task. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
Working memory (WM) supports the temporary storage and manipulation of information, yet its underlying architecture remains debated. Prior research has examined whether WM is organized according to domain-general or domain-specific principles across processing levels (storage versus manipulation) and content domains, focusing mainly on verbal and visuospatial modalities. However, tactile WM has rarely been tested within these frameworks. The present study examined the latent structure of WM by comparing six confirmatory factor analysis models, that varied in their assumptions regarding modality specificity and processing level, thereby extending prior structural investigation to include the tactile modality. A sample of 224 young adults completed the Digit Span, Visuospatial Span, and Tactual Span tasks, each comprising forward (storage) and backward (manipulation) recall conditions. Models assuming a unitary structure, differentiated solely by processing level or modality, and mixed domain-general/domain-specific architectures, all showed poor fit. By contrast, a fully differentiated six-factor model, distinguishing storage and manipulation separately for each modality, demonstrated excellent fit. These findings indicate that WM is organized by both content and processing level, with storage and manipulation constituting a domain-specific resource, and that tactile WM forms a distinct component, which is irreducible to verbal or visuospatial frameworks. The results suggest that WM architecture is broader and more differentiated than previously proposed, highlighting the importance of incorporating tactile processing into future theoretical and empirical models of WM.
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