Development of working memory capacity: schoolchildren interference inter-domain and intra-domain effects

Working memory (WM) refers to the cognitive system that deals with temporary storage and concurrent stimuli processing. It has been proposed that the ability to inhibit irrelevant information underlies the observed changes in WM during childhood. Since the inhibitory ability in the dual-task paradig...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Canet-Juric, Lorena, Introzzi, Isabel, Burin, Débora
Format: Online
Language:spa
Published: Universidad Nacional de Córdoba 2015
Subjects:
Online Access:https://revistas.unc.edu.ar/index.php/racc/article/view/26-37
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Summary:Working memory (WM) refers to the cognitive system that deals with temporary storage and concurrent stimuli processing. It has been proposed that the ability to inhibit irrelevant information underlies the observed changes in WM during childhood. Since the inhibitory ability in the dual-task paradigm changes depending on the similarity of modality in the primary and secondary tasks, the aim of this study was to replicate and extend previously observed intra and intermodal interference effects in late childhood. A battery based on the dual paradigm consisting of primary and secondary verbal and visuospatial tasks was administrated to children aged between nine and 11 years old. Results showed lower overall performance in visuospatial memory, and in memory without concurrent task.  Although there were significant age effects in memory, showing developmental changes in working memory, intermodal concurrent tasks did not show differences as a function of age. These findings call into question the role of inhibitory control in the development of working memory in this age bracket.