WORKING MEMORY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does working memory mean? 

• WORKING MEMORY (noun)
  The noun WORKING MEMORY has 1 sense:

1. memory for intermediate results that must be held during thinking

  Familiarity information: WORKING MEMORY used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• WORKING MEMORY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Memory for intermediate results that must be held during thinking

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("working memory" is a kind of...):

memory; remembering (the cognitive processes whereby past experience is remembered)

 Context examples 

Obese children have a worse working memory than children of normal weight, a new study has found.

(Obesity Can Affect Kids’ Working Memory, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Most models of the brain assume that brain activity patterns need to continue in order to hold something in your working memory, Postle explains.

(Recalling temporary memories, NIH)

There was also evidence suggesting improvement in working memory.

(Blueberry Concentrate Improves Brain Function in Older People, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Mice genetically engineered to lack a functioning version of the enzyme-coding gene showed abnormalities in working memory, mimicking those commonly seen in schizophrenia patients.

(Schizophrenia risk gene linked to cognitive deficits in mice, National Institutes of Health)

While there was no difference in the appearance of the mice, at age 9 months and 12 months, the mice in the olive oil group performed significantly better on tests designed to evaluate working memory, spatial memory, and learning abilities.

(Study: Olive Oil Protects Brain From Alzheimer’s, VOA News)

Previous studies have linked being overweight with scoring lower on various measures of executive function, an umbrella term for several functions such as self-control, decision making, working memory (temporarily holding information for processing) and response to rewards.

(Childhood obesity linked to structural differences in key brain regions, University of Cambridge)

This type of memory is called working memory.

(Recalling temporary memories, NIH)

Restoring the gene’s function corrected the working memory deficit.

(Schizophrenia risk gene linked to cognitive deficits in mice, National Institutes of Health)

This rigorous research supported the conclusions of its predecessor, who appeared to have a poorer working memory for participants with higher BMI.

(Obesity Can Affect Kids’ Working Memory, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Dr Joanna Bowtell, head of Sport and Health Sciences at the University of Exeter, said: In this study we have shown that with just 12 weeks of consuming 30ml of concentrated blueberry juice every day, brain blood flow, brain activation and some aspects of working memory were improved in this group of healthy older adults.

(Blueberry Concentrate Improves Brain Function in Older People, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)