Abstract:
Working memory has been comprehensively studied in sensory domains, like vision, but little attention has been paid to how motor information (e.g., kinematics of recent movements) is maintained and manipulated in working memory. \"Motor working memory\" (MWM) is important for short-term behavioral control and skill learning. Here, we employed tasks that required participants to encode and recall reaching movements over short timescales. We conducted three experiments (N = 65 undergraduates) to examine MWM under varying cognitive loads, delays, and degrees of interference. The results support a model of MWM that includes an abstract code that flexibly transfers across effectors, and an effector-specific code vulnerable to interfering movements, even when interfering movements are irrelevant to the task. Neither code was disrupted by increasing visuospatial working memory load. These results echo distinctions between representational formats in other domains, suggesting that MWM shares a basic computational structure with other working memory subsystems.
摘要:
工作记忆在感觉领域得到了全面的研究,像视觉一样,但很少关注运动信息(例如,最近运动的运动学)在工作记忆中得到维护和操纵。“运动工作记忆”(MWM)对于短期行为控制和技能学习很重要。这里,我们采用了要求参与者在短时间尺度上编码和回忆到达动作的任务.我们进行了三个实验(N=65名本科生)来检查不同认知负荷下的MWM,延迟,和程度的干扰。结果支持MWM模型,该模型包括跨效应器灵活传输的抽象代码,和一个特定于效应器的代码容易受到干扰运动的影响,即使干扰运动与任务无关。这两种代码都不会因视觉空间工作记忆负荷的增加而中断。这些结果呼应了其他领域中代表性格式之间的区别,这表明MWM与其他工作记忆子系统共享一个基本的计算结构。