Working Memory: What is it? Why does it matter? What can I do about it?

Author: Dr. Judith Aronson-Ramos, MD,FAAP

There is a term parents are hearing a lot about lately called, “working memory”. Working Memory is a critical part of our ability to think, solve problems, and relate to others. Working memory is not a new term or concept. It was developed out of the field of cognitive psychology in the 1960’s when research in learning and memory demonstrated that there is a storage capacity in the brain where people temporarily hold information that they need to use in all kinds of learning, thinking, and interacting activities.

As we have learned more about the ways people learn and remember, research is pointing to the importance of working memory in learning, staying focused, following directions, and remembering the information you need to reason or analyze a problem. The exciting thing is that there is now data to show that working memory problems and weaknesses are treatable! Children and adults who have working memory deficits may include those with: ADHD, learning disabilities, social skills deficits, poor school achievement, victims of brain injury or stroke, and others.

To further understand what working memory is, think of trying to remember directions while in your car.

“Go straight, the fourth light turn right, ¼ mile on your left, there is a dirt road, go straight over the hill around the pond, and we are the fifth house on the right, #3452 .”

That is taxing to remember right? Or how about a phone number, a confirmation number, or the previous five paragraphs you just read. These are all small examples of working memory in the everyday life of an adult.  We all intuitively know that working memory demands in our everyday lives have dramatically increased. At work and home as our capacity to be productive has increased with technology, the demands on our working memory have escalated. These trends make working memory difficulties more pronounced. Also working memory naturally declines with age. From your mid-twenties there is a constant decrease in working memory capacity.

Now think about your child who may be struggling in school or socially for what ever reason. Imagine the long strings of instructions from the teacher: “Open your history book to chapter 7, unit 5B, pages 235-237, only do the even number in the first 25, then numbers 26-30.” Or the child who can’t remember the prior 3 pages he or she just read of a 20 page reading assignment. Or the child who forgets how to do a math problem, spell a word, complete an assignment, or follow a classroom routine despite repeated drill on how to do these things. Or the child who cant follow a fast paced conversation with their friends, and so doesn’t seem “clued in” to his or her peer group

Working memory may be playing a role as it is literally the brain’s capacity to hold information temporarily in storage to use in thinking and processing activities. This information directly influences learning and behavior. The chart below from aboutworkingmemory.com is a nice example of the ways working memory problems can present in children of all ages and in adults:

Working Memory and Academics

Working Memory and Professional Life

Professionals use working memory for…

• Getting to work on time
• Meeting deadlines at work
• Multi-tasking and prioritizing
• Working effectively in pressure situations
• Remembering important names and phone numbers
• Interaction with co-workers
• Writing emails, memos, or summaries

Indicators that a working memory needs exercise...

• Frequently late to work
• Underestimates time required to complete a task
• Problems breaking a project down into manageable steps or dealing with more than one task at a time
• Can’t concentrate under pressure; prone to panicking
• Can’t remember clients’ names or numbers after meeting them or hanging up the phone
• Difficulty creating neat and coherent emails, memos, or summaries

Cogmed Working Memory Training is an at home computer- based program that may benefit children and adults experiencing these issues in everyday life. It has been well- researched, was developed in Sweden, and has been in use in the US and Europe now for several years. The data is showing the effects of the training are long lasting and result in improvements in a broad range of areas from academic and work performance, to relationships and social functioning.

The initial five weeks of training involve 30-45 minutes a day on the computer, five days a week. This is followed by extension training which is roughly 15 minutes a day twice a week. Although the extension training is optional, it is included as part of the training package and many families choose to participate. However the critical part of the training, and the research, is all based on the original 5 week intensive program. The exciting thing about the training is that the five week intensive does result in real measurable brain changes that are long lasting.

The imaging studies, mostly functional MRI, that were used in the research showed blood flow increases in the frontal lobes and prefrontal cortex of the brain.  Current research also supports that positive training effects were measurable out six months post-training, There is a growing body of ongoing research looking at the lasting impact of working memory training.

Cogmed offers the hope of actually rewiring and improving brain capacity, which is very exciting for me as a physician since most of our traditional treatment tools are aimed at making symptoms more tolerable or minimizing the impact of deficits and difficulties on everyday life. To actually be able to change the brain in a positive way without side effects is really the new frontier in treating attention deficits and related learning problems.

Cogmed Training at Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics of South Florida is administered under the supervision of Dr. Aronson-Ramos. For more information please call the office at 954-531-0847.  Allison Kaufman of Find Space of Mind is an affiliate coach, who also offers the program. Learn more

For more specific information about working memory or Cogmed you can also visit the following websites:

• www.cogmed.com
• www.aboutworkingemory.com

The following books also offer excellent discussions of working memory and its impacts on learning and behavior:

• The Overflowing Brain by Torkel Klingberg
• Working Memory and Neurodevelopmental Disorders by Alloway and Gathercole
• Working Memory, Thought and Action by Alan Baddeley