Behavioral and Brain Sciences

Table of Contents - 2003 - Volume 26, Issue 06  


Short Communication

Working memory as a mental workspace: Why activated long-term memory is not enough

Robert H. Logie a1 and Sergio Della Sala a1
a1 Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ Scotland, United Kingdom r.logie@staffmail.ed.ac.uk sergio@abdn.ac.uk

Abstract

Working-memory retention as activated long-term memory fails to capture orchestrated processing and storage, the hallmark of the concept of working memory. The event-related potential (ERP) data are compatible with working memory as a mental workspace that holds and manipulates information on line, which is distinct from long-term memory, and deals with the products of activated traces from stored knowledge.