Neural Mechanisms Determining the Capacity on Working Memory Tasks : Biophysical Modeling, Functional MR Imaging and EEG

ISBN-13: 9783639149074 / Angielski / Miękka / 2009 / 152 str.

Fredrik Edin

Opis

Working memory is the ability to temporarily retain goal-relevant visuospatial information in memory. This ability is crucial for higher cognitive function and its deficits can be found in disorders such as ADHD. Fortunately, working memory can be trained. In this thesis, Fredrik Edin combines experimental techniques such as functional MR imaging with mathematical modeling to investigate the neural basis of the capacity of working memory. He finds neural connections between and within working memory-related brain regions that increase the capacity of or access to working memory, and he develops a simple mathematical equation for working memory capacity. His research may further help explain the link between distractibility and low working memory capacity found in ADHD. A specific aim of this thesis has been to describe the mechanistic model in a way that is accessible to people without a modeling background.

O autorze

Fredrik Edin holds a PhD in computational neuroscience after
research at the Royal Institute of Technology and Karolinska
Institutet. His research focuses on the neural basis of working
memory, in particular how its capacity is affected by changes in
brain connectivity. This has led to a closed mathematical
formula for working memory capacity.