Working memory

S

Stellaria_graminea

Padawan Learner
Working memory is mentioned in a selection of threads on the forum, but I couldn't find a thread concentrating on it, thus I start this.

Kahneman separates our mental abilities in two categories, system 1 (the unconscious, easy-going, associate network) and system 2 (the conscious, deliberate thinking processes).

Working memory is closely linked to system 2. It is regarded as the mental, inner workplace, where the conscious handling and connecting of topics takes place. System 2 is like an entrance through psychology, while working memory is more connected to brain structure in the literature.

Here's the wikipedia link if anyone is interested: _https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Working_memory

Working memory is commonly thought to consist of a few modules (according to the common Baddeley and Hitch-model). One of those parts, «the central executive», is located in the frontal lobe, a structure that has increased significantly through human evolution. The size of the working memory has also increased a lot. Although our brains and genetics shares a lot with chimpanzees, our working memorys are very different. The relatively large working memory is one of those things that makes us human.

Working memorys are also highly variable within the human population. Both genetics and environment seem to have an impact on the size. For instance, high levels of stress gives a burden on the working memory, decreasing the available work space for thinking. Working memory is correlated with intelligence, and especially useful when learning new topics. It is also connected to attention and awareness, and our ability to consciously consider and select information. The size of the working memory gives limits for how many topics one can compare at the same time.

Having a larger working memory seems, to say the least, highly favorable.

One author argues that meditation is good for the working memory function. Other exercises of working memory has been proposed, but are highly discussed. There's also ways to help the working memory, work better within the limits.

I can provide references, this is only a brief overview, by all means.

There's also some questions I do wonder about, as the potential connections between consciousness, size of working memory, potential ability to consider information critically; and the potential benefits of increasing it/avoid to decrease it/use it smarter. Also, when some people are «taken over» when they communicate with non-human entities, while some others can communicate with them inside their heads, do the latter maybe have a larger working memory? Is working memory connected to the adamic versus pre-adamic division within humanity (for instance, mentioned here: http://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php/topic,21637.msg227019)?
 
Hi Stellaria graminea,

Stellaria graminea said:
Working memory is closely linked to system 2. It is regarded as the mental, inner workplace, where the conscious handling and connecting of topics takes place. System 2 is like an entrance through psychology, while working memory is more connected to brain structure in the literature.
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I think that subconscious processes are at play as well. See for example here:

Yet another option is to reconsider the view that active components of WM are conscious, and to suggest that WM can operate implicitly1 (cf. Spelke, Hirst, & Neisser, 1976). While both options are logically possible, psychological considerations – mainly, the grave limitations on conscious resources (e.g., Kahneman, 1973) – suggest to us that the latter is more plausible.

We argue, therefore, that WM can operate outside of conscious awareness. More specifically, we suggest that the processes that were identified above as underlying (or constituting) WM can be recruited without conscious intention, and that they can then go on to operate non-consciously. These include: (1) active maintenance of ordered information for relatively short periods of time; (2) context-relevant updating of information, and goal-relevant computations involving active representations; (3) rapid biasing (control) of task-relevant cognitions and behaviors, in the service of currently pursued goals. Furthermore, we contend that this is the case even when the representations on which these processes operate are inherent to the focal task. Lastly, we argue that the content that is task-relevant and that is modified by these processes may be unconscious too.

Since existing WM tasks take as given that WM is predominantly conscious, they cannot be used to systematically address questions regarding the role of conscious awareness in WM. We therefore developed two new working memory paradigms. In the next section we describe the paradigm that was used in four out of the five studies we report, and the following section examines whether it is indeed a working memory paradigm.
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Stellaria graminea said:
Having a larger working memory seems, to say the least, highly favorable.
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You are referring to an increase in working memory capacity I think, yes? :)

Stellaria graminea said:
There's also some questions I do wonder about, as the potential connections between consciousness, size of working memory, potential ability to consider information critically; and the potential benefits of increasing it/avoid to decrease it/use it smarter. Also, when some people are «taken over» when they communicate with non-human entities, while some others can communicate with them inside their heads, do the latter maybe have a larger working memory? Is working memory connected to the adamic versus pre-adamic division within humanity (for instance, mentioned here: http://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php/topic,21637.msg227019)?
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That is a tricky question! How would you think the working memory would be different between adamic vs pre-adamic? Perhaps it is possible that there is a higher capacity among adamic types. But that's a wild guess. Have you read this page yet? It provides interesting context to the session you linked to: Organic Portals – The “Other” Race Part I
 
Working memory is a term used for the cognitive system that can hold, prioritize and process task specific information. It also plays a role in transferring the results of the processing, "the lessons learned" from the task, to long term memory for future use.

[quote author=Stellaria graminea]
Working memory is closely linked to system 2. It is regarded as the mental, inner workplace, where the conscious handling and connecting of topics takes place. System 2 is like an entrance through psychology, while working memory is more connected to brain structure in the literature.
[/quote]

Working memory, being a mental workspace, is likely to be used by both System1 and System2 of Kahneman's model. Tasks of high complexity requiring fast responses would lead to more system1 type processing in working memory.

[quote author=Stellaria graminea]
There's also some questions I do wonder about, as the potential connections between consciousness, size of working memory, potential ability to consider information critically; and the potential benefits of increasing it/avoid to decrease it/use it smarter.
[/quote]

This is an interesting topic. Working memory is said to be responsible for how effectively we can use what we know in the present task. Acquiring knowledge is one aspect; how much of it we can bring to bear in the present moment in response to a specific situation is another aspect. The more task relevant information we are able to access and hold in our mind at a time, better is our utilization of the knowledge we possess.

There are various strategies used to improve the working of working memory. One involves recursively breaking a complex task into simpler chunks, solving the simple problems and integrating the results from the simpler solutions to reach the final solution. This is widely used in computer programming. Some people can use such techniques to perform mental computation feats which appear impossible. They may start off with higher capacity working memories and stretch/improve its working with repeated challenges and techniques.

Such strategies are not limited to computational applications alone. Psychologist Gerd Gigerenzer's research shows how simple rules can be used effectively to get "good enough" solutions to real life problems which have too much uncertainty for rigorous solutions. Gigerenzer's research is briefly discussed in Making Decisions - Risk, Uncertainty and Rationality . Once such rules are understood, they can be stored in long term memory (knowledge bank), accessed based on the situation at hand, and synthesized for a response/solution.

Another strategy is improved memorization by linking multiple perceptual modes (like verbal and visual, eg method of loci ).

How do such techniques help the functioning of working memory? Working memory can deal with a limited amount of information at a time. Techniques of simplifying a problem so that they can be solved by simple rules stored in long term memory prevents burdensome loading on the working memory. For complex memory recall tasks, cues used in memorization can be used to access and synthesize large chunks of information from long term storage. Using the workspace analogy, keeping the mental workspace clean, organized and clutter-free is conducive to more efficient functioning. This means using off-site storage with well indexed contents (like clearly organized and labeled tools) which can be accessed quickly as needed.

Increasing the size of the workspace is useful as well. We all have mental workspaces of a certain size based on genetic factors as well as developmental experiences. There are exercises on the web which are said to improve working memory capacity. I have not tried any of them, so cannot comment on their effectiveness. Some simple techniques that I have tried in the context of meditation are shared in this post . Incrementally keeping track of multiple things at the same time likely stretches the boundaries of working memory thus increasing its capacity.

Another interesting avenue towards increasing working memory is through developing proprioceptive skills which in 4th Way terms would go under the umbrella of moving center activities.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/07/150729102407.htm
Climbing a tree and balancing on a beam can dramatically improve cognitive skills, according to a study recently conducted by researchers in the Department of Psychology at the University of North Florida.

The study, led by Drs. Ross Alloway, a research associate, and Tracy Alloway, an associate professor, is the first to show that proprioceptively dynamic activities, like climbing a tree, done over a short period of time have dramatic working memory benefits. Working Memory, the active processing of information, is linked to performance in a wide variety of contexts from grades to sports.

The results of this research, recently published in Perceptual and Motor Skills, suggest working memory improvements can be made in just a couple of hours of these physical exercises. "Improving working memory can have a beneficial effect on so many areas in our life, and it's exciting to see that proprioceptive activities can enhance it in such a short period of time," said Tracy Alloway.

The aim of this study was to see if proprioceptive activities completed over a short period of time can enhance working memory performance. Proprioception, the awareness of body positioning and orientation, is associated with working memory. It was also of interest whether an acute and highly intensive period of exercise would yield working memory gains.

The UNF researchers recruited adults ages 18 to 59 and tested their working memory. Next, they undertook proprioceptively dynamic activities, designed by the company Movnat, which required proprioception and at least one other element, such as locomotion or route planning.

In the study, such activities included climbing trees, walking and crawling on a beam approximately 3 inches wide, moving while paying attention to posture, running barefoot, navigating over, under and around obstacles, as well as lifting and carrying awkwardly weighted objects. After two hours, participants were tested again, and researchers found that their working memory capacity had increased by 50 percent, a dramatic improvement.

The researchers also tested two control groups. The first was a college class learning new information in a lecture setting to see if learning new information improved working memory. The second was a yoga class to see if static proprioceptive activities were cognitively beneficial. However, neither control group experienced working memory benefits.

Proprioceptively dynamic training may place a greater demand on working memory than either control condition because as environment and terrain changes, the individual recruits working memory to update information to adapt appropriately. Though the yoga control group engaged in proprioceptive activities that required awareness of body position, it was relatively static as they performed the yoga postures in a small space, which didn't allow for locomotion or navigation.

"This research suggests that by doing activities that make us think, we can exercise our brains as well as our bodies," said Ross Alloway. "This research has wide-ranging implications for everyone from kids to adults. By taking a break to do activities that are unpredictable and require us to consciously adapt our movements, we can boost our working memory to perform better in the classroom and the boardroom."
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Lastly, a speculation regarding the possible relationship of working memory to consciousness. Per my understanding, the capacity and efficiency of our working memory determines how much we can expand the present moment (thinking of time as multidimensional rather than linear), which is what Mouravieff possibly alluded to in his "doctrine of the present" (Gnosis Book 1). And the ability to expand the present moment is likely tied to quality of consciousness.
 
In following obyvatel's link i think that we can get into the workout
"as" working memory too. (In remembering well, the first video i already saw it somewhere in a thread)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tracy-alloway-phd-and-ross-alloway-phd/climb-a-tree-for-working-_b_7909180.html?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tracy-alloway-phd-and-ross-alloway-phd/climb-a-tree-for-working-_1_b_7944200.html?

And here:
https://www.amazon.com/Overflowing-Brain-Information-Overload-Working/dp/0195372883/ref=pd_sim_14_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=C5EPF3G6RXWMDKW608KS#reader_0195372883
On the page 175 of notes and references, about:
The pulvinar nucleus of the thalamus has been considered as a key structure for visual attention functions (Grieve, K.L. et al. (2000). Trends Neurosci., 23: 35-39; Shipp, S. (2003). Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B Biol. Sci., 358(1438): 1605-1624). During the past several years, we have studied the role of the human pulvinar in visual attention and oculomotor behaviour by testing a small group of patients with unilateral pulvinar lesions. Here we summarize some of these findings, and present new evidence for the role of this structure in both eye movements and visual attention through two versions of a temporal-order judgment task and an antisaccade task. Pulvinar damage induces an ipsilesional bias in perceptual temporal-order judgments and in saccadic decision, and also increases the latency of antisaccades away from contralesional targets. The demonstration that pulvinar damage affects both attention and oculomotor behaviour highlights the role of this structure in the integration of visual and oculomotor signals and, more generally, its role in flexibly linking visual stimuli with context-specific motor responses.
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And
The thalamic reticular nucleus: structure, function and concept.
On the basis of theoretical, anatomical, psychological and physiological considerations, Francis Crick (1984) proposed that, during selective attention, the thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN) controls the internal attentional searchlight that simultaneously highlights all the neural circuits called on by the object of attention. In other words, he submitted that during either perception, or the preparation and execution of any cognitive and/or motor task, the TRN sets all the corresponding thalamocortical (TC) circuits in motion. Over the last two decades, behavioural, electrophysiological, anatomical and neurochemical findings have been accumulating, supporting the complex nature of the TRN and raising questions about the validity of this speculative hypothesis. Indeed, our knowledge of the actual functioning of the TRN is still sprinkled with unresolved questions. Therefore, the time has come to join forces and discuss some recent cellular and network findings concerning this diencephalic GABAergic structure, which plays important roles during various states of consciousness. On the whole, the present critical survey emphasizes the TRN's complexity, and provides arguments combining anatomy, physiology and cognitive psychology.
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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18718343
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15297152
 
Hi Oxajil,

thanks for your reply. It's really useful for me to think through these topics, and correcting and improving the understanding.

Oxajil said:
You are referring to an increase in working memory capacity I think, yes? :)
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Yes, and not let it be reduced.

Oxajil said:
That is a tricky question! How would you think the working memory would be different between adamic vs pre-adamic? Perhaps it is possible that there is a higher capacity among adamic types. But that's a wild guess. Have you read this page yet? It provides interesting context to the session you linked to: Organic Portals – The “Other” Race Part I
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I have read the thread, it's highly interesting. The question is too tricky and complicated, anyway, it's better to concentrate on something more useful.

There's another topic regarding working memory I do think upon. It's stated "everywhere" that the size of working memory limits learning. But sometimes, when one's learning something really engaging, it's possible to learn much faster. That's an effect of being motivated, but what's the mechanism behind? Learning that way involves much more positive emotions, so maybe it's simply uses a larger part of the brain. It seems like the limits changes. I also wonder whether this has positive side-effects on the brain, maybe the links between the cognitive and emotional parts are strengthened, as both are involved in the same process.
 
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