Working the " working memory "

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According to brain imaging studies when you access your working memory what you are actually doing is you are visualizing. So, if you remember something in your working memory (something you have seen) you actually activate parts of visual cortex as though you were seeing it. When you use a phonological link you are actually activating your auditory cortex as though you are listening to it. When you remember numbers you are actually simulating the same parts of the brain you stimulate when you are crunching numbers in real time.

" Children with low working memory capacity have problems remembering instructions I have a solution " 
-  Torkel Klingberg  -

So, now it proves that working memory is not RAM at all really it is visualization, it's your ability to internalize information and to picture it in your mind and by doing that you then hold on to that information even though it's not there in the real world anymore. You are concentrating on those brain parts that you lit up from a idea you had.

This makes working memory incredibly powerful far beyond writing down phone numbers because you are using working memory when you are remembering where your classmates are seated in a class, you are using ti when you are in conversation and remembering what that context of that conversation is, what was said so far what you are going to say back to them.

So, every aspect of your mental, social and athletic performance relies on this working memory. So, if we can enhance our working memory we can enhance all these skills, this is the closest thing your are going to get to a upgrade in our operating system (so to speak).

The most famous is the dual n-back test (Below). This is a test that has you remembering two different things at once, watching for patterns and seeing when they reoccur. You are basically practicing using your working memory.

Studies show that practicing helps us with our ability to focus our attention the bottleneck on your is whether or you can focus on that and keep those areas of brain active or are we going to be distracted by other thoughts or things going on around us.

Western University:
Language & Working Memory Lab

UofM:
A brain exercise that works

KAROLINSKA INSTITUTE:
Department of Neuroscience

The research of this group is aimed at better understanding the neural basis for cognitive and academic development during childhood and training-induced plasticity of the brain.

In particular, they focus on working memory and attention, which are central aspects of cognition. Among the academic abilities they are especially interested in is development of mathematical ability.

Does Ayumu's ability force us to reconsider our assumptions about human superiority to other primates.

Ayumu the chimpanzee  easily beats humans on memory tests, in both speed and accuracy !

1 of 5 : n-back task to work the working memory

Links to the n-back tasks mentioned in the video:
http://dual-n-back.com/nback.html and  http://brainworkshop.sourceforge.net/

2 of 5: A game to train your working memory

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3: growing evidence,suggests that we can improve our working memory

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4 of 5 :  neuroscience of working memory:

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5 of 5 :  Ayumu has a better working memory than most of us !

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