>Braddeley's model of working memory is historically important. While it
is true
>the brain may act as if it has a Central Executive and slave systems for
various
>functions, I would suggest that functional magnetic resonance imaging
would not
>support this position.
>
>fMRI shows that as learning proceeds that neuro firing patterns become
>correlated with lower rates of firing over widely dispersed areas in the
brain.
>This illustrates the formation of wavelet filters for a behavior. This is
>similar to a slave system for a particular behavior. The formation of a
global
>Central Executive structure can in principle be created from the above
>procedure. The actual location would be at different positions for different
>people.
>
>Ron Blue
>
Although we talk about "structures" in models of memory, me must remember
that these are intended as _functional models_ (in the sense of the school
of functionalism). This means that we do not intend these memory
structures to be interpreted as corresponding to any specific
_nerurological structures_ . Clearly, there is no discrete location in
the brain that corresponds to any of the components of Baddeley's model any
more than there are any descrete locations in the brain that correpond to
STM or LTM. Nor can we clearly identify separate brain regions that
mediate sensory processing from those that mediate memory processing. In
fact, the continuity of the flow of information from sensation to memory
plus empirical evidence suggests that brain regions that are involved in
sensory processing are probably also involved in memory representations
(e.g., maintaining auditory & visual images). (We also know that
representations are distributed, so it is a mistake to argue that these
"images" are located or displayed in these regions.) Baddeley & others
have provided evidence that impairments of Central Executive function are
closely allied with frontal lobe syndrome (note that he does _not_ argue
that the Central Executive is located in the frontal lobe or any other
specific brain location).
Baddeley, A. (1996). Exploring the central executive. The Quarterly
Journal of Experimental Psychology, 49A, 5-28.
Baddeley, A. (1996). The concept of working memory. In S. E. Gathercole
(Ed.), Models of short-term memory. Hove, UK: Lawrence Erlbaum
Associates/Psychology Press.
___________________________________________________
Claudia J. Stanny, Ph.D. e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Department of Psychology Phone: (850) 474 - 3163
University of West Florida FAX: (850) 857 - 6060
Pensacola, FL 32514 - 5751
Web: http://www.uwf.edu/~psych/stanny.html
