Probing the limits of activity-silent non-conscious working memory

Can working memory be non-conscious?

Working memory (WM) is closely linked to conscious awareness: In most conceptions of WM, the inputs to WM need to be conscious. The findings of some recent studies, however, have been taken to suggest that WM can indeed operate on non-conscious inputs. Here, we argue that these findings can easily be accommodated by conventional conceptions of non-conscious perception and conscious WM. We concl...

Non-conscious Retention and Working Memory Load

Neural Evidence for Non-conscious Working Memory.

Recent studies have found that non-consciously perceived information can be retained for several seconds, a feat that has been attributed to non-conscious working memory processes. However, these studies have mainly relied on subjective measures of visual experience, and the neural processes responsible for non-conscious short-term retention remains unclear. Here we used continuous flash suppre...

How conscious experience and working memory interact.

Active components of classical working memory are conscious, but traditional theory does not account for this fact. Global Workspace theory suggests that consciousness is needed to recruit unconscious specialized networks that carry out detailed working memory functions. The IDA model provides a fine-grained analysis of this process, specifically of two classical working-memory tasks, verbal re...

The Effect of Working Memory Training on Working Memory Capacity and Performance of Novice Karateka

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effect of working memory (WM) training on WM capacity and performance of novice karate practitioners (karateka). Methods: Research method is quasi-experimental with a pretest posttest control group design. A total of 24 karate practitioners were selected among Alborz (Alborz Province, iran) novice karateka by convenience sampling me...