title: Working memory capacity, indirect semantic priming, and stroop interference: pattern of interindividual prefrontal performance differences in healthy volunteers.
abstract: Using neuropsychological models of prefrontal function, the authors investigated the pattern of interindividual prefrontal performance differences in healthy volunteers. Using a correlation and an extreme group approach, they compared verbal and visuospatial working memory capacity with performance on the Stroop interference task as a measure of executive control and on the direct and indirect semantic priming tasks as a measure of semantic access. Subjects with low visuospatial working memory capacity exhibited increased Stroop interference Subjects with low verbal memory capacity showed increased priming and Stroop interference only. The study shows that prefrontal functioning varies interindividually, forming patterns of performance differences. These findings suggest that working memory, executive control, and semantic retrieval are functionally related to some extent.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany. Markus.Kiefer@medizin.uni-ulm.de
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kiefer
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ahlegian
authors.forename: Manfred
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Spitzer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D011340:Problem Solving / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D012660:Semantics; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013997:Time Factors; D014706:Verbal Learning / Q000502:physiology