title: Evidence for a double dissociation between spatial-simultaneous and spatial-sequential working memory in visuospatial (nonverbal) learning disabled children.
abstract: The paper describes the performance of three children with specific visuospatial working memory (VSWM) impairments (Study 1) and three children with visuospatial (nonverbal) learning disabilities (Study 2) assessed with a battery of working memory (WM) tests and with a number of school achievement tasks. Overall, performance on WM tests provides evidence of a double dissociation between spatial-simultaneous processes, underpinning the memorization item positioning in a spatial configuration, and spatial-sequential processes, which allow memorization of the presentation order. In both groups of children of the two studies, a selective impairment either on spatial-sequential or on spatial-simultaneous working memory tasks was observed. These data support the existence of -simultaneous and -sequential modality-dependent processes in visuospatial working memory and confirm the importance of distinguishing between different subtypes of visuospatial (nonverbal) learning-disabled children.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Italy. irene.mammarella@unipd.it
authors.forename: Irene C
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: Mammarella
authors.forename: Cesare
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cornoldi
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pazzaglia
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Toso
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Grimoldi
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vio
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D019988:Children with Disabilities; D004193:Discrimination Learning; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007859:Learning Disabilities / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000145:classification / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008570:Memory, Short-Term; D008606:Mental Processes; D021641:Recognition, Psychology; D012691:Serial Learning; D013028:Space Perception