title: Early and late stages of working-memory maintenance contribute differentially to long-term memory formation.
abstract: The present paper investigated the role of early and late stages of working-memory maintenance, which have been suggested to differentially contribute to long-term memory formation. In experiment 1, we administered a delayed-match-to-sample task, requiring participants to remember line drawings of non-sense three-dimensional stimuli. In the delay phase, participants were either presented with a fixation cross (for 2 or 9s) or with one of two different interference tasks, varying in visual overlap with the target. The interference task was presented 1.5, 4.5 or 7.5s after target offset. Early interfering and early probing disproportionately affected performance on an unexpected subsequent recognition-memory task compared to later interference or probing. This was not modulated by the type of interference task. In Experiment 2, we examined whether the formation of a holistic internal code of the target may be a gradual process. An analogous delayed-match-to-sample task was administered, with interference after 0.5, 2.5 or 4.5s after target offset. The early and middle interference condition similarly disproportionately affected performance compared to later interference. Hence, the present results support the view of a functional dissociation between early and late stages of working-memory maintenance and that early working-memory processes contribute particularly to long-term memory formation.
authors.affiliation: Radboud University Nijmegen, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, P.O. Box 9104, 6500 HE Nijmegen, The Netherlands. h.bergmann@donders.ru.nl
authors.forename: Heiko C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Bergmann
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kiemeneij
authors.forename: Guillén
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fernández
authors.forename: Roy P C
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Kessels
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D057567:Memory, Long-Term; D008570:Memory, Short-Term; D021641:Recognition, Psychology; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D055815:Young Adult