Brain has three layers of working memory
Researchers have long debated whether the brain contains two or three layers of working memory.
Now, a new study by the Rice University and the Georgia Institute of Technology has proved that the brain contains three concentric layers of working memory where it stores readily available items.
The researchers found that short-term memory is made up of three areas -a core focusing on one active item, a surrounding area holding at least three more active items, and a wider region containing passive items that have been tagged for later retrieval or ‘put on the back burner’.
They also found that the core region, called the focus of attention, has three roles – not two as proposed by previous researchers.
(originally posted at firefly-dreaming)