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Week 5 / 2008: Boys’ working memory is slower to develop
Virve Vuontela, who has studied the development of children’s working memory, can explain why 7-year-old boys on average have a tougher time starting school than girls of the same age. “The differences between sexes in exercises on working memory are considerable,” says Vuontela. “The difference is at its greatest in children between the ages of six and eight, but will level off by the time they reach adulthood.”
The visual working memory of adults and that of children is also based on different mechanisms: adults process the information of the location and colour of a stimulus in a different part of the brain to children. The visual working memory performance matures earlier than the auditory working memory.
Working memory is the temporary storage of information in a certain part of the brain and regulates thinking, deduction and problem solving abilities. Deficiencies in working memory often lead to learning difficulties and behavioural problems.
Vuontela’s study shows that, with children starting school, there is a link between good school performance and succeeding in working memory tasks. Poor results in such tasks, in turn, are linked with attention deficiency, and even depression and anxiety. “It is a great challenge for teachers to identify these pupils in a classroom, as they do not necessarily show that they are feeling bad,” Vuontela says.
What would be her advice for those whose working memory seems to be lacking? “Any brain activity, including working memory, can be improved through practice,” Vuontela says. A good working memory exercise is, for example, to try and remember the name of a new person you met yesterday.
Vuontela defended her doctoral dissertation in the field of neuropsychology and psychology at the University of Helsinki on 17 January 2008.
Text: Laura Walin
Photo: Sanna Schildt
www.helsinki.fi/digitalcommunications
Translation: Valtasana Oy
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