Working memory load degrades discrimination accuracy and slows responses in youth¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causalr2·q3
Currency · newest study 2012 · checked against its sources 2026-10-20 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r
the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.
This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.
q3 i? Discrimination (Pr) decreases and response times increase at higher n-back load levels. → Satterthwaite Theodore D. M.D. 2012
Evidence¶
Satterthwaite Theodore D. M.D. 2012¶
Satterthwaite Theodore D. M.D., M.A.; Ruparel Kosha M.S.; Loughead James Ph.D; Elliott Mark A. Ph.D.; Gerraty Raphael T. B.A.; Calkins Monica E. Ph.D.; Hakonarson Hakon M.D. Ph.D.; Gur Ruben C. Ph.D.; Gur Raquel E. M.D., Ph.D.; Wolf Daniel H. M.D., Ph.D. (2012). Being Right Is Its Own Reward: Load and Performance Related Ventral Striatum Activation to Correct Responses During a Working Memory Task in Youth. Neuroimage. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3358426/
q3 · i? · causal · r2
Mixed-effects behavioral analysis with load as fixed factor, subject random, gender and age covariates. Found "a lower Pr (indicating less accurate discrimination) at higher levels of working memory load" [F(2,606)=469.83; p<0.001].
"As expected, subjects had a lower Pr (indicating less accurate discrimination) at higher levels of working memory load [F (2, 606)= 469.83; p<0.001)]."
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- N-back response time increases and accuracy decreases with cognitive load, and Posner cue conditions differ in speed and accuracy trade-offs — possibly the same claim (merge candidate)
- With increasing n-back task difficulty, reaction times increase and accuracy decreases — possibly the same claim (merge candidate)
- Ventral striatum activation to correct responses is correlated with discrimination performance in youth — related
- In youth performing an n-back task without feedback, bilateral ventral striatum activates more strongly to correct than incorrect responses — related
- Ventral striatum response to correct responses scales with working memory load in youth — related
- Accuracy and the proportion of high bets decrease with increasing discrimination difficulty in both domains — related
- Post-error slowing occurs in the 2-back condition despite absence of feedback — related
- Adults show higher overall working memory accuracy than adolescents, and adults but not adolescents increase startle reactivity with load — related
- Grade 4 children can metacognitively monitor their working memory performance, tending to be over-confident as task difficulty increases — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
load-degrades-discrimination-and-slows-responses |
title |
Working memory load degrades discrimination accuracy and slows responses in youth |
description |
Working memory load degrades discrimination accuracy and slows responses in youth |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
moderate |
newest_evidence |
2012 |
source_checked |
2026-10-20 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-17 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — satterthwaite-theodore-d-md-2012 |
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