Conceptualising and measuring working memory and its relationship to aphasia

Abstract

Background: General agreement exists in the literature that individuals with aphasia can exhibit a working memory deficit that contributes to their language-processing impairments. Although conceptualised within different working memory frameworks, researchers have suggested that individuals with aphasia have limited working memory capacity and impaired attention-control processes as well as impaired inhibitory mechanisms. However, across studies investigating working memory ability in individuals with aphasia, different measures have been used to quantify their working memory ability and identify the relationship between working memory and language performance.

Aims: The primary objectives of this article are (1) to review current working memory theoretical frameworks, (2) to review tasks used to measure working memory, and (3) to discuss findings from studies that have investigated working memory as they relate to language processing in aphasia.

Main Contribution: Although findings have been consistent across studies investigating working memory ability in individuals with aphasia, discussion of how working memory is conceptualised and defined is often missing, as is discussion of results within a theoretical framework. This is critical, as working memory is conceptualised differently across the different theoretical frameworks. They differ in explaining what limits capacity and the source of individual differences as well as how information is encoded, maintained, and retrieved. When test methods are considered within a theoretical framework, specific hypotheses can be tested and stronger conclusions that are less susceptible to different interpretations can be made.

Conclusions: Working memory ability has been investigated in numerous studies with individuals with aphasia. To better understand the underlying cognitive constructs that contribute to the language deficits exhibited by individuals with aphasia, future investigations should operationally define the cognitive constructs of interest and discuss findings within theoretical frameworks.

Keywords:

• Attention
• Aphasia
• Language processing
• Memory

Acknowledgments

This research was partially supported by the National Institute on Aging Grant R01AG029476. We thank the two anonymous reviewers and Jamie Reilly for their thoughtful comments on a previous version of this article.