Functional neuroanatomy of subcomponent cognitive processes involved in verbal working memory

bRecent research has used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine brain regions related to specific subcomponent cognitive processes of verbal working memory. which include initial encoding of material, maintenance of the information over a brief delay interval, and later retrieval of the information. The present study examined each of these subcomponents in 14 healthy adults using a Sternberg verbal working memory task and fMRI. Group proanalysis revealed several brain regions active during all subcomponent processes, which included dorsolateral and ventrolateral prefrontal, parietal, hippocampal, and premotor cortex. Several other brain regions showed activation limited to specific subcomponent processes.