During the functional MRI scan, participants completed a Sternberg working memory task so that the encoding, maintenance and retrieval subcomponent processes of working memory could be investigated.

For each of the 40 trials, participants were instructed to remember a set of four upper-case letters that were presented for 2 seconds. After this initial presentation, a fixation cross was displayed for 2 seconds, followed by the presentation of a single lower-case probe letter for another 2 seconds. Participants were asked to indicate as quickly as possible whether the probe letter was present in the original set of upper-case letters. The participants provided yes/no responses.

This was all to measure test accuracy - the number of correct yes/no responses out of 40 trials and by calculating the average reaction time (seconds) in making a response.