The Role of Working Memory in Delayed Discounting

- Phonological Loop 
- Visuospatial Sketchpad 
- Episodic Buffer 

The Hierarchal Structure of Working Memory 

There are many functional neuroimaging converging evidence that working memory might be reflected in the sustained activity in our prefrontal cortex that has been observed in multiple studies during the delay period of a working memory task. However since the PFC has to major connections (cortical-cortical and cortical-subcortical) which may mediate different component processes of the working memory. 

Working Memory & PFC Activity 

- Short-term storage and manipulation of environmental stimuli to complete complex cognitive tasks (Baddeley, 2000; Baddeley et al., 2001)
- Hierarchal structure of working memory: phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad, and the episodic buffer (Schacter, 2009)

Washtenaw Community College

Fabio, R. A., Bianco, M., Caprì, T., Marino, F., Ruta, L., Vagni, D., & Pioggia, G. (2020). Working memory and decision making in children with ADHD: An analysis of delay discounting with the use of the dual-task paradigm. BMC Psychiatry, 20(272). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-020-02677-y



Fabio et al., 2020

- As humans, smaller and quicker rewards are more desirable than rewards that will take longer to achieve.
- Example: Chunking a project into smaller goals rather than cramming your workload 

Delayed Discounting

- Impulsive decisions made without realizing the consequences of those actions 
- Individual sees the results as being immediate, but they have overestimated the results of their action.

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