Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
Mem Cognit. 2011 Aug;39(6):1023-32. doi: 10.3758/s13421-011-0080-5.
Working memory for odors, which has received almost no attention in the literature, was investigated in two experiments. We show that performance in a 2-back task with odor stimuli is well above chance. This is true not only for highly familiar odors, as has been shown by Dade, Zatorre, Evans, and Jones-Gotman, NeuroImage, 14, 650-660, (2001), but also for unfamiliar ones that are notoriously difficult to name. We can conclude that information about an olfactory stimulus can be retained in the short term and can continuously be updated for comparison with new olfactory probes along the lines of a functional odor working memory. However, the performance in the working memory task is highly dependent on participants' verbalization of the odor. In addition, results indicated that odor working memory performance is dependent on the ability to discriminate among the odor stimuli (Experiment 2). The results are discussed in relation to recent ideas of a separate olfactory working memory slave system.
工作记忆（working memory）是指在一段时间内保持和处理信息的能力。工作记忆对于许多认知任务都非常重要，包括语言理解、学习和推理等。在认知神经科学中，工作记忆通常被认为是由三个不同的子系统组成的，分别是语音回路（phonological loop）、视觉空间画板（visuo-spatial sketchpad）和中央执行系统（central executive system）。
语音回路：负责处理和存储语言信息，包括单词、数字和其他声音。语音回路通过不断重复和复述信息来保持信息的暂时存储。
视觉空间画板：负责处理和存储视觉和空间信息，例如图像、地图和其他视觉场景。视觉空间画板通过保持对信息的暂时视觉表示来帮助人们处理空间信息。
中央执行系统：负责协调和控制语音回路和视觉空间画板的活动，以及执行其他认知任务，例如计划、决策和抑制无关信息。中央执行系统还负责分配工作记忆资源，以确保在不同任务之间有效地切换。
工作记忆对于许多认知任务都非常重要，因此，研究工作记忆的神经机制可以帮助我们更好地理解认知过程的本质。
