Figure 1.

Lifespan development of the working memory system. Top: Early in development working memory depends on subcortical and ventral cortical structures such as the striatum, thalamus, hippocampus and insula. After a transition phase in late childhood/early adolescence, working memory gradually begins to settle upon a network of frontoparietal cortical regions (dorsolateral and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, frontal eye fields and posterior parietal cortex), centered on the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Finally, associations between cortical structures (in particular the parietal cortex) and working memory ability decline during aging. The reliance of working memory on specific structures at different stages in development is represented on an opacity scale (more opaque = greater involvement of the area in working memory). Bottom: Not all aspects of working memory show the same trajectory during development and aging. By one year of age, infants can perform basic visual delayed response tasks, while the complete modular structure (from Baddeley’s model – see Box 1) is in place by at least age 4. Adults at age 55 perform visual pattern span tasks worse than 8 year olds, but can perform digit span tasks on a par with young adults (Brockmole and Logie, 2013).