Working Memory Functioning and Addictive Behavior

This chapter overviews the working memory construct, including the brain systems involved. The authors highlight the prominent theories of addiction that feature the working memory. Working memory refers to the ability to actively maintain and manipulate task-relevant information over a limited period of time. Convincing evidence for the differentiation of these two stores came from neurological patients who demonstrated anterograde amnesia - the inability to form new long-term memories. These patients nevertheless exhibited an intact short-term memory. Multiple models of the working memory have been developed, but probably the most widely researched and discussed model is put forth by Baddeley and Hitch. Beyond the theoretical structure of the working memory, it is also important to understand how the working memory functions, particularly in the context of higher cognition.