Working memory important for reasoning, says Prof Logie

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 30

Prof Robert Logie, a noted researcher in Human Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Edinburgh, highlighted different kinds of memory systems which encompasses faces, names, public and personal events, working memory, accessing prior knowledge of world, skills and prospective memory, which is accumulated throughout one’s life.

Logie was at the PU today for the 45th Colloquium lecture on ‘The Ageing Mind’. He also apprised the audience that different cognitive abilities change at different rates throughout one’s life; some abilities were least affected and some were most affected. He stressed that working memory was important for reasoning and guidance of decision-making and behaviour.

Furthermore, he articulated that we use working memory in every waking moment of our life; “it helps in moment-to-moment tracking and updating of tasks”.

He delved into how his research had led to the development of simple, cognitive tests to help diagnose Alzheimer’s disease, and ended up with describing an ongoing research project “WOMAAC” i.e. Working Memory Across Adult Lifespan: An Adversarial Collaboration” on working memory across the adult lifespan being carried out as collaboration among scientists in Scotland, UK; Missouri, US; and in Switzerland.

Prof BS Ghuman, Vice-Chancellor, Punjabi University, Patiala, in his presidential address posed a serious question on how in the age of artificial intelligence we were rapidly losing our working memory. He felicitated Prof Logie for his wonderful work in the field of neuroscience offering practical tips to counter limitations of ageing mind. Earlier, Prof Promila Pathak, coordinator, PU Colloquium Committee, said Prof Logie’s major research interests include human memory and working memory in the healthy, ageing, and damaged brain.