Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27896630›Full record

ArticlePsychonomic bulletin & review2017

The many faces of working memory and short-term storage.

Nelson Cowan

Registry-linked trialAbstract read
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Psychonomic bulletin & review, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06723743 (Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation Effects on Attention and Working Memory), which is not on this map. Cited by 201 papers, 13 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
201citing papers in PubMed, 13 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT06723743 narecruitingnot on this mapstarted 2026, after this paper: background citation

Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation Effects on Attention and Working Memory: A Pilot Study

TypeinterventionalSponsorBaylor College of MedicineRan2026 to 2027Enrolled30ConditionsTraumatic Brain Injury (TBI) PatientsArmsTranscutaneous vagus nerve stimulation for attention in veterans with TBI, Soterix Medical Vagus Nerve Stimulation mini-CT
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

201 citing papers in PubMed, 13 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. A Meta-Analytical Review of Executive Function Skills in Adults Who Stutter.Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHR · 2026
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  6. Relationships Between Auditory Processing and Cognitive Abilities in Adults: A Systematic Review.Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHR · 2024
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141 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

1 author.

Nelson CowanDepartment of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, McAlester Hall, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA. CowanN@missouri.edu.

Funding

Working memory, attention, and time: Childhood development and adult functionR01HD021338 · NICHD · UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI-COLUMBIA · PI COWAN, NELSON · 1988 to 2023
$7.2M
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development R01 HD-21338NICHD NIH HHS R01 HD021338
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The topic of working memory (WM) is ubiquitous in research on cognitive psychology and on individual differences. According to one definition, it is a small amount of information kept in a temporary state of heightened accessibility; it is used in most types of communication and problem solving. Short-term storage has been defined as the passive (i.e., non-attention-based, nonstrategic) component of WM or, alternatively, as a passive store separate from an attention-based WM. Here I note that much confusion has been created by the use by various investigators of many, subtly different definitions of WM and short-term storage. The definitions are sometimes made explicit and sometimes implied. As I explain, the different definitions may have stemmed from the use of a wide variety of techniques to explore WM, along with differences in theoretical orientation. By delineating nine previously used definitions of WM and explaining how additional ones may emerge from combinations of these nine, I hope to improve scientific discourse on WM. The potential advantages of clarity about definitions of WM and short-term storage are illustrated with respect to several ongoing research controversies.

Indexed as

Memory, Short-TermSemanticsTerminology as TopicCognitive ScienceHumansIndividualityShort term memoryWorking memory

Identifiers

PMID27896630

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.