Working memory in children assessed by the Brown-Peterson Task.

Abstract

Background: the working memory is a cognitive skill that contributes to adequate development of language and to the acquisition of reading and writing. A consistent evaluation of the working memory in pre-school and basic school children demonstrates to be important for the early identification of possible learning impairments.

Aim: to evaluate the development of working memory along the first school grades of basic education and to verify the applicability of the Brown-Peterson Task in the assessment of this function in children.

Method: 103 children, 63 males, with the mean age of 9.75, recruited from 1st to 6th grades of basic school participated in the study. The children were assessed with the Brown-Peterson Task, the Digit Span forward and the Digit Span Backward. The results were compared for the variables of gender, age and grade.

Results: the score on the Brown-Peterson Task increased along the school grades and age groups. A linear decrease in scoring was observed in longer interference intervals. A positive correlation was found between the Brown-Peterson Task and the Digit Span, yet the Brown-Peterson Task proved to better differentiate school grades.

Conclusion: the study confirmed that working memory development continues during the basic education years, indicating late maturation of related brain areas. The Brown-Peterson Task proved to be an adequate tool for the assessment of working memory in children.