Complex span tasks and hippocampal recruitment during working memory

The working memory (WM) system is vital to performing everyday functions that require attentive, non-automatic processing of information. However, its interaction with long term memory (LTM) is highly debated. Here, we used fMRI to examine whether a popular complex WM span task, thought to force the displacement of to-be-remembered items in the focus of attention to LTM, recruited medial temporal regions typically associated with LTM functioning to a greater extent and in a different manner than traditional neuroimaging WM tasks during WM encoding and maintenance. fMRI scans were acquired while participants performed the operation span (OSPAN) task and an arithmetic task. Results indicated that performance of both tasks resulted in significant activation in regions typically associated with WM function. More importantly, significant bilateral activation was observed in the hippocampus, suggesting it is recruited during WM encoding and maintenance. Right posterior hippocampus activation was greater during OSPAN than arithmetic. Persitimulus graphs indicate a possible specialization of function for bilateral posterior hippocampus and greater involvement of the left for WM performance. Recall time-course activity within this region hints at LTM involvement during complex span.