Abstract
The present paper describes the Box Task, a paradigm for the computerized assessment of visuospatial working memory. In this task, hidden objects have to be searched by opening closed boxes that are shown at different locations on the computer screen. The set size (i.e., number of boxes that must be searched) can be varied and different error scores can be computed that measure specific working memory processes (i.e., the number of within-search and between-search errors). The Box Task also has a developer’s mode in which new stimulus displays can be designed for use in tailored experiments. The Box Task comes with a standard set of stimulus displays (including practice trials, as well as stimulus displays with 4, 6, and 8 boxes). The raw data can be analyzed easily and the results of individual participants can be aggregated into one spreadsheet for further statistical analyses.
Highlights
Working memory relates to the online maintenance, updating, and manipulation of information for a brief period of time (Baddeley & Hitch, 1974)
Working memory impairments have been demonstrated in a variety of brain diseases and psychiatric disorders, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; Kasper, Alderson, & Hudec, 2012), autism (Barendse, Hendriks, Jansen, et al, 2013), stroke (Hochstenbach, Mulder, van Limbeek, Donders, & Schoonderwaldt, 1998), traumatic brain injury (Dunning, Westgate & Adlam, 2016), schizophrenia (Forbes, Carrick, McIntosh, & Lawrie, 2009), Parkinson’s disease (Pagonabarraga & Kulisevsky, 2012), or dementia (Germano & Kinsella, 2005)
The Spatial Working Memory subtest from the Cambridge Automated Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB; Robbins, James, Owen, et al, 1994) is based on the Executive Golf paradigm; here, participants have to search for blue tokens that are hidden in squares shown at different locations on a computer screen
Summary
Working memory relates to the online maintenance, updating, and manipulation of information for a brief period of time (Baddeley & Hitch, 1974). The Spatial Working Memory subtest from the Cambridge Automated Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB; Robbins, James, Owen, et al, 1994) is based on the Executive Golf paradigm; here, participants have to search for blue tokens that are hidden in squares (representing boxes) shown at different locations on a computer screen.
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