Memoria de trabajo, siempre activa cuando estamos despiertos Working memory, always active when we are awake
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jul 14, 2026
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https://doi.org/10.30878/ces.v33n0a76
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Resumen
La memoria de trabajo es definida como la capacidad para mantener mentalmente información por
un periodo breve de tiempo con el propósito de transformarla. Este trabajo tiene como objetivo
divulgar la importancia de este tipo de memoria en nuestra vida cotidiana. Se abordará cómo surge el
concepto de memoria de trabajo y cómo se fue transformando, así como sus limitaciones. También
se expondrán las regiones de nuestro cerebro que se encargan de esta memoria. Asimismo, se mostrará
en qué momento de nuestra vida surge la memoria de trabajo y cómo se transforma conforme
envejecemos. En conclusión, la importancia de la memoria de trabajo radica en que se encuentra
involucrada en todas nuestras actividades durante la vida consciente.
Article Details
Como citar
CANSINO, Selene.
Memoria de trabajo, siempre activa cuando estamos despiertos.
CIENCIA ergo-sum, [S.l.], v. 33, jul. 2026.
ISSN 2395-8782.
Disponible en: <https://cienciaergosum.uaemex.mx/article/view/26109>. Fecha de acceso: 18 ago. 2026
doi: https://doi.org/10.30878/ces.v33n0a76.
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Esta obra está bajo licencia internacional Creative Commons Reconocimiento-NoComercial-SinObrasDerivadas 4.0.
Citas
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control processes. En K. W. Spence y J. T. Spence (Eds.), The psychology of learning and
motivation (vol. 2, pp. 89-195). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0079-
7421(08)60422-3
Baddeley, A. D. (2000). The episodic buffer: a new component of working memory? Trends
in Cognitive Sciences, 4(11), 417-423. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1364-6613(00)01538-2
Baddeley, A. D., & Hitch, G. J. (1974). Working memory. En G. A. Bower (Ed.), Recent
Advances in Learning and Motivation (vol. 8, pp. 47-89). Academic Press.
https://doi.org/10.1016/s0079-7421(08)60452-1
Cansino. S., Hernández-Ramos, E., Estrada-Manilla, C., Torres-Trejo, F., Martínez-
Galindo, J. G., Ayala-Hernández, M., Gómez-Fernández, T., Osorio, D., Cedillo-Tinoco,
M., Garcés-Flores, L., Beltrán-Palacios, K., García-Lázaro, H. G., García-Gutiérrez, F.,
Cadena-Arenas, Y., Fernández-Apan, L., Bärtschi, A., & Rodríguez-Ortiz, M. D. (2013).
The decline of verbal and visuospatial working memory across the adult life span. Age,
35(6), 2283-2302. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-013-9531-1
Cansino S, Torres-Trejo F, Estrada-Manilla C, Pérez-Loyda M, Ramírez-Barajas L, Hernández-Ladrón-deGuevara M, Nava-Chaparro A, & Ruiz-Velasco S. (2020). Predictors
of Working Memory Maintenance and Decline in Older Adults. Archives of Gerontology
and Geriatrics, 89, 104074. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.archger.2020.104074
Cansino, S., Torres-Trejo, F., Estrada-Manilla, C., & Ruiz-Velasco, S. (2024). Effects of
different types of leisure activities on working memory across the adult lifespan.
Psychological Research, 88, 1981–1995. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-024-01998-x
Cowan, N. (1999). An embedded-processes model of working memory. En A. Miyake, y P.
Shah (Eds.), Models of Working Memory: Mechanisms of active maintenance and executive
control (pp. 62-101). Cambridge University Press.
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139174909. 006
Cowan, N. (2010). The magical mystery four: how is working memory capacity limited,
and why? Current Directions in Psychological Science, 19(1), 51-57.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721409359277
Cowan, N. (2014). Working memory underpins cognitive development, learning, and
education. Educational Psychology Review, 26(2), 197-223.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-013-9246-y
Cowan, N. (2016). Working memory maturation: can we get at the essence of cognitive
growth? Perspectives on Psychological Science, 11(2), 239-264.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691615621279
D'Esposito, M., & Postle, B. R. (1999). The dependence of span and delayed-response
performance on prefrontal cortex. Neuropsychologia, 37(11), 1303-1315.
https://doi.org/10.1016/s0028-3932(99)00021-4
Dobbs, A. R., & Rule, B. G. (1989). Adult age differences working memory. Psychology
and Aging, 4(4), 500-503. https://doi.org/10.1037/0882-7974.4.4.500
Dosher, B. (2003). Working memory. En L. Nadel (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Cognitive Science
(vol. 4, pp. 569-577). John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Eriksson, J., Vogel, E. K., Lansner, A., Bergström, F., & Nyberg, L. (2015). Neurocognitive architecture of working memory. Neuron, 88(1), 33-46.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2015.09.020
Friedman, N. P., & Robbins, T. W. (2022). The role of prefrontal cortex in cognitive control
and executive function. Neuropsychopharmacology, 47, 72–89.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41386-021-01132-0
Fuster, J. M., & Alexander, G. E. (1971). Neuron activity related to short-term memory.
Science, 173(3997), 652-654. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.173.3997.652
Gathercole, S. E., Pickering, S. J., Ambridge, B., & Wearing, H. (2004). The structure of
working memory from 4 to 15 years of age. Developmental Psychology, 40(2), 177-190.
https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.40.2.177
Goldman-Rakic, P. S. (1987). Circuitry of the prefrontal cortex and the regulation of
behavior by representational knowledge. En F. Plum, y V. B. Mountcastle (Eds.), Handbook
of Physiology: The Nervous System, (pp. 373-417). American Physiological Society.
James, W. (1890). The Principles of Psychology. Henry Holt and Company.
Miller, G. A. (1956). The magical number seven, plus or minus two: Some limits on our
capacity for processing information. Psychological Review, 63(2), 81-97.
https://doi.org/10.1037/h0043158
Miller, G. A., Galanter, E., & Pribham, K. H. (1960). Plans and the Structure of Behavior.
Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc.
Pandya, D. N., & Barnes, C. L. (1987). Architecture and connections of the frontal lobe. En
E. Perecman (Ed.), The Frontal Lobes Revisited, (pp. 41-72). The IRBN Press.
Shallice, T., & Warrington, E. K. (1970). Independent functioning of verbal memory stores:
A neuropsychological study. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 22(2), 261-
273. https://doi.org/10.1080/0033555704300020
Stein, T., Kaiser, D. & Hesselmann, G. (2016). Can working memory be non-conscious?
Neuroscience of Consciousness, 2016(1), niv011. https://doi.org/10.1093/nc/niv011
Tzourio-Mazoyer, N., Landeau, B., Papathanassiou, D., Crivello, F., Etard, O.,
Delcroix, N., Mazoyer. B. & Joliot, M. (2002). Automated anatomical labeling of
activations in SPM using a macroscopic anatomical parcellation of the MNI MRI singlesubject
brain. Neuroimage 15, 273–289. https://doi.org/10.1006/nimg.2001.0978
Yaffe, K., Fiocco, A. J., Lindquist, K., Vittinghoff, E., Simonsick, E. M., Newman, A. B.,
Satterfield, .S, Rosano, C., Rubin, S. M., Ayonayon, H. N., & Harris, T. B. (2009).
Predictors of maintaining cognitive function in older adults. The Health ABC Study.
Neurology, 72, 2029-2035. https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0b013e3181a92c36.
control processes. En K. W. Spence y J. T. Spence (Eds.), The psychology of learning and
motivation (vol. 2, pp. 89-195). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0079-
7421(08)60422-3
Baddeley, A. D. (2000). The episodic buffer: a new component of working memory? Trends
in Cognitive Sciences, 4(11), 417-423. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1364-6613(00)01538-2
Baddeley, A. D., & Hitch, G. J. (1974). Working memory. En G. A. Bower (Ed.), Recent
Advances in Learning and Motivation (vol. 8, pp. 47-89). Academic Press.
https://doi.org/10.1016/s0079-7421(08)60452-1
Cansino. S., Hernández-Ramos, E., Estrada-Manilla, C., Torres-Trejo, F., Martínez-
Galindo, J. G., Ayala-Hernández, M., Gómez-Fernández, T., Osorio, D., Cedillo-Tinoco,
M., Garcés-Flores, L., Beltrán-Palacios, K., García-Lázaro, H. G., García-Gutiérrez, F.,
Cadena-Arenas, Y., Fernández-Apan, L., Bärtschi, A., & Rodríguez-Ortiz, M. D. (2013).
The decline of verbal and visuospatial working memory across the adult life span. Age,
35(6), 2283-2302. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-013-9531-1
Cansino S, Torres-Trejo F, Estrada-Manilla C, Pérez-Loyda M, Ramírez-Barajas L, Hernández-Ladrón-deGuevara M, Nava-Chaparro A, & Ruiz-Velasco S. (2020). Predictors
of Working Memory Maintenance and Decline in Older Adults. Archives of Gerontology
and Geriatrics, 89, 104074. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.archger.2020.104074
Cansino, S., Torres-Trejo, F., Estrada-Manilla, C., & Ruiz-Velasco, S. (2024). Effects of
different types of leisure activities on working memory across the adult lifespan.
Psychological Research, 88, 1981–1995. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-024-01998-x
Cowan, N. (1999). An embedded-processes model of working memory. En A. Miyake, y P.
Shah (Eds.), Models of Working Memory: Mechanisms of active maintenance and executive
control (pp. 62-101). Cambridge University Press.
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139174909. 006
Cowan, N. (2010). The magical mystery four: how is working memory capacity limited,
and why? Current Directions in Psychological Science, 19(1), 51-57.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721409359277
Cowan, N. (2014). Working memory underpins cognitive development, learning, and
education. Educational Psychology Review, 26(2), 197-223.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-013-9246-y
Cowan, N. (2016). Working memory maturation: can we get at the essence of cognitive
growth? Perspectives on Psychological Science, 11(2), 239-264.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691615621279
D'Esposito, M., & Postle, B. R. (1999). The dependence of span and delayed-response
performance on prefrontal cortex. Neuropsychologia, 37(11), 1303-1315.
https://doi.org/10.1016/s0028-3932(99)00021-4
Dobbs, A. R., & Rule, B. G. (1989). Adult age differences working memory. Psychology
and Aging, 4(4), 500-503. https://doi.org/10.1037/0882-7974.4.4.500
Dosher, B. (2003). Working memory. En L. Nadel (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Cognitive Science
(vol. 4, pp. 569-577). John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Eriksson, J., Vogel, E. K., Lansner, A., Bergström, F., & Nyberg, L. (2015). Neurocognitive architecture of working memory. Neuron, 88(1), 33-46.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2015.09.020
Friedman, N. P., & Robbins, T. W. (2022). The role of prefrontal cortex in cognitive control
and executive function. Neuropsychopharmacology, 47, 72–89.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41386-021-01132-0
Fuster, J. M., & Alexander, G. E. (1971). Neuron activity related to short-term memory.
Science, 173(3997), 652-654. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.173.3997.652
Gathercole, S. E., Pickering, S. J., Ambridge, B., & Wearing, H. (2004). The structure of
working memory from 4 to 15 years of age. Developmental Psychology, 40(2), 177-190.
https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.40.2.177
Goldman-Rakic, P. S. (1987). Circuitry of the prefrontal cortex and the regulation of
behavior by representational knowledge. En F. Plum, y V. B. Mountcastle (Eds.), Handbook
of Physiology: The Nervous System, (pp. 373-417). American Physiological Society.
James, W. (1890). The Principles of Psychology. Henry Holt and Company.
Miller, G. A. (1956). The magical number seven, plus or minus two: Some limits on our
capacity for processing information. Psychological Review, 63(2), 81-97.
https://doi.org/10.1037/h0043158
Miller, G. A., Galanter, E., & Pribham, K. H. (1960). Plans and the Structure of Behavior.
Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc.
Pandya, D. N., & Barnes, C. L. (1987). Architecture and connections of the frontal lobe. En
E. Perecman (Ed.), The Frontal Lobes Revisited, (pp. 41-72). The IRBN Press.
Shallice, T., & Warrington, E. K. (1970). Independent functioning of verbal memory stores:
A neuropsychological study. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 22(2), 261-
273. https://doi.org/10.1080/0033555704300020
Stein, T., Kaiser, D. & Hesselmann, G. (2016). Can working memory be non-conscious?
Neuroscience of Consciousness, 2016(1), niv011. https://doi.org/10.1093/nc/niv011
Tzourio-Mazoyer, N., Landeau, B., Papathanassiou, D., Crivello, F., Etard, O.,
Delcroix, N., Mazoyer. B. & Joliot, M. (2002). Automated anatomical labeling of
activations in SPM using a macroscopic anatomical parcellation of the MNI MRI singlesubject
brain. Neuroimage 15, 273–289. https://doi.org/10.1006/nimg.2001.0978
Yaffe, K., Fiocco, A. J., Lindquist, K., Vittinghoff, E., Simonsick, E. M., Newman, A. B.,
Satterfield, .S, Rosano, C., Rubin, S. M., Ayonayon, H. N., & Harris, T. B. (2009).
Predictors of maintaining cognitive function in older adults. The Health ABC Study.
Neurology, 72, 2029-2035. https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0b013e3181a92c36.