Ricerc@Sapienza

The Enhanced Cognitive Interview (ECI) is one of the most useful witness
interviews, consisting of 5 techniques (context reinstatement: CR; report everything:
RE, mental imagery: MI, change order: CO and change of perspectives: CP) aimed at
increasing both the quantity and the quality of elements recalled. All the techniques
require mental imagery skills.
The present study investigates the relationship between forward and backward visuospatial
working memory (VSWM) and correct elements recalled through the ECI

We investigated whether the gender differences in working memory are linked to the nature of the stimuli (verbal vs. visuo-spatial) or to the type of processing (active vs. passive). With this aim, we administered two wellknown tests: Corsi Block-tapping test (CBT) and the Digit span (DS) using two versions: forward (fCBT and fDS) and backward (bCBT and bDS). During the forward processing (fCBT and fDS), subjects being required to repeat stimuli in the same order they are presented, passive working memory is assessed.

It is well-known that ageing is associated with a decrease in working memory abilities. It is not so clear at what age the decline begins and if there are differences in the decline of verbal and visuo-spatial working memory. This study investigates the effect of ageing on verbal and visuo-spatial working memory by comparing the performance of 880 subjects aged between 15- and 80-year old who were subdivided into five groups. The results show that age is negatively correlated with performance on both verbal and visuo-spatial working memory tasks.

Recently, several studies have highlighted the importance of topographical working memory in navigation. This was also supported by clinical evidence showing the presence of specific topographical working memory deficits in different types of pathologies that disrupt navigational skills (i.e., individuals affected by developmental topographical disorientation; patients treated surgically for a drug-resistant temporal lobe epilepsy; stroke patients; patients affected by Alzheimer Dementia).