Researchers from Rice University and Georgia Institute of Technology have found support for the theory that the brain has three concentric layers of working memory where it stores readily available items, allowing for a person to effectively multitask.

The researchers, Chandramallika Basak of Rice University and Paul Verhaeghen of Georgia Tech, used simple memory tasks involving colors and shapes on a computer screen to determine the three distinct layers of memory. They also determined the roles of attention focus by exploring the process of switching items in and out of the focus of attention.

They found that short-term memory is made up of three areas: a core focusing on one active item, a surrounding area holding at least three more active items, and a wider region containing passive items that have been tagged for later retrieval or “put on the back burner.”

They also found that the core region, called the “focus of attention,” has three roles — not two as proposed by previous researchers. This core focus directs attention to the correct item, which is affected by predictability of an input pattern. Then it retrieves the item and subsequently, when needed, updates it.

Their work appears in the March issue of the journal Cognitive Psychology.

Adapted from materials provided by Rice University