Novel n-back spatial working memory task using eye movement response

We created a novel eye movement version of the n -back task to measure spatial working memory (WM). Rather than one continuous trial, discrete trials were presented in order to develop a simpler WM task. In Experiment 1 , we varied the visibility of the final stimulus to maximize the difference in performance between 0-back and 1-back tasks (WM effect). In Experiment 2 , we administered the optimized task to children. In Experiment 3 , we further simplified the task. Both adults and children easily completed our task, displaying significant WM effects. Further, similar WM effects were obtained in our original and simplified n -back spatial WM tasks, demonstrating flexibility. Because WM deficits are often an early feature of disease and a marker of disease progression, our saccadic measure of spatial WM may be particularly useful in hard-to-test populations, such as patients and children, and may have application in brain-imaging studies that require discrete trials.