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<p>Can learning too much information at once impair long-term retention of its meaning? Emerging evidence suggests that encoding too many items into working memory (WM) limits subsequent long-term memory (LTM) retrieval of their details <i>and</i> gist. These findings highlight a boundary condition for theories positing relatively automatic gist encoding. But how expansive is this boundary? Experiment <InternalRef RefID="Sec2">1</InternalRef> shows that it extends to older adults, despite their generally enhanced reliance on gist memory. In two older adult samples (<i>n</i> = 40 each), LTM gist retrieval was reduced for objects encoded in sets exceeding WM capacity. Experiment <InternalRef RefID="Sec8">2</InternalRef> shows that this boundary holds even when retaining items in LTM is essential. Under intentional long-term learning, young (<i>n</i> = 81) and older (<i>n</i> = 40) adults’ LTM gist retrieval remained affected by overloading WM at encoding. Results invite leading memory theories to reconsider the universality of relatively automatic gist encoding.</p>

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Long-term representational costs of overloading working memory

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2026年2月19日

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  • Nathaniel R. Greene,
  • Dominic Guitard,
  • Alicia Forsberg,
  • Nelson Cowan,
  • Moshe Naveh-Benjamin

摘要

Can learning too much information at once impair long-term retention of its meaning? Emerging evidence suggests that encoding too many items into working memory (WM) limits subsequent long-term memory (LTM) retrieval of their details and gist. These findings highlight a boundary condition for theories positing relatively automatic gist encoding. But how expansive is this boundary? Experiment 1 shows that it extends to older adults, despite their generally enhanced reliance on gist memory. In two older adult samples (n = 40 each), LTM gist retrieval was reduced for objects encoded in sets exceeding WM capacity. Experiment 2 shows that this boundary holds even when retaining items in LTM is essential. Under intentional long-term learning, young (n = 81) and older (n = 40) adults’ LTM gist retrieval remained affected by overloading WM at encoding. Results invite leading memory theories to reconsider the universality of relatively automatic gist encoding.