Re: another question on working memory

[Laurent Demany <laurent.demany@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Robert Zatorre wrote:
Suppose you hear a melody, and then imagine it for a while thereafter; 
would that not be nonspeech auditory rehearsal?

The auditory image of a melody can be "recoded" in a verbal or spatial 
format. Thus, subjects required to rehearse a melody may not really 
rehearse a purely auditory (sensory) image.
There is evidence that a purely auditory image cannot be rehearsed 
efficiently, at least during a silent delay. See:
Demany L, Clément S, Semal C (2001) Does auditory memory depend on 
attention? In Breebart DJ, Houtsma AJM, Kohlrausch A, Prijs VF and 
Schoonhoven R (eds) Physiological and Psychophysical Bases of Auditory 
Function. Maastricht, The Netherlands: Shaker, pp.461-467.
Demany L, Montandon G, Semal C (2004) Pitch perception and retention: two 
cumulative benefits of selective attention. Percept Psychophys 66:609-617.