Changes in Auditory Working Memory Capacities During Adolescence

The aim of the article was to compare the auditory working memory capacities during adolescence period. A total of 45 participants between the age of 10 and 22 years were included in the study. The participants were grouped in 3 based on their age range from 10 to 14 (group 1), 14-18 (group 2), and 18-22 years (group 3) for the study. Participants with normal hearing thresholds and no history of middle ear pathology were enrolled for the study. Auditory working memory tests were carried out in these individuals which included midpoint and maximum scores of ascending span, descending span, digit forward span, and digit backward span. Statistical analysis was carried out using the SPSS version 25.0, descriptive and inferential statistics were carried out. Data was normally distributed on the Shapiro-Wilk's test of normality due to which a one-way ANOVA was done to establish the nature of significance across the groups and Tukey's post hoc test was done for establishing the presence of significance between the groups (group 1-group 2, group 2-groups 3, and group 1-group 3). To identify the relationship between the age of individuals and working memory scores, a Pearson correlation was done. Results reveal the presence of significant difference across the groups and between the groups too (p < 0.05) with noticeable significant effect seen in group 3 (18-22 years) than in group 2 (14-18 years) and group 1 (10-14 years) respectively. There is a positive effect of age and changes in working memory abilities. This implies the presence of maturation during adolescence period at the level of prefrontal cortex and other cortical areas. Supporting literatures state there is presence of reduced activation on functional imaging studies during early adulthood period which could attribute to the significantly high scores in age range 18-22 years.