Visual working memory (VWM) is a core cognitive system with a highly limited capacity. The present study is the first to examine VWM capacity limits in early development using functional neuroimaging. We recorded optical neuroimaging data while 3- and 4-year-olds completed a change detection task where they detected changes in the shapes of objects after a brief delay. Near-infrared sources and detectors were placed over the following 10–20 positions: F3 and F5 in left frontal cortex, F4 and F6 in right frontal cortex, P3 and P5 in left parietal cortex, and P4 and P6 in right parietal cortex. The first question was whether we would see robust task-specific activation of the frontal-parietal network identified in the adult fMRI literature. This was indeed the case: three left frontal channels and 11 of 12 parietal channels showed a statistically robust difference between the concentration of oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin following the presentation of the sample array. Moreover, four channels in the left hemisphere near P3, P5, and F5 showed a robust increase as the working memory load increased from 1–3 items. Notably, the hemodynamic response did not asymptote at 1–2 items as expected from previous fMRI studies with adults. Finally, 4-year-olds showed a more robust parietal response relative to 3-year-olds, and an increasing sensitivity to the memory load manipulation. These results demonstrate that fNIRS is an effective tool to study the neural processes that underlie the early development of VWM capacity.

In the current study, we extend a previous methodological pipeline by adding a 34 novel image reconstruction approach to move functional near-infrared (fNIRS) 35 signals from channel-space on the surface of the head to voxel-space within the 36 brain volume. We validate this methodology by comparing voxel-wise fNIRS 37 results to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) results from a visual 38 working memory (VWM) task using two approaches. In the first approach, 39 Introduction 62Functional magnetic resonance imaging is widely considered to be the 63 gold standard for neuroimaging. It provides excellent spatial resolution that has 64 proven useful in a variety of clinical and non-clinical applications. Nevertheless, 65 fMRI has limitations. It does not provide good temporal resolution and there is 66 debate about the origin and nature of the blood oxygen-level dependent signal 67

Research over the past decade has suggested that the ability to hold information in visual working memory (VWM) may be limited to as few as 3-4 items. However, the precise nature and source of these capacity limits remains hotly debated. Most commonly, capacity limits have been inferred from studies of visual change detection, in which performance declines systematically as a function of the number of items participants must remember. According to one view, such declines indicate that a limited number of fixed-resolution representations are held in independent memory ‘slots’. Another view suggests that capacity limits are more apparent than real, emerging as limited memory resources are distributed across more to-be-remembered items. Here we argue that, although both perspectives have merit and have generated and explained an impressive amount of empirical data, their central focus on the representations—rather than processes—underlying VWM may ultimately limit continuing progress in this area. As an alternative, we describe a neurally-grounded, process-based approach to VWM: the dynamic field theory. Simulations demonstrate that this model can account for key aspects of behavioral performance in change detection, in addition to generating novel behavioral predictions that have been confirmed experimentally. Furthermore, we describe extensions of the model to recall tasks, the integration of visual features, cognitive development, individual differences, and functional imaging studies of VWM. We conclude by discussing the importance of grounding psychological concepts in neural dynamics as a first step toward understanding the link between brain and behavior.