Daylight and cognition. Experimental studies on work memory and attention in clerical and educational context

MONTEOLIVA, JUAN MANUEL; RODRIGUEZ, ROBERTO; PATTINI, ANDREA ELVIRA; ISON, MIRTA SUSANA

Eindhoven

Congreso; Experiencing Light 2012: International Conference on the Effect of Light on Wellbeing; 2012

Human-Technology Interaction, TU/e.

This paper introduces our interdisciplinar research on the influence daylight in human cognition, specifically in working memory and attention in two cognitive demanding contexts where we spend several hours during our lifespan: office and school environments. Theoretical Framework: Humans are able to face novel situations and to adapt to changing conditions in a flexible way thanks to a set of cognitive skills called executive functions such as the memory and attention. The close relationship between these constructs arises in working memory (WM). Attention involves directed and selective perception, interest in a particular source of stimulation, or concentration on a task (Van Zomeren & Brower, 1994). Its capacity is gradually developed from infancy to adulthood, but its activity is not only confined to regulate information inputs, it is also involved in processing the same information (Cooley & Morris, 1990). There is evidence of a third neuro-physiological system, the attentional system with the same status that the motor (efferent) and sensor (afferent) systems (Posner & Petersen, 1990). Theoretical and clinical interest in these attentional processes is based in its importance in learning development proceses. The concept of short-term memory in the last 30 years has expanded from a passive limited store to a more complex and active tripartite system that handles and proceses information, known as Working Memory (Baddeley and Hitch, 1974). It is defined as a system that temporarily maintains and manipulates information, involved in cognitive processes such as language comprehension, reading and reasoning.