Nelson Cowan
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Nelson Cowan is the Curators' Distinguished
Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...
of Psychological Sciences at the
University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded in ...
. He specializes in
working memory Working memory is a cognitive system with a limited capacity that can hold information temporarily. It is important for reasoning and the guidance of decision-making and behavior. Working memory is often used synonymously with short-term memory, ...
, the small amount of information held in mind and used for language processing and various kinds of problem solving. To overcome conceptual difficulties that arise for models of information processing in which different functions occur in separate boxes, Cowan proposed a more organically organized "embedded processes" model. Within it, representations held in working memory comprise an activated subset of the representations held in
long-term memory Long-term memory (LTM) is the stage of the Atkinson–Shiffrin memory model in which informative knowledge is held indefinitely. It is defined in contrast to short-term and working memory, which persist for only about 18 to 30 seconds. Long- ...
, with a smaller subset held in a more integrated form in the current focus of attention. Other work has been on the developmental growth of working memory capacity and the scientific method. His work, funded by the National Institutes of Health since 1984 (primarily NICHD), has been cited over 41,000 times according to Google Scholar. The work has resulted in over 250 peer-reviewed articles, over 60 book chapters, 2 sole-authored books, and 4 edited volumes. In addition to basic scientific work, Cowan's collaborative research related to working memory has led to clarification of the role of memory in language disorders, dyslexia, autism, schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease, amnesia, and alcoholic intoxication, as explained further on his web site and CV. For example, the work on amnesia indicates that individuals who usually cannot form new memories because of stroke or brain damage often demonstrate considerable ability to do so when the information to be memorized is surrounded by several minutes with minimal visual or acoustic interference.


Main scientific contributions


Working memory capacity limits

Cowan's theoretical model addresses key puzzles in information processing using a new approach in which there are two aspects of working memory: the activated portion of long-term memory, which includes rapidly-learned information limited only by decay and interference among similar features and, within this activated portion, a focus of attention limited to about 3-4 separate items or chunks in typical adults. Cowan contends that previous models did not sufficiently distinguish between these temporary-storage mechanisms. In this theory, why is there interference between words and visual objects like colors when both are held in mind? Because the focus of attention is involved in maintaining information of all types and, when the procedure discourages mnemonic strategies like grouping and rehearsal, the focus of attention is limited to just a few separate units of information - as argued in a review cited over 6,900 times according to Google Scholar. In the brain, an area of the intraparietal sulcus plays a large role in the focus of attention, perhaps serving as an index connected to posterior areas representing the content of active memories.


Attention filtering by habituation of orienting

In another part of the theory of Cowan, conceptual difficulties of the idea of an attention filter were addressed. If unattended information is filtered out, how can it come to attract attention? In the theory, the attention filter is replaced by the well-known mechanism of orienting of attention. Stimuli with changed physical features attract attention, whereas stimulus features or patterns that are repeated or continuous become a part of the neural model of the environment; there is habituation of the orienting response, and such stimuli stop attracting attention. For example, Emily Elliott and Cowan showed that pre-exposure to sounds to be used as distractors reduced their capability to distract. In another kind of research on attention, Noelle Wood and Cowan replicated an often-discussed but until then poorly-understood phenomenon termed the cocktail party phenomenon. Using methodology improved from the 1950s, they found that people take a long time to notice subtle acoustic changes in an ignored channel of speech while repeating different speech presented in the other ear, a selective listening task. They also used the improved methodology to replicate the early, poorly-studied finding that about a third of participants notice their names unexpectedly presented in a channel to be ignored . That finding, however, was ambiguous. It could be that high-working-memory-span individuals are better able to monitor the channel to be ignored, or it could be that the low-span individuals cannot fix their attention on the assigned task, so that it wanders over intermittently to sample the channel to be ignored. The results have come out strongly in that direction, with many more low-span individuals noticing their names in the ignored channel. Proving that the results did not have to turn out that way, they were different for healthy older adults; their spans are like relatively low-span younger adults, yet the older adults rarely noticed their names in the channel to be ignored, suggesting that their focus of attention is strategically intact but with possibly a smaller capacity than young adults.


Development of working memory

In Cowan's work on the childhood development of working memory, a major task has been to deconfound development given that many processes develop together and need to be disentangled. Could it be that working memory capacity increases with age only because of some other factor? Cowan has examined this question repeatedly in different ways and has found that a number of factors are not sufficient. These factors that could not completely account for working memory capacity growth include the allocation of attention to relevant items, encoding speed and rehearsal, and knowledge. In memory for simple, spoken sentences, for example, more mature participants remembered more units, not larger ones. Recent evidence suggests that older children become better able to notice patterns in the stimuli that allow them quickly to memorize information and thereby ease the load on the focus of attention. Consequently, older participants can remember tones or words and colors at the same time, better than younger children with less interference between the two modalities Similar findings have been obtained in the area of adult aging, with a U-shaped development across the life span in the number of items that can be held in working memory without mnemonic strategies. Simple working memory tasks account for aptitudes better in children too young to apply mnemonic strategies, and Cowan has made considerable use of a simple task that maximizes the correlation with aptitudes by making the endpoint of a list unpredictable, known as running memory span. Minimizing mnemonic strategies may mean that more attention is needed for recall, which may also be needed in typical tasks of intellectual aptitudes.


Early life

Cowan provides many biographical details on his web site. He was born in 1951 in Washington, D.C. as the first child (son) of Jewish parents, Arthur Cowan from Boston, an optometrist, and Shirly B. Cowan (nee Frankle) of Baltimore. He grew up in Wheaton, Maryland and attended Wheaton High School. From oldest to youngest he has a younger brother with high-functioning autism diagnosed only at the age of about 50 (Mitchell), who has long been a valuable employee of the Veterans Administration, another younger brother (Elliott) who is an attorney, and a younger sister (Barbara) who is a social worker. Cowan was interested in science including making a telescope out of trial lenses in his father's office, tinkering with electricity and electronics at home, and expressing interest when Francis Crick won the Nobel prize and in the Washington Post indicated that he next wanted to study "how the brain works." Cowan's first experimental project, in a high school research class, involved supercooling suspended animation of rotifers, with guidance from his instructor and Commander Perry at the Bethesda Naval Hospital. Also in high school, reading a description of research studies in sleep and dreams inspired his interest in a career involving research on the brain and mind centered on understanding consciousness, which he hoped would also be of clinical, educational, or practical value. Cowan's home was within biking distance along Rock Creek Park to the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD, and in the summers when home from college, he volunteered there one year (with Monte Buchsbaum), learning computer programming and studying hemispheric laterality, and had a paid assistantship the next summer (with David Jacobowitz). The latter led to his first publication on a study that he suggested to the scientists, on examining the synergic and antagonistic actions of two neurotransmitter systems in rats.


Academic history


Education and positions

Cowan received a
B.S. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...
from the
University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
with an independent major in
neuroscience Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions and disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, developme ...
in 1973 and a
M.S. A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...
and
Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
in
psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between ...
from the
University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...
in 1977 and 1980, respectively, after which he completed a
postdoctoral fellow A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). The ultimate goal of a postdoctoral research position is to p ...
ship at
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...
. He subsequently was hired as a professor at the
University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, ...
in 1982, and in 1985, he joined the faculty of the
University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded in ...
, where he has remained since. Additionally, Cowan has served as a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the
University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin yliopisto, sv, Helsingfors universitet, abbreviated UH) is a public research university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but founded in the city of Turku (in Swedish ''Åbo'') in 1640 as the ...
, the
University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...
, the
University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany and various other facilitie ...
, the
University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...
, and the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
, where he also served as a professorial fellow.


Professional activities and honors

Since 2017, Cowan has been the
editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...
of the '' Journal of Experimental Psychology: General'' and previously was associate editor of the '' Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition'', ''
Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology The Experimental Psychology Society (EPS) is an academic society which facilitates research into experimental psychology and communication between experimental psychologists. It is based in the United Kingdom. The society was originally formed as ...
'', and the ''European Journal of Cognitive Psychology''. He was awarded honorary doctorates at the
University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin yliopisto, sv, Helsingfors universitet, abbreviated UH) is a public research university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but founded in the city of Turku (in Swedish ''Åbo'') in 1640 as the ...
, Finland (2003) and the
University of Liège The University of Liège (french: Université de Liège), or ULiège, is a major public university of the French Community of Belgium based in Liège, Wallonia, Belgium. Its official language is French. As of 2020, ULiège is ranked in the 301 ...
, Belgium (2015). He is a fellow of the
Society of Experimental Psychologists The Society of Experimental Psychologists (SEP), originally called the Society of Experimentalists, is an academic society for experimental psychologists An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determin ...
and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Elected posts include member of the Governing Board of the Psychonomic Society (2006-2011) and President of the Experimental Psychology Division (3) of the American Psychological Association (2008-2009). He won the Lifetime Achievement Award from the
Society for Experimental Psychology and Cognitive Science The Society for Experimental Psychology and Cognitive Science (SEPCS) (also known as American Psychological Association Division 3; formerly known as the Division of Experimental Psychology and the Division for Theoretical-Experimental Psychology ...
(2020).


References


External links


Nelson Cowan's homepage with link to updated CVWorking Memory Lab
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cowan, Nelson 1951 births Living people Memory researchers University of Michigan alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Academics of the University of Bristol Academic personnel of the University of Helsinki Leipzig University faculty University of Western Australia faculty University of Missouri faculty University of Massachusetts Amherst faculty Scientists from Washington, D.C. American cognitive psychologists Academic journal editors Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellows of the Society of Experimental Psychologists