Working memory, long-term memory and language processing : issues and future directions

We examined different views of the relationships between working memory, long-term memory and language processing : working memory considered as a gateway between sensory input and long-term memory or rather as a workspace; working memory considered as not strictly tied to any particular cognitive system (and consequently viewed as separated from the language system) or rather as drawing on the operation and storage capacities of a subset of components involved in language processing. It is argued that functional imagery studies (along with neuropsychological researches) could contribute to decide between these conceptions