Match-to-sample task

The basic procedure begins by presenting a subject with a stimulus (often a light of a particular color, or a visual pattern) that they will be required to remember, known as the 'sample'.

The match-to-sample task has been shown to be an effective tool to understand the impact of sleep deprivation on short-term memory.

Similarly, another study[10] used an event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging of the neural networks underlying the encoding, maintenance, and retrieval phase in the task.

This test was used to discover the reduction in pattern expressions with sleep deprivation for each subject and how it related to the change in performance on the delayed-match-to-sample task.

The test also reproduced findings of other working memory studies which demonstrated interactions between PFC and other parts of the brain.

By varying the length of the delay we can gain insight into how long the subject can retain information in their working memory.

Screen shot of the PEBL computerized match-to-sample task. The participant originally saw one of the two patterns, and after a delay was asked to choose which of the two was originally shown.