What is the role of the episodic buffer in the Working Memory Model?

• A. Visual storage only.
• B. Integrates information across domains and links to long-term memory.
• C. Rehearses verbal information.
• D. Is identical to the central executive.

Answer: (B)

The key idea is that the episodic buffer acts as a temporary, multi-modal storage that brings together information from different parts of working memory and links it to long-term memory. It takes input from the verbal loop and the visuospatial sketchpad, organized by the central executive, and stores it as integrated, time-stamped episodes. This lets you hold a coherent sequence of events or experiences in mind and also transfer that integrated information into long-term memory or pull it from long-term memory to form new, unified representations. That bridging and cross-domain integration is what makes the episodic buffer distinct. It’s not just visual storage, nor a rehearsal loop, and it isn’t the central executive itself.