Executive functions are thinking abilities that allow us to achieve our goals. For example, executive functions allow you to stay on task, plan ahead, hold onto thoughts, solve problems, and refrain from inappropriate actions (like talking back to a teacher). In patients who had experienced TBI more than 4 years ago, we studied an executive function called working memory T, which is the mental workspace that holds information for immediate use. For example, remembering the numbers the teacher writes on the board as you write down the problem in your notebook. Working memory differs from what is called long-term memory, which is what we use to remember events over years. For example, working memory helps us do addition in our heads, long-term memory is what allows us to remember our first day at school.
Working memory has three stages: encoding (putting information in), maintenance (holding on to that information), and retrieval (remembering that information and using it). Usually, people can hold about 3–5 things in working memory at a time. Working memory requires cooperation between regions in both the front and back of the brain. If brain cells in either of these regions are damaged, working memory could suffer.

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