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Spatial Working Memory (SWM) — CANTAB Task

Source: Cambridge Cognition website URL: https://cambridgecognition.com/spatial-working-memory-swm/ Accessed: 2026-06-11

Overview

Spatial Working Memory (SWM) requires retention and manipulation of visuospatial information. This self-ordered test has notable executive function demands and provides a measure of strategy as well as working memory errors.

Administration time: 4-6 minutes

Cognitive domain: Executive function

Task Format

The test begins with a number of coloured squares (boxes) shown on the screen. The aim is to find one yellow ‘token’ in each of a number of boxes by selecting boxes and using a process of elimination, and then to use the tokens to fill up an empty column on the right-hand side of the screen.

Depending on the difficulty level, the number of boxes can be gradually increased until a maximum of 12 boxes are shown. The colour and position of the boxes are changed from trial to trial to discourage the use of stereotyped search strategies.

Outcome Measures

  • Errors: Selecting boxes that have already been found to be empty; revisiting boxes which have already been found to contain a token
  • Strategy: Measure of the participant’s ability to adopt an efficient search pattern
  • Alzheimer’s disease
  • Autism spectrum disorder
  • Depression and affective disorders
  • Down’s syndrome
  • Epilepsy
  • Multiple sclerosis
  • Parkinson’s disease
  • Schizophrenia
  • Stroke and cerebrovascular disease
  • Traumatic brain injury

Graph View