The exposure phase of the CPAL begins with all of the to-be-remembered pattern-location associations for a given memory load presented on the display simultaneously. After a five second delay, a pattern is presented in the central location indicating that the participant should touch the location in the periphery that contains the same pattern. The pattern in the center remains present until the correct location in the periphery is selected. When the peripheral location containing the correct pattern is touched the pattern is occluded and a second pattern is shown in the central location. This process continues until each of the patterns in their peripheral locations have been touched and then occluded. The learning phase of the CPAL begins with the same task display as that presented during the exposure phase except that now all peripheral locations are occluded. One of the patterns, presented in the exposure phase, is then shown in the center location indicating that the participant should select the peripheral location where that pattern had been presented initially. If the correct location is selected, the occlusion is removed to show the pattern in the correct location and a check mark is drawn. If the response is incorrect a “beep” sound occurs and the occlusion is removed from the location selected to show either that the location contains a different pattern, or is empty and then the occlusion is replaced. A cross indicating the selection is incorrect is also superimposed on the incorrect location. This process continues until the correct location for the pattern presented in the center is found. Once it is found, the next pattern is presented and this continues until the correct locations have been found for all patterns. Finding the location for each of the patterns in the set is classified as one trial. In the current study, participants were required to learn sets of patternlocation associations and were allowed six learning trials to learn each set. During the practice session, the examiner corrected all errors verbally on the first trial but not on the second practice trial. An ascending, rather than a random order, was used so that testing could be ceased if difficulty prevented a child from completing the task within 20 minutes. The 20-minute time limit was identified from pilot testing and from previous studies of computer tests in young children. In order to minimize potential discomfort for CHIR-99021 children the total time allowed for testing on the CPAL was 20 minutes and once this interval was reached the task finished automatically. Data from tests not completed within 20 minute was excluded from the analysis. The results supported the first hypothesis that visual associate learning would become less efficient as memory load increased. In children of all ages, the efficiency of associate learning decreased as memory load increased. However, at the lowest memory loads, some children performed the task error free, suggesting that for those children the number of pattern-location associations did not exceed working memory capacity.