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Tzuriel D, Weiss T, Kashy-Rosenbaum G. The effects of working memory training on working memory, self-regulation, and analogical reasoning of preschool children. BRITISH JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 2024. [PMID: 39107086 DOI: 10.1111/bjep.12709] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2023] [Accepted: 07/15/2024] [Indexed: 08/09/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS This study examined the effects of working memory training (WMT) on WM and fluid intelligence. A novel four-pronged model of mediated learning, cognitive functions, task characteristics and metacognition is presented as a conceptual basis for the Modifiability of a Working Memory Program (MWMP). Our basic assumption is that increasing WM depends on a synchronized combination of the four components. SAMPLE A group of typically developed preschool children (n = 62) participated in the experimental group, receiving the MWMP. They were compared with a control group (n = 56) of preschool children who engaged in a substitute program. This comparison allowed us to discern the specific effects of the MWMP. METHODS All participants received tests of WM, self-regulation and analogical reasoning before and after the intervention. The MWMP was administered to children in the experimental group for 10 weekly sessions, each lasting 40 minutes, in small groups of two children. The children in the control group engaged in didactic activities that were part of a school curriculum routine for kindergartners for the same length of time. RESULTS We used ANCOVA analysis to compare the Treatment x Time with age and socioeconomic status as covariates. The findings revealed a higher improvement in some WM and self-regulation tests among children in the experimental group compared to those in the control group. However, no significant transfer effects were observed in analogical thinking. CONCLUSION The findings confirm the effectiveness of a non-computerized WMT among kindergartners and support our four-pronged theoretical model. We also discuss earlier findings on far-transfer effects and educational implications. We suggest that future WM studies adopt the following: (1) the development of training methods that are theoretically anchored; (2) training procedures should not rely heavily on computerized exercises but can be adapted to group characteristics, educational settings and cost-effectiveness aspects; (3) varying the task characteristics and training strategies to stimulate task-intrinsic motivation; (4) identifying training strategies to produce cognitive improvements underlying WM; (5) intervention should target individuals in early development as much as possible; (6) development of training procedures that facilitate motivation; and (7) providing empirical evidence of far-transfer effects for WM training. The empirical evidence should link gains in WM capacity and achievements in academic and other life domains.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Tzuriel
- Faculty of Education, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Tammy Weiss
- Faculty of Education, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
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Banta Lavenex P, Blandin ML, Gaborieau C, Lavenex P. Well-designed manufacturing work improves some cognitive abilities in individuals with cognitive impairments. FRONTIERS IN REHABILITATION SCIENCES 2024; 5:1377133. [PMID: 38813372 PMCID: PMC11135131 DOI: 10.3389/fresc.2024.1377133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2024] [Accepted: 04/29/2024] [Indexed: 05/31/2024]
Abstract
Introduction Employment is recognized as a fundamental human right, which correlates with better physical and mental health. Importantly, well-designed work, which considers the physical, social, and psychological impacts of work, can serve to enhance the cognitive abilities of workers. Although often overlooked, work for individuals with disabilities, including cognitive impairments, is equally important for their physical and mental well-being. What has not been established, however, is whether well-designed work can also enhance the cognitive abilities of individuals with cognitive impairments. Methods Using a longitudinal study design, we investigated the impact of well-designed work on the cognitive abilities of 60 participants (operators) at the AMIPI Foundation factories, which employ individuals with cognitive impairments to produce electrical cables and harnesses for the automobile industry. The same operators were assessed at three different time points: upon hiring (n = 60), and after working in the factory for 1 year (n = 41, since 19 left the factory) and 2 years (n = 28, since 13 more left the factory). We used five cognitive tests evaluating: (1) finger and manual dexterity, bimanual dexterity, and procedural memory using the Purdue Pegboard; (2) sustained and selective attention using the Symbol Cancellation Task; (3) short- and long-term declarative verbal memory and long-term verbal recognition memory using Rey's Audio-Verbal Learning Test; (4) short- and long-term visual recognition memory using the Continuous Visual Memory Test; and (5) abstract reasoning using Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices. Results We observed improvements in procedural memory, sustained and selective attention, and short- and long-term visual recognition memory after working in the factory for 1 or 2 years. We did not observe improvements in finger or manual dexterity or bimanual dexterity, nor short- or long-term declarative verbal memory or verbal recognition memory, nor abstract reasoning. Discussion We conclude that, in addition to improving physical and mental well-being, well-designed manufacturing work can serve as a training intervention improving some types of cognitive functioning in individuals with cognitive impairments.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Pierre Lavenex
- Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Development, Institute of Psychology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
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Bombonato C, Del Lucchese B, Ruffini C, Di Lieto MC, Brovedani P, Sgandurra G, Cioni G, Pecini C. Far Transfer Effects of Trainings on Executive Functions in Neurodevelopmental Disorders: A Systematic Review and Metanalysis. Neuropsychol Rev 2024; 34:98-133. [PMID: 36633797 PMCID: PMC10920464 DOI: 10.1007/s11065-022-09574-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2022] [Accepted: 12/01/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Executive Functions are a set of interrelated, top-down processes essential for adaptive goal-directed behaviour, frequently impaired across different neurodevelopmental disorders with variable degrees of severity. Many executive-function-training studies in children with neurodevelopmental disorders have focused on near effects, investigating post-treatment improvements on directly trained processes, while enhancements of skills not directly trained, defined as far effects, are less considered, albeit these could be extremely relevant for reducing the negative impact of a disorder's core symptomatology. This systematic review and metanalysis aims to investigate the far effect outcomes after EF training in children with different types of neurodevelopmental disorders. 17 studies met the inclusion criteria for the systematic review, while 15 studies were selected in the metanalysis. An overall statistically significant effect size was found in the majority of far effect outcome measures considered in the studies. In particular, trainings on executive functions determine significant far effects on daily life functioning (0.46, 95% CI: [0.05-0.87]) and clinical symptoms (0.33, 95% CI: [0.15-0.51]). Despite a high variability of the results, intensity, frequency and the laboratory/life contexts dimension seem to be the most influential variables in determining far effects. This systematic review and metanalysis highlights the need to measure far effects of executive function training in neurodevelopmental disorders, selecting treatments not only on directly targeted processes, but also according to far impacts on the functional weakness of the disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clara Bombonato
- Department of Developmental Neuroscience, IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, Calambrone, Pisa, Italy
- Tuscan Programme of Neuroscience, University of Florence, Pisa and Siena, Italy
| | - Benedetta Del Lucchese
- Department of Developmental Neuroscience, IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, Calambrone, Pisa, Italy
- Tuscan Programme of Neuroscience, University of Florence, Pisa and Siena, Italy
| | - Costanza Ruffini
- Department of Education, Intercultures, Literatures and Psychology (FORLIPSI), University of Florence, Languages, Florence, Italy
| | - Maria Chiara Di Lieto
- Department of Developmental Neuroscience, IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, Calambrone, Pisa, Italy
| | - Paola Brovedani
- Department of Developmental Neuroscience, IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, Calambrone, Pisa, Italy
| | - Giuseppina Sgandurra
- Department of Developmental Neuroscience, IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, Calambrone, Pisa, Italy.
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
| | - Giovanni Cioni
- Department of Developmental Neuroscience, IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, Calambrone, Pisa, Italy
| | - Chiara Pecini
- Department of Education, Intercultures, Literatures and Psychology (FORLIPSI), University of Florence, Languages, Florence, Italy
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Rodas JA, Asimakopoulou AA, Greene CM. Can we enhance working memory? Bias and effectiveness in cognitive training studies. Psychon Bull Rev 2024:10.3758/s13423-024-02466-8. [PMID: 38366265 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-024-02466-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/18/2024] [Indexed: 02/18/2024]
Abstract
Meta-analyses have found that working memory (WM) can be improved with cognitive training; however, some authors have suggested that these improvements are mostly driven by biases in the measurement of WM, especially the use of similar tasks for assessment and training. In the present meta-analysis, we investigated whether WM, fluid intelligence, executive functions, and short-term memory can be improved by cognitive training and evaluated the impact of possible sources of bias. We performed a risk of bias assessment of the included studies and took special care in controlling for practice effects. Data from 52 independent comparisons were analyzed, including cognitive training aimed at different cognitive functions. Our results show small improvements in WM after training (SMD = 0.18). Much larger effects were observed when the analysis was restricted to assessment tasks similar to those used for training (SMD = 1.15). Fluid intelligence was not found to improve as a result of training, and improvements in WM were not related to changes in fluid intelligence. Our analyses did however indicate that cognitive training can improve specific executive functions. Contrary to expectations, a set of meta-regressions indicated that characteristics of the training programme, such as dosage and type of training, do not have an impact on the effectiveness of training. The risk of bias assessment revealed some concerns in the randomization process and possible selective reporting among studies. Overall, our results identified various potential sources of bias, with the most significant being the choice of assessment tasks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jose A Rodas
- Escuela de Psicología, Universidad Espíritu Santo, Samborondón, Ecuador.
- School of Psychology, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
| | | | - Ciara M Greene
- School of Psychology, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
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Ni N, Gathercole SE, Norris D, Saito S. Asymmetric negative transfer effects of working memory training. Mem Cognit 2023; 51:1654-1669. [PMID: 37084067 PMCID: PMC10520134 DOI: 10.3758/s13421-023-01412-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/07/2023] [Indexed: 04/22/2023]
Abstract
Gathercole et al. (Journal of Memory and Language, 105, 19-42, 2019) presented a cognitive routine framework for explaining the underlying mechanisms of working memory (WM) training and transfer. This framework conceptualizes training-induced changes as the acquisition of novel cognitive routines similar to learning a new skill. We further infer that WM training might not always generate positive outcomes because previously acquired routines may affect subsequent task performance in various ways. Thus, the present study aimed to demonstrate the negative effects of WM training via two experiments. We conducted Experiment 1 online using a two-phase training paradigm with only three training sessions per phase and replicated the key findings of Gathercole and Norris (in prep.) that training on a backward circle span task (a spatial task) transferred negatively to subsequent training on a backward letter span task (a verbal task). We conducted Experiment 2 using a reversed task order design corresponding to Experiment 1. The results indicated that the transfer from backward letter training to backward circle training was not negative, but rather weakly positive, suggesting that the direction of the negative transfer effect is asymmetric. The present study therefore found that a negative transfer effect can indeed occur under certain WM training designs. The presence of this asymmetric effect indicates that backward circle and backward letter tasks require different optimal routines and that the locus of negative transfer might be the acquisition process of such optimal routines. Hence, the routines already established for backward circle might hinder the development of optimal routines for backward letter, but not vice versa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nan Ni
- Graduate School of Education, Kyoto University, Yoshida-honmachi, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8501, Japan.
| | - Susan E Gathercole
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Dennis Norris
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Satoru Saito
- Graduate School of Education, Kyoto University, Yoshida-honmachi, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8501, Japan.
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Memisevic H, Dedic A, Malec D. The Relative Strengths of Relationships Between Fine Motor Skills, Working Memory, Processing Speed and Fluid Intelligence in Early Elementary School Children. Percept Mot Skills 2023; 130:1386-1399. [PMID: 37257484 DOI: 10.1177/00315125231181297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
The goal in the present paper was to examine the combined and relative impact of fine motor ability, auditory working memory, and processing speed on fluid intelligence in a sample of early elementary school students. Our participant sample was 145 children (Mage = 9.1 years, SD = 1.1; 80 boys, 65 girls). We used the Raven's Colored Progressive Matrices Test as a measure of fluid intelligence and five other measures to represent the three predictor variables: the Grooved Pegboard Test as a measure of fine motor skills, Digit Span Forwards and Digit Span Backwards tests as measures of working memory, and Rapid Automatized Naming and Letter-Digit Substitution tasks as measures of processing speed. Regression analyses indicated that only two of these measures had a statistically significant association with the fluid intelligence test scores, namely, scores on the Grooved Pegboard (fine motor skills) and Digit Span Backwards (working memory) tests, with these two measures explaining 35% of the variance in the fluid intelligence test scores. Thus, fine motor skills and working memory were correlated with fluid intelligence in early elementary-grade students. Until the directions of these relationships are better understood, we might assume that interventions aiming to increase young children's fluid intelligence, or at least their intelligence scores, might partly target working memory and fine motor skills.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haris Memisevic
- Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
| | - Admira Dedic
- Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
| | - Daniel Malec
- Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
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Hagemann D, Ihmels M, Bast N, Neubauer AB, Schankin A, Schubert AL. Fluid Intelligence Is (Much) More than Working Memory Capacity: An Experimental Analysis. J Intell 2023; 11:jintelligence11040070. [PMID: 37103255 PMCID: PMC10141465 DOI: 10.3390/jintelligence11040070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2022] [Revised: 03/21/2023] [Accepted: 03/31/2023] [Indexed: 04/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Empirical evidence suggests a great positive association between measures of fluid intelligence and working memory capacity, which implied to some researchers that fluid intelligence is little more than working memory. Because this conclusion is mostly based on correlation analysis, a causal relationship between fluid intelligence and working memory has not yet been established. The aim of the present study was therefore to provide an experimental analysis of this relationship. In a first study, 60 participants worked on items of the Advanced Progressive Matrices (APM) while simultaneously engaging in one of four secondary tasks to load specific components of the working memory system. There was a diminishing effect of loading the central executive on the APM performance, which could explain 15% of the variance in the APM score. In a second study, we used the same experimental manipulations but replaced the dependent variable with complex working memory span tasks from three different domains. There was also a diminishing effect of the experimental manipulation on span task performance, which could now explain 40% of the variance. These findings suggest a causal effect of working memory functioning on fluid intelligence test performance, but they also imply that factors other than working memory functioning must contribute to fluid intelligence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dirk Hagemann
- Institute of Psychology, University of Heidelberg, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Max Ihmels
- Department of Psychology, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Nico Bast
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Frankfurt, Goethe-University, 60590 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Andreas B. Neubauer
- Department of Education and Human Development, DIPF Leibniz Institute for Research and Information in Education, 60323 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Andrea Schankin
- Institute of Business Psychology, FOM University of Applied Sciences, 45127 Essen, Germany
- TECO/Pervasive Computing Systems, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, 76185 Karlsruhe, Germany
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Pahor A, Seitz AR, Jaeggi SM. Near transfer to an unrelated N-back task mediates the effect of N-back working memory training on matrix reasoning. Nat Hum Behav 2022; 6:1243-1256. [PMID: 35726054 DOI: 10.1038/s41562-022-01384-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2020] [Accepted: 05/10/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
The extent to which working memory training improves performance on untrained tasks is highly controversial. Here we address this controversy by testing the hypothesis that far transfer may depend on near transfer using mediation models in three separate randomized controlled trials (RCTs). In all three RCTs, totalling 460 individuals, performance on untrained N-back tasks (near transfer) mediated transfer to Matrix Reasoning (representing far transfer) despite the lack of an intervention effect in RCTs 2 and 3. Untrained N-back performance also mediated transfer to a working memory composite, which showed a significant intervention effect (RCT 3). These findings support a model of N-back training in which transfer to untrained N-back tasks gates further transfer (at least in the case of working memory at the construct level) and Matrix Reasoning. This model can help adjudicate between the many studies and meta-analyses of working memory training that have provided mixed results but have not examined the relationship between near and far transfer on an individual-differences level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anja Pahor
- School of Education, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA.
- Department of Psychology, University of Maribor, Maribor, Slovenia.
| | - Aaron R Seitz
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA
| | - Susanne M Jaeggi
- School of Education, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
- Department of Cognitive Sciences, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
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Ashori M. Working Memory-Based Cognitive Rehabilitation: Spoken Language of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children. JOURNAL OF DEAF STUDIES AND DEAF EDUCATION 2022; 27:234-244. [PMID: 35543013 DOI: 10.1093/deafed/enac007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2021] [Revised: 03/19/2022] [Accepted: 03/21/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
This research examined the effect of the Working Memory-based Cognitive Rehabilitation (WMCR) intervention on the spoken language development of deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children. In this clinical trial study, 28 DHH children aged between 5 and 6 years were selected by random sampling method. The participants were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. The experimental group participated in the WMCR intervention involving 11 sessions. All participants were assessed pre-and postintervention. Data were collected by the Newsha Development Scale and analyzed through MANCOVA. The results revealed a significant difference between the scores of the receptive and expressive language of the experimental group that were exposed to the WMCR intervention compared with the control group. The receptive and expressive language skills of the experimental group indicated a significant improvement after the intervention. Therefore, the WMCR intervention is an effective method that affects the spoken language skills of DHH children. These findings have critical implications for teachers, parents, and therapists in supporting DHH young children to develop their language skills.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammad Ashori
- Associate Professor, Department of Psychology and Education of People with Special Needs, Faculty of Education and Psychology, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran
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Cybernetic Hive Minds: A Review. AI 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/ai3020027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Insect swarms and migratory birds are known to exhibit something known as a hive mind, collective consciousness, and herd mentality, among others. This has inspired a whole new stream of robotics known as swarm intelligence, where small-sized robots perform tasks in coordination. The social media and smartphone revolution have helped people collectively work together and organize in their day-to-day jobs or activism. This revolution has also led to the massive spread of disinformation amplified during the COVID-19 pandemic by alt-right Neo Nazi Cults like QAnon and their counterparts from across the globe, causing increases in the spread of infection and deaths. This paper presents the case for a theoretical cybernetic hive mind to explain how existing cults like QAnon weaponize group think and carry out crimes using social media-based alternate reality games. We also showcase a framework on how cybernetic hive minds have come into existence and how the hive mind might evolve in the future. We also discuss the implications of these hive minds for the future of free will and how different malfeasant entities have utilized these technologies to cause problems and inflict harm by various forms of cyber-crimes and predict how these crimes can evolve in the future.
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Liu P, Zhang X, Zhou R. The Mindset of Intelligence Is Not a Contributor of Placebo Effects in Working Memory Training. Front Psychol 2021; 12:712309. [PMID: 34803800 PMCID: PMC8600330 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.712309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2021] [Accepted: 09/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Whether working memory training is effective in enhancing fluid intelligence remains in dispute. Several researchers, who doubt the training benefits, consider that placebo effects may be the reason for positive training gains. One of the vital variables that may induce the placebo effect is the mindset of intelligence. In this article, we provide a test of whether the mindset of intelligence leads to placebo effects in working memory training. Participants were overtly recruited and allocated to the growth mindset group or the fixed mindset group by Theories of Intelligence Scale scores. A single, 1 h session working memory training is the cue to introduce the placebo effects. During pre/post-testing, all participants completed tasks measuring working memory capacity (near transfer) and fluid intelligence (far transfer). Our findings show no significant difference between the two groups in both tasks. Therefore, these results suggest that the placebo effect does not exist in this study, which means individuals' mindset of intelligence may not be a contributor to the placebo effect in 1 h working memory training. This research will further help to clarify the mechanism of the placebo effect in working memory training.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peibing Liu
- Department of Psychology, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
| | - Xin Zhang
- Department of Psychology, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
- Smart Home Solution BU of Innovation Business Group, TCL Industries Holdings Co., Ltd., Huizhou, China
| | - Renlai Zhou
- Department of Psychology, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
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De Lillo M, Brunsdon VEA, Bradford EEF, Gasking F, Ferguson HJ. Training executive functions using an adaptive procedure over 21 days (10 training sessions) and an active control group. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2021; 74:1579-1594. [PMID: 33656380 PMCID: PMC8358555 DOI: 10.1177/17470218211002509] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2021] [Revised: 02/15/2021] [Accepted: 02/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The degree to which executive function (EF) abilities (including working memory [WM], inhibitory control [IC], and cognitive flexibility [CF]) can be enhanced through training is an important question; however, research in this area is inconsistent. Previous cognitive training studies largely agree that training leads to improvements in the trained task, but the generalisability of this improvement to other related tasks remains controversial. In this article, we present a pre-registered experiment that used an adaptive training procedure to examine whether EFs can be enhanced through cognitive training, and directly compared the efficacy and generalisability across sub-components of EF using training programmes that target WM, IC, or CF versus an active control group. Participants (n = 160) first completed a battery of tasks that assessed EFs, then were randomly assigned to one of the four training groups, and completed an adaptive procedure over 21 days (10 training sessions) that targeted a specific sub-component of EF (or was comparatively engaging and challenging, but did not train a specific EF). At post-test, participants returned to the lab to repeat the battery of EF tasks. Results revealed robust direct training effects (i.e., on trained task), but limited evidence to support near (i.e., same EF, different task) and far (i.e., different EF and task) transfer effects. Where indirect training benefits emerged, the effects were more readily attributable to the overlapping training/assessment task routines, rather than more general enhancements to the underlying cognitive processes or neural circuits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martina De Lillo
- School of Psychology, Keynes College, University of Kent, Kent, UK
| | | | | | - Frank Gasking
- School of Psychology, Keynes College, University of Kent, Kent, UK
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de Winter JCF, Hancock PA. Why human factors science is demonstrably necessary: historical and evolutionary foundations. ERGONOMICS 2021; 64:1115-1131. [PMID: 33779512 DOI: 10.1080/00140139.2021.1905882] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2020] [Accepted: 03/11/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
We review the theoretical foundation for the need for human factors science. Over the past 2.8 million years, humans and tools have co-evolved. However, in the last century, technology is introduced at a rate that exceeds human evolution. The proliferation of computers and, more recently, robots, introduces new cognitive demands, as the human is required to be a monitor rather than a direct controller. The usage of robots and artificial intelligence is only expected to increase, and the present COVID-19 pandemic may prove to be catalytic in this regard. One way to improve overall system performance is to 'adapt the human to the machine' via task procedures, operator training, operator selection, a Procrustean mandate. Using classic research examples, we demonstrate that Procrustean methods can improve performance only to a limited extent. For a viable future, therefore, technology must adapt to the human, which underwrites the necessity of human factors science. Practitioner Summary: Various research articles have reported that the science of Human Factors is of vital importance in improving human-machine systems. However, what is lacking is a fundamental historical outline of why Human Factors is important. This article provides such a foundation, using arguments ranging from pre-history to post-COVID.
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Affiliation(s)
- J C F de Winter
- Department of Cognitive Robotics, Faculty of Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - P A Hancock
- Department of Psychology and the Institute for Simulation and Training, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA
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Zhang DW, Zaphf A, Klingberg T. Resting State EEG Related to Mathematical Improvement After Spatial Training in Children. Front Hum Neurosci 2021; 15:698367. [PMID: 34305556 PMCID: PMC8297825 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.698367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2021] [Accepted: 06/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Spatial cognitive abilities, including mental rotation (MR) and visuo-spatial working memory (vsWM) are correlated with mathematical performance, and several studies have shown that training of these abilities can enhance mathematical performance. Here, we investigated the behavioral and neural correlates of MR and vsWM training combined with number line (NL) training. Fifty-seven children, aged 6–7, performed 25 days of NL training combined with either vsWM or MR and participated in an Electroencephalography (EEG)-session in school to measure resting state activity and steady-state visual evoked potentials during a vsWM task before and after training. Fifty children, aged 6–7, received usual teaching and acted as a control group. Compared to the control group, both training groups improved on a combined measure of mathematics. Cognitive improvement was specific to the training. Significant pre-post changes in resting state-EEG (rs-EEG), common to both training groups, were found for power as well as for coherence, with no significant differences in rs-EEG-changes between the vsWM and MR groups. Two of the common rs-EEG changes were correlated with mathematical improvement: (1) an increase in coherence between the central frontal lobe and the right parietal lobe in frequencies ranging from 16 to 25 Hz, and (2) an increase in coherence between the left frontal lobe and the right parietal lobe ranging from 23 to 25 Hz. These results indicate that changes in fronto-parietal coherence are related to an increase in mathematical performance, which thus might be a useful measure in further investigations of mathematical interventions in children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Da-Wei Zhang
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Anna Zaphf
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Torkel Klingberg
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
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15
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Neri F, Smeralda CL, Momi D, Sprugnoli G, Menardi A, Ferrone S, Rossi S, Rossi A, Di Lorenzo G, Santarnecchi E. Personalized Adaptive Training Improves Performance at a Professional First-Person Shooter Action Videogame. Front Psychol 2021; 12:598410. [PMID: 34177682 PMCID: PMC8224404 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.598410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2020] [Accepted: 04/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
First-Person Shooter (FPS) game experience can be transferred to untrained cognitive functions such as attention, visual short-term memory, spatial cognition, and decision-making. However, previous studies have been using off-the-shelf FPS games based on predefined gaming settings, therefore it is not known whether such improvement of in game performance and transfer of abilities can be further improved by creating a in-game, adaptive in-game training protocol. To address this question, we compared the impact of a popular FPS-game (Counter-Strike:Global-Offensive–CS:GO) with an ad hoc version of the game based on a personalized, adaptive algorithm modifying the artificial intelligence of opponents as well as the overall game difficulty on the basis of individual gaming performance. Two groups of FPS-naïve healthy young participants were randomly assigned to playing one of the two game versions (11 and 10 participants, respectively) 2 h/day for 3 weeks in a controlled laboratory setting, including daily in-game performance monitoring and extensive cognitive evaluations administered before, immediately after, and 3 months after training. Participants exposed to the adaptive version of the game were found to progress significantly faster in terms of in-game performance, reaching gaming scenarios up to 2.5 times more difficult than the group exposed to standard CS:GO (p < 0.05). A significant increase in cognitive performance was also observed. Personalized FPS gaming can significantly speed-up the learning curve of action videogame-players, with possible future applications for expert-video-gamers and potential relevance for clinical-rehabilitative applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesco Neri
- Siena Brain Investigation & Neuromodulation Lab, Department of Medicine, Surgery and Neuroscience, Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology Section, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Carmelo Luca Smeralda
- Siena Brain Investigation & Neuromodulation Lab, Department of Medicine, Surgery and Neuroscience, Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology Section, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Davide Momi
- Siena Brain Investigation & Neuromodulation Lab, Department of Medicine, Surgery and Neuroscience, Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology Section, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Giulia Sprugnoli
- Siena Brain Investigation & Neuromodulation Lab, Department of Medicine, Surgery and Neuroscience, Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology Section, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Arianna Menardi
- Siena Brain Investigation & Neuromodulation Lab, Department of Medicine, Surgery and Neuroscience, Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology Section, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Salvatore Ferrone
- Siena Brain Investigation & Neuromodulation Lab, Department of Medicine, Surgery and Neuroscience, Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology Section, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Simone Rossi
- Siena Brain Investigation & Neuromodulation Lab, Department of Medicine, Surgery and Neuroscience, Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology Section, University of Siena, Siena, Italy.,Human Physiology Section, Department of Medicine, Surgery and Neuroscience, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Alessandro Rossi
- Siena Brain Investigation & Neuromodulation Lab, Department of Medicine, Surgery and Neuroscience, Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology Section, University of Siena, Siena, Italy.,Department of Medicine, Surgery and Neuroscience, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Giorgio Di Lorenzo
- Laboratory of Psychophysiology and Cognitive Neuroscience, Chair of Psychiatry, Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy.,Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology Unit, Fondazione Policlinico Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy.,IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
| | - Emiliano Santarnecchi
- Berenson-Allen Center for Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
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16
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Bednarek H, Przedniczek M, Olszewska JM, Niewiarowski J, Orzechowski J. The near- and far-transfer effects of cognitive training on attentional networks in women and men. JOURNAL OF COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1080/20445911.2021.1916508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Hanna Bednarek
- Department of Psychology, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Magdalena Przedniczek
- Department of Psychology, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Warsaw, Poland
| | | | - Jakub Niewiarowski
- Department of Psychology, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Jarosław Orzechowski
- Faculty of Psychology in Wroclaw, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Wroclaw, Poland
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17
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Malinovitch T, Jakoby H, Ahissar M. Training-induced improvement in working memory tasks results from switching to efficient strategies. Psychon Bull Rev 2021; 28:526-536. [PMID: 33063180 PMCID: PMC8062341 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-020-01824-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
It is debated whether training with a working memory (WM) task, particularly n-back, can improve general WM and reasoning skills. Most training studies found substantial improvement in the trained task, with little to no transfer to untrained tasks. We hypothesized that training does not increase WM capacity, but instead provides opportunities to develop an efficient task-specific strategy. We derived a strategy for the task that optimizes WM resources and taught it to participants. In two sessions, 14 participants who were taught this strategy performed as well as fourteen participants who trained for 40 sessions without strategy instructions. To understand the mechanisms underlying the no-instruction group's improvement, participants answered questionnaires during their training period. Their replies indicate that successful learners discovered the same strategy and their improvement was associated with this discovery. We conclude that n-back training allows the discovery of strategies that enable better performance with the same WM resources.
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18
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Moreau D, Wiebels K. Assessing Change in Intervention Research: The Benefits of Composite Outcomes. ADVANCES IN METHODS AND PRACTICES IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2021. [DOI: 10.1177/2515245920931930] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Intervention research is often time- and resource-intensive, with numerous participants involved over extended periods of time. To maximize the value of intervention studies, multiple outcome measures are often included, either to ensure a diverse set of outcomes is being assessed or to refine assessments of specific outcomes. Here, we advocate for combining assessments, rather than relying on individual measures assessed separately, to better evaluate the effectiveness of interventions. Specifically, we argue that by pooling information from individual measures into a single outcome, composite scores can provide finer estimates of the underlying theoretical construct of interest while retaining important properties more sophisticated methods often forgo, such as transparency and interpretability. We describe different methods to compute, evaluate, and use composites depending on the goals, design, and data. To promote usability, we also provide a preregistration template that includes examples in the context of psychological interventions with supporting R code. Finally, we make a number of recommendations to help ensure that intervention studies are designed in a way that maximizes discoveries. A Shiny app and detailed R code accompany this article and are available at https://osf.io/u96em/ .
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Affiliation(s)
- David Moreau
- School of Psychology and Centre for Brain Research, The University of Auckland
| | - Kristina Wiebels
- School of Psychology and Centre for Brain Research, The University of Auckland
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19
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Is Training with the N-Back Task More Effective Than with Other Tasks? N-Back vs. Dichotic Listening vs. Simple Listening. JOURNAL OF COGNITIVE ENHANCEMENT 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s41465-020-00202-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
AbstractCognitive training most commonly uses computerized tasks that stimulate simultaneous cognitive processing in two modalities, such as a dual n-back task with visual and auditive stimuli, or on two receptive channels, such as a listening task with dichotically presented stimuli. The present study was designed to compare a dual n-back task and a dichotic listening (DL) task with an active control condition (a simple listening task) and a no-training control condition for their impact on cognitive performance, daily life memory, and mindfulness. One hundred thirty healthy adults aged 18–55 years were randomly assigned to one of the four conditions. The training consisted of twenty 15-min sessions spread across 4 weeks. The results indicated some improvement on episodic memory tasks and a trend for enhanced performance in an untrained working memory (WM) span task following cognitive training relative to the no-training control group. However, the only differential training effects were found for the DL training in increasing choice reaction performance and a trend for self-reported mindfulness. Transfer to measures of fluid intelligence and memory in daily life did not emerge. Additionally, we found links between self-efficacy and n-back training performance and between emotion regulation and training motivation. Our results contribute to the field of WM training by demonstrating that our listening tasks are comparable in effect to a dual n-back task in slightly improving memory. The possibility of improving attentional control and mindfulness through dichotic listening training is promising and deserves further consideration.
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20
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Training with high perceptual difficulty improves the capacity and fidelity of internal representation in VWM. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2020; 85:2408-2419. [PMID: 32809086 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-020-01404-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2020] [Accepted: 08/06/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
It has been shown that the capacity of visual working memory (VWM) is a strong predictor of individual intelligence, and researchers have developed various training protocols to improve VWM capacity. However, it seems that whether the fidelity of internal representation in VWM can also be improved by training is largely overlooked in the past literature. Here, we introduced a new training approach that involved increasing the perceptual difficulty of training materials to enhance VWM, and both memory capacity and the fidelity of representation were examined to assess the training efficacy. Participants with normal vision and cognitive abilities received 3-week training on VWM using a change detection task, and the results showed that both the capacity and the fidelity of memory representations were improved for training with perceptually difficult stimuli, while only the fidelity was improved for training with perceptually normal stimuli. In addition, we found that the training effects on memory precision may be subject to capacity constraints. We suggest that long-term adaptive training with perceptually difficult stimuli may facilitate encoding efficiency through familiarizing trainees with an increased baseline of cognitive workload during the encoding process. The present study offers clear evidence that training with high perceptual difficulty is more effective and the improvements in VWM are more stable than training with perceptually normal materials, and the simple manipulation on training stimuli indicates that the method can be generalized to a wider range of training situations and populations.
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21
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Non-verbal IQ Gains from Relational Operant Training Explain Variance in Educational Attainment: An Active-Controlled Feasibility Study. JOURNAL OF COGNITIVE ENHANCEMENT 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s41465-020-00187-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
AbstractResearch suggests that training relational operant patterns of behavior can lead to increases in general cognitive ability and educational outcomes. Most studies to date have been under-powered and included proxy measures of educational attainment. We attempted to extend previous findings with increased experimental control in younger children (aged 6.9–10.1 years). Participants (N = 49) were assigned to either a relational training or chess control group. Over 5 months, teachers assigned class time to complete either relational training or play chess. Those who were assigned relational training gained 8.9 non-verbal IQ (NVIQ) points, while those in the control condition recorded no gains (dppc2 = .99). Regression analyses revealed that post-training NVIQ predicted reading test scores (conducted approximately 1 month later) over and above baseline NVIQ in the experimental condition only, consistent with what we might expect in a full test of far transfer towards educational outcomes.
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22
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Abstract
Contemporary cognitive training literature suggests that training on an adaptive task produces improvements only in the trained task or near transfer effects. No study has yet systematically explained the mechanism behind improved performance on the N-back. In this study, we first investigated how improvements in an N-back task using eight pairs of phonologically similar words as stimuli occurred by examining error distributions of the task over training sessions. Nineteen participants (non-native English speakers) trained for 20 sessions over 5 weeks. We observed a reduction in false alarms to non-target words and fewer missed target words. Though the absolute number of phonological-based errors reduced as training progressed, the proportion of this error type did not decrease over time suggesting participants increasingly relied on subvocal rehearsal in completing the N-back. In the second experiment, we evaluated if improvements developed during N-back training transferred to tasks that relied on serial order memory using simple span tasks (letter span with phonologically distinct letters, letter span with phonologically similar letters, digit span forward, and digit span backward). Twenty-nine participants trained on the N-back and 16 trained on the Operation Span (OSPAN) for 15 sessions over 4 weeks. Neither group of participants showed improvements on any of the simple span tasks. In the third experiment, 20 participants (16 native English speakers) trained on the N-back for 15 sessions over 4 weeks also showed increasing reliance on subvocal rehearsal as they progressed through training. Self-report strategy use did not predict improvements on the N-back.
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23
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Locating neural transfer effects of n-back training on the central executive: a longitudinal fMRI study. Sci Rep 2020; 10:5226. [PMID: 32251354 PMCID: PMC7089996 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-62067-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2019] [Accepted: 03/04/2020] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The large number of behavioral studies testing whether working memory training improves performance on an untrained task have yielded inconclusive results. Moreover, some studies have investigated the possible neural changes during the performance of untrained tasks after training. Here, we studied the transfer from n-back training to the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT), two different tasks that use the central executive system to maintain verbal stimuli. Participants completed fMRI sessions at baseline, immediately after one week of training, and at the five-week follow-up. Although behavioral transfer effects were not obtained, training was associated with decreased activation in the anterior dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC; BA 9/46) while performing the PASAT that remained stable five weeks later. Consistent with our hypothesis, the changes in the anterior DLFPC largely overlapped with the n-back task fMRI activations. In conclusion, working memory training improves efficiency in brain areas involved in the trained task that may affect untrained tasks, specifically in brain areas responsible for the same cognitive processes.
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24
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From Evaluation to Prediction: Behavioral Effects and Biological Markers of Cognitive Control Intervention. Neural Plast 2020; 2020:1869459. [PMID: 32184812 PMCID: PMC7060425 DOI: 10.1155/2020/1869459] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2019] [Revised: 11/25/2019] [Accepted: 01/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Although the intervention effectiveness of cognitive control is disputed, some methods, such as single-task training, integrated training, meditation, aerobic exercise, and transcranial stimulation, have been reported to improve cognitive control. This review of recent advances from evaluation to prediction of cognitive control interventions suggests that brain modularity may be an important candidate marker for informing clinical decisions regarding suitable interventions. The intervention effect of cognitive control has been evaluated by behavioral performance, transfer effect, brain structure and function, and brain networks. Brain modularity can predict the benefits of cognitive control interventions based on individual differences and is independent of intervention method, group, age, initial cognitive ability, and education level. The prediction of cognitive control intervention based on brain modularity should extend to task states, combine function and structure networks, and assign different weights to subnetwork modularity.
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25
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Daugherty AM, Sutton BP, Hillman CH, Kramer AF, Cohen NJ, Barbey AK. Individual differences in the neurobiology of fluid intelligence predict responsiveness to training: Evidence from a comprehensive cognitive, mindfulness meditation, and aerobic exercise intervention. Trends Neurosci Educ 2020; 18:100123. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tine.2019.100123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
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26
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Almquist JNF, Mathan S, Brem AK, Plessow F, McKanna J, Santarnecchi E, Pascual-Leone A, Cohen Kadosh R, Pavel M, Yeung N. FAST: A Novel, Executive Function-Based Approach to Cognitive Enhancement. Front Hum Neurosci 2019; 13:235. [PMID: 31427935 PMCID: PMC6687878 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2019.00235] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2019] [Accepted: 06/25/2019] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
The present study introduces a novel cognitive intervention aimed at improving fluid intelligence (Gf), based on a framework we refer to as FAST: Flexible, Adaptive, Synergistic Training. FAST leverages a combination of novel game-based executive function (EF) training—designed specifically to enhance the likelihood of transfer—and transcranial electrical stimulation (tES), with aims to synergistically activate and strengthen mechanisms of cognitive control critical to Gf. To test our intervention, we collected three Gf measures from 113 participants [the advanced short Bochumer Matrizen-Test (BOMAT), Raven’s Advanced Progressive Matrices (APM), and matrices similar to Raven’s generated by Sandia labs], prior to and following one of three interventions: (1) the FAST + tRNS intervention, a combination of 30 min of daily training with our novel training game, Robot Factory, and 20 min of concurrent transcranial random noise stimulation applied to bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC); (2) an adaptively difficult Active Control intervention comprised of visuospatial tasks that specifically do not target Gf; or (3) a no-contact control condition. Analyses of changes in a Gf factor from pre- to post-test found numerical increases for the FAST + tRNS group compared to the two control conditions, with a 0.3 SD increase relative to Active Control (p = 0.07), and a 0.19 SD increase relative to a No-contact control condition (p = 0.26). This increase was found to be largely driven by significant differences in pre- and post-test Gf as measured on the BOMAT test. Progression through the FAST training game (Robot Factory) was significantly correlated with changes in Gf. This is in contrast with progress in the Active Control condition, as well as with changes in individual EFs during FAST training, which did not significantly correlate with changes in Gf. Taken together, this research represents a useful step forward in providing new insights into, and new methods for studying, the nature of Gf and its malleability. Though our results await replication and extension, they provide preliminary evidence that the crucial characteristic of Gf may, in fact, be the ability to combine EFs rapidly and adaptively according to changing demand, and that Gf may be susceptible to targeted training.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Santosh Mathan
- Honeywell Labs, Honeywell Aerospace, Redmond, WA, United States
| | - Anna-Katharine Brem
- Department of Neurology, Berenson-Allen Center for Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Division for Cognitive Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States.,Department of Experimental Psychology, Medical Sciences Division, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Franziska Plessow
- Department of Neurology, Berenson-Allen Center for Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Division for Cognitive Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - James McKanna
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Emiliano Santarnecchi
- Department of Neurology, Berenson-Allen Center for Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Division for Cognitive Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Alvaro Pascual-Leone
- Department of Neurology, Berenson-Allen Center for Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Division for Cognitive Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Roi Cohen Kadosh
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Medical Sciences Division, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Misha Pavel
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Nick Yeung
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Medical Sciences Division, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
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27
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Holmes J, Woolgar F, Hampshire A, Gathercole SE. Are Working Memory Training Effects Paradigm-Specific? Front Psychol 2019; 10:1103. [PMID: 31178781 PMCID: PMC6542987 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2018] [Accepted: 04/26/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
A randomized controlled trial compared complex span and n-back training regimes to investigate the generality of training benefits across materials and paradigms. The memory items and training intensities were equated across programs, providing the first like-with-like comparison of transfer in these two widely used training paradigms. The stimuli in transfer tests of verbal and visuo-spatial n-back and complex span differed from the trained tasks, but were matched across the untrained paradigms. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three training groups: complex span training, n-back training, or no training. Pre- to- post training changes were observed for untrained n-back tasks following n-back training. Following complex span training there was equivocal evidence for improvements on a verbal complex span task, but no evidence for changes on an untrained visuo-spatial complex span activity. Relative to a no intervention group, the evidence supported no change on an untrained verbal complex span task following either n-back or complex span training. Equivocal evidence was found for improvements on visuo-spatial complex span and verbal and visuo-spatial n-back tasks following both training regimes. Evidence for selective transfer (comparing the two active training groups) was only found for an untrained visuo-spatial n-back task following n-back training. There was no evidence for cross-paradigm transfer. Thus transfer is constrained by working memory paradigm and the nature of individual processes executed within complex span tasks. However, within-paradigm transfer can occur when the change is limited to stimulus category, at least for n-back.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joni Holmes
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Francesca Woolgar
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Adam Hampshire
- Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Susan E. Gathercole
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Developmental Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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28
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Abstract
Seventeen years and hundreds of studies after the first working memory training journal article was published, evidence for the efficacy of working memory training is still wanting. Numerous studies show that individuals who repeatedly practice computerized working memory tasks improve on those tasks and closely related variants. Critically, although individual studies have claimed improvements in untrained abilities and behaviors, systematic reviews of the broader literature show that studies producing large, positive findings are often those with the most methodological shortcomings. The current review discusses the past, present, and future status of working memory training, including consideration of factors that might influence working memory training and transfer efficacy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas S Redick
- Purdue University, Department of Psychological Sciences, 703 Third Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907, , (765) 494-5132
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29
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Pergher V, Shalchy MA, Pahor A, Van Hulle MM, Jaeggi SM, Seitz AR. Divergent Research Methods Limit Understanding of Working Memory Training. JOURNAL OF COGNITIVE ENHANCEMENT 2019; 4:100-120. [PMID: 34355115 DOI: 10.1007/s41465-019-00134-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Working memory training has been a hot topic over the last decade. Although studies show benefits in trained and untrained tasks as a function of training, there is an ongoing debate on the efficacy of working memory training. There have been numerous meta-analyses put forth to the field, some finding overall broad transfer effects while others do not. However, discussion of this research typically overlooks specific qualities of the training and transfer tasks. As such, there has been next to no discussion in the literature on what training and transfer tasks features are likely to mediate training outcomes. To address this gap, here, we characterized the broad diversity of features employed in N-back training tasks and outcome measures in published working memory training studies. Extant meta-analyses have not taken into account the diversity of methodology at this level, primarily because there are too few studies using common methods to allow for a robust meta-analysis. We suggest that these limitations preclude strong conclusions from published data. In order to advance research on working memory training, and in particular, N-back training, more studies are needed that systematically compare training features and use common outcome measures to assess transfer effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Pergher
- Department of Neurosciences, Laboratory for Neuro- and Psychophysiology, KU Leuven-University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | | | - Anja Pahor
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, CA, USA
| | - Marc M Van Hulle
- Department of Neurosciences, Laboratory for Neuro- and Psychophysiology, KU Leuven-University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Susanne M Jaeggi
- School of Education, School of Social Sciences, Department of Cognitive Sciences, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Aaron R Seitz
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, CA, USA.,School of Education, School of Social Sciences, Department of Cognitive Sciences, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA
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30
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IQ and Academic Achievement in Children with ADHD: the Differential Effects of Specific Cognitive Functions. JOURNAL OF PSYCHOPATHOLOGY AND BEHAVIORAL ASSESSMENT 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s10862-019-09728-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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31
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Simmonite M, Polk TA. Independent Components of Neural Activation Associated with 100 Days of Cognitive Training. J Cogn Neurosci 2019; 31:808-820. [PMID: 30883287 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01396] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Some cognitive training studies have reported working memory benefits that generalize beyond the trained tasks, whereas others have only found task-specific training effects. What brain networks are associated with general training effects, rather than task-specific effects? We investigated this question in the context of working memory training using the COGITO data set, a longitudinal project including behavioral assessments before and after 100 days of cognitive training in 101 younger (20-31 years) and 103 older (65-80 years) adults. Pre- and postassessments included verbal, numerical, and spatial measures of working memory. It was therefore possible to assess training effects on working memory at a general latent ability level. Previous analyses of these data found training-related improvements on this latent working memory factor in both young and old participants. fMRI data were collected from a subsample of participants (24 young and 15 old) during pre- and post-training sessions. We used independent component analysis to identify networks involved in a perceptual decision-making task performed in the scanner. We identified five task-positive components that were task-related: two frontal networks, a ventral visual network, a motor network, and a cerebellar network. Pre-training activity of the motor network predicted latent working memory performance before training. Additionally, activity in the motor network predicted training-related changes in working memory ability. These findings suggest activity in the motor network plays a role in task-independent working memory improvements and have implications for our understanding of working memory training and for the design and implementation of future training interventions.
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Abstract
Task-switching training was shown to improve performance not only for the trained tasks (i.e., reduced performance costs resulting from the task switches), but also for structurally similar (near transfer) or even dissimilar tasks (far transfer). However, it is still unclear whether the improvement is specific to the trained input modality or whether cognitive control occurs at an amodal processing level enabling transfer of set-shifting abilities to different input modalities. In this study, training and transfer was assessed for an auditory task-switching paradigm in which spoken words from different semantic categories were presented dichotically requiring participants to switch between two auditory categorization tasks. Cross-modal transfer of task-switching training was assessed in terms of the performance costs in a visual task-switching situation using tasks that were structurally similar to the trained tasks. The 4-day training significantly reduced the costs resulting from mixing the two auditory tasks, as compared to both an active (auditory single-task training) and a passive control group (no training). More importantly, the auditory task-switching training was also found to reduce the mixing costs for untrained visual tasks, indicating cross-modal transfer. This finding suggests that the improvement resulting from task-switching training is not specific to the trained stimulus modality, but it seems to be driven by a cognitive control mechanism operating at an amodal processing level. The training did not reveal any far-transfer effects to working memory, inhibition, or fluid intelligence, suggesting that the modality-independent enhancement of set-shifting does not generalize to other cognitive control functions.
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Dodich A, Zollo M, Crespi C, Cappa SF, Laureiro Martinez D, Falini A, Canessa N. Short-term Sahaja Yoga meditation training modulates brain structure and spontaneous activity in the executive control network. Brain Behav 2019; 9:e01159. [PMID: 30485713 PMCID: PMC6346416 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.1159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2018] [Revised: 10/06/2018] [Accepted: 10/15/2018] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION While cross-sectional studies have shown neural changes in long-term meditators, they might be confounded by self-selection and potential baseline differences between meditators and non meditators. Prospective longitudinal studies of the effects of meditation in naïve subjects are more conclusive with respect to causal inferences, but related evidence is so far limited. METHODS Here, we assessed the effects of a 4-week Sahaja Yoga meditation training on gray matter density and spontaneous resting-state brain activity in a group of 12 meditation-naïve healthy adults. RESULTS Compared with 30 control subjects, the participants to meditation training showed increased gray matter density and changes in the coherence of intrinsic brain activity in two adjacent regions of the right inferior frontal gyrus encompassing the anterior component of the executive control network. Both these measures correlated with self-reported well-being scores in the meditation group. CONCLUSIONS The significant impact of a brief meditation training on brain regions associated with attention, self-control, and self-awareness may reflect the engagement of cognitive control skills in searching for a state of mental silence, a distinctive feature of Sahaja Yoga meditation. The manifold implications of these findings involve both managerial and rehabilitative settings concerned with well-being and emotional state in normal and pathological conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandra Dodich
- Division of Neuroscience, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy.,NIMTlab, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Maurizio Zollo
- Invernizzi Center for Research in Innovation, Organization and Strategy, Bocconi University, Milan, Italy
| | - Chiara Crespi
- Division of Neuroscience, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy.,NeTS Center, Scuola Universitaria Superiore IUSS, Pavia, Italy
| | - Stefano F Cappa
- NeTS Center, Scuola Universitaria Superiore IUSS, Pavia, Italy.,IRCCS San Giovanni di Dio Fatebenefratelli, Brescia, Italy
| | | | - Andrea Falini
- Division of Neuroscience, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy.,Neuroradiology Unit, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
| | - Nicola Canessa
- NeTS Center, Scuola Universitaria Superiore IUSS, Pavia, Italy.,Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, ICS Maugeri, Pavia, Italy
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Brady TF, Störmer VS, Shafer-Skelton A, Williams JR, Chapman AF, Schill HM. Scaling up visual attention and visual working memory to the real world. PSYCHOLOGY OF LEARNING AND MOTIVATION 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.plm.2019.03.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/16/2023]
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Gathercole SE, Dunning DL, Holmes J, Norris DG. Feature coding dataset for trained and untrained working memory tasks in randomized controlled trials of working memory training. Data Brief 2018; 21:2129-2133. [PMID: 30533463 PMCID: PMC6262199 DOI: 10.1016/j.dib.2018.11.040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2018] [Revised: 11/02/2018] [Accepted: 11/08/2018] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
The data presented in this article are produced as part of the original research article entitled "Working memory training involves learning new skills" (Gathercole, Dunning, Holmes & Norris, in press). This article presents a dataset of coded features for pairs of trained and untrained working memory (WM) tasks from randomized controlled trials of WM training with active control groups. Feature coding is provided for 113 untrained WM tasks each paired with the most similar task in the training program, taken from 23 training studies. A spreadsheet provides summary information for each task pair, its transfer effect size, and coding of the following features for each task: stimulus category, stimulus domain, stimulus modality, response modality, and recall paradigm.
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Tsai N, Buschkuehl M, Kamarsu S, Shah P, Jonides J, Jaeggi SM. (Un)Great Expectations: The Role of Placebo Effects in Cognitive Training. JOURNAL OF APPLIED RESEARCH IN MEMORY AND COGNITION 2018; 7:564-573. [PMID: 31660288 PMCID: PMC6816757 DOI: 10.1016/j.jarmac.2018.06.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
A growing body of literature demonstrating the malleability of critical higher-order cognitive functions by means of targeted interventions has incited widespread scientific interest, most notably in the form of cognitive training programs. The results are mixed and a point of contention: It has been argued that gains observed in cognitive training are mainly due to placebo effects. To address this, we examined the effect of participant expectations on one type of cognitive training that has been central to the controversy, namely n-back training, by inducing beliefs about expected outcomes. Participants receiving n-back training showed improvements in non-trained n-back performance regardless of expectations, and furthermore, expectations for positive outcomes did not result in any significant gains in an active control group. Thus, there was no detectable expectancy effect in either direction as a function of the cognitive intervention used, suggesting that training-related improvements are unlikely due solely to a placebo effect.
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Crespi C, Laureiro-Martínez D, Dodich A, Cappa SF, Brusoni S, Zollo M, Falini A, Canessa N. Improving innovative decision-making: Training-induced changes in fronto-parietal networks. Brain Cogn 2018; 128:46-55. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2018.11.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2018] [Revised: 08/01/2018] [Accepted: 11/06/2018] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
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Covey TJ, Shucard JL, Shucard DW. Working memory training and perceptual discrimination training impact overlapping and distinct neurocognitive processes: Evidence from event-related potentials and transfer of training gains. Cognition 2018; 182:50-72. [PMID: 30218913 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2018.08.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2017] [Revised: 08/06/2018] [Accepted: 08/21/2018] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
There is emerging evidence that working memory (WM) can potentially be enhanced via targeted training protocols. However, the differential effects of targeted training of WM vs. training of general attentional processes on distinct neurocognitive mechanisms is not well understood. In the present study, we compared adaptive n-back WM training to an adaptive visual search training task that targeted perceptual discrimination, in the absence of demands on WM. The search task was closely matched to the n-back task on difficulty and participant engagement. The training duration for both protocols was 20 sessions over approximately 4 weeks. Before and after training, young adult participants were tested on a battery of cognitive tasks to examine transfer of training gains to untrained tests of WM, processing speed, cognitive control, and fluid intelligence. Event-related brain potential (ERP) measures obtained during a Letter 3-Back task and a Search task were examined to determine the neural processes that were affected by each training protocol. Both groups improved on measures of cognitive control and fluid intelligence at post- compared to pretest. However, n-back training resulted in more pronounced transfer effects to tasks involving WM compared to search training. With respect to ERPs, both groups exhibited enhancement of P3 amplitude following training, but distinct changes in neural responses were also observed for the two training protocols. The search training group exhibited earlier ERP latencies at post- compared to pretest on the Search task, indicating generalized improvement in processing speed. The n-back group exhibited a pronounced enhancement and earlier latency of the N2 ERP component on the Letter 3-back task, following training. Given the theoretical underpinnings of the N2, this finding was interpreted as an enhancement of conflict monitoring and sequential mismatch identification. The findings provide evidence that n-back training enhances distinct neural processes underlying executive aspects of WM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas J Covey
- Division of Cognitive and Behavioral Neurosciences, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, 114 Sherman Hall Annex, South Campus, Buffalo, NY 14214, United States; Department of Neurology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, 114 Sherman Hall Annex, South Campus, Buffalo, NY 14214, United States; Neuroscience Program, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, 114 Sherman Hall Annex, South Campus, Buffalo, NY 14214, United States.
| | - Janet L Shucard
- Division of Cognitive and Behavioral Neurosciences, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, 114 Sherman Hall Annex, South Campus, Buffalo, NY 14214, United States; Department of Neurology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, 114 Sherman Hall Annex, South Campus, Buffalo, NY 14214, United States; Neuroscience Program, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, 114 Sherman Hall Annex, South Campus, Buffalo, NY 14214, United States
| | - David W Shucard
- Division of Cognitive and Behavioral Neurosciences, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, 114 Sherman Hall Annex, South Campus, Buffalo, NY 14214, United States; Department of Neurology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, 114 Sherman Hall Annex, South Campus, Buffalo, NY 14214, United States; Neuroscience Program, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, 114 Sherman Hall Annex, South Campus, Buffalo, NY 14214, United States
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Working memory training revisited: A multi-level meta-analysis of n-back training studies. Psychon Bull Rev 2018; 24:1077-1096. [PMID: 28116702 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-016-1217-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 193] [Impact Index Per Article: 32.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
The efficacy of working memory (WM) training has been a controversial and hotly debated issue during the past years. Despite a large number of training studies and several meta-analyses, the matter has not yet been solved. We conducted a multi-level meta-analysis on the cognitive transfer effects in healthy adults who have been administered WM updating training with n-back tasks, the most common experimental WM training paradigm. Thanks to this methodological approach that has not been employed in previous meta-analyses in this field, we were able to include effect sizes from all relevant tasks used in the original studies. Altogether 203 effect sizes were derived from 33 published, randomized, controlled trials. In contrast to earlier meta-analyses, we separated task-specific transfer (here untrained n-back tasks) from other WM transfer tasks. Two additional cognitive domains of transfer that we analyzed consisted of fluid intelligence (Gf) and cognitive control tasks. A medium-sized transfer effect was observed to untrained n-back tasks. For other WM tasks, Gf, and cognitive control, the effect sizes were of similar size and very small. Moderator analyses showed no effects of age, training dose, training type (single vs. dual), or WM and Gf transfer task contents (verbal vs. visuospatial). We conclude that a substantial part of transfer following WM training with the n-back task is task-specific and discuss the implications of the results to WM training research.
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Abstract
Targeted cognitive training, such as n-back or speed of processing training, in the hopes of raising intelligence is of great theoretical and practical importance. The most important theoretical contribution, however, is not about the malleability of intelligence. Instead, I argue the most important and novel theoretical contribution is understanding the causal structure of intelligence. The structure of intelligence, most often taken as a hierarchical factor structure, necessarily prohibits transfer from subfactors back up to intelligence. If this is the true structure, targeted cognitive training interventions will fail to increase intelligence not because intelligence is immutable, but simply because there is no causal connection between, say, working memory and intelligence. Seeing the structure of intelligence for what it is, a causal measurement model, allows us to focus testing on the presence and absence of causal links. If we can increase subfactors without transfer to other facets, we may be confirming the correct causal structure more than testing malleability. Such a blending into experimental psychometrics is a strong theoretical pursuit.
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Etherton JL, Oberle CD, Rhoton J, Ney A. Effects of Cogmed working memory training on cognitive performance. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2018; 83:1506-1518. [DOI: 10.1007/s00426-018-1012-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2017] [Accepted: 04/12/2018] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Blasiman RN, Was CA. Why Is Working Memory Performance Unstable? A Review of 21 Factors. EUROPES JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY 2018; 14:188-231. [PMID: 29899806 PMCID: PMC5973525 DOI: 10.5964/ejop.v14i1.1472] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2017] [Accepted: 08/25/2017] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
In this paper, we systematically reviewed twenty-one factors that have been shown to either vary with or influence performance on working memory (WM) tasks. Specifically, we review previous work on the influence of intelligence, gender, age, personality, mental illnesses/medical conditions, dieting, craving, stress/anxiety, emotion/motivation, stereotype threat, temperature, mindfulness training, practice, bilingualism, musical training, altitude/hypoxia, sleep, exercise, diet, psychoactive substances, and brain stimulation on WM performance. In addition to a review of the literature, we suggest several frameworks for classifying these factors, identify shared mechanisms between several variables, and suggest areas requiring further investigation. This review critically examines the breadth of research investigating WM while synthesizing the results across related subfields in psychology.
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Pesta BJ. Bibliometric analysis across eight years 2008–2015 of Intelligence articles: An updating of. INTELLIGENCE 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.2018.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
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45
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Baranski MFS, Was CA. A More Rigorous Examination of the Effects of Mindfulness Meditation on Working Memory Capacity. JOURNAL OF COGNITIVE ENHANCEMENT 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s41465-018-0064-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Simons DJ, Boot WR, Charness N, Gathercole SE, Chabris CF, Hambrick DZ, Stine-Morrow EAL. Do "Brain-Training" Programs Work? Psychol Sci Public Interest 2018; 17:103-186. [PMID: 27697851 DOI: 10.1177/1529100616661983] [Citation(s) in RCA: 562] [Impact Index Per Article: 93.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
In 2014, two groups of scientists published open letters on the efficacy of brain-training interventions, or "brain games," for improving cognition. The first letter, a consensus statement from an international group of more than 70 scientists, claimed that brain games do not provide a scientifically grounded way to improve cognitive functioning or to stave off cognitive decline. Several months later, an international group of 133 scientists and practitioners countered that the literature is replete with demonstrations of the benefits of brain training for a wide variety of cognitive and everyday activities. How could two teams of scientists examine the same literature and come to conflicting "consensus" views about the effectiveness of brain training?In part, the disagreement might result from different standards used when evaluating the evidence. To date, the field has lacked a comprehensive review of the brain-training literature, one that examines both the quantity and the quality of the evidence according to a well-defined set of best practices. This article provides such a review, focusing exclusively on the use of cognitive tasks or games as a means to enhance performance on other tasks. We specify and justify a set of best practices for such brain-training interventions and then use those standards to evaluate all of the published peer-reviewed intervention studies cited on the websites of leading brain-training companies listed on Cognitive Training Data (www.cognitivetrainingdata.org), the site hosting the open letter from brain-training proponents. These citations presumably represent the evidence that best supports the claims of effectiveness.Based on this examination, we find extensive evidence that brain-training interventions improve performance on the trained tasks, less evidence that such interventions improve performance on closely related tasks, and little evidence that training enhances performance on distantly related tasks or that training improves everyday cognitive performance. We also find that many of the published intervention studies had major shortcomings in design or analysis that preclude definitive conclusions about the efficacy of training, and that none of the cited studies conformed to all of the best practices we identify as essential to drawing clear conclusions about the benefits of brain training for everyday activities. We conclude with detailed recommendations for scientists, funding agencies, and policymakers that, if adopted, would lead to better evidence regarding the efficacy of brain-training interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel J Simons
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
| | | | - Neil Charness
- Department of Psychology, Florida State University Institute for Successful Longevity, Florida State University
| | - Susan E Gathercole
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge, UK School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge
| | | | | | - Elizabeth A L Stine-Morrow
- Department of Educational Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
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Covey TJ, Shucard JL, Benedict RH, Weinstock-Guttman B, Shucard DW. Improved cognitive performance and event-related potential changes following working memory training in patients with multiple sclerosis. Mult Scler J Exp Transl Clin 2018; 4:2055217317747626. [PMID: 29348927 PMCID: PMC5768274 DOI: 10.1177/2055217317747626] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2017] [Accepted: 11/09/2017] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Few studies of cognitive rehabilitation in multiple sclerosis (MS) have targeted working memory specifically. Objective We examined the effects of n-back working memory training on cognitive performance and brain function in patients with MS. Methods Patients with MS (n = 12) and healthy controls (HC; n = 12) underwent 20 sessions of n-back working memory training. Before and after training (pre- and posttest) cognitive event-related potential (ERP) measures were obtained during a 3-back task. In addition, a battery of cognitive tests was administered. Results Following n-back training, both MS patients and HCs showed significant improvement on tests of working memory, processing speed, complex attention, and reasoning ability. MS and HCs also exhibited an enhancement of N2 ERP component amplitude, and earlier N2 and P3 latencies, following n-back training. Conclusions Targeted training of working memory with the n-back task may improve cognitive function in MS. Enhancement of N2 ERP component amplitude and shorter N2 and P3 latency following training in patients with MS is consistent with plasticity of neural processes that are involved in working memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas J Covey
- Division of Cognitive and Behavioral Neurosciences, Department of Neurology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, USA.,Neuroscience Program, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, USA
| | - Janet L Shucard
- Division of Cognitive and Behavioral Neurosciences, Department of Neurology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, USA.,Neuroscience Program, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, USA
| | - Ralph Hb Benedict
- Department of Neurology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, USA.,Neuroscience Program, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, USA
| | - Bianca Weinstock-Guttman
- Department of Neurology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, USA
| | - David W Shucard
- Division of Cognitive and Behavioral Neurosciences, Department of Neurology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, USA.,Department of Neurology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, USA.,Neuroscience Program, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, USA
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Blacker KJ, Negoita S, Ewen JB, Courtney SM. N-back versus Complex Span Working Memory Training. JOURNAL OF COGNITIVE ENHANCEMENT 2017; 1:434-454. [PMID: 29430567 PMCID: PMC5805159 DOI: 10.1007/s41465-017-0044-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2017] [Accepted: 10/05/2017] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Working memory (WM) is the ability to maintain and manipulate task-relevant information in the absence of sensory input. While its improvement through training is of great interest, the degree to which WM training transfers to untrained WM tasks (near transfer) and other untrained cognitive skills (far transfer) remains debated and the mechanism(s) underlying transfer are unclear. Here we hypothesized that a critical feature of dual n-back training is its reliance on maintaining relational information in WM. In Experiment 1, using an individual differences approach, we found evidence that performance on an n-back task was predicted by performance on a measure of relational WM (i.e., WM for vertical spatial relationships independent of absolute spatial locations); whereas the same was not true for a complex span WM task. In Experiment 2, we tested the idea that reliance on relational WM is critical to produce transfer from n-back but not complex span task training. Participants completed adaptive training on either a dual n-back task, a symmetry span task, or on a non-WM active control task. We found evidence of near transfer for the dual n-back group; however, far transfer to a measure of fluid intelligence did not emerge. Recording EEG during a separate WM transfer task, we examined group-specific, training-related changes in alpha power, which are proposed to be sensitive to WM demands and top-down modulation of WM. Results indicated that the dual n-back group showed significantly greater frontal alpha power after training compared to before training, more so than both other groups. However, we found no evidence of improvement on measures of relational WM for the dual n-back group, suggesting that near transfer may not be dependent on relational WM. These results suggest that dual n-back and complex span task training may differ in their effectiveness to elicit near transfer as well as in the underlying neural changes they facilitate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kara J. Blacker
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University
| | - Serban Negoita
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University
| | - Joshua B. Ewen
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University
- Neurology and Developmental Medicine, Kennedy Krieger Institute
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
| | - Susan M. Courtney
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University
- Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
- F.M. Kirby Center for Functional Neuroimaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute
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Ralph KJ, Gibson BS, Gondoli DM, Sztybel P, Pauszek JR, Miller RW, Litzow E. Targeting the Three Stages of Retrieval from Secondary Memory in a Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled, Randomized Working Memory Training Study. JOURNAL OF COGNITIVE ENHANCEMENT 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s41465-017-0043-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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50
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Peters SE, Lumsden J, Peh OH, Penton-Voak IS, Munafò MR, Robinson OJ. Cognitive bias modification for facial interpretation: a randomized controlled trial of transfer to self-report and cognitive measures in a healthy sample. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2017; 4:170681. [PMID: 29308221 PMCID: PMC5749989 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.170681] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2017] [Accepted: 11/08/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Cognitive bias modification is a potential low-intensity intervention for mood disorders, but previous studies have shown mixed success. This study explored whether facial interpretation bias modification (FIBM), a similar paradigm designed to shift emotional interpretation (and/or perception) of faces would transfer to: (i) self-reported symptoms and (ii) a battery of cognitive tasks. In a preregistered, double-blind randomized controlled trial, healthy participants received eight online sessions of FIBM (N = 52) or eight sham sessions (N = 52). While we replicate that FIBM successfully shifts ambiguous facial expression interpretation in the intervention group, this failed to transfer to the majority of self-report or cognitive measures. There was, however, weak, inconclusive evidence of transfer to a self-report measure of stress, a cognitive measure of anhedonia, and evidence that results were moderated by trait anxiety (whereby transference was greatest in those with higher baseline symptoms). We discuss the need for work in both larger and clinical samples, while urging caution that these FIBM training effects may not transfer to clinically relevant domains.
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Affiliation(s)
- S. E. Peters
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK
| | - J. Lumsden
- School of Experimental Psychology, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - O. H. Peh
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK
| | - I. S. Penton-Voak
- School of Experimental Psychology, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - M. R. Munafò
- School of Experimental Psychology, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - O. J. Robinson
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK
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