Dissociable effects of attention vs working memory training on cognitive performance and everyday functioning following fronto-parietal strokes

Following publication of the original article [1], the authors flagged that the article had published with the Acknowledgements erroneously excluded from the declarations at the end of the article.

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A randomised control trial of the effects of home-based online attention training and working memory training on cognition and everyday function in a community stroke sample.

10.1101/2021.04.01.21254686 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Polly V Peers ◽

Sarah F Punton ◽

Fionnuala C Murphy ◽

Peter Watson ◽

Andrew Bateman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Test Performance ◽

Working Memory Training ◽

Cognitive Test ◽

Randomised Control Trial ◽

Memory Training ◽

Attention Training ◽

Everyday Functioning ◽

Patient Reported ◽

Everyday Function

Cognitive difficulties are common following stroke and can have widespread impacts on everyday functioning. Technological advances offer the possibility of individualised cognitive training for patients at home, potentially providing a low-cost, low-intensity adjunct to rehabilitation services. Using this approach, we have previously demonstrated post-training improvements in attention and everyday functioning in fronto-parietal stroke patients. Here we examine whether these benefits are observed more broadly in a community stroke sample. Patients were randomised to either 4 weeks of online adaptive attention training (SAT), working memory training (WMT) or waitlist (WL). Cognitive and everyday function measures were collected before and after intervention, and after 3months. During training, weekly measures of patients' subjective functioning were collected. The training was well received and compliance good. No differences in standardised cognitive tests were observed for either intervention relative to controls. However, on patient reported outcomes, SAT participants showed greater levels of improvement in everyday functioning than WMT or WL participants. In line with our previous work, everyday functioning improvements were greatest for patients with spatial impairments and those who received SAT training. Whether attention training can be recommended for stroke survivors depends on whether cognitive test performance or everyday functioning is considered more relevant.

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Effects of working memory training on EEG, cognitive performance, and self-report indices potentially relevant for social anxiety

Biological Psychology ◽

10.1016/j.biopsycho.2019.107840 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 150 ◽

pp. 107840

Author(s):

Xin Zhao ◽

Chen Dang ◽

Joseph H.R. Maes

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Social Anxiety ◽

Cognitive Performance ◽

Working Memory Training ◽

Self Report ◽

Memory Training

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Improving Everyday Functioning in the Old-Old with Working Memory Training

American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.jagp.2019.01.210 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 27 (9) ◽

pp. 975-983 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Erika Borella ◽

Alessandra Cantarella ◽

Barbara Carretti ◽

Annalisa De Lucia ◽

Rossana De Beni

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Working Memory Training ◽

Memory Training ◽

Everyday Functioning

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Memory Training Unlikely to Help in Treating ADHD, Boosting IQ: No Evidence that Working Memory Training Programs Improve General Cognitive Performance, Research Analysis Shows

PsycEXTRA Dataset ◽

10.1037/e572312012-001 ◽

2012 ◽

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Cognitive Performance ◽

Training Programs ◽

Working Memory Training ◽

Memory Training ◽

Performance Research ◽

Research Analysis

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Working memory training shows immediate and long-term effects on cognitive performance in children

F1000Research ◽

10.12688/f1000research.3665.2 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 3 ◽

pp. 82 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Fiona Pugin ◽

Andreas J. Metz ◽

Madlaina Stauffer ◽

Martin Wolf ◽

Oskar G. Jenni ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Cognitive Performance ◽

Performance Improvement ◽

Training Group ◽

Working Memory Training ◽

Memory Training ◽

Control Group ◽

Long Term Effects ◽

Back Task

Working memory is important for mental reasoning and learning processes. Several studies in adults and school-age children have shown performance improvement in cognitive tests after working memory training. Our aim was to examine not only immediate but also long-term effects of intensive working memory training on cognitive performance tests in children. Fourteen healthy male subjects between 10 and 16 years trained a visuospatial n-back task over 3 weeks (30 min daily), while 15 individuals of the same age range served as a passive control group. Significant differences in immediate (after 3 weeks of training) and long-term effects (after 2-6 months) in an auditory n-back task were observed compared to controls (2.5 fold immediate and 4.7 fold long-term increase in the training group compared to the controls). The improvement was more pronounced in subjects who improved their performance during the training. Other cognitive functions (matrices test and Stroop task) did not change when comparing the training group to the control group. We conclude that visuospatial working memory training in children boosts performance in similar memory tasks such as the auditory n-back task. The sustained performance improvement several months after the training supports the effectiveness of the training.

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Working memory training shows immediate and long-term effects on cognitive performance in children

F1000Research ◽

10.12688/f1000research.3665.3 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 3 ◽

pp. 82 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Fiona Pugin ◽

Andreas J. Metz ◽

Madlaina Stauffer ◽

Martin Wolf ◽

Oskar G. Jenni ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Cognitive Performance ◽

Performance Improvement ◽

Training Group ◽

Working Memory Training ◽

Memory Training ◽

Control Group ◽

Long Term Effects ◽

Back Task

Working memory is important for mental reasoning and learning processes. Several studies in adults and school-age children have shown performance improvement in cognitive tests after working memory training. Our aim was to examine not only immediate but also long-term effects of intensive working memory training on cognitive performance tests in children. Fourteen healthy male subjects between 10 and 16 years trained a visuospatial n-back task over 3 weeks (30 min daily), while 15 individuals of the same age range served as a passive control group. Significant differences in immediate (after 3 weeks of training) and long-term effects (after 2-6 months) in an auditory n-back task were observed compared to controls (2.5 fold immediate and 4.7 fold long-term increase in the training group compared to the controls). The improvement was more pronounced in subjects who improved their performance during the training. Other cognitive functions (matrices test and Stroop task) did not change when comparing the training group to the control group. We conclude that visuospatial working memory training in children boosts performance in similar memory tasks such as the auditory n-back task. The sustained performance improvement several months after the training supports the effectiveness of the training.

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A randomised exploratory investigation of the effects of Attention vs Working Memory Training on cognitive performance and everyday functioning following stroke

10.1101/296723 ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Polly V Peers ◽

Duncan E Astle ◽

John Duncan ◽

Fionnuala Murphy ◽

Adam Hampshire ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Cognitive Training ◽

Working Memory Training ◽

Memory Training ◽

Control Group ◽

Everyday Functioning ◽

Home Based ◽

Exploratory Investigation ◽

Wide Range ◽

Waitlist Control Group

AbstractDifficulties with attention are common following stroke and are associated with poor outcome. Home-based online cognitive training may have to the potential to provide an efficient and effective way to improve attentional functions in such patients. Little work has been carried out to assess the efficacy of this approach in stroke patients, and the lack of studies with active control conditions and rigorous evaluations of cognitive functioning pre and post training means understanding is limited as to whether and how such interventions may be effective. Here we compare the effects of 20 days of active cognitive training using either novel Selective Attention Training (SAT) or commercial Working Memory Training (WMT) programme, versus a waitlist control group, on a wide range of attentional and working memory tasks, as well as on self-reported everyday functioning. We demonstrate separable effects of each of the active training conditions, with SAT leading to improvements in both spatial and non-spatial aspects of attention and WMT leading to improvements only on very closely related working memory tasks. Both training groups reported improvements in everyday functioning, which were associated with improvements in attentional functions, suggesting that improving attention may be of particular importance in maximising functional recovery in this patient group.

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Improved cognitive performance and event-related potential changes following working memory training in patients with multiple sclerosis

Multiple Sclerosis Journal - Experimental Translational and Clinical ◽

10.1177/2055217317747626 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. 205521731774762 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Thomas J Covey ◽

Janet L Shucard ◽

Ralph HB Benedict ◽

Bianca Weinstock-Guttman ◽

David W Shucard

Keyword(s):

Multiple Sclerosis ◽

Working Memory ◽

Cognitive Performance ◽

Cognitive Rehabilitation ◽

Event Related Potential ◽

Working Memory Training ◽

Memory Training ◽

Before And After ◽

Component Amplitude ◽

Back Task

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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