Training Working Memory for 100 Days

2019 ◽  
pp. 40-57
Author(s):  
Florian Schmiedek ◽  
Martin Lövdén ◽  
Ulman Lindenberger
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Self Concept ◽  
Transfer Effects ◽  
Latent Factors ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Cognitive Plasticity ◽  
Key Features

This chapter is based on a theoretical framework for the study of adult cognitive plasticity and on empirical findings from the COGITO Study. The design and analyses of the study include key features for producing and detecting transfer effects at the level of cognitive abilities. Among the features are: (a) an intensity and dosage of training that is likely to induce an enduring mismatch between functional supply and demand, which is conducive to plastic changes in cognitive abilities, and (b) a multivariate and heterogeneous battery of transfer tasks and sufficiently large samples to allow for the investigation of transfer of training at the level of latent factors. Younger adults showed short-term and long-term transfer effects for reasoning and episodic memory, whereas older adults showed only short-term transfer on a working memory (WM) latent factor composed of tasks that resembled the practiced tasks, something that younger adults did as well. The chapter discusses possible interpretations of the findings in terms of increases in WM capacity, improvements in the efficiency of material-independent or material-specific processes or strategies, and improvements in motivation and self-concept.

Benefits of training working memory in amnestic mild cognitive impairment: specific and transfer effects

2012 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 617-626 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Carretti ◽  
Erika Borella ◽  
Silvia Fostinelli ◽  
Michela Zavagnin
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Fluid Intelligence ◽  
Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
Transfer Effects ◽  
Memory Problems

ABSTRACTBackground:A growing number of studies are attempting to understand how effective cognitive interventions may be for patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), particularly in relation to their memory problems.Methods:The present study aimed to explore the benefits of a working memory (WM) training program in aMCI patients. Patients (N= 20) were randomly assigned to two training programs: the experimental group practiced with a verbal WM task, while the active control group conducted educational activities on memory.Results:Results showed that the aMCI patients completing the WM training obtained specific gains in the task trained with some transfer effects on other WM measures (visuospatial WM) and on processes involved in or related to WM, e.g. fluid intelligence (the Cattell test) and long-term memory. This was not the case for the aMCI control group, who experienced only a very limited improvement.Conclusion:This pilot study suggests that WM training could be a valuable method for improving cognitive performance in aMCI patients, possibly delaying the onset of Alzheimer's disease.

scholarly journals Cognitive consequences of trilingualism

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 754-773 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott R Schroeder ◽  
Viorica Marian
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Cognitive Reserve ◽  
Age Of Onset ◽  
Infants And Toddlers ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Third Language ◽  
Cognitive Plasticity ◽  
Cognitive Consequences

Aims and objectives: The objectives of the present research were to examine the cognitive consequences of trilingualism and explain them relative to the cognitive consequences of bilingualism. Approach: A comparison of cognitive abilities in trilinguals and bilinguals was conducted. In addition, we proposed a cognitive plasticity framework to account for cognitive differences and similarities between trilinguals and bilinguals. Data and analysis: Three aspects of cognition were analyzed: (1) cognitive reserve in older adults, as measured by age of onset of Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment; (2) inhibitory control in children and younger adults, as measured by response times on behavioral Simon and flanker tasks; and (3) memory generalization in infants and toddlers, as measured by accuracy on behavioral deferred imitation tasks. Results were considered within a framework of cognitive plasticity, which took into account several factors that may affect plasticity including the age of learning a third language and the extent to which additional cognitive resources are needed to learn the third language. Findings: A mixed pattern of results was observed. In some cases, such as cognitive reserve in older adults, trilinguals showed larger advantages than did bilinguals. On other measures, for example inhibitory control in children and younger adults, trilinguals were found to exhibit the same advantages as bilinguals. In still other cases, such as memory generalization in infants and toddlers, trilinguals did not demonstrate the advantages seen in bilinguals. Originality: This study is the first comprehensive analysis of how learning a third language affects the cognitive abilities that are modified by bilingual experience, and the first to propose a cognitive plasticity framework that can explain and predict trilingual-bilingual differences. Significance: This research shows that the cognitive consequences of trilingualism are not simply an extension of bilingualism’s effects; rather, trilingualism has distinct consequences, with theoretical implications for our understanding of linguistic and cognitive processes and their plasticity, as well as applied-science implications for using second and third language learning in educational and rehabilitative contexts to foster successful cognitive development and aging.

The influence of an extended music curriculum at school on academic self-concept in 9- to 11-year-old children

2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 305-321
Author(s):  
Franziska Degé ◽  
Gudrun Schwarzer
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Self Concept ◽  
Music Curriculum ◽  
Transfer Effects ◽  
School Activities ◽  
Musical Aptitude ◽  
Music Lessons ◽  
Cognitive Transfer ◽  
Confounding Variables ◽  
Out Of School

Cognitive transfer effects of music lessons on several cognitive abilities such as IQ (Schellenberg, 2004) or language skills (Moreno et al., 2009) have been reported. Beyond that, also conative transfer effects (i.e., motivational aspects like perseverance) of music lessons have been revealed. One such conative transfer has been found for academic self-concept (Degé, Wehrum, Stark, & Schwarzer, 2014). Self-concept describes the evaluations a person holds about him/herself. However, this study was correlational. Hence, it remains unclear whether music lessons influence academic self-concept or whether academic self-concept influences the likelihood of taking music lessons. To sort out the matter of causality, we investigated the influence of an extended music curriculum (EMC) at school on academic self-concept longitudinally. We compared the academic self-concept of children between 9 and 11 years of age before they started the EMC and after a year of EMC and compared it to the academic self-concept of children not attending EMC. We tested 30 children (11 male). Thirteen of them participated in the EMC and 17 did not participate. We measured academic self-concept and confounding variables such as gender, age, socioeconomic status, organized nonmusical out-of-school activities, IQ, musical aptitude, and motivation. Children with and without EMC did not differ in confounding variables except for nonmusical out-of-school activities. Hence, the amount of nonmusical out-of-school activities was controlled in further analyses. We found an influence of EMC on academic self-concept. Children attending EMC reported significantly higher academic self-concepts after a year of participation than children not attending EMC.

scholarly journals Younger adults show long-term effects of cognitive training on broad cognitive abilities over 2 years.

2014 ◽  
Vol 50 (9) ◽  
pp. 2304-2310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florian Schmiedek ◽  
Martin Lövdén ◽  
Ulman Lindenberger
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Training ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Younger Adults

scholarly journals Training Working Memory for Two Years – No Evidence of Latent Transfer to Intelligence

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luc Watrin ◽  
Oliver Wilhelm ◽  
Gizem Hülür
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Fluid Intelligence ◽  
Convincing Evidence ◽  
Memory Training ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Training Effects ◽  
Latent Factors ◽  
Crystallized Intelligence ◽  
9Th Grade

Working memory (WM) training has been proposed as a promising intervention to enhance cognitive abilities, but convincing evidence for transfer to untrained abilities is lacking. Prevalent limitations of WM training studies include the narrow assessment of both WM and cognitive abilities, the analysis of manifest variables subject to measurement error, and training dosages too low to likely cause changes in the cognitive system. To address these limitations, we conducted a two-year longitudinal study to investigate the effects of working memory training on latent factors of working memory capacity, fluid intelligence and crystallized intelligence. 112 students initially attending 9th grade practiced a heterogenous set of validated WM tasks on a bi-weekly basis. A control group of 113 students initially attending 9th grade participated in the pretest and posttest. Broad and prototypical measures of fluid and crystallized intelligence served as measures of nearer and farer transfer. We found substantial and reliable training effects on the practiced WM tasks, as well as on a latent WM factor constituted by them. However, no transfer of training effects to latent factors of fluid or crystallized intelligence were observed. These results question the utility and validity of WM training as means of improving cognitive abilities.

Strategy Use on Clinical Administrations of Short-Term and Working Memory Tasks

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (8) ◽  
pp. 954-968 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela M. AuBuchon ◽  
William G. Kronenberger ◽  
Lindsay Stone ◽  
David B. Pisoni
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Serial Recall ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Strategy Use ◽  
Lexical Knowledge ◽  
Immediate Serial Recall ◽  
Line Drawings ◽  
Backward Recall ◽  
Span Tasks

Experimental measures of working memory that minimize rehearsal and maximize attentional control best predict higher-order cognitive abilities. These tasks fundamentally differ from clinically administered span tasks, which do not control strategy use. Participants engaged in concurrent articulation (to limit rehearsal) or concurrent tapping (to limit attentional refreshing) during forward and backward serial recall with each of three distinct stimulus sets: digits, line drawings of common objects, and images of nonsense symbols. The span tasks used common clinical stopping and scoring procedures. Scores were highest for digits and lowest for novel symbols in all combinations of direction and concurrent task. Furthermore, concurrent articulation and concurrent tapping interfered with backward recall to the same degree. Together, these findings indicate that clinically administered immediate serial recall tasks depend on both rehearsal and long-term lexical knowledge making it difficult to use these tasks to separate problems in language ability from problems in attention.

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