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

F1000Research ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 82 ◽  
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.

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

F1000Research ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 82 ◽  
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.

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

F1000Research ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fiona Pugin ◽  
Andreas J. Metz ◽  
Madlaina Stauffer ◽  
Martin Wolf ◽  
Oskar G. Jenni ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
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 and adolescents. 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 spatial working memory training in children and adolescents 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.

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

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 205521731774762 ◽  
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.

scholarly journals Publisher Correction to: BRAINSTORMING: A study protocol for a randomised double-blind clinical trial to assess the impact of concurrent brain stimulation (tDCS) and working memory training on cognitive performance in Acquired Brain Injury (ABI)

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Assecondi ◽  
Rong Hu ◽  
Gail Eskes ◽  
Michelle Read ◽  
Chris Griffiths ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trial ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Brain Injury ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Acquired Brain Injury ◽  
Working Memory Training ◽  
Memory Training ◽  
Double Blind ◽  
Double Blind Clinical Trial ◽  
The Impact

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.

scholarly journals The Long-Term Efficacy of Working Memory Training in Healthy Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of 22 Randomized Controlled Trials

2020 ◽  
Vol 75 (8) ◽  
pp. e174-e188
Author(s):  
Jianhua Hou ◽  
Taiyi Jiang ◽  
Jiangning Fu ◽  
Bin Su ◽  
Hao Wu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Cochrane Library ◽  
Memory Training ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Healthy Older Adults ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Randomized Controlled Studies

Abstract Objectives The long-lasting efficacy of working memory (WM) training has been a controversial and still ardently debated issue. In this meta-analysis, the authors explored the long-term effects of WM training in healthy older adults on WM subdomains and abilities outside the WM domain assessed in randomized controlled studies. Method A systematic literature search of PubMed, Web of Science, PsycINFO, Cochrane Library, ProQuest, clinicaltrials.gov, and Google Scholar was conducted. Random-effects models were used to quantitatively synthesize the existing data. Results Twenty-two eligible studies were included in the meta-analysis. The mean participant age ranged from 63.77 to 80.1 years. The meta-synthesized long-term effects on updating were 0.45 (95% confidence interval = 0.253–0.648, <6 months: 0.395, 0.171–0.619, ≥6 months: 0.641, 0.223–1.058), on shifting, 0.447 (0.246–0.648, <6 months: 0.448, 0.146–0.75, ≥6 months: 0.446, 0.176–0.716); on inhibition, 0.387 (0.228–0.547, <6 months: 0.248, 0.013–0.484, ≥6 months: 0.504, 0.288–0.712); on maintenance, 0.486 (0.352–0.62, <6 months: 0.52, 0.279–0.761, ≥6 months: 0.471, 0.31–0.63). Discussion The results showed that WM training exerted robust long-term effects on enhancing the WM system and improving processing speed and reasoning in late adulthood. Future studies are needed to use different tasks of the same WM construct to evaluate the WM training benefits, to adopt more ecological tasks or tasks related to daily life, to improve the external validity of WM training, and to identify the optimal implementation strategy for WM training.

Working Memory Training in Children: A Review of Basic Methodological Criteria

2019 ◽  
Vol 123 (3) ◽  
pp. 605-632
Author(s):  
Santiago Vernucci ◽  
Lorena Canet Juric ◽  
Isabel Introzzi ◽  
María M. Richard’s
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Internal Validity ◽  
Working Memory Training ◽  
Memory Training ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Targeted Interventions ◽  
Highly Sensitive ◽  
Complex Skills ◽  
Great Relevance

Working memory is a process of great relevance during childhood due to its role in diverse complex skills. Like the rest of executive functions, it is highly sensitive to environmental influences, so it is assumed that it could be modified through targeted interventions. A large number of working memory training studies in children aim to achieve transfer effects both on this process and on those with which it is related. Although some promising results have been found, the efficacy of working memory training cannot be affirmed; methodological quality of studies is one of the main reasons for this. Compliance with basic methodological criteria (inclusion of a control group that must preferably be active, random assignment of participants to groups) has a great impact on the internal validity of the studies. Furthermore, the need to control for the effects of motivational factors associated with the intervention is added and emphasized. This study reviews the fulfillment of these criteria in process-based working memory training literature in children, analyzing its impact on internal validity. Limitations of the field in relation to the lack of compliance with the proposed criteria are discussed and alternatives are suggested in order to improve the quality of future studies.

scholarly journals Training Working Memory of Children with and without Dyslexia

Children ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Maehler ◽  
Christina Joerns ◽  
Kirsten Schuchardt
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Operational Efficiency ◽  
Third Graders ◽  
Central Executive ◽  
Phonological Loop ◽  
School Age Children ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Long Term Effects

For the future school performance of a child in the fields of literacy and numeracy, the operational efficiency of working memory is a central predictor. Children affected by dyslexia exhibit specific deficits in the functions of working memory. A software application for elementary school-age children has been specifically developed for this study, attempting to improve the working memory’s operational efficiency. Based on Baddeley’s model of working memory (1986), the phonological loop, the visuo-spatial sketchpad, and the central executive were trained in 18 sessions over a period of six weeks. The group of test subjects undergoing this training was composed of third-graders, of which 43 were and 27 were not affected by dyslexia. The untrained control group was made up of 41 third-graders with dyslexia and 28 without dyslexia. While the short-term effects of the program could not be proven, the present analyses focus on long-term effects. The results obtained from a pre-test/follow-up design reveal that no long-term increases in performance regarding phonological and central executive working memory could be confirmed. Only the visuo-spatial Corsi block span exhibited a training effect over a period of three months. Additionally, training did not show any long-term effect of performance improvement, not even for a subgroup of children with dyslexia and an especially low working memory performance. Thus, even after this study, the question whether working memory can be trained or not remains partly unanswered but leaves us predominantly pessimistic.

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