Practice makes imperfect: Working memory training can harm recognition memory performance

The promise of transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS) as a modulator of cognition has appealed to researchers, media, and the general public. Researchers have suggested that tDCS may increase effects of cognitive training. In this study of 123 older adults, we examined the interactive effects of 20 sessions of anodal tDCS over the left prefrontal cortex (vs. sham tDCS) and simultaneous working memory training (vs. control training) on change in cognitive abilities. Stimulation did not modulate gains from pre- to posttest on latent factors of either trained or untrained tasks in a statistically significant manner. A supporting meta-analysis ( n = 266), including younger as well as older individuals, showed that, when combined with training, tDCS was not much more effective than sham tDCS at changing working memory performance ( g = 0.07, 95% confidence interval, or CI = [−0.21, 0.34]) and global cognition performance ( g = −0.01, 95% CI = [−0.29, 0.26]) assessed in the absence of stimulation. These results question the general usefulness of current tDCS protocols for enhancing the effects of cognitive training on cognitive ability.

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Working Memory Training Is Associated with Changes in Resting State Functional Connectivity in Children Who Were Born Extremely Preterm: a Randomized Controlled Trial

Journal of Cognitive Enhancement ◽

10.1007/s41465-019-00150-7 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (4) ◽

pp. 376-387

Author(s):

Chieh-En Jane Tseng ◽

Leona Pascoe ◽

Gehan Roberts ◽

Lex W. Doyle ◽

Katherine J. Lee ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Resting State ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Memory Performance ◽

Central Executive ◽

Working Memory Training ◽

Memory Training ◽

Resting State Functional Connectivity ◽

Extremely Preterm ◽

The Right

Abstract Children born extremely preterm (EP; < 28 weeks of gestation) or extremely low birth weight (ELBW; < 1000 g) are at increased risk of working memory deficits compared with their term-born peers and may benefit from working memory training. This study aimed to determine whether Cogmed Working Memory Training®, compared with a placebo training program, was associated with changes in resting-state functional connectivity (rsfc) and whether these changes correlated with working memory performance in EP/ELBW children. Twenty-one 7-year-old EP/ELBW children were enrolled in a double-blinded randomized controlled trial and had magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) assessments (Cogmed, n = 12; placebo (a non-adaptive version of Cogmed), n = 9). Prior to training (baseline) and 2 weeks post-training, all children received a cognitive assessment, inclusive of immediate memory and working memory measures and an MRI. The Cogmed Improvement Index was used as a measure of improvement in trained activities in the Cogmed group. Resting-state functional MRI was used to measure training-related changes in intra- and inter-network rsfc. The networks assessed include the default mode network, the left and right central executive networks, the bilateral executive network, the dorsal attention network, and the salience network. rsfc data were compared between treatment groups and investigated in relation to changes in working memory performance. There was little evidence of differences in intra- or inter-network rsfc strength changes from baseline to post-training between treatment groups. In the Cogmed group, working memory performance was associated with increased rsfc from baseline to post-training within the precuneus network, but not in the placebo group. In the Cogmed group, results that did not survive multiple comparison correction further showed that improvement in trained activities was associated with increased rsfc between the left central and bilateral executive networks, and with decreased rsfc within the right central executive network and between the right central executive and salience networks. Changes in rsfc may facilitate working memory performance following Cogmed training. Further studies are needed to investigate how changes in rsfc are associated with behavioral changes to better support working memory in vulnerable groups.

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Independent Components of Neural Activation Associated with 100 Days of Cognitive Training

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience ◽

10.1162/jocn_a_01396 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 31 (6) ◽

pp. 808-820 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Molly Simmonite ◽

Thad A. Polk

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Cognitive Training ◽

Memory Performance ◽

Working Memory Training ◽

Memory Training ◽

Neural Activation ◽

Perceptual Decision Making ◽

Training Effects ◽

Data Set ◽

Motor Network

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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The Neural Correlates of Working Memory Training in Typically Developing Children

10.1101/2021.05.21.445110 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Jonathan S Jones ◽

Anna-Lynne R Adlam ◽

Abdelmalek Benattayallah ◽

Fraser N Milton

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Functional Connectivity ◽

Memory Performance ◽

Neural Correlates ◽

Working Memory Training ◽

Memory Training ◽

Typically Developing ◽

Typically Developing Children ◽

Complex Span ◽

Randomised Controlled

Working memory training improves cognitive performance on untrained tasks; however, little is known about the underlying neural mechanisms, particularly in childhood where neuroplasticity may be greatest. The neural correlates of working memory training were investigated in 32 typically developing children aged 10-14 years (19 girls and 13 boys; Devon, UK) using a randomised controlled design and multi-modal MRI. Training improved working memory performance and increased intrinsic functional connectivity within the dorsal attention network. Furthermore, improvements in working memory were associated with greater recruitment of the left middle frontal gyrus during a complex span task. The repeated engagement of fronto-parietal regions during training may increase their activity and functional connectivity over time, affording greater attentional control on working memory tasks.

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How does working memory training effect on memory performance in young people

International Journal of Biology and Chemistry ◽

10.26577/ijbch.2021.v14.i1.07 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

Author(s):

A. Raushanova ◽

G. Kuziyeva ◽

S. Mamyrbekova ◽

I. Rusanova ◽

A. Zhussupova ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Young People ◽

Memory Performance ◽

Working Memory Training ◽

Memory Training ◽

Training Effect

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Adolescent-specific memory effects: Evidence from working memory, immediate and 24-hour recognition memory performance in 8- to 30-year-olds

10.31234/osf.io/g49st ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Lena J Skalaban ◽

Alexandra O. Cohen ◽

May I. Conley ◽

Qi Lin ◽

Garrett N. Schwartz ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Recognition Memory ◽

Memory Performance ◽

Community Sample ◽

Delay Condition ◽

Long Term Memory ◽

Term Memory ◽

Recognition Memory Performance ◽

Similar Accuracy

Working memory and long-term memory develop from childhood to adulthood, but the relationship between them is not fully understood, especially during adolescence. We investigated associations between n-back task performance and subsequent recognition memory in a community sample (8-30 years, n=150) using tasks from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study (ABCD Study®). We added a 24-hour delay condition to assess long-term memory and assessed ages that overlap with those to be assessed in the 10-year ABCD study. Overall working memory, immediate, and long-term recognition memory performance peaked during adolescence. Age effects in recognition memory varied by items (i.e., old targets and distractors and new items) and delay. For immediate recognition, accuracy was higher for new items and targets than distractors, with the highest accuracy for new items emerging by the mid-teens. For long-term recognition, adolescents were more accurate in identifying new items than children and adults and adolescents showed more long-term forgetting of distractors relative to targets. In contrast, adults showed similar accuracy for targets and distractors, while children showed long-term forgetting of both. The results suggest that working memory processes may facilitate long-term storage of task-relevant items over irrelevant items and may benefit the detection of novel information during adolescence.

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Impact of working memory training on memory performance in old-old adults.

Psychology and Aging ◽

10.1037/a0014342 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 23 (4) ◽

pp. 743-753 ◽

Cited By ~ 171

Author(s):

Martin Buschkuehl ◽

Susanne M. Jaeggi ◽

Sara Hutchison ◽

Pasqualina Perrig-Chiello ◽

Christoph Däpp ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Memory Performance ◽

Working Memory Training ◽

Memory Training ◽

Old Adults

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Improving everyday memory performance after acquired brain injury: An RCT on recollection and working memory training.

Neuropsychology ◽

10.1037/neu0000445 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 32 (5) ◽

pp. 586-596 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Kim Merle Richter ◽

Claudia Mödden ◽

Paul Eling ◽

Helmut Hildebrandt

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Brain Injury ◽

Memory Performance ◽

Acquired Brain Injury ◽

Working Memory Training ◽

Memory Training ◽

Everyday Memory

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Working Memory Training Effects on White Matter Integrity in Young and Older Adults

Frontiers in Human Neuroscience ◽

10.3389/fnhum.2021.605213 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 15 ◽

Author(s):

Sabine Dziemian ◽

Sarah Appenzeller ◽

Claudia C. von Bastian ◽

Lutz Jäncke ◽

Nicolas Langer

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

White Matter ◽

Memory Performance ◽

Mean Diffusivity ◽

Training Group ◽

Working Memory Training ◽

White Matter Integrity ◽

Memory Training ◽

Inferior Longitudinal Fasciculus ◽

The Right

ObjectivesWorking memory is essential for daily life skills like reading comprehension, reasoning, and problem-solving. Healthy aging of the brain goes along with working memory decline that can affect older people’s independence in everyday life. Interventions in the form of cognitive training are a promising tool for delaying age-related working memory decline, yet the underlying structural plasticity of white matter is hardly studied.MethodsWe conducted a longitudinal diffusion tensor imaging study to investigate the effects of an intensive four-week adaptive working memory training on white matter integrity quantified by global and tract-wise mean diffusivity. We compared diffusivity measures of fiber tracts that are associated with working memory of 32 young and 20 older participants that were randomly assigned to a working memory training group or an active control group.ResultsThe behavioral analysis showed an increase in working memory performance after the four-week adaptive working memory training. The neuroanatomical analysis revealed a decrease in mean diffusivity in the working memory training group after the training intervention in the right inferior longitudinal fasciculus for the older adults. There was also a decrease in mean diffusivity in the working memory training group in the right superior longitudinal fasciculus for the older and young participants after the intervention.ConclusionThis study shows that older people can benefit from working memory training by improving their working memory performance that is also reflected in terms of improved white matter integrity in the superior longitudinal fasciculus and the inferior longitudinal fasciculus, where the first is an essential component of the frontoparietal network known to be essential in working memory.

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