Brain Training Workshop | Abstracts
Abstracts are listed in the order in which they are scheduled. Please refer to the the workshop schedule for more information.
Training and plasticity of working memory
Impaired working memory is associated with low academic performance and with distractability and inattention in clinically defined groups, such as in ADHD, but also in the general population.
Klingberg and collaborators have developed and tested a computerized method for training working memory. Several studies have shown that working memory can be improved by this method, and that performance improves also on non-trained tasks demanding working memory. Moreover, improving working memory also decreases the symptoms of inattention in everyday life. This has now been confirmed by several, independent research groups. Klingberg and collegues has also shown that training of working memory increases brain activity in frontal and parietal regions, and is associated with changes in the density of dopamine D1-receptors in the cortex.
Training of working memory might thus be a non-pharmacological way to address the key cognitive function in children with low working memory. Future question concern which other cognitive functions that can be trained, and how strong transfer is between functions.
References:
Klingberg, T, Fernell, E, Olesen, P, Johnson, M, Gustafsson, P, Dahlström, K, Gillberg, CG, Forssberg, H, Westerberg, H. (2005) Computerized Training of Working Memory in Children with ADHD – a Randomized, Controlled Trial. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 44 (2):177-186
Klingberg, T (2010) Training and plasticity of working memory. Trends in Cognitive Sciences.
McNab, F., Varrone, A, Farde, L., Jucaite, A., Bystritsky, P, Forssberg, H., Klingberg, T * (2009) Changes in Cortical Dopamine D1 Receptor Binding Associated with Cognitive Training. Science 323:800-02
Olesen, P, Westerberg, H, Klingberg, T (2004) Increased prefrontal and parietal brain activity after training of working memory. Nature Neuroscience 7 (1):75-79
Age differences in the training and transfer of task-switching training
Developmental changes in cognitive control processes (e.g., task switching) across the lifespan can often be described as an inverted u-shaped function, that is, the efficiency of cognitive control increases during childhood and decreases across the adult lifespan. Most of the research in the last decades has focused on whether age-related changes in cognitive control can explain age-related changes in intellectual functioning, but surprisingly less attention has been given to the question how developmental changes in cognitive control can be altered by cognitive training interventions. In my talk I will report findings of our recent training studies in which we examined (a) whether age-related changes in cognitive control can be reduced after task-switching training; (b) which kind of task-switching training (e.g., variable training; verbal self-instructions) is most effective; (c) and the extent to which training gains can be transferred to other tasks. Results of our studies indicated that task-switching training can be transferred to similar, but new switching tasks (near transfer), whereby children and older adults showed greater transfer gains than younger adults. Furthermore, task-switching training lead to performance improvements in other cognitive control measures such as working-memory, interference and fluid intelligence tasks, indicating far transfer effects in all age groups.
Clearing the garden-path: Improving sentence processing through executive control training
Erika Hussey, Susan Teubner-Rhodes, Isaiah Harbison, PhD,
Michael Dougherty, PhD, Michael F. Bunting, PhD, & Jared Novick, PhD
Recent psycholinguistic research emphasizes the importance of cognitive control during sentence processing, especially when readers or listeners must override early, incorrect interpretations when faced with temporary ambiguity. Separate work suggests that cognitive control abilities are malleable by training on executive function (EF) tasks; EF-training improves practiced and unpracticed tasks that rely on common underlying mechanisms. The present study tests the extent to which domain-general cognitive control training improves syntactic ambiguity resolution.
A 20-hour, five-week EF-boosting regimen was designed. Healthy adults were assigned to an EF-training or no-contact group and completed several pre/post assessments, including reading ambiguous sentences while eye-movements were recorded and answering comprehension questions gauging misinterpretation. At posttest, only trainees exhibited improvements in reinterpretation abilities, measured by better comprehension accuracy and eye-movements indexing real-time revision of early misanalyses. Finally, individual gains in performance on a training task targeting interference resolution predicted improvements in garden-path recovery.
Together these findings extend prior work by demonstrating that individual gains in executive function derived from training are reflected in improved performance in non-trained language tasks that rely on shared cognitive control abilities, suggesting domain-general transfer of EF to language comprehension. We believe these results provide new insight into how domain-general EF contributes to language processing. In particular, considering other findings demonstrating that EF abilities factor into a range of linguistic skills, cognitive control training could result in broader gains beyond just revising initial misinterpretations during sentence processing. The current findings therefore may have implications for language processing generally, ushering in new research exploring whether EF training is an effective intervention tool for improving comprehension and production under conditions that place high demands on EF resources.
Mindfulness training improves working memory and counteracts distractibility
Amishi P. Jha, PhD & Toby D. Elliman, PhD
Mindfulness is a mental mode characterized by full attention to present-moment experience without judgment, elaboration, or emotional reactivity. Mindfulness training (MT) programs offer exercises and didactic guidance to help participants cultivate this mental mode. Concentrative MT exercises emphasize focusing on a target object, such as a body sensation, visual image, phrase, or concept, while actively disengaging from distraction from either external stimuli (e.g., sights, sounds) and internal preoccupations (e.g., intrusive thoughts, negative emotions). In this presentation, we describe a program of research aimed at investigating if MT might improve working memory and attention in tasks that involve external distraction, or promote internal distractibility and mind-wandering. Across multiple studies we have found that MT improves working memory and counteracts susceptility to distraction from either externally-presented or internally-generated sources. These MT-related improvements are above and beyond those observed in comparison interventions that are well matched in course structure, homework, and trainer-expertise. Based on these findings, we suggest that MT might be a useful tool for improving working memory and attention in a variety of populations, including high stress cohorts for whom working memory and attention may degrade over extended periods of intensive demand. In addition, MT is portable, low-cost, easy to disseminate, and has no technology demands, which make it suitable to offer to a variety of populations.
A neurocognitive approach to improving verbal creativity
Treating neural activity as an independent variable - manipulated through training and other methods - permits (a) inferences about the causal role of that activity in cognitive functions, and (b) identification of brain-based methods for improving those functions. The promise of this approach is indicated by previous studies that have used EEG neurofeedback (NFB) training, brainwave entrainment, and other methods to improve cognitive functions such as attention, semantic working memory, memory recognition, and mental rotation. We adopted this approach in two studies: an EEG NBF training study and a brainwave entrainment study, both aimed at increasing neural oscillations in the alpha frequency range (i.e., 8 to 10 Hz). These oscillations have been hypothesized to modulate activation of semantic memory, including sensitivity to weak associates in verbal creativity tasks, such as the remote associates test. We found that neurologically unimpaired adults can use EEG NFB to selectively increase alpha power over the right posterior brain in the second and third of three short training sessions. Furthermore, we found that subjects who showed greater alpha power over right posterior cortex during NFB training subsequently solved previously unsolved problems on the remote associates test, compared to those who showed less alpha power. EEG spectral power in other frequency bands did not predict solutions. Alpha power may mediate performance on this task because it induces a neurophysiological state in semantic memory that enables the brain to better detect weak (but relevant) associates that compete for activation with irrelevant distractors and dominant associates. In view of the potential benefit of alpha brain waves for creative cognition and other cognitive abilities, we have begun using brainwave entrainment as an alternative method for increasing these brain waves without training. Initial results indicate that ten minutes of brainwave entrainment with acoustic beats induces a selective increase in alpha brain waves. Our results suggest that techniques for inducing dynamic changes in neural oscillatory states may benefit creative cognition in the verbal domain.
N-back training: Benefits and mechanisms
There are numerous commercial training interventions claiming to improve general mental capacity. Although scientific evidence for such claims is sparse, there is accumulating evidence that certain cognitive interventions are effective. In this talk, I will provide evidence for the efficacy of n-back based interventions developed in our laboratory focusing on young adults as participants. Our data consistently show that working memory training results in transfer to various measures of reasoning. Further, brain imaging data reveal two effects of note: first, it seems that working memory training makes the brain more efficient in that there are less resources required after training, and second, there is increased perfusion at rest which is analogous to the effects of physical training on muscles. This latter finding suggests an underlying mechanism that explains generalized improvement following cognitive training.
Computerized training as treatments for learning difficulties: Working memory training and Fast ForWord
Charles Hulme, PhD & Monica Melby-Lervag, PhD
The suggestion that computerized training programmes can be effective as methods for treating learning disorders in children appears attractive, since such programmes are adaptive, potentially highly cost-effective, and easy to deliver in children's homes and schools. Recently some strong claims have been made for the effectiveness of commercially available computerized Working Memory training programmes. Similarly, based on claims of its effectiveness, Fast ForWord a computerized language training programme is widely used for children with language, reading and other learning difficulties. We present the results from two meta-analytic reviews assessing the effectiveness of these two different forms of computerized training. Results from studies to date do not support the effectiveness of either type of training. We will consider the applied and theoretical implications of these findings.
Title TBA
Recently, there have been numerous studies in the literature providing evidence for the benefits of working memory training. In a review of the training literature, Shipstead, Redick, and Engle (2010) concluded that there is reason to treat many results with a critical eye. Many of the existing studies have issues related to design (no-contact control groups, single measures of cognitive constructs) and to theory (identifying the mechanisms responsible for observed transfer).
The current research compared young adults who received 20 sessions of practice on an adaptive dual n-back program or an adaptive visual search program with a no-contact control group that received no practice. In addition, all participants completed pre-test, mid-test, and post-test transfer sessions, in which multiple measures of multitasking, working memory capacity, fluid intelligence, crystallized intelligence, and perceptual speed were administered. The results indicated that despite improvements on both the dual n-back (comparable to other studies) and visual search tasks, there was no indication of transfer to any of the cognitive abilities tests administered at mid-test or post-test. The results are discussed relative to previous research and for future studies of working memory training.
Physical activity, brain plasticity, and aging
Kirk I. Erickson, PhD & Ruchika S. Prakash, PhD
Because of the escalating proportion of older adults throughout the world, there is growing interest in interventions to enhance the cognitive vitality of older adults. In addition to the promise of cognitive training regimens, physical activities, especially those that are more aerobic in nature, also have the potential to enhance brain health.
In this talk, we review the recent cross-sectional, longitudinal, and intervention research that finds that aerobic exercise is capable of increasing the volume of select brain regions including the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus and that greater amounts of physical activity earlier in life are associated with greater brain volume later in life. Besides the volumetric findings of physical activity, we find aerobic fitness to have a prophylactic influence on the functional architecture of the aging brain. Here we will review the latest findings examining changes in cortical activation and functional connectivity following an aerobic exercise intervention. Overall, these findings suggest that the older adult brain remains modifiable well into late adulthood and that exercise is an effective method for enhancing brain function in late life
Age-dependence in near and far transfer from working memory training
Despite great interest in the potential to use working memory training exercises as a tool for general cognitive enhancement, many of the laboratory studies conducted among aging adults are discouraging due to the lack of significant transfer findings. Negative results from those studies have encouraged the view that working memory training procedures may be less effective in producing transfer in older adulthood, perhaps due to decreases in neural plasticity. I will examine the evidence for age-dependence in receptivity to working memory training, and will discuss reasons why it may be premature given the current state of the literature to draw strong conclusions regarding the relative efficacy of working memory training among different age groups. With those caveats in mind, I will present results from an analysis of near and far transfer reported in studies carried out across the lifespan, and results from an analysis of age-dependence in a new empirical sample of 18-30 year olds. Together, the evidence suggests that reduced receptivity to the benefits of working memory training may not be a feature of reduced plasticity in old age, but rather, may be the consequence of changes in plasticity taking place much earlier in life within the brain's cognitive control architecture.
Experience and executive function development: Evidence from correlational, naturalistic, and cognitive training studies in children
I will present the results of four studies that provide converging evidence for the claim that specific experiences impact the development of executive functions in preschool and elementary school-aged children. Study 1 used data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development to examine the influence of parenting on executive function development. Results demonstrate that socioeconomic and race differences in specific executive functions may be explained by different characteristics of parenting and the child's home environment (Davis-Kean et al., under review). Study 2 used a school cut-off design to compare working memory and inhibition skills in children of the same age but with different schooling experiences to test the effect of schooling on executive functions (Burrage et al., 2008). Results of this study find that preschool has a positive impact on working memory and inhibition that is not attributable to maturation alone. Study 3 is a training study that examined the effects of a working memory training intervention compared to a vocabulary and declarative knowledge intervention on fluid intelligence and academic achievement (Jaeggi et al., in press). We found that working memory training transferred to measures of sustained attention, impulsivity, and working memory. Transfer to fluid intelligence was found only for children who improved on the training task. Study 4 replicated this pattern of results for children with ADHD. Furthermore, ADHD children showed improvements not only on cognitive task measures, but also on measures of reading comprehension and mathematics problem solving. After discussing these studies, I will discuss limitations of each of the approaches presented and emphasize the utility of converging evidence for understanding the role of experience on executive function development.
Commonalities across diverse non-computerized approaches that have shown promise in improving children's executive functions
Diverse activities have been shown to improve children's executive functions (EFs), including computerized training with or without other types of games, aerobics, martial arts, yoga, mindfulness, playing a musical instrument, and school curricula. Regardless of the intervention, a couple of principles seem to hold: (1) EFs need to be continually challenged; if EF demands do not keep increasing as children improve, few gains are seen. (2) Whether EF gains are seen depends on the way an activity is done and the amount of time spent doing it, practicing and pushing oneself to do better. It's the discipline, the practice, that produces the benefits. Even the best activity for improving EFs if done rarely produces little benefit.
School curricula empirically shown to improve EFs share several features in common. (a) The classroom is not centered around the teacher and the teacher is rarely expected to teach all children the same thing at the same time. Instead: (a.1) Children progress at their own individual rates. (a.2) Children work largely on their own and with one or a few other children. (a.3) Children help tutor other children and work cooperatively. (a.4) Because other children are productively engaged when the teacher works with any individual child, individualized instruction can readily be provided and the teacher can spend time observing and assessing each child's progress, seeing where assistance or new challenges might be needed for a particular child. (a.5) Children are not required to sit still for long nor to learn primarily by listening rather than doing.
(b) Stress is minimized for both teacher and students. (c) Students are rarely embarrassed or shamed. (d) Scaffolds (supports) are provided so children are far more likely to succeed than fail. (e) EFs are challenged all day, not just in "EF activities." (f) Oral language is particularly targeted for development in young children. (g) Even young children are required to plan what they are going to do. (h) Extrinsic rewards (e.g., stickers) are absent. (i) Character development (e.g., kindness & helpfulness) is a priority. (j) Social inclusiveness and mutual support are cultivated among the students. The most effective way to improve EFs and academic achievement is probably not to focus narrowly on those alone, but to also address children's social, emotional, and physical development.
Integrative body-mind training (IBMT) induces neuroplasticity and improves cognitive performance
Previous studies indicate one form of mindfulness based meditation, IBMT, significantly improves attention and self-regulation in comparison with a same amount of relaxation training (RT) control after 5-days of practice with 20-min per day. Eleven hours of IBMT induces white matter changes in the anterior cingulate in the brain. IBMT improves attention and self-regulation by changing the interaction between the central (brain) and the autonomic (body) systems. This could provide a means to optimize body-mind state to improve performance. This talk will focus on the IBMT mechanism and potential application in improvement of cognitive performance in attention, memory and creativity.
Neuronal plasticity following visual spatial working memory training
Sharona Atkins, MA, Donald J. Bolger, PhD, Michael F Bunting, PhD,
& Michael R. Dougherty, PhD
The purpose of this investigation is to demonstrate the effectiveness of web-administered computerized cognitive training in terms of enhancements of cognitive processes targeted in the training, and in terms of generalizability of training to broader array of cognitive functions. Thirty-six young adults were randomly assigned to an experimental visual-spatial working memory (vsWM) training regimen or a placebo control condition for a total of 10hours of training over two weeks. Participants were assessed on a range of cognitive measures before and after training including an fMRI paradigm designed to verify training gains in the vsWM processes in which the experimental group was trained. The conclusions of the study were that adaptive training of visual-spatial working memory tasks showed successful gains from training and transfer to executive functions such as the control of attention. In addition, training resulted in efficiency (reduced activation) in critical brain regions that are necessary for working memory and a host of cognitive functions. The implications for this study are that complex adaptive training of cognitive skills can be done effectively via a web-based interface and will produce changes in the neural architecture underlying working memory, attention, and other skills critical to language processing.
Neural correlates of reasoning training
Allyson Mackey & Silvia Bunge, PhD
Neuroimaging studies have consistently demonstrated the involvement of a fronto-parietal network in reasoning ability. We hypothesized that reasoning training would involve repeated use of this network, leading to changes in its structure and function. Rather than designing an artificial training program, we chose to study individuals while they prepared for the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT), a test that places strong demands on reasoning skills. We recruited students who were taking an LSAT course that offers 100 hours of instruction, as well as age- and IQ-matched controls. We collected functional and structural MRI data from all subjects during two sessions, three months apart. The trained group showed substantial improvement on both the trained task and the transfer task, a transitive inference task. Training also led to increased functional connectivity between rostral lateral prefrontal cortex and parietal cortex, and a change in the white matter tract connecting these regions, the superior longitudinal fasciculus. These findings support the hypothesis that reasoning is not a fixed trait: intensive training can lead to changes in this critical cognitive skill and the neural networks that support it.
Building brain fitness by high intensity interval training of brain networks
The purpose of this investigation is to demonstrate the effectiveness of web-administered computerized cognitive training in terms of enhancements of cognitive processes targeted in the training, and in terms of generalizability of training to broader array of cognitive functions. Thirty-six young adults were randomly assigned to an experimental visual-spatial working memory (vsWM) training regimen or a placebo control condition for a total of 10hours of training over two weeks. Participants were assessed on a range of cognitive measures before and after training including an fMRI paradigm designed to verify training gains in the vsWM processes in which the experimental group was trained. The conclusions of the study were that adaptive training of visual-spatial working memory tasks showed successful gains from training and transfer to executive functions such as the control of attention. In addition, training resulted in efficiency (reduced activation) in critical brain regions that are necessary for working memory and a host of cognitive functions. The implications for this study are that complex adaptive training of cognitive skills can be done effectively via a web-based interface and will produce changes in the neural architecture underlying working memory, attention, and other skills critical to language processing.
N-back training task performance: Analysis and model
J. Isaiah Harbison, PhD, Sharona M. Atkins & Michael R. Dougherty, PhD
Despite the n-back task's effectiveness as a working memory (WM) training task, its status as a WM assessment is questionable and explanations of n-back performance have not been thoroughly tested. We performed a detailed analysis of the accuracy and reaction time data from an adaptive n-back training task and developed a computational model to describe participant performance. Application of our model to the training data suggests a two-stage, familiarity and recollection account. Our results also indicate that the presence of lures, trials in which the current stimulus matches a recent stimulus but not the one shown n-prior, is essential for the task to involve more than familiarity judgment.
Modeling cognitive control of working memory as a gated cortical network
Jared Sylvester, James Reggia, PhD, & Scott Weems, PhD
The neurobiological mechanisms underlying cognitive control and working memory are only partially understood at present and remain the focus of substantial ongoing experimental study. Among other things, a deeper understanding of these mechanisms is important for the rational design and evaluation of cognitive and working memory training tasks. Here we describe an ongoing effort to develop a neurobiologically-inspired model of cognitive control. The model consists of a network of gated cortical regions, each represented as an attractor network that encodes information in a distributed fashion and learns based upon correlations between activity patterns. Our research hypothesis is that such a computational framework can be used effectively to interpret/explain experimental results, to better relate behavioral data to neurophysiological data, to reveal where our current theoretical understanding of cognitive control is inadequate, and ultimately to suggest novel approaches to cognitive training. We present initial simulation results demonstrating that the current version of the model can perform simple tasks such as adding to and examining the contents of working memory.
Transfer and learning with action video game play
While humans have an incredible capacity to acquire new perceptual skills as a result of experience, enhancements in performance are often narrowly restricted to the parameters of the training environment/task, with little evidence of generalization to different (even seemingly highly related) tasks. Such specificity is a major obstacle for the development of many real-world training or rehabilitation paradigms, which necessarily seek to promote more general learning. In contrast to these typical findings, training on what we call "action video games" produces learning that transfers well beyond the training task - for instance to "low-level" visual tasks (e.g. visual acuity, contrast sensitivity) or visual attention tasks in space and time (e.g. - visual search in cluttered scenes or in rapid temporal streams of information). Since video games have such widespread effects, uncovering the mechanisms that underlie these changes is an important step toward being able to understand and better apply the use of video games. Recently, we have demonstrated that action video game experience results in enhanced probabilistic inference – or the ability to use sensory data to compute the probability of responses. Furthermore, because such inference requires experience with the statistics of the given task, we have suggested that what video game play actually teaches is the ability to quickly and accurately learn such statistics – or in other words to "learn to learn."
Time, money, and boredom: Common problems of WM training regimes and some possible solutions
Lauren Richmond & Ingrid Olson, PhD
In this talk we will discuss common problems encountered when conducting working memory training regimes. Our goal is to openly discuss 'lab-lore', sharing details about what works, what doesn't work, and factors that no one has investigated. Problems such as applicability to the real-world, uneven transfer effects, high time and cost demands, age effects in training and transfer, and subject-specific problems such as boredom will be discussed. Practical solutions for some of these problems will be reviewed. We will also discuss and provide data on a technique to enhance training and transfer effects, specifically non-invasive brain stimulation.