A systematic exploratory review investigating the relationship between working memory and emotion regulation: implications for working memory training

Abstract

Working memory training (WM-T), as an intervention strategy to improve emotion regulation (ER), has become popular in cognitive psychology. However, it poses many different challenges for researchers, and far-transfer effects on subsequent ER have been debated. This systematic exploratory review investigates how the WM-ER dyad is implicated in WM-T as an intervention strategy for improving ER. Systematic review protocols were followed for the selection of studies investigating the relationship between WM and ER, and WM-T to improve ER. An electronic database search following the PRISMA statement was conducted in which 15 studies were considered eligible. The studies were assessed for quality control using an adapted Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) tool for quantitative studies. Studies were analysed using the PVO (population, variables, and outcomes) strategy for systematic exploratory reviews. Five studies included psychological disorders and one study used brain imaging. From a neural perspective, the coupling of the prefrontal cortex and the anterior cingulate cortex over the amygdala was involved in the WM-ER dyad. Although there was a lack of evidence of far-transfer effects of WM-T to improve ER, the mechanisms of reward-enhancing effects in WM-T, as well as dopamine release (involved in brain-reward circuitry), should be explored further. This will allow researchers to re-evaluate the direction that the investigation is taking. More concerningly, there is a need for quality control in WM-T studies due to several studies lacking ethical consideration and standardisation. Future WM-T studies must ensure that research is founded on quality evidence.