Limited training and transfer effects in older and young adults who participated in 12 sessions of process-based working memory training. A three-armed pretest-posttest design study

Abstract

Objective Numerous studies confirm the effectiveness of cognitive training in older adults. However, there is limited evidence of the transfer occurrence. The part of the study presented here tested the effect of 12 process-based working memory training sessions on the performance of the trained task (training effect) and other cognitive tasks (transfer effect). A pretest-posttest study design with one experimental group and two control (passive and active) groups. The sample comprised three groups of older adults: experimental (n = 25), passive control (n = 22), active control (n = 7), and young adults: experimental (n = 25), passive control (n = 25), and active control (n = 12). The study was registered after completion with a ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT06235840 on 31 January 2024. Results Under the influence of training, the performance of the trained task improved significantly, but only in young adults. Transfer of WM training effects was not revealed. Among young adults, a testing effect was observed for the indicator of attentional focus and psychomotor speed. Moreover, the obtained results suggest the transfer from practice in multi-domain training, implemented in the active control group, to tasks that require the use of fluid intelligence. However, this finding should be interpreted with great caution due to the small size of active control groups.