Working memory training is associated with lower prefrontal cortex activation in a divergent thinking task

Vartanian, Oshin; Jobidon, Marie-Eve; Bouak, Fethi; Nakashima, Ann; Smith, Ingrid; Lam, Quan; Cheung, Bob

doi:10.1016/j.neuroscience.2012.12.060

Cited by 76 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Instead our non-adaptive n-back group showed the same evidence of improvement on the transfer n-back tasks as our n-back training group. This is consistent with very recent research suggesting that neither the length nor number of training sessions (Au et al, 2015) nor an adaptive element to training is necessary for transfer (Karbach & Verhaeghen, 2014;Vartanian et al, 2013;von Bastian & Eschen, 2015). However, this does leave open the question of what is being trained and how best to control for placebo effects if factors such as training duration do not affect transfer.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

A simultaneous examination of two forms of working memory training: Evidence for near transfer only

et al. 2016

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The efficacy of working-memory training is a topic of considerable debate, with some studies showing transfer to measures such as fluid intelligence while others have not. We report the results of a study designed to examine two forms of working-memory training, one using a spatial n-back and the other a verbal complex span. Thirty-one undergraduates completed 4 weeks of n-back training and 32 completed 4 weeks of verbal complex span training. We also included two active control groups. One group trained on a non-adaptive version of nback and the other trained on a real-time strategy video game. All participants completed pre-and post-training measures of a large battery of transfer tasks used to create composite measures of short-term and working memory in both verbal and visuospatial domains as well as verbal reasoning and fluid intelligence. We only found clear evidence for near transfer from the spatial n-back training to new forms of n-back, and this was the case for both adaptive and non-adaptive n-back. Keywords Working memoryWorking memory is of great interest across psychology. Defined as the ability to simultaneously store and process information in the service of a goal (Baddeley, 1992; Miyake & Shah, 1999), working memory is frequently measured by performance on computerized tasks where one must remember a series of items while performing accurately on an interleaved secondary task such as reading a sentence or solving arithmetic problems (Daneman & Carpenter, 1980;Turner & Engle, 1989). What makes the construct so central is its ability to predict performance on a wide array of complex cognitive tasks such as reading and language comprehension (Daneman & Carpenter, 1980;Daneman & Merikle, 1996), reasoning (Kyllonen & Christal, 1990), and mathematical (LeFevre, DeStefano, Coleman, & Shanahan, 2005) performance as well as measures of fluid intelligence (Kane, Conway, Hambrick, & Engle, 2007). Additionally, poor working-memory performance is seen in disorders such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; Barkley, 1997), schizophrenia (Goldman-Rakic, 1994), and learning disabilities (Swanson, 2006). Therefore, a natural question is whether improvements in working-memory capacity will lead to improved performance on complex tasks.The broader question of whether cognitive enhancement can be achieved through the training of basic cognitive tasks is an old one (Thorndike & Woodworth, 1901), but the 21st century has seen a growing number of studies suggesting that such training regimens can be effective, especially when working memory is the target. Klingberg, Forssberg, and Westerberg (2002) reported that the use of a computerized working-memory program in children with ADHD showed transferable improvements to working memory as well as a measure of fluid intelligence. One feature deemed critical for success was the adaptive nature of their program, i.e. the difficulty was constantly adjusted for each individual based on their current performance so they would always be challenged but not...

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

A simultaneous examination of two forms of working memory training: Evidence for near transfer only

et al. 2016

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“…This suggests that our results are not simply driven by differences in behavior. At least one previous study has also found similar dissociations between changes in neural activity following training in the absence of changes in behavior (Vartanian et al, 2013). Somewhat surprisingly, we did not find any association between the changes in alpha power and the behavioral near transfer measures.…”

Section: Experiments 2: Training Studymentioning

confidence: 57%

“…Another study by Kundu, Sutterer, Emrich, and Postle (2013) used EEG and TMS to demonstrate that transfer following WM training was supported by changes in task-related effective connectivity in frontoparietal and parieto-occipital networks that were engaged by the training and transfer tasks. While very few studies have examined changes in EEG measures due to training, there is a small body of work using fMRI that also suggests that training is associated with functional changes that have been localized to posterior parietal and prefrontal cortices (Beatty et al, 2015; Buschkuehl, Hernandez-Garcia, Jaeggi, Bernard, & Jonides, 2014; Salminen, Kuhn, Frensch, & Schubert, 2016; for an fNIRS study see, McKendrick et al 2014; Schneiders et al, 2011; Thompson, Waskom, & Gabrieli, 2016; Vartanian et al, 2013). While our results are consistent with this notion of fronto-parietal involvement in dual n-back training effects, it is worth noting that our frontal alpha results are present in slightly more anterior clusters of electrodes than are typically seen.…”

Section: Experiments 2: Training Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

N-back Versus Complex Span Working Memory Training

et al. 2017

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Working memory (WM) is the ability to maintain and manipulate task-relevant information in the absence of sensory input. While its improvement through training is of great interest, the degree to which WM training transfers to untrained WM tasks (near transfer) and other untrained cognitive skills (far transfer) remains debated and the mechanism(s) underlying transfer are unclear. Here we hypothesized that a critical feature of dual n-back training is its reliance on maintaining relational information in WM. In Experiment 1, using an individual differences approach, we found evidence that performance on an n-back task was predicted by performance on a measure of relational WM (i.e., WM for vertical spatial relationships independent of absolute spatial locations); whereas the same was not true for a complex span WM task. In Experiment 2, we tested the idea that reliance on relational WM is critical to produce transfer from n-back but not complex span task training. Participants completed adaptive training on either a dual n-back task, a symmetry span task, or on a non-WM active control task. We found evidence of near transfer for the dual n-back group; however, far transfer to a measure of fluid intelligence did not emerge. Recording EEG during a separate WM transfer task, we examined group-specific, training-related changes in alpha power, which are proposed to be sensitive to WM demands and top-down modulation of WM. Results indicated that the dual n-back group showed significantly greater frontal alpha power after training compared to before training, more so than both other groups. However, we found no evidence of improvement on measures of relational WM for the dual n-back group, suggesting that near transfer may not be dependent on relational WM. These results suggest that dual n-back and complex span task training may differ in their effectiveness to elicit near transfer as well as in the underlying neural changes they facilitate.

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“…Most researches in this framework consider the divergent thinking and convergent thinking as two important thinking modes of creative thinking (Guilford 1967;Runco 2010;DeHaan 2011;Chermahini and Hommel 2012;Mumford et al 2012;Runco and Acar 2012). The "insight" discussed in Kounios and Beeman (2009) can be seen as an inspiration thinking mode of creative thinking, and Sternberg (1999), Balter (2010), Vartanian et al (2013) and Lee and Therriault (2013) indicates that the "experience" or "working memory" is an important influence factor to creative thinking. The other framework is from the social aspect.…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

A novel optimization algorithm inspired by the creative thinking process

Feng¹,

Zou²,

Yu³

2014

Soft Comput

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Creative thinking, which plays an essential role in the progress of human society, has an outstanding problemsolving ability. This paper presents a novel creativityoriented optimization model (COOM) and algorithm (COOA) inspired by the creative thinking process. At first, COOM is constructed by simplifying the procedure of creative thinking while retaining its main characteristics. And then, COOA is presented for continuous optimization problems. It is a realization of COOM. As a new nature-inspired algorithm, COOA is different from other similar algorithms in terms of the basic principle, mathematical formalization and properties. Features of the COOM and the corresponding algorithm include a powerful processing ability for the complex problems, namely high-dimensional, highly nonlinear and random problems. The proposed approach also has the advantages in terms of the higher intelligence, effectiveness, parallelism and lower computation complexity. The properties of COOA, including convergence and parallelism, are discussed in detail. The numerous simulations on the CEC-2013 real-parameter optimization benchmark functions' problems have shown the effectiveness and parallelism of the proposed approach.

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Working memory training is associated with lower prefrontal cortex activation in a divergent thinking task

Cited by 76 publications

References 37 publications

A simultaneous examination of two forms of working memory training: Evidence for near transfer only

A simultaneous examination of two forms of working memory training: Evidence for near transfer only

N-back Versus Complex Span Working Memory Training

A novel optimization algorithm inspired by the creative thinking process

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