Transfer of training from one working memory task to another: behavioural and neural evidence

Beatty, Erin L.; Jobidon, Marie-Eve; Bouak, Fethi; Nakashima, Ann; Smith, Ingrid; Lam, Quan; Blackler, Kristen; Cheung, Bob; Vartanian, Oshin · 2015 · OpenAlex-citations

DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2015.00086

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Summary

This study investigates whether cognitive training on one working memory (WM) task transfers to improve performance on a different WM task, and whether this transfer is mediated by shared neural substrates. The authors hypothesized that training on the n-back task, which requires maintenance and updating of information, would enhance performance on the delayed matching-to-sample (dMTS) task, which relies on encoding, maintenance, and retrieval, due to their shared engagement of WM maintenance functions. The experimental design involved 43 neurologically healthy participants randomly assigned to either an experimental group (n-back training) or an active control group (4-choice reaction time task, which does not tax WM). Participants completed three 20-minute training sessions over several days. The n-back group trained on both 2-back and 3-back levels. Following training, all participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while performing the dMTS task. The dMTS task was analyzed in three phases: encoding, maintenance, and retrieval. Behavioral results showed that the n-back group performed marginally better than the control group on the dMTS task. Within the n-back group, participants improved more on the easier 2-back level than the harder 3-back level across sessions. However, regression analysis revealed that improvement in the 3-back level, not the 2-back level, significantly predicted dMTS performance, accounting for 21% of the variance. In contrast, improvement in the control group’s reaction time task was unrelated to dMTS performance. Neurally, the n-back group exhibited greater activation than the control group in the left inferior frontal gyrus, right posterior parietal cortex, and cerebellum specifically during the maintenance phase of dMTS. No significant group differences were found during encoding or retrieval phases. Furthermore, the degree of improvement in the 3-back training level correlated with activation in the right lateral prefrontal cortex and motor cortex during the dMTS maintenance phase. These findings suggest that transfer of training effects depends on the engagement of shared cognitive capacities and underlying neural networks, particularly those involved in the maintenance of information in working memory. The study highlights that improvements in more difficult training conditions are more predictive of transfer to other WM tasks than improvements in easier conditions.

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• executive function