Who benefits from memory training?
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Updated: Jul 13, 2026

Working Memory Training for Older Participants: A Control Group Training Regimen and Initial Intellectual Functioning Assessment
Published on: September 20, 2020
1Wayne State University, USA.
Abstract:
Cognitive training programs can have significant benefits. However, their efficacy is often reduced for individuals of advanced age or lower cognitive ability. Using older adult subjects, we examined the role of self-initiation of cognitive control in a training program that targets recollection memory. Relative time spent on an open-ended, intentional encoding task that requires the self-initiation of cognitive control was highly predictive of improvement in the training task, and fully accounted for individual differences related to age and crystallized intelligence. Analyzing training programs from the perspective of cognitive theory may help clarify how these programs have their effects and suggest ways to optimize such programs for the individuals who need them most.
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