The Effects of Working Memory Training on Brain Activity.

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Neuroimaging
• Neuroplasticity

Background:

• Working memory (WM) is crucial for cognitive functions.
• Neural network activity underlying WM is a target for cognitive training.
• Investigating training-induced changes in neural efficiency is important.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if two weeks of N-back task training alters the neural network activity of working memory.
• To examine training-specific changes in brain activation patterns and their correlation with performance.

Main Methods:

• fMRI scans were conducted on 46 healthy volunteers (23 training, 23 control) across three sessions.
• The experimental group underwent 10 sessions of adaptive N-back working memory training.
• Behavioral performance on N-back and stop-signal tasks was assessed.

Main Results:

• Both groups improved on the N-back task due to test-retest effects, not training.
• No significant training-induced changes in overall brain activation patterns were observed.
• A strengthened correlation was found between task accuracy and parietal lobe activation (left superior parietal lobule, right supramarginal gyrus posterior) in the training group.

Conclusions:

• Working memory training did not induce widespread changes in neural network activity.
• Training effects may involve learning to optimize the engagement of specific parietal regions for improved accuracy.
• The findings highlight a potential mechanism of neural adaptation in working memory updating.