Working memory training improves general emotion regulation: Evidence from resting HF-HRV

It has been argued that Working Memory Training (WMT) has the potential to improve emotional regulation. In this study, we investigated whether 20 days of WMT improved general emotion regulation in healthy participants using resting high-frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV) as a physiological indicator of general emotion regulation, and examined its maintenance effect three months later. The analysis of the linear mixed-effects (LME) model revealed that after completing 20 days of WMT, there was a significant improvement in the individual's resting HF-HRV. This improvement was observed to be stable even after 3 months, and the resting HF-HRV of the training group was significantly better than that of the control group. In addition, there was a positive correlation between the gain in resting HF-HRV and the gain in working memory in the training group, which persisted from post-test to follow-up, suggesting that the greater the gain in working memory, the greater the gain in emotional regulation. Our study provides the first evidence that WMT can effectively improve general emotional regulation ability, and this improvement can last for at least three months.