Cognitive Training for Military Application: a Review of the Literature and Practical Guide

Abstract

In recent years, the potential to improve cognitive skills through training has captured the attention of academic researchers, the commercial market, and the general public. Numerous clinical and healthy populations have been identified as targets for cognitive training, and military personnel are one particular group that may be able to uniquely benefit from cognitive training interventions. Military operations involve a wide range of human performance skills, many of which are cognitive in nature. Use of cognitive training to improve these critical everyday skills for service members represents an untapped potential resource by which to improve operational readiness and warfighter performance. While much of the cognitive training research to date has been circumscribed within basic science pursuits, here we propose ways in which this research may start to be applied in a military setting. In the current review, we examine instances of military operations that may readily lend themselves to cognitive training. Further, we examine the existing literature from academic endeavors and pinpoint areas of exemplary efforts that can serve as a guide for military research to follow, as well as pitfalls to avoid. In particular, we identify and review evidence from the video game, working memory, and executive function training literatures. Finally, the goals of basic and applied science often differ, and that is certainly the case when comparing outcome-based research in a military context with mechanism-based research in an academic context. Therefore, we provide a guide for best practices when conducting cognitive training research specifically in a military setting. While cognitive training has attracted much controversy in both academia and commercial markets, we argue that utilizing near transfer effects in a targeted, outcome-based approach may represent a powerful tool to improve human performance in a number of military-relevant scenarios.