The neural correlates of working memory training in typically developing children.

Jonathan S. Jones,Anna‐Lynne R. Adlam,Fraser N. Milton,Abdelmalek Benattayallah

doi:10.1111/cdev.13721

Jonathan S. Jones, Anna‐Lynne R. Adlam + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13721

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Abstract

Working memory training improves children's cognitive performance on untrained tasks; however, little is known about the underlying neural mechanisms. This was investigated in 32 typically developing children aged 10-14years (19girls and 13 boys) using a randomized controlled design and multi-modal magnetic resonance imaging (Devon, UK; 2015-2016). Training improved working memory performance and increased intrinsic functional connectivity between the bilateral intraparietal sulci. Furthermore, improvements in working memory were associated with greater recruitment of the left middle frontal gyrus on a complex span task. Repeated engagement of fronto-parietal regions during training may increase their activity and functional connectivity over time, affording greater working memory performance. The plausibility of generalizable cognitive benefits from a neurobiological perspective and implications for neurodevelopmental theory are discussed.

Highlights

Working memory, the ability to retain and manipulate information over a short period of time (Baddeley & Hitch, 1994), is considered a core executive function (Miyake et al, 2000), is associated with a wide range of cognitive skills (Barrett et al, 2004), and predicts children's academic outcomes (Alloway & Alloway, 2010)
We examined the structural and functional neural correlates of working memory training in typically developing
Note: Accuracy on the Dot Matrix and Odd-One-Out indicate proportion of correct responses and reaction times are in milliseconds

Summary

Introduction

The ability to retain and manipulate information over a short period of time (Baddeley & Hitch, 1994), is considered a core executive function (Miyake et al, 2000), is associated with a wide range of cognitive skills (Barrett et al, 2004), and predicts children's academic outcomes (Alloway & Alloway, 2010) For these reasons, working memory has been a common target for cognitive training interventions, which are widely used by schools and the public. It has been suggested that training, through repeated and prolonged practice on working memory tasks, leads to neuroplastic changes that support increased cognitive capacity (Klingberg, 2010) This assumption has not been extensively tested and, on the contrary, evidence for broad improvements in other domains associated with working memory capacity, such as reasoning and academic attainment, has been limited in reviews and meta-analyses (Aksayli et al, 2019; Sala & Gobet, 2019, 2020; Simons et al, 2016). The purpose of this investigation was to examine the structural and functional

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