Cognitive And Working Memory Training

Cognitive and Working Memory Training assembles an interdisciplinary group of distinguished authors--all experts in the field--who have been testing the efficacy of cognitive and working memory training using a combination of behavioral, neuroimaging, meta-analytic, and computational modelling methods. This edited volume is a defining resource on the practicality and utility of the field of cognitive training research in general, and working memory training in particular. Importantly, one focus of the book is on the notion of transfer--namely, the extent to which cognitive training--be it through music, video-game play, or working memory demanding interventions at school--generalizes to learning and performance measures that were decidedly not part of the training regimen. As most cognitive scientists (and perhaps many casual observers) recognize, the notions of cognitive training and transfer have been widely controversial for many reasons, including disagreement over the reliability of outcomes and consensus on methodological "best practices," and even the ecological validity of laboratory-based tests. This collection does not resolve these debates of course; but its contribution is to address them directly by creating an exchange in a single compendium among scientists who, in separate research publications, do not always reach the same conclusions. The book is organized around comprehensive overview chapters from different disciplinary perspectives--Cognitive Psychology (by Hicks and Engle), Neuroscience (by Kuchinsky and Haarmann), and Development (by Ling and Diamond)--that define major issues, terms, and themes in the field, with a pointed set of challenge questions to which other scientists respond in subsequent chapters. The goal of this volume is to educate. It is designed for students and researchers, and perhaps the armchair psychologist. Crucially, the contributors recognize that it is good for science to persistently confront our understanding of an area: Debate and alternative viewpoints, backed by theory, data, and inferences drawn from the evidence, is what advances scientific knowledge. This book probes established paradigms in cognitive training research, and the long-form of these chapters (not found in scientific journals) allows detailed exploration of the current state of the science. Such breadth intends to invite novel ways of thinking about the nature of cognitive and perceptual plasticity, which may enlighten either new efforts at training, new inferences about prior results, or both.

Cognitive and Working Memory Training assembles an interdisciplinary group of distinguished authors--all experts in the field--who have been testing the efficacy of cognitive and working memory training using a combination of behavioral, neuroimaging, meta-analytic, and computational modelling methods. This edited volume is a defining resource on the practicality and utility of the field of cognitive training research in general, and working memory training in particular. Importantly, one focus of the book is on the notion of transfer--namely, the extent to which cognitive training--be it through music, video-game play, or working memory demanding interventions at school--generalizes to learning and performance measures that were decidedly not part of the training regimen. As most cognitive scientists (and perhaps many casual observers) recognize, the notions of cognitive training and transfer have been widely controversial for many reasons, including disagreement over the reliability of outcomes and consensus on methodological "best practices," and even the ecological validity of laboratory-based tests. This collection does not resolve these debates of course; but its contribution is to address them directly by creating an exchange in a single compendium among scientists who, in separate research publications, do not always reach the same conclusions. The book is organized around comprehensive overview chapters from different disciplinary perspectives--Cognitive Psychology (by Hicks and Engle), Neuroscience (by Kuchinsky and Haarmann), and Development (by Ling and Diamond)--that define major issues, terms, and themes in the field, with a pointed set of challenge questions to which other scientists respond in subsequent chapters. The goal of this volume is to educate. It is designed for students and researchers, and perhaps the armchair psychologist. Crucially, the contributors recognize that it is good for science to persistently confront our understanding of an area: Debate and alternative viewpoints, backed by theory, data, and inferences drawn from the evidence, is what advances scientific knowledge. This book probes established paradigms in cognitive training research, and the long-form of these chapters (not found in scientific journals) allows detailed exploration of the current state of the science. Such breadth intends to invite novel ways of thinking about the nature of cognitive and perceptual plasticity, which may enlighten either new efforts at training, new inferences about prior results, or both.

This book brings together a cutting edge international team of contributors to critically review the current knowledge regarding the effectiveness of training interventions designed to improve cognitive functions in different target populations. There is substantial evidence that cognitive and physical training can improve cognitive performance, but these benefits seem to vary as a function of the type and the intensity of interventions and the way training-induced gains are measured and analyzed. This book further fulfills the need for clarification of the mechanisms underlying cognitive and neural changes occurring after training. This book offers a comprehensive overview of empirical findings and methodological approaches of cognitive training research in different cognitive domains (memory, executive functions, etc.), types of training (working memory training, video game training, physical training, etc.), age groups (from children to young and older adults), target populations (children with developmental disorders, aging workers, MCI patients etc.), settings (laboratory-based studies, applied studies in clinical and educational settings), and methodological approaches (behavioral studies, neuroscientific studies). Chapters feature theoretical models that describe the mechanisms underlying training-induced cognitive and neural changes. Cognitive Training: An Overview of Features and Applications will be of interest to researchers, practitioners, students, and professors in the fields of psychology and neuroscience.

This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed proceedings of the First International Conference on Brain Function Assessment in Learning, BFAL 2017, held in Patras, Greece, in September 2017. The 16 revised full papers presented together with 2 invited talks and 6 posters were carefully selected from 28 submissions. The BFAL conference aims to regroup research in multidisciplinary domains such as neuroscience, health, computer science, artificial intelligence, human-computer interaction, education and social interaction on the theme of Brain Function Assessment in Learning.

The last forty years of research have demonstrated that working memory (WM) is a key concept for understanding higher-order cognition. To give an example, WM is involved in reading comprehension, problem solving and reasoning, but also in a number of everyday life activities. It has a clear role in the case of atypical development too. For instance, numerous studies have shown an impairment in WM in individuals with learning disabilities (LD) or intellectual disabilities (ID); and several researchers have hypothesized that this can be linked to their difficulties in learning, cognition and everyday life. The latest challenge in the field concerns the trainability of WM. If it is a construct central to our understanding of cognition in typical and atypical development, then specific intervention to sustain WM performance might also promote changes in cognitive processes associated with WM. The idea that WM can be modified is debated, however, partly because of the theoretical implications of this view, and partly due to the generally contradictory results obtained so far. In fact, most studies converge in demonstrating specific effects of WM training, i.e. improvements in the trained tasks, but few transfer effects to allied cognitive processes are generally reported. It is worth noting that any maintenance effects (when investigated) are even more meagre. In addition, a number of methodological concerns have been raised in relation to the use of: 1. single tasks to assess the effects of a training program; 2. WM tasks differing from those used in the training to assess the effects of WM training; and 3. passive control groups. These and other crucial issues have so far prevented any conclusions from being drawn on the efficacy of WM training. Bearing in mind that the opportunity to train WM could have a huge impact in the educational and clinical settings, it seems fundamentally important to shed more light on the limits and potential of this line of research. The aim of the research discussed here is to generate new evidence on the feasibility of training WM in individuals with LD and ID. There are several questions that could be raised in this field. For a start, can WM be trained in this population? Are there some aspects of WM that can be trained more easily than others? Can a WM training reduce the impact of LD and ID on learning outcomes, and on everyday living? What kind of training program is best suited to the promotion of such changes?

Working memory – the conscious processing of information – is increasingly recognized as one of the most important aspects of intelligence. This fundamental cognitive skill is deeply connected to a great variety of human experience – from our childhood, to our old age, from our evolutionary past, to our digital future. In this volume, leading psychologists review the latest research on working memory and consider what role it plays in development and over the lifespan. It is revealed how a strong working memory is connected with success (academically and acquiring expertise) and a poor working memory is connected with failure (addictive behavior and poor decision-making). The contributions also show how working memory played a role in our cognitive evolution and how the everyday things we do, such as what we eat and how much we sleep, can have an impact on how well it functions. Finally, the evidence on whether or not working memory training is beneficial is explored. This volume is essential reading for students, researchers, and professionals with an interest in human memory and its improvement, including those working in cognitive psychology, cognitive neuroscience, developmental psychology, gerontology, education, health, and clinical psychology.

Arguing that working memory is a stronger predictor of success than IQ, a guide to enhancing memory cites its role in life management skills and various learning disorders while outlining prescriptive exercises for improving brain function.

The idea of one's memory "filling up" is a humorous misconception of how memory in general is thought to work; it actually has no capacity limit. However, the idea of a "full brain" makes more sense with reference to working memory, which is the limited amount of information a person can hold temporarily in an especially accessible form for use in the completion of almost any challenging cognitive task. This groundbreaking book explains the evidence supporting Cowan's theoretical proposal about working memory capacity, and compares it to competing perspectives. Cognitive psychologists profoundly disagree on how working memory is limited: whether by the number of units that can be retained (and, if so, what kind of units and how many), the types of interfering material, the time that has elapsed, some combination of these mechanisms, or none of them. The book assesses these hypotheses and examines explanations of why capacity limits occur, including vivid biological, cognitive, and evolutionary accounts. The book concludes with a discussion of the practical importance of capacity limits in daily life. This 10th anniversary Classic Edition will continue to be accessible to a wide range of readers and serve as an invaluable reference for all memory researchers.