Key result
Five weeks of working memory training reduced intra-individual variability, which was more closely associated with academic skills and mental health at 6-12 months than task accuracy.
Why the study?
The benefits and mechanistic effects of working memory training in children remain the subject of ongoing research and debate.
Does five weeks of working memory training improve cognitive performance and predict long-term academic and mental health outcomes in children?
Does five weeks of working memory training improve cognitive performance and predict long-term academic and mental health outcomes in children?
Intra-individual variability in response times may serve as a useful metric to quantify the immediate impact of cognitive training and predict future academic and socioemotional skills in children.
Intra-individual variability may better index training effects than accuracy; leaves open causal benefits for academic skills or mental health.
The benefits and mechanistic effects of working memory training in children are the subject of much research and debate. The cumulative evidence indicates that training can alter brain structure and function in the short term and have lasting effects on behaviour. We show that five weeks of working memory training led to greater activity in prefrontal and striatal brain regions, better accuracy, and reduced intra-individual variability in response times. The reduction in intra-individual variability can be explained by changes to the evidence accumulation rates and thresholds in a sequential sampling decision model. Critically, intra-individual variability was more closely associated with academic skills and mental health 6-12 months after the end of training than task accuracy. These results indicate that intra-individual variability may be a useful way to quantify the immediate impact of cognitive training interventions and predict the future emergence of academic and socioemotional skills.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Cubillo et al. (2020) studied Cognitive development. Working memory training was evaluated on Intra-individual variability in response times and association with academic skills and mental health. Five weeks of working memory training reduced intra-individual variability, which was more closely associated with academic skills and mental health at 6-12 months than task accuracy.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: