title: Cognitive training enhances intrinsic brain connectivity in childhood.
abstract: In human participants, the intensive practice of particular cognitive activities can induce sustained improvements in cognitive performance, which in some cases transfer to benefits on untrained activities. Despite the growing body of research examining the behavioral effects of cognitive training in children, no studies have explored directly the neural basis of these training effects in a systematic, controlled fashion. Therefore, the impact of training on brain neurophysiology in childhood, and the mechanisms by which benefits may be achieved, are unknown. Here, we apply new methods to examine dynamic neurophysiological connectivity in the context of a randomized trial of adaptive working memory training undertaken in children. After training, connectivity between frontoparietal networks and both lateral occipital complex and inferior temporal cortex was altered. Furthermore, improvements in working memory after training were associated with increased strength of neural connectivity at rest, with the magnitude of these specific neurophysiological changes being mirrored by individual gains in untrained working memory performance.
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council, Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, and duncan.astle@mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Duncan E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Astle
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council, Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, and.
authors.forename: Jessica J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Barnes
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Genetics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 7EF, United Kingdom, and.
authors.forename: Kate
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.affiliation: Oxford Centre for Human Brain Activity, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7JX, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Giles L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Colclough
authors.affiliation: Oxford Centre for Human Brain Activity, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7JX, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Mark W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Woolrich
mesh_terms: D001931:Brain Mapping; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D015225:Magnetoencephalography; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology*; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000502:physiology*; D012146:Rest
keywords: Cognitive training; development; electrophysiology; magnetoencephalography; working memory