title: Transfer of training from one working memory task to another: behavioural and neural evidence.
abstract: N-back working memory (WM) tasks necessitate the maintenance and updating of dynamic rehearsal sets during performance. The delayed matching-to-sample (dMTS) task is another WM task, which in turn involves the encoding, maintenance, and retrieval of stimulus representations in sequential order. Because both n-back and dMTS engage WM function, we hypothesized that compared to a control task not taxing WM, training on the n-back task would be associated with better performance on dMTS by virtue of training a shared mental capacity. We tested this hypothesis by randomly assigning subjects (N = 43) to train on either the n-back (including 2-back and 3-back levels) or an active control task. Following training, dMTS was administered in the fMRI scanner. The n-back group performed marginally better than the active control group on dMTS. In addition, although the n-back group improved more on the less difficult 2-back level than the more difficult 3-back level across training sessions, it was improvement on the 3-back level that accounted for 21% of the variance in dMTS performance. For the control group, improvement in training across sessions was unrelated to dMTS performance. At the neural level, greater activation in the left inferior frontal gyrus, right posterior parietal cortex, and the cerebellum distinguished the n-back group from the control group in the maintenance phase of dMTS. Degree of improvement on the 3-back level across training sessions was correlated with activation in right lateral prefrontal and motor cortices in the maintenance phase of dMTS. Our results suggest that although n-back training is more likely to improve performance in easier blocks, it is improvement in more difficult blocks that is predictive of performance on a target task drawing on WM. In addition, the extent to which training on a task can transfer to another task is likely due to the engagement of shared cognitive capacities and underlying neural substrates-in this case WM.
authors.affiliation: Defence Research and Development Canada - Toronto Research Centre Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Erin L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Beatty
authors.affiliation: Defence Research and Development Canada - Toronto Research Centre Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Marie-Eve
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Jobidon
authors.affiliation: Defence Research and Development Canada - Toronto Research Centre Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Fethi
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bouak
authors.affiliation: Defence Research and Development Canada - Toronto Research Centre Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Ann
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nakashima
authors.affiliation: Defence Research and Development Canada - Toronto Research Centre Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Ingrid
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: Defence Research and Development Canada - Toronto Research Centre Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Quan
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Lam
authors.affiliation: Defence Research and Development Canada - Toronto Research Centre Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Kristen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Blackler
authors.affiliation: Defence Research and Development Canada - Toronto Research Centre Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Bob
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cheung
authors.affiliation: Defence Research and Development Canada - Toronto Research Centre Toronto, ON, Canada ; Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Oshin
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Vartanian
keywords: cognitive training; delayed matching-to-sample; n-back; prefrontal cortex; working memory