title: Training and transfer effects of N-back training for brain-injured and healthy subjects.
abstract: Working memory impairments are prevalent among patients with acquired brain injury (ABI). Computerised training targeting working memory has been researched extensively using samples from healthy populations but this field remains isolated from similar research in ABI patients. We report the results of an actively controlled randomised controlled trial in which 17 patients and 18 healthy subjects completed training on an N-back task. The healthy group had superior improvements on both training tasks (SMD = 6.1 and 3.3) whereas the ABI group improved much less (SMD = 0.5 and 1.1). Neither group demonstrated transfer to untrained tasks. We conclude that computerised training facilitates improvement of specific skills rather than high-level cognition in healthy and ABI subjects alike. The acquisition of these specific skills seems to be impaired by brain injury. The most effective use of computer-based cognitive training may be to make the task resemble the targeted behaviour(s) closely in order to exploit the stimulus-specificity of learning.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Communication and Psychology , Aalborg University , Aalborg , Denmark.
authors.forename: Jonas Kristoffer
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Lindeløv
authors.affiliation: a Department of Communication and Psychology , Aalborg University , Aalborg , Denmark.
authors.forename: Jonas Olsen
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Dall
authors.affiliation: a Department of Communication and Psychology , Aalborg University , Aalborg , Denmark.
authors.forename: Casper Daniel
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Kristensen
authors.affiliation: a Department of Communication and Psychology , Aalborg University , Aalborg , Denmark.
authors.forename: Marie Holt
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Aagesen
authors.affiliation: a Department of Communication and Psychology , Aalborg University , Aalborg , Denmark.
authors.forename: Stine Almgren
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Olsen
authors.affiliation: a Department of Communication and Psychology , Aalborg University , Aalborg , Denmark.
authors.forename: Therese Ruud
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Snuggerud
authors.affiliation: a Department of Communication and Psychology , Aalborg University , Aalborg , Denmark.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sikorska
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D064368:Healthy Volunteers; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term; D008875:Middle Aged; D000066530:Neurological Rehabilitation / Q000379:methods*; D013813:Therapy, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D014163:Transfer, Psychology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cognitive rehabilitation; N-back; cognitive transfer; computer