TY - JOUR
T1 - Formation of abstract task representations
T2 - Exploring dosage and mechanisms of working memory training effects
AU - Shahar, Nitzan
AU - Pereg, Maayan
AU - Teodorescu, Andrei R.
AU - Moran, Rani
AU - Karmon-Presser, Anat
AU - Meiran, Nachshon
N1 - Funding Information:
We would like to thank Ella Givon and Gal Danieli for their help with managing this large-scale study. We also wish to thank Daniel Aranovich, Gal Berger, Dan Halunga, Ayelet Itzhak, Nadav Kozlovsky, Inbal Michel, Elad Naor, Liad Olansky, Hovav Paller, Elisha Puderbeutel and Adva Weinstein for their invaluable help with data collection. This research was supported by a research grant from the Chief Scientist of the Israeli Ministry of Education to Nachshon Meiran .
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2018/12/1
Y1 - 2018/12/1
N2 - Working memory is strongly involved in human reasoning, abstract thinking and decision making. Past studies have shown that working memory training generalizes to untrained working memory tasks with similar structure (near-transfer effect). Here, we focused on two questions: First, we ask how much training might be required in order to find a reliable near-transfer effect? Second, we ask which choice- mechanism might underlie training benefits? Participants were allocated to one of three groups: working-memory training (combined set-shifting and N-back task), active-control (visual search) and no-contact control. During pre/post testing, all participants completed tests tapping procedural and declarative working memory as well as reasoning. We found improved performance only in the procedural working-memory transfer tasks, a transfer task that shared a similar structure to that of the training task. Intermediate testing throughout the training period suggest that this effect emerged as soon as after 2 training sessions. We applied evidence accumulation modeling to investigate the choice process responsible for this near-transfer effect and found that trained participants, compared with active-controls had quicker retrieval of the action rules, and more efficient classification of the target. We conclude that participants were able to form abstract representations of the task procedure (i.e., stimulus-response rules) that was then ~applied to novel stimuli and responses.
AB - Working memory is strongly involved in human reasoning, abstract thinking and decision making. Past studies have shown that working memory training generalizes to untrained working memory tasks with similar structure (near-transfer effect). Here, we focused on two questions: First, we ask how much training might be required in order to find a reliable near-transfer effect? Second, we ask which choice- mechanism might underlie training benefits? Participants were allocated to one of three groups: working-memory training (combined set-shifting and N-back task), active-control (visual search) and no-contact control. During pre/post testing, all participants completed tests tapping procedural and declarative working memory as well as reasoning. We found improved performance only in the procedural working-memory transfer tasks, a transfer task that shared a similar structure to that of the training task. Intermediate testing throughout the training period suggest that this effect emerged as soon as after 2 training sessions. We applied evidence accumulation modeling to investigate the choice process responsible for this near-transfer effect and found that trained participants, compared with active-controls had quicker retrieval of the action rules, and more efficient classification of the target. We conclude that participants were able to form abstract representations of the task procedure (i.e., stimulus-response rules) that was then ~applied to novel stimuli and responses.
KW - Cognitive training
KW - Evidence accumulation
KW - Executive functions
KW - Working memory
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85053071341&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.cognition.2018.08.007
DO - 10.1016/j.cognition.2018.08.007
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85053071341
VL - 181
SP - 151
EP - 159
JO - Cognition
JF - Cognition
SN - 0010-0277
ER -