Training working memory to improve attentional control in anxiety: A proof-of-principle study using behavioral and electrophysiological measures

Abstract

Trait anxiety is associated with impairments in attentional control and processing efficiency (see Berggren & Derakshan, 2013, for a review). Working memory training using the adaptive dual n-back task has shown to improve attentional control in subclinical depression with transfer effects at the behavioral and neural level on a working memory task (Owens, Koster, & Derakshan, 2013). Here, we examined the beneficial effects of working memory training on attentional control in pre-selected high trait anxious individuals who underwent a three week daily training intervention using the adaptive dual n-back task. Pre and post outcome measures of attentional control were assessed using a Flanker task that included a stress induction and an emotional a Antisaccade task (with angry and neutral faces as target). Resting state EEG (theta/beta ratio) was recorded to as a neural marker of trait attentional control. Our results showed that adaptive working memory training improved attentional control with transfer effects on the Flanker task and resting state EEG, but effects of training on the Antisaccade task were less conclusive. Finally, training related gains were associated with lower levels of trait anxiety at post (vs pre) intervention. Our results demonstrate that adaptive working memory training in anxiety can have beneficial effects on attentional control and cognitive performance that may protect against emotional vulnerability in individuals at risk of developing clinical anxiety.

Adaptive Working Memory Training Reduces the Negative Impact of Anxiety on Competitive Motor Performance

“…The training related gains observed in WM capacity are in line with previous research employing the dual n-back adaptive training paradigm in both healthy and vulnerable populations (Jaeggi et al, 2008;Jaeggi et al, 2011;Owens, et al, 2013;Siegle et al, 2014;Sari et al, 2015;Course-Choi et al 2017). …”

The effects of active worrying on working memory capacity

“…Given the wealth of accumulating evidence documenting attentional control deficits in anxiety, the investigation that reduced WMC can explain the onset and recurrence of anxiety related symptomatology is imperative to developing clinical models of anxiety that are keen to understand the causal mechanisms behind anxiety related disorders. In this respect, there is an increasing interest in targeting working memory through adaptive cognitive training regimes meant to establish not only plasticity induced changes in cognitive function (Owens et al, 2013) but also training-dependent reductions in anxious symptomatology over time (e.g., Sari, Koster, Pourtois, & Derakshan, 2015). The current findings motivate the targeting of WMC to reduce the effects of worry related thoughts on a wide range of behavioral outcomes.…”

Introduction to the Special Issue: Understanding the Role of Attentional Control in the Development of Anxiety in Childhood, Adolescence and across the Lifespan

“…Bar-Haim, Morag, & Glickman, 2011), or to move attention towards positive stimuli (e.g., Eldar et al, 2012). Other interventions instead have been configured to enhance attentional control (e.g., Roughan & Hadwin, 2011;Hadwin & Richards, 2016; see also Owens, Koster & Derakshan, 2013;Sari, Koster, Pourtois & Derakshan, 2015 for similar work with adult populations). Researchers have demonstrated that interventions designed to directly alter attentional functioning can serve as a positive adjunct to more traditional CBT interventions for anxiety reduction in individuals who experience elevated anxious affect and who demonstrate associated attentional difficulties (Schechner et al, 2014), and may be useful for children and young people who do not show positive outcomes following conventional CBT (e.g., Bechor et al, 2014).…”