Working memory training does not enhance older adults' cognitive skills: A comprehensive meta-analysis

Sala, Giovanni; Aksayli, N. Deniz; Tatlidil, K. Semir; Gondo, Yasuyuki; Gobet, Fernand

doi:10.1016/j.intell.2019.101386

Cited by 49 publications

(61 citation statements)

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“…Age of ≥55 years was chosen as a cutoff, as we, on the one hand, wanted to provide an objective age cutoff for individuals within the included studies and, on the other hand, did not want to exclude studies including healthy older individuals just below the frequently used cutoff of ≥60 years (e.g., Soveri et al, 2017 ; Sala et al, 2019 ). Targeted WMT was defined as a cognitive training either computerized, with paper–pencil tasks, or mixed, which is administered either on personal devices or in individual or group settings, with a minimum of two training sessions.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The role of working memory as a processing resource for other cognitive abilities (Salthouse, 1990 ; Chai et al, 2018 ) implies that working memory improvements after targeted working memory training (WMT) might naturally lead to positive transfer effects to other cognitive functions and even fluid intelligence (Au et al, 2015 ). Despite a general consensus regarding the effectiveness of targeted WMT regarding direct training effects (i.e., effects in trained working memory tasks over the course of training) and near-transfer effects (i.e., effects in untrained working memory tasks), evidence on far-transfer effects (i.e., effects in untrained domains) for different populations including healthy older adults has not convincingly been shown (for recent meta-analyses see e.g., Melby-Lervåg et al, 2016 ; Weicker et al, 2016 ; Soveri et al, 2017 ; Sala et al, 2019 ; Teixeira-Santos et al, 2019 ). Given those heterogeneous results concerning effects after WMT, identifying modifying, so-called prognostic or moderating, factors (including both individual- and training-related characteristics) of WMT responsiveness seems highly relevant.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Systematic Review on Predictors of Working Memory Training Responsiveness in Healthy Older Adults: Methodological Challenges and Future Directions

Ophey

Roheger

Folkerts

et al. 2020

Front. Aging Neurosci.

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Background: Research on predictors of working memory training responsiveness, which could help tailor cognitive interventions individually, is a timely topic in healthy aging. However, the findings are highly heterogeneous, reporting partly conflicting results following a broad spectrum of methodological approaches to answer the question “who benefits most” from working memory training. Objective: The present systematic review aimed to systematically investigate prognostic factors and models for working memory training responsiveness in healthy older adults. Method: Four online databases were searched up to October 2019 (MEDLINE Ovid, Web of Science, CENTRAL, and PsycINFO). The inclusion criteria for full texts were publication in a peer-reviewed journal in English/German, inclusion of healthy older individuals aged ≥55 years without any neurological and/or psychiatric diseases including cognitive impairment, and the investigation of prognostic factors and/or models for training responsiveness after targeted working memory training in terms of direct training effects, near-transfer effects to verbal and visuospatial working memory as well as far-transfer effects to other cognitive domains and behavioral variables. The study design was not limited to randomized controlled trials. Results: A total of 16 studies including n = 675 healthy older individuals with a mean age of 63.0–86.8 years were included in this review. Within these studies, five prognostic model approaches and 18 factor finding approaches were reported. Risk of bias was assessed using the Quality in Prognosis Studies checklist, indicating that important information, especially regarding the domains study attrition, study confounding, and statistical analysis and reporting, was lacking throughout many of the investigated studies. Age, education, intelligence, and baseline performance in working memory or other cognitive domains were frequently investigated predictors across studies. Conclusions: Given the methodological shortcomings of the included studies, no clear conclusions can be drawn, and emerging patterns of prognostic effects will have to survive sound methodological replication in future attempts to promote precision medicine approaches in the context of working memory training. Methodological considerations are discussed, and our findings are embedded to the cognitive aging literature, considering, for example, the cognitive reserve framework and the compensation vs. magnification account. The need for personalized cognitive prevention and intervention methods to counteract cognitive decline in the aging population is high and the potential enormous. Registration: PROSPERO, ID CRD42019142750.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Systematic Review on Predictors of Working Memory Training Responsiveness in Healthy Older Adults: Methodological Challenges and Future Directions

Ophey

Roheger

Folkerts

et al. 2020

Front. Aging Neurosci.

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show abstract

“…In nearly all these studies, medium to large effect sizes were found in both near-and far-transfer measures. The other studies in the field report small to null overall effect sizes (Sala et al 2019a). This marked difference between the findings of the Padua laboratory and the ones reported by other laboratories is partly due to the peculiar type of active control group employed by the former.…”

Section: Cognitive Training: Methodological and Substantive Issues 15mentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Meta-analyses (Sala et al 2019a;Bediou et al 2018) have identified two laboratories that have reported unusually larger effect sizes compared to the other studies in the relevant field. First, the Padua laboratory (Borella and colleagues) has carried out about ten studies implementing a particular WM training regimen in older adults (Categorization Working Memory Span [CWMS] task; for more details, see Borella et al (2017)).…”

Section: Cognitive Training: Methodological and Substantive Issues 15mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sala and Gobet 2020b;Sala et al 2019a;Aksayli et al 2019), video-game playing(Sala et al 2018), exergames(Sala et al 2019c) and music training (Sala and Gobet 2017c; Sala and Gobet 2020a). The exception is chess(Sala and Gobet 2016), where too few studies with an active control group have been carried out; however, even with chess, the few available studies with an active control group point in the direction of a lack of far transfer (e.g.,Sala and Gobet 2017a).Cognitive training: Methodological and substantive issues 14…”

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confidence: 99%

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Cognitive training: A Field in Search of a Phenomenon

Gobet¹,

Sala²

2020

Preprint

Self Cite

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Green et al. (2019) provide methodological recommendations for improving research on the effects of behavioural interventions aimed at cognitive enhancement. After addressing some points made by Green et al. with which we (partially) disagree, we discuss additional recommendations for making progress in cognitive training research, focusing on the use of computer modelling and the analysis of detailed data to understand participants’ knowledge and strategies. We then discuss the importance of using meta-analyses to understand the effects of cognitive training and show that meta-analyses have resolved the apparent lack of consensus in the field. Finally, taking a broader perspective, we conclude that the available empirical evidence on cognitive training and other fields of research suggests that the likelihood of finding reliable and robust far-transfer effects is low. Thus, research efforts should be redirected to near transfer or to other methods for improving cognition.

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Occupation shapes cognition? The case of restaurant ticket collectors' working memory updating ability

Zhao

Liang

Zhu

et al. 2023

Applied Cognitive Psychology

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Previous research revealed associations between an individual's occupation and cognitive abilities. However, the underlying causal relation is not always clear and only few studies focused on a critical component of executive functioning, namely working memory updating (WMU). Study 1 examined whether restaurant ticket collectors (N = 53) have a better WMU ability compared to a group of security guards (N = 49) that was matched on relevant variables. Study 2 examined transfer effects of a computerized working memory training program in students. The program simulated elements of a restaurant ticket collector's daily work requirements. In Study 1, the ticket collectors performed better than the guards on WMU tasks. In Study 2, using an active control group (N = 33) as comparison, the trained students (N = 33) displayed beneficial training effects on transfer WMU tasks but not on general intelligence tasks. The results support the general notion of repeated experience with occupation-specific demands affecting specific objectively-assessed cognitive abilities.

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Working memory training does not enhance older adults' cognitive skills: A comprehensive meta-analysis

Cited by 49 publications

References 71 publications

A Systematic Review on Predictors of Working Memory Training Responsiveness in Healthy Older Adults: Methodological Challenges and Future Directions

A Systematic Review on Predictors of Working Memory Training Responsiveness in Healthy Older Adults: Methodological Challenges and Future Directions

Cognitive training: A Field in Search of a Phenomenon

Occupation shapes cognition? The case of restaurant ticket collectors' working memory updating ability

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