Working Memory Training for Adults With ADHD

Dentz, Amélie; Guay, Marie‐Claude; Parent, Véronique; Romo, Lucia

doi:10.1177/1087054717723987

Cited by 21 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…However, given that CPT performance is generally stable and test–retest effects are rarely observed (Halperin et al, 1991), these improvements might still be of clinical value, especially since the participants with ADHD did no longer differ from the healthy controls at post‐test (see commission errors at Table S4). The limited effects of WM training on ADHD symptoms in adults are also in line with previous work (Dentz, Guay, Parent, & Romo, 2017). Curiously, self‐reported ADHD symptoms decreased relative to the Active control group only in those participants who improved the least in the trained task.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Working memory training restores aberrant brain activity in adult attention‐deficit hyperactivity disorder

Salmi

Soveri

Salmela

et al. 2020

Human Brain Mapping

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The development of treatments for attention impairments is hampered by limited knowledge about the malleability of underlying neural functions. We conducted the first randomized controlled trial to determine the modulations of brain activity associated with working memory (WM) training in adults with attention‐deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). At baseline, we assessed the aberrant functional brain activity in the n‐back WM task by comparing 44 adults with ADHD with 18 healthy controls using fMRI. Participants with ADHD were then randomized to train on an adaptive dual n‐back task or an active control task. We tested whether WM training elicits redistribution of brain activity as observed in healthy controls, and whether it might further restore aberrant activity related to ADHD. As expected, activity in areas of the default‐mode (DMN), salience (SN), sensory‐motor (SMN), frontoparietal (FPN), and subcortical (SCN) networks was decreased in participants with ADHD at pretest as compared with healthy controls, especially when the cognitive load was high. WM training modulated widespread FPN and SN areas, restoring some of the aberrant activity. Training effects were mainly observed as decreased brain activity during the trained task and increased activity during the untrained task, suggesting different neural mechanisms for trained and transfer tasks.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Working memory training restores aberrant brain activity in adult attention‐deficit hyperactivity disorder

Salmi

Soveri

Salmela

et al. 2020

Human Brain Mapping

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“…Six RCT studies were conducted after these three meta-analyses were published. While five studies reported improvement in the working memory domain of the group that had received CR ( 111 – 115 ), Bigorra et al ( 116 ) reported no significant change in their study. Only Bigorra et al ( 114 ) reported improvement in ADHD symptoms, while the other five RCT studies did not investigate or report significant change in ADHD symptoms and academic skills ( 111 – 113 , 115 , 116 ).…”

Section: Current Status Of Cognitive Remediation Trialsmentioning

confidence: 91%

Current Status of Cognitive Remediation for Psychiatric Disorders: A Review

et al. 2018

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Cognition is an important factor that affects daily functioning and quality of life. Impairment in cognitive function is a common symptom present in various psychological disorders, which hinders patients from functioning normally. Given that cognitive impairment has devastating effects, enhancing this in patients should lead to improvements in compromised quality of life and functioning, including vocational functioning. Over the past 50 years, several attempts have been made to improve impaired cognition, and empirical evidence for cognitive remediation (CR) has accumulated that supports its efficacy for treating schizophrenia. More recently, CR has been successfully applied in the treatment of depressive disorders, bipolar disorders, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and anorexia nervosa. This study critically reviews recent CR studies and suggests their future direction. This study aimed to provide a modern definition of CR, and examine the current status of empirical evidence and representative CR programs that are widely used around the world.

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“…While no systematic review examining CWMT attrition in comparable populations exists, we did find a number of studies that provided insights. In particular, three research groups ( 25 , 26 , 32 ) have specifically examined the suitability and efficacy of CWMT for adults with ADHD. Mawjee and colleagues aimed to compare standard-length (45 min-the duration used in our study) and shortened-length (15 min) CWMT.…”

Section: Intolerability Of Cwmt In Adults With Adhdmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Two recent studies provide somewhat more optimistic estimates of tolerability. First, Dentz et al ( 25 ) investigated the efficacy of CWMT in ADHD-diagnosed adults recruited through a mental health clinic. However, the earlier study Cogmed coaching in this study was performed by a research assistant rather than a clinician.…”

Section: Intolerability Of Cwmt In Adults With Adhdmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cogmed Working Memory Training Presents Unique Implementation Challenges in Adults With ADHD

Marcelle

Kaplan

et al. 2018

Front. Psychiatry

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Cogmed Working Memory Training (CWMT), an online cognitive training program developed for children, is an increasingly popular non-pharmacological intervention for ADHD amongst all ages, despite limited supporting evidence. The initial objective of the present work was to examine the short- and long-term impacts of CWMT on brain function in adults with ADHD. However, during the conduct of our study, we experienced multiple levels of failures in recruitment and retention that signaled potential concerns about the suitability of CWMT for adults with ADHD. This perspective piece aims to describe the difficulties we encountered in the context of studies examining the efficacy of CWMT in comparable populations. We trace these difficulties to the limited tolerability of the current CWMT structure for adults with ADHD, and review similar limitations in the literature. We suggest that efficacy of CWMT in children may be due in large part to close monitoring and scaffolding provided by clinicians and caregivers. For CWMT to have viability for widespread use in adults, greater support and structure will be needed for users to improve the likelihood of adherence. We discuss implications and considerations for future efforts in both research and clinical practice.

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Working Memory Training for Adults With ADHD

Abstract: The results challenge the claims made by Cogmed to the effect that the program is effective in treating attention problems and improving performance in daily life over the long term in adults with ADHD.

Cited by 21 publications

References 36 publications

Working memory training restores aberrant brain activity in adult attention‐deficit hyperactivity disorder

Working memory training restores aberrant brain activity in adult attention‐deficit hyperactivity disorder

Current Status of Cognitive Remediation for Psychiatric Disorders: A Review

Cogmed Working Memory Training Presents Unique Implementation Challenges in Adults With ADHD

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