Brain training in older adults: Evidence of transfer to memory span performance and pseudo-Matthew effects

Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition

Volumn 19, Issue 1-2, 2012, Pages 195-221

  McDougall, Siné ^a   House, Becky ^a  

^a BOURNEMOUTH UNIVERSITY   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

Brain training; Matthew effects; Older adults; Transfer effects; Working memory

Indexed keywords

AGED; AGING; ARTICLE; COGNITION; COMPARATIVE STUDY; FEMALE; HUMAN; LEARNING; MALE; MEMORY; NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL TEST; PHYSIOLOGY; PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECT; PSYCHOMOTOR PERFORMANCE; RECREATION;

AGED; AGED, 80 AND OVER; AGING; COGNITION; FEMALE; HUMANS; MALE; MEMORY; NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS; PSYCHOMOTOR PERFORMANCE; TRANSFER (PSYCHOLOGY); VIDEO GAMES;

EID: 84856889176     PISSN: 13825585     EISSN: 17444128     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/13825585.2011.640656     Document Type: Article

References (80)

1. Alzheimer's Association (2010). Stay mentally active. Available from: http://www.alz.org/we-can-help-stay-mentally-active.asp.
2. Baddeley, A. (1992). Working memory. Science, 255, 556-559.
3. Baddeley, A. (2001). Levels of working memory. In: M. Naveh-Benjamin, M. Moscovitch & H. L. Roediger (Eds.), Perspectives on human memory and cognitive ageing: Essays in honor of Fergus Craik (pp. 111-123). New York, NY: Psychology Press.
4. Baddeley, A. (2003). Working memory: Looking back and looking forward. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 4, 829-839.
5. Baron, A., & Mattila, W. R. (1989). Response slowing of older adults: Effects of time-limit contingencies on simple- and dual-task performances. Psychology and Aging, 4, 66-72.
6. Baltes, P. B., & Kliegl, R. (1992). Further testing of limits of cognitive plasticity: Negative age differences in a mnemonic skill are robust. Developmental Psychology, 28, 121-125.
7. Basak, C., Boot, W. R., Voss, M., & Kramer, A. F. (2008). Can training in a real-time strategy video game attenuate cognitive decline in older adults? Psychology and Aging, 23, 765-777.
8. Bherer, L., Kramer, A. F., Peterson, M. S., Colcombe, S., Erickson, K., & Becic, E. (2006). Testing the limits of cognitive plasticity in older adults: Application to attentional control. Acta Psychologica, 123, 261-278.
9. Bowling, A. (2008). Enhancing later life: How older people perceive active ageing? Aging and Mental Health, 12, 293-301.
10. Buschkuehl, M., Jaeggi, S., Hutchison, S., Perrig-Chiello, P., Dapp, C., Muller, M., Breil, F., Hoppeler, H., & Perrig, W. M. (2008). Impact of working memory training on memory performance in old-old adults. Psychology and Aging, 23, 743-753.
11. Conners, F., Carr, M. D., & Willis, S. (1998). Is the phonological loop responsible for intelligence-related differences in forward digit span? American Journal on Mental Retardation, 103, 1-11.
12. Craik, F. I. M., & Bialystok, E. (2006). Cognition through the lifespan: Mechanisms of change. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 10, 131-138.
13. Dahlin, E., Nyberg, L., Backman, L., & Neely, A. S. (2008). Placticity of executive functioning in young and older adults: Immediate training gains, transfer, and long-term maintenance. Psychology and Aging, 23, 720-730.
14. Deary, I. J., Whalley, L. J., Batty, G. D., & Starr, J. M. (2006). Physical fitness and lifetime cognitive change. Neurology, 67, 1195-1200.
15. Dye, M. W. G., & Bavelier, D. (2010). Differential developmental of visual attention skills in school-age children. Vision Research, 50, 452-459.
16. Ebner, N. C., Freund, A. M., & Baltes, P. B. (2006). Developmental changes in personal goal orientation from young to late adulthood: From striving for gains to maintenance and prevention of losses. Psychology and Aging, 21, 664-678.
17. Erickson, K. I., Colcombe, S. J., Wahwa, R., Bherer, L., Peterson, M. S., Scalf, P. E., & Kramer, A. F. (2005). Neural correlates of dual-task performance after minimizing task-preparation. NeuroImage, 28, 967-979.
18. Erickson, K. I., Colcombe, S. J., Wadhwa, R., Bherer, L., Peterson, M. S., Scalf, P. E., et al. (2007). Training-induced plasticity in older adults: Effects of training on hemispheric asymmetry. Neurobiology of Aging, 28, 272-283.
19. Feng, J., Spence, I., & Pratt, J. (2007). Playing an action video game reduces gender differences in spatial cognition. Psychological Science, 18, 850-855.
20. Fleischman, D. A., Wilson, R. S., Gabrieli, J. D. E., Bienias, J. L., & Bennett, D. A. (2004). A longitudinal study of implicity and explicit memory in old persons. Psychology and Aging, 19, 617-625.
21. Galasko, D., Schmitt, F., Thomas, R., Jin, S., Bennett, D., & Ferris, S. (2005). Detailed assessment of activities of daily living in moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 11, 446-453.
22. Gilhooly, M. L., Gilhooly, K. J., Phillips, L. H., Harvey, D., Brady, A., & Hanlon, P. (2007). Real-world problem solving and quality of life in older people. British Journal of Health Psychology, 12, 587-600.
23. Gow, A. J., Whiteman, M. C., Pattie, A., Whalley, L., Starr, J., & Deary, I. J. (2005). Lifetime intellectual function and satisfaction with life in old age: Longitudinal cohort study. British Medical Journal, 331, 141-142.
24. Green, C. S., & Bavelier, D. (2008) Exercising your brain: A review of human brain plasticity and training-induced learning. Psychology and Aging, 23, 692-701.
25. Green, C. S., Li, R., & Bavelier, D. (2009). Perceptual learning during action video game playing. Topics in Cognitive Science, 2, 1-15.
26. Hale, J. B., Hoeppner, J.-A. B., & Fiorello, C. A. (2002). Analyzing digit span components for assessment of attention processes. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 20, 128-143.
27. Hedden, T., Lautenschlager, G., & Park, D. C. (2005). Contributions of processing ability and knowledge to verbal memory tasks across the adult life-span. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology A, 58, 169-190.
28. Hendrie, H. C., Albert,M. S., Butters,M. A., Gao, S., Knopman, D. S., Launer, L. J., Yaffe, K., Cuthbert, B. N., Edwards, E., & Wagster, M. V. (2006). The NIH Cognitive and Emotional Health Project: Report of the critical evaluation study committee. Alzheimer's & Dementia, 2, 12-32.
29. Hoyer, W. J., & Verhaeghen, P. (2006). Memory aging. In J. Birren & W. Schaie (Eds.), Handbook of the psychology of aging (pp. 209-232). Burlington, MA: Elsevier Academic Press.
30. Horn, J. L. (1982). The theory of fluid and crystallized intelligence in relation to concepts of comparative psychology and aging in adulthood. In F. I. M. Craik & S. Trehub (Eds.), Aging and cognitive processes. New York, NY: Plenum Press.
31. Jaeggi, S. M., Buschkuehl, M., Jonides, J., & Perrig,W. J. (2008). Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory. PNAS, 105, 6829-6833.
32. Jaeggi, S. M., Buschkuehl, M., Perrig, W., & Meier, B. (2010). The concurrent validity of the N-back task as a working memory measure. Memory, 18, 1-19.
33. Karzmark, P. (2009). The effect of cognitive, personality, and background factors on the WAIS-III Arithmetic subtest. Applied Neuropsychology, 16, 49-53.
34. Kaufman, A. S. (1990). Assessing adolescent and adult intelligence. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
35. Kenny, D. A. (1975). A quasi-experimental approach to assessing treatment effects in nonequivalent control group design. Psychological Bulletin, 82, 345-362.
36. Kramer, A. F., & Willis, S. L. (2003). Cognitive plasticity and aging. Psychology of Learning and Motivation, 43, 267-302.
37. Kramer, A. F., Larish, J. L., Weber, T. A., & Bardell, L. (1999). Training for executive control: Task coordination strategies and aging. In D. Gopher & A. Koriate (Eds.), Attention and performance XVII: Cognition regulation of performance: interaction of theory and application (pp. 617-652). Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
38. Krampe, R., & Ericsson, K. A. (1996). Maintaining excellence: Deliberate practice and elite performance in young and older pianists. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 125, 331-359.
39. Lamar, M., Zonderman, A. B., & Resnick, S. (2002). Contribution of specific cognitive processes to executive functioning in an aging population. Neuropsychology, 16, 156-162.
40. Li, S.-C., & Baltes, P. B. (2006). Cognitive developmental research from lifespan perspectives; the challenge of integration. In E. Bialystok & F. I. M. Craik (Eds.), Lifespan cognition: Mechanisms of change. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
41. Li, S.-C., Schmiedek, F., Huxold, O., Rocke, C., Smith, J.,& Lindenberger, U. (2008).Working memory plasticity in old age: Practice gain, transfer, and maintenance. Psychology and Aging, 23, 731-742.
42. Li, R., Polat, U., Makous, W., & Bavelier, D. (2009). Enhancing the contrast sensitivity function through action video game training. Nature Neuroscience, 12, 549-551.
43. Lindenberger, U., Li, S.-C., Lovdén, M., & Schmiedek, F. (2007). The Center for Lifespan Psychology at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development: Overview of conceptual agenda and illustration of research activities. International Journal of Psychology, 42, 229-242.
44. Lustig, C., & Flegal, K. E. (2008). Targeting latent function: Encouraging effective encoding for successful memory training and transfer. Psychology and Aging, 23, 754-764.
45. Mahncke, H. W., Bronstone, A., & Merzenich, M. M. (2006). Brain plasticity and functional losses in the aged: Scientific bases for a novel intervention. Progress in Brain Research, 157, 81-109.
46. Mayr, U. (2008). Introduction to the special section on cognitive plasticity in the aging mind. Psychology and Aging, 23, 681-683.
47. McDougall, S., Hulme, C., Ellis, A. W., & Monk A. (1994). Learning to read: The role of short-term memory and phonological skills. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 58, 112-123.
48. Meiran, N., & Gotler, A. (2001). Modeling cognitive control in task switching and ageing. European Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 13, 165-186.
49. Mireles, D. E., & Charness, N. (2002). Computational explorations of the influence of structured knowledge on age-related cognitive decline. Psychology and Aging, 17, 245-259.
50. Nilsson, L. G. (2003). Memory function in normal aging. Acta Neurologica Scandinavica Supplementum, 179, 7-13.
51. Nyberg, L., Sandblom, J., Jones, S., Stigsdotter Neely, A., Peterson, K. M., Ingvar, M., & Backman, L. (2003). Neural correlates of training-related memory improvement in adulthood and aging. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, 100, 13728-13733.
52. Owen, A.M., Hampshire, A., Grahn, J. A., Stenton, R., Dajani, S., Burns, A. S., Howard, R. J., & Ballard, C. G. (2010). Putting brain training to the test. Nature (Letter), 465, 775-778.
53. Papp, K. V., Walsh, S. J., & Snyder, P. J. (2009). Immediate and delayed effects of cognitive interventions in healthy elderly: A review of current literature and future directions. Alzheimer's & Demention, 5, 50-60.
54. Park, D. C., Lautenschlager, G., Hedden, T., Davidson, N. S., Anderson, D., Smith, A. D., & Smith, P. K. (2002). Models of visuospatial and verbal memory across the adult life span. Psychology and Aging, 17, 299-320.
55. Poremba, K. D., & Rowell, K. R. (1997). Testing for homogeneity of slopes in analysis of covariance: A tutorial. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Southwest Educational Research Association (Austin, TX, January 25, 1997). Retrieved from http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED409319.pdf.
56. Reimers. S., &Maylor, E. (2005). Task switching across the life span: Effects of age on general and specific switch costs. Developmental Psychology, 41, 661-671.
57. Retirement Mobility UK (2010). Keeping your brain active: Puzzles, games and Soduku in retirement. Retrieved from http://www.retirementmobility.co.uk/.
58. Rogers, W. A. (1992). Age differences in visual search: Target and distractor learning. Psychology and Aging, 7, 526-535.
59. Rogers, W. A., Fisk, A. D., & Hertzog, C. (1994). Do ability-performance relationships differentiate age and practice effects in visual search? Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory & Cognition, 20, 710-738.
60. Salthouse, T. A. (2003). Memory aging from 18 to 80. Alzheimer Disease & Associated Disorders, 17, 162-167.
61. Schaie, K. W. (1996). Intellectual development in adulthood: The Seattle Longitudinal Study. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
62. Seidenberg, M., Haltiner, A., Taylor, M. A., Hermann, B. B., & Wyler, A. (1994). Developmental and validation of a Mulitple Ability Self-Report Questionnaire. Journal of Clinical Experimental Neuropsychology, 16, 93-104.
63. Shah, P., &Miyake, A. (1996). The separability of working memory resources for spatial thinking and language processing: An individual differences approach. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 125, 4-27.
64. Shatil, E., Metzer, A., Horvitz, O., & Miller, A. (2010). Home-based personalized cognitive training in MS patients: A study of adherence and cognitive performance. Neurorehabilitation, 26, 143-153.
65. Sims, V. K., & Mayer, R. E. (2002). Domain specificity of spatial expertise: The case of video game players. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 16, 304-318.
66. Skevington, S. M., Lofty, M., & O'Connell, K. A. (2004). The World Health Organization's WHOQOL-BREF quality of life assessment: Psychometric properties and results of the international field trial. A report from the WHOQOL Group. Quality of Life Research, 13, 299-310.
67. Stanovich, K. E. (1986). Matthew effects in reading: Some consequences of individual differences in the acquisition of literacy. Reading Research Quarterly, 21, 360-407.
68. Torgesen, J. K., & Davis, C. (1996). Individual difference variables that predict response to training in phonological awareness. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 63, 1-21.
69. Turner, M. L., & Engle, R. W. (1989). Is working memory capacity task dependent? Journal of Memory and Language, 28, 127-154.
70. Valenzuela, M., Sachdev, P., Rundeck, T., & Bennett, D. (2006). Cognitive leisure activities, but not watching TV, for future brain benefits. Neurology, 67, 729.
71. Verhaeghen, P. (2003). Aging and vocabulary scores: A meta-analysis. Psychology and Aging, 18, 332-339.
72. Verhaeghen, P., & Marcoen, A. (1996). On the mechanisms of plasticity in young and older adults after instruction in the method of loci: Evidence for an amplification model. Psychology and Aging, 11, 164-178.
73. Verhaeghen, P., Marcoen, A., & Goossens, L. (1992). Improving memory performance in the aged through mnemonic training: A meta-analytic study. Psychology and Aging, 7, 242-251.
74. Walberg, H. J., & Tsai, S.-L. (1983). Matthew effects in education. American Educational Research Journal, 20, 359-373.
75. Wang, J. Y. J., Zhou, H. D., Li, J., Zhang, M., Deng, J., Tang, M., Gao, C., Li, J., Lian, Y., & Chen, M. (2006). Leisure activity and risk of cognitive impairment: The Chongqing aging study. Neurology, 66, 911-913.
76. Welford, A. T. (1958). Aging and human skills. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
77. Wechsler, D., Wycherley, R. J., Benjamin, L., Crawford, J., & Mockler, D. (1998). Manual for the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (3rd ed.). London, UK: The Psychological Corporation.
78. West, G. L., Stevens, S. A., Pun, C., & Pratt, J. (2008). Visuospatial experience modulates attentional capture: Evidence from action video game players. Journal of Vision, 8, 1-9.
79. Willis, S. L., Tennstedt, S. L., Marsiske, M., Ball, K., Elias, J., & Koepke, K. M. (2006). Longterm effects of cognitive training on everyday functional outcomes in older adults. Journal of the American Medical Association, 296, 2805-2814.
80. Wood, D., Bruner, J., & Ross, G. (1976). The role of tutoring in problem solving. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 17, 89-100.