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Learning to control actions: transfer effects following a procedural cognitive control computerized training.

ABSTRACT: Few studies have addressed action control training. In the current study, participants were trained over 19 days in an adaptive training task that demanded constant switching, maintenance and updating of novel action rules. Participants completed an executive functions battery before and after training that estimated processing speed, working memory updating, set-shifting, response inhibition and fluid intelligence. Participants in the training group showed greater improvement than a no-contact control group in processing speed, indicated by reduced reaction times in speeded classification tasks. No other systematic group differences were found across the different pre-post measurements. Ex-Gaussian fitting of the reaction-time distribution revealed that the reaction time reduction observed among trained participants was restricted to the right tail of the distribution, previously shown to be related to working memory. Furthermore, training effects were only found in classification tasks that required participants to maintain novel stimulus-response rules in mind, supporting the notion that the training improved working memory abilities. Training benefits were maintained in a 10-month follow-up, indicating relatively long-lasting effects. The authors conclude that training improved action-related working memory abilities.

SUBMITTER: Shahar N

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4370731 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Learning to control actions: transfer effects following a procedural cognitive control computerized training.

Shahar Nitzan N Meiran Nachshon N

PloS one 20150323 3

Few studies have addressed action control training. In the current study, participants were trained over 19 days in an adaptive training task that demanded constant switching, maintenance and updating of novel action rules. Participants completed an executive functions battery before and after training that estimated processing speed, working memory updating, set-shifting, response inhibition and fluid intelligence. Participants in the training group showed greater improvement than a no-contact ...[more]

PMID: 25799443

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Project description:BackgroundThere has been a growing interest in the application of gamification (ie, the use of game elements) to computerized cognitive training. The introduction of targeted gamification features to such tasks may increase motivation and engagement as well as improve intervention effects. However, it is possible that game elements can also have adverse effects on cognitive training (eg, be a distraction), which can outweigh their potential motivational benefits. So far, little is known about the effectiveness of such applications.ObjectiveThis study aims to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate the effect of gamification on process outcomes (eg, motivation) and on changes in the training domain (eg, cognition), as well as to explore the role of potential moderators.MethodsWe searched PsycINFO, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, ProQuest Psychology, Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, Science Direct, Excerpta Medica dataBASE, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Xplore, Association for Computing Machinery, and a range of gray-area literature databases. The searches included papers published between 2008 and 2018. Meta-analyses were performed using a random-effects model.ResultsThe systematic review identified 49 studies, of which 9 randomized controlled trials were included in the meta-analysis. The results of the review indicated that research in this context is still developing and lacks well-controlled empirical studies. Gamification in cognitive training is applied to a large range of age groups and audiences and is mostly delivered at a research site through computers. Rewards and feedback continue to dominate the gamification landscape, whereas social-oriented features (eg, competition) are underused. The meta-analyses showed that gamified training tasks were more motivating/engaging (Hedges g=0.72) and more demanding/difficult (Hedges g=-0.52) than non- or less-gamified tasks, whereas no effects on the training domain were found. Furthermore, no variables moderated the impact of gamified training tasks. However, meta-analytic findings were limited due to a small number of studies.ConclusionsOverall, this review provides an overview of the existing research in the domain and provides evidence for the effectiveness of gamification in improving motivation/engagement in the context of cognitive training. We discuss the shortcomings in the current literature and provide recommendations for future research.

Project description:Children receiving CNS-directed therapy for cancer are at risk for cognitive problems, with few available empirically supported interventions. Cognitive problems indicate neurodevelopmental disruption that may be modifiable with intervention. This study evaluated short-term efficacy of a computerized cognitive training program and neural correlates of cognitive change.A total of 68 survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) or brain tumor (BT) with identified cognitive deficits were randomly assigned to computerized cognitive intervention (male, n = 18; female, n = 16; ALL, n = 23; BT, n = 11; mean age ± standard deviation, 12.21 ± 2.47 years) or waitlist (male, n = 18; female, n = 16; ALL, n = 24; BT, n = 10; median age ± standard deviation, 11.82 ± 2.42 years). Intervention participants were asked to complete 25 training sessions at home with weekly, telephone-based coaching. Cognitive assessments and functional magnetic resonance imaging scans (intervention group) were completed pre- and postintervention, with immediate change in spatial span backward as the primary outcome.Survivors completing the intervention (n = 30; 88%) demonstrated greater improvement than controls on measures of working memory (mean ± SEM; eg, Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children [fourth edition; WISC-IV] spatial span backward, 3.13 ± 0.58 v 0.75 ± 0.43; P = .002; effect size [ES], 0.84), attention (eg, WISC-IV spatial span forward, 3.30 ± 0.71 v 1.25 ± 0.39; P = .01; ES, 0.65), and processing speed (eg, Conners' Continuous Performance Test hit reaction time, -2.10 ± 1.47 v 2.54 ± 1.25; P = .02; ES, .61) and showed greater reductions in reported executive dysfunction (eg, Conners' Parent Rating Scale III, -6.73 ± 1.51 v 0.41 ± 1.53; P = .002; ES, 0.84). Functional magnetic resonance imaging revealed significant pre- to post-training reduction in activation of left lateral prefrontal and bilateral medial frontal areas.Study findings show computerized cognitive training is feasible and efficacious for childhood cancer survivors, with evidence for training-related neuroplasticity.

Project description:BackgroundMild cognitive impairment (MCI) increases the risk of dementia. The efficacy of cognitive training in patients with MCI is unclear.MethodsIn a two-site, single-blinded, 78-week trial, participants with MCI - stratified by age, severity (early/late MCI), and site - were randomly assigned to 12 weeks of intensive, home-based, computerized training with Web-based cognitive games or Web-based crossword puzzles, followed by six booster sessions. In mixed-model analyses, the primary outcome was change from baseline in the 11-item Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive (ADAS-Cog) score, a 70 point scale in which higher scores indicate greater cognitive impairment at 78 weeks, adjusted for baseline. Secondary outcomes included change from baseline in neuropsychological composite score, University of California San Diego Performance-Based Skills Assessment (functional outcome) score, and Functional Activities Questionnaire (functional outcome) score at 78 weeks, adjusted for baseline. Changes in hippocampal volume and cortical thickness on magnetic resonance imaging were assessed.ResultsAmong 107 participants (n=51 [games]; n=56 [crosswords]), ADAS-Cog score worsened slightly for games and improved for crosswords at week 78 (least squares [LS] means difference, -1.44; 95% confidence interval [CI], -2.83 to -0.06; P=0.04). From baseline to week 78, mean ADAS-Cog score worsened for games (9.53 to 9.93) and improved for crosswords (9.59 to 8.61). The late MCI subgroup showed similar results (LS means difference, -2.45; SE, 0.89; 95% CI, -4.21 to -0.70). Among secondary outcomes, the Functional Activities Questionnaire score worsened more with games than with crosswords at week 78 (LS means difference, -1.08; 95% CI, -1.97 to -0.18). Other secondary outcomes showed no differences. Decreases in hippocampal volume and cortical thickness were greater for games than for crosswords (LS means difference, 34.07; SE, 17.12; 95% CI, 0.51 to 67.63 [hippocampal volume]; LS means difference, 0.02; SE, 0.01; 95% CI, 0.00 to 0.04 [cortical thickness]).ConclusionsHome-based computerized training with crosswords demonstrated superior efficacy to games for the primary outcome of baseline-adjusted change in ADAS-Cog score over 78 weeks. (Supported by the National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Aging; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT03205709.).

Dataset Information

Learning to control actions: transfer effects following a procedural cognitive control computerized training.

Publications

Learning to control actions: transfer effects following a procedural cognitive control computerized training.

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