The DOI matches its Crossref record; 41 of the 41 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Working memory, attention control, and the N-back task: a question of construct validity
Open accessAbstract
The N-back task requires participants to decide whether each stimulus in a sequence matches the one that appeared n items ago. Although N-back has become a standard "executive" working memory (WM) measure in cognitive neuroscience, it has been subjected to few behavioral tests of construct validity. A combined experimental- correlational study tested the attention-control demands of verbal 2- and 3-back tasks by presenting n = 1 "lure" foils. Lures elicited more false alarms than control foils in both 2- and 3-back tasks, and lures caused more misses to targets that immediately followed them compared with control targets, but only in 3-back tasks. N-back thus challenges control over familiarity-based responding. Participants also completed a verbal WM span task (operation span task) and a marker test of general fluid intelligence (Gf; Ravens Advanced Progressive Matrices Test; J. C. Raven, J. E. Raven, & J. H. Court, 1998). N-back and WM span correlated weakly, suggesting they do not reflect primarily a single construct; moreover, both accounted for independent variance in Gf. N-back has face validity as a WM task, but it does not demonstrate convergent validity with at least 1 established WM measure.
Overview
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“Stimuli presentation was pseudo-randomized to avoid the occurrence of lure trials (i.e., non-target letters that match a recent letter in the sequence but not the letter N-back), which are known to elicit more false alarms (FA) and misses than non-lure non-targets because of their familiarity and resemblance to targets (see Kane et al., 2007).”
From Working Memory Reloaded: Tyrosine Repletes Updating in the N-Back Task (2013) · cites this paper as Kane et al., 2007
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“Both maintenance and disengagement are important for problem-solving (e.g., Carpenter et al., 1990), but the relative contribution of each could be driving the different relationships of complex span tests and the n-back with fluid intelligence, as well as their less-than-perfect correlation with each other (e.g., Kane et al., 2007).”
From Which “working memory” are we talking about? Complex span tasks versus N-back (2025) · cites this paper as Kane et al., 2007
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“WM is itself an umbrella term encompassing diverse experimental paradigms, from maintenance of perceptual, spatial or verbal information to complex “n-back” and “span” tasks, with uncertain construct validity (Kane, Conway, Miura, & Colflesh, 2007; Shallice & Cooper, 2011).”
From Strategic offloading of delayed intentions into the external environment (2015) · cites this paper as Kane, Conway, Miura, & Colflesh, 2007
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“In conditions with n = 2 or higher (where the match is for the stimulus that appeared two or more items ago), this task requires the on-line monitoring and updating of WM content, which is known to be cognitively demanding (Kane et al., 2007).”
From Working Memory Reloaded: Tyrosine Repletes Updating in the N-Back Task (2013) · cites this paper as Kane et al., 2007
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“One of the most common tasks used in these WM training studies is the N-back, an updating task that correlates significantly with measures of higher-level cognition, such as Matrix Reasoning20–24.”
From Near transfer to an unrelated N-back task mediates the effect of N-back working memory training on matrix reasoning (2022) · cites this paper as [23]
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“Two-back performance did not correlate significantly with either measure, whereas three-back performance correlated descriptively more strongly with Raven's matrices than with operation span.”
From Which “working memory” are we talking about? Complex span tasks versus N-back (2025) · cites this paper as Kane et al., 2007
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“Indeed, correlations between the n-back and operation span ranged from nonsignificant to weak (all rs ≤ .22).”
From Which “working memory” are we talking about? Complex span tasks versus N-back (2025) · cites this paper as Kane et al., 2007
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“Furthermore, operation span and the n-back each accounted for unique variance in fluid intelligence, suggesting a dissociation between the two measures.”
From Which “working memory” are we talking about? Complex span tasks versus N-back (2025) · cites this paper as Kane et al., 2007
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“Kane et al. (2007) identified recall versus recognition as one candidate.”
From Which “working memory” are we talking about? Complex span tasks versus N-back (2025) · cites this paper as Kane et al., 2007
In the citing paper
“Based on the cognitive load of the 2-back condition (20–22)”
From Dynamic reconfiguration of frontal brain networks during executive cognition in humans (2015) · cites this paper as [22]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Citations
Cites
Miyake, A., Friedman, N. P., Emerson, M. J., Witzki, A. H., Howerter, A., & Wager, T. D. (2000) · Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1006/cogp.1999.0734 · Cited by 15,798
Individual differences in working memory and reading
Daneman, M., & Carpenter, P. A. (1980) · Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior · doi:10.1016/s0022-5371(80)90312-6 · Cited by 6,336
On the generalized distance in statistics
Mahalanobis, P. C. (1936) · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Cited by 6,068
A capacity theory of comprehension: individual differences in working memory
Just, M. A., & Carpenter, P. A. (1992) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/0033-295x.99.1.122 · Cited by 4,153
N-back working memory paradigm: a meta-analysis of normative functional neuroimaging studies.
Owen, A. M., McMillan, K. M., Laird, A. R., & Bullmore, E. (2005) · Human Brain Mapping · doi:10.1002/hbm.20131 · Cited by 3,560
Pragmatics of measuring recognition memory: Applications to dementia and amnesia.
Snodgrass, J. G., & Corwin, J. (1988) · Journal of Experimental Psychology General · doi:10.1037//0096-3445.117.1.34 · Cited by 3,093
Working memory, short-term memory, and general fluid intelligence: A latent-variable approach.
Engle, R. W., Tuholski, S. W., Laughlin, J. E., & Conway, A. R. A. (1999) · Journal of Experimental Psychology: General · doi:10.1037/0096-3445.128.3.309 · Cited by 3,078
Self-citationWorking memory span tasks: A methodological review and user’s guide
Conway, A. R. A., Kane, M. J., Bunting, M. F., Hambrick, D. Z., Wilhelm, O., & Engle, R. W. (2005) · Psychonomic Bulletin & Review · doi:10.3758/bf03196772 · Cited by 2,882
Self-citationPragmatics of measuring recognition memory: Applications to dementia and amnesia.
Snodgrass, J. G., & Corwin, J. (1988) · Journal of Experimental Psychology General · doi:10.1037/0096-3445.117.1.34 · Cited by 2,527
Kane, M. J., & Engle, R. W. (2002) · Psychonomic Bulletin & Review · doi:10.3758/bf03196323 · Cited by 2,229
Self-citation
Research works printed but not linked: 2
- [3]3. Baddeley, A. D. (1986). Working memory. London: Oxford University Press.
- [34]34. Raven, J. C., Raven, J. E., & Court, J. H. (1998). Progressive matrices. Oxford, England: Oxford Psychologists Press.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 201–300 of 931
Olfactory working memory: effects of verbalization on the 2-back task
Jönsson, F. U., Møller, P., & Olsson, M. J. (2011) · Memory & Cognition · doi:10.3758/s13421-011-0080-5 · Cited by 40
“The n-back task has gained increased popularity lately, particularly in imaging studies (e.g., Dade et al., 2001; Kane et al., 2007; Owen, McMillan, Laird, & Bullmore, 2005).”
BackgroundMethodNeural mechanisms of two different verbal working memory tasks: A VLSM study
Ivanova, M. V., Dragoy, O., Kuptsova, S. V., Akinina, S. Y., Петрушевский, А. Г., Николаевна, Ф. О., Turken, A. U., Shklovsky, V. M., & Dronkers, N. F. (2018) · Neuropsychologia · doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2018.03.003 · Cited by 42
“…studies of WM provide convincing evidence that the N-back task and the classical complex span task do not index the same underlying processes and performance on these tasks is at best weakly correlated ( Ivanova et al., 2017; Jaeggi et al., 2010; Kane et al., 2007; Redick and Lindsey, 2013).”
BackgroundMethodThe acute effects of cannabis on human executive function
Oomen, P. P., van Hell, H. H., & Bossong, M. G. (2018) · Behavioural Pharmacology · doi:10.1097/fbp.0000000000000426 · Cited by 45
der Linden, L. V., de Putte, E. V., Woumans, E., Duyck, W., & Szmalec, A. (2018) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01998 · Cited by 46
Baik, S. Y., Kim, J.-Y., Choi, J., Baek, J. Y., Park, Y., Kim, Y., Jung, M., & Lee, S. (2019) · Diagnostics · doi:10.3390/diagnostics9040193 · Cited by 40
“A two-back task ith number stimuli was used to assess working memory [45].”
MethodProspective memory mediated by interoceptive accuracy: a psychophysiological approach
Umeda, S., Tochizawa, S., Shibata, M., & Terasawa, Y. (2016) · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rstb.2016.0005 · Cited by 39
Evaluation of the attentional capacities and working memory of early and late blind persons
Pigeon, C., & Marin-Lamellet, C. (2014) · Acta Psychologica · doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2014.11.010 · Cited by 39
Working-memory capacity and island effects: A reminder of the issues and the facts
Sprouse, J., WAGERS, M. W., & Phillips, C. (2012) · Language · doi:10.1353/lan.2012.0029 · Cited by 39
“The serial-recall task and the n-back task used in our studies have been argued to tap into relatively different memory constructs (Kane et al. 2007).”
MethodKoppen, H., Palm‐Meinders, I. H., Kruit, M. C., Lim, V., Nugroho, A. E., Westhof, I., Terwindt, G. M., van Buchem, M. A., Ferrari, M. D., & Hommel, B. (2011) · Cephalalgia · doi:10.1177/0333102411417900 · Cited by 39
“(19)), which requires participants to hold information and continuously update this information based on new incoming stimuli.”
BackgroundProcessing load impairs coordinate integration for the localization of touch
Badde, S., Heed, T., & Röder, B. (2014) · Attention Perception & Psychophysics · doi:10.3758/s13414-013-0590-2 · Cited by 39
Executive Function, Theory of Mind, and Adaptive Behavior
Coulacoglou, C., & Saklofske, D. H. (2017) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-802219-1.00005-5 · Cited by 50
Ivanova, M. V., & Hallowell, B. (2014) · Journal of Communication Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jcomdis.2014.06.001 · Cited by 39
“The sentences were Kane et al.’s (2004) reading span task.”
BackgroundVarkanitsa, M., & Caplan, D. (2018) · Journal of Neurolinguistics · doi:10.1016/j.jneuroling.2018.03.003 · Cited by 39
Gilmour, G., Porcelli, S., Bertaina‐Anglade, V., Arce, E., Dukart, J., Hayen, A., Lobo, A., López‐Antón, R., Pich, E. M., Pemberton, D. J., et al. (2018) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.09.025 · Cited by 39
“Lures are stimuli that would be correct in position n, but occur at positions n-1 or n+1 in the sequence (Kane et al., 2007).”
Kang, C., Ma, F., Li, S., Kroll, J. F., & Guo, T. (2020) · Bilingualism Language and Cognition · doi:10.1017/s1366728920000085 · Cited by 38
Stroux, D., Shushakova, A., Geburek, A. J., Ohrmann, P., Rist, F., & Pedersen, A. (2015) · Clinical Neurophysiology · doi:10.1016/j.clinph.2015.05.021 · Cited by 39
“The n-back paradigm is particularly suitable for our purpose because it has a high face validity as a genuine WM updating task (Kane et al., 2007) and allows the straightforward adjustment of WM load by decreasing or increasing the n to determine WM capacity (Jaeggi et al.”
BackgroundMethodResultInfluentialTransfer of training from one working memory task to another: behavioural and neural evidence
Beatty, E. L., Jobidon, M.-E., Bouak, F., Nakashima, A., Smith, I., Lam, Q., Blackler, K., Cheung, B., & Vartanian, O. (2015) · Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnsys.2015.00086 · Cited by 37
“The key dependent variable was d′ (sensitivity; Stanislaw and Todorov, 1999; see Kane et al., 2007).”
BackgroundColzato, L. S., Steenbergen, L., Sellaro, R., Stock, A., Arning, L., & Beste, C. (2016) · Cortex · doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2016.06.010 · Cited by 37
Clarke, P., & Todd, J. (2021) · Cognition & Emotion · doi:10.1080/02699931.2021.1987861 · Cited by 38
“Given increasing concern regarding the importance of employing reliable and internally consistent measures of cognitive processes (e.g. Kane et al., 2007; Price et al., 2015), it is understandable that a scaled advertising such qualities holds considerable appeal.”
BackgroundBeyond individual differences: are working memory and inhibition informative specifiers within ASD?
de Vries, M., & Geurts, H. M. (2014) · Journal of Neural Transmission · doi:10.1007/s00702-014-1225-z · Cited by 40
“On a related note, n-back tasks—especially the 1-back condition—particularly demand recognition, while other WM tasks—so called complex span tasks— demand serial recall (Kane et al. 2007).”
BackgroundAlterations in working memory networks in amnestic mild cognitive impairment
Migo, E. M., Mitterschiffthaler, M. T., O’Daly, O., Dawson, G. R., Dourish, C. T., Craig, K. J., Simmons, A., Wilcock, G. K., McCulloch, E., Jackson, S. H., et al. (2014) · Aging Neuropsychology and Cognition · doi:10.1080/13825585.2014.894958 · Cited by 36
Reed, J. L., Gallagher, N. M., Sullivan, M. E., Callicott, J. H., & Green, A. E. (2017) · Brain and Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.bandc.2017.01.001 · Cited by 38
“Span tasks draw on a different underlying cognitive construct than the multi-load N-back WM paradigm (Kane et al., 2007).”
van Dinteren, R., Huster, R. J., Jongsma, M. L. A., Kessels, R. P. C., & Arns, M. (2017) · Brain Topography · doi:10.1007/s10548-016-0542-y · Cited by 36
“a specific letter among other letters in an array of stimuli (Kane et al. 2007).”
BackgroundBehavioral decoding of working memory items inside and outside the focus of attention
Mallett, R., & Lewis‐Peacock, J. A. (2018) · Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1111/nyas.13647 · Cited by 36
Doyle, C., Smeaton, A. F., Roche, R. A. P., & Boran, L. (2018) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00795 · Cited by 42
“Updating Measures Letter 2-back task Participants completed the letter 2-back (Kane et al., 2007) task as a measure of updating working memory.”
MethodEnhanced dimension-specific visual working memory in grapheme–color synesthesia
Terhune, D. B., Wudarczyk, O. A., Kochuparampil, P., & Kadosh, R. C. (2013) · Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2013.06.009 · Cited by 35
Assecondi, S., Hu, R., Eskes, G. A., Pan, X., Zhou, J., & Shapiro, K. L. (2021) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-021-84298-3 · Cited by 36
The Effect of Cognitive Load on the Retrieval of Long-Term Memory: An fMRI Study
Sisakhti, M., Sachdev, P. S., & Batouli, S. A. H. (2021) · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnhum.2021.700146 · Cited by 35
Pahor, A., Seitz, A. R., & Jaeggi, S. M. (2022) · Nature Human Behaviour · doi:10.1038/s41562-022-01384-w · Cited by 40
On the relation of working memory and multitasking: Memory span and synthetic work performance.
Redick, T. S. (2016) · Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.jarmac.2016.05.003 · Cited by 34
Effects of sleep reduction on the phonological and visuospatial components of working memory
del Angel, J., Cortez, J., Juárez, D., Guerrero, M., García, A., Ramírez, C., & Valdéz, P. (2015) · Sleep Science · doi:10.1016/j.slsci.2015.06.001 · Cited by 38
“20) with other working memory tasks [35].”
Neurocognitive and Behavioral Predictors of Math Performance in Children With and Without ADHD
Antonini, T. N., Kingery, K. M., Narad, M. E., Langberg, J. M., Tamm, L., & Epstein, J. N. (2013) · Journal of Attention Disorders · doi:10.1177/1087054713504620 · Cited by 36
Loosli, S. V., Rahm, B., Unterrainer, J. M., Weiller, C., & Kaller, C. P. (2013) · Developmental Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0035231 · Cited by 39
Hidalgo‐Lopez, E., & Pletzer, B. A. (2020) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2020.105108 · Cited by 34
Cognitive load estimation for adaptive human–machine system automation
Ramakrishnan, P., Balasingam, B., & Biondi, F. N. (2021) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-822314-7.00007-9 · Cited by 34
Gill, M., Natoli, M. J., Vacchiano, C., MacLeod, D. B., Ikeda, K., Qin, M. K., Pollock, N. W., Moon, R. E., Pieper, C. F., & Vann, R. D. (2014) · Journal of Applied Physiology · doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00995.2013 · Cited by 33
Executive Functions of Divers Are Selectively Impaired at 20-Meter Water Depth
Steinberg, F., & Doppelmayr, M. M. (2017) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01000 · Cited by 32
“Thus, this test requires to actively maintain two letters in the working memory while continuously updating the working memory with a new letter, i.e., the first letter in the sequence has to be removed from the memory and must be replaced by a new letter (e.g., Kane et al., 2007).”
MethodThe effects of smoking and smoking abstinence on verbal and visuospatial working memory capacity.
Greenstein, J. E., & Kassel, J. D. (2009) · Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology · doi:10.1037/a0015699 · Cited by 36
The effects of experimental pain and induced optimism on working memory task performance
Boselie, J. J. L. M., Vancleef, L. M. G., & Peters, M. L. (2016) · Scandinavian Journal of Pain · doi:10.1016/j.sjpain.2016.03.001 · Cited by 36
Dosi, I., & Papadopoulou, D. (2019) · International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism · doi:10.1080/13670050.2018.1539465 · Cited by 34
N-Back Related ERPs Depend on Stimulus Type, Task Structure, Pre-processing, and Lab Factors
Shalchy, M. A., Pergher, V., Pahor, A., Hulle, M. M. V., & Seitz, A. R. (2020) · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnhum.2020.549966 · Cited by 33
“While this is true of numerous areas of ERP research, the N-Back is particularly notorious in how it varies across studies (Owen et al., 2005; Kane et al., 2007; Mencarelli et al., 2019) and the data presented here is the first to detail the extent of these efforts for a variety of N-Back variations.”
BackgroundMusical Auditory Alpha Wave Neurofeedback: Validation and Cognitive Perspectives
Takabatake, K., Kunii, N., Nakatomi, H., Shimada, S., Yanai, K., Takasago, M., & Saito, N. (2021) · Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback · doi:10.1007/s10484-021-09507-1 · Cited by 38
Xu, J., Fard, M., Zhang, N., Davy, J. L., & Robinson, S. R. (2024) · Transportation Research Part F Traffic Psychology and Behaviour · doi:10.1016/j.trf.2024.11.005 · Cited by 34
Prat, C. S., Yamasaki, B. L., & Peterson, E. R. (2018) · Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience · doi:10.1162/jocn_a_01337 · Cited by 33
Vartanian, O. A., Tenn, C. C., Rhind, S. G., Nakashima, A., Battista, A. P. D., Sergio, L. E., Gorbet, D. J., Fraser, D. D., Colantonio, A., King, K. A., et al. (2020) · Frontiers in Neurology · doi:10.3389/fneur.2020.588531 · Cited by 35
“(3) n-back: This is a test of working memory performance, and requires the maintenance and updating of dynamic rehearsal sets (44).”
BackgroundVartanian, O. A., Coady, L., Blackler, K., Fraser, B., & Cheung, B. (2020) · Military Medicine · doi:10.1093/milmed/usaa332 · Cited by 33
Thormodsen, R., Jensen, J., Holmén, A., Juuhl‐Langseth, M., Emblem, K. E., Andreassen, O. A., & Rund, B. R. (2011) · Psychiatry Research Neuroimaging · doi:10.1016/j.pscychresns.2011.05.011 · Cited by 29
“Although, the n-back task is the most widely used WM task in studies aiming to investigate WM in both normal and clinical samples, some have argued that the n-back task is not a suitable or valid experimental task for measuring how WM is reflected in everyday life (Kane et al., 2007).”
Reichert, C., Maire, M., Gabel, V., Viola, A., Kolodyazhniy, V., Strobel, W. M., Götz, T., Bachmann, V., Landolt, H., Cajochen, C., et al. (2014) · Journal of Biological Rhythms · doi:10.1177/0748730414524898 · Cited by 33
“The n-back task was originally designed to study working memory performance, even though its construct validity as pure working memory measure has been criticized (Kane et al., 2007; Jaeggi et al., 2010).”
BackgroundAshtiani, S. N. M., & Daliri, M. R. (2023) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-023-43837-w · Cited by 37
Lin, L., Leung, A. W. S., Wu, J., & Zhang, L. (2020) · International Journal of Psychophysiology · doi:10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2020.01.006 · Cited by 30
Physical activity intervention promotes working memory and motor competence in preschool children
Zhang, J., Shen, Q.-Q., Wang, D.-L., Hou, J.-M., Xia, T., Qiu, S., Wang, X., Zhou, S.-B., Yang, W.-W., Heng, S.-Y., et al. (2022) · Frontiers in Public Health · doi:10.3389/fpubh.2022.984887 · Cited by 39
The impact of achievement goal states on working memory
Avery, R. E., & Smillie, L. D. (2012) · Motivation and Emotion · doi:10.1007/s11031-012-9287-4 · Cited by 31
“Research suggests that as N-Back load increases (i.e. as the previous stimuli to be matched to the present stimuli is positioned further back in the sequence stream), the greater the executive load (Baddeley 2007; Kane et al. 2007; Owen et al. 2005).”
Kearney-Ramos, T. E., Fausett, J. S., Gess, J. L., Reno, A. J., Peraza, J., Kilts, C., & James, G. A. (2014) · Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society · doi:10.1017/s135561771400054x · Cited by 33
Ralph, C. S., Vartanian, O. A., Lieberman, H. R., Morgan, C. A., & Cheung, B. (2017) · International Journal of Psychophysiology · doi:10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2017.04.002 · Cited by 31
“This task requires maintenance and updating of dynamic rehearsal sets (Kane et al., 2007).”
BackgroundHudec, K. L., Alderson, R. M., Patros, C. H. G., Lea, S. E., Tarle, S. J., & Kasper, L. J. (2015) · Research in Developmental Disabilities · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2015.07.012 · Cited by 28
The effect of total sleep deprivation on working memory: evidence from diffusion model
Li, J., Cao, Y., Ou, S., Jiang, T., Wang, L. E., & Ma, N. (2024) · SLEEP · doi:10.1093/sleep/zsae006 · Cited by 32
A Pilot Study of iPad-Assisted Cognitive Training for Schizophrenia
Dang, J., Zhang, J., Guo, Z., Lu, W., Cai, J., Shi, Z., & Zhang, C. (2014) · Archives of Psychiatric Nursing · doi:10.1016/j.apnu.2014.01.003 · Cited by 28
Brauer, H., Kadish, N. E., Pedersen, A., Siniatchkin, M., & Moliadze, V. (2018) · Neural Plasticity · doi:10.1155/2018/3156796 · Cited by 33
Lim, E. H., Kim, D.-S., Won, Y. H., Park, S.-H., Seo, J., Ko, M.-H., & Kim, G.-W. (2023) · Brain & Neurorehabilitation · doi:10.12786/bn.2023.16.e4 · Cited by 28
“When the tester presented a word, the participant performed short-term memory tests and selected a word to remember based on the rules [18].”
MethodAthilingam, P. R., Edwards, J. D., Valdés, E. G., Ji, M., & Guglin, M. E. (2015) · Heart & Lung · doi:10.1016/j.hrtlng.2014.12.004 · Cited by 27
Working memory’s workload capacity
Heathcote, A., Coleman, J. R., Eidels, A., Watson, J. M., Houpt, J. W., & Strayer, D. L. (2015) · Memory & Cognition · doi:10.3758/s13421-015-0526-2 · Cited by 33
A multi-demand operating system underlying diverse cognitive tasks
Cai, W., Taghia, J., & Menon, V. (2024) · Nature Communications · doi:10.1038/s41467-024-46511-5 · Cited by 32
“Our choiceoftheworkingmemorytaskwasmotivatedbothbythefactthat it is widely used to probe cognitive function and dysfunction 29,30 , and by our identi fi cation of optimal and non-optimal brain states associated with cognitive performance and decision-making 28 .”
MethodBennett, D. S., Mohamed, F. B., Carmody, D. P., Malik, M., Faro, S. H., & Lewis, M. (2012) · Brain Imaging and Behavior · doi:10.1007/s11682-012-9192-1 · Cited by 30
Ikeda, T., Takahashi, T., Hiraishi, H., Saito, D. N., & Kikuchi, M. (2019) · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnhum.2019.00136 · Cited by 27
Alizadehgoradel, J., Imani, S., Vahid, N., Vanderhasselt, M., Molaei, B., Salehinejad, M. A., Ahmadi, S., & Taherifard, M. (2021) · Clinical Psychopharmacology and Neuroscience · doi:10.9758/cpn.2021.19.4.653 · Cited by 29
“This task is widely used in clinical and empirical studies, and its high validity has been proved through association with several other working memory tasks [54] (Fig.”
MethodFatigueSet: A Multi-modal Dataset for Modeling Mental Fatigue and Fatigability
Kalanadhabhatta, M., Min, C., Montanari, A., & Kawsar, F. (2022) · Lecture notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-99194-4_14 · Cited by 32
“In addition to the CRT task, participants were also asked to complete a 2-back task to assess their working memory [17].”
MethodThe role of working memory in achievement goal pursuit
Avery, R. E., Smillie, L. D., & de Fockert, J. W. (2013) · Acta Psychologica · doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2013.07.012 · Cited by 28
Near‐ and Far‐Transfer Effects of Working Memory Updating Training in Elderly Adults
Zhao, X., Lai, Z., Li, F., & Maes, J. H. R. (2014) · Applied Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1002/acp.3011 · Cited by 31
“One potential drawback of this task is that responding may be based on ventral–lateral–prefrontal cortex-mediated familiarity and recognition processes rather than on dorsolateral–prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) mediated executive control (e.g. Jonides et al., 1998; Kane et al., 2007).”
BackgroundDoes working memory capacity predict cross-modally induced failures of awareness?
Kreitz, C., Furley, P., Simons, D. J., & Memmert, D. (2015) · Consciousness and Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.concog.2015.11.010 · Cited by 31
Mark Steyvers, B., & Benjamin, A. S. (2018) · Behavior Research Methods · doi:10.3758/s13428-018-1128-2 · Cited by 29
Motivational rigidity enhances multitasking performance: The role of handling interruptions
Szumowska, E., & Kossowska, M. (2016) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2016.10.040 · Cited by 29
Predictors of Effective Working Memory Training in Individuals with Alcohol Use Disorders
Gunn, R. L., Gerst, K. R., Wiemers, E. A., Redick, T. S., & Finn, P. (2018) · Alcoholism Clinical and Experimental Research · doi:10.1111/acer.13892 · Cited by 29
“…utilizes nback training programs (e.g., Jaeggi et al., 2008, 2011), which have been repeatedly shown to measure a different construct from complex span tasks (Jaeggi et al., 2010; Kane et al., 2007; Redick and Lindsey, 2013), making it difficult to draw conclusions about transfer to complex WM.”
Wang, K., Banich, M. T., Reineberg, A. E., Leopold, D. R., Willcutt, E. G., Cutting, L. E., Tufo, S. N. D., Thompson, L. A., Opfer, J. E., Kanayet, F. J., et al. (2020) · Journal of Neuropsychology · doi:10.1111/jnp.12201 · Cited by 24
How Does Allocation of Emotional Stimuli Impact Working Memory Tasks? An Overview
Ribeiro, F. S., Santos, F. H., & Albuquerque, P. B. (2019) · Advances in Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.5709/acp-0265-y · Cited by 30
“Firstly, because the WM tasks tap in diverse and unequal WM processes (Beatty et al., 2015; Blacker et al., 2017; Kane et al., 2007; Jaeggi et al., 2010), and secondly, due to the fact that the allocation of emotional stimuli as inductors or targets interacts differently with diverse processes of…”
BackgroundHou, Y., Yao, S., Hu, S., Zhou, Q., Han, H., Yu, X., McIntyre, R. S., & Shi, C. (2020) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2020.03.146 · Cited by 25
Variations in5-HT2AInfluence Spatial Cognitive Abilities and Working Memory
Gong, P., Li, J., Wang, J., Xu, L., Chen, D., Zhang, K., Zhang, W., Zhen, A., Gao, X., & Zhang, F. (2011) · Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences / Journal Canadien des Sciences Neurologiques · doi:10.1017/s0317167100011513 · Cited by 26
Mahedy, L., Field, M., Gage, S. H., Hammerton, G., Heron, J., Hickman, M., & Munafo, M. R. (2017) · Alcohol and Alcoholism · doi:10.1093/alcalc/agx113 · Cited by 28
“…on the N -back task as an indicator of WM ability, it has been argued that by using N -back performance indices from a signal-detection framework (i.e. d ′ ) may reveal clearer insights about its validity as a measure of WM performance (Kane et al. , 2007; Meule, 2017; Haatveit et al. , 2010).”
BackgroundMethodSelective Attention and Working Memory Under Spatial Disorientation in a Flight Simulator
Stróżak, P., Francuz, P., Lewkowicz, R., Augustynowicz, P., Fudali-Czyż, A., Bałaj, B., & Truszczyński, O. (2018) · The International Journal of Aerospace Psychology · doi:10.1080/24721840.2018.1486195 · Cited by 28
Working memory training in post-stroke aphasia: Near and far transfer effects
Nikravesh, M., Aghajanzadeh, M., Maroufizadeh, S., Saffarian, A., & Jafari, Z. (2020) · Journal of Communication Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jcomdis.2020.106077 · Cited by 26
Trick, L. M., Mutreja, R., & Hunt, K. (2011) · Attention Perception & Psychophysics · doi:10.3758/s13414-011-0235-2 · Cited by 25
Gillis, M. M., García, S., & Hampstead, B. M. (2016) · Behavioural Brain Research · doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2016.05.037 · Cited by 23
“However, we acknowledge debate about the nature of n-back [52] and encourage replication of our findings using other working memory paradigms.”
Motion Sickness and Human Performance – Exploring the Impact of Driving Simulator User Trials
Smyth, J., Birrell, S. A., Mouzakitis, A., & Jennings, P. (2018) · Advances in intelligent systems and computing · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-93885-1_40 · Cited by 25
Spanton, R. W., & Berry, C. J. (2020) · Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology · doi:10.1177/1747021820906117 · Cited by 25
Kwon, Y. H., Yoo, K., Nguyen, H., Jeong, Y., & Chun, M. M. (2021) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.2110811118 · Cited by 25
Challenges in software applications for the cognitive evaluation and stimulation of the elderly
Rute-Pérez, S., Santiago‐Ramajo, S., Hurtado, M. V., Rodríguez‐Fórtiz, M. J., & Caracuel, A. (2014) · Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation · doi:10.1186/1743-0003-11-88 · Cited by 30
Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Relations between Working Memory Performance and Worry
Bredemeier, K., & Berenbaum, H. (2013) · Journal of Experimental Psychopathology · doi:10.5127/jep.032212 · Cited by 27
Raghubar, K. P., Mahone, E. M., Yeates, K. O., Cecil, K. M., Makola, M., & Ris, M. D. (2016) · Child Neuropsychology · doi:10.1080/09297049.2016.1183608 · Cited by 25
“The limited research comparing the n-back with other putative working memory tasks is mixed (Jaeggi et al., 2010; Kane et al., 2007).”
BackgroundRonca, V., Giorgi, A., Rossi, D., Florio, A. D., Flumeri, G. D., Aricò, P., Sciaraffa, N., Vozzi, A., Tamborra, L., Simonetti, I., et al. (2021) · Sensors · doi:10.3390/s21051607 · Cited by 25
“The following questionnaires were selected: • Self-assessment Manikin (SAM), consisting in a picture-oriented questionnaire [38] developed to measure the valence/pleasure of the response (from positive to negative), perceived arousal (from high to low levels), and perceptions of dominance/control (from low to high lev…”
MethodAndrogen Deprivation Therapy for Prostate Cancer: Focus on Cognitive Function and Mood
Reiss, A. B., Gulkarov, S., Pinkhasov, A., Sheehan, K. M., Srivastava, A., Leon, J. D., & Katz, A. E. (2023) · Medicina · doi:10.3390/medicina60010077 · Cited by 24
“Cognitive decline was more frequent in the ADT group, which consisted of those receiving ADT with or without other treatments, and the incidence of cognitive impairment was 6.9%.”
BackgroundInfluentialCan we enhance working memory? Bias and effectiveness in cognitive training studies
Rodas, J. A., Asimakopoulou, A. A., & Greene, C. M. (2024) · Psychonomic Bulletin & Review · doi:10.3758/s13423-024-02466-8 · Cited by 28
“The n -back task is commonly used as a measure of WM, and although task performance involves both storage and processing, some studies have suggested that it relies primarily on EF (Chatham et al., 2011; Kane et al., 2007).”
MethodVerhaeghen, P., Geigerman, S., Yang, H., Montoya, A. C., & Rahnev, D. (2019) · Experimental Aging Research · doi:10.1080/0361073x.2019.1586120 · Cited by 24
Sleep in the Natural Environment: A Pilot Study
Chaudhry, F. F., Danieletto, M., Golden, E., Scelza, J., Botwin, G., Shervey, M. M., Freitas, J. K. D., Paranjpe, I., Nadkarni, G. N., Miotto, R., et al. (2020) · Sensors · doi:10.3390/s20051378 · Cited by 23
“Evidence of using the n-back test as a fluid intelligence metric is contentiously accepted, with some critics citing low correlation between n-back and other fluid intelligence tests [30].”
MethodAge differences in predicting working memory performance from network-based functional connectivity
Pläschke, R. N., Patil, K. R., Cieslik, E. C., Nostro, A. D., Varikuti, D. P., Plachti, A., Lösche, P., Hoffstaedter, F., Kalenscher, T., Langner, R., et al. (2020) · Cortex · doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2020.08.012 · Cited by 24
Context Regulation of Mind Wandering in ADHD
Bozhilova, N. S., Michelini, G., Jones, C., Kuntsi, J., Rubia, K., & Asherson, P. J. (2020) · Journal of Attention Disorders · doi:10.1177/1087054720956714 · Cited by 29
Papakostas, M., Das, K., Abouelenien, M., Mihalcea, R. F., & Burzo, M. G. (2020) · Applied Sciences · doi:10.3390/app11010088 · Cited by 24
“N-Back is a cognitive task extensively applied in psychology and cognitive neuroscience, designed to measure working memory [39].”
BackgroundCognitive load theory and its measurement: a study of secondary tasks in relation to working memory
Greenberg, K., & Zheng, R. Z. (2022) · Journal of Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1080/20445911.2022.2026052 · Cited by 27
“For each n-back an n of two was used as a 2-back has reliability estimates above .80 (Friedman et al., 2008; Jaeggi, Buschkuehl, et al., 2010; Jaeggi et al., 2008; Kane et al., 2007).”
MethodDetection and Recognition of Driver Distraction Using Multimodal Signals
Das, K., Papakostas, M., Riani, K., Gasiorowski, A., Abouelenien, M., Burzo, M. G., & Mihalcea, R. (2022) · ACM Trans. Interact. Intell. Syst. · doi:10.1145/3519267 · Cited by 24
“N-Back is a cognitive task extensively applied in psychology and cognitive neuroscience, designed to measure working memory [15].”
BackgroundMagnuson, M. E., Thompson, G. J., Schwarb, H. D., Pan, W., McKinley, A., Schumacher, E. H., & Keilholz, S. D. (2015) · Brain Imaging and Behavior · doi:10.1007/s11682-014-9347-3 · Cited by 27
“There exist considerable differences in working memory capacity among individuals and these differences are predictive of performance on a wide variety of both basic cognitive tasks and higher-order reasoning tasks (Engle 2007; Kane et al. 2007).”
BackgroundInsightful Imagery is Related to Working Memory Updating
Nȩcka, E., Żak, P., & Gruszka, A. (2016) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00137 · Cited by 24
“For example, in the study by Kane et al. (2007) these tasks shared only 2–5% of their variance.”
BackgroundInfluentialHurley, R., & Machado, L. (2018) · Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology · doi:10.1080/13803395.2018.1434133 · Cited by 25
Metadata
- Authors
- Kane, M. J., Conway, A. R. A., Miura, T. K., & Colflesh, G. J. H.
- Affiliations
- University of North Carolina at Greensboro (US)
- Princeton University (US)
- University of Illinois Chicago (US)
- Venue
- Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition
- Published
- 2007-05
- Volume
- 33
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 615-622
- ISSN
- 0278-7393 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-1285
- OpenAlex
- W1978600950
- Cited by
- 933
- References
- 40
- Citations by year
- 2026: 50 · 2025: 68 · 2024: 73 · 2023: 49 · 2022: 61 · 2021: 74 · 2020: 70 · 2019: 67 · 2018: 63 · 2017: 57 · 2016: 50 · 2015: 57 · 2014: 49 · 2013: 34 · 2012: 32
- FWCI
- 21.75
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- libres.uncg.edu
- Locations
- Journal of Experimental Psychology Learning Memory and Cognition (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- NC Digital Online Collection of Knowledge and Scholarship (The University of North Carolina at Greensboro) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research (F49620-00-1-131)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Functions and Memory
- Keywords
- n-back task, working memory, attentional control, construct validity, convergent validity, operation span, fluid intelligence, executive function
- MeSH terms
- Attention, Humans, Individuality, Intelligence, Memory, Short-Term, Pattern Recognition, Visual, Problem Solving, Psychomotor Performance, Reaction Time, Semantics, Serial Learning, Verbal Learning
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review