Benefits of training visuospatial working memory in young-old and old-old.
Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to test the efficacy of a visuospatial working memory (WM) training in terms of its transfer effects and maintenance effects, in the young-old and old-old. Forty young-old and 40 old-old adults took part in the study. Twenty participants in each age group received training with a visuospatial WM task, whereas the others served as active controls and completed alternative activities. Training benefits were examined, considering (a) the specific training-related gains in a visuospatial WM task (criterion); and (b) the transfer effects on measures of verbal WM, visuospatial short-term memory, inhibition, processing speed, and reasoning. Maintenance of training benefits was also assessed after 8 months. Results showed that the trained groups (both young-old and old-old), but not the control groups, performed better in the WM measures and preserved these gains after 8 months. Some transfer effects were found, but only in the young-old-trained participants, and they were not maintained at the follow-up. These results are discussed in terms of the efficacy of WM training for older adults when a visuospatial modality is used.
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Training effects generalize and transfer to non-trained tasks that involve the targeted training domain and the underlying trained brain areas (near transfer).
“As a consequence, training effects would generalize and transfer to non-trained tasks that also involve the targeted training domain, and the underlying trained brain areas (near transfer) (Lee et al., 2007; Thorell et al., 2009; Borella et al., 2014; Beauchamp et al., 2016).”
From Training on Working Memory and Inhibitory Control in Young Adults (2016) · cites this paper as Borella et al., 2014
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- Authors
- Borella, E., Carretti, B., Cantarella, A., Riboldi, F., Zavagnin, M., & De Beni, R.
- Affiliations
- University of Padua (IT)
- Venue
- Developmental Psychology
- Published
- 2014-03
- Volume
- 50
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 714-727
- ISSN
- 0012-1649 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-0599
- OpenAlex
- W2157152243
- Cited by
- 101
- References
- 40
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 16 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 15 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 1
- FWCI
- 9.91
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Developmental Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Padua Research Archive (University of Padova) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- University of Padova (CPDA087750/08)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Functions and Memory
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology › Aging and Gerontology Research
- Keywords
- visuospatial working memory, cognitive training, older adults, young-old, old-old, transfer effects, verbal working memory, visuospatial short-term memory, inhibition, processing speed, reasoning, cognitive aging
- MeSH terms
- Age Factors, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Aging, Analysis of Variance, Female, Humans, Male, Memory, Short-Term, Photic Stimulation, Serial Learning, Teaching, Transfer, Psychology, Visual Perception
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