Dual n-back working memory training evinces superior transfer effects compared to the method of loci
Open accessAbstract
Working memory (WM) training is a prevalent intervention for multiple cognitive deficits, however, the transfer effects to other cognitive tasks from gains in WM induced by different training techniques still remains controversial. Therefore, the current study recruited three groups of young adults to investigate the memory training transference, with N-back group (NBG) (n = 50) training on dual n-back task, Memory Palace group (MPG) (n = 50) on method of loci, and a blank control group (BCG) (n = 48) receiving no training. Our results showed that both training groups separately improved WM capacity on respective trained task. For untrained tasks, both training groups enhanced performance on digit-span task, while on change detection task, significant improvement was only observed in NBG. In conclusion, while both techniques can be used as effective training methods to improve WM, the dual n-back task training method, perhaps has a more prominent transfer effect than that of method of loci.
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
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?
Transfer to sequencing and/or complex WM tasks has been reported by some N-back training studies but not others.
“Transfer to sequencing and/or complex WM tasks has been reported by some57–63, but not other N-back training studies58,64–70.”
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 [57]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Statistical power analyses using G∗Power 3.1: tests for correlation and regression analyses
Faul, F., Erdfelder, E., Buchner, A., & Lang, A.-G. (2009) · Behavior Research Methods · doi:10.3758/brm.41.4.1149 · Cited by 37,615 · see citing works
Working memory: Looking back and looking forward
Baddeley, A. (2003) · Nature Reviews Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nrn1201 · Cited by 5,200 · see citing works
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 · see citing works
Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory
Jaeggi, S. M., Buschkuehl, M., Jonides, J., & Perrig, W. J. (2008) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.0801268105 · Cited by 2,187 · see citing works
Is working memory training effective? A meta-analytic review
Melby-Lervåg, M., & Hulme, C. (2013) · Developmental Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0028228 · Cited by 1,782 · see citing works
Increased prefrontal and parietal activity after training of working memory
Olesen, P. J., Westerberg, H., & Klingberg, T. (2004) · Nature Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nn1165 · Cited by 1,317 · see citing works
Is working memory training effective?
Shipstead, Z., Redick, T. S., & Engle, R. W. (2012) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/a0027473 · Cited by 1,101 · see citing works
Melby-Lervåg, M., Redick, T. S., & Hulme, C. (2016) · Perspectives on Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/1745691616635612 · Cited by 910 · see citing works
Transfer of Learning After Updating Training Mediated by the Striatum
Dahlin, E., Neely, A. S., Larsson, A., Bäckman, L., & Nyberg, L. (2008) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1155466 · Cited by 892 · see citing works
Morrison, A. B., & Chein, J. M. (2011) · Psychonomic Bulletin & Review · doi:10.3758/s13423-010-0034-0 · Cited by 723 · see citing works
Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis
Au, J., Sheehan, E., Tsai, N., Duncan, G. J., Buschkuehl, M., & Jaeggi, S. M. (2015) · Psychonomic Bulletin & Review · doi:10.3758/s13423-014-0699-x · Cited by 671 · see citing works
Redick, T. S., Shipstead, Z., Harrison, T. L., Hicks, K. L., Fried, D. E., Hambrick, D. Z., Kane, M. J., & Engle, R. W. (2013) · Journal of Experimental Psychology: General · doi:10.1037/a0029082 · Cited by 617 · see citing works
The many faces of working memory and short-term storage
Cowan, N. (2016) · Psychonomic Bulletin & Review · doi:10.3758/s13423-016-1191-6 · Cited by 601 · see citing works
Karbach, J., & Verhaeghen, P. (2014) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/0956797614548725 · Cited by 589 · see citing works
The neuroscience of working memory capacity and training
Constantinidis, C., & Klingberg, T. (2016) · Nature Reviews Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nrn.2016.43 · Cited by 533 · see citing works
Working Memory From the Psychological and Neurosciences Perspectives: A Review
Chai, W. J., Hamid, A. I. A., & Abdullah, J. M. (2018) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00401 · Cited by 526 · see citing works
Jaeggi, S. M., Studer-Luethi, B., Buschkuehl, M., Su, Y.-F., Jonides, J., & Perrig, W. J. (2010) · Intelligence · doi:10.1016/j.intell.2010.09.001 · Cited by 509 · see citing works
Routes to remembering: the brains behind superior memory
Maguire, E. A., Valentine, E. R., Wilding, J. M., & Kapur, N. (2002) · Nature Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nn988 · Cited by 370 · see citing works
Working memory training revisited: A multi-level meta-analysis of n-back training studies
Soveri, A., Antfolk, J., Karlsson, L., Salo, B., & Laine, M. (2017) · Psychonomic Bulletin & Review · doi:10.3758/s13423-016-1217-0 · Cited by 350 · see citing works
What Can Lexical Tone Training Studies in Adults Tell Us about Tone Processing in Children?
Antoniou, M., & Chin, J. L. L. (2018) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00001 · Cited by 293 · see citing works
Steiger, T. K., & Bunzeck, N. (2017) · Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnagi.2017.00001 · Cited by 273 · see citing works
Santos, S. S., Santos, S., Pinto, A. R. T., Ramu, V. G., Heras, M., Bardajı́, E., Tavares, I., & Castanho, M. A. R. B. (2016) · Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnagi.2016.00001 · Cited by 250 · see citing works
Training and Maintaining Memory Abilities in Healthy Older Adults: Traditional and Novel Approaches
Rebok, G. W., Carlson, M. C., & Langbaum, J. B. S. (2007) · The Journals of Gerontology Series B · doi:10.1093/geronb/62.special_issue_1.53 · Cited by 243 · see citing works
Wei, C., Sun, X., Liu, J., Zhou, C., & Xue, G. (2017) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.02066 · Cited by 234 · see citing works
Working memory training involves learning new skills
Gathercole, S. E., Dunning, D. L., Holmes, J., & Norris, D. (2019) · Journal of Memory and Language · doi:10.1016/j.jml.2018.10.003 · Cited by 225 · see citing works
Mnemonic Training Reshapes Brain Networks to Support Superior Memory
Dresler, M., Shirer, W. R., Konrad, B. N., Müller, N. C. J., Wagner, I. C., Fernández, G., Czisch, M., & Greicius, M. D. (2017) · Neuron · doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2017.02.003 · Cited by 221 · see citing works
The effect of word concreteness on recognition memory
Fließbach, K., Weis, S., Klaver, P., Elger, C. E., & Weber, B. (2006) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2006.06.007 · Cited by 216 · see citing works
Folmer, R. L. (2012) · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnhum.2012.00001 · Cited by 206 · see citing works
Hoffman, P., Jefferies, E., & Ralph, M. A. L. (2010) · Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.3783-10.2010 · Cited by 206 · see citing works
Memory training interventions for older adults: A meta-analysis
Gross, A. L., Parisi, J. M., Spira, A. P., Kueider‐Paisley, A., Ko, J. Y., Saczynski, J. S., Samus, Q. M., & Rebok, G. W. (2012) · Aging & Mental Health · doi:10.1080/13607863.2012.667783 · Cited by 199 · see citing works
Schweizer, S., Hampshire, A., & Dalgleish, T. (2011) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0024372 · Cited by 198 · see citing works
Effects of skill training on working memory capacity.
Lee, Y.-S., Lu, M.-J., & Ko, H.-P. (2007) · Learning and Instruction · doi:10.1016/j.learninstruc.2007.02.010 · Cited by 191 · see citing works
Nguyen, L., Murphy, K. A., & Andrews, G. (2019) · Ageing Research Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.arr.2019.100912 · Cited by 189 · see citing works
Memory plasticity across the life span: Uncovering children's latent potential.
Brehmer, Y., Li, S.-C., Müller, V., von Oertzen, T., & Lindenberger, U. (2007) · Developmental Psychology · doi:10.1037/0012-1649.43.2.465 · Cited by 180 · see citing works
Training-induced compensation versus magnification of individual differences in memory performance
Lövdén, M., Brehmer, Y., Li, S., & Lindenberger, U. (2012) · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnhum.2012.00141 · Cited by 173 · see citing works
Peters, J. C., van den Boomen, C., & Kemner, C. (2017) · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnhum.2017.00001 · Cited by 140 · see citing works
Control of interference during working memory updating.
Szmalec, A., Verbruggen, F., Vandierendonck, A., & Kemps, E. (2011) · Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance · doi:10.1037/a0020365 · Cited by 133 · see citing works
Strobach, T., Salminen, T. M., Karbach, J., & Schubert, T. (2014) · Psychological Research · doi:10.1007/s00426-014-0563-7 · Cited by 126 · see citing works
Working Memory Load-Dependent Brain Response Predicts Behavioral Training Gains in Older Adults
Heinzel, S., Lorenz, R. C., Brockhaus, W., Wüstenberg, T., Kathmann, N., Heinz, A., & Rapp, M. A. (2014) · Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.2463-13.2014 · Cited by 126 · see citing works
Legge, E. L. G., Madan, C. R., Ng, E. T., & Caplan, J. B. (2012) · Acta Psychologica · doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2012.09.002 · Cited by 124 · see citing works
Prevalence and Correlates of Physical Inactivity in Community-Dwelling Older Adults in Ireland
Murtagh, E., MURPHY, M. H., Murphy, N. M., Woods, C. B., Nevill, A. M., & Lane, A. (2015) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0118293 · Cited by 115 · see citing works
Dual n-back training increases the capacity of the focus of attention
Lilienthal, L., Tamez, E., Shelton, J. T., Myerson, J., & Hale, S. (2013) · Psychonomic Bulletin & Review · doi:10.3758/s13423-012-0335-6 · Cited by 112 · see citing works
Working memory in children with specific learning disorders and/or attention deficits
Mähler, C., & Schuchardt, K. (2016) · Learning and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2016.05.007 · Cited by 106 · see citing works
Duñabeitia, J. A., Avilés, A., Afonso, O., et al. (2008) · Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2008.11.012 · Cited by 104 · see citing works
Borella, E., Carbone, E., Pastore, M., Béni, R. D., & Carretti, B. (2017) · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnhum.2017.00099 · Cited by 100 · see citing works
Vartanian, O. A., Jobidon, M.-E., Bouak, F., Nakashima, A., Smith, I., Lam, Q., & Cheung, B. (2013) · Neuroscience · doi:10.1016/j.neuroscience.2012.12.060 · Cited by 92 · see citing works
Course-Choi, J., Saville, H., & Derakshan, N. (2016) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2016.11.002 · Cited by 88 · see citing works
Teixeira-Santos, A. C., Moreira, C. S., Magalhães, R., Magalhães, C., Pereira, D. R., Leite, J., Carvalho, S., & Sampaio, A. (2019) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.05.009 · Cited by 87 · see citing works
Plasticity of brain and cognition in older adults
Brehmer, Y., Kalpouzos, G., Wenger, E., & Lövdén, M. (2014) · Psychological Research · doi:10.1007/s00426-014-0587-z · Cited by 86 · see citing works
Training Working Memory to Reduce Rumination
Onraedt, T., & Koster, E. H. W. (2014) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0090632 · Cited by 76 · see citing works
Pauligk, S., Kotz, S. A., & Kanske, P. (2019) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-019-50755-3 · Cited by 72 · see citing works
REVISION OF WECHSLER'S ADULT INTELLIGENCE SCALE IN CHINA
Yao-xian, G. (1983) · Acta Psychologica Sinica · Cited by 71 · see citing works
Tuning Up the Old Brain with New Tricks: Attention Training via Neurofeedback
Jiang, Y., Abiri, R., & Zhao, X. (2017) · Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnagi.2017.00052 · Cited by 70 · see citing works
Working memory training mostly engages general-purpose large-scale networks for learning
Salmi, J., Nyberg, L., & Laine, M. (2018) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.03.019 · Cited by 70 · see citing works
Brehmer, Y., Li, S.-C., Straube, B., Stoll, G., von Oertzen, T., Müller, V., & Lindenberger, U. (2008) · Psychology and Aging · doi:10.1037/0882-7974.23.2.227 · Cited by 69 · see citing works
Working memory components and problem-solving accuracy: are there multiple pathways?
Swanson, H. L., & Fung, W. W. (2016) · Journal of Educational Psychology · doi:10.1037/edu0000116 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
Semantic representation of abstract and concrete words: a minireview of neural evidence
Montefinese, M. (2019) · Journal of Neurophysiology · doi:10.1152/jn.00065.2019 · Cited by 62 · see citing works
Nouchi, R., Saito, T. I., Nouchi, H., & Kawashima, R. (2016) · Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnagi.2016.00302 · Cited by 60 · see citing works
Event-related potentials elicited during working memory are altered in mild cognitive impairment
López Zunini, R. A., Knoefel, F., Lord, C., Dzuali, F., Breau, M., Sweet, L., Goubran, R., & Taler, V. (2016) · International Journal of Psychophysiology · doi:10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2016.09.012 · Cited by 59 · see citing works
Long-term effects of mnemonic training in community-dwelling older adults
O'Hara, R. M., Brooks, J. O., Friedman, L., Schroder, C. M., Morgan, K. S., & KRAEMER, H. C. (2006) · Journal of Psychiatric Research · doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2006.04.010 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
Raz, A., Packard, M. G., Alexander, G. M., Buhle, J. T., Hongtu Zhu, B., Yu, S., & Peterson, B. S. (2009) · Neurocase · doi:10.1080/13554790902776896 · Cited by 55 · see citing works
Misplacing memories? An enactive approach to the virtual memory palace
Peeters, A., & Segundo‐Ortin, M. (2019) · Consciousness and Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.concog.2019.102834 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Transfer after working memory updating training
Waris, O., Soveri, A., & Laine, M. (2015) · PLOS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0138734 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
Combined Cognitive Training vs. Memory Strategy Training in Healthy Older Adults
Li, B., Zhu, X., Hou, J., Chen, T., Wang, P., & Li, J. (2016) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00834 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
Hanssen, B. L., Park, S. J., Royer, J. E., et al. (2019) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-019-55778-4 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Increased integrity of white matter pathways after dual n-back training
Salminen, T., Mårtensson, J., Schubert, T., & Kühn, S. (2016) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.03.028 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
Werner‐Seidler, A., & Dalgleish, T. (2016) · Clinical Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/2167702615626693 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
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 37 · see citing works
Hampstead, B. M., Sathian, K., Bikson, M., & Stringer, A. Y. (2017) · Alzheimer s & Dementia Translational Research & Clinical Interventions · doi:10.1016/j.trci.2017.04.008 · Cited by 36 · see citing works
Ackermann, S., Halfon, O., Fornari, E., Urben, S., & Bader, M. (2018) · Psychiatry Research · doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2018.07.036 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
Hampstead, B. M., Stringer, A. Y., Stilla, R. F., & Sathian, K. (2019) · International Journal of Psychophysiology · doi:10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2019.04.011 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
Bouffard, N. R., Stokes, J. D., Kramer, H. J., & Ekstrom, A. D. (2017) · Memory & Cognition · doi:10.3758/s13421-017-0742-z · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Ophey, A., Giehl, K., Rehberg, S., Eggers, C., Reker, P., van Eimeren, T., & Kalbe, E. (2020) · Parkinsonism & Related Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.parkreldis.2020.02.002 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
Grot, S., Légaré, V. P., Lipp, O., Soulières, I., Dolcos, F., & Luck, D. (2017) · Schizophrenia Research · doi:10.1016/j.schres.2017.01.021 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Kroneisen, M., & Makerud, S. E. (2016) · Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology · doi:10.1080/17470218.2016.1209533 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Yang, P., Fan, C., Wang, M., Fogelson, N., & Li, L. (2017) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.06.031 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Self-citationProactive control of proactive interference using the method of loci
Bass, W., & Oswald, K. M. (2014) · Advances in Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.5709/acp-0156-3 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Examining the neural mechanism behind testing effect with concrete and abstract words
Peng, Y., Liu, Y., & Guo, C. (2018) · Neuroreport · doi:10.1097/wnr.0000000000001169 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Perry, C., Willison, A. T., Walker, M. K., Nankivell, M. C., Lawrence, L. M., & Thomas, A. J. (2019) · Cognitive Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.3758/s13415-018-00686-9 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Technological Enhancements of the Method of Loci for Facilitating Logographic Language Learning
Gelsomini, F., Kanev, K. D., Barneva, R. P., & Walters, L. M. (2019) · Journal of Educational Technology Systems · doi:10.1177/0047239519881758 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- [71]Lenhard, W. & Lenhard, A. Calculation of Effect Sizes. Retrieved from: https://www.psychometrica.de/effect_size.html. Dettelbach (Germany): Psychometrica. 10.13140/RG.2.2.17823.92329 (2016). · DOI
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Pahor, A., Seitz, A. R., & Jaeggi, S. M. (2022) · Nature Human Behaviour · doi:10.1038/s41562-022-01384-w · Cited by 34 · see citing works
- Authors
- Li, W., Zhang, Q., Qiao, H., Jin, D., Ngetich, R. K., Zhang, J., Jin, Z., & Li, L.
- Affiliations
- University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (CN)
- Corresponding author
- Jin, Zhenlan
- Li, Ling
- Venue
- Scientific Reports
- Published
- 2021-02-04
- Volume
- 11
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 3072-3072
- ISSN
- 2045-2322 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC7862396
- OpenAlex
- W3127268694
- Cited by
- 21
- References
- 80
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 3
- FWCI
- 3.38
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- Scientific Reports (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (61773092)
- Higher Education Discipline Innovation Project (B12027)
- Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities
- Sichuan Province Science and Technology Support Program (2020YFS0230)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Functions and Memory
- Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Statistics and Probability › Cognitive and developmental aspects of mathematical skills
- Keywords
- working memory training, dual n-back task, method of loci, memory palace, transfer effects, digit span, change detection, cognitive training
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Attention, Cognition, Cognition Disorders, Electroencephalography, Female, Humans, Learning, Male, Memory, Short-Term, Neuropsychological Tests, Practice, Psychological, Young Adult
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
