Cognitive training enhances intrinsic brain connectivity in childhood
Open accessAbstract
In human participants, the intensive practice of particular cognitive activities can induce sustained improvements in cognitive performance, which in some cases transfer to benefits on untrained activities. Despite the growing body of research examining the behavioral effects of cognitive training in children, no studies have explored directly the neural basis of these training effects in a systematic, controlled fashion. Therefore, the impact of training on brain neurophysiology in childhood, and the mechanisms by which benefits may be achieved, are unknown. Here, we apply new methods to examine dynamic neurophysiological connectivity in the context of a randomized trial of adaptive working memory training undertaken in children. After training, connectivity between frontoparietal networks and both lateral occipital complex and inferior temporal cortex was altered. Furthermore, improvements in working memory after training were associated with increased strength of neural connectivity at rest, with the magnitude of these specific neurophysiological changes being mirrored by individual gains in untrained working memory performance.
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Enhancements in cognitive performance following training are mirrored by changes in neural activity and connectivity of the brain networks serving working memory.
“Enhancements in cognitive performance following training are mirrored by changes in the neural activity and connectivity of the brain networks serving WM (Astle et al., 2015; Barnes et al., 2016; Caeyenberghs et al., 2016; Constantinidis & Klingberg, 2016; Dahlin, Neely, Larsson, Backman, & Nyberg, 2008; Kundu, Sutterer, Emrich, & Postle, 2013; Olesen, Westerberg, & Klingberg, 2004; Takeuchi & Kaw”
From Working memory training involves learning new skills (2019) · cites this paper as Astle et al., 2015
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- Authors
- Astle, D. E., Barnes, J. J., Baker, K., Colclough, G. L., & Woolrich, M. W.
- Affiliations
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit (GB)
- University of Cambridge (GB)
- University of Oxford (GB)
- Venue
- The Journal of Neuroscience
- Publisher
- Society for Neuroscience
- Published
- 2015-04-22
- Volume
- 35
- Issue
- 16
- Pages
- 6277-6283
- ISSN
- 0270-6474 (ISSN-L)
- 1529-2401
- PMC
- PMC4405549
- OpenAlex
- W1974586186
- Cited by
- 123
- References
- 29
- Citations by year
- 2025: 6 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 21 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 18 · 2015: 6
- FWCI
- 25.10
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Neuroscience (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Wellcome Trust
- National Institute for Health and Care Research (ACF-2007-18-019, CL-2010-14-002)
- British Academy
- Academy of Medical Sciences (AMS-SGCL5-Baker)
- University of Oxford
- Medical Research Council (MR/K005464/1)
- Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (1243649)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Functional Brain Connectivity Studies
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural dynamics and brain function
- Keywords
- cognitive training, working memory, children, intrinsic brain connectivity, resting-state functional connectivity, frontoparietal network, lateral occipital complex, inferior temporal cortex, neuroplasticity, transfer of training, neurophysiological changes
- MeSH terms
- Brain Mapping, Cerebral Cortex, Child, Female, Humans, Learning, Male, Memory, Short-Term, Neural Pathways, Rest, Magnetoencephalography
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