What Is Targeted When We Train Working Memory? Evidence From a Meta-Analysis of the Neural Correlates of Working Memory Training Using Activation Likelihood Estimation
Working memory (WM) is the system responsible for maintaining and manipulating information, in the face of ongoing distraction. In turn, WM span is perceived to be an individual-differences construct reflecting the limited capacity of this system. Recently, however, there has been some evidence to s...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-03-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.868001/full |
| _version_ | 1818283096685936640 |
|---|---|
| author | Oshin Vartanian Oshin Vartanian Vladyslava Replete Vladyslava Replete Sidney Ann Saint Sidney Ann Saint Quan Lam Sarah Forbes Sarah Forbes Monique E. Beaudoin Tad T. Brunyé David J. Bryant Kathryn A. Feltman Kristin J. Heaton Richard A. McKinley Jan B. F. Van Erp Jan B. F. Van Erp Annika Vergin Annalise Whittaker |
| author_facet | Oshin Vartanian Oshin Vartanian Vladyslava Replete Vladyslava Replete Sidney Ann Saint Sidney Ann Saint Quan Lam Sarah Forbes Sarah Forbes Monique E. Beaudoin Tad T. Brunyé David J. Bryant Kathryn A. Feltman Kristin J. Heaton Richard A. McKinley Jan B. F. Van Erp Jan B. F. Van Erp Annika Vergin Annalise Whittaker |
| author_sort | Oshin Vartanian |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Working memory (WM) is the system responsible for maintaining and manipulating information, in the face of ongoing distraction. In turn, WM span is perceived to be an individual-differences construct reflecting the limited capacity of this system. Recently, however, there has been some evidence to suggest that WM capacity can increase through training, raising the possibility that training can functionally alter the neural structures supporting WM. To address the hypothesis that the neural substrates underlying WM are targeted by training, we conducted a meta-analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies of WM training using Activation Likelihood Estimation (ALE). Our results demonstrate that WM training is associated exclusively with decreases in blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) responses in clusters within the fronto-parietal system that underlie WM, including the bilateral inferior parietal lobule (BA 39/40), middle (BA 9) and superior (BA 6) frontal gyri, and medial frontal gyrus bordering on the cingulate gyrus (BA 8/32). We discuss the various psychological and physiological mechanisms that could be responsible for the observed reductions in the BOLD signal in relation to WM training, and consider their implications for the construct of WM span as a limited resource. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T00:31:29Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-df624561f3d448c685e0ec04207e1d07 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T00:31:29Z |
| publishDate | 2022-03-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-df624561f3d448c685e0ec04207e1d072022-12-22T00:05:19ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782022-03-011310.3389/fpsyg.2022.868001868001What Is Targeted When We Train Working Memory? Evidence From a Meta-Analysis of the Neural Correlates of Working Memory Training Using Activation Likelihood EstimationOshin Vartanian0Oshin Vartanian1Vladyslava Replete2Vladyslava Replete3Sidney Ann Saint4Sidney Ann Saint5Quan Lam6Sarah Forbes7Sarah Forbes8Monique E. Beaudoin9Tad T. Brunyé10David J. Bryant11Kathryn A. Feltman12Kristin J. Heaton13Richard A. McKinley14Jan B. F. Van Erp15Jan B. F. Van Erp16Annika Vergin17Annalise Whittaker18Defence Research and Development Canada, Toronto, ON, CanadaDepartment of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, CanadaDefence Research and Development Canada, Toronto, ON, CanadaFaculty of Medicine, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, CanadaDefence Research and Development Canada, Toronto, ON, CanadaDepartment of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, CanadaDefence Research and Development Canada, Toronto, ON, CanadaDefence Research and Development Canada, Toronto, ON, CanadaDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, CanadaApplied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, United StatesU.S. Army DEVCOM Soldier Center, Natick, MA, United StatesDefence Research and Development Canada, Toronto, ON, CanadaU.S. Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory, Fort Rucker, AL, United StatesU.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, Natick, MA, United States0U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, OH, United States1Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO), Soesterberg, Netherlands2Department of Human Media Interaction, University of Twente, Enschede, Netherlands3Bundeswehr Office for Defence Planning, Federal Ministry of Defence, Berlin, Germany4Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, UK Ministry of Defence, Salisbury, United KingdomWorking memory (WM) is the system responsible for maintaining and manipulating information, in the face of ongoing distraction. In turn, WM span is perceived to be an individual-differences construct reflecting the limited capacity of this system. Recently, however, there has been some evidence to suggest that WM capacity can increase through training, raising the possibility that training can functionally alter the neural structures supporting WM. To address the hypothesis that the neural substrates underlying WM are targeted by training, we conducted a meta-analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies of WM training using Activation Likelihood Estimation (ALE). Our results demonstrate that WM training is associated exclusively with decreases in blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) responses in clusters within the fronto-parietal system that underlie WM, including the bilateral inferior parietal lobule (BA 39/40), middle (BA 9) and superior (BA 6) frontal gyri, and medial frontal gyrus bordering on the cingulate gyrus (BA 8/32). We discuss the various psychological and physiological mechanisms that could be responsible for the observed reductions in the BOLD signal in relation to WM training, and consider their implications for the construct of WM span as a limited resource.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.868001/fullworking memory spantrainingcognitive resourcemeta-analysisexecutive functions |
| spellingShingle | Oshin Vartanian Oshin Vartanian Vladyslava Replete Vladyslava Replete Sidney Ann Saint Sidney Ann Saint Quan Lam Sarah Forbes Sarah Forbes Monique E. Beaudoin Tad T. Brunyé David J. Bryant Kathryn A. Feltman Kristin J. Heaton Richard A. McKinley Jan B. F. Van Erp Jan B. F. Van Erp Annika Vergin Annalise Whittaker What Is Targeted When We Train Working Memory? Evidence From a Meta-Analysis of the Neural Correlates of Working Memory Training Using Activation Likelihood Estimation Frontiers in Psychology working memory span training cognitive resource meta-analysis executive functions |
| title | What Is Targeted When We Train Working Memory? Evidence From a Meta-Analysis of the Neural Correlates of Working Memory Training Using Activation Likelihood Estimation |
| title_full | What Is Targeted When We Train Working Memory? Evidence From a Meta-Analysis of the Neural Correlates of Working Memory Training Using Activation Likelihood Estimation |
| title_fullStr | What Is Targeted When We Train Working Memory? Evidence From a Meta-Analysis of the Neural Correlates of Working Memory Training Using Activation Likelihood Estimation |
| title_full_unstemmed | What Is Targeted When We Train Working Memory? Evidence From a Meta-Analysis of the Neural Correlates of Working Memory Training Using Activation Likelihood Estimation |
| title_short | What Is Targeted When We Train Working Memory? Evidence From a Meta-Analysis of the Neural Correlates of Working Memory Training Using Activation Likelihood Estimation |
| title_sort | what is targeted when we train working memory evidence from a meta analysis of the neural correlates of working memory training using activation likelihood estimation |
| topic | working memory span training cognitive resource meta-analysis executive functions |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.868001/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT oshinvartanian whatistargetedwhenwetrainworkingmemoryevidencefromametaanalysisoftheneuralcorrelatesofworkingmemorytrainingusingactivationlikelihoodestimation AT oshinvartanian whatistargetedwhenwetrainworkingmemoryevidencefromametaanalysisoftheneuralcorrelatesofworkingmemorytrainingusingactivationlikelihoodestimation AT vladyslavareplete whatistargetedwhenwetrainworkingmemoryevidencefromametaanalysisoftheneuralcorrelatesofworkingmemorytrainingusingactivationlikelihoodestimation AT vladyslavareplete whatistargetedwhenwetrainworkingmemoryevidencefromametaanalysisoftheneuralcorrelatesofworkingmemorytrainingusingactivationlikelihoodestimation AT sidneyannsaint whatistargetedwhenwetrainworkingmemoryevidencefromametaanalysisoftheneuralcorrelatesofworkingmemorytrainingusingactivationlikelihoodestimation AT sidneyannsaint whatistargetedwhenwetrainworkingmemoryevidencefromametaanalysisoftheneuralcorrelatesofworkingmemorytrainingusingactivationlikelihoodestimation AT quanlam whatistargetedwhenwetrainworkingmemoryevidencefromametaanalysisoftheneuralcorrelatesofworkingmemorytrainingusingactivationlikelihoodestimation AT sarahforbes whatistargetedwhenwetrainworkingmemoryevidencefromametaanalysisoftheneuralcorrelatesofworkingmemorytrainingusingactivationlikelihoodestimation AT sarahforbes whatistargetedwhenwetrainworkingmemoryevidencefromametaanalysisoftheneuralcorrelatesofworkingmemorytrainingusingactivationlikelihoodestimation AT moniqueebeaudoin whatistargetedwhenwetrainworkingmemoryevidencefromametaanalysisoftheneuralcorrelatesofworkingmemorytrainingusingactivationlikelihoodestimation AT tadtbrunye whatistargetedwhenwetrainworkingmemoryevidencefromametaanalysisoftheneuralcorrelatesofworkingmemorytrainingusingactivationlikelihoodestimation AT davidjbryant whatistargetedwhenwetrainworkingmemoryevidencefromametaanalysisoftheneuralcorrelatesofworkingmemorytrainingusingactivationlikelihoodestimation AT kathrynafeltman whatistargetedwhenwetrainworkingmemoryevidencefromametaanalysisoftheneuralcorrelatesofworkingmemorytrainingusingactivationlikelihoodestimation AT kristinjheaton whatistargetedwhenwetrainworkingmemoryevidencefromametaanalysisoftheneuralcorrelatesofworkingmemorytrainingusingactivationlikelihoodestimation AT richardamckinley whatistargetedwhenwetrainworkingmemoryevidencefromametaanalysisoftheneuralcorrelatesofworkingmemorytrainingusingactivationlikelihoodestimation AT janbfvanerp whatistargetedwhenwetrainworkingmemoryevidencefromametaanalysisoftheneuralcorrelatesofworkingmemorytrainingusingactivationlikelihoodestimation AT janbfvanerp whatistargetedwhenwetrainworkingmemoryevidencefromametaanalysisoftheneuralcorrelatesofworkingmemorytrainingusingactivationlikelihoodestimation AT annikavergin whatistargetedwhenwetrainworkingmemoryevidencefromametaanalysisoftheneuralcorrelatesofworkingmemorytrainingusingactivationlikelihoodestimation AT annalisewhittaker whatistargetedwhenwetrainworkingmemoryevidencefromametaanalysisoftheneuralcorrelatesofworkingmemorytrainingusingactivationlikelihoodestimation |