N back

Cognitive training has recently become a primary topic of interest in cognitive psychology. The discovery of a strong relationship between WM and Gf gave rise to new cognitive training methods (like dual n-back task), which challenged traditional views of intelligence as a fixed trait in healthy adults. Previous research has shown mixed results in the ability of cognitive training to improve fluid intelligence. Presented dissertation aims to first replicate such effects in a study with (N=142) participants, and then to explore the mediating role of personality systems interaction (PSI) personality factors. In addition, univariate and bivariate analyses of two n-back related, self-report questionnaires (N=258 and N=97) are presented. Experimental results showed improvements in one out of two IQ test scores, which reflects the ambivalent nature of previous research in this field. After examining the results in context of PSI theory, it was found that different training methods yielded different IQ gains in participants, depending on their personality styles. In addition, these correlations suggested a meaningful pattern, indicating that PSI theory may be able to account for the different outcomes of cognitive training studies. Analysis of self-report questionnaires suggests, among other things, that the use of mental strategies during n-back training does not influence prospective IQ gains, and neither does the motivation to participate in n-back study. Qualitative reports complement these findings by offering unique insights into the subjective experiences of people who trained n-back. The presented findings may facilitate tailor-made cognitive training interventions in the future, and can contribute to explaining the mechanisms underlying the far-transfer of working memory training to fluid intelligence.

Genetic risk for schizophrenia is associated with impairments in the initiation and performance of executive control of cognition and action. The nature of these impairments and of the neural dysfunction that underlies them has been extensively investigated using experimental psychology and neuroimaging methods. In this article, we review schizophrenia-associated functional connectivity and activation abnormalities found in subjects performing experimental tasks that engage different aspects of executive function, such as working memory, cognitive control, and response inhibition. We focus on heritable traits associated with schizophrenia risk (intermediate phenotypes or endophenotypes) that have been revealed using imaging genetics approaches. These data suggest that genetic risk for schizophrenia is associated with dysfunction in systems supporting the initiation and application of executive control in neural circuits involving the anterior cingulate and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. This article discusses current findings and limitations and their potential relevance to symptoms and disease pathogenesis.

Evaluacije različitih programa kognitivnog treninga uobičajeno pokazuju značajna poboljšanja uratka na treniranim kognitivnim zadacima, uz slabija ili neznačajna povećanja na nepovezanim kognitivnim zadacima. U ovom je istraživanju korišten adaptivni trening pomoću dvostrukih n-unatrag zadataka (Jaeggi i sur., 2008). U dvostrukom n-unatrag zadatku sudionik treba pamtiti nizove istovremeno zadanih vidnih i slušnih podražaja te, ovisno o razini zadatka, reagirati pritiskom na odgovarajuću tipku ukoliko je trenutno prezentirani podražaj jednak onom prezentiranom n podražaja ranije. Razinu zadatka određuje uspjeh sudionika u prethodnoj seriji podražaja. U istraživanju je sudjelovalo N=42 sudionika (studenata psihologije), podijeljenih u eksperimentalnu (n=18) i aktivnu kontrolnu (n=24) skupinu. Trening se sastojao od 15 sesija (cca. 25 min). Sudionici aktivne kontrolne skupine su u jednakom vremenskom trajanju igrali kompjuteriziranu verziju igre Čovječe, ne ljuti se. Istraživanjem smo željeli ispitati učinke treninga na sposobnosti različite od treniranih - fluidno rezoniranje, pažnju i prostorno pamćenje – kako bismo provjerili mogućnost transfera te ispitali dugotrajnost tih efekata. U tri točke mjerenja (predtest, posttest i praćenje nakon 6 mjeseci) primijenili smo Test fluidnog rezoniranja (CFT-3; Cattell, 2000), Test pažnje i koncentracije (d2; Brickenkamp, 1999) i Test prostornog pamćenja (TPP; Vranić, 2011). Utvrđen je transfer na sve tri korištene mjere neposredno po završetku treninga. Pozitivni efekt zadržao se i 6 mjeseci nakon treninga za sposobnosti fluidnog rezoniranja i prostornog pamćenja, no ne i za sposobnost pažnje.

BackgroundThe GluN2B subunit of N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors is crucially involved in the physiology of the prefrontal cortex during working memory (WM). Consistently, genetic variants in the GluN2B coding gene (GRIN2B) have been associated with cognitive phenotypes. However, it is unclear how GRIN2B genetic variation affects gene expression and prefrontal cognitive processing. Using a composite score, we tested the combined effect of GRIN2B variants on prefrontal activity during WM performance in healthy subjects.MethodWe computed a composite score to combine the effects of single nucleotide polymorphisms on post-mortem prefrontal GRIN2B mRNA expression. We then computed the composite score in independent samples of healthy participants in a peripheral blood expression study (n = 46), in a WM behavioural study (n = 116) and in a WM functional magnetic resonance imaging study (n = 122).ResultsFive polymorphisms were associated with GRIN2B expression: rs2160517, rs219931, rs1105579...

Patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) show preserved or mildly impaired working memory, despite their deficits in episodic memory. We aimed to identify performance and/or neural differences between aMCI patients and matched controls on a standard working memory fMRI task. Neuropsychological assessment demonstrated aMCI impairments in verbal and visual episodic long-term memory, with intact IQ and executive function. Participants completed a standard three-level N-back task where patients were unimpaired. Functional activations in the control group were found in expected areas, including the inferior parietal lobule and dorsolateral pre-frontal cortex. Group differences were found in the insula and lingual gyrus and, in a region of interest analysis, in the hippocampus. In all cases, these were caused by an absence of task-related deactivations in the aMCI group. The results are consistent with reports of failure in task-related deacivations in aMCI and could be early indications of pathology.

Genetic risk for schizophrenia is associated with impairments in the initiation and performance of executive control of cognition and action. The nature of these impairments and of the neural dysfunction that underlies them has been extensively investigated using experimental psychology and neuroimaging methods. In this article, we review schizophrenia-associated functional connectivity and activation abnormalities found in subjects performing experimental tasks that engage different aspects of executive function, such as working memory, cognitive control, and response inhibition. We focus on heritable traits associated with schizophrenia risk (intermediate phenotypes or endophenotypes) that have been revealed using imaging genetics approaches. These data suggest that genetic risk for schizophrenia is associated with dysfunction in systems supporting the initiation and application of executive control in neural circuits involving the anterior cingulate and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. This article discusses current findings and limitations and their potential relevance to symptoms and disease pathogenesis.

BackgroundThe GluN2B subunit of N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors is crucially involved in the physiology of the prefrontal cortex during working memory (WM). Consistently, genetic variants in the GluN2B coding gene (GRIN2B) have been associated with cognitive phenotypes. However, it is unclear how GRIN2B genetic variation affects gene expression and prefrontal cognitive processing. Using a composite score, we tested the combined effect of GRIN2B variants on prefrontal activity during WM performance in healthy subjects.MethodWe computed a composite score to combine the effects of single nucleotide polymorphisms on post-mortem prefrontal GRIN2B mRNA expression. We then computed the composite score in independent samples of healthy participants in a peripheral blood expression study (n = 46), in a WM behavioural study (n = 116) and in a WM functional magnetic resonance imaging study (n = 122).ResultsFive polymorphisms were associated with GRIN2B expression: rs2160517, rs219931, rs1105579...

Findings in the neuroimaging literature suggest that separate brain circuitries are involved when
individuals perform emotional compared to nonemotional working memory (WM) tasks. Here we
test this hypothesis with behavioural measures. We predicted that the conceptual processing of affect
would be disrupted more by concurrent affective than nonaffective load. Participants performed a conceptual
task in which they verified affective versus sensory properties of concepts, and a second, concurrent,
working memory (n-back) task in which the target stimuli were facial expressions. Results revealed
that storing and updating affective (as compared with identity) features of facial expressions altered performance
more for affective than for sensory properties of concepts. The findings are supportive of the
ideas that affective resources exist and that these resources are specifically used during the processing
and representation of affective properties of objects and events