Review
Training and plasticity of working memory

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2010.05.002Get rights and content

Working memory (WM) capacity predicts performance in a wide range of cognitive tasks. Although WM capacity has been viewed as a constant trait, recent studies suggest that it can be improved by adaptive and extended training. This training is associated with changes in brain activity in frontal and parietal cortex and basal ganglia, as well as changes in dopamine receptor density. Transfer of the training effects to non-trained WM tasks is consistent with the notion of training-induced plasticity in a common neural network for WM. The observed training effects suggest that WM training could be used as a remediating intervention for individuals for whom low WM capacity is a limiting factor for academic performance or in everyday life.

Section snippets

Explicit versus implicit training of working memory

Working memory (WM) refers to the retention of information over a brief period of time, a function that is of central importance for a wide range of cognitive tasks and for academic achievement [1]. Impaired WM is observed in many neuropsychiatric conditions, such as traumatic brain injury, stroke, mental retardation, schizophrenia and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) [2]. It is thus not surprising that attempts to improve WM have a long history. In their 1972 article ‘On the

Psychological and neural correlates of WM

Neurophysiological studies show that maintenance of information in WM is associated with elevated and sustained neural firing over a delay when information is kept in mind [11]. Neuroimaging studies in humans have mapped WM-related activity to both sensory association cortices and prefrontal cortex 12, 13. Some of these regions show specificity to the sensory modality of the stimuli 12, 13. Other regions, including parts of the intraparietal cortex and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, are

Computerized training of WM

An example of what might be termed implicit WM training is the training program originally developed by Klingberg and colleagues for children with ADHD 34, 35. This training involves repeated performance of WM tasks, with feedback and rewards based on the accuracy for every trial. The effective training time is 30–40 min per day, 5 days a week for 5 weeks (totaling approx. 15 h). The difficulty of the tasks is adjusted during the WM training on a trial-by-trial basis by changing the amount of

WM training focusing on updating

The training program described above focused on training and increasing WM capacity, primarily by increasing the amount of visuospatial information that should be retained. Another approach to WM training also uses the principles of implicit training, but focuses specifically on updating, namely the replacement of old information in a hypothetical WM store with new information 45, 46, 47.

In a study by Dahlin et al., young and old healthy adults practiced three computerized updating tasks for 45 

Neural correlates of WM training

Identifying the neural correlates of training-induced improvements has many caveats, since there are many parallel behavioral changes occurring during the course of training (Box 2). Furthermore, the aspects of brain activity associated with superior capacity are still a matter of debate. However, the majority of studies indicate a positive correlation between WM capacity and brain activity in task-relevant areas. Inter-individual differences in WM capacity have been positively correlated with

Concluding remarks

WM training can induce improvements in performance in non-trained tasks that rely on WM and control of attention. This transfer effect is consistent with training-induced plasticity in an intraparietal–prefrontal network that is common for WM and control of attention. Adaptive training that focuses on control of attention could have similar effects and has shown promising results [65].

The observed training effects suggest that WM training could be used as a remediating intervention for

Conflict of interest declaration

TK is a consultant for Cogmed Systems. This company provides software for working memory training used in several of the reviewed articles.

References (82)

  • S.M. Landau

    A functional MRI study of the influence of practice on component processes of working memory

    Neuroimage

    (2004)
  • Y. Brehmer

    Working memory plasticity modulated by dopamine transporter genotype

    Neurosci. Lett.

    (2009)
  • S.M. Landau

    Regional specificity and practice: dynamic changes in object and spatial working memory

    Brain Res.

    (2007)
  • D.L. Schacter

    Reductions in cortical activity during priming

    Curr. Opin. Neurobiol.

    (2007)
  • N. Zhang

    Investigating the source of BOLD nonlinearity in human visual cortex in response to paired visual stimuli

    Neuroimage

    (2008)
  • E.C. Butterfield

    On the theory and practice of improving short-term memory

    Am. J. Ment. Defic.

    (1973)
  • K.A. Ericsson

    Acquisition of a memory skill

    Science

    (1980)
  • G.A. Miller

    The magical number seven, plus-or-minus two or some limits on our capacity for processing information

    Psychol. Rev.

    (1956)
  • D.V. Buonomano et al.

    Cortical plasticity: from synapses to maps

    Annu. Rev. Neurosci.

    (1998)
  • R.J. Nudo

    Use-dependent alterations of movement representations in primary motor cortex of adult squirrel monkeys

    J. Neurosci.

    (1996)
  • G.H. Recanzone

    Topographic reorganization of the hand representation in cortical area 3b of owl monkeys trained in a frequency-discrimination task

    J. Neurophysiol.

    (1992)
  • H. Abikoff et al.

    Hyperactive children treated with stimulants. Is cognitive training a useful adjunct?

    Arch. Gen. Psychiatry

    (1985)
  • S. Funahashi

    Mnemonic coding of visual space in the monkey's dorsolateral prefrontal cortex

    J. Neurophysiol.

    (1989)
  • D.E. Linden

    The working memory networks of the human brain

    Neuroscientist

    (2007)
  • T. Klingberg

    Activation of multi-modal cortical areas underlies short-term memory

    Eur. J. Neurosci.

    (1996)
  • E.K. Vogel et al.

    Neural activity predicts individual differences in visual working memory capacity

    Nature

    (2004)
  • J.J. Todd et al.

    Capacity limit of visual short-term memory in human posterior parietal cortex

    Nature

    (2004)
  • F. McNab et al.

    Prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia control access to working memory

    Nat. Neurosci.

    (2008)
  • J.R. Gray

    Neural mechanisms of general fluid intelligence

    Nat. Neurosci.

    (2003)
  • T. Klingberg

    Increased brain activity in frontal and parietal cortex underlies the development of visuo-spatial working memory capacity during childhood

    J. Cogn. Neurosci.

    (2002)
  • H. Kwon

    Neural basis of protracted developmental changes in visuo-spatial working memory

    Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A.

    (2002)
  • P. Olesen

    Brain activity related working memory and distraction in children and adults

    Cereb. Cortex

    (2007)
  • K.S. Scherf

    Brain basis of developmental change in visuospatial working memory

    J. Cogn. Neurosci.

    (2006)
  • E.A. Crone

    Neurocognitive development of the ability to manipulate information in working memory

    Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A.

    (2006)
  • F. Edin

    Stronger synaptic connectivity as a mechanism behind development of working memory-related brain activity during childhood

    J. Cogn. Neurosci.

    (2007)
  • F. Edin

    Mechanism for top-down control of working memory capacity

    Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A.

    (2009)
  • A. Baddeley

    Working memory: looking back and looking forward

    Nat. Rev. Neurosci.

    (2003)
  • R.W. Engle

    Individual differences in working memory capacity and what they tell us about controlled attention, general fluid intelligence, and functions of the prefrontal cortex

  • M. Corbetta et al.

    Control of goal-directed and stimulus-driven attention in the brain

    Nat. Rev. Neurosci.

    (2002)
  • E.K. Vogel

    Neural measures reveal individual differences in controlling access to working memory

    Nature

    (2005)
  • S. Kastner

    Topographic maps in human frontal cortex revealed in memory-guided saccade and spatial working-memory tasks

    J. Neurophysiol.

    (2007)
  • Cited by (1105)

    • A neuroinflammatory compulsivity model of anorexia nervosa (NICAN)

      2024, Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
    View all citing articles on Scopus
    View full text