Table 3B.
Summary of studies using healthy and elite populations (additive studies).
| Article | Sample (completed) | Device | Active Control | Near transfer test | Far transfer* test | Retention test | Independent of company | Cognitive outcomes | Findings | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brehmer et al., 2012 | 55 younger adults (mean 26.0 yrs) and 45 older adults (mean 63.8 yrs) | Cogmed | Non-adaptive version of training task | Yes | No | Yes | No | WM, sustained attention, inhibition, STM, reasoning | TG showed greater improvement in WM tasks (forwards and backwards span) than controls (p = 0.01 and p < 0.001). TG also showed greater improvement in sustained attention, but not inhibition, STM or reasoning. Group differences remained at 3 month follow-up | |
| Dunning and Holmes, 2014 | 45 students (18–21 yrs) | Cogmed | Non-adaptive version of training task | Yes | No | No | Yes | WM, STM | Interaction effects indicated greater gains on verbal and visuospatial WM (span tasks) and verbal STM for the TG over active and passive controls (ps < 0.05), but not for visuospatial STM. | |
| Gibson et al., 2013 | 20 undergraduate students | Cogmed | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | WM | Two TGs displayed significantly greater recall on items from primary (p < 0.05) and secondary memory (p < 0.01) than passive controls. | |
| Hardy et al., 2011 | 23 participants (mean 57.0 yrs) | Lumosity | No | Yes | No | No | No | Spatial WM and divided visual attention | TG improved significantly from pre to post in divided attention (p < 0.001) and significantly more than controls (p = 0.027). TG improved significantly in forward spatial WM, (p = 0.032), significantly more than controls. They also improved reverse spatial span (p = 0.008). There was no change in letter memory, (p = 0.517). | |
| Hardy et al., 2015 | 4715 Lumosity users (18–80 years; 39.2 ± 15.1 yrs) | Lumosity | Crossword Puzzles | Yes | Yes (SR) | No | No | Overall battery (inc. STM, WM, grammatical and arithmetic reasoning, response inhibition, selective attention) | Significantly greater improvement on battery in TG (p < 0.001). Largest effects in inhibition and arithmetic reasoning. Also significantly greater improvement in self-reported cognition and emotional status, (p < 0.001). | |
| McNab et al., 2009 | 13 healthy males (20–28 yrs) | Cogmed | No | Yes | No | No | No | WM | Training improved WM capacity (p < 0.001). No comparison group. Improvements were associated with cortical dopamine binding. | |
| Metzler-Baddeley et al., 2016 | 40 adults (26.5 ± 6.6 yrs) | Cogmed | Non-adaptive version of training task | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | WM, inhibition, grammatical reasoning, general intelligence, multi-tasking | The TG showed significantly greater improvement in two measures of WM (ps < 0.001), but not in tests of inhibition, grammatical reasoning, general intelligence, and multi-tasking. Adaptive training related to structural brain changes measured through Magnetic Resonance Imaging. | |
| Nouchi et al., 2013 | 32 young adults (20.7 ± 1.2 yrs) | Nintendo Brain Age | Video game | Yes | No | No | Yes | Fluid intelligence, EF, WM, STM, processing speed | The TG showed greater improvements than active controls in EF (ps < 0.001–0.002), WM (OSPAN) (ps = 0.003–0.008) and processing speed (symbol search) (ps = 0.004–0.006). Active controls showed greater improvement in sustained attention (p = 0.01) and visuo-spatial ability (p = 0.009). No improvement in fluid intelligence or STM for either group. | |
| Parsons et al., 2016 | 20 University students (23.3 ± 2.7 yrs) | Neurotracker | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | Selective and sustained attention, processing speed, STM, WM, inhibition | TG showed significant improvements in sustained attention (p = 0.007), inhibition (p = 0.004), WM (p = 0.02), and STM (p = 0.008) (WAIS tests). TG also showed decreased EEG power in theta, alpha and delta bands, primarily in frontal cortex. | |
| Romeas et al., 2016 | 23 soccer players (21.7 ± 0.5 yrs) | Neurotracker | Soccer videos | No | Yes | No | No | None | TG showed significantly greater improvement than controls in passing accuracy (p = 0.044), but not dribbling or shooting. There was a significant increase in self-reported confidence in decision making in the TG (p = 0.012) but not controls. | |
| Vartanian et al., 2016 | 41 Armed Forces personnel (21–50 years) | Neurotracker | Dual n-back | Yes | No | No | Yes | WM | TG showed significant increases in word (p = 0.005), visual (p = 0.05), and matrix (p = 0.015) span tasks. There was no improvement in active and passive control groups. |
*
Transfer to tasks other than laboratory cognitive tests.
SR, self-report outcome; WM, working memory; STM, short-term memory; EF, executive function; TG, treatment group; OSPAN, Operation Span task; WCST, Wisconsin card Sorting Task; WAIS, Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale; ADHD, Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, MS, Multiple Sclerosis; ps, multiple p-values.
Quality assessment color key: