Stimulus information is maintained in working memory by action potentials that persist after the stimulus is no longer physically present. The prefrontal cortex is a critical brain area that maintains such persistent activity due to an intrinsic network with unique synaptic connectivity, NMDA receptors, and interneuron types. Persistent activity can be highly plastic depending on task demands but it also appears in naïve subjects, not trained or required to perform a task at all. Here, we review what aspects of persistent activity remain constant and what factors can modify it, focusing primarily on neurophysiological results from non-human primate studies. Changes in persistent activity are constrained by anatomical location, with more ventral and more anterior prefrontal areas exhibiting the greatest capacity for plasticity, as opposed to posterior and dorsal areas, which change relatively little with training. Learning to perform a cognitive task for the first time, further practicing the task, and switching between learned tasks can modify persistent activity. The ability of the prefrontal cortex to generate persistent activity also depends on age, with changes noted between adolescence, adulthood, and old age. Mean firing rates, variability and correlation of persistent discharges, but also time-varying firing rate dynamics are altered by these factors. Plastic changes in the strength of intrinsic network connections can be revealed by the analysis of synchronous spiking

Abstract Auditory alarm deafness is a failure to notice a salient auditory signal in a high-load context, which is one of the major causes of flight accidents. Therefore, it is of great practical significance for aviation safety to explore ways to avoid auditory alarm deafness under a high-load scenario. One potential reason for its occurrence could be the fact that cognitive resources are limited. Working memory (WM) capacity is important for the availability of cognitive resources. The present study investigated the effects of different types of WM ability and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) combined with WM training on auditory alarm sensitivity in a simulated high-load aeronautical decision-making task in two experiments, with participants who were not trained pilots. The results showed that different types of WM storage capacity did not predict auditory alarm deafness. However, individuals with high executive function of WM were more sensitive to the auditory alarm than those with low executive function. During WM training, tDCS over the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex not only improved WM executive function but also improved auditory alarm sensitivity under high-load conditions. These findings suggest that the storage and executive function of WM have different roles in auditory alarm sensitivity. WM training based on brain stimulation technology can provide empirical evidence for the enhancement of auditory alarm alertness and cognitive function in

Working memory (WM) is a crucial cognitive function, and a deficit in this function is a critical factor in learning difficulties (LDs). As a result, there is growing interest in exploring different approaches to training WM to support students with LDs. Following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines, this systematic review aims to identify current computer-based WM training applications and their theoretical foundations, explore their effects on improving WM capacity and other cognitive/academic abilities, and extract design principles for creating an effective WM application for children with LDs. The 22 studies selected for this review provide strong evidence that children with LDs have low WM capacity and that their WM functions can be trained. The findings revealed four commercial WM training applications—COGMED, Jungle, BrainWare Safari, and N-back—that were utilized in 16 studies. However, these studies focused on suggesting different types of WM tasks and examining their effects rather than making those tasks user-friendly or providing practical guidelines for the end-user. To address this gap, the principles of the Human–Computer Interaction, with a focus on usability and user experience as well as relevant cognitive theories, and the design recommendations from the selected studies have been reviewed to extract a set of proposed guidelines. A total of 15 guidelines have been extracted that can be utilized to design WM training programs specifically for children with LDs.

General intelligence is a cognitive trait that is purported to influence most domain-specific learning abilities in humans. Like humans, CD-1 outbred mice express individual differences in their "general" cognitive abilities, such that performance across diverse batteries of learning tasks tend to be positively correlated, and this general learning factor accounts for 32-48% of the variance of individual animals performance in cognitive test batteries. It has been demonstrated that in both humans and mice, the efficacy of working memory capacity correlates highly with measures of general cognitive ability. In three experiments, here we demonstrate that in genetically heterogeneous mice, repetitive working memory training promotes an increase in selective attention and has a commensurately positive effect on the animals' aggregate performance on a battery of five learning tasks. The enhancement of general cognitive performance by working memory exercise was attenuated if the selective attention demands of that exercise were reduced. Finally, because much of the human research conducted on working memory training is done in pre-pubescent children, we trained a group of mice beginning in pre-pubescence and found no difference between that group and one trained at our typical young-adult age. In total, these results provide initial evidence that the efficacy of working memory capacity and selective attention are causally related to an animal’s general cognitive performance, and s

Working memory is a complex cognitive system responsible for the concurrent storage and processing of information. Ggiven that a complex cognitive task like mental arithmetic clearly places demands on working memory (e.g., in remembering partial results, monitoring progress through a multi-step calculation), there is surprisingly little research exploring the possibility of increasing young children's working memory capacity through systematic school-based training. Tthis study reports the preliminary results of a working memory training programme, targeting executive processes such as inhibiting unwanted information, monitoring processes, and the concurrent storage and processing of information. Tthe findings suggest that children who received working memory training made significantly greater gains in the trained working memory task, and in a non-trained visual-spatial working memory task, than a matched control group. Moreover, the training group made significant improvements in their mathematical functioning as measured by the number of errors made in an addition task compared to the control group. Tthese findings, although preliminary, suggest that school-based measures to train working memory could have benefits in terms of improved performance in mathematics.

We designed a working memory (WM) training programme in game framework for mild intellectually disabled students. Twenty-four students participated as test and control groups. The auditory and visual–spatial WM were assessed by primary test, which included computerised Wechsler numerical forward and backward sub-tests and secondary tests, which contained three parts: dual visual–spatial test, auditory test and a one-syllable word recalling test. The results showed significant difference between WM capacity in the intellectually disabled children and normal ones (p-value < 0.00001). Visual–spatial WM, auditory WM and speaking were improved in the trained group. Four tests showed significant differences between pre-test and post-tests. The trained group showed more improvements in forward tasks. The trained participant's processing speed increased with training.We found that school is the best place for training. More comprehensive human–computer interfaces could be suitable for intellectually disabled stud...

Objectives: The aim of this research is designing a computerized program, in game format, for working memory training in mild intellectual disabled children. Methods: 24 students participated as test and control groups. The auditory and visual-spatial WM were assessed by primary test, which included computerized Wechsler numerical forward and backward sub- tests, and secondary tests, which contained three parts: dual visual-spatial test, auditory test, and a one-syllable word recalling test. Results: The results showed significant differnces between working memory capacity in the intellectually disabled children and normal ones (P-value<0.00001). After using the computerized working memory training, Visual-spatial WM, auditory WM, and speaking were improved in the trained group. The mentioned four tests showed significant differences between pre-test and post-test. The trained group showed more improvements in forward tasks. The trained participant’s processing speed increased with training. Discussion: According to the results, comprehensive human-computer interfaces and the aplication of computer in children training, especially in traing of intellectual disabled children with impairements in visual and auditory perceptions, could be more effective and vaulable.

Significance Working memory capacity is notoriously limited to a handful of items, creating one of the central bottlenecks of human cognition, but can be improved by training. The neural basis of this improvement remains a matter of debate, as human imaging studies have produced contradictory results about the mechanisms that effect improved capacity. To resolve this controversy, we recorded neuronal activity from monkeys while they were being trained to improve their ability in maintaining multiple stimuli in memory. Our results reveal that improvement of working memory is effected by a more distributed activation of the prefrontal cortex and invariant temporal dynamics of neuronal activity. These changes render the prefrontal network more robust, allowing it to maintain more items in memory.