Working memory (WM) is the ability to maintain and manipulate task-relevant information in the absence of sensory input. While its improvement through training is of great interest, the degree to which WM training transfers to untrained WM tasks (near transfer) and other untrained cognitive skills (far transfer) remains debated and the mechanism(s) underlying transfer are unclear. Here we hypot...

During the past decade, working memory training has attracted much interest. However, the training outcomes have varied between studies and methodological problems have hampered the interpretation of results. The current study examined transfer after working memory updating training by employing an extensive battery of pre-post cognitive measures with a focus on near transfer. Thirty-one health...

Error management training (EMT) is a training method that involves active exploration as well as explicit encouragement to make errors during training and to learn from them. Past evaluation studies, which compared skill-based training outcomes of EMT with those of proceduralized error-avoidant training or exploratory training without error encouragement, yielded considerable variation in effec...

The degree to which "brain training" can improve general cognition, resulting in improved performance on tasks dissimilar from the trained tasks (transfer of training), is a controversial topic. Here, we tested the degree to which cognitive training, in the form of gamified training activities that have demonstrated some degree of success in the past, might result in broad transfer. Sixty older...

Knowledge is often highly specific to the conditions of acquisition, so there is limited transfer of learning from training to testing. A series of studies is reported examining specificity and transfer of learning in three very different tasks, including digit data entry, speeded aiming, and time production. These studies address a variety of theoretical issues, including those involving menta...

OBJECTIVE Task-specific learning typifies perceptual training but limits rehabilitation of sensory deficit after stroke. We therefore investigated spontaneous and procedurally facilitated transfer of training effects within the somatosensory domain after stroke. DESIGN Ten single-case, multiple-baseline experiments were conducted with stroke participants who had impaired discrimination of tou...

We explored the theoretical underpinnings of a commonly used training strategy by examining issues of training and transfer of skill in the context of a complex video game (Space Fortress, Donchin, 1989). Participants trained using one of two training regimens: Full Emphasis Training (FET) or Variable Priority Training (VPT). Transfer of training was assessed with a large battery of cognitive a...

UNLABELLED Improvement in prosthetic training using intermanual transfer (the transfer of motor skills from the trained, “unaffected” hand to the untrained, “affected” hand) has been shown in previous studies. The aim of this study is to determine the influence of the inter-training interval on the magnitude of the intermanual transfer effects. This was done using a mechanistic, randomized, sin...

Working memory (WM), a key determinant of many higher-order cognitive functions, declines in old age. Current research attempts to develop process-specific WM training procedures, which may lead to general cognitive improvement. Adaptivity of the training as well as the comparison of training gains to performance changes of an active control group are key factors in evaluating the effectiveness...