Working memory (WM), which is essential for many academic skills, has been found to predict inattentive behaviours and is a common deficit in ADHD and LD. Recent studies have suggested that WM can be improved by intensive and adaptive computerized training. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of a WM training program on WM, attention, behaviour and academics in adolescents with severe LD/ADHD. A total of 60 12 to 17 year olds with ADHD/LD were randomised to one of two computerized intervention programs: working memory training or math training and evaluated before and at three weeks after completion. Adolescents in the WM training group showed greater improvements in some measures of WM than those in the Math training group, but no training effects were observed on any other measures. Findings are discussed in the context of theoretical and practical implications of WM training.

This dissertation is based on results from an intervention study targeting working memory training. A group of 46 boys and 11 girls (aged 10.7) that were attending special units in 16 regular schools participated in the study. The treatment group (n = 42) trained at school every day for 30-40 minutes with an interactive computer program (Cogmed training) for five weeks. The performances of the treatment group on reading related measures and basic number skills are compared to those of a group of students (n =15) that were attending similar special units and received only ordinary special educational instruction. Working memory measures and non-verbal problem solving were compared to students (n = 25) in a control group from a previous study. In Study I, it was found that reading comprehension and working memory measures correlated and improved at post-tests (T2, T3) for the treatment group to a larger extent than for the comparison group. In Study II, it was found that working memory measures and basic number skills were highly related. The performance of the boys in the treatment group improved more than that of the boys in the comparison group on basic number test at both post-tests. In Study III, basic skills assessed three years later (T4) are reported. The treatment group achieved higher scores in reading comprehension compared to pre-tests and compared to the control group. The treatment group seems to have gained from the cognitive training of working memory with the computer assisted program directly after training, after seven months and at the three year follow-up. The gains were observed on visuo-spatial working memory measure (T2, T3), reading comprehension and on basic number skills in boys (T2, T3, T4). The possible mechanisms that may be involved in and may explain the observed improvements of performances are discussed: executive function, attention, memory, motivation, emotions. The study has some methodological limitations and more research is needed to substantiate the efficacy of the program. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following paper was unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 3: Submitted.</p>

The aim of my thesis was to investigate in what grade teachers who work within special education make use any methods to train the working memory of their students to improve learning ability. I also wanted to examine the material used to train working memory and if any results were noticed. My choice of method was qualitative semi-structured interviews that were recorded during the interviews I conducted these in five different school with education for children with intellectual impairment. The result shows that the schools that are aware of recent research on working memory training had methods for training with their students. They could also see a result that shows that working memory can be improved with training. In those schools that not were aware of the research was working memory training something they didn`t do consciously. But with other forms of memory training, working memory training sometimes occurred as a result of the memory training.  The survey I did also show that current research has difficulties reaching out to the teachers without the active participation of teachers themselves.

This thesis evaluates the effectiveness of study components in order to aid in design refinements for a larger randomized controlled trial (RCT). A total of 38 post-secondary students with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) were randomized into a waitlist control group, or standard-length (45 minute) or shortened-length (15 minute) WM training group. Criterion measures included the WAIS-IV Digit Span (auditory-verbal WM), CANTAB Spatial Span (visual-spatial WM) and WRAML Finger Windows (visual-spatial WM). Transfer-of-training effects were assessed using indices of everyday cognitive functioning. Participants in the standard- and shortened-length groups showed greater improvements at post-test on auditory-verbal WM and reported fewer cognitive failures in everyday life than waitlist controls. Participants in the standard-length group showed greater improvements in visual-spatial WM at post-test than participants in the other two groups. Preliminary findings suggest that shorter training may have similar beneficial outcomes as documented for the standard-length training, indicating that a larger-scale RCT is warranted.

This thesis evaluates the effectiveness of study components in order to aid in design refinements for a larger randomized controlled trial (RCT). A total of 38 post-secondary students with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) were randomized into a waitlist control group, or standard-length (45 minute) or shortened-length (15 minute) WM training group. Criterion measures included the WAIS-IV Digit Span (auditory-verbal WM), CANTAB Spatial Span (visual-spatial WM) and WRAML Finger Windows (visual-spatial WM). Transfer-of-training effects were assessed using indices of everyday cognitive functioning. Participants in the standard- and shortened-length groups showed greater improvements at post-test on auditory-verbal WM and reported fewer cognitive failures in everyday life than waitlist controls. Participants in the standard-length group showed greater improvements in visual-spatial WM at post-test than participants in the other two groups. Preliminary findings suggest that shorter training may have similar beneficial outcomes as documented for the standard-length training, indicating that a larger-scale RCT is warranted.

Working memory is involved in a variety of cognitive tasks, with working memory capacity predicting an individual's ability to process information and focus attention on taskrelated information. Subsequently, recent research has investigated whether working memory capacity can be improved through training and whether improvements generalise to other cognitive, behavioural or emotional domains. This training is typically adaptive in nature, changing in difficulty according to participant ability, and can be completed in the participant's home on a computer, giving it the potential to be an easily accessible intervention for a range of clinical populations. The first paper presents a systematic review evaluating the effectiveness of computerised working memory training for individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders, which are often associated with working memory difficulties. The review found that to date, working memory training has been investigated in four neurodevelopmental disorders: attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder; autism spectrum disorder; intellectual disability and specific learning disorder. The findings indicate that although training appears to produce short-term improvements in the working memory capacity, this does not reliably generalise to other cognitive processes or disorder-specific symptoms. The second paper presents a randomised controlled trial investigating the effects of working memory training for reducing worry in high-worriers. Working memory capacity limitations, and subsequent difficulties in attentional control, are believed to be central to the maintenance of worry. Participants were randomly assigned to complete 15 days of nonadaptive working memory training using a 1-back task, or adaptive working memory training using a n-back task. Training led to improvements in working memory capacity and worry symptoms post-training and at four-week follow-up, with improvements on the adaptive training task significantly correlating with improvements in working memory capacity and worry. These findings are discussed in terms of implications for clinical practice and future research, together with the limitations of the study.

Working memory provides us with the capacity to both store and process information. It is a fundamental ability that we use throughout our daily lives to interpret, make sense of and understand the world around us. In particular, verbal working memory capacity has long been recognised as foundational to children’s ability to learn, and is especially implicated in language development, reading, comprehension and mathematics abilities. Recognising the fundamental importance of working memory, seminal research has recently demonstrated that repeated practice on computerised training programmes can lead to increases in children’s working memory capacity. However, while these programmes are promising, there are some inherent difficulties which are likely to restrict their application and uptake within the school context, both for the individual child or whole class. To overcome these limitations, the present research aimed to develop and evaluate a practical, whole-class working memory training programme. Achieving this could potentially offer every teacher and child a viable, effective way to improve their working memory capacity and, in doing so, increase their fundamental learning ability. The first phase of the research aimed to create a theoretically effective and practical programme which was grounded in the needs and preferences of teachers and children. This was achieved by first developing prototype materials based on the theoretical literature of what would make an effective programme, before drawing upon the experiences and expertise of teachers within a focus group, and children within a playtest exploration. A wide range of proposals were made which had implications for the final design and implementation procedures. The final working memory training programme involved pairs of children engaging in a series of five different card-based working memory activities, each with three levels of difficulty. The second phase of the research involved the implementation and evaluation of the programme within a mainstream primary school classroom for fifteen minutes a day for six weeks. Measures of children’s working memory demonstrated that they made significant gains in their working memory, and verbal short-term memory. These improvements were significant both immediately following the programme and at a two month follow up. Children’s responses on a questionnaire, as well as interviews with the children and class teacher demonstrated that the programme proved easy to use in the classroom to the extent that it was run almost autonomously by the children. Reports also indicated that children found the programme to be an engaging and enjoyable experience. The demonstration of a practical and effective whole class working memory training programme holds considerable potential to increase children’s capacity to learn and achieve. The wide range of factors which potentially enable a WM training programme to be effective, enjoyable and practical are discussed, and the future implications of this research are explored.

The Options of Working Memory Training Abstract: The theme of this diploma thesis is the possibilities of working memory training. From the analysis of nowadays literature we found out that the field of stimulus material (witch is contained in training programs) has not been researched much. The aim of this work is to find out whether there is a connection between the type of stimulus material (within the abstraction and modality level), performance and memory strategies. For this purpose we selected the N-Back Campaign training program. And provide it with visual and verbal tasks in a differen king of abstraction level. These tasks were conducted by fifty respondents. After that, several semi-structured interviews were conducted, which helped us to understand the processes associated with N-back tasks. Using statistical analysis, we came to the conclusion that the type of stimulus material is significantly related to the performance in n-back tasks: with increasing rate of abstraction the performance decreases and that visual N-back task achives with higher scores. Furthermore, it has been found that there are specific strategies that correspond to a certain degree of stimulus abstraction or modalities (vision, hearing). Therefore, we think that stimulus material in N-back tasks can have a significant...

Gaining knowledge about methods of memory enhancement is important because it allows us to develop effective strategies and interventions to increase memory performance, optimize cognitive function, and potentially alleviate memory-related challenges such as age-related cognitive decline or memory disorders. This thesis aims to examine the influence of age on self-reported mental imagery (MI) experiences and investigate the potential effects of age and MI on memory training performance using the Method of Loci (MoL). The thesis utilizes data collected from a mobile application from a previous research project conducted at Umeå University. The main findings of this thesis indicate that older adults spent more time on encoding and retrieval tasks, suggesting a decline in cognitive processing speed. However, there was no significant decline in MI ability with age, challenging previous research and suggesting that MI ability may remain relatively stable throughout the lifespan. The findings also suggest that there was no significant correlation between higher MI ability and performance in MoL training. Participants rating themselves as having weaker MI were often achieving high levels in the MoL-training, indicating the potential utilization of alternative cognitive strategies than MI. Spending more time on encoding and retrieval tasks was associated with better performance in MoL training. The findings suggest that age-related declines in processing speed may not necessarily hinder individuals' ability to utilize MoL effectively. However, the findings challenge the idea that MI is such a decisive factor in MoL training and raise questions about which other mechanisms work together for a successful result.

Minnespalats eller locimetoden är en gammal mnemoteknik som använts sedan antikens Grekland och är idag väl använd hos världsmästare i minne. Mnemotekniken går ut på att mentalt visualisera en känd plats, och de saker man ska komma ihåg placeras sedan ut på olika delar av denna plats, vanligtvis i en specifik följd. Det har visat sig vara en strategi som man kan lära sig och bli bättre på och därmed öka mängden information som man kan komma ihåg. En förutsättning för att använda Locimetoden kan tänkas vara att man har förmågan att visualisera. I denna studie ville jag undersöka om personer som har afantasi; saknar förmågan att mentalt visualisera, kan använda Locimetoden. 18 personer deltog i experimentet. Genom en kvasiexperimentell design jämfördes deltagare med låg visualiseringsförmåga mot de med högre visualiseringsförmåga. De fick träna i två veckor på Locimetoden i en digital app där högre nivåer kunde uppnås ju längre sekvenser som de lyckades memorera. Resultatet visade endast signifikanta skillnader när det gällde självskattning för hur svårt det var att använda Locimetoden, i afantasi-gruppen svarade en majoritet att det var svårt i jämförelse med kontrollgruppen som svarade att det var enkelt. Det ska dock noteras att deltagandet var mycket lågt, specifikt för de i afantasi-gruppen men resultatet ger ändå en indikation. Det behövs merforskning för att kunna dra några slutsatser kring personer med afantasi och olika mnemotekniker. / Memory palace or the Method of Loci (MoL) is an old mnemonic technique that has been used since ancient Greece and is today well used by world champions in memory. The mnemonic technique involves mentally visualizing a known place and then placing the things to be remembered in different parts of this place, usually in a specific sequence. It has been shown to be a strategy that one can learn and become better at, thereby increasing the amount of information that one can remember. A prerequisite for using MoL could be that you have the ability to visualize. In this study I wanted to investigate if people who have aphantasia; lacks the ability to mentally visualize, can use MoL. 18 people participated in the experiment. Through a quasi-experimental design, participants with low visualization skills were compared to those with higher visualization skills. They practiced MoL for two weeks in a digital appwhere higher levels could be achieved if they managed to memorize longer sequences. The result only showed significant differences when it came to self-estimation of how difficult it was to use MoL, all participants in the aphantasia group answered that it was difficult compared to the control group who answered that it was easy., it should be noted that participation was very low, specifically for those in the aphantasia group, but the result still gives an indication. More research is needed to draw any conclusions about people with aphantasia and different mnemonic techniques.