Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25102926›Full record

SynthesisPsychonomic bulletin & review2015

Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis.

Jacky Au, Ellen Sheehan, Nancy Tsai, Greg J Duncan, Martin Buschkuehl, Susanne M Jaeggi

Open access · greenAbstract readMeta-Analysis
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Psychonomic bulletin & review, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 220 papers, 15 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
220citing papers in PubMed, 15 pooled it
59.9field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

220 citing papers in PubMed, 15 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 650 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Combinations of physical and cognitive training for subcortical neurodegenerative diseases with physical, cognitive and behavioral symptoms: a systematic review.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2024
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  16. Neurology(R) neuroimmunology & neuroinflammation · 2026
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160 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Jacky AuSchool of Education, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA, jwau@uci.edu.
Ellen Sheehan
Nancy Tsai
Greg J Duncan
Martin Buschkuehl
Susanne M Jaeggi
University of California, Irvine · USMIND Research Institute · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Working memory (WM), the ability to store and manipulate information for short periods of time, is an important predictor of scholastic aptitude and a critical bottleneck underlying higher-order cognitive processes, including controlled attention and reasoning. Recent interventions targeting WM have suggested plasticity of the WM system by demonstrating improvements in both trained and untrained WM tasks. However, evidence on transfer of improved WM into more general cognitive domains such as fluid intelligence (Gf) has been more equivocal. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis focusing on one specific training program, n-back. We searched PubMed and Google Scholar for all n-back training studies with Gf outcome measures, a control group, and healthy participants between 18 and 50 years of age. In total, we included 20 studies in our analyses that met our criteria and found a small but significant positive effect of n-back training on improving Gf. Several factors that moderate this transfer are identified and discussed. We conclude that short-term cognitive training on the order of weeks can result in beneficial effects in important cognitive functions as measured by laboratory tests.

Indexed as

AptitudeIntelligenceLearningMemory, Short-TermPractice, PsychologicalAdolescentAdultAttentionControlled Clinical Trials as TopicFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedTransfer, PsychologyYoung Adult

Identifiers

PMID25102926
OpenAlexW1985948545

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.