ReviewFrontiers in psychology2017
How Is Working Memory Training Likely to Influence Academic Performance? Current Evidence and Methodological Considerations.
Review in Frontiers in psychology, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 72 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effectiveness of Computerized Cognitive Training Programs (CCTP) with Game-like Features in Children with or without Neuropsychological Disorders: a Meta-Analytic Investigation.Neuropsychology review · 2020Pooled it
- Transfer Effects of Integrated Adaptive Working Memory Training in School-Age Children: Improvements in Inhibitory Control and Asymmetric Gains in Mathematical Abilities.Journal of Intelligence · 2026Article
- Nonacademic predictors of China medical licensing examination.BMC medical education · 2025Article
- Test anxiety, psychological adaptability, and learning performance: Effects of a mindfulness training intervention on university students.Journal of education and health promotion · 2025Article
- Auditory Memory and Visual Memory in Typically Developing Children: Modality Dependence/ Independence.The journal of international advanced otology · 2024Article
- The moderating role of recreational substance use in the association of Mediterranean diet with academic performance among adolescents.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- The association between working memory, teacher-student relationship, and academic performance in primary school children.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Article
- The Role of Brain Activity in Characterizing Successful Reading Intervention in Children With Dyslexia.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2022Article
- Dark personality traits and entrepreneurial intentions among Pakistani university students: The role of executive functions and academic intent to entrepreneurship.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Article
- Association between tennis training experience and executive function in children aged 8-12.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2022Article
- Training and transfer effects of working memory updating training in male abstinent long-term methamphetamine users.Addictive behaviors reports · 2021Article
- Pilot Study of an Attention and Executive Function Cognitive Intervention in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2021Article
- Individual difference predictors of learning and generalization in perceptual learning.Attention, perception & psychophysics · 2021Article
- Shared Developmental Trajectories for Fractional Reasoning and Fine Motor Ability in 4 and 5 Year Olds.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Individual differences in executive function partially explain the socioeconomic gradient in middle-school academic achievement.Developmental science · 2020Article
- A good beginning: study protocol for a group-randomized trial to investigate the effects of sit-to-stand desks on academic performance and sedentary time in primary education.BMC public health · 2020Article
- Kindergarten Children's Executive Functions Predict Their Second-Grade Academic Achievement and Behavior.Child development · 2019Article
- Low intensity white noise improves performance in auditory working memory task: An fMRI study.Heliyon · 2019Article
- Computer-Based Cognitive Training Improves Brain Functional Connectivity in the Attentional Networks: A Study With Primary School-Aged Children.Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience · 2019Article
- Computer-Based Training in Math and Working Memory Improves Cognitive Skills and Academic Achievement in Primary School Children: Behavioral Results.Frontiers in psychology · 2017Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Working memory (WM) is one of our core cognitive functions, allowing us to keep information in mind for shorter periods of time and then work with this information. It is the gateway that information has to pass in order to be processed consciously. A well-functioning WM is therefore crucial for a number of everyday activities including learning and academic performance (Gathercole et al., 2003; Bull et al., 2008), which is the focus of this review. Specifically, we will review the research investigating whether improving WM capacity using Cogmed WM training can lead to improvements on academic performance. Emphasis is given to reviewing the theoretical principles upon which such investigations rely, in particular the complex relation between WM and mathematical and reading abilities during development and how these are likely to be influenced by training. We suggest two possible routes in which training can influence academic performance, one through an effect on learning capacity which would thus be evident with time and education, and one through an immediate effect on performance on reading and mathematical tasks. Based on the theoretical complexity described we highlight some methodological issues that are important to take into consideration when designing and interpreting research on WM training and academic performance, but that are nonetheless often overlooked in the current research literature. Finally, we will provide some suggestions for future research for advancing the understanding of WM training and its potential role in supporting academic attainment.
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Registered trials
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.