SynthesisHuman brain mapping2019
Stimuli, presentation modality, and load-specific brain activity patterns during n-back task.
Synthesis in Human brain mapping, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 39 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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.
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Who cites it
39 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Can we enhance working memory? Bias and effectiveness in cognitive training studies.Psychonomic bulletin & review · 2024Pooled it
- Neural correlates of N-back task performance and proposal for corresponding neuromodulation targets in psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders.Psychiatry and clinical neurosciences · 2022Pooled it
- Overlapping and dissociable brain activations for fluid intelligence and executive functions.Cognitive, affective & behavioral neuroscience · 2021Pooled it
- Stimuli, presentation modality, and load-specific brain activity patterns during n-back task.Human brain mapping · 2019Pooled it
- Differing effectiveness of transcranial random noise stimulation and transcranial direct current stimulation for enhancing working memory in healthy individuals: a randomized controlled trial.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2024Trial
- Trial
- Extra-Virgin Olive Oil Enhances the Blood-Brain Barrier Function in Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Nutrients · 2022Trial
- Aberrant effective connectivity during working memory performance in schizotypal personality disorder and schizophrenia: A spectrum approach.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Effects of two types of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on brain network in Parkinson's disease.NPJ Parkinson's disease · 2025Article
- Detection of Cognitive Load Modulation by EDA and HRV.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- N-back task revisited: Comparing the neural correlates of updating and interference control.Imaging neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.) · 2025Article
- Exploring cognitive load through neuropsychological features: an analysis using fNIRS-eye tracking.Medical & biological engineering & computing · 2025Article
- Difference between Okinawan and Dutch older adults in prefrontal brain activation.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2025Article
- Neurophysiological and other features of working memory in older adults at risk for dementia.Cognitive neurodynamics · 2024Article
- Stimulus shapes strategy: Effects of stimulus characteristics and individual differences in academic achievement on the neural mechanisms engaged during the N-back task.Developmental cognitive neuroscience · 2024Article
- High-temporal resolution functional PET/MRI reveals coupling between human metabolic and hemodynamic brain response.European journal of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging · 2024Article
- Identification of cognitive load-dependent activation patterns using working memory task-based fMRI at various levels of difficulty.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Causally informed activity flow models provide mechanistic insight into network-generated cognitive activations.NeuroImage · 2023Article
- Associations among body mass index, working memory performance, gray matter volume, and brain activation in healthy children.Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991) · 2023Article
- Changes in task performance and frontal cortex activation within and over sessions during the n-back task.Scientific reports · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Working memory (WM) refers to a set of cognitive processes that allows for the temporary storage and manipulation of information, crucial for everyday life skills. WM deficits are present in several neurological, psychiatric, and neurodevelopmental disorders, thus making the full understanding of its neural correlates a key aspect for the implementation of cognitive training interventions. Here, we present a quantitative meta-analysis focusing on the underlying neural substrates upon which the n-back, one of the most commonly used tasks for WM assessment, is believed to rely on, as highlighted by functional magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography findings. Relevant published work was scrutinized through the activation likelihood estimate (ALE) statistical framework in order to generate a set of task-specific activation maps, according to n-back difficulty. Our results confirm the known involvement of frontoparietal areas across different types of n-back tasks, as well as the recruitment of subcortical structures, cerebellum and precuneus. Specific activations maps for four stimuli types, six presentation modalities, three WM loads and their combination are provided and discussed. Moreover, functional overlap with resting-state networks highlighted a strong similarity between n-back nodes and the Dorsal Attention Network, with less overlap with other networks like Salience, Language, and Sensorimotor ones. Additionally, neural deactivations during n-back tasks and their functional connectivity profile were examined. Clinical and functional implications are discussed in the context of potential noninvasive brain stimulation and cognitive enhancement/rehabilitation programs.
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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.