Luxton Joshua, Brinkman Tara M, Kimberg Cara, Robison Leslie L, Hudson Melissa M, Krull Kevin R
a Department of Epidemiology and Cancer Control , St. Jude Children's Research Hospital , TN , USA.
J Clin Exp Neuropsychol. 2014;36(9):944-55. doi: 10.1080/13803395.2014.957168. Epub 2014 Sep 25.
The N-back task is often used in functional brain imaging studies to activate working memory networks; however, limited information is available on its association to clinical outcomes in children or cancer survivors. A total of 137 survivors of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL; mean current age = 14.3 years, SD = 4.8; time since diagnosis = 7.6 years, SD = 1.6) completed the N-back task and comprehensive neurocognitive testing, including standardized measures of attention, processing speed, and working memory. Results indicated that females demonstrated significantly slower reaction times (0-back p = .02; 1-back p = .03) than males. Survivors <15 years old at the time of testing demonstrated a significant decrease in accuracy as working memory load increased compared to survivors ≥15 years old (p < .001). Performance on the N-back task was associated with nonverbal working memory (rs = .56, p < .001) in survivors ≥15 years of age. For younger survivors, N-back performance was more strongly associated with attention skills. Results suggest the N-back assesses different cognitive constructs at younger compared to older childhood ages. These age differences should be considered in interpreting functional brain imaging results.
N-back任务常用于功能性脑成像研究，以激活工作记忆网络；然而，关于其与儿童或癌症幸存者临床结局的关联，现有信息有限。共有137名急性淋巴细胞白血病（ALL）幸存者（当前平均年龄 = 14.3岁，标准差 = 4.8；自诊断以来的时间 = 7.6年，标准差 = 1.6）完成了N-back任务和全面的神经认知测试，包括注意力、处理速度和工作记忆的标准化测量。结果表明，女性的反应时间显著慢于男性（0-back任务p = 0.02；1-back任务p = 0.03）。测试时年龄<15岁的幸存者与≥15岁的幸存者相比，随着工作记忆负荷增加，准确性显著下降（p < 0.001）。在≥15岁的幸存者中，N-back任务的表现与非言语工作记忆相关（rs = 0.56，p < 0.
