Barkus Emma
School of Psychology, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia.
Psych J. 2020 Apr;9(2):258-279. doi: 10.1002/pchj.353. Epub 2020 Mar 12.
Working memory training is widely used transdiagnostically to improve cognition. However, more recently, studies using working memory training packages have targeted emotion-regulation outcomes to determine whether far transfer effects can be achieved. A narrative review is conducted of studies that have used standardized computerized working memory training packages across healthy volunteers, affect, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and eating disordered populations with emotion-regulation outcomes. Working memory training has been used in children, adolescents, and adults to improve emotion regulation. Many studies have reported gains in mood as well as emotion-regulation strategies following working memory training, regardless of clinical indication and whether near transfer gains were achieved in cognitive domains. Significant emotion-regulation outcomes include: state and trait anxiety, rumination, brooding, positive appraisal, decreasing maladaptive emotion-regulation strategies, and decreasing intrusive thoughts. It is speculated that these far transfer outcomes from working memory training are possible due to the cognitive and neural overlap between cognitive and affective working memory, and emotion regulation. Working memory training could improve cognitive efficiency, which, in turn, increases the availability of cognitive resources during times when emotion regulation is taxed. Future studies need to consider the role of participant expectancy in predicting outcome measure performance, and including subjective and objective outcomes is paramount to study design. Furthermore, sample sizes require additional attention, given that the current review highlights that individual differences in non-clinical and clinical populations influence the outcomes from working memory training. Working memory training offers a possibility for improving emotion regulation transdiagnostically.
工作记忆训练被广泛应用于跨诊断领域以改善认知。然而，最近，使用工作记忆训练程序的研究将目标对准了情绪调节结果，以确定是否能够实现远迁移效应。本文对在健康志愿者、情感障碍、焦虑症、创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）以及饮食失调人群中使用标准化计算机化工作记忆训练程序并得出情绪调节结果的研究进行了叙述性综述。工作记忆训练已被用于儿童、青少年和成人以改善情绪调节。许多研究报告称，无论临床指征如何，也无论在认知领域是否实现了近迁移收益，工作记忆训练后情绪以及情绪调节策略均有所改善。显著的情绪调节结果包括：状态焦虑和特质焦虑、沉思、忧虑、积极评价、减少适应不良的情绪调节策略以及减少侵入性思维。据推测，工作记忆训练产生这些远迁移结果是由于认知性工作记忆与情感性工作记忆以及情绪调节之间在认知和神经方面存在重叠。工作记忆训练可以提高认知效率，进而在情绪调节面临压力时增加认知资源的可利用性。未来的研究需要考虑参与者预期在预测结果测量表现中的作用，并且纳入主观和客观结果对于研究设计至关重要。此外，鉴于当前的综述强调非临床和临床人群中的个体差异会影响工作记忆训练的结果，样本量需要更多关注。工作记忆训练为跨诊断改善情绪调节提供了一种可能性。
