认知训练而非脑电图神经反馈可改善健康志愿者的工作记忆。
Cognitive training, but not EEG-neurofeedback, improves working memory in healthy volunteers.
作者信息
Barbazzeni Beatrice, Speck Oliver, Düzel Emrah
机构信息
Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Cognitive Neurology and Dementia Research, Otto-von-Guericke University of Magdeburg, Magdeburg 39120, Germany.
ESF-GS ABINEP International Graduate School, Otto-von-Guericke University of Magdeburg, Magdeburg 39106, Germany.
出版信息
Brain Commun. 2023 Mar 30;5(2):fcad101. doi: 10.1093/braincomms/fcad101. eCollection 2023.
Working memory performance can be influenced by motivational factors, which may be associated with specific brain activities, including suppression of alpha oscillations. We investigated whether providing individuals online feedback about their ongoing oscillations (EEG-neurofeedback) can improve working memory under high and low reward expectancies. We combined working memory training with neurofeedback to enhance alpha suppression in a monetary-rewarded delayed match-to-sample task for visual objects. Along with alpha, we considered the neighbouring theta and beta bands. In a double-blind experiment, individuals were trained over 5 days to suppress alpha power by receiving real-time neurofeedback or control neurofeedback (placebo) in reward and no-reward trials. We investigated (i) whether neurofeedback enhances alpha suppression, (ii) whether monetary reward enhances alpha suppression and working memory, and (iii) whether any performance benefits of neurofeedback-training would transfer to unrelated cognitive tasks. With the same experimental design, we conducted two studies with differing instructions given at the maintenance, yielding together 300 EEG recording sessions. In Study I, participants were engaged in a mental calculation task during maintenance. In Study II, they were instructed to visually rehearse the sample image. Results from Study I demonstrated a significant training and reward-anticipation effect on working memory accuracy and reaction times over 5 days. Neurofeedback and reward anticipation showed effects on theta suppression but not on alpha suppression. Moreover, a cognitive training effect was observed on beta suppression. Thus, neurofeedback-training of alpha was unrelated to working memory performance. Study II replicated the training and reward-anticipation effect on working memory but without any effects of neurofeedback-training on oscillations or working memory. Neither study showed transfer effects of either working memory or neurofeedback-training. A linear mixed-effect model analysis of neurofeedback-independent training-related improvement of working memory combining both studies showed that improved working memory performance was related to oscillatory changes over training days in the encoding and maintenance phases. Improvements in accuracy were related to increasing beta amplitude in reward trials over right parietal electrodes. Improvements in reaction times were related to increases in right parietal theta amplitude during encoding and increased right parietal and decreased left parietal beta amplitudes during maintenance. Thus, while our study provided no evidence that neurofeedback targeting alpha improved the efficacy of working memory training or evidence for transfer, it showed a relationship between training-related changes in parietal beta oscillations during encoding and improvements in accuracy. Right parietal beta oscillations could be an intervention target for improving working memory accuracy.
工作记忆表现会受到动机因素的影响,而动机因素可能与特定的大脑活动有关,包括对阿尔法振荡的抑制。我们研究了向个体提供关于其正在进行的振荡的在线反馈(脑电图神经反馈)是否能在高奖励预期和低奖励预期下改善工作记忆。我们将工作记忆训练与神经反馈相结合,以在一个对视觉对象进行金钱奖励的延迟匹配样本任务中增强阿尔法抑制。除了阿尔法,我们还考虑了相邻的西塔和贝塔波段。在一项双盲实验中,个体接受了为期5天的训练,通过在奖励和无奖励试验中接收实时神经反馈或对照神经反馈(安慰剂)来抑制阿尔法功率。我们研究了:(i)神经反馈是否增强阿尔法抑制;(ii)金钱奖励是否增强阿尔法抑制和工作记忆;(iii)神经反馈训练的任何表现益处是否会转移到不相关的认知任务上。采用相同的实验设计,我们进行了两项研究,在维持阶段给出了不同的指示,总共进行了300次脑电图记录。在研究I中,参与者在维持阶段进行心算任务。在研究II中,他们被指示对样本图像进行视觉复述。研究I的结果表明,在5天内,训练和奖励预期对工作记忆准确性和反应时间有显著影响。神经反馈和奖励预期对西塔抑制有影响,但对阿尔法抑制没有影响。此外,观察到对贝塔抑制有认知训练效果。因此,阿尔法的神经反馈训练与工作记忆表现无关。研究II重复了对工作记忆的训练和奖励预期效果,但神经反馈训练对振荡或工作记忆没有任何影响。两项研究均未显示工作记忆或神经反馈训练的转移效果。结合两项研究对与神经反馈无关的训练相关的工作记忆改善进行的线性混合效应模型分析表明,工作记忆表现的改善与编码和维持阶段训练天数内的振荡变化有关。准确性的提高与奖励试验中右侧顶叶电极上贝塔振幅的增加有关。反应时间的改善与编码期间右侧顶叶西塔振幅的增加以及维持期间右侧顶叶贝塔振幅的增加和左侧顶叶贝塔振幅的降低有关。因此,虽然我们的研究没有提供证据表明针对阿尔法的神经反馈提高了工作记忆训练的效果或转移的证据,但它显示了编码期间顶叶贝塔振荡的训练相关变化与准确性提高之间的关系。右侧顶叶贝塔振荡可能是提高工作记忆准确性的干预靶点。