Ericson Julia, Palva Satu, Palva Matias, Klingberg Torkel
Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, 17177 Stockholm, Sweden.
Neuroscience Center, HilIFE-Helsinki Institute of Lifescience, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland.
Cereb Cortex. 2024 Jan 31;34(2). doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhad527.
Cognitive training can lead to improvements in both task-specific strategies and general capacities, such as visuo-spatial working memory (VSWM). The latter emerge slowly and linearly throughout training, in contrast to strategy where changes typically occur within the first days of training. Changes in strategy and capacity have not been separated in prior neuroimaging studies. Here, we used a within-participants design with dense temporal sampling to capture the time dynamics of neural mechanisms associated with change in capacity. In four participants, neural activity was recorded with magnetoencephalography on seven occasions over two months of visuo-spatial working memory training. During scanning, the participants performed a trained visuo-spatial working memory task, a transfer task, and a control task. First, we extracted an individual visuo-spatial working memory-load-dependent synchronization network for each participant. Next, we identified linear changes over time in the network, congruent with the temporal dynamics of capacity change. Three out of four participants showed a gradual strengthening of alpha synchronization. Strengthening of the same connections was also found in the transfer task but not in the control task. This suggests that cognitive transfer occurs through slow, gradual strengthening of alpha synchronization between cortical regions that are vital for both the trained task and the transfer task.
认知训练可以带来特定任务策略和一般能力的提升，比如视觉空间工作记忆（VSWM）。与通常在训练最初几天就发生变化的策略不同，后者在整个训练过程中缓慢且呈线性地显现出来。在先前的神经影像学研究中，策略和能力的变化尚未被区分开来。在此，我们采用了被试内设计并进行密集的时间采样，以捕捉与能力变化相关的神经机制的时间动态。在四名被试中，通过脑磁图在为期两个月的视觉空间工作记忆训练期间进行了七次神经活动记录。在扫描过程中，被试执行一项经过训练的视觉空间工作记忆任务、一项迁移任务和一项控制任务。首先，我们为每个被试提取了一个与视觉空间工作记忆负荷相关的个体同步网络。接下来，我们确定了该网络随时间的线性变化，这与能力变化的时间动态一致。四名被试中有三名表现出α同步的逐渐增强。在迁移任务中也发现了相同连接的增强，但在控制任务中未发现。这表明认知迁移是通过对训练任务和迁移任务都至关重要的皮层区域之间α同步的缓慢、逐渐增强而发生的。
