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The Effects of Working Memory Training on Cognitive Flexibility in Man

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Brain Function Assessment in Learning (BFAL 2017)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNAI,volume 10512))

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Abstract

In the present study we examined the effects of working memory training on cognitive flexibility in humans. Forty healthy male participants were divided into three groups (matched for demographic variables, schizotypy, impulsivity and baseline cognitive flexibility): a) fully adapted group (participants were fully trained with an executive working memory task for six consecutive days); b) partially adapted group (participants were partially trained with an executive working memory task for six consecutive days) and c) control group (participants did not receive cognitive training). Following training, participants were examined with a second cognitive flexibility task. We found that the fully adapted group had improved cognitive flexibility (they made fewer errors and needed fewer attempts to complete the test) compared with both the partially adapted (all p values <0.005) and the control (all p values <0.05) groups, who did not differ between each other (all p values >0.2). These findings could have significant implications in the development of therapeutic approaches for the improvement of cognitive deficits in neuropsychiatric disorders.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Medical School, University of Crete, Heraklion /Crete, 70013, Greece

    Vasiliky Stavroulaki, Eleni Kazantzaki & Panagiotis Bitsios

  2. Forth Institute of Computer Science, University of Crete, Heraklion /Crete, 70013, Greece

    Eleni Kazantzaki

  3. Department of Biology, University of Crete, Heraklion /Crete, 70013, Greece

    Kyriaki Sidiropoulou

  4. Department of Psychology, University of Crete, Heraklion /Crete, 70013, Greece

    Stella G. Giakoumaki

Authors
  1. Vasiliky Stavroulaki
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  2. Eleni Kazantzaki
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  3. Panagiotis Bitsios
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  4. Kyriaki Sidiropoulou
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  5. Stella G. Giakoumaki
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Stella G. Giakoumaki .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada

    Claude Frasson

  2. University of Patras, Patras, Greece

    George Kostopoulos

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Stavroulaki, V., Kazantzaki, E., Bitsios, P., Sidiropoulou, K., Giakoumaki, S.G. (2017). The Effects of Working Memory Training on Cognitive Flexibility in Man. In: Frasson, C., Kostopoulos, G. (eds) Brain Function Assessment in Learning. BFAL 2017. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 10512. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67615-9_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67615-9_7

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-67614-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-67615-9

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