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The Effect of an Executive Functioning Training Program on Working Memory Capacity and Intrusive Thoughts

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Abstract

Recurrent intrusive thoughts are apparent across numerous clinical disorders, including depression (i.e., rumination) and anxiety disorders (e.g., worry, obsessions; Brewin et al. 2010). Theoretical accounts of intrusive thoughts suggest that individual differences in executive functioning, specifically poor inhibitory control, may account for the persistence of these thoughts in some individuals (e.g., Anderson and Levy 2009). The present study examined the causal effect of inhibitory control on intrusive thoughts by experimentally manipulating inhibition requirements in a working memory capacity (WMC) task and evaluating the effect of this training on intrusive thoughts during a thought suppression task. Unselected undergraduate participants were randomly assigned to repeatedly practice a task requiring either high inhibitory control (training condition) or low inhibitory control (control condition). Results indicated that individuals in the training condition demonstrated significantly greater WMC performance improvements from pre to post assessment relative to the control group. Moreover, individuals in the training group experienced fewer intrusions during a thought suppression task. These results provide support for theoretical accounts positing a relationship between inhibitory control and intrusive thoughts. Moreover, improving inhibitory control through computerized training programs may have clinical utility in disorders characterized by recurrent intrusive thoughts (e.g., depression, PTSD).

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Fig. 1

Notes

  1. Data for number of intrusions at each time point were positively skewed. Consistent with prior work in this area (e.g., Brewin and Smart 2005), outliers more than 3.3 SDs were adjusted to one value greater than the next highest value, and data were subjected to a square root transformation (Tabachnick & Fidell, 2001). All analyses using the transformed data did not differ. To facilitate interpretability, we report raw data in the body of the manuscript. All statistical tests are reported for unequal variances (Greenhouse-Geisser for ANOVA, equal variances not assumed for t tests).

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health awarded to the first (1F31MH088170-01) and second author (R34 MH073004-01, R34 MH077129-01). We would like to thank Rachel Lale, Salena McCaslin, and Laura Peterson for their help in data collection for this project, and Dr. Charles Taylor for his helpful comments on an earlier version of this manuscript.

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  1. Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, 8939 Villa Jolla Dr. Suite 200, San Diego, CA, 92037, USA

    Jessica Bomyea

  2. Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, 92120, USA

    Nader Amir

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  1. Jessica Bomyea
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  2. Nader Amir
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Correspondence to Nader Amir.

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Bomyea, J., Amir, N. The Effect of an Executive Functioning Training Program on Working Memory Capacity and Intrusive Thoughts. Cogn Ther Res 35, 529–535 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-011-9369-8

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