Abstract

Improvements in patient outcomes and mortality after brain injury alongside increasing ageing population have resulted in an increasing need to develop cognitive interventions for individuals experiencing changes in their cognitive function. One topic of increasing research interest is whether cognitive functions such as attention, memory and executive functioning can be improved through the use of working memory training interventions. Both clinical and neuroimaging researchers are working to evidence this, but their efforts rarely come together. We discuss here several issues that may be hindering progress in this area, including the tools researchers utilize to measure cognition, the choice between employing active or passive control groups, the focus on transfer effects at the expense of well-characterized training effects, and the overall lack of neuroimaging studies in individuals with neurological disorders. We argue that the only way to advance the field is to build bridges between the disciplines of clinical neuropsychology and cognitive neuroscience. We suggest a multi-level framework to validate the efficacy of working memory interventions and other forms of cognitive training that combine both clinical and neuroimaging approaches. We conclude that in order to move forward we need to form multidisciplinary teams, employ interdisciplinary methods, brain imaging quality rating tools and build national and international collaborations based on open science principles.

摘要

随着人口老龄化的增加，脑损伤后患者预后和死亡率的改善导致越来越需要为经历认知功能变化的个体开发认知干预措施。越来越多的研究兴趣是，是否可以通过使用工作记忆训练干预来改善注意力、记忆和执行功能等认知功能。临床和神经影像学研究人员都在努力证明这一点，但他们的努力很少走到一起。我们在这里讨论了几个可能阻碍该领域进展的问题，包括研究人员用来测量认知的工具、在使用主动或被动控制组之间的选择、以牺牲良好表征的训练效果为代价的转移效应的关注，以及对患有神经系统疾病的个体的神经影像学研究总体缺乏。我们认为，推进该领域的唯一途径是在临床神经心理学和认知神经科学学科之间建立桥梁。我们建议建立一个多层次的框架来验证工作记忆干预和其他形式的结合临床和神经影像学方法的认知训练的有效性。我们得出结论，为了向前迈进，我们需要组建多学科团队，采用跨学科方法，脑成像质量评级工具，并基于开放科学原则建立国家和国际合作。我们认为，推进该领域的唯一途径是在临床神经心理学和认知神经科学学科之间建立桥梁。我们建议建立一个多层次的框架来验证工作记忆干预和其他形式的结合临床和神经影像学方法的认知训练的有效性。我们得出结论，为了向前迈进，我们需要组建多学科团队，采用跨学科方法，脑成像质量评级工具，并基于开放科学原则建立国家和国际合作。我们认为，推进该领域的唯一途径是在临床神经心理学和认知神经科学学科之间建立桥梁。我们建议建立一个多层次的框架来验证工作记忆干预和其他形式的结合临床和神经影像学方法的认知训练的有效性。我们得出结论，为了向前迈进，我们需要组建多学科团队，采用跨学科方法，脑成像质量评级工具，并基于开放科学原则建立国家和国际合作。