3.4 development and enhancement of WM

Question 1

how does WM (and performance) change with age?

Answer 1

inverted U
- early: linear increase with age
- stability between 20-50
- late: linear decline, more pronounced with more complex tasks

simple tasks (maintenance only)
- younger > older
- older used more DLPFC = lower frontal cortex efficiency

complex tasks (maintenance + manipulation)
- younger&raquo_space; older
- older had weaker increase in frontal cortex activity

Question 2

can WM be trained?

Answer 2

field of interest (esp in aging)

study: letter-memory tests for 5 weeks, each week performance improved

Question 3

can WM improve general intelligence (g)?

Answer 3

WM is believed to be a feature of g (mental capcity + cognitive ability)

study: strong positive correlation between dual n-back test + g, but remains unreplicable

Question 4

what is luminosity?

Answer 4

brain training game claiming to slow memory loss and cognitive decline associated with age and diseases, lured 70M people to subscribe

population lacking scientific literacy = easily exploited

in 2014, 70 neuroscientists exposed brain training industry + luminosity was fined $2M

Question 5

what is neurotech?

Answer 5

rising field

ex. AI to diagnose metnal disorders, neurotech in marketing, neural stimulation for cognitive enhancement, Neuralink, DBS to improve AD outcomes