Asynchronous Lecture 2 Flashcards
What is exceutive control and how it can be differnetated that Karbach & Kray (2009) focused on in their study? How does this change over time?
1) Executive control encompasses the ability to plan, guide, and monitor complex goal-directed actions and can be broken down into distinct processes like inhibition, working memory, and task-switching.
2) These processes generally increase in younger adults but decline in older adults over the lifespan.
What is the primary research question posed by Karbach & Kray (2009)?(2)
1) To examine age-differences in (i) training outcomes (ii) training transfer and (iii) how training strategies may
interact with training outcomes.
2) To investigate the range of training transfer – from near(e.g. to other executive control tasks) to far (e.g. to
measures of fluid intelligence).
What methods were used by Karbach & Kray (2009) in their study?
They used a pre-test-training-post-test design with three age groups (Children, Young Adults, Older Adults) conducting sessions that assessed task switching, executive control, and fluid intelligence before and after training sessions with different strategies
What caveats and cautions do Karbach & Kray (2009) mention in their study?
1) ‘Far’ transfer is limited to executive control tasks. No
evidence of training transfer outside of the laboratory.
2) No evidence of training durability (no follow-up
assessments)
3) Future plans include identifying individual differences in training response to determine if certain individuals respond better and understanding the reasons behind it.
What are the primary findings from Karbach & Kray (2009) regarding the transfer of task-switching training?
There was evidence for both near (To other switching tasks) and far transfer (To other executive control tasks) across all age groups, with the effect sizes for far transfer being smaller than for near transfer.
How did Karbach & Kray (2009) analyze the data from their study?
1) Analyzed performance before and after training in all four conditions.
2) Used Reaction Time (RT) as the dependent variable for switching and Stroop tasks.
3) Used Accuracy as the dependent variable for working memory and fluid intelligence.
4) Calculated Cohen’s d to measure the training effects’ magnitude.
- Cohen’s d compares the difference between pretest and post-test scores to the average standard deviation at each time point, indicating the size of the training effect relative to expected variability (larger values indicate a better effect).
What measures were used in Karbach & Kray’s study?
Measures of Task Switching: There are two tasks mentioned:
- Task A involves recognizing different types of fruit.
- Task B involves judging the size of objects.
- 3 Task Conditions to see how they manage switching tasks:
Doing Task A repeatedly.
Doing Task B repeatedly.
A mixed condition where they had to switch between Task A and Task B.
1) Executive control
- Inhibition/Interference measured with color/number Stroop tasks
-Working memory with verbal/spatial tasks.
2) Fluid intelligence used reasoning tasks
Measuring of Task Switching: Mixing and Switching Costs
Mixing Costs: Reaction time differences between mixed and non-mixed trial conditions.
Switching Cost: = Within mixed block, RT differences between switch and non-switch trials
What are the results of the Karbach & Kray’s study?
1) Both older and younger adults became more efficient at task switching, as indicated by lower mixing and switching costs compared to single task training.
2) The second graph indicates that this training helped improve various cognitive skills, such as memory and problem-solving, more effectively than training on a single task, particularly in younger adults.
What is the primary research question posed by Boyke et al., 2008?
Given that brain and behavioural changes are known to
occur in older adults, can structural neuroplasticity be demonstrated in this population?
What methods were used by Boyke et al., 2008?
1) Involved a juggling and control group
2) Juggling Intervention: had to learn to juggle 3 balls over 3 months
3) Brain scans acquired pre-intervention, post-intervention
and months later.
4) Measured brain volumes pre- and post-training (grey
matter volumes).
Results of Boyke et al., 2008 Study
1) Transient increases in grey matter identified for the juggling group (main effects) in certain areas
2) When comparing the jugglers to the control group, it was found that the jugglers displayed transient increases in grey matter volume (like the left hippocampus and bilateral nucleus Accumbens)
Primary Findings of Boyke et al., 2008 Study?
1) Older adults demonstrated structural neuroplasticity associated
with ‘physical’ exercise (smaller in older adults)
2) These effects occurred even though older adults did not attain the same level of juggling proficiency as the younger cohort (and there was no correlation between brain changes and juggling performance).
3) Interaction effects in hippocampus are striking as it’s one of the few structures known for lifelong neurogenesis.
4) Nucleus accumbens is a reward structure (the authors argue that new skill mastery is inherently rewarding
Caveats and Cautions of Boyke et al., 2008 Study?
1) Detecting neurogenesis with MRI is unlikely; other mechanisms like synaptogenesis could be at play and causing structural changes.
2) Did participants react differently to the exercise? What sets apart responders and non-responder, suggests that the observed effects may not be consistent for everyone, and they raise questions about what factors might distinguish these different response groups.s?
3) Is juggling genuinely physical exercise, or is it more like attention training intervention,raises questions about the precise nature of the intervention and its impact on brain structure
What is the central research question in Fried et al. 2004 study on social engagement?
Can a program that emphasizes a social approach to
health promotion (Experience Corps - EC) improve physical, cognitive and social well-being in an older adult
population?
