caeyenberghs-dynamicsofhuman-2016.pdf (1.47 MB)
Dynamics of the Human Structural Connectome Underlying Working Memory Training
journal contribution
posted on 2016-04-06, 00:00 authored by Karen CaeyenberghsKaren Caeyenberghs, C Metzler-Baddeley, S Foley, D K Jones© 2016 the authors. Brain region-specific changes have been demonstrated with a variety of cognitive training interventions. The effect of cognitive training on brain subnetworks in humans, however, remains largely unknown, with studies limited to functional networks. Here, we used a well-established working memory training program and state-of-the art neuroimaging methods in 40 healthy adults (21 females, mean age 26.5 years). Near and far-transfer training effects were assessed using computerized working memory and executive function tasks. Adaptive working memory training led to improvement on (non)trained working memory tasks and generalization to tasks of reasoning and inhibition. Graph theoretical analysis of the structural (white matter) network connectivity (“connectome”) revealed increased global integration within a frontoparietal attention network following adaptive working memory training compared with the nonadaptive group. Furthermore, the impact on the outcome of graph theoretical analyses of different white matter metrics to infer “connection strength” was evaluated. Increased efficiency of the frontoparietal network was best captured when using connection strengths derived fromMRmetrics that are thought to be more sensitive to differences in myelination (putatively indexed by the [quantitative] longitudinal relaxation rate, R1) than previously used diffusion MRI metrics (fractional anisotropy or fiber-tracking recovered streamlines). Our findings emphasize the critical role of specific microstructural markers in providing important hints toward the mechanisms underpinning training-induced plasticity that may drive working memory improvement in clinical populations.
History
Journal
Journal of NeuroscienceVolume
36Issue
14Pagination
4056 - 4066Publisher
Portland PressLocation
London, Eng.Publisher DOI
Link to full text
ISSN
0270-6474eISSN
1529-2401Language
engPublication classification
C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalUsage metrics
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cognitive controlconnectomediffusion MRIgraph analysismemory trainingstructural MRIScience & TechnologyLife Sciences & BiomedicineNeurosciencesNeurosciences & NeurologyQUANTITATIVE MAGNETIC-RESONANCEMYELIN WATERMULTIPLE-SCLEROSISCORTICAL THICKNESSHUMAN BRAINANATOMICAL NETWORKSRELAXATION-TIMEIRON CONTENTDIFFUSIONCONNECTIVITY
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