Effects of working memory span training on top-down attentional asymmetry at both neural and behavioral levels

Abstract

The leftward asymmetry of the visual field and posterior brain regions, a feature of the normal attention process, can be strengthened by brain stimulation, e.g. administering alpha frequency stimulation to the left posterior cortex. However, whether it can be strengthened by cognitive training, especially with nonlateralized tasks, is unknown. We used a dataset from a 2-month-long randomized controlled trial and compared the control group with 2 training groups trained with backward or forward memory span tasks. A lateralized change detection task with varied memory loads was administered as the pre-, mid-, and post-tests with simultaneous electroencephalographic recording. Intrasubject response variability (IRV) and the alpha modulation index (MI) were calculated. Analysis of IRV showed more enhanced leftward attentional bias in the backward group than in the other groups. Consistently, analysis of MI found that its enhancements in the left hemisphere (but not the right hemisphere) of the backward group were significantly higher than those of the other groups. Further analysis revealed that left MI changes predicted left IRV improvement. All of these results indicated that backward memory span training enhanced leftward attentional asymmetry at both the behavioral and neural levels.

Keywords: EEG; RCT; alpha lateralization; attention; working memory span.