Brain training increases dopamine release

Brain training increases dopamine release 

Source: http://www.domain-b.com/technology/biotech_pharma/20110806_brain_training.html

06 August 2011

It is known that training can improve working memory. In a new study in Science, researchers from Karolinska Institutet, Umeå University, Åbo Akademi University, and the University of Turku show for the first time that working-memory training is associated with an increased release of the neurotransmitter dopamine in specific brain regions.

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"Working-memory training resulted in increased dopamine release in the caudate, a region located below the neocortex, in which the dopaminergic influx is particularly large", says Lars Bäckman, Professor at Karolinska Institutet, and one of the scientists behind the study. "This observation demonstrates the importance of dopamine for improving working-memory performance."

In the study, 10 young Finnish men were trained in updating working memory for five weeks by means of a letter-memory task. The participants were presented with 7 to 15 letters during 45 minutes three times per week on a screen that was turned off after presentation. The task was to remember the last four letters in the sequence in correct order.

Compared to a control group that did not receive any training, the trained group showed a gradual improvement of working-memory performance.

Results from a PET scan demonstrated an increased release of dopamine in the caudate after training. In addition, dopamine release was seen during the letter-memory task also before training; this release increased markedly after training.

"These findings suggest that the training improved working memory generally", says Professor Lars Nyberg at Umeå University.

The study emanates from a collaborative project among the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet, Umeå Center for Functional Brain Imaging (UFBI) at Umeå University, Sweden, Åbo Akademi University, and University of Turku, both in Finland, within a 'Nordic Center of Excellence in Cognitive Control'.

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Sharpen Up with Memory Training

Sharpen Up with Memory Training

Brain-training to improve memory boosts fluid intelligence say scientists

Brain-training efforts designed to improve working memory can also boost scores in general problem-solving ability and improve fluid intelligence, according to new University of Michigan research.

Many psychologists believe general intelligence can be separated into "fluid" and "crystalline" components. Fluid intelligence — considered one of the most important factors in learning — applies to all problems while crystallized intelligence consists of skills useful for specific tasks.

"Considering the fundamental importance of fluid intelligence in everyday life and its predictive power for a large variety of intellectual tasks and professional success, we believe that our findings may be highly relevant to applications in education," University of Michigan psychology researchers Susanne Jaeggi and Martin Buschkuehl concluded.
Previously, many psychologists believed the only way to increase fluid intelligence was through direct practice of the tests themselves, rather than by training. But the new findings show that multiple efforts designed to improve memory skills similarly improve fluid intelligence.
After initially giving subjects a standard test for fluid intelligence, the researchers gave subjects a series of training exercises designed to improve their working memory.

The training was given to four groups, who repeated the exercises for eight, 12, 17, or 19 days. After the training, the researchers re-tested the subjects' fluid intelligence.
Although the performance by members of an untrained control group improved slightly, the trained subjects showed a significant performance improvement, which increased with time spent training.

"The more training, the more improvement in fluid intelligence," Jaeggi said.
"Working memory and fluid intelligence both seem to rely on similar neural networks," Jaeggi said. "Our study does not permit us to know how long the training-gain persists. Longitudinal studies will be required to address that issue."

The researchers suggest that the training exercises strengthened multiple "executive processes" in the brain that function in problem-solving, noting that fluid intelligence is usually seen as "robust against influences of education and socialization, and it is commonly seen as having a strong hereditary component."

Source: saga

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