Adult ADHD
Visual Abstract
Working memory deficits can be overcome: Impacts of training and medication on working memory in children with ADHD.
Medication and Training for Working Memory in ADHD
Joni Holmes, Susan E Gathercole, Maurice Place, Darren L Dunning, Kerry A Hilton, Julian G Elliott
Summarized by:
June 13, 2023
study source
Applied Cognitive Psychology
2010
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What they studied
Can brain training or medication improve working memory for those with ADHD?
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What they found
Children experienced greater improvements in working memory when provided with training exercises.
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What this means
While medications are effective as ADHD treatments, brain exercises may be more effective for working memory specifically.
Working memory deficits can be overcome: Impacts of training and medication on working memory in children with ADHD.
Objectives
Previous studies have linked ADHD with difficulties in working memory. It is one of the most common cognitive deficits in ADHD.
This study wanted to examine whether brain training and medication could improve working memory for those with ADHD.
Study Quote
This study evaluated the impact of two interventions—a training program and stimulant medication—on working memory (WM) function in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Methods
Researchers tested working memory in a group of 25 children with ADHD before and after medication; and before and after a brain training program.
The training program asked participants to perform exercises to improve their working memory and problem-solving abilities.
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Each training task involved the temporary storage and manipulation of sequential visuospatial or verbal information, or both (e.g. recalling either series of locations such as illuminated lamps on the screen, or lists of digits or letters, either in the order in which they were presented or in the reverse order).
Study Quote
Twenty-five children aged between 8 and 11 years participated in training that taxed WM skills to the limit for a minimum of 20 days, and completed other assessments of WM and IQ before and after training, and with and without prescribed drug treatment.
Results
The results showed that medication significantly improved visuospatial working memory but did not significantly improve other measures.
However, brain training led to significant gains across all measures studied.
A small study found that brain-training led to greater improvements in working memory than medication.
A small study found that brain training led to greater improvements than medication for working memory in ADHD.
Additionally, when researchers followed up over six months, they found that participants had sustained long-term improvements, even after the training concluded.
Study Quote
While medication significantly improved visuo-spatial memory performance, training led to substantial gains in all components of WM across untrained tasks. Training gains associated with the central executive persisted over a 6- month period. IQ scores were unaffected by either intervent...
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Conclusions
The study provides evidence that brain training may help improve some cognitive deficits for those with ADHD.
In this study, the brain training results were better than the results from medication.
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By far the most dramatic gains in WM function were observed with WM training. Significant and substantial improvements were found in all assessed aspects of WM, in each case taking the group from a level below average to one within the average range of scores for children of their age. Gains in measures of verbal and visuo-spatial WM associated with the central executive component of WM and in visuo-spatial STM were maintained 6 months after training.
However, the study does have some shortcomings. The study did not have a control group, making it difficult to tell how much of the effectiveness was due to the placebo effect or the treatment. The study also performed both treatments in the same patients in the same order, which makes it less clear how much each treatment contributed to the outcome.
Nonetheless, it does provide evidence that working memory in those with ADHD can improve with the proper treatment.
Study Quote
These findings indicate that the WM impairments in children with ADHD can be differentially ameliorated by training and by stimulant medication.