Working memory (the ability to store and manipulate information for brief periods of time) has been extensively studied. A search in the OVID data base for publications in the psychological/medical journals during 2008 for the keyword terms ‘working memory’, ‘working memory and learning’, and ‘working memory and ADHD’ returns 1149, 293, and 39 publications respectively. This reflects the importance of working memory for academic/learning activities and the increasing recognition that working memory deficits are critical to our understanding of ADHD.
In contrast to the extensive research on the basic science of working memory, however, research on working memory training has only recently emerged. This reflects the long-held view that working memory capacity is fixed and cannot be increased with training. Recent work by Dr. Torkel Klingberg and his colleagues has challenged this view, however, and indicates that working memory capacity can increase with intensive training. Furthermore, increasing working memory capacity has been linked to improvement in important aspects of ‘real world’ functioning. Click here to access a brief summary of working memory training studies that have been presented at scientific meetings or published in peer-reviewed journals; the studies are arranged in chronological order. Unless otherwise noted, the studies incorporate the working memory training program developed by Dr. Klingberg, which is the current basis of Cogmed training.