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Efficiency and capacity mechanisms can coexist in cognitive training

Nature Reviews Psychology volume 2, page 127 (2023)Cite this article

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The motto ‘practice makes perfect’ has fuelled the popularity of cognitive training over the past two decades, but the field still lacks nuanced explanations for training-induced transfer effects. von Bastion et al. recently provided a comprehensive Review of cognitive training (von Bastian, C. C. et al. Mechanisms underlying training-induced cognitive change. Nat. Rev. Psychol. 1, 30–41; 2022)1, using the capacity–efficiency model to explain training effects. A critical argument in the article is that there is little evidence that overall cognitive resource capacity is enhanced by training (the capacity mechanism), but substantial evidence that performance within the existing capacity limit is optimized (the efficiency mechanism). However, neglected evidence in working memory training, from the genetic, molecular and neural systems levels, supports the capacity mechanism.

Working memory training might act on the same genes as the development-induced increase in working memory capacity. A recent molecular genetic study in humans (aged 7–19 years) reported that the gains in working memory capacity after years of typical development and the gains in working memory capacity after weeks of training are influenced by some of the same genes2. These results suggest that working memory capacity training can trigger the biological machinery responsible for long-term development of working memory capacity. Developing working memory capacity requires a challenging environment3; in this respect, working memory training mimics the typical challenging environment that fosters the natural development of working memory capacity. Critics might instead argue that the development of working memory capacity could result from efficiency mechanisms (such as encoding speed). However, there is abundant evidence that working memory capacity truly develops during childhood independently of efficiency4. Thus, at least for people who have not fully developed their working memory capacity, training might act on the capacity mechanism.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology and Center for Place-Based Education, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China

    Da-Wei Zhang

  2. Department of Psychology, Monash University Malaysia, Bandar Sunway, Malaysia

    Da-Wei Zhang

  3. Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Bruno Sauce

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Correspondence to Da-Wei Zhang.

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Zhang, DW., Sauce, B. Efficiency and capacity mechanisms can coexist in cognitive training. Nat Rev Psychol 2, 127 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44159-022-00146-9

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