N-back

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1-back task with position test.

The n -back-Test is a computer-based psychological test ( endurance test ), which is used in methods of the brain imaging to stimulate the brain activity of the subject; it was introduced by Kirchner in 1958.

The test

A sequence of stimuli is presented to the test person. The task is to indicate when the current stimulus matches the stimulus that occurred in the series n steps before. The factor n can be adjusted to make the task harder or easier.

On a 3 -back audio test, the list of letters that are heard might look something like this:

 T L H C H S  C  C Q L  C  K  L  H C Q T R R K C H R

The test person should press a key when the letters highlighted here in the list are read out because they have already been read out three steps beforehand.

Dual n -back

The dual task n back test was carried out by Susanne Jaeggi u. a. proposed in 2003. In this variation, two independent stimuli are presented at the same time, typically of different quality, such as auditory and visual.

In 2008, Jaeggi et al. Published that training in the form of repeated execution of the dual-task- n -back test, which, as expected, leads to improvements in the test result, also leads to an improvement in the measured value of fluid intelligence. This result, which would be a revolutionary finding, has since been highly controversial. Two studies from 2012 could not show that dual n-back training has an effect on fluid intelligence. The validity of a meta study by the original authors, which based on 20 studies found a slight improvement in IQ of 3 to 4 points through training, is also questioned due to the small number of subjects in several of the studies.

n -back software

The dual n -back test can be carried out online, even on many Java-enabled mobile phones. For Mac OS , Linux and Microsoft Windows there is a free, open source implementation called Brain Workshop.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ WK KIRCHNER: Age differences in short-term retention of Rapidly changing information. In: Journal of experimental psychology. Volume 55, Number 4, April 1958, ISSN  0022-1015 , pp. 352-358, PMID 13539317 .
  2. ↑ SM Jaeggi, R. Seewer, AC Nirkko, D. Eckstein, G. Schroth, R. Groner, K. Gutbrod: Does excessive memory load attenuate activation in the prefrontal cortex? Load-dependent processing in single and dual tasks: functional magnetic resonance imaging study. In: NeuroImage. Volume 19, Number 2 Pt 1, June 2003, ISSN  1053-8119 , pp. 210-225, PMID 12814572 .
  3. ^ Susanne M. Jaeggi, Martin Buschkuehl, John Jonides, Walter J. Perrig: Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory. In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 105 (2008), No. 19, pp. 6829-6833 - doi : 10.1073 / pnas.0801268105
  4. ↑ TS Redick, Z. Shipstead, TL Harrison, KL Hicks, DE Fried, DZ Hambrick, MJ Kane, RWEngle: No Evidence of Intelligence Improvement After Working Memory Training: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Study. Journal of Experimental Psychology 2012: General. doi : 10.1037 / a0029082 .
  5. ^ Weng-Tink Chooi, Lee A. Thompson: Working memory training does not improve intelligence in healthy young adults. In: Intelligence. 40, 2012, p. 531, doi : 10.1016 / j.intell.2012.07.004 .
  6. ↑ cf. Test at cognitivefun.net; Brain scale
  7. ↑ EFRAC IQ - Dual N-Back for Android, BlackBerry and Nokia smartphones. efrac.com
  8. ^ Brain Workshop