I wanted to alert you to a very interesting finding published in a recent issue of Science, one of the world’s leading scientific journals.

The study was led by Dr. Torkel Klingberg and his colleagues from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden. The goal was to learn whether Working Memory Training is associated with changes in brain biochemistry, thus suggesting a mechanism by which training may lead to enhanced working memory capacity and a reduction in attention problems. Thus, although Working Memory Training has previously shown promising results as a treatment for working memory and attention difficulties, this was a basic science study rather than a treatment study.

The major finding was that increased working memory capacity following training was associated with changes in brain biochemistry. Specifically, the researchers found changes in the density and binding potential of cortical D1 dopamine receptors in brain regions that are activated during working memory tasks.

Results from this study suggest a biological basis for the improvement in working memory capacity and reductions i Read the rest of this entry »