Transfer of Learning After Updating Training Mediated by the Striatum
Erika Dahlin,1,2*
Anna Stigsdotter Neely,3
Anne Larsson,2,4
Lars Bäckman,5
Lars Nyberg1,2,4
Process-specific training can improve performance on untrained tasks, but the magnitude of gain is variable and often there is no transfer at all. We demonstrate transfer to a 3-back test of working memory after 5 weeks of training in updating. The transfer effect was based on a joint training-related activity increase for the criterion (letter memory) and transfer tasks in a striatal region that also was recruited pretraining. No transfer was observed to a task that did not engage updating and striatal regions, and age-related striatal changes imposed constraints on transfer. These findings indicate that transfer can occur if the criterion and transfer tasks engage specific overlapping processing components and brain regions.
1 Department of Integrative Medical Biology, Umeå University, 90187 Umeå, Sweden.
2 Department of Radiation Sciences, Umeå University, 90187 Umeå, Sweden.
3 Department of Psychology, Umeå University, 90187 Umeå, Sweden.
4 Umeå Center for Functional Brain Imaging (UFBI), Umeå University, 90187 Umeå, Sweden.
5 Aging Research Center, Karolinska Institute, 11330 Stockholm, Sweden.
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: erika.dahlin{at}physiol.umu.se
