Session number: 12
Average n-back: 4.30
Duration (min.): 30
First of all – self-pat on the back for effort: WooHoo! 4.30 on day 12.
Progress so far:
Day 1: 2.30
Day 2: 2.35
Day 3: 2.50
Day 4: 2.80
Day 5: 3.05
Day 6: 3.30
Day 7: 3.50
Day 8: 3.85
Day 9: 4.10
Day 10: 3.80
Day 11: 3.90
Day 12: 4.30
(Days 8 & 9 were done early in the evening and the others around midnight before going to bed. Thanks everyone for the tip – won’t be making that mistake again…..)
I did 5 runs at n=5 this evening. I got bumped immediately back to n=4 after each, but it didn’t really matter, because just to even get half right at n=5 is giving me a real confidence lift.
Why this is so amazing to me is because my working memory has always been far, far weaker than my capacity for abstract thought – enough to cause problems for me (along with an anxiety disorder) in postgraduate work. I even thought that I may have had an impairment in that area, and so sought formal neuropsychological assessment, which I’m in the midst of undergoing now bit by bit every couple of weeks.
I’ve only completed 2 subtests of the WAIS so far (and not the performance subtests), so it will be interesting to see how my fluid intelligence measures go (I will be doing at least some of the performance subtests next week). I did hit the ceiling on the vocab subtest, but my digit span was only 6. The neuropsychologist did say that 6 was above average, but I don’t think it’s that huge – and isn’t currently supporting the flood of ideas that I’m trying to cope with, so I thought I’d give the dual n-back a go, along with MyBrainTrainer, and a couple of other reputable brain training sites.
I really struggled with n=2 when I started, and thought it would be amazing if I could reach a credible n=3 by the end of the first 19 days, so I’m bowled over by the results.
I’m going to show my neuropsychologist my progress, and maybe even ask if we could retest digit span in another month to see if there is any improvement.
Dual n-back isn’t an easy task, but I don’t really care about that – I’m willing to grind away at it. As far as I’m concerned this is now part of my permanent daily mental exercise regime.
This post was submitted by Michelle.
Tags: Brain Exercises, brain-fitness, brain-fitness-pro, buschkuehl, increase intelligence, increase IQ, intelligence-training, IQ-training, jaeggi, martin-buschkuehl, mind-sparke, susanne-jaeggi, Training Working-Memory, working-memory
Hi Michelle.
Pat on the back from me, too. Great progress.
Interesting that you’d previously felt that your working memory wasn’t so strong. It seems to be ramping up nicely.
Good to hear that Brain Fitness Pro has so quickly become part of your routine. I’ve been unable to train for a few days, and I’m really missing the mental workout.
Martin
Welcome and well done Michelle. I agree with Martin; you are making outstanding progress in such a small amount of time.
The WAIS digit span is a bit different than working memory, so while you will most likely see some improvement in span tasks — Shaun and I have, for instance — you will also see processing gains pertinent to just about any intellectual activity, particularly “fluid intelligence.” It’s not too clear to me how much I’ve gained on this since the training but I do feel as if my brain is very active in how it attacks new stimuli or information rather than relaxed “auto pilot” mode which I was apt to fall into before the training. It’s amazing how many people educated, and uneducated, (but particularly the educated), fall back on what they already know. The training has helped me move out of this comfort area — at least rely on it only when I really need to.
As fo Working memory/IQ discrepancy, I am beginning to think it’s the norm rather than exception for gifted people, particularly in Westernized societies. The dual n back will give you an invaluable, extra edge, which as I’ve experienced, really has to do with being able to control my brain processes with far more assurance, especially when I get to those times when I’m not thinking about brain processes but actually need my brain to function in the clutch. It does. That’s what the workout has helped me with the most. As for Mybraintrainer.com; this is good place to train your brain for processing speed. For WM, though, imo, dual n back is the best.
The two together are optimal. You seem committed to the training, and I have no doubt this will pay off for you, as it has for others here.
Will, that is exactly it – being able to control brain processes with assurance. Crystallised knowledge is fine, my creativity is high, my capacity for abstract thought, etc, is all there, but it’s these really annoying little things like brain processing speed, short term memory, and working memory that could support the macrostructure much better than it currently does.
Ideas come so hard and fast that I can’t control them, go into cognitive overload, have no idea how to handle everything at once to get them into a postgrad essay. My mother took me out of a school which was accelerating me because I was gifted as she was concerned about me being pushed. Consequently, the last time I had any dedicated gifted ed was when I was 6 years old. I’m 42 now and a few university degrees later, yet most of the time I managed to do things the ‘normal’ way instead of my own because I thought it was what I was supposed to do, pushing my own innate ability somehow into the background. When I did finally break free and re-establish the link with my giftedness, it was like an avalanche, and I had to try to relearn everything according to my own natural thought processes – against the backdrop of a pretty pronounced anxiety disorder to boot!
Giftedness and learning disabilities are at least one area of specialisation that I have developed over the years, so it will be interesting if I can turn whatever data I gather on myself into something useful for others.
I would like my working memory to be able to accommodate what my creative and intellectual mind want to do with the material, and sadly I really don’t think mine is providing me with the foundation I need to function as I would wish, so I’m determined to do something about it. I’m in the midst of purchasing a dedicated digit span software as well, so hopefully the two can go together. And I definitely need to get my speed up – timed tests tend to be my undoing due to OCD-related anxiety, leading to frustration because they then don’t really allow me to demonstrate my abstract intellectual ability to the fullest.
It will be interesting to see how the performance subtests go with all this focused, combined brain training. If I keep hitting ceilings on the verbal, I doubt that the WAIS is going to tell me anything about my verbal IQ except for the fact that I need a test with a higher ceiling. Usually, memory subtests
Hi Michelle,
It’s nice to meet you. Will mentioned an increase in my digit span.
My most salient increase is in my backward digit span. This is more representative of working memory than is the forward digit span.
Another prominent increase is in my TRI52 achievement. The TRI52 tests fluid reasoning in a similar way as does the WAIS test. Fluid reasoning may also be related to working memory as well.
A final remarkable increase is in my ability to think ‘with assurance’ while paying attention to something else. For instance, while listening to a friend talk, listening to a lecture at school, or listening to the n-back aural sequences, I can be formulating summaries of the friend’s message, generating questions about the lecture material, or rehearsing verbal loops of the letters n-back. Paying attention to the ‘outside’ world while intentionally processing in my ‘inside’ world has real world benefits.
Warm regards,
Shaun
Hey guys,
I’ve been on a 3 month hiatus owing to crazy work hours along with studying for a licensing exam, but this month has been lighter allowing me to start training again.
I thought you may be interested in my experience with such a long hiatus:
My last session was on March 25 with a mean n-back of 6.1 (max of 8). This was the highest score I had achieved, my next best having been 5.4 (max of 7) on the previous day.
At that time, I had noticed subjective feelings of increased mental capacity in that I could read complex papers more efficiently, and felt I could listen to someone recount a complex chain of events and hold all the relevant information in my head with much more ease, without needing to write anything down (I need to do this regularly for work).
After 1.5 to 2 months of not training, I noticed that I had lost some of the increased mental capacity, and was starting to have more difficulty retaining all the pertinent elements of the stories that were given to me. Having said this, I was also quite sleep deprived for the last two months owing to the busy schedule, averaging about 4-5 hrs a night, so that may have played a role as well.
Anyway, I started training again last week. I did 3 sessions of 40 trials in the last six days, and have already surpassed my second highest score from three months ago. Here’s the breakdown:
Session 1: 4.8 (max of 6)
Session 2: 5.2 (max of 7)
Session 3: 5.5 (max of
I haven’t clearly noticed any cognitive changes yet, at least not anything obvious. I do remember however that even back then, the feelings were subtle and inconsistent.
Anyway, I thought you guys would appreciate knowing that your gains (at least in n-back level) won’t be lost if you’re forced to take a break from training for 2 or 3 months. I also wanted to tell you that despite the three month hiatus, I regularly checked-in on here to read about your experiences.
Hearing about your subjective experiences and perceived benefits (especially posts such as Shaun’s last one), kept me motivated to start training again once time allowed. Your meticulous record-keeping is also remarkable, and very useful. I don’t think there’s anyone out there that has documented their consistent progress as well as Martin and Shaun have. The graph Martin put up showing ongoing incremental improvement after all that time is also very motivating.
Keep up the good work, and thanks for sharing.
I hope you guys keep it up.
Hi Dave,
Thanks for the praise of my posts, for their motivational value and attention to detail. I appreciate that! Also, congratulations on achieving a new personal best!
Shaun
Way to go, Dave!
Shaun, that is precisely what I’ve been lacking. It’s like I have this huge complex network of ideas and trying to work with it all at once, and then when I go to write, it’s virtually impossible to cut through it, and I’m trying to hold it all there at once and manipulate it at the same time. I can usually get away with normal everyday tasks, but it tends to increase exponentially when I reach a really high conceptual level – which is frustrating, because that’s where my focus usually is much of the time.
My backward digit span on the WAIS is slightly more meagre than my forward digit span – only 5. It’s obviously not supporting my abstract thought structures in the way that they need, hence I’m not getting to really use what I’m truly capable of.
The neuropsychologist did comment on the presence of thought blocking effects during the Vocabulary subtest due to anxiety. I did hit the ceiling on that test, hence the ability was there, but when I became anxious (test anxiety is a huge problem for me), it was kind of obvious from my verbal behaviour that something like that is at least part of what is going on.
That being said, I still think that the anxiety issue is not the entire problem for me. But I’m going to have to see how I perform on the other subtests (ie I could be a one-subtest wonder, for all I know, although I think it’s unlikely). If I start maxing out lots of subtests and the memory ones are within normal range or even above normal but clearly below the other subtests (eg if the non-memory subtests all turn out at the exceptional level, for instance), I would be talking to the neuropsychologist about how the discrepancy might actually be affecting the way I’m able to use my intellect.
In the meantime, yes I’m noticing that holding disparate bits of information in working memory is getting easier with the dual n-back, even after less than 3 weeks. So I’m looking forward to the time when I’ve been doing it for ages. Thanks everyone for the encouragement and feedback.
Hello Dave.
Thanks for posting about resuming training after a break. That’s both valuable information to have, and very encouraging. It goes toward confirming the presumption that the training effects are if not permanent then at least long term. The research shows that intensive working memory training spurs new neural growth; so these should be long term gains.
(I believe that Susanne Jaeggi and Martin Buschkuehl are working on a study of the long term effects.)
I also appreciate your kind words about those of us who post regularly. It’s good to know that people find this information useful.
Best wishes,
Martin
Hi Michelle,
I admire your openness about the feelings of anxiety you experience. Similarly, depression has been a part of my life for some time, and depression comes with both anxiety and anger. As a result, I’ve learned much about coping with difficult mind states.
Here’s a poem that I find useful.
This being human is a guest house
every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness (an anxiety)
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they are a crowd of sorrows (or fears)
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture
Still, treat each guest honourably
he may be clearing you
out for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in!
Be grateful for whoever comes
because each has been sent,
and a guide from beyond.
That’s a poem by the ecstatic Sufi poet Rumi, and to me it’s about letting in and welcoming all of our experiences, whether they are anxiety, depression, anger, despair…
Also, Michelle, you might be glad to hear that when I did the WAIS-III intelligence test with a registered psychologist, my IQ came in as very superior despite that my working memory and processing speed scores came in as average or slightly above average.
Now, when I test my digit span and my reverse digit span, both spans are identical, and my digit span consistently comes in at around 9, and it has peaked at around eleven in the forward – that’s both aural and visual spans with letters and / or numbers.
The conclusion is that we can increase working memory, and BFPro appears to be a powerful exercise to that end.
Warm regards,
Shaun
Wow, Shaun – that is incredible! I’d give my eye tooth for my digit span to be that good (if it hadn’t already been yanked out by the dentist……)
At least some of my anxiety regarding the WAIS has been because I was afraid that with working memory adding to the overall score, my score would be depressed – which is weird because I have the opposite fear that I’m going to reach ceilings on some things and have it not assess anything at all… (OCD’s not logical, anyway – mine is usually scared of multiple test related things in equal measure.)
Intensity of emotion is gift and curse in equal measure. I have a gut feeling that it’s essential to the way one both perceives and conceives at the upper end of the bell curve. I don’t know how to explain that relationship exactly just yet, but I suspect that it’s part of the core that enables one to make meaningful connections between ideas. That’s where the joy part comes in.
I’ve started to co-opt my obsessive-compulsive disorder, give it limited ‘chores’ to do for me so that I have a paying guest and not an idle one LOL
At the moment, I’ve put it in charge of my brain training. It’s an admirable drill sargeant – which makes it obstructive for a lot of my academic activities, but absolutely perfect at keeping me going on repetitive technical exercises, and I have to admit it’s doing its job well with the brain training. I’m thinking of letting it take charge of the Symbol Search subtest when I do it.
I’ve just done a base digit span test with the Simply Smarter program. My aural digit span is now 7 both forward and backward according to that. My only concern is that you have to type your answers in, which kind of does make checking the reverse digit span a bit easier because once you’ve typed it you can mentally check it off if it’s written instead of checking it off against a mental picture of it in your mind. So I would like the psychologist to take me through both forward and backwards again in about a month. I can do a base test with the program the day before, and that way I’ll have some comparison of how close it is to a psychologically administered digit span where you’ve basically just got to give your answers verbally. But I would say that it must have improved at least a bit as a result of the dual n-back.
That software also has an alpha-numeric one where you have to remember the numbers and letters in order, hold them in your head, and then re-arrange them in ascending order, first the numbers and then the letters. I think it’s similar to another WAIS-IV subtest coming up. I may be in trouble with that at the moment as my current span for that according to the software is 4. But I’ll keep up with the dual n-back and also do some direct practice on the alpha-numeric span and see to what extent I can improve.