Archive for the ‘n-back improvements’ Category

n=3!

Wednesday, July 15th, 2009

Session number: 4

Average n-back: 2.67

I am having so much trouble on my 4th session with n=3 , I mean I can’t pass it because my brain always thinks n=2. It can be frustrating at times..

This post was submitted by Kane.

Working-Memory Training Report – Shaun – Session 157

Monday, July 13th, 2009

Session number: 157

Average n-back: 7.30!

Duration (min.): 30

Reach n=9 once. Done!
Achieve a new personal best. Done!


I quoted the following from Jaeggi (2005, pp. 24-25). I changed the syntax and words slightly to clarify that dual n-back training invokes the following cognitive functions.

+Encoding (interpretation of each stimulus).

+Storage (to retain any stimulus relevant to a future decision).

+Rehearsal (to keep the contents of the storage active).

+Matching (to compare every stimulus against the appropriate previous one, i.e., the one n back in the sequence).

+Temporal ordering (to keep the ordinal position of each stimulus tagged, that the present one can be matched).

+Inhibition (to dampen the trace of the oldest stimulus, replacing it with the newest).

+Response selection (the actual execution of the response.

In short, dual n-back training involves static storage processes and dynamic executive manipulation/updating processes. Every load level requires executive processing, since the allocation of attentional resources to independent stimuli is commonly referred to as core property of the Central Executive System (e.g. Baddeley, 1996).

This post was submitted by Shaun Luttin.

Working-Memory Training Report – Shaun Luttin – Sessions 154, 155

Friday, July 10th, 2009

Session number: 9-2, 9-3

Average n-back: 6.15, 7.15!

Duration (min.): 30, 30

Last two sessions.

6.15
7.15!

7.15 is 0.05 below my previous personal best and is the my first time above 7.00 in over 20 sessions. I never have to do that again (but I certainly could).

Shaun

This post was submitted by Shaun Luttin.

Working-Memory Training Report – Shaun – Session 153

Thursday, July 9th, 2009

Session number: 9-1

Average n-back: 6.30

Duration (min.): 30

My aspiration for period #9 is to stay at or above nAve 6.0 for 16 of 19 sessions. And if not, that’s okay too. Here are my records to date.

Within the score list for eight complete periods of BFPro, there are no records for my first three sessions. Martin, my sense is that I’m starting period 9-1 with today’s score.

It isn’t possible for me to post a graph to the blog; but I would like that. Martin, could you please post my training history as a graph. I would appreciate that!

[Duly done: MGW, remarkably similar curve...]

shaun-progress

Shaun’s Training History,
Period 1 to 8

No record
No record
No record
2.3
2.95
2.75
3.35
3.4
3.65
3.7
3.8
4.25
4.1
4.4
4.5
4.2
4.3
4.55
4.3
4.45
4.5
4.65
4.8
4.4
4.85
4.4
4.55
4.85
4.9
5.1
4.9
5.05
5.25
5
4.9
5.25
4.6
5.35
4.75
4.9
5.5
5.15
5.2
4.85
5
4.65
5.05
5.2
5.05
4.95
5.45
5.45
5.5
5.55
4.85
4.55
5.05
5.45
5.1
5.45
4.2
4.55
5.15
5
5.15
5.65
5.55
4.8
5.7
5.45
5.65
4.65
4.85
5.4
5.75
5.4
5.2
5.55
6.15
5.75
5.45
5.15
5.6
5.8
6.15
5.3
5.45
5.6
6.2
6.1
5.25
5.35
5.5
5.85
5.35
6.05
6.15
5.8
6
6.55
6.15
6.1
5.75
6.45
6.3
6.5
7
6.4
6.25
6.3
6.25
6.4
6.85
7.05
7.2
6.65
6.45
6.55
5.9
7
6.1
5.7
6
6.1
6.2
6.05
6.85
5.9
6.65
6.1
6.4
6.35
5.65
6.2
5.65
6.35
6.05
6.8
5.75
6.45
6.65
6.85
6.25
6.5
6.25
5.95
6.65
6.4
6.4
6.85
6.25
6.30 (Beginning of period #9)

This post was submitted by Shaun Luttin.

Working-Memory Training Report – Will – Session 200

Thursday, July 9th, 2009

Session number: 200

Average n-back: 6.90

Duration (min.): 25

I hit my new personal best of 6.90 on my 200th session (up from 6.75).

Overall, a strong session, one of my best both subjectively (how I felt about it) and objectively (my n back average).

Still seeing normal fluctuations session to session, as in:

Session 198: 6.50
Session 199: 6.15

This post was submitted by Will.

Working-Memory Training Report – Michelle – Session 12

Monday, July 6th, 2009

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.

Working-Memory Training Report – Will – Session 197

Sunday, July 5th, 2009

Session number: 197

Average n-back: 6.75

Duration (min.): 25

A devastatingly bad finish as I was at 7 going into the last 5 blocks…but still ended up with a personal best. I think the problem at the end was not so much loss of focus (in the ordinary sense) but just that I started thinking about hitting 7. At least I was able to hit a new personal best on 4th of July, so no complaints.

And this was a good recovery from my last session (196), in which I dropped to 5.95.

This post was submitted by Will.

Working-Memory Training Report – Shaun – Sessions 134 thru 153

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

Session number:  8-1 thru 8-19

Average n-back: 6.28

Duration (min.): June

Hi BFPro Community,

Despite the business of my life in June, I have made the time to train with BFPro. Over that month, all 19 sessions of training resulted in an overall average of n=6.28! Other stats grouped by session include 5.65 and 6.85 as the nadir and apex respectively. Here are my 19 scores.

6.10,
6.40,
6.35,
5.65,
6.20,
5.65,
6.35,
6.05,
6.80,
5.75,
6.45,
6.65,
6.85,
6.25,
6.50,
6.25,
5.95,
6.65,
6.40,
AVG 6.28!

Warm regards,
ShaunBrain Fitness Pro working-memory training report.

This post was submitted by Shaun Luttin.

Working-Memory Training Report – Martin – Session 169

Thursday, June 25th, 2009

Session number: 9 – 17

Average n-back: 8.95

Duration (min.): 50

(Posting this today from my session yesterday)

Another day of very good focus. A little disappointed that I couldn’t hold nine on the last couple of blocks…

Afternoon. Yoga. Swam.

Block # N
1 9
2 9
3 10
4 10
5 9
6 9
7 10
8 9
9 9
10 9
11 9
12 8
13 9
14 9
15 9
16 9
17 9
18 9
19 8
20 8

(No breaks, no meditation, no neuroprogramming.)

Brain Fitness Pro working-memory training report.

This post was submitted by martin.

Working-Memory Training Report – Nanz – Session 40, 41, 42

Wednesday, June 24th, 2009

Session number: 3-2,3,4

Average n-back: 4.6,4.8,5.2

Slowly improving…I just got a new high…it would have been higher – had a great string of 6…but then fell to 4. Soon I know I will be at 7.

I like martin’s new reporting of the session…how do you do that?

Be well
nanz

This post was submitted by nanz.