Efficacy of cogmed working memory training program in improving working memory in school-age children with and without neurological insults or disorders: A meta-analysis

Abstract

This meta-analysis assessed the efficacy of the Cogmed Working Memory Training program in improving near-transfer measures (verbal and visuospatial working memory) and far-transfer measures (attention, executive function, and academic achievement) in school-age children with and without neurological insults or disorders. Relevant studies were searched in databases and clinical trial registries using the keyword Cogmed. Ten published studies and unpublished data from one study met the inclusion criteria. Hedges g was calculated for each outcome measure obtained at pre-intervention, post-intervention, and 3–6 month time points. Analysis compared outcome measures in the control versus experimental groups and examined the role of moderators on treatment effects (control group intervention, intervention environment). Data revealed significant medium-size effects of the Cogmed program in improving verbal and visuospatial working memory post-intervention and for verbal working memory only at the 3–6 month time point. However, the training did not generalize to the far-transfer measures. Analyses indicated that only the type of intervention provided for the control group moderated treatment effects on verbal and visual working memory. Meta-analytic findings suggest that the Cogmed program leads to short-term improvements and in some cases, long-term improvements in working memory in school-age children; however, these effects may not generalize to far-transfer measures.

Keywords:

• Cogmed
• children
• intervention
• meta-analysis
• school-age
• working memory

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Kenneth Evans, subject Librarian at Texas Woman’s University for his assistance with the search strategies for each database. Thanks to Linda L. Daniel and Emily Cochran for reviewing an earlier draft of this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

The authors do not have any relevant financial or non-financial competing interests to report.