What time of the day do you usually play these cognitive games?
I usually play these at night before I go to sleep because thats usually the only time my schedule will allow. Though, Im going to try and switch this into my day time(somehow?)because this is most likely counterproductive compared to how much more progress I could obtain by performing these very intuitive stimulating tasks in the middle of the day.
Csafaii | 3 years ago
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At present I'm on a long vacation so I practice about three, four or even five times a day. Spaced out accordingly: Morning, lunch..... First thing in the morning can be difficult! There will be a break next week as I'm away.
The more I reflect upon Dual N-back the more I believe it is training attention and concentration as opposed to simply expanding WM. Sometimes it can feel very comfortable, little effort required to attain a high score at a given n level, while at other times for the same n level frustratingly difficult. The former suggests that the WM capacity is present while the latter suggests lack of consistancy in attention and concentration. Now I try to focus on consistancy in concentration with the aim of developing this skill so that I can 'switch' it on in different contexts, for example I've noticed increased focus during reading.
Thoughts:
It may of course be that attention and WM are not completely separate entities, increased concentration may increase WM.
I guess when you start probing it, it becomes somewhat ontological. For example what controls attention? Attention controlling attention?
What neuorologically constitutes attention? This I guess depends upon how attention is defined!
The key is developing the discipline of a practice and working through the peaks and troughs and hopefully seeing some results. I intend to give it maybe six months or a year and assess the progress made and any transferability. As an educationalist I'm particularly interested in how it could assist students in developing concentration and therefore learning. So I am the lab rat!
Regards and keep going
The more I reflect upon Dual N-back the more I believe it is training attention and concentration as opposed to simply expanding WM. Sometimes it can feel very comfortable, little effort required to attain a high score at a given n level, while at other times for the same n level frustratingly difficult. The former suggests that the WM capacity is present while the latter suggests lack of consistancy in attention and concentration. Now I try to focus on consistancy in concentration with the aim of developing this skill so that I can 'switch' it on in different contexts, for example I've noticed increased focus during reading.
Thoughts:
It may of course be that attention and WM are not completely separate entities, increased concentration may increase WM.
I guess when you start probing it, it becomes somewhat ontological. For example what controls attention? Attention controlling attention?
What neuorologically constitutes attention? This I guess depends upon how attention is defined!
The key is developing the discipline of a practice and working through the peaks and troughs and hopefully seeing some results. I intend to give it maybe six months or a year and assess the progress made and any transferability. As an educationalist I'm particularly interested in how it could assist students in developing concentration and therefore learning. So I am the lab rat!
Regards and keep going
onetaste | 3 years ago
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"Thoughts:
It may of course be that attention and WM are not completely separate entities, increased concentration may increase WM"
the converse could also be true
medicalstudent | 3 years ago
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Yes. I guess they are mutually dependent. You cannot observe, concentrate or hold your attention on someting unless that someting is temporarily stored.
Also attention may not be a singular entity. For different stimuli different parts of the brain 'attend' and therefore our ability to pay attention may depend upon the type of stimuli. This may also hold for WM
This of course may raise issues here. Does increased attention for playing N-back transfer to other domains? Similarly with WM.
This is my main interest here - to develop a high level of concentration that I can 'switch' on in other domains! Maybe you can draw a parallel with neurofeedback - learning to control the mind / attention!
Must go now as I'm away tomorrow.
Also attention may not be a singular entity. For different stimuli different parts of the brain 'attend' and therefore our ability to pay attention may depend upon the type of stimuli. This may also hold for WM
This of course may raise issues here. Does increased attention for playing N-back transfer to other domains? Similarly with WM.
This is my main interest here - to develop a high level of concentration that I can 'switch' on in other domains! Maybe you can draw a parallel with neurofeedback - learning to control the mind / attention!
Must go now as I'm away tomorrow.
onetaste | 3 years ago
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My guess is similar to yours. Concentration (sustained attention) is critical for n-back performance, as it is on any cognitively demanding task. High performing individuals are more effective at filtering out relevant signals from chaotic input, and this points to superior ability in cognitive resource allocation, more than just simply "larger WM capacity."
cognitivefun | 3 years ago
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i play for about 1h. starting from 11PM .. it is late and i'm exhausted but at the moment i still can't reorganize my schedule. Anyway i think i have a very good progress
orcad | 3 years ago
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