Talk:N-back

Potential Outline
Hey community. Here's a rough outline of my changes to this article. Please give me all the feedback you think of!

Short description of n-back (method and purpose).

Purpose (this section describes why n-back tasks are used)
 * Measure of working memory

The task (basically this section will describe the task as it does now, but it will cite a journal article's description of the task)

Uses (describes when n-back are used)
 * Compare different groups' working memory
 * Assess working memory follow injury (this might stray into original research, so must find a better source)

Criticism Jaeggi, S. M., Buschkuehl, M., Perrig, W. J., & Meier, B. (2010). The concurrent validity of the N-back task as a working memory measure. Memory, 18(4), 394–412. doi:10.1080/09658211003702171
 * Not necessarily a reliable paradigm for testing individual differences in working memory, but predicts fluid intelligence
 * Relying on this source and its cited works for this section:
 * (I just found these sources, so I haven't had time to read through them, but apparently there is a wealth of literature out there assessing the n-back)

Neurobiology Requiredforclass (talk) 16:55, 24 October 2012 (UTC)
 * I'll probably leave this largely unchanged because I feel it's way beyond my level of expertise.
 * This looks good. You might think about changing the name of the "Criticism" section to something more neutral. (Also, be sure post new sections at the bottom of the talk page.) Wadewitz (talk) 20:47, 31 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Looks like a good list and I am glad you are being thoughtful about the wiki community practices. Clevwiki (talk) 23:25, 2 November 2012 (UTC)

Potential References
Hello, community. I plan to edit this article using these sources. They are listed in no particular order. I can't find a source that critiques the n-back, but these sources at least give some idea of when n-backs are used.

Mera S., Faranak, Tarek K., Aristotle N., Daniel M., Tamara,. . . Zafiris J. (2012). Can repetitive magnetic stimulation improve cognition in schizophrenia? pilot data from a randomized controlled trial. Biological Psychiatry, doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2012.08.020

Barr, M. S., Farzan, F., Rajji, T. K., Voineskos, A. N., Blumberger, D. M., Arenovich, T.,. . . Daskalakis, Z. J. (2012). Can repetitive magnetic stimulation improve cognition in schizophrenia? pilot data from a randomized controlled trial. Biological Psychiatry, doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2012.08.020

Dommer, L., Jäger, N., Scholkmann, F., Wolf, M., & Holper, L. (2012). Between-brain coherence during joint n-back task performance: A two-person functional near-infrared spectroscopy study. Behavioural Brain Research, 234(2), 212-222. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2012.06.024

Anthony C., & Elif. (2012). Delineating the contributions of sustained attention and working memory to individual differences in mindfulness. Personality and Individual Differences, doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2012.08.037

Cleo L., Dick J., Katelijne, Jan, & Wim. (2012). Impulsivity in adult adhd patients with and without cocaine dependence. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2012.09.006

Elbin, R. J., Covassin, T., Hakun, J., Kontos, A. P., Berger, K., Pfeiffer, K., & Ravizza, S. (2012). Do brain activation changes persist in athletes with a history of multiple concussions who are asymptomatic? Brain Injury, 26(10), 1217-1225. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/02699052.2012.672788

Weiland, B. J., Nigg, J. T., Welsh, R. C., Yau, W. W., Zubieta, J., Zucker, R. A., & Heitzeg, M. M. (2012). Resiliency in adolescents at high risk for substance abuse: Flexible adaptation via subthalamic nucleus and linkage to drinking and drug use in early adulthood. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 36(8), 1355-1364. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1530-0277.2012.01741.x

Satterthwaite, T. D., Ruparel, K., Loughead, J., Elliott, M. A., Gerraty, R. T., Calkins, M. E.,. . . Wolf, D. H. (2012). Being right is its own reward: Load and performance related ventral striatum activation to correct responses during a working memory task in youth. NeuroImage, 61(3), 723-729. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.03.060

Koychev, I., McMullen, K., Lees, J., Dadhiwala, R., Grayson, L., Perry, C.,. . . Barkus, E. (2012). A validation of cognitive biomarkers for the early identification of cognitive enhancing agents in schizotypy: A three-center double-blind placebo-controlled study. European Neuropsychopharmacology, 22(7), 469-481. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.euroneuro.2011.10.005

Gordon, E. M., Stollstorff, M., & Vaidya, C. J. (2012). Using spatial multiple regression to identify intrinsic connectivity networks involved in working memory performance. Human Brain Mapping, 33(7), 1536-1552. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/hbm.21306

Jamie F., & Laura L. (2012). Measuring working memory deficits in aphasia. Journal of Communication Disorders, doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jcomdis.2012.06.002

Requiredforclass (talk) 06:39, 17 October 2012 (UTC)
 * You really need to find some articles that talk about the reliability of this method or at least describe the method. Do any of these do this? Some hint that they might, but you can't just cite a bunch of studies that use this method as that would be original research. Wadewitz (talk) 22:19, 22 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Thank you, I agree completely! I tried to find articles like that on the Library Resources, but didn't. I just did a Google search on "validity of n-back" and got all sorts of good articles. PS--Looking forward to working on your website! Requiredforclass (talk) 16:41, 24 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Glad you found some! My website is looking forward to it, too! Wadewitz (talk) 20:48, 31 October 2012 (UTC)
 * NYTimes just had an article mentioning n-back which also reminded me of this older one that might be useful.Clevwiki (talk) 23:24, 2 November 2012 (UTC)

Why are n-back tasks used?
The article only mentions that n-back tasks are used to "stimulate brain activity." For what end? Why are neuroscientists interested in this? Requiredforclass (talk) 19:44, 7 October 2012 (UTC)
 * I agree that its purpose should be expanded upon. I also think the neurobiology section is too small, and that some images of the brain areas discussed would be beneficial. Another example of an n-back task would be helpful, especially with articles cited that might explain its usefulness in science in a more direct manner. K-BlueHerring (talk) 01:49, 8 October 2012 (UTC)
 * You are quite right, and I rewrote the first sentence!  Lova Falk     talk   09:42, 17 October 2012 (UTC)

Software implementation
The screen shot of the n-back task is for a commercial software sold by FingerFriendlySoft in the itunes store. It is there for the purposes of advertising and thus inappropriate. Moreover, the screen shot is uninformative with regards to the task, I am removing it. jben —Preceding undated comment added 10:15, 25 August 2011 (UTC).

The text: "The suite of working memory training tasks used in the study on dopamine receptor levels is available from Pearson Education. " has been removed because there are no reference to dopamine receptor previously.Ppaulojr (talk) 19:33, 19 June 2011 (UTC)


 * Reverted because your claim was incorrect. --Gwern (contribs) 22:45 7 July 2011 (GMT)

Sparse Introduction
The introduction lacks an enticing and relevant description of the subject matter. mmm.designs (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 04:33, 8 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Quite right, and I rewrote the first sentence. I doubt if the sentence is "enticing" though...  Lova Falk     talk   09:44, 17 October 2012 (UTC)

What are low and high values of N?
The article includes information that is explicitly applicable to "high" values of N but does not ever give an intuition as to what values of N are considered high. If you know this topic, can you ballpark what "high" might mean, e.g., 3 or more, 7 or more, 10 or more, etc? 216.66.5.43 (talk) 18:34, 10 February 2014 (UTC)

1 step n-back is called a '1-back' not a '1-N'
There seems to be erroneous terminology used in the description of n-back tasks, under the heading 'The task'. The text seems to suggest that the one turn back and two turns back n-back tasks are called "1-N" and "2-N" respectively. But shouldn't that be "1-back" and "2-back" respectively?Biirnats (talk) 16:57, 11 September 2020 (UTC)

Single or 1 n-back refers to single task n-back (memorizing position only) with variable n, dual or 2 n-back to dual task n-back e.g. position and sound simultaneously n turns back etc. 46.114.107.197 (talk) 11:30, 30 November 2020 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion: Participate in the deletion discussion at the. —Community Tech bot (talk) 21:38, 4 September 2021 (UTC)
 * Single n-back task animation.gif