Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex
Frontal lobeBoth sidesIts job
Updates working memory: adds the newest item and drops the oldest.
In this game
Slides your “window” forward every turn so you always compare with n steps back.
HOW IT WORKS
Your memory is a sliding window
Every turn you add one new item and drop the oldest. Drag the level to see which past turn you're comparing against.
2-backHolding 2 turns in mind. No match, stay still.
The ladder
Score 80% to climb. Below 50%, step down. Each rung roughly doubles the load.
1-backWarm-upCompare with the last turn.
2-backStart hereWhere everyone begins.
3-backTrainedA few weeks of regular play.
4-backStrongJuggling eight items at once.
5-backAdvancedRare without months of practice.
6-backEliteThe top of most research studies.
1958
The single n-back
Wayne Kirchner introduced the n-back task to study how people hold rapidly changing information in short-term memory.
2008
Two streams at once
Susanne Jaeggi and colleagues paired a visual and an audio stream. Dual n-back has since become one of the most studied working-memory training tasks.
SourcesKirchner (1958). Age differences in short-term retention of rapidly changing information. Journal of Experimental Psychology.Jaeggi, Buschkuehl, Jonides & Perrig (2008). Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory. PNAS.Au et al. (2015). Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory: a meta-analysis. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review.
Two senses, two channels
Positions go in through your eyes, letters through your ears. Using separate senses stops the streams blurring together: and makes you coordinate both at once.
Where did the square light up n turns ago?
K
Which letter did you hear n turns ago? Muted? It shows on the square.
INSIDE YOUR BRAIN
Which parts of your brain Dual N-Back uses
N-back is one of the most studied tasks in brain imaging. Because you track positions and letters at once, it pulls in both sides of the brain (the spatial right and the verbal left) driven by the frontal lobes.
1
Based on Gray's Anatomy, fig. 728 (public domain)
1Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex2Posterior parietal cortex3Broca’s area4Anterior cingulate cortex
Dashed = deep inside the brain, not on the surface
Posterior parietal cortex
Parietal lobeBoth sidesIts job
Holds locations and keeps attention on the task.
In this game
Keeps the last few square positions in mind.
Broca’s area
Frontal lobeLeft sideIts job
Plans speech, including your silent inner voice.
In this game
Rehearses the recent letters as a short chant.
Anterior cingulate cortex
Frontal lobe, midlineBoth sidesIts job
Monitors for conflict and mistakes.
In this game
Flags a possible match and helps you catch false alarms.
CONTROL
Frontal areas steer
Prefrontal and cingulate regions update the stream and decide when to press.
STORAGE
Parietal areas hold
The parietal cortex keeps positions (and helps with letters) ready for comparison.
WITH PRACTICE
The network gets more efficient
After weeks of working memory training, imaging studies have found increased activity in prefrontal and parietal regions.
Brain science sources
- Owen, A. M. et al. (2005). N-back working memory paradigm: a meta-analysis of normative functional neuroimaging studies. Human Brain Mapping, 25, 46–59.
- Smith, E. E. & Jonides, J. (1999). Storage and executive processes in the frontal lobes. Science, 283, 1657–1661.
- Olesen, P. J., Westerberg, H. & Klingberg, T. (2004). Increased prefrontal and parietal activity after training of working memory. Nature Neuroscience, 7, 75–79.
A four-week plan
Research programmes use about 20 minutes a day, five days a week. Start at 2-back; most players reach 3-back within two weeks.
20
min / day
5
days / week
4
weeks
MTWTFSS
Week 1
22222
Week 2
22233
Week 3
33333
Week 4
33333
Numbers show the typical level for that week. Rest days are blank.
WHAT THIS GAME TRAINS
Two streams, one memory
Track a position and a sound at the same time, and flag when either matches n steps back. It's one of the most demanding working-memory games there is.
corestrongsomelight
coreWorking memory updatingConstantly replacing old items with new ones.
coreDivided attentionFollowing two streams at once.
strongAuditory memoryHolding the letter sounds.
strongSpatial memoryHolding the square positions.
ON AN ORDINARY DAY
Moments that use the same skill
More working-memory games
All 40 games →739??
Digit Span3 min
Hear a string of digits and repeat it back, one longer each round.
Repeat it forwards, then backwards123
Corsi Blocks3 min
Blocks flash in sequence. Tap them back in the same order.
Spatial working memory(3 × 2) − 1 = 5 ?
FK
Operation Span5 min
Check a sum, remember a letter, then recall every letter in order.
Memory under distractionB3A1
13AB
Letter–Number Sequencing4 min
Hear a mix of letters and numbers; say numbers in order, then letters.
Hold and reorder