Researchers at the Karolinska Institute, including Fiona McNab, PhD, and Torkel Klingberg, MD, PhD, show for the first time that cognitive exercise produces chemical changes in the brain. The research provides new insights into the brain’s core processes.

A recent study by Olesen, Westerberg and Klingberg [Olesen P, Westerberg H, Klingberg T. Increased prefrontal and parietal brain activity after training of working memory. Nat Neurosci 2004;7:75–9] showed that group analysis of brain activity data show increases in prefrontal and parietal cortices after WM training. In the present study we performed single-subject analysis of the changes in brain activity after five weeks of training.

Researchers at the Karolinska Institute use fMRI scans to capture increased brain activity in adults following Cogmed Working Memory Training.