Executive functions blues: Updating and inhibition training in older adults.

Abstract

Population aging has made cognitive decline a growing public health challenge. Theories of cognitive aging highlight executive functions (EFs), particularly updating and inhibition, as central to cognitive decline. This study examined whether strengthening EFs can improve working memory, fluid reasoning, and everyday problem solving and which factors predict training outcomes. A total of 120 participants (M = 70.30, SD = 5.84) were randomly assigned to one of four groups: updating, inhibition, combined training, or an active control group (communication skills). Participants completed 20 home-based training sessions (three 25-min sessions per week) and seven assessment sessions (pretest, posttest, and 6-month follow-up), which included sociodemographics, updating (n-back, Memory Updating), inhibition (Picture-Word, Stroop), working memory (Operation Span task), fluid reasoning (Standard Progressive Matrices), and everyday problem-solving tasks (Everyday Problem Test). Bayesian repeated-measures analysis of variance indicated improvements on n-back tasks accuracy for the updating, inhibition, and combined groups and improvement in the n-back reaction time for combined and inhibition groups. Mixed-effects modeling revealed that age, education level, and baseline n-back performance predicted initial success in updating training, while baseline Picture-Word scores predicted initial success in inhibition training. Group membership predicted the rate of progress in inhibition training. Overall, findings suggest limited transfer effects from EF training to untrained domains and emphasize the role of individual characteristics and task-specific factors in determining training success. The study contributes to a more cautious understanding of EF training, demonstrating modest gains specific to certain EF components and identifying key individual and task-related predictors of training outcomes.