How To Optimize Your Dual

N-back Training
For i3 Mindware v.4

2G 2GPlus

Mark Ashton Smith, Ph.D

ThiseBookhasbeenwrittenasaguidetooptimizingyournbackbraintrainingwithi3
Mindwaresv4increaseIQtrainingsoftware.

ThequestionWhatarethebeststrategiesforincreasingmynbacklevelini3Mindware
v4training?shouldbereframedasWhatarethebeststrategiesforincreasingmy
workingmemorycapacityandforimprovingmyoverallcognitivefunctioning?

Beforewetacklethisquestiondirectlyletusreviewsomeofthescience.

KEY BACKGROUND THEORY

Working memory definition:

Our mental workspace

i3Mindwares2Gand2GPlustrainyourbrainsworkingmemorycircuitry.

Workingmemorycanbedefinedasabrainsystemthathelpsuskeepinformationinmind
whileusingthatinformationtocompleteatask(e.g.plannedorstrategicaction,
comprehending,problemsolving,decisionmaking).Thiscaninvolveactivelyinhibiting
distractinginformation.

Ausefulmetaphorforworkingmemoryisthementalworkspace:

aflexible,capacitylimited,mentalworkspaceusedtostoreandprocess
informationintheserviceofongoingcognitionMorrison&Chein,2010

Workingmemory:ourmentalworkspace
Workingmemoryhastwoseparateshorttermmemorystoresforverbalandvisualspatial
information.Bothareactiveindualnbacktraining.

ThereisalsoasupersystemcalledtheCentralExecutiveorattentioncontrolsystem.
Thiscontrolstheflowofinformationintothesetwoshorttermstores,andinhibitsirrelevant
informationinordertofocusonandrememberinformationthathelpswithourgoalsand
currenttasks.Thisisthesystemthatkeepsupdatingitemsandignoresdistracting
informationwhenyoutrainwiththedualnback.
Working memory capacity
Peopledifferintheirworkingmemorycapacity.Workingmemorycapacityisthesizeof
yourmentalworkspacethequantityornumberofchunksofinformationyoucanholdin
mindatagiventimetoapplytoatask.

Apersonsnbacklevelisgenerallyagoodmeasureoftheirworkingmemory
capacity.Thisiswhythenbackisthegoldstandardmeasureincognitiveneuroscience
forworkingmemorycapacity.

NbacklevelcanbeusedasameasureofWMcapacity

An information processing bottleneck

Sinceworkingmemorymakesinformationavailableformoreadvancedcognitive
processing,workingmemorycapacityisamainlimitingfactorforallhigherorder
cognitivefunctions.ItislikeyourcomputersRAMcapacity.Ingeneralterms,thelarger
yourmentalworkspace,thegreateryourprocessingpowerandthusthegreaterchance
academicandprofessionalachievement.Anexampleofthisrelationshipisshownbelow.

Effective working memory training:

Dual n-back training

Theaimofallworkingmemorybraintrainingprogramsistoexpandworking
memorycapacityandimproveattentionalcontrol.Themostwidelystudiedand
wellestablishedworkingmemorytrainingexerciseisthedualnback.

Thenbackgamerequiresyouviewacontinuousstreamofitems(e.g.,letters)anddecide
whethereachitemmatchesthestimuluspresentednstimuliback.InDualNbacktraining,
twoinformationstreamsindifferentmodalities(e.g.audioandvisual)arepresented
simultaneouslyanditemmatcheshavetobedetectedforbothtypesofinformation.This
dualtaskrequiresconstantlyupdatingitemsinboththevisualshorttermstoryandthe
verbalshorttermstoresofworkingmemory.

2G N-Back: Working memory training to increase IQ

HowisworkingmemoryandIQ(generalintelligence)related?Howdoesworkingmemory
trainingtransfertogainsinintelligence?Theanswerisinterferencecontroltheability
tofilteroutdistractinginformationwhileengaginginsomecognitivetask,using
yourattentionalfocus.

StudiesbyBurgess,Gray,andmygradschoolcolleagueTodBraver(article1,article2)
providebrainimagingevidenceofalargeoverlapofIQandworkingmemorybrain
mechanismswhenthereisneedforinterferencecontrolonataskbutnot
otherwise.Brainregionscommontofluidintelligenceandworkingmemorybecamemore
activewhenthereisaneedtofilteroutdistractions.Interferencecontrolisasocalled
executivefunctiontheabilitytousefocusedattentiontofilteroutdistractinginformation
orsuppressirrelevanthabitsorresponses,whenfacedwithcognitivechallenges.

I3Mindware2Gdualnbacktrainingunlikestandard(1G)dualnbacktraininghas
builtininterferencerequiringcontinualinterferencecontroltoperformthetask.Youmay
haveexperiencedinterferenceinthestandarddualnbackwhenthesequenceofstimuli
repeatsitselfbeforethetargetispresented.Thiscreatesconfusionwhereyouhaveto
repeatyourselftokeeptheseriesofitemsinmemory.Instandarddualnbackthis
happensrandomly.Ihavebuiltitinasacentralfeatureforworkingmemorytraining.Our
datasuggeststhisresultsinsignificantlybetterIQgains.

PRACTICE : WHAT STRATEGIES?

Wehavenowreviewedthenecessarybackgroundinformationtoanswerthemainquestion
ofthisarticle.Whatarethebeststrategiesforoptimizingyour2Gdualnbacktrainingi3
Mindwarev4?

A critical distinction

Thefirstpointthatneedstobeabsorbedisthatstrategiesthatincreaseyournback
leveldonotnecessarilyresultinanincreaseinyourworkingmemorycapacity.Itis
workingmemorycapacityandexecutivecontrolgainsthatyouwantfromyournback
trainingnotjustahighnbacklevelperse.Wewillseebelowthatsometrainingstrategies
thatcanbeadoptedartificiallyinflatenbacklevelswhilenothelpingyourworkingmemory
capacityatall.

4 different training strategies to

improve n-back level: Only 1 is useful.

Therearefourtypesofstrategytrainingthatareoftenusedwithi3Mindwaretraining.They
canallimprovenbacklevelperformance.Butonlythefirst(rehearsal)isusefulfor
expandingworkingmemorycapacity.

I. Rehearsal
Wecanimproveournbacklevelonthedualnbackgamethroughusingastrategycalled
rehearsal.Fortheaudiostimuli,youcanuseyourinnervoice(subvocalization)torapidly
repeatthestringoflettersforaparticularnbackleveltokeeptheminyourmental
workspace.Thelettersmayevenbesaidaloud.Withthisstrategyyouneedtoupdate
thelistoneitematatimeasnewitemsarepresented.Forthevisuospatialstimuli,
yourehearsealocationbylocationscanningofwherethesquareshavejustappeared.
Thismayinvolveimaginingthelocationsoractuallymovingtheeyes.Boththe
subvocalisationandscanningarerehearsalstrategies,andtheycanbedone
simultaneously.

Therehearsalstrategyisrecommendedasthestrategyofchoiceforyour2Gand
2GPlusnbacktraining.Rehearsaltrainingcantransfertootherworkingmemorytasks
andincreasememoryfortypesofinformationnotdirectlytrainedinthedualnbackgame.
Thereisevidencethattrainingwitharehearsalstrategybenefitsmentalarithmeticandthe
abilitytofollowinstructionsandstudieshaveshownthatrehearsalstrategytrainingcan
improveeverydaymemory.

II. Chunking
Sometimesduringthedualnbackgame,aletterorlocationmayberepeatedonetwoor
eventhreetimes.Whenthishappensitiseasiertoplaythegamebecausewithonlyone
placeholderthereislessinformationtoencodetodothetask.Oratothertimes,
theremaybeameaningfulstringoflettersthatformsawordoracronym,orasequenceof
locationsthatformsamemorableshape.Whenitemscanbegroupedtogetherlikethis,
easingtheburdenonourworkingmemorysystem,thisiscalledchunking.Chunkingcan
benefitfrompracticeanditiswidelyusedinnbacktrainingtoincreasenbacklevels.

Whilechunkingisusefulineverydaylifetohelpusencodeinformationefficiently,itis
counterproductivefortrainingtoexpandthecapacityofworkingmemory
training.Itsasbadasusingmomentumtodositupswhenyoushouldbedoingsustained
crunches!Itisactuallyawayofcompensatingforlimitationsofworkingmemory
capacitytoincreaseyournbackperformance.Itspossibletohavenochangeinyour
brainsactualworkingmemorycapacity(itsRAMpower)whileeffectivelyusinga
chunkingstrategytoincreaseyournbacklevelafewnotches,givingthefalseimpression
ofneuroplasticitychangesinyourworkingmemorycircuitry.

2Gnbacktraininghelptominimizethisstrategywhenyouswitchonthe
hypernbackoption(timericon),increasingthespeedandbreakingthe
rhythmoftheinformationflow.Thisincreasescognitiveloadandreducesthe
abilitytochunktheinformation.

2GPlusnbacktrainingevenmoresubstantiallyreduceschunkingby
usingstimulithatcannoteasilybechunkedinmeaningfulwaysabstract
sphericalharmonicsinrandomlocations.

III. Attention Hopping

Asyougetmoreexperiencedwithstandarddualnbackitispossibletostrategicallydirect
yourattentioninhopsorjumpstousefulstringsoflettersorsquarelocationsinorderto
maintainorgoupannbacklevel.Usingthisstrategy,youarenotupdatingtheletters
orlocationsinyourworkingmemoryitembyitembutarecountingthrougha
particularstringoflengthNandthenrefreshingitfromthestartagainforthenext
string,missingpossiblematchesinbetween.

Thisstrategycanworkfairlywellifyouareplayingannbackgamethathasalowaccuracy
setting(e.g.BrainWorkshopstandardsetting).Loweraccuracysettingsarechosenfor
nbackgamesonthemarketbecausetheyresultinaneasier,confidencebuilding
progressionwithnbacklevelsbutataseriouscost.Attentionhopping,likechunking,
isacompensationstrategyforaworkingmemorycapacitythatisnotableto
processagivennbacklevel.Aswithchunking,attentionhoppingstrategiesgivethe
illusionofbraintraininggains(withincreasingnbacklevels)withoutinfactexpanding
workingmemorycapacity.

i3Mindwares2Gand2GPlusnbackgamesminimizeattentionjumpingbyhaving
ahigheraccuracysettingthatisbuiltin,requiringthatyouupdateyourmental
workspaceitembyitem,andnotstringbystring.

IV. Playing the Odds

Asarulethereisageneraltradeoffbetweenaccuracyandcomplexity.Underpressure,as
thenbacktaskincreasesincomplexitywithahighernlevel,thereisadropinprecision.
Deployingtheplayingtheoddsstrategyinvolvessacrificingaccuracytogaina
highernbacklevelbyguestimatinglocationsorletters.

Aswithchunkingandattentionhopping,playingtheoddsisacompensationstrategywhen
workingmemoryisoverloaded.Iteasespressureonourworkingmemoryworkspace,
whenwhatwewantistheopposite:puttingitundermorepressure,likeresistancetraining.

Development of Intuition

Whiledoingthenback,intuitioncanmeananumberofthings.Asenseofintuitioncan
resultwhenyoubecomewellpracticedinsomethingandyounolongerneedto
applyaruleorstrategyinadeliberateway.Ifyouvebeenpracticingplayingtheodds
thiscanbegintofeelintuitive.Thatsnotsuchagoodthing,andmaybedifficulttounlearn.
Thesamegoesforattentionhoppingandchunking.However,practicingtherehearsal
strategyovertimemayresultinitfeelinglessdeliberateandmorespontaneous(more
intuitive),andthatcanbeagoodthingsinceyoucannowfocusonoptimizingyournback
performanceinmoresubtlewaysforexample,tweakingthewayyoufocuswhenthereis
moreinterferenceandrelaxmorewhenthereislessinterference.

Ifyougetunderwayinyournbacktrainingwithaneffective,intuitiveapproach,
stickwithitprovidedtheconditionslistedinthenextsectionforcoreworking
memorytrainingaremet.Asageneralrule,Isuggestthatyoucombinerehearsal
trainingwithuntrainedintuitionforyour2Gor2GPlusnbacktrainingtobemostefficient.
Ifyoufeellikeyouarechunking,attentionjumping,orplayingtheodds,focusonrehearsal.
Otherwise,seehowfarintuitiontakesyou.

Train core working memory

CoreworkingmemorytrainingtargetstheCentralExecutiveofyourworkingmemory
system.Thisiscentralcommandwhereattentionalcontrolregulatestheflowof
informationinyourmentalworkspace.Itiswhereyoufilter,updateandmonitorthe
informationfrombothaudioandvisuospatialitemsinthedualnbackgame.

Coreworkingmemorytrainingdeliberatelystressesyourbrainsinformationprocessing
capacitywithhighcognitiveload.Trainingisrelativelyenergyconsumingandeffortful,and
stimulatesthehormesisresponseandtheupregulationofvitageneswhichresults
inalltheneuroplasticityandhealthbenefitsdescribedinmyebookTheDefinitiveGuide
toBrainCrossTraining.

Whenyousetasidetimetotrainwithi3Mindwares2Gor2GPlusnback,trytoensure
thatyoumaximizethecoretrainingeffectbyadoptingthefollowingprinciples:

Minimizegoingintoautomaticpilotinthegame.Ensureyouarealways
puttingineffortandthetaskisalwayschallengingandabsorbing.
Ensurethatyouworkatsuccessfullyignoringdistractinginformation
focusingononlywhatisneededfortargetmatches.Wheninterferenceis
high,focusandkeepyouraccuracylevelshigh.
Inthecontinuousstreamofinformation,ensurethatyoucontinuallyupdate
thecontentsofyourworkingmemoryworkspace,keepingtrackofthe
order.
Monitoryourongoingperformanceandtrytodevelopeffectiveintuitions
abouthowtochannelyoureffort,providedyoutrytostayclearofchunking,
attentionhoppingandplayingtheoddsstrategies.
DontassumethatthereisalinearrelationshipbetweennbacklevelandIQ
level,andthatbydoingeverythingyoucantoimproveyournbackwillpay
offintermsofIQgains.
Dontfocusonyournbacklevelattheexpenseoftheprinciplesabove.

Onceyouhaveoptimizedyour2Gand2GPlustraining,guidedbytheprinciplesoutlinedin
thiseguide,youcanexpectmanybenefitstoyouroverallcognition.

IncreasedIQ(fluidintelligence).
Improvedshortterm/workingmemory.
Improvedabilitytoignoredistractionsandfocusonthetaskathand.
Gainsinreadingcomprehension.
Improvedmemoryforpersonaleventsandexperiences.
ReducedsymptomsofADHDandotherattentiondisorders.

GOAL TRACKING
Completingyourfull20Sessionswiththei3Mindwareapprequiresaserious,sustained
commitment.Asthisarticleexplains,forbraintrainingtoworkitrequiresthiskindoftime
commitment.

Forthisreason,itmaybehelpfultosignupwithagoaltracking,schedulingappthathelps
youachieveyour20day'Profilecompletion'goal.

SomepeopleusetheapplicationLift.OthershaveusedFluxstreamwhichdownloads
yourPsiProfilertestdata.WerecommendsigninguptoIrunurunwhichisDesktopand
iOSmobilecompatible.Simplysignupandsetyourweeklytraininggoals(e.g.'8half
sessionsperweek').Irunurunenablesyoutonotonlytrackyournbackbraintraining
progress,butalsoanyothergoalsyouareworkingonsuchasanexerciseroutineoran
alternatedayfastingroutineifyouaredoingbraincrosstraining.Youcanalsoinvite
othersbyemailtoshareintrackingaparticulargoal.

Theguidelinesforyourtrainingtobuildintoyourschedulearethefollowing:

Afterabriefpracticeperiodyouneedtoputasidetimefortwohalfsessionsof
2030minutes,for20days,makingatotalof20fullSessions.These20days
shouldbecompletedwithinamaximumof6weeks.
Youcancombinethehalfsessionstogetherinonesitting(reallytough)oryoucan
dividethemintomorningandafternoon/eveningsessions.Thismeansthaton
averageforeachweek,youneedtotrain34fullSessionsaweek.Wedonot
recommendthatyoutrainformorethan5fullSessionsaweek.
Afteryouhavecompletedyour20fullSessions,youareeligibleforthe
guarantees.Afterthisperiod,yourtrainingwillhaveresultedinlongterm
neuroplasticitychange.However,werecommendyoucontinuetrainingfor12
hoursperweektomaintainthegainsattheirhighestlevel.

Informationonhowtocombineyouri3Mindwarebraintrainingwithexercise,intermittent
fasting,meditationandnutritioncanbefoundinmyeBookTheDefinitiveGuideto
BrainCrossTraining.

Goodluckwithyourtraining!

MarkAshtonSmith,Ph.D