Exploring the n-back task: insights, applications, and future directions.

ABSTRACT: The n-back task has become a central paradigm for investigating the mechanisms of working memory (WM) and related executive functions. This review provides an integrative analysis of the n-back experiment, covering its cognitive operations, task variants, neuroimaging findings, and practical applications across multiple domains. We first delineate three core cognitive components-updating, maintenance, and attentional control-and summarize converging evidence that these functions rely on overlapping fronto-striatal and fronto-parietal networks. We then examine major task variants and review applications in: (1) cognitive training and transfer effects, particularly the proposed association between WM and fluid intelligence; (2) clinical contexts including attention deficit hyperactivity diso

SUBMITTER: Huang S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12715002 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature