Training executive functions using an adaptive procedure over 21 days (10 training sessions) and an active control group.

The degree to which executive function (EF) abilities (including working memory [WM], inhibitory control [IC], and cognitive flexibility [CF]) can be enhanced through training is an important question; however, research in this area is inconsistent. Previous cognitive training studies largely agree that training leads to improvements in the trained task, but the generalisability of this improvement to other related tasks remains controversial. In this article, we present a pre-registered experiment that used an adaptive training procedure to examine whether EFs can be enhanced through cognitive training, and directly compared the efficacy and generalisability across sub-components of EF using training programmes that target WM, IC, or CF versus an active control group.