The Science: NACD's Simply Smarter® Project Research

In a ground-breaking descriptive research study, NACD tested 7,125 individuals from young children to senior adults. The data confirmed that auditory sequential processing, which is the ability to take in and give back random auditory input, continues to improve from childhood all the way up through the late twenties, at which time the auditory sequential processing begins to decline. Visual sequential processing, which is the ability to take in and give back random pieces of visual information, peaks in the late twenties also and then begins to decline. Working memory, described by reverse auditory sequential processing, peaks in the early 20's and also begins to decline at about thirty years of age.

Related Research

There is an increasing body of research relating processing and memory to academic success, and while this association seems obvious, it was not until fairly recently that research demonstrated that it is the single best predictor of academic success or failure.

Recent studies show that the working memory is critical to successful mathematics and reading skills (Gathercole, 2006). The working memory was found to be the most significant factor above fluency and word attack skills in the area of reading comprehension success, and working on fluency and word attack skills was not as effective as addressing the working memory issue(Swanson, 2009). Further research published in 2009 showed that because reading comprehension required focused attention and processing verbal information, the working memory appeared to be the key to success in this academic and life skill area (Carretti, 2009). Poor working memory was found to be the best predictor of future learning difficulties, as well as good working memory being found to be the best predictor of a child's ability in mathematics achievement(DeSmet, 2009). In studies regarding mathematics specifically, it has long been known that anxiety plays a key role in the ability of students to succeed in learning mathematics. In a recent study, it was found that the working memory ability was a key factor in the presence of or absence of anxiety in students attempting to learn mathematics or performing well on tests in mathematics (Alamolhodaei, Hassen, 2009). Research also supports that working on tasks requiring that the working memory be used to the limit of its capacity produces significant gains, and that these gains continue over time in terms of improvement in reading and mathematics (Holmes, 2009).

The rate at which individuals need to process information in the 21st century's high speed, information-packed, constantly changing, competitive environment is overwhelming (Long, 2000). Memory seems to be crucial for the cognitive processes of learning because it associates incoming information with information previously retained (Cantor, Engle, & Hamilton, 1991). One of the most accepted forms of assessment in brain studies regarding this component of working memory is a digit/letter span test (La Pointe, & Engle, 1990). This test offers insight into memory. It links to attention span, sequential abilities, and organization of information (Sylwester, 1997).

Studies have identified a relationship between poor performance on digit/letter span tests and diminished memory (Long, 2000). Individuals who experience reading and learning difficulties cannot keep information in its correct, sequential order (Eslinger, 2003). No recall is possible because rapid articulation of information reaches a point of decay (Shmidt & Boshuizen, 1993). Unable to learn at a typical pace of instruction, these individuals miss learning skills and concepts (Watson & Willows, 1995). NACD's sequential processing program is a cognitive training tool that is used in directing such individuals to reach their working memory potential (Long, 2000).

Memory plays a significant role in organizing thoughts and ideas, building outlines and hierarchical order plans, and creating schemas for designed exercises (Parasuraman, 1998). In order for a higher-level process to use the output of a lower-level process, that output must remain available for some minimal amount of time (Groeger, 1992). The human brain is the center for thought, emotion, action planning, and self-regulation of mind and body and has a remarkable ability for plasticity based on the input processed (Eslinger, 2003). Brain metabolic activation of processing is measured by Positron Emission Tomography (PET) or functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) (Kintsch, Welsch, Schmalhofer, & Zimny, 1990). Glucose utilization reflects task engagement, and greater verbal fluency is an indication of efficient strategies in cognitive operations where little effort is needed (Bontempi, Jaffard, & Destrade, 1996). Higher processing takes place in the area of the prefrontal cortex (Braver et al., 1997). This area shows activity during object working memory such as in planning, focusing attention on an object, and switching between tasks (Schoubotz & von Cramon, 2001). Neuroimaging studies yield that there is high metabolic activity in different brain areas activated in spatial object memory tasks compared to those in verbal working memory tasks (Eden, Stein, Wood, & Wood, 1995; Pazzaglia & Cornoldi, 1999; Vecchi, Monticellai, & Cornoldi, 1995). NACD's sequential processing exercises tax working memory to its capacity in these brain areas by presenting spatial object and verbal tasks. Good cognitive functions depend upon the brain's abilities to prioritize tasks and switch from parallel processing to sequential processing when the processing load of the tasks is excessive (Humphreys, Tehan, O'Shea, & Bolland, 2000). Simulation experiments that tested the hypothesis that a single learning system is capable of presenting both serial and temporal structures supported the fact that temporal structure is an integral part of the sequence and where it is altered, the sequence can also change (Dominey, Lelekov, Dominey, & Jeannerod, 1998; Schubotz & von Cramon, 2001). Temporal order is especially vital in everyday life where perceptual abilities and language skills (e.g. typing) must be precisely timed and put in proper order. NACD's sequential processing exercises facilitate executive memory, which is a function of temporal order processing (Eslinger, 2003; Weinberger & Gallhofer, 1997). NACD's sequential processing training affects the central executive control systems which mediate attention and regulation of processes occurring in working memory (Narayanan, 2003).

Attention and refocusing are a function of the left hemisphere neural network and are especially important when there is interference with the main task or during multitasking (Meyer et al., 1997). In multitasking situations, text comprehension is relatively unaffected by low and intermediate loads on memory and only becomes impaired when the resource demands of one of the tasks are maximal. NACD digit/letter span exercises were developed to increase the ease and speed with which critical elements are retrieved after the interruption (Ericsson, 1988). With digit/letter span training, Ericsson and Linch (2003) reported that individuals managed to remember more than 7 units and that text comprehension is not impaired by long interruptions between the reading of consecutive sentences. These findings are important because many daily activities rely on memory interruptions, and many concurrent activities demand attention simultaneously.