Cognitive plasticity across the lifespan

In our daily lives, we are constantly required to adapt to the demands of changing developmental contexts and dynamic social environments. The potential modifiability of a person’s cognitive and neural processes resulting from these adaptations has been referred to as plasticity. One way to understand plasticity is to apply training interventions and to measure their effects in trained and untrained tasks. The work of our lab is focused on the effects of executive control training and working memory training in children, younger adults and older adults. Recently, we have been particularly interested in the effects of cognitive training in clinical populations (e.g., children suffering from ADHD) as well as on the effects of cognitive training on activities of daily living outside of the lab (e.g., academic achievement).

Selected relevant publications:

Unger, K., Wylie, J. & Karbach, J. (2025). Age-related changes in the effects of induced positive affect on executive control in younger and older adults—evidence from a task-switching paradigm. Aging, Neuropsychology & Cognition, 32, 169-192.

Grobe, S., Könen, T., Grüneisen, L., Dörrenbächer-Ulrich, L., Perels, F. & Karbach, J. (2024). The Factorial Structure of Executive Functions in Preschool and Elementary School Children and Relationships with Intelligence. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 246, 106014. 

Strobach, T. & Karbach, J. (2024). Developmental changes in executive control: Investigating dual-task interference during motor and central cognitive processing with the overlapping task paradigm. Journal of Cognition & Development, 25, 549-572.

Neubeck, M., Johann, V.E., Karbach, J. & Könen, T. (2022). Age-Differences in Network Models of Self-Regulation and Executive Control Functions. Developmental Science, 25(5), e13276.

Neubeck, M., Karbach, J., & Könen, T. (2022). Network Models of Cognitive Abilities in Younger and Older Adults. Intelligence, 90, 101601.

Schmidt, H., Daseking, M., Gawrilow, C., Karbach, J., & Kerner auch Koerner, J. (2022). Self‐regulation in preschool: Are executive function and effortful control overlapping constructs?. Developmental Science, 25(6), e13272.

Strobach, T. & Karbach, J. (2020). Investigating dual-task interference in children versus young adults with the overlapping task paradigm. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 197, 104866.

Kubota, M., Hadley, L., Schäffner, S., Könen, T., Meaney, J.-A., Auyeung, B., Morey, C., Karbach, J., & Chevalier, N. (2020). Proactive control during childhood: consistent use and relation with academic achievement. Cognition, 203, 104329.

Morey, C.M., Hadley, L.V., Buttelmann, F., Könen, T., Meaney
J.-A., Auyeung, B., Karbach, J., & Chevalier, N. (2018). The effects of verbal and spatial memory load on children’s processing speed. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1424, 161-175.

Lifespan development of executive functions

We are interested in the lifespan development of cognitive functions, particularly in the domain of executive control that includes abilities such as maintenance and selection of task relevant information, inhibition of prepotent response tendencies, and switching between tasks. Previous studies have shown that these control functions develop multidimensionally and multidirectionally across the human lifespan. Our lab investigates whether age-differences in executive control can be modulated, for instance by means of verbal strategies or task practice.

Selected relevant publications:

Wedegärtner, S., Böhm, M. Bernhard, B., Schwandtke, I. Kindermann, I., & Karbach, J. (in press). Improving cognitive function in patients with heart failure – The Cognitive Training in Heart Failure Study (CogTrain-HF). Journal of Cognitive Enhancement.

Kubota, M., Hadley, L. V., Schaeffner, S., Könen, T., Meaney, J.-A., Morey, C. C., Auyeung, B., Moriguchi, Y., Karbach, J., & Chevalier, N. (2023). The effect of metacognitive executive function training on children’s executive function, proactive control, and academic skills. Developmental Psychology, 59(11), 2002–2020.

Könen, T., & Karbach, J. (2021). Analyzing individual differences in intervention-related changes. Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science, 4(1), 2515245920979172.

Müller, C., Dubiel, D., Kremeti, E., Lieb, M., Streicher, E., Oglou, N. S., Mickel, C., & Karbach, J. (2021). Effects of a Single Physical or Mindfulness Intervention on Mood, Attention, and Executive Functions: Results from two Randomized Controlled Studies in University Classes. Mindfulness, 12, 1282–1293.

Johann V.E., & Karbach, J. (2020). Effects of game-based and standard executive control training on cognitive and academic abilities in elementary school children. Developmental Science, 23, e12866.

Smid, C. R., Karbach, J., & Steinbeis, N. (2020). Toward a science of effective cognitive training. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 29(6), 531-537.

Green, C. S., Bavelier, D., Kramer, A. F., Vinogradov, S., Ansorge, U., Ball, K. K., Bingel, U., Chein, J.M., Colzato, L.S., Edwards, J.D., Facoetti, A., Gazzaley, A., Gathercole, S.E., Ghisletta, P., Gori, S., Granic, I., Hillman, C.H., Hommel, B., Jaeggi, S.M., Kanske, P., Karbach, J., Kingstone, A., Kliegel, M., Klingberg, T., Kühn, S., Levi, D.M., Mayer, R.E., Collins McLaughlin, A., McNamara, D.S., Morris, M.C., Nahum, M., Newcombe, N., Panizzutti, R., Prakash, R.S., Rizzo, A., Schubert, T., Seitz, A.R., Short, S.J., Singh, I., Slotta, J.D., Strobach, T., Thomas, M.S.C., Tipton, E., Tong, X., Vlach, H.A., Loebach Wetherell, J., Wexler, A., & Witt, C.M. (2019). Improving Methodological Standards in Behavioral Interventions for Cognitive Enhancement. Journal of Cognitive Enhancement, 3, 2-19.

Karbach, J. & Verhaeghen, P. (2014). Making working memory work: A meta-analysis of executive control and working memory training in younger and older adults. Psychological Science, 25, 2027–2037.

Psychocardiology

Patients with chronic heart failure not only suffer from physical symptoms but also display distinct cognitive deficits, particularly in the domains of executive function, memory, and processing speed. These deficits can seriously impair compliance and health management. In our research we investigate the extent of cognitive deficits, the potential of cognitive training to compensate them as well as the psychological well being of patients suffering from chronic heart failure.

Selected relevant publications:

Wedegärtner, S., Böhm, M. Bernhard, B., Schwandtke, I. Kindermann, I., & Karbach, J. (in press). Improving cognitive function in patients with heart failure – The Cognitive Training in Heart Failure Study (CogTrain-HF). Journal of Cognitive Enhancement.

Kindermann, I., Wedegärtner, S.M., Bernhard, B., Ukena, J., Lenski, D., Karbach, J., Schwantke, I., Ukena, C., & Böhm, M. (2021). Changes in quality of life, depression, general anxiety, and heart-focused anxiety after defibrillator implantation. ESC Heart Failure, 8, 2502-2512.

Wedegärtner, S.M., Schwantke, I., Kindermann, I., & Karbach, J. (2020). Predictors of Heart-Focused Anxiety in Patients with stable Heart Failure. Journal of Affective Disorders, 276, 380-387.

Bunz, M., Lenski, D., Wedegärtner, S., Ukena, C., Karbach, J., Böhm, M. & Kindermann, I. (2016). Heart-focused Anxiety in patients with Chronic Heart Failure before implantation of an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator – Baseline findings of the Anxiety-CHF Study. Clinical Research in Cardiology, 105, 216-224.

Teacher education

In a longitudinal approach, we investigate the role of individual and organizational variables on academic success in teacher candidates. Our focus is on multiple criteria of success, among them knowledge in educational science, didactics, and teaching competence.

Selected relevant publications:

Biermann, A., Karbach, J., Spinath, F., & Brünken, R. (2015). Investigating effects of the quality of field experiences and personality on perceived teaching skills in German pre-service teachers for secondary schools. Teaching and Teacher Education, 51, 77-87.

Kaub, K., Karbach, J., Spinath, F.M., & Brünken, R. (2016). Person-job fit in the field of teacher education - An analysis of vocational interests and requirements among novice and professional science and language teachers. Teaching and Teacher Education, 55, 217-227.

Ruffing, S., Hahn, E., Spinath, F.M., Brünken, R. & Karbach, J. (2015). Predicting students' learning strategies: The contribution of chronotype over personality. Personality and Individual Differences, 85, 199-204.

Reichl, C., Wach, F.-S., Spinath, F.M., Brünken, R., & Karbach, J. (2014). Burnout risk among first-year teacher students: The roles of personality and motivation. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 85, 85-92.

Kaub, K., Karbach, J., Biermann, A., Friedrich, A., Bedersdorfer, H.-W., Spinath, F.M., & Brünken, R. (2012). Berufliche Interessensorientierungen und kognitive Leistungsprofile von Lehramtsstudierenden mit unterschiedlichen Fachkombinationen. Zeitschrift für Pädagogische Psychologie, 26, 233-249.