Temple psychologist Jason Chein trains subjects in his lab with something called a complex working memory span task. The goal is to expand a subject’s underlying working memory. Chein has found it translates into real-world improvements associated with increases in cognitive capabilities, such as reading-comprehension scores of college kids. "And in a sample of adults, 65 and older, it appears to improve their ability to keep track of what they recently said, so they don’t repeat themselves."