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Park Y, Zhang Y, Chang H, Menon V. Short-term number sense training recapitulates long-term neurodevelopmental changes from childhood to adolescence. Dev Sci 2024:e13524. [PMID: 38695515 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13524] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2022] [Revised: 04/09/2024] [Accepted: 04/11/2024] [Indexed: 05/08/2024]
Abstract
Number sense is fundamental to the development of numerical problem-solving skills. In early childhood, children establish associations between non-symbolic (e.g., a set of dots) and symbolic (e.g., Arabic numerals) representations of quantity. The developmental estrangement theory proposes that the relationship between non-symbolic and symbolic representations of quantity evolves with age, with increased dissociation across development. Consistent with this theory, recent research suggests that cross-format neural representational similarity (NRS) between non-symbolic and symbolic quantities is correlated with arithmetic fluency in children but not in adolescents. However, it is not known if short-term training (STT) can induce similar changes as long-term development. In this study, children aged 7-10 years underwent a theoretically motivated 4-week number sense training. Using multivariate neural pattern analysis, we investigated whether short-term learning could modify the relation between cross-format NRS and arithmetic skills. Our results revealed a significant correlation between cross-format NRS and arithmetic fluency in distributed brain regions, including the parietal and prefrontal cortices, prior to training. However, this association was no longer observed after training, and multivariate predictive models confirmed these findings. Our findings provide evidence that intensive STT during early childhood can promote behavioral improvements and neural plasticity that resemble and recapitulate long-term neurodevelopmental changes that occur from childhood to adolescence. More generally, our study contributes to our understanding of the malleability of number sense and highlights the potential for targeted interventions to shape neurodevelopmental trajectories in early childhood. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: We tested the hypothesis that short-term number sense training induces the dissociation of symbolic numbers from non-symbolic representations of quantity in children. We leveraged a theoretically motivated intervention and multivariate pattern analysis to determine training-induced neurocognitive changes in the relation between number sense and arithmetic problem-solving skills. Neural representational similarity between non-symbolic and symbolic quantity representations was correlated with arithmetic skills before training but not after training. Short-term training recapitulates long-term neurodevelopmental changes associated with numerical problem-solving from childhood to adolescence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yunji Park
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Yuan Zhang
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Hyesang Chang
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Vinod Menon
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA
- Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA
- Stanford Neuroscience Institute, Stanford, California, USA
- Symbolic Systems Program, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
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2
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Singletary NM, Gottlieb J, Horga G. The parieto-occipital cortex is a candidate neural substrate for the human ability to approximate Bayesian inference. Commun Biol 2024; 7:165. [PMID: 38337012 PMCID: PMC10858241 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-05821-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2022] [Accepted: 01/15/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Adaptive decision-making often requires one to infer unobservable states based on incomplete information. Bayesian logic prescribes that individuals should do so by estimating the posterior probability by integrating the prior probability with new information, but the neural basis of this integration is incompletely understood. We record fMRI during a task in which participants infer the posterior probability of a hidden state while we independently modulate the prior probability and likelihood of evidence regarding the state; the task incentivizes participants to make accurate inferences and dissociates expected value from posterior probability. Here we show that activation in a region of left parieto-occipital cortex independently tracks the subjective posterior probability, combining its subcomponents of prior probability and evidence likelihood, and reflecting the individual participants' systematic deviations from objective probabilities. The parieto-occipital cortex is thus a candidate neural substrate for humans' ability to approximate Bayesian inference by integrating prior beliefs with new information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas M Singletary
- Doctoral Program in Neurobiology and Behavior, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
- Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
- New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Jacqueline Gottlieb
- Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
- Kavli Institute for Brain Science, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Guillermo Horga
- New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA.
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
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Georges C, Cornu V, Schiltz C. The importance of spatial language for early numerical development in preschool: Going beyond verbal number skills. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0292291. [PMID: 37773948 PMCID: PMC10540965 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0292291] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2023] [Accepted: 09/17/2023] [Indexed: 10/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent evidence suggests that spatial language in preschool positively affects the development of verbal number skills, as indexed by aggregated performances on counting and number naming tasks. We firstly aimed to specify whether spatial language (the knowledge of locative prepositions) significantly relates to both of these measures. In addition, we assessed whether the predictive value of spatial language extends beyond verbal number skills to numerical subdomains without explicit verbal component, such as number writing, symbolic magnitude classifications, ordinal judgments and numerosity comparisons. To determine the unique contributions of spatial language to these numerical skills, we controlled in our regression analyses for intrinsic and extrinsic spatial abilities, phonological awareness as well as age, socioeconomic status and home language. With respect to verbal number skills, it appeared that spatial language uniquely predicted forward and backward counting but not number naming, which was significantly affected only by phonological awareness. Regarding numerical tasks that do not contain explicit verbal components, spatial language did not relate to number writing or numerosity comparisons. Conversely, it explained unique variance in symbolic magnitude classifications and was the only predictor of ordinal judgments. These findings thus highlight the importance of spatial language for early numerical development beyond verbal number skills and suggest that the knowledge of spatial terms is especially relevant for processing cardinal and ordinal relations between symbolic numbers. Promoting spatial language in preschool might thus be an interesting avenue for fostering the acquisition of these symbolic numerical skills prior to formal schooling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carrie Georges
- Department of Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences, University of Luxembourg, Esch-Belval, Luxembourg
| | - Véronique Cornu
- Centre pour le Développement des Apprentissages Grande-Duchesse Maria Teresa, Ministère de l’Éducation Nationale, de l’Enfance et de la Jeunesse, Strassen, Luxembourg
| | - Christine Schiltz
- Department of Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences, University of Luxembourg, Esch-Belval, Luxembourg
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Tricoche L, Meunier M, Hassen S, Prado J, Pélisson D. Developmental Trajectory of Anticipation: Insights from Sequential Comparative Judgments. Behav Sci (Basel) 2023; 13:646. [PMID: 37622787 PMCID: PMC10451546 DOI: 10.3390/bs13080646] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2023] [Revised: 07/24/2023] [Accepted: 08/01/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Reaction time (RT) is a critical measure of performance, and studying its distribution at the group or individual level provides useful information on the cognitive processes or strategies used to perform a task. In a previous study measuring RT in children and adults asked to compare two successive stimuli (quantities or words), we discovered that the group RT distribution was bimodal, with some subjects responding with a mean RT of around 1100 ms and others with a mean RT of around 500 ms. This bimodal distribution suggested two distinct response strategies, one reactive, the other anticipatory. In the present study, we tested whether subjects' segregation into fast and slow responders (1) extended to other sequential comparative judgments (2) evolved from age 8 to adulthood, (3) could be linked to anticipation as assessed using computer modeling (4) stemmed from individual-specific strategies amenable to instruction. To test the first three predictions, we conducted a distributional and theoretical analysis of the RT of 158 subjects tested earlier using four different sequential comparative judgment tasks (numerosity, phonological, multiplication, subtraction). Group RT distributions were bimodal in all tasks, with the two strategies differing in speed and sometimes accuracy too. The fast strategy, which was rare or absent in 8- to 9-year-olds, steadily increased through childhood. Its frequency in adolescence remained, however, lower than in adulthood. A mixture model confirmed this developmental evolution, while a diffusion model corroborated the idea that the difference between the two strategies concerns anticipatory processes preceding decision processes. To test the fourth prediction, we conducted an online experiment where 236 participants made numerosity comparisons before and after an instruction favoring either reactive or anticipatory responses. The results provide out-of-the-lab evidence of the bimodal RT distribution associated with sequential comparisons and demonstrated that the proportions of fast vs. slow responders can be modulated simply by asking subjects to anticipate or not the future result of the comparison. Although anticipation of the future is as important for cognition as memory of the past, its evolution after the first year of life is much more poorly known. The present study is a step toward meeting this challenge. It also illustrates how analyzing individual RT distributions in addition to group RT distributions and using computational models can improve the assessment of decision making cognitive processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leslie Tricoche
- IMPACT Team, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, University Lyon, UCBL, UJM, INSERM, CNRS, U1028, UMR5292, F-69000 Lyon, France; (M.M.); (S.H.); (D.P.)
| | - Martine Meunier
- IMPACT Team, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, University Lyon, UCBL, UJM, INSERM, CNRS, U1028, UMR5292, F-69000 Lyon, France; (M.M.); (S.H.); (D.P.)
| | - Sirine Hassen
- IMPACT Team, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, University Lyon, UCBL, UJM, INSERM, CNRS, U1028, UMR5292, F-69000 Lyon, France; (M.M.); (S.H.); (D.P.)
| | - Jérôme Prado
- EDUWELL Team, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, University Lyon, UCBL, UJM, INSERM, CNRS, U1028, UMR5292, F-69000 Lyon, France;
| | - Denis Pélisson
- IMPACT Team, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, University Lyon, UCBL, UJM, INSERM, CNRS, U1028, UMR5292, F-69000 Lyon, France; (M.M.); (S.H.); (D.P.)
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Mou Y, Zhang B, Hyde DC. Directionality in the interrelations between approximate number, verbal number, and mathematics in preschool-aged children. Child Dev 2023; 94:e67-e84. [PMID: 36528845 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.13879] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
A fundamental question in numerical development concerns the directional relation between an early-emerging non-verbal approximate number system (ANS) and culturally acquired verbal number and mathematics knowledge. Using path models on longitudinal data collected in preschool children (Mage = 3.86 years; N = 216; 99 males; 80.8% White; 10.8% Multiracial, 3.8% Latino; 1.9% Black; collected 2013-2017) over 1 year, this study showed that earlier verbal number knowledge was associated with later ANS precision (average β = .32), even after controlling for baseline differences in numerical, general cognitive, and language abilities. In contrast, earlier ANS precision was not associated with later verbal number knowledge (β = -.07) or mathematics abilities (average β = .10). These results suggest that learning about verbal numbers is associated with a sharpening of pre-existing non-verbal numerical abilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Mou
- Department of Psychology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Bo Zhang
- School of Labor and Employment Relations, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois, USA.,Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois, USA
| | - Daniel C Hyde
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois, USA
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How many seconds was that? Teaching children about time does not refine their ability to track durations. Cognition 2023; 235:105410. [PMID: 36848703 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2023.105410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2022] [Revised: 01/09/2023] [Accepted: 02/13/2023] [Indexed: 02/27/2023]
Abstract
Over development, children acquire symbols to represent abstract concepts such as time and number. Despite the importance of quantity symbols, it is unknown how acquiring these symbols impacts one's ability to perceive quantities (i.e., nonsymbolic representations). While it has been proposed that learning symbols shapes nonsymbolic quantitative abilities (i.e., the refinement hypothesis), this hypothesis has been understudied, especially in the domain of time. Moreover, the majority of research in support of this hypothesis has been correlational in nature, and thus, experimental manipulations are critical for determining whether this relation is causal. In the present study, kindergarteners and first graders (N = 154) who have yet to learn about temporal symbols in school completed a temporal estimation task during which they were either (1) trained on temporal symbols and effective timing strategies ("2 s" and counting on the beat), (2) trained on temporal symbols only ("2 s"), or (3) participated in a control training. Children's nonsymbolic and symbolic timing abilities were assessed before and after training. Results revealed a correlation between children's nonsymbolic and symbolic timing abilities at pre-test (when controlling for age), indicating this relation exists prior to formal classroom instruction on temporal symbols. Notably, we found no support for the refinement hypothesis, as learning temporal symbols did not impact children's nonsymbolic timing abilities. Implications and future directions are discussed.
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Aragón E, Delgado C, Canto M, Navarro J. Influence de la comparaison symbolique versus non symbolique sur le risque de difficultés d’apprentissage en mathématiques en éducation de la petite enfance. PSYCHOLOGIE FRANCAISE 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.psfr.2023.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/19/2023]
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8
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Fang S, Zhou X. Form perception speed is critical for the relationship between non-verbal number sense and arithmetic fluency. INTELLIGENCE 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.2022.101704] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
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9
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Wagley N, Booth JR. Neural pathways of phonological and semantic processing and its relations to children's reading skills. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:984328. [PMID: 36312011 PMCID: PMC9597189 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.984328] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2022] [Accepted: 09/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Behavioral research shows that children's phonological ability is strongly associated with better word reading skills, whereas semantic knowledge is strongly related to better reading comprehension. However, most neuroscience research has investigated how brain activation during phonological and semantic processing is related to word reading skill. This study examines if connectivity during phonological processing in the dorsal inferior frontal gyrus (dIFG) to posterior superior temporal gyrus (pSTG) pathway is related to word reading skill, whereas connectivity during semantic processing in the ventral inferior frontal gyrus (vIFG) to posterior middle temporal gyrus (pMTG) pathway is related to reading comprehension skill. We used behavioral and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data from a publicly accessible dataset on OpenNeuro.org. The research hypotheses and analytical plan were pre-registered on the Open Science Framework. Forty-six children ages 8-15 years old were included in the final analyses. Participants completed an in-scanner reading task tapping into phonology (i.e., word rhyming) and semantics (i.e., word meaning) as well as standardized measures of word reading and reading comprehension skill. In a series of registered and exploratory analyses, we correlated connectivity coefficients from generalized psychophysiological interactions (gPPI) with behavioral measures and used z-scores to test the equality of two correlation coefficients. Results from the preregistered and exploratory analyses indicated weak evidence that functional connectivity of dIFG to pSTG during phonological processing is positively correlated with better word reading skill, but no evidence that connectivity in the vIFG-pMTG pathway during semantic processing is related to better reading comprehension skill. Moreover, there was no evidence to support the differentiation between the dorsal pathway's relation to word reading and the ventral pathway's relation to reading comprehension skills. Our finding suggesting the importance of phonological processing to word reading is in line with prior behavioral and neurodevelopmental models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neelima Wagley
- Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
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10
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Zhang Y, Ma Y, Zhou X. The association between non-symbolic number comparison and mathematical abilities depends on fluency. Cogn Process 2022; 23:423-439. [PMID: 35704131 DOI: 10.1007/s10339-022-01098-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2021] [Accepted: 05/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Numerous studies have explored the correlation between non-symbolic number comparison and mathematical abilities in children, but the results have been inconsistent. The underlying mental processing featuring fluency may affect the correlation. The current study tested the fluency hypothesis that non-symbolic number comparison is associated with mathematical fluency in the development of mathematical ability. Non-symbolic number comparison, arithmetic computation, mathematical reasoning, non-symbolic number estimation, symbolic number comparison, and a series of basic cognitive processing tasks, including mental rotation, non-verbal matrix reasoning, and choice reaction time, were administered to 1072 first- to fourth-grade children. The results show that non-symbolic number comparison (measured via numerosity comparison) was the only independent predictor of arithmetic computation in higher grades, even after controlled for age, gender, basic cognitive processing, non-symbolic number estimation (measured via numerosity estimation), and symbolic number comparison (measured via digit comparison). However, it did not correlate with mathematical reasoning in any grade. These findings support the fluency hypothesis for developmental correlation between non-symbolic number comparison and mathematical abilities. That is, non-symbolic number comparison correlates with mathematical ability featuring fluency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiyun Zhang
- School of Psychology, Liaoning Normal University, Liaoning, China.,State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Yuanyuan Ma
- School of Psychology, Liaoning Normal University, Liaoning, China
| | - Xinlin Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China. .,Research Associationion for Brain and Mathematical Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
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11
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Cheng D, Li M, Cui J, Wang L, Wang N, Ouyang L, Wang X, Bai X, Zhou X. Algebra dissociates from arithmetic in the brain semantic network. BEHAVIORAL AND BRAIN FUNCTIONS : BBF 2022; 18:1. [PMID: 34996499 PMCID: PMC8740448 DOI: 10.1186/s12993-022-00186-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2021] [Accepted: 12/31/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
Background Mathematical expressions mainly include arithmetic (such as 8 − (1 + 3)) and algebra (such as a − (b + c)). Previous studies have shown that both algebraic processing and arithmetic involved the bilateral parietal brain regions. Although previous studies have revealed that algebra was dissociated from arithmetic, the neural bases of the dissociation between algebraic processing and arithmetic is still unclear. The present study uses functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to identify the specific brain networks for algebraic and arithmetic processing. Methods Using fMRI, this study scanned 30 undergraduates and directly compared the brain activation during algebra and arithmetic. Brain activations, single-trial (item-wise) interindividual correlation and mean-trial interindividual correlation related to algebra processing were compared with those related to arithmetic. The functional connectivity was analyzed by a seed-based region of interest (ROI)-to-ROI analysis. Results Brain activation analyses showed that algebra elicited greater activation in the angular gyrus and arithmetic elicited greater activation in the bilateral supplementary motor area, left insula, and left inferior parietal lobule. Interindividual single-trial brain-behavior correlation revealed significant brain-behavior correlations in the semantic network, including the middle temporal gyri, inferior frontal gyri, dorsomedial prefrontal cortices, and left angular gyrus, for algebra. For arithmetic, the significant brain-behavior correlations were located in the phonological network, including the precentral gyrus and supplementary motor area, and in the visuospatial network, including the bilateral superior parietal lobules. For algebra, significant positive functional connectivity was observed between the visuospatial network and semantic network, whereas for arithmetic, significant positive functional connectivity was observed only between the visuospatial network and phonological network. Conclusion These findings suggest that algebra relies on the semantic network and conversely, arithmetic relies on the phonological and visuospatial networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dazhi Cheng
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, No.19, Xinjiekouwai Street, Haidian District, Beijing, 100875, China.,Lab for Educational Neuroscience, Center for Educational Science and Technology, Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.,Advanced Innovation Center for Future Education, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.,Department of Pediatric Neurology, Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Beijing, 100020, China
| | - Mengyi Li
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, No.19, Xinjiekouwai Street, Haidian District, Beijing, 100875, China.,Advanced Innovation Center for Future Education, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Jiaxin Cui
- College of Education, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, 050024, China
| | - Li Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, No.19, Xinjiekouwai Street, Haidian District, Beijing, 100875, China.,Advanced Innovation Center for Future Education, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Naiyi Wang
- Lab for Educational Neuroscience, Center for Educational Science and Technology, Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Liangyuan Ouyang
- Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, 300387, China
| | - Xiaozhuang Wang
- Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, 300387, China
| | - Xuejun Bai
- Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, 300387, China
| | - Xinlin Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, No.19, Xinjiekouwai Street, Haidian District, Beijing, 100875, China. .,Advanced Innovation Center for Future Education, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.
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12
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Wilkey ED, Shanley L, Sabb F, Ansari D, Cohen JC, Men V, Heller NA, Clarke B. Sharpening, focusing, and developing: A study of change in nonsymbolic number comparison skills and math achievement in 1st grade. Dev Sci 2021; 25:e13194. [PMID: 34800342 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13194] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2020] [Revised: 10/06/2021] [Accepted: 11/08/2021] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Children's ability to discriminate nonsymbolic number (e.g., the number of items in a set) is a commonly studied predictor of later math skills. Number discrimination improves throughout development, but what drives this improvement is unclear. Competing theories suggest that it may be due to a sharpening numerical representation or an improved ability to pay attention to number and filter out non-numerical information. We investigate this issue by studying change in children's performance (N = 65) on a nonsymbolic number comparison task, where children decide which of two dot arrays has more dots, from the middle to the end of 1st grade (mean age at time 1 = 6.85 years old). In this task, visual properties of the dot arrays such as surface area are either congruent (the more numerous array has more surface area) or incongruent. Children rely more on executive functions during incongruent trials, so improvements in each congruency condition provide information about the underlying cognitive mechanisms. We found that accuracy rates increased similarly for both conditions, indicating a sharpening sense of numerical magnitude, not simply improved attention to the numerical task dimension. Symbolic number skills predicted change in congruent trials, but executive function did not predict change in either condition. No factor predicted change in math achievement. Together, these findings suggest that nonsymbolic number processing undergoes development related to existing symbolic number skills, development that appears not to be driving math gains during this period. Children's ability to discriminate nonsymbolic number improves throughout development. Competing theories suggest improvement due to sharpening magnitude representations or changes in attention and inhibition. The current study investigates change in nonsymbolic number comparison performance during first grade and whether symbolic number skills, math skills, or executive function predict change. Children's performance increased across visual control conditions (i.e., congruent or incongruent with number) suggesting an overall sharpening of number processing. Symbolic number skills predicted change in nonsymbolic number comparison performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric D Wilkey
- Brain & Mind Institute, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Lina Shanley
- Center on Teaching and Learning, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA
| | - Fred Sabb
- Center on Teaching and Learning, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA
| | - Daniel Ansari
- Brain & Mind Institute, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Jason C Cohen
- Center on Teaching and Learning, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA
| | - Virany Men
- Center on Teaching and Learning, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA
| | - Nicole A Heller
- Center on Teaching and Learning, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA
| | - Ben Clarke
- Center on Teaching and Learning, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA
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13
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Suárez-Pellicioni M, Demir-Lira ÖE, Booth JR. Neurocognitive mechanisms explaining the role of math attitudes in predicting children's improvement in multiplication skill. COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2021; 21:917-935. [PMID: 33954927 PMCID: PMC8455431 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-021-00906-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Enhancing student's math achievement is a significant educational challenge. Numerous studies have shown that math attitudes can predict improvement in math performance, but no study has yet revealed the underlying neurocognitive mechanisms explaining this effect. To answer this question, 50 children underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) when they were 11 (time 1; T1) and 13 (time 2; T2) years old. Children solved a rhyming judgment and a single-digit multiplication task inside the scanner at T1. The rhyming task was used to independently define a verbal region of interest in the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG). We focused on this region because of previous evidence showing math attitudes-related effects in the left IFG for children with low math skill (Demir-Lira et al., 2019). Children completed standardized testing of math attitudes at T1 and of multiplication skill both at T1 and T2. We performed a cluster-wise regression analysis to investigate the interaction between math attitudes and improvement in multiplication skill over time while controlling for the main effects of these variables, intelligence, and accuracy on the task. This analysis revealed a significant interaction in the left IFG, which was due to improvers with positive math attitudes showing enhanced activation. Our result suggests that IFG activation, possibly reflecting effort invested in retrieving multiplication facts, is one of the possible neurocognitive mechanism by which children with positive math attitudes improve in multiplication skill. Our finding suggests that teachers and parents can help children do better in math by promoting positive math attitudes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Macarena Suárez-Pellicioni
- Department of Educational Studies in Psychology, Research Methodology, and Counseling, University of Alabama, 270 Kilgore Ln, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA.
| | - Ö Ece Demir-Lira
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, DeLTA Center, Iowa Neuroscience Institute, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - James R Booth
- Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
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Longitudinal relations between the approximate number system and symbolic number skills in preschool children. J Exp Child Psychol 2021; 212:105254. [PMID: 34352660 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2021.105254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2021] [Revised: 07/05/2021] [Accepted: 07/07/2021] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
This study examined the longitudinal relation between the approximate number system (ANS) and two symbolic number skills, namely word problem-solving skill and number line skill, in a sample of 138 Chinese 4- to 6-year-old children. The ANS and symbolic number skills were measured first in the second year of preschool (Time 1 [T1], mean age = 4.98 years; SD = 0.33) and then in the third year of preschool (Time 2 [T2]). Cross-lagged analyses indicated that word problem-solving skill at T1 predicted ANS acuity at T2 but not vice versa. In addition, there were bidirectional relations between children's word problem-solving skill and number line estimation skill. The observed longitudinal relations were robust to the control of child's sex, age, maternal education, receptive vocabulary, spatial visualization, and working memory except for the relation between T1 word problem-solving skill and T2 number line estimation skill, which was explained by child's age.
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15
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Suárez-Pellicioni M, Soylu F, Booth JR. Gray matter volume in left intraparietal sulcus predicts longitudinal gains in subtraction skill in elementary school. Neuroimage 2021; 235:118021. [PMID: 33836266 PMCID: PMC8268264 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2020] [Revised: 03/01/2021] [Accepted: 03/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Although behavioral studies show large improvements in arithmetic skills in elementary school, we do not know how brain structure supports math gains in typically developing children. While some correlational studies have investigated the concurrent association between math performance and brain structure, such as gray matter volume (GMV), longitudinal studies are needed to infer if there is a causal relation. Although discrepancies in the literature on the relation between GMV and math performance have been attributed to the different demands on quantity vs. retrieval mechanisms, no study has experimentally tested this assumption. We defined regions of interests (ROIs) associated with quantity representations in the bilateral intraparietal sulcus (IPS) and associated with the storage of arithmetic facts in long-term memory in the left middle and superior temporal gyri (MTG/STG), and studied associations between GMV in these ROIs and children's performance on operations having greater demands on quantity vs. retrieval mechanisms, namely subtraction vs. multiplication. The aims of this study were threefold: First, to study concurrent associations between GMV and math performance, second, to investigate the role of GMV at the first time-point (T1) in predicting longitudinal gains in math skill to the second time-point (T2), and third, to study whether changes in GMV over time were associated with gains in math skill. Results showed no concurrent association between GMV in IPS and math performance, but a concurrent association between GMV in left MTG/STG and multiplication skill at T1. This association showed that the higher the GMV in this ROI, the higher the children's multiplication skill. Results also revealed that GMV in left IPS and left MTG/STG predicted longitudinal gains in subtraction skill only for younger children (approximately 10 years old). Whereas higher levels of GMV in left IPS at T1 predicted larger subtraction gains, higher levels of GMV in left MTG/STG predicted smaller gains. GMV in left MTG/STG did not predict longitudinal gains in multiplication skill. No significant association was found between changes in GMV over time and longitudinal gains in math. Our findings support the early importance of brain structure in the IPS for mathematical skills that rely on quantity mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Macarena Suárez-Pellicioni
- Department of Educational Studies in Psychology, Research Methodology, and Counseling, University of Alabama, 270 Kilgore Ln, Tuscaloosa, AL 35401, USA.
| | - Firat Soylu
- Department of Educational Studies in Psychology, Research Methodology, and Counseling, University of Alabama, 270 Kilgore Ln, Tuscaloosa, AL 35401, USA
| | - James R Booth
- Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
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16
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Wang J, Joanisse MF, Booth JR. Letter fluency in 7-8-year-old children is related to the anterior, but not posterior, ventral occipito-temporal cortex during an auditory phonological task. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2021; 47:100898. [PMID: 33341533 PMCID: PMC7750687 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2020.100898] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2020] [Revised: 11/25/2020] [Accepted: 11/30/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous studies have shown that reading skill in 3- to 6-year-old children is related to the automatic activation of the posterior left ventral occipitotemporal cortex (vOT) during spoken language processing, whereas 8- to 15-year-old children and adult readers activate the anterior vOT. However, it is unknown how children who are between these two age groups automatically activate orthographic representations in vOT for spoken language. In the current study, we recruited 153 7- to 8-year-old children to fill the age gap from previous studies. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we measured children's reading-related skills and brain activity during an auditory phonological task with both a small (i.e. onset) and a large (i.e. rhyme) grain size condition. We found that letter fluency, but not reading accuracy, was correlated with activation in the anterior vOT for the rhyme condition. There were no reading-related skill correlations for the posterior vOT or for activation during the onset condition in this age group. Our findings reveal that automatic activation in the anterior vOT during spoken language processing already occurs in higher skilled 7- to 8-year-old children. In addition, increases in naming automaticity is the primary determinant of the engagement of vOT during phonological awareness tasks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jin Wang
- Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
| | - Marc F Joanisse
- Department of Psychology & Brain and Mind Institute, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - James R Booth
- Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
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17
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Wang JJ, Halberda J, Feigenson L. Emergence of the Link Between the Approximate Number System and Symbolic Math Ability. Child Dev 2020; 92:e186-e200. [PMID: 32816346 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.13454] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Experimentally manipulating Approximate Number System (ANS) precision has been found to influence children's subsequent symbolic math performance. Here in three experiments (N = 160; 81 girls; 3-5 year old) we replicated this effect and examined its duration and developmental trajectory. We found that modulation of 5-year-olds' ANS precision continued to affect their symbolic math performance after a 30-min delay. Furthermore, our cross-sectional investigation revealed that children 4.5 years and older experienced a significant transfer effect of ANS manipulation on math performance, whereas younger children showed no such transfer, despite experiencing significant changes in ANS precision. These findings support the existence of a causal link between nonverbal numerical approximation and symbolic math performance that first emerges during the preschool years.
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18
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Tomlinson RC, DeWind NK, Brannon EM. Number sense biases children's area judgments. Cognition 2020; 204:104352. [PMID: 32629292 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2020.104352] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2019] [Revised: 03/25/2020] [Accepted: 06/02/2020] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Humans are thought to use the approximate number system (ANS) to make quick approximations based on quantity even before learning to count. However, there has long been controversy regarding the salience of number versus other stimulus dimensions throughout development, including a recent proposal that number sense is derived from a sense of general magnitude. Here, we used a regression approach to disentangle numerical acuity from sensitivity to total surface area in both 5-year-old children and adults. We found that both children and adults displayed higher acuity when making numerosity judgments than total surface area judgments. Adults were largely able to ignore irrelevant stimulus features when making numerosity or total area judgments. Children were more biased by numerosity when making total area judgments than by total area when making numerosity judgments. These results provide evidence that number is more salient than total surface area even before the start of formal education and are inconsistent with the Sense of Magnitude proposal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel C Tomlinson
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, East Hall, 530 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States of America.
| | - Nicholas K DeWind
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, 3720 Walnut St, Philadelphia, PA 19104, United States of America
| | - Elizabeth M Brannon
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, 3720 Walnut St, Philadelphia, PA 19104, United States of America
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19
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Suárez-Pellicioni M, Berteletti I, Booth JR. Early Engagement of Parietal Cortex for Subtraction Solving Predicts Longitudinal Gains in Behavioral Fluency in Children. Front Hum Neurosci 2020; 14:163. [PMID: 32528262 PMCID: PMC7264824 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2020.00163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2019] [Accepted: 04/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
There is debate in the literature regarding how single-digit arithmetic fluency is achieved over development. While the Fact-retrieval hypothesis suggests that with practice, children shift from quantity-based procedures to verbally retrieving arithmetic problems from long-term memory, the Schema-based hypothesis claims that problems are solved through quantity-based procedures and that practice leads to these procedures becoming more automatic. To test these hypotheses, a sample of 46 typically developing children underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) when they were 11 years old (time 1), and 2 years later (time 2). We independently defined regions of interest (ROIs) involved in verbal and quantity processing using rhyming and numerosity judgment localizer tasks, respectively. The verbal ROIs consisted of left middle/superior temporal gyri (MTG/STG) and left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), whereas the quantity ROIs consisted of bilateral inferior/superior parietal lobules (IPL/SPL) and bilateral middle frontal gyri (MFG)/right IFG. Participants also solved a single-digit subtraction task in the scanner. We defined the extent to which children relied on verbal vs. quantity mechanisms by selecting the 100 voxels showing maximal activation at time 1 from each ROI, separately for small and large subtractions. We studied the brain mechanisms at time 1 that predicted gains in subtraction fluency and how these mechanisms changed over time with improvement. When looking at brain activation at time 1, we found that improvers showed a larger neural problem size effect in bilateral parietal cortex, whereas no effects were found in verbal regions. Results also revealed that children who showed improvement in behavioral fluency for large subtraction problems showed decreased activation over time for large subtractions in both parietal and frontal regions implicated in quantity, whereas non-improvers maintained similar levels of activation. All children, regardless of improvement, showed decreased activation over time for large subtraction problems in verbal regions. The greater parietal problem size effect at time 1 and the reduction in activation over time for the improvers in parietal and frontal regions implicated in quantity processing is consistent with the Schema-based hypothesis arguing for more automatic procedures with increasing skill. The lack of a problem size effect at time 1 and the overall decrease in verbal regions, regardless of improvement, is inconsistent with the Fact-retrieval hypothesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Macarena Suárez-Pellicioni
- Department of Educational Studies in Psychology, Research Methodology, and Counseling, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, United States
| | - Ilaria Berteletti
- Educational Neuroscience Program, Gallaudet University, Washington, DC, United States
| | - James R. Booth
- Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
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20
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Yeo DJ, Price GR. Probing the mechanisms underlying numerosity-to-numeral mappings and their relation to math competence. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2020; 85:1248-1271. [PMID: 32060699 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-020-01299-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2019] [Accepted: 01/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Numerosity estimation performance (e.g., how accurate, consistent, or proportionally spaced (linear) numerosity-numeral mappings are) has previously been associated with math competence. However, the specific mechanisms that underlie such a relation is unknown. One possible mechanism is the mapping process between numerical sets and symbolic numbers (e.g., Arabic numerals). The current study examined two hypothesized mechanisms of numerosity-numeral mappings (item-based "associative" and holistic "structural" mapping) and their roles in the estimation-and-math relation. Specifically, mappings for small numbers (e.g., 1-10) are thought to be associative and resistant to calibration (e.g., feedback on accuracy of estimates), whereas holistic "structural" mapping for larger numbers (e.g., beyond 10) may be supported by flexibly aligning a numeral "response grid" (akin to a ruler) to an analog "mental number line" upon calibration. In 57 adults, we used pre- and post-calibration estimates to measure the range of continuous associative mappings among small numbers (e.g., a base range of associative mappings from 1 to 10), and obtained measures of math competence and delayed multiple-choice strategy reports. Consistent with previous research, uncalibrated estimation performance correlated with calculation competence, controlling for reading fluency and working memory. However, having a higher base range of associative mappings was not related to estimation performance or any math competence measures. Critically, discontinuity in calibration effects was typical at the individual level, which calls into question the nature of "holistic structural mapping". A parsimonious explanation to integrate previous and current findings is that estimation performance is likely optimized by dynamically constructing numerosity-numeral mappings through the use of multiple strategies from trial to trial.
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Affiliation(s)
- Darren J Yeo
- Department of Psychology and Human Development, Peabody College, Vanderbilt University, 230 Appleton Place, Nashville, TN, 37203, USA.,Division of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 48 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore, 639818, Singapore
| | - Gavin R Price
- Department of Psychology and Human Development, Peabody College, Vanderbilt University, 230 Appleton Place, Nashville, TN, 37203, USA.
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21
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Suárez-Pellicioni M, Fuchs L, Booth JR. Temporo-frontal activation during phonological processing predicts gains in arithmetic facts in young children. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2019; 40:100735. [PMID: 31785530 PMCID: PMC6974907 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2019.100735] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2018] [Revised: 10/15/2019] [Accepted: 11/09/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Behavioral studies have shown discrepant results regarding the role of phonology in predicting math gains. The objective of this study was to use fMRI to study the role of activation during a rhyming judgment task in predicting behavioral gains on math fluency, multiplication, and subtraction skill. We focused within the left middle/superior temporal gyrus and left inferior frontal gyrus, brain areas associated with the storage of phonological representations and with their access, respectively. We ran multiple regression analyses to determine whether activation predicted gains in the three math measures, separately for younger (i.e. 10 years old) and older (i.e 12 years old) children. Results showed that activation in both temporal and frontal cortex only predicted gains in fluency and multiplication skill, and only for younger children. This study suggests that both temporal and frontal cortex activation during phonological processing are important in predicting gains in math tasks that involve the retrieval of facts that are stored as phonological codes in memory. Moreover, these results were specific to younger children, suggesting that phonology is most important in the early stages of math development. When the math task involved subtractions, which relies on quantity representations, phonological processes were not important in driving gains.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Lynn Fuchs
- Department of Special Education, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - James R Booth
- Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
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22
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Wilkey ED, Ansari D. Challenging the neurobiological link between number sense and symbolic numerical abilities. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2019; 1464:76-98. [PMID: 31549430 DOI: 10.1111/nyas.14225] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2019] [Revised: 07/25/2019] [Accepted: 08/06/2019] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
A significant body of research links individual differences in symbolic numerical abilities, such as arithmetic, to number sense, the neurobiological system used to approximate and manipulate quantities without language or symbols. However, recent findings from cognitive neuroscience challenge this influential theory. Our current review presents an overview of evidence for the number sense account of symbolic numerical abilities and then reviews recent studies that challenge this account, organized around the following four assertions. (1) There is no number sense as traditionally conceived. (2) Neural substrates of number sense are more widely distributed than common consensus asserts, complicating the neurobiological evidence linking number sense to numerical abilities. (3) The most common measures of number sense are confounded by other cognitive demands, which drive key correlations. (4) Number sense and symbolic number systems (Arabic digits, number words, and so on) rely on distinct neural mechanisms and follow independent developmental trajectories. The review follows each assertion with comments on future directions that may bring resolution to these issues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric D Wilkey
- Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Daniel Ansari
- Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
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23
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Hutchison JE, Ansari D, Zheng S, De Jesus S, Lyons IM. The relation between subitizable symbolic and non-symbolic number processing over the kindergarten school year. Dev Sci 2019; 23:e12884. [PMID: 31271687 DOI: 10.1111/desc.12884] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2018] [Revised: 06/07/2019] [Accepted: 06/24/2019] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
A long-standing debate in the field of numerical cognition concerns the degree to which symbolic and non-symbolic processing are related over the course of development. Of particular interest is the possibility that this link depends on the range of quantities in question. Behavioral and neuroimaging research with adults suggests that symbolic and non-symbolic quantities may be processed more similarly within, relative to outside of, the subitizing range. However, it remains unclear whether this unique link exists in young children at the outset of formal education. Further, no study has yet taken numerical size into account when investigating the longitudinal influence of these skills. To address these questions, we investigated the relation between symbolic and non-symbolic processing inside versus outside the subitizing range, both cross-sectionally and longitudinally, in 540 kindergarteners. Cross-sectionally, we found a consistently stronger relation between symbolic and non-symbolic number processing within versus outside the subitizing range at both the beginning and end of kindergarten. We also show evidence for a bidirectional relation over the course of kindergarten between formats within the subitizing range, and a unidirectional relation (symbolic → non-symbolic) for quantities outside of the subitizing range. These findings extend current theories on symbolic and non-symbolic magnitude development by suggesting that non-symbolic processing may in fact play a role in the development of symbolic number abilities, but that this influence may be limited to quantities within the subitizing range.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jane E Hutchison
- Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Daniel Ansari
- Department of Psychology and Brain & Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Samuel Zheng
- Research and Development, Toronto District School Board, North York, Ontario, Canada
| | - Stefanie De Jesus
- Research and Development, Toronto District School Board, North York, Ontario, Canada
| | - Ian M Lyons
- Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA
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24
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Suárez-Pellicioni M, Lytle M, Younger JW, Booth JR. A longitudinal neuroimaging dataset on arithmetic processing in school children. Sci Data 2019; 6:190040. [PMID: 30835258 PMCID: PMC6400102 DOI: 10.1038/sdata.2019.40] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2018] [Accepted: 12/13/2018] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
We describe functional and structural data acquired using a 3T scanner in a sample of 132 typically developing children, who were scanned when they were approximately 11 years old (i.e. Time 1). Sixty-three of them were scanned again approximately 2 years later (i.e. Time 2). Children performed four tasks inside the scanner: two arithmetic tasks and two localizer tasks. The arithmetic tasks were a single-digit multiplication and a single-digit subtraction task. The localizer tasks, a written rhyming judgment task and a numerosity judgment task, were used to independently identify verbal and quantity brain areas, respectively. Additionally, we provide data on behavioral performance on the tasks inside the scanner, participants' scores on standardized tests, including reading and math skill, and a developmental history questionnaire completed by parents. This dataset could be useful to answer questions regarding the neural bases of the development of math in children and its relation to individual differences in skill. The data, entitled "Brain Correlates of Math Development", are freely available from OpenNeuro (https://openneuro.org).
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Marisa Lytle
- Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Jessica W. Younger
- Neurology Department, Neuroscape, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - James R. Booth
- Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
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25
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Bechtold L, Bellebaum C, Egan S, Tettamanti M, Ghio M. The role of experience for abstract concepts: Expertise modulates the electrophysiological correlates of mathematical word processing. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2019; 188:1-10. [PMID: 30428400 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2018.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2018] [Revised: 09/25/2018] [Accepted: 10/19/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Embodied theories assign experience a crucial role in shaping conceptual representations. Supporting evidence comes mostly from studies on concrete concepts, where e.g., motor expertise facilitated action concept processing. This study examined experience-dependent effects on abstract concept processing. We asked participants with high and low mathematical expertise to perform a lexical decision task on mathematical and nonmathematical abstract words, while acquiring event-related potentials. Analyses revealed an interaction of expertise and word type on the amplitude of a fronto-central N400 and a centro-parietal late positive component (LPC). For mathematical words, we found a trend for a lower N400 and a significantly higher LPC amplitude in experts compared to nonexperts. No differences between groups were found for nonmathematical words. The results suggest that expertise affects the processing stages of semantic integration and memory retrieval specifically for expertise-related concepts. This study supports the generalization of experience-dependent conceptual processing mechanisms to the abstract domain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Bechtold
- Institute for Experimental Psychology, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany.
| | - Christian Bellebaum
- Institute for Experimental Psychology, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Sophie Egan
- Institute for Experimental Psychology, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Marco Tettamanti
- Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milano, Italy
| | - Marta Ghio
- Institute for Experimental Psychology, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany
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26
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Suárez-Pellicioni M, Booth JR. Fluency in symbolic arithmetic refines the approximate number system in parietal cortex. Hum Brain Mapp 2018; 39:3956-3971. [PMID: 30024084 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2018] [Revised: 05/04/2018] [Accepted: 05/09/2018] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The objective of this study was to investigate, using a brain measure of approximate number system (ANS) acuity, whether the precision of the ANS is crucial for the development of symbolic numerical abilities (i.e., scaffolding hypothesis) and/or whether the experience with symbolic number processing refines the ANS (i.e., refinement hypothesis). To this aim, 38 children solved a dot comparison task inside the scanner when they were approximately 10-years old (Time 1) and once again approximately 2 years later (Time 2). To study the scaffolding hypothesis, a regression analysis was carried out by entering ANS acuity at T1 as the predictor and symbolic math performance at T2 as the dependent measure. Symbolic math performance, visuospatial WM and full IQ (all at T1) were entered as covariates of no interest. In order to study the refinement hypothesis, the regression analysis included symbolic math performance at T1 as the predictor and ANS acuity at T2 as the dependent measure, while ANS acuity, visuospatial WM and full IQ (all at T1) were entered as covariates of no interest. Our results supported the refinement hypothesis, by finding that the higher the initial level of symbolic math performance, the greater the intraparietal sulcus activation was at T2 (i.e., more precise representation of quantity). To the best of our knowledge, our finding constitutes the first evidence showing that expertise in the manipulation of symbols, which is a cultural invention, has the power to refine the neural representation of quantity in the evolutionarily ancient, approximate system of quantity representation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - James R Booth
- Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, 37203-5721
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