Using the force: STEM knowledge and experience construct shared neural representations of engineering concepts
Using the force: STEM knowledge and experience construct shared neural representations of engineering concepts
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DOI：
10.1038/s41539-020-0065-x
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发表时间：
2020-01-01
影响因子：
4.2
通讯作者：
Kraemer, David J. M.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Cetron, Joshua S.;Connolly, Andrew C.;Kraemer, David J. M.
在学校学到的STEM知识如何改变学生的大脑？使用fMRI，我们向具有课堂知识和实践实验室经验的工程专业学生展示了真实世界结构的照片，研究他们的大脑活动如何将他们与不追求工程学位的“新手”同龄人区分开来。数据驱动的MVPA和机器学习方法显示，当考虑作用在结构上的物理力时，工程专业学生的神经反应模式彼此收敛，与新手不同。此外，信息网络分析表明，不同的神经反应模式的工程专业学生反映了相关的概念知识：机械结构的学习类别。机械类别的信息主要表现在双侧枕颞前腹侧区。重要的是，机械类别没有明确提到在实验中，也没有视觉刺激之间的相似性占机械类别的区别。结果表明，在课堂上学习抽象的STEM概念如何影响世界上物体的神经表征。
How does STEM knowledge learned in school change students' brains? Using fMRI, we presented photographs of real-world structures to engineering students with classroom-based knowledge and hands-on lab experience, examining how their brain activity differentiated them from their "novice" peers not pursuing engineering degrees. A data-driven MVPA and machine-learning approach revealed that neural response patterns of engineering students were convergent with each other and distinct from novices' when considering physical forces acting on the structures. Furthermore, informational network analysis demonstrated that the distinct neural response patterns of engineering students reflected relevant concept knowledge: learned categories of mechanical structures. Information about mechanical categories was predominantly represented in bilateral anterior ventral occipitotemporal regions. Importantly, mechanical categories were not explicitly referenced in the experiment, nor does visual similarity between stimuli account for mechanical category distinctions. The results demonstrate how learning abstract STEM concepts in the classroom influences neural representations of objects in the world.