The neural correlates of arithmetic difficulty depend on mathematical ability: evidence from combined fNIRS and ERP
The neural correlates of arithmetic difficulty depend on mathematical ability: evidence from combined fNIRS and ERP
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DOI：
10.1007/s00429-018-1618-0
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发表时间：
2018-07-01
影响因子：
3.1
通讯作者：
Nuerk, Hans-Christoph
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Artemenko, Christina;Soltanlou, Mojtaba;Nuerk, Hans-Christoph
数学能力对于一个人来说是必不可少的，因为在许多其他能力中，数学能力可以预测职业前景。然而，数学能力高的个体和数学能力低的个体之间算术题难度的神经关联是否存在差异，我们知之甚少。例如，每当需要进位或借入操作时，两位数加减法的难度就会增加。因此，我们使用功能近红外光谱(FNIRS)和事件相关电位(ERP)相结合的测量方法，系统地研究了书面生产范式中高绩效和低绩效员工的携带和借用效应的空间和时间神经关联。算术难度的影响与个人的数学能力相互作用。表现良好的受试者表现出额叶激活的增加，尤其是左额下回与携带和借用效应相关，而表现不佳的受试者则没有。此外，高表现者和低表现者对借用效应的早期加工甚至不同，这从额部1000-1500毫秒的慢波的差异反映出来。我们的结论是，算术难度的加工依赖于个体的数学能力，并建议在生态有效性评估中考察心算时应考虑个体差异。
Mathematical abilities are essential for an individual, as they predict career prospects among many other abilities. However, little is known about whether neural correlates of arithmetic problem difficulty differ between individuals with high and low math ability. For instance, the difficulty of two-digit addition and subtraction increases whenever a carry or borrow operation is required. Therefore, we systematically investigated the spatial and temporal neural correlates of the carry and borrow effects for high and low performers in a written production paradigm using combined functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and event-related potential (ERP) measurements. Effects of arithmetic difficulty interacted with an individual's math ability. High performers showed increased frontal activation especially in the left inferior frontal gyrus associated with the carry and borrow effects, whereas low performers did not. Furthermore, high and low performers even differed in their early processing of the borrow effect, as reflected by differences in slow waves at 1000-1500 ms at frontal sites. We conclude that the processing of arithmetic difficulty relies on an individual's mathematical ability, and suggest that individual differences should be taken into account when investigating mental arithmetic in an ecologically valid assessment.