Cognitive and Neural Correlates of Mathematics Problem Solving Using Diagnostic Modeling and Dynamic Real-Time fMRI

使用诊断模型和动态实时功能磁共振成像解决数学问题的认知和神经关联

• 批准号: 1561716
• 负责人: Curtis Tatsuoka
• 金额: $ 149.96万
• 依托单位: Case Western Reserve University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2016-08-01 至 2021-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1561716&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Cognitive; Neural; Correlates; Mathematics; Problem

The broad objective of this study, led by a team of researchers at Case Western Reserve University, is to further understanding of the neural and cognitive basis for mathematics learning. The focus will be on mathematics problem-solving strategies used by adolescents, and how these strategies are adopted and changed as problems become systematically more difficult. The project will examine the association of these strategies with mathematics-related cognitive skills, scores on tests of mathematics achievement, and patterns of brain activations displayed by adolescents while engaged in these strategies. Problem-solving strategies are of interest because of their relation to higher-level mathematic achievement and the insights they can offer into the basis of individual differences in mathematics learning. The longer-term objective of the project is to discover new ways to tailor mathematical learning strategies to individual cognitive and neural capacities. The project will also undertake innovative methods of collecting information about neural functioning during math tasks with the potential to influence future studies of the brain systems involved in learning and behavior. The project is funded by the EHR (Education and Human Resources directorate) Core Research program, which supports fundamental research that advances the literature on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) learning. Participants will be adolescents, 14-16 years of age, who were previously enrolled in a longitudinal study of the consequences of preterm versus term birth on academic progress across the first 3 years in school. Measures will include tests of spatial skills, attention, executive functions such as working memory, number sense, and mathematics achievement; sets of mental arithmetic and fractions problems of varying difficulty designed to reveal individual differences in problem-solving strategies; and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) procedures to examine the neural correlates of these strategies. Following piloting with a separate sample of young adults, cognitive and achievement tests and assessments of problem-solving strategies will be administered to 100 adolescents, 50 of whom will be selected on the basis of their problem-solving strategies to complete in-magnet problem-solving tasks. Adolescents with more advanced problem-solving strategies (characterized by reliance on retrieval of solutions) are hypothesized to display more intact cognitive profiles and higher levels of mathematics achievement than those using less advanced approaches (characterized by more effortful multi-step procedures). Adolescents using more advanced strategies are also hypothesized to show patterns of brain activation in regions specialized for efficient mathematics processing, such as the hippocampus and posterior parietal region, as compared to regions that are less specialized such as the prefrontal area. These participants are also expected to display less pronounced changes in activation patterns with increased problem difficulty, suggestive of greater neural efficiency in mathematics problem-solving and less reliance on compensatory systems. The project will include novel statistical methods for cognitive modeling and an exciting new approach to assess brain functioning during math problem solving. This research will provide insight into the cognitive skills and neural processes associated with successful strategy adoption for problem solving, with an emphasis on neural capacity, efficiency, and compensation.

这项研究由凯斯西储大学的一组研究人员领导，其总体目标是进一步了解数学学习的神经和认知基础。重点将放在青少年使用的数学问题解决策略，以及随着问题变得系统性地变得更加困难，如何采用和改变这些策略。该项目将研究这些策略与数学相关认知技能、数学成绩测试分数以及青少年在参与这些策略时表现出的大脑激活模式的关联。解决问题的策略之所以引起人们的兴趣，是因为它们与更高水平的数学成就有关，并且可以为数学学习中个体差异的基础提供见解。该项目的长期目标是发现根据个人认知和神经能力定制数学学习策略的新方法。该项目还将采用创新方法收集数学任务期间神经功能的信息，这有可能影响未来对涉及学习和行为的大脑系统的研究。该项目由 EHR（教育和人力资源理事会）核心研究计划资助，该计划支持推动 STEM（科学、技术、工程和数学）学习文献的基础研究。参与者将是 14-16 岁的青少年，他们之前参加过一项纵向研究，研究早产与足月分娩对在校前 3 年学业进步的影响。衡量标准将包括空间技能、注意力、执行功能（如工作记忆、数感和数学成绩）的测试；不同难度的心算和分数问题组，旨在揭示解决问题策略的个体差异；和功能磁共振成像（fMRI）程序来检查这些策略的神经相关性。在对年轻人进行单独样本试点后，将对 100 名青少年进行认知和成就测试以及问题解决策略评估，其中 50 名将根据他们的问题解决策略被选中，以完成磁铁内问题解决任务。假设具有更先进的问题解决策略（其特征是依赖于解决方案的检索）的青少年比使用不太先进的方法（其特征是更费力的多步骤程序）的青少年表现出更完整的认知概况和更高水平的数学成就。还假设使用更先进策略的青少年在专门用于高效数学处理的区域（例如海马体和后顶叶区域）显示出大脑激活模式，而与不太专业的区域（例如前额叶区域）相比。随着问题难度的增加，这些参与者预计也会表现出不太明显的激活模式变化，这表明解决数学问题的神经效率更高，并且对补偿系统的依赖更少。该项目将包括用于认知建模的新颖统计方法以及在数学问题解决过程中评估大脑功能的令人兴奋的新方法。这项研究将深入了解与成功采用策略解决问题相关的认知技能和神经过程，重点是神经能力、效率和补偿。