Does Gender Impact the Neural Basis of Mathematical Cognition in Early Childhood?

性别是否影响幼儿期数学认知的神经基础？

• 批准号: 2148343
• 负责人: Jessica Cantlon
• 金额: $ 93.4万
• 依托单位: Carnegie-Mellon University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-09-01 至 2026-08-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2148343&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Does; Gender; Impact; Neural; Basis

Mathematics is key to understanding science and engineering. Recent neuroscience evidence suggests that language and mathematics are processed in different parts of the brain. How do children learn mathematical concepts? The research in this project studies the universal neural and cognitive bases of mathematics in young children and measures the biological and environmental factors that lead to individual variations in mathematical cognition. By non-invasively measuring brain activity in young (4-8 year-old) children, this novel study will assess for the first time, how neural representations of numbers and spatial concepts change over time as children develop greater capacity with mathematics, and how patterns of brain activation relate to children’s mathematical competence in school. This is important because educational studies show that early proficiency in mathematics can predict later success in mathematics. In addition to studying the neural basis for math processing in all children, the researchers also seek to discover whether there are differences in the ways that boys and girls learn mathematics. To this end, the project explores the impact of gender as well as the learning environment on children. The study specifically aims to test the hypothesis that boys and girls exhibit similar patterns of neural development during mathematical learning in early childhood (4-6 years-of-age, and that later gender differences begin to emerge (around 7-8 years-of-age) and are limited to specific areas (spatial skills) that are influenced by socialization.In order to develop a full picture of mathematical learning, aptitude and outcomes in childhood, the proposal collects longitudinal functional magnetic brain imaging (fMRI) data in young children, as well as multiple behavioral tests and also track scholastic performance. The researchers will seek to define the brain networks that are selectively activated during mathematical cognition. To rigorously test for possible gender differences, the proposal will utilize new statistical approaches. This research is highly relevant at a societal level, because despite equal levels of ability among boys and girls, a math gap grows over time as girls are discouraged and tracked away from STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) subjects. By the time students reach college, women are significantly underrepresented in STEM majors. The results of this study will lead to deeper insights which will have profound implications for child education. This study will also have the potential for influencing educational policy and will encourage all children, especially girls, to engage with math and science in school.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

数学是理解科学和工程的关键。最近的神经科学证据表明，语言和数学是在大脑的不同部分进行处理的。儿童如何学习数学概念？该项目研究幼儿数学的普遍神经和认知基础，并测量导致数学认知个体差异的生物和环境因素。通过非侵入性地测量年幼（4-8岁）儿童的大脑活动，这项新研究将首次评估随着儿童数学能力的提高，数字和空间概念的神经表征如何随时间变化，以及大脑激活模式如何与儿童在学校的数学能力相关。这一点很重要，因为教育研究表明，早期对数学的熟练程度可以预测以后在数学方面的成功。除了研究所有儿童数学处理的神经基础外，研究人员还试图发现男孩和女孩学习数学的方式是否存在差异。为此，该项目探讨了性别和学习环境对儿童的影响。这项研究的目的是为了验证男孩和女孩在儿童早期数学学习过程中表现出类似的神经发育模式的假设（4-6岁），之后性别差异开始出现（大约7-8岁），并仅限于特定领域（空间技能）的社会化的影响。为了发展一个完整的图片数学学习，能力和成果，在童年，这项提案收集了幼儿的纵向功能性脑磁共振成像（fMRI）数据，以及多种行为测试，并跟踪学习成绩。研究人员将试图定义在数学认知过程中选择性激活的大脑网络。为了严格检验可能存在的性别差异，该提案将采用新的统计方法。这项研究在社会层面上具有高度相关性，因为尽管男孩和女孩的能力水平相同，但随着时间的推移，随着女孩被劝阻并远离STEM（科学，技术，工程，数学）科目，数学差距会越来越大。到学生上大学时，STEM专业的女性人数明显不足。这项研究的结果将导致更深层次的见解，这将对儿童教育产生深远的影响。这项研究也将有可能影响教育政策，并将鼓励所有儿童，特别是女孩，在学校从事数学和科学。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。