From counting to retrieving: The neural basis of learning alphabet-arithmetic problems
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1
Ghent University, Belgium
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2
Georgetown University, United States
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3
University of Western Ontario, Canada
A better understanding of the development of arithmetic problem-solving can help us to
understand learning disabilities such as dyscalculia. The aim of the current study was to mimic the developmental trajectory of the neural systems involved in arithmetic problem-solving in a cross-sectional fMRI study design.
Specifically, 25 healthy adults performed an alphabet-arithmetic task in which they had to verify equations of the form A + 4 = D, asking whether D is 4 steps further down the alphabet from the letter A. We studied the role of the size of the addend (+0, +4 and +7) and the frequency (high vs low) with which certain problems were encountered on the transition from solving these problems procedurally (i.e. by counting) to retrieving the solutions from memory.
At the behavioral level, we observed longer latencies with the size of the addends suggesting that subjects were counting at the initial stages of the task. However, this size effect disappeared as the task further proceeded suggesting that facts were retrieved from memory. These effects were even stronger for high-frequency problems. At the neural level, we observed dynamic changes in the neural circuitry along the transition from procedural to retrieval-based processing: A fronto-parietal network together with the basal ganglia was implicated during the initial stages of the task but it's involvement gradually diminished with learning. Conversely, a gradual increase of activation in the left angular gyrus was observed as learning proceeded and performance depended more on retrieval.
Our data suggest that a transition is taking place from procedural to retrieval-based processing during the learning of alphabet arithmetic problems. Crucially, we were able to track the time course of this transition with the alphabet arithmetic task in a single scanning session that allowed us to mimic the possible trajectory of learning arithmetic problems.
References
Grabner RH et al. Neuropsychologia (2009), 47(2), 604–608
Ischebeck A et al. Neuroimage (2007., 36(3), 993–1003.
Keywords:
Numerical cognition,
Arithmetic,
memory retrieval,
fMRI,
Counting
Conference:
13th National Congress of the Belgian Society for Neuroscience , Brussels, Belgium, 24 May - 24 May, 2019.
Presentation Type:
Poster presentation
Topic:
Behavioral/Systems Neuroscience
Citation:
Sahan
M,
Lyons
IM,
Ansari
D and
Fias
W
(2019). From counting to retrieving: The neural basis of learning alphabet-arithmetic problems.
Front. Neurosci.
Conference Abstract:
13th National Congress of the Belgian Society for Neuroscience .
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnins.2019.96.00083
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Received:
23 Apr 2019;
Published Online:
27 Sep 2019.
*
Correspondence:
PhD. Muhammet Ikbal Sahan, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium, muhammet.sahan@ugent.be