The Relation Between Finger Sense and Arithmetic: An fMRI Study of Children in Second and Third Grades

• In Event: Brain, Neurosciences, and Education Paper Session

Abstract

The current study explores the relationship between finger sense, and addition and subtraction, with 24 second to third grade children. Three clusters, in the left fusiform, and left and right precuneus were found to negatively correlate with finger sense both during addition and subtraction. Activation in a cluster in the left inferior parietal lobule (IPL) was found to negatively correlate with finger sense only for addition. These results suggest that the arithmetic fact retrieval is linked to finger sense at the neural level. However, the nature of this link may be different for addition compared to subtraction, given the differential left IPL correlation. Overall the results support the hypothesis that fingers provide a scaffold for arithmetic competency.

Authors

• Firat Soylu, The University of Alabama

• David Raymond, Indiana University - Bloomington

• Arianna Gutierrez, Indiana University - Bloomington

• Sharlene Newman, Indiana University - Bloomington