Children's Neural Activity During Number, Time, and Space Comparisons in Relation to Mathematics Calculation Performance

• In Event: Mind, Brain, and Education in Theory and Practice

Abstract

The a theory of magnitude model (ATOM; Walsh, 2003) suggests that space, time and number processing rely on a common system in parietal cortex, which may aid symbolic mathematics acquisition. There is limited research on the neural bases of different forms of magnitude processing and their relevance for mathematics in children. Thirty-one 7 – 11 year-olds completed numerosity, duration, and a number line comparison tasks during fMRI. All tasks elicited activation in a common cluster along the right intraparietal sulcus. Accuracy and neural activation in this cluster only during numerosity processing correlated with children’s math calculation, controlling for reading, executive function and spatial cognition measures. Although magnitude tasks activate a similar parietal region, numerosity judgments may have specific importance for calculation.

Author

• Carrie A. Clark, University of Nebraska - Lincoln
  Presenting Author