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Transferring Cognitive Tasks Between Brain Imaging Modalities: Implications for Task Design and Results Interpretation in fMRI Studies
Published on: September 22, 2014
Flexible transfer of knowledge in mental arithmetic--an fMRI study
Anja Ischebeck1, Laura Zamarian, Michael Schocke
1Section of Applied Neuropsychology, Institute for Psychology, University of Graz, Austria.
Neuroimage
|November 26, 2008
Summary
This study found that the left angular gyrus is involved in retrieving learned math facts and transferring knowledge between multiplication and division. This brain region shows increased activation when new arithmetic knowledge is applied to related problems.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Mathematics Education
Background:
- Fact acquisition in arithmetic involves shifts in brain activation, moving from calculation to memory retrieval.
- The transfer of learned arithmetic facts between different operations, like multiplication to division, is not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if and how newly acquired multiplication knowledge transfers to related division problems using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
- To explore the neural mechanisms underlying the transfer of arithmetic knowledge between operations.
Main Methods:
- Ten complex multiplication problems were trained the day before fMRI scanning.
- Participants completed tasks comparing trained vs. untrained multiplication problems and transfer vs. no-transfer division problems.
- Region of interest (ROI) analysis focused on the left angular gyrus.
Main Results:
- Untrained multiplication problems showed higher activation in frontal and parietal areas compared to trained problems.
- Trained multiplication problems and transfer division problems both showed relatively stronger activation in the left angular gyrus.
- Individual differences in transfer effects correlated with activation levels in the left angular gyrus.
Conclusions:
- Successful transfer of arithmetic knowledge between operations is associated with altered brain activation patterns.
- The left angular gyrus plays a role not only in retrieving stored arithmetic facts but also in the transfer of knowledge across operations.
