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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 22, 2026

Mapping Cortical Dynamics Using Simultaneous MEG/EEG and Anatomically-constrained Minimum-norm Estimates: an Auditory Attention Example
08:45

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Published on: October 24, 2012

Sequential neural processes in abacus mental addition: an EEG and FMRI case study.

Yixuan Ku1, Bo Hong, Wenjing Zhou

  • 1The Key Lab of Brain Functional Genomics (MOE), Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China. yixuanku@gmail.com

Plos One
|May 11, 2012
PubMed
Summary

Abacus experts use sequential visuospatial and visuomotor brain processes for mental calculation. These distinct neural processes, involving specific brain regions, can be temporally dissociated during abacus use.

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Neuroimaging
  • Human Behavior

Background:

  • Abacus experts perform rapid mental calculations.
  • Previous studies suggest visuospatial and visuomotor strategies in abacus mental calculation.
  • Temporal dissociation of these neural processes remains uninvestigated.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To temporally dissociate visuospatial and visuomotor neural processes during abacus mental calculation.
  • To investigate the neural networks involved in abacus mental addition using visual and auditory stimuli.
  • To compare the brain activity of an abacus expert with ordinary subjects.

Main Methods:

  • An abacus expert performed 8-digit and 4-digit mental addition tasks (visual and auditory modes).
  • Electroencephalography (ERPs), EEG source localization, and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) were employed.
  • Performance accuracy and reaction times were analyzed.

Main Results:

  • The abacus expert demonstrated significantly higher accuracy than ordinary subjects.
  • Visuospatial processing (superior parietal lobule) occurred around 380 ms, followed by visuomotor processing (superior/middle frontal gyri) around 440 ms.
  • fMRI revealed similar supra-modal brain networks for both visual and auditory abacus mental addition, notably bilateral superior parietal lobules (BA 7) and middle frontal gyri (BA 6).

Conclusions:

  • Visuospatial and visuomotor processes are sequentially arranged and temporally dissociable during abacus mental addition.
  • A supra-modal brain network supports abacus mental addition, irrespective of stimulus modality (visual or auditory).
  • These findings suggest that abacus training may enhance or modify existing neural networks for mental calculation.