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Assessment of Cerebral Lateralization in Children using Functional Transcranial Doppler Ultrasound fTCD
Published on: September 27, 2010
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Assessing hemispheric specialization for processing arithmetic skills in adults: A functional transcranial doppler
Veronica M Connaughton1, Azhani Amiruddin1, Karen L Clunies-Ross1
1Neurocognitive Development Unit, School of Psychology, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia.
Journal of Neuroscience Methods
|March 25, 2017
Summary
This study found that multiplication tasks activate the left hemisphere more than subtraction tasks, supporting the triple-code model of numerical processing in adults.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Neurobiology of Mathematics
Background:
- The triple-code model explains arithmetic calculation by proposing three cerebral circuits: left-hemispheric verbal, bilateral magnitude, and bilateral Arabic number codes.
- Understanding numerical processing lateralization is key to cognitive neuroscience.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test the triple-code model's propositions regarding the lateralization of arithmetic operations.
- To investigate hemispheric specialization during multiplication and subtraction tasks in adults.
Main Methods:
- Functional transcranial Doppler ultrasonography measured middle cerebral artery blood flow in 17 adults (18-27 years).
- Laterality indices were calculated for multiplication and subtraction tasks.
- This method offers cost-effectiveness and superior temporal resolution compared to neuroimaging.
Main Results:
- Multiplication tasks showed significant left-hemispheric blood flow lateralization.
- Subtraction tasks did not exhibit significant lateralization.
- Results were compared in participants with left-hemispheric language dominance.
Conclusions:
- Findings support the triple-code model of arithmetic processing.
- Multiplication and subtraction operations are processed distinctly in the adult brain.
- Functional transcranial Doppler ultrasonography is a valuable tool for studying arithmetic cognition.
