Transfer effects of abacus training on transient and sustained brain activation in the frontal-parietal network

Understanding the neural mechanisms of training-induced brain plasticity has significant implications for improving academic achievement. Previous studies suggest abacus-based mental calculation (AMC) training significantly improves individual's arithmetic capability, and the frontal-parietal network is suggested to be the key neural circuit underlying AMC. Yet, it remains unclear how AMC training shifts brain activation in this network and whether the training effect is transferable or not. The current study aimed to address these questions using a longitudinal design engaging an experimental group (20 days of AMC training) and a control group. The fMRI results indicated that AMC training increased sustained but reduced transient activation in the frontal-parietal network when the AMC group performed the training-related arithmetic task. More interestingly, similar pre- to post-training changes in activation were observed in two training-unrelated tasks. The control group, on the other hand, did not exhibit any pre- to post-training differences in brain activation on any of the three tasks. These findings extend the previous cross-sectional studies of AMC and suggest that AMC training induces functional changes in brain activation and such plasticity may be transferable beyond the AMC. The training effects on sustained and transient neural activity may also provide a new perspective to understand training-induced neural plasticity and related transfer effect.