Short-term number sense training recapitulates long-term neurodevelopmental changes from childhood to adolescence
These videos have been matched automatically. Contact us if they are not relevant.
These videos have been matched automatically. Contact us if they are not relevant.
View abstract on PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.Short-term number sense training in children dissociated symbolic numbers from non-symbolic quantity representations. This training promoted neural plasticity, mirroring long-term developmental changes in numerical problem-solving skills.
Area Of Science
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Educational Psychology
Background
- Number sense, linking non-symbolic and symbolic quantities, is crucial for arithmetic skills.
- Developmental estrangement theory suggests increasing dissociation between these representations with age.
- Prior research links cross-format neural representational similarity (NRS) to arithmetic fluency in children, but not adolescents.
Purpose Of The Study
- To investigate if short-term number sense training (STT) can alter the relationship between cross-format NRS and arithmetic skills in children.
- To determine if STT can induce neurocognitive changes similar to long-term developmental dissociation.
- To explore the malleability of number sense and its neural underpinnings through targeted interventions.
Main Methods
- A 4-week, theoretically motivated number sense training program for children aged 7-10 years.
- Multivariate neural pattern analysis to assess cross-format NRS between non-symbolic and symbolic quantities.
- Examining the correlation between NRS and arithmetic fluency before and after the training intervention.
Main Results
- A significant correlation between cross-format NRS and arithmetic fluency was observed in parietal and prefrontal cortices before training.
- This association between NRS and arithmetic skills disappeared after the 4-week STT.
- Multivariate predictive models confirmed the reduction in the NRS-arithmetic fluency link post-training.
Conclusions
- Intensive short-term number sense training can promote behavioral improvements and neural plasticity in children.
- STT recapitulates neurodevelopmental changes observed from childhood to adolescence in numerical cognition.
- The findings highlight the potential of targeted interventions to influence early neurodevelopmental trajectories in number sense.
These videos have been matched automatically. Contact us if they are not relevant.
These videos have been matched automatically. Contact us if they are not relevant.
Related Concept Videos
The information-processing theory of cognitive development centers on fundamental mental processes, including attention, memory, and problem-solving skills. Researchers in this field examine how cognitive abilities, such as working memory, evolve and influence children's overall development. Studies indicate that children with stronger working memory tend to excel in reading comprehension, math, and problem-solving compared to peers with less efficient memory skills. Low working memory is...
Children master language quickly and with relative ease, supported by both biological predisposition and reinforcement. B. F. Skinner (1957) proposed that language is learned through reinforcement, while Noam Chomsky (1965) argued that language acquisition mechanisms are biologically determined.
The critical period for language acquisition suggests that the ability to acquire language is at its peak early in life. As people age, this proficiency decreases. Language development begins very...
Neuroplasticity reflects the brain's remarkable capacity to adapt and evolve, responding dynamically to learning, experiences, or injury by reorganizing its neural circuitry. This reorganization involves creating new neural connections and refining old ones through a series of biological processes that contribute to the brain's lifelong development and adaptability.
• The brain's ability to change begins with the growth of dendrites and axons, which effectively increases the...
Long-term potentiation, or LTP, is one of the ways by which synaptic plasticity—changes in the strength of chemical synapses—can occur in the brain. LTP is the process of synaptic strengthening that occurs over time between pre- and postsynaptic neuronal connections. The synaptic strengthening of LTP works in opposition to the synaptic weakening of long-term depression (LTD) and together are the main mechanisms that underlie learning and memory.
Hebbian LTP
LTP can occur when...
During adolescence, individuals experience significant cognitive development that enhances their understanding of others' emotions and thoughts, known as cognitive empathy. This period is marked by an increased ability to adapt to others' perspectives and a more nuanced understanding of others' mental states, a skill that is foundational for social problem-solving and conflict avoidance. The development of cognitive empathy relies heavily on the theory of mind — the...
Improving short-term memory can be achieved through techniques like chunking and rehearsal. Chunking involves organizing information into larger, more manageable units. This technique is particularly useful for information that exceeds the typical memory span of between five and nine items. For instance, logging into an online account with a password like "ta89vq0179gz" involves grouping letters and numbers into three chunks—ta89, vq01, and 79gz. It makes large amounts of...