Neural correlates of serial abacus mental calculation in children: A functional MRI study

Chen, Feiyan; Hu, Zhenghui; Zhao, Xiaofeng; Wang, Rui; Yang, Zhiyun; Wang, Xiaolu; Tang, Xiaowei

doi:10.1016/j.neulet.2006.04.041

Cited by 80 publications

(96 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…This region is of particular interest due to some evidence suggesting enhanced activation in the left fusiform gyrus during arithmetic following abacus training (Chen et al, 2006;Hanakawa et al, 2003) and could be used to visually represent the abacus during mental calculations (Li et al, 2013b). The left fusiform gyrus was found to have lower grey matter density in the abacustrained group compared to controls.…”

Section: Abacus Trainingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drawing connections between white matter and numerical and mathematical cognition: A literature review

Matejko

Ansari

2015

Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews

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Section: Abacus Trainingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drawing connections between white matter and numerical and mathematical cognition: A literature review

Matejko

Ansari

2015

Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews

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“…While naive control participants were much more disrupted by verbal interference, MA users showed larger interference effects for manual interference. In addition, a growing neuroimaging literature suggests that MA computations are associated with regions that support spatial and visual working memory (Chen et al, 2006;Du et al, 2013;Hanakawa, Honda, Okada, Fukuyama, & Shibasaki, 2003;Hu et al, 2011;Li et al, 2013;Li, Chen, & Huang, 2016;Tanaka, Michimata, Kaminaga, Honda, & Sadato, 2002).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

A one-year classroom-randomized trial of mental abacus instruction for first- and second-grade students

et al. 2018

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Mental Abacus (MA) is a popular arithmetic technique in which students learn to solve math problems by visualizing a physical abacus structure. Prior studies conducted in Asia have found that MA can lead to exceptional mathematics achievement in highly motivated individuals, and that extensive training over multiple years can also benefit students in standard classroom settings. Here we explored the benefits of shorter-term MA training to typical students in a US school. Specifically, we tested whether MA (1) improves arithmetic performance relative to a standard math curriculum, and (2) leads to changes in spatial working memory, as claimed by several recent reports. To address these questions, we conducted a one-year, classroom-randomized trial of MA instruction. We found that first-graders students struggled to achieve abacus expertise over the course of the year, while second-graders were more successful. Neither age group showed a significant advantage in cognitive abilities or mathematical computation relative to controls, although older children showed some hints of an advantage in learning place-value concepts. Overall, our results suggest caution in the adoption of MA as a short-term educational intervention.

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“…Several groups throughout China are developing advanced methods for EEG and fMRI analyses and applying fMRI to explore high-level cognitive functions. These include, the group of Tang XiaoWei in Zhejiang University [10], the group of Yao DeZhong in University of Electronic Science and Technology of China [11], the group of Li YuanQing in the South China University of Technology [12] and the group of Jiang TianZi in the Institute of Automation, CAS [13]. Apart from these, the non-linear dynamics approach has been a valuable tool for studying the dynamical properties of single neurons and the neuronal population.…”

Section: Cns In Chinamentioning

confidence: 99%

Computational neuroscience in China

Liang

2010

Sci. China Life Sci.

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The ultimate goal of Computational Neuroscience (CNS) is to use and develop mathematical models and approaches to elucidate brain functions. CNS is a young and highly multidisciplinary field. It heavily interacts with experimental neuroscience and such other research areas as artificial intelligence, robotics, computer vision, information science and machine learning. This paper reviews the history of CNS in China, its current status and the prospects for its future development. Examples of CNS research in China are also presented.

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Neural correlates of serial abacus mental calculation in children: A functional MRI study

Cited by 80 publications

References 13 publications

Drawing connections between white matter and numerical and mathematical cognition: A literature review

Drawing connections between white matter and numerical and mathematical cognition: A literature review

A one-year classroom-randomized trial of mental abacus instruction for first- and second-grade students

Computational neuroscience in China

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