The arithmetic problem size effect in children: an event-related potential study

Abstract

This study used for the first time event-related potentials (ERPs) to examine the well-known arithmetic problem size effect in children. The electrophysiological correlates of this problem size effect have been well documented in adults, but such information in children is lacking. In the present study, 22 typically developing 12-year-olds were asked to solve single-digit addition problems of small (sum ≤ 10) and large problem size (sum > 10) and to speak the solution into a voice key while ERPs were recorded. Children displayed similar early and late components compared to previous adult studies on the problem size effect. There was no effect of problem size on the early components P1, N1, and P2. The peak amplitude of the N2 component showed more negative potentials on left and right anterior electrodes for large additions compared to small additions, which might reflect differences in attentional and working memory resources between large and small problems. The mean amplitude of the late positivity component which follows the N2, was significantly larger for large than for small additions at right parieto-occipital electrodes, in line with previous adult data. The ERPs of the problem size effect during arithmetic might be a useful neural marker for future studies on fact retrieval impairments in children with mathematical difficulties.

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“…11 The electrophysiological correlates of this problem-size effect are well described in adults and have recently been studied in children. 10 These data revealed the existence of early exogenous components, P1, N1, and P2, within the first 250ms of a stimulus; however, these early components do not differ between small and large problem sizes. After these early components, an anterior negativity (N2) occurs around 400ms post stimulus.…”

“…The stimuli and experimental procedure were identical to those used by Van Beek et al 10 to investigate the ERPs associated with problem size in typically developing children. Single-digit addition problems (i.e.…”

“…The analyses of the electrophysiological responses were performed in the same way as in Van Beek et al 10 Data processing was performed offline using the EEGLAB version 10.2 toolbox (MATLAB R2008a platform, MATLAB 8.0 and Statistics Toolbox 8.1; The MathWorks, Inc., Natick, MA, USA.). 15 Preprocessing consisted of data filtering with a 30Hz digital low pass filter, and removing eye and other movement artefacts with an algorithm based on the principle of independent component analysis.…”

“…In the present study, we used a problem-size effect paradigm to examine the electrophysiological correlates of arithmetic. 9,10 The problem-size effect is a well-known phenomenon in the field of mathematical cognition, which indicates that reaction times and error rates are larger in arithmetic problems of a large size (e.g. 8+7) than in problems with a small size (e.g.…”

“…automatized retrieval strategies for small problems vs slower procedural strategies for large problems). Against this background, Van Beek et al 10 suggested that the ERPs of the problem-size effects during arithmetic are a useful neural marker for the detection of arithmetic impairments. To this end, the present study used the ERP problem-size approach to investigate whether or not the electrophysiological brain signatures of the arithmetic problem-size effect (i.e.…”