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PSY4035 > Task 8 > Flashcards

Task 8 Flashcards

1
Q

What are the building blocks of arithmetic?

A
  • representations of number quantities using symbols
  • understanding of numerical properties (e.g. magnitude & cardinality)
  • retrieval:when arithmetic facts are unable to be retrieved from memory, then the individual has to rely on their working memory which is more effortful & slow (Seen in children). From procedural  retrieval
  • Computation/calculation
  • Reasoning & decision making about arithmetic relations: ERPs
  • Resolving interference between multiple competing solutions (interference resolution)
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2
Q

Explain the cognitive processes involved in artihmetic

A

Fact retrieval
Associative recall
attention
sequencing
working memory
ddecision making

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3
Q

Give an example of the working memory in arithmetic

A

There is a problem (e.g. 6x6)
The executive control pays attention and makes a decision about how to provide an answer for this problem. It can access the facts from the hippocampus regions (e.g. knowing that 6x6 is 36) and the retrieve rules to calculate the problem which involves procederal, WM and sequencing operations

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4
Q

Describe the arithmetic development in primary and middle childhood

A

mathematic achievement is related to how numbers are mapped to symbols & their quantity representations, but less so for the latter

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5
Q

Describe the arithmetic development in secondary school and adolescence

A

There are individual differences in the size of non-symbolic distance effect

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6
Q

Describe arithmetic development in adulthood

A
  • High competence individuals (arithmetic) = greater activation in left AG than low.
  • Mathematical competence was also related to the same brain region.
  • Left AG is associated with retrieval of arithmetic facts. So being able to retrieve mathematical facts fast is needed for solving arithmetic problems.
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7
Q

Describe the neurodevelopmental changes in arithmetic from childhood to adulthood

A

The mid-posterior IPS is responsible for number processing in both adults and children.

Children use the DLPFC & VMPFC for WM & decision making during arithmetic problem solving.

The basal ganglia hippocampus for short term procedural and episodic memory is also used by children.

Adults use the supramarginal angular gyrus for fact retrieval from the long term memory

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8
Q

What is the neural underpinning of number processing in children and adults?

A

mid posterior intraparietal sulcus

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9
Q

What is the neural underpinning of fact retrieval from the long term memory as used by adults during arithmetic?

A

supramarginal gyrus angular gyrus

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10
Q

What is the neural underpinning of short term procedural and episodic memory as used by children during arithmetic?

A

basal ganglia hippocampus

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11
Q

What is the neural undepinning of WM and decision making as used by children during arithmetic?

A

DLPFC & VMPFC

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12
Q

What is the function of the mid posterior intraparietal sulcus?

A

number processing

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13
Q

what is the function of the supramarginal gyrus angular gyrus?

A

long term memory-fact retrieval

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14
Q

what is the function of the basal ganglia hippocampus?

A

short term procedural and episodic memory

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15
Q

what is the function of the dorsolateral PFC and ventrolateral PFC?

A

working memory and decision making

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16
Q

Explain the role of working memory in arithmetic for children

A
  • While adults rely on retrieval of arithmetic facts when solving mathematical problems (e.g. simply knowing that 3x7 = 21), children have to use their working memory to count (e.g. count on their fingers and hold the information in mind).
  • Some reliance on retrieval at 7-8 years but mostly WM.
  • Central executive = sequencing operations, coordinating flow of information & guiding decision making especially for complex problems.
  • Poor WM = greater reliance on immature problem solving strategies in children
  • Central executive & phonological loop = early stages of mathematical learning
  • Visuospatial representations = during later stages.
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17
Q

What is the role of the central executive during arithmetic?

A

sequencing operations, coordinating flow of information & guiding decision making especially for complex problems.

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18
Q

How does poor working memory affect arithmetic in children?

A

greater reliance on immature problem solving strategies in children

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19
Q

Explain the role of memory encoding and retrieval durign arithmetic

A
  • Memorization of arithmetics facts are possible through repeated exposure which engages episodic memory & semantic memory systems.
  • Improvements in episodic memory from 3-11 years.
  • Interactions of medial temporal lobe (including hippocampal region – memory encoding) and PFC = more effective memory encoding strategies.
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20
Q

Explain the role of interference resolution and decision making during arithmetic

A
  • Decision making (e.g. judging the correct answers in MCQ & inhibiting the wrong ones) affects speed & accuracy.
  • Arithmetic deficits = difficulty to inhibit incorrect/irrelevant associations.
  • Children usually show less confidence when assessing the accuracy of a retrieved fact.
  • N400 = processing of incorrect arithmetic equations
  • Left dorsolateral PFC & left ventrolateral PFC = incorrect equations
  • These activations are related to the maintaining of results in WM while the individuals attempt to solve the conflict and select a response
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21
Q

What is the neural underpinning of incorrect equations during arithmetic?

A

left DLPFC & left VLPFC

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22
Q

What is dyscalculia?

A
  • Specific learning disabilities in arithmetic
  • Deficits in retrieval of arithmetic facts & arithmetical procedures. Usage of developmentally inappropriate strategies (e.g. counting on fingers).
  • Low-level deficits (e.g. the building blocks of arithmetic such as numerical cognition).
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23
Q

What is subitizing?

A
  • Subitizing refers to the mind’s ability to automatically detect the quantity of objects (e.g. dots) when see for the first time.
24
Q

What is the average subitizing range?

A

4 objects

25
Q

The general subitizing range is 4. How does objects above 4 affect reaction times?

A
  • Number of objects above this range leads to slower RT, reducing by 40-100ms with each added items.
26
Q

What is the subitizing range in individuals with dyscalculia?

A

3

27
Q

How can subitizing range be measured?

A

matching stimuli - decide if two quantities of dots are the same or not

28
Q

Give example of an experiment that used the matching stimuli

A
  • In one experiment, children with dyscalculia and controls were exposed to random or canonical organizations of dots, and had to state how many dots were present as fast as they could. Those with dyscalculia had troubles counting & had a lower range of subitizing (3), compared to controls who had the normal range (4.).
29
Q
  • In one experiment, children with dyscalculia and controls were exposed to random or canonical organizations of dots, and had to state how many dots were present as fast as they could. Those with dyscalculia had troubles counting & had a lower range of subitizing (3), compared to controls who had the normal range (4.).

Provide explanations for the above results

A

there are controversial interpretations. E.g. some state that objects are not processed as numerical values but rather as separate objects due to their spatial organization. Others state that small and large numerical sets have common representations.

30
Q

What is the distance effect and when is it used?

A
  • Distance effect is used when comparing two digits. That is, larger distances have faster RT than smaller distances (like in musical intervals when it is easier to detect a perfect fifth than a minor second).
31
Q

Explain the process of comparing numbers

A
  • When people first perceive an auditory or written number they first convert it into its quantity representations, known as the mental number line.
  • Distance effect occurs as a result of the overlapping representations of the numbers on the number line
32
Q

Describe the distance effect in individuals with Dyscalculia vs. those with learning disabiltiies or mathematical difficulties

A

Dyscalculia - larger distance effect for both symbolic and non-symbolic

Learning disability - smaller distance effect

mathematical learning disability = distance effect only for non-symbolic task (dots)

33
Q

What is the mental number line?

A

Representations of numerical quantities that ordered in a linear fashion; smaller values on the left and larger values on the right

34
Q

How can automacity of numerical processing be measured?

A
  • Stroop tasks are used to measure automacity in numerical processing when participants have to compare numbers (which one is larger) based on their numerical values (3,5. 5 = larger) or physical size (3, 5. 3 = is larger in size).
35
Q

What is the congruity effect in stroop tasks used to measure automacity of numerical processing?

A
  • Congruity effect = difference between in RT times for the incongruent & congruent trials.
  • Congruity effect is characterized by facilitation or interference.
  • Facilitation = when trials are congruent and produces faster RT in comparison to incongruent and neutral trials.
  • Interference = when trials are incongruent and produces slower RT.
36
Q

What does it mean to be proficient in numerical processing?

A

when a person can process numerical values (the digit and its quantity representations) automatically.

37
Q

Do children process numerical values automatically? give an example

A

Not until third grade.

One study found that the effect of numerical value was not present at the end but not beginning of first grade. Moreover, there were no facilitation or interference effect (congruity effect) in first grade. Meaning that physical size was more automatically processed than numerical values.
* However, the observation that first graders do not process numerical values automatically does not mean that they do not have an understand of the quantity representations of digits. This is because they show the distance effect. It just means that perceptual features are more automatic since they are more mature.
* With increasing age, children process numerical values more automatically and physical size interferes.

38
Q

Describe the congruity effect in dyscalculics and provide a study as example

A
  • a study employing the Navon task and stroop task was conducted to determine if the DD’s deficit was only limited to only the numerical system and not other parts of the symbolic system (e.g. letters).
  • The overall results showed that while DD were slower than controls, they also showed similar effects, while the dyslexic group had a smaller effect for irrelevant letters compared to other groups.
  • Compared to controls, DD college students have a reduced size congruity effect when asked to focus on physical properties of digits in stroop task.
  • The effect is mostly interference-related, similar to that of children in end of 1st grade.
  • So their deficits are related to their associations of size or quantity with symbols.
39
Q

What is the underpinning of number processing and how does it differ in individuals with dyscalculia?

A

Left IPS. It is reduced in DD

40
Q

What is the innate approxiamate number system?

A

representations of quantity of objects, events and time as continuous magnitude. Involves IPS & is defiant in DD.

41
Q

What is the numerosity coding hypothesis?

A

humans have an innate ability to quantify and perform operations on numbers and this is defiant in DD

42
Q

It has been suggested the humans may have a domain-specific processing for numbers. However, it has been suggested that this may not be the case for individuals with DD. Explain why

A
  • DD may not be domain-specific as suggested above. Rather, it may be that they have a domain general deficit (e.g. attention). This is because they displayed compromizasions in other brain areas aside from the parietal lobes. Moreover, the parietal lobes functions more than to just process numeracies
43
Q

It has been suggested the deficits observed in DD may be due to domain general deficit than domain specific (parietal). One reasoning behind this is that is because the parietal areas has other functions aside from number processing.

What are the other functions of the parietal areas and how can damage to these areas affect the development of DD?

A
  • the parietal has several functions: attention, orienting of attention, non-spatial attention, attention selection, grasping, pointing, saccades, calculation, phonemes detection.
  • Thus, damage to either right or left IPS could result in more than just numerical defiance, but also difficulties in attention and other mental functions
44
Q

It has been suggested that DD is due to a domain general deficit. What are the contributions of non-parietal areas?

A
  • deficits in DD is not limited to parietal lobes. Rather it is a dysfunction in circuits due to deficits in white matter. Some of these include fronto-occipital fasciculus and inferior longitudinal fasciculus), especially in the right hemisphere.
45
Q

Why is that DD has been proposed to be a domain general deficit?

A
  • since one of the core features of DD is the inability to retrieve arithmetic facts, then it could be that these individuals have deficits in attention, working memory, or long term memory.
  • E.g. cognitive load eliminates facilitation.
46
Q

Explain how core deficits can affect the heterogenity and comorbidity of DD

A

Deficits in IPS –> Deficit in processing numerical quantities –> DD

Deficits in IPS –> deficits in numerical quantities or attention deficit –> MLD

Deficit in frontal areas –> deficits in executive functions –> deficits in arithmetic and attention

47
Q

A study was conducted to investigate effectiveness of interventions to improve arithmetic in children from low income background.

Why the interest in children from low income background?

A
  • Low income background children receive less mathematical support from their parents. Engaging in mathematical activities with children can enhance their mathematical abilities, thus those with low SES may be a disadvantage since early mathematical foundations are necessary for later achievement
48
Q

What is number sense?

A
  • number sense is the ability to approximate numerical magnitudes. The approximations can involve results of numerical operations (‘‘About how much is 97 · 38?’’) or attributes of objects, events, or sets (‘‘About how much does a Prius weigh?’’ ‘‘About how many people attended the play?’’).
49
Q

Describe the number line estimation task that is used to investigate number sense

A
  • In this task, children are presented with a number line from 0 at one end and 100 at the other, and are asked to estimate where a certain number will be located on the line.
  • Advantages: it can be used with any size of numbers, with fractions and whole numbers, and is reflective of ratios among numbers.
  • Number line estimations in children are not fully developed, they have difficulties with ranking numbers.
50
Q

Describe the number line estimations in children (kintergarten) compared to second grade

A

Kintergarten have difficulties ranking numbers and their estimations are logarithmic compared to second graders who show a linear estimation of numbers

however, the larger the number llines (e.g. 0-1000 rather than 0-100) the more logarithmic the number line estimations.

51
Q

Give examples of interventions from improving number sense in children

A
  • Playing linear, numerical, board games; board games with linearly arranged, consecutively numbered, equal-sized spaces (e.g. Chutes & Ladders). Can improve counting and number identification and understanding of numerical magnitudes.
52
Q

Describe the methods of the study that used the Great Race - RABBIT and bear board game to intervene for children with mathematical difficulties.

A

One study: training using board games. Children were assessed on the number line estimation task with numbers 1-10 before and after training.
4-5 year olds from low-income backgrounds.
* Conditions: colour (name colour of movement), number (name numbers of spaces moved) + control group from middle income (no board games)

53
Q

What were the results of the Great Race board game study?

A
  • Results: Before playing the number board game, the best fitting linear function accounted for an average of 15% of the variance in individual children’s number line estimates. After playing the game, the best fitting linear function accounted for an average of 61% of the variance
  • Playing the colour game did not improve
54
Q

One study used the number/colour board game to investigate preschoolers’ understanding of numbers 1-10 on 4 tasks: number line estimation, magnitude comparison, numerical identification, and counting.

What were the results

A
  • accuracy of number line estimation increased from pretest to posttest among children who played the numerical board game (Figure 3A). Gains remained present on the follow-up. In contrast, there was no change in the accuracy of estimates of children who played the color board game.
  • The same pattern was evident on the magnitude comparison, numeral identification, and counting tasks (Figures 3B to 3D). In all cases, preschoolers who played the number board game showed improvements that persisted over time, whereas peers who played the color board game showed neither immediate nor delayed improvements.
55
Q

Four areas of arithmetic and number processing were investigated during the experiment utilizing the board games. What were they?

A

Number line estimation
Magnitude comparison
Numeral identification
Counting

56
Q

Explain board game playing in everyday environments and consider SES.

A
  • Children from middle-income backgrounds reported twice as much experience with board games as children from low-income backgrounds.
  • Interestingly, the children from middle-income backgrounds reported less video game experience than their peers from lowincome backgrounds.
  • Within the low-income sample (the only group for which we had obtained numerical proficiency data), amount of board game experience correlated positively with all four measures of numerical proficiency.
  • Whether preschoolers reported having played Chutes and Ladders, the commercial game that seems closest to the present board game, also correlated positively with their performance on all four numerical tasks.
  • In contrast, amount of experience with video games correlated with proficiency on only one of the four numerical tasks (number line estimation).
  • Thus, both correlational and causal evidence points to a connection between playing numerical board games and development of numerical knowledge
57
Q

How do children from middle income backgrounds differ in their board games playing compared to those from low income backgrounds?

A
  • Children from middle-income backgrounds reported twice as much experience with board games as children from low-income backgrounds.
  • Interestingly, the children from middle-income backgrounds reported less video game experience than their peers from lowincome backgrounds.

PSY4035 (9 decks)

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