Improvements and future challenges for the research infrastructure in the field “Measuring cognitive ability”

The assessment of cognitive abilities is critical in large-scale survey studies that aim at elucidating the longitudinal interplay between the individual’s cognitive potential and socio-economic variables. The format of such studies calls for assessment methods which can not only be administered economically but also display a high (psychometric) measurement quality. In consideration of recent theoretical and empirical advances in intelligence research, we recommend the implementation of tests drawing on working memory in large-scale survey studies. Working memory is a limited-capacity system for temporary storage and processing of information and currently discussed to be the cognitive key system underlying intellectual abilities. Four types of working memory tests are exemplarily described and critically evaluated with regard to their psychometric quality and the need for further evaluation.cognitive abilities, intelligence, knowledge, information processing, mental speed, working memory

Promises and potential pitfalls of a ‘cognitive neuroscience of mathematics learning'

The present commentary discusses the papers of the special issue on ‘cognitive neuroscience and mathematics learning' with respect to methodological and theoretical constraints of using neuroscientific methods to study educationally relevant processes associated with mathematics learning. A special focus is laid on the relevance of subject populations, methodological limitations of current neuroimaging methods and theoretical questions concerning the relationship between the well-studied neural correlates of numerical magnitude processing and the less-investigated neural processes underlying higher level mathematical skills, such as algebraic reasonin

Improvements and future challenges for the research infrastructure in the field "Measuring cognitive ability"

The assessment of cognitive abilities is critical in large-scale survey studies that aim at elucidating the longitudinal interplay between the individual's cognitive potential and socio-economic variables. The format of such studies calls for assessment methods which can not only be administered economically but also display a high (psychometric) measurement quality. In consideration of recent theoretical and empirical advances in intelligence research, we recommend the implementation of tests drawing on working memory in large-scale survey studies. Working memory is a limited-capacity system for temporary storage and processing of information and currently discussed to be the cognitive key system underlying intellectual abilities. Four types of working memory tests are exemplarily described and critically evaluated with regard to their psychometric quality and the need for further evaluation

Promises and potential pitfalls of a \u27cognitive neuroscience of mathematics learning\u27

The present commentary discusses the papers of the special issue on \u27cognitive neuroscience and mathematics learning\u27 with respect to methodological and theoretical constraints of using neuroscientific methods to study educationally relevant processes associated with mathematics learning. A special focus is laid on the relevance of subject populations, methodological limitations of current neuroimaging methods and theoretical questions concerning the relationship between the well-studied neural correlates of numerical magnitude processing and the less-investigated neural processes underlying higher level mathematical skills, such as algebraic reasoning. © FIZ Karlsruhe 2010

Expertise in symbol-referent mapping

Much evidence cited by Cohen Kadosh & Walsh (CK&W) in support of their notation-specific representation hypothesis is based on tasks requiring automatic number processing. Several of these findings can be alternatively explained by differential expertise in mapping numerical symbols onto semantic magnitude representations. The importance of considering symbol-referent mapping expertise in theories on numerical representations is highlighte

Behavioral and neurophysiological effects of morphological awareness training on spelling and reading

Behavioral and neurophysiological effects of a computer-aided morphological training protocol were examined in German-speaking children from Grades 3 to 9. Study 1 compared morphological awareness, reading, and spelling skills of 34 trained children with an untrained control group of 34 children matched for age, sex, and intelligence. All participants in the training group showed increases in morphological awareness, but only students from secondary school improved significantly in reading and spelling competences. In Study 2, a subsample of 8 trained children with poor spelling and reading abilities and 10 untrained children with higher language competencies underwent an electroencephalography testing involving three different language tasks. The training resulted in decreased theta-activity and increased activity in lower (7-10Hz) and upper alpha (10-13Hz). These findings reflect more effortful and attention-demanding processing after the training and suggest that children with poor spelling and reading abilities use the acquired morphological knowledge in terms of a compensatory strateg

Brain Correlates of Mathematical Competence in Processing Mathematical Representations

The ability to extract numerical information from different representation formats (e.g., equations, tables, or diagrams) is a key component of mathematical competence but little is known about its neural correlate. Previous studies comparing mathematically less and more competent adults have focused on mental arithmetic and reported differences in left angular gyrus (AG) activity which were interpreted to reflect differential reliance on arithmetic fact retrieval during problem solving. The aim of the present functional magnetic resonance imaging study was to investigate the brain correlates of mathematical competence in a task requiring the processing of typical mathematical representations. Twenty-eight adults of lower and higher mathematical competence worked on a representation matching task in which they had to evaluate whether the numerical information of a symbolic equation matches that of a bar chart. Two task conditions without and one condition with arithmetic demands were administered. Both competence groups performed equally well in the non-arithmetic conditions and only differed in accuracy in the condition requiring calculation. Activation contrasts between the groups revealed consistently stronger left AG activation in the more competent individuals across all three task conditions. The finding of competence-related activation differences independently of arithmetic demands suggests that more and less competent individuals differ in a cognitive process other than arithmetic fact retrieval. Specifically, it is argued that the stronger left AG activity in the more competent adults may reflect their higher proficiency in processing mathematical symbols. Moreover, the study demonstrates competence-related parietal activation differences that were not accompanied by differential experimental performance

The function of the left angular gyrus in mental arithmetic: Evidence from the associative confusion effect

While the left angular gyrus (lAG) has been repeatedly implicated in mental arithmetic, its precise functional role has not been established. On the one hand, it has been speculated that the lAG is involved in task-specific processes. On the other hand, the observation of relative deactivation during arithmetic has led to the contention that differential lAG activation reflects task-unrelated difficulty effects associated with the default mode network (DMN). Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we investigated the neural correlates of the associative confusion effect that allowed us to dissociate effects of task difficulty and task-related arithmetic processes on lAG activation. The associative confusion effect is characterized by poorer performance while verifying addition and multiplication equations whose solutions are associated with the other operation (confusion equations: e.g., 9 × 6 = 15 ) compared with solutions unrelated to both operations (non-confusion equations: e.g., 9 × 6 = 52 ). Comparing these two conditions revealed higher activation of the anterior lAG (areas PGa, PFm, and PF) and the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex for the confusion problems. This effect displayed only slight anatomical overlap with the well-established reverse problem-size effect (small minus large problems) and task-related deactivation in the parietal cortex. The finding of greater lAG activity (less deactivation) in the more difficult task condition is inconsistent with the hypothesis that lAG activation during mental arithmetic reflects task difficulty related modulations of the DMN. Instead, the present findings provide further support for the symbol-referent mapping hypothesis, suggesting that the lAG mediates the automatic mapping of arithmetic problems onto solutions stored in memory. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc