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The arithmetic problem size effect in children: an event-related potential study
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 st...
Autores principales: | , , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2014
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4174746/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25309405 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2014.00756 |
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author | Van Beek, Leen Ghesquièr, Pol De Smedt, Bert Lagae, Lieven |
author_facet | Van Beek, Leen Ghesquièr, Pol De Smedt, Bert Lagae, Lieven |
author_sort | Van Beek, Leen |
collection | PubMed |
description | 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. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-4174746 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2014 |
publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-41747462014-10-10 The arithmetic problem size effect in children: an event-related potential study Van Beek, Leen Ghesquièr, Pol De Smedt, Bert Lagae, Lieven Front Hum Neurosci Neuroscience 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. Frontiers Media S.A. 2014-09-25 /pmc/articles/PMC4174746/ /pubmed/25309405 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2014.00756 Text en Copyright © 2014 Van Beek, Ghesquière, De Smedt and Lagae. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. |
spellingShingle | Neuroscience Van Beek, Leen Ghesquièr, Pol De Smedt, Bert Lagae, Lieven The arithmetic problem size effect in children: an event-related potential study |
title | The arithmetic problem size effect in children: an event-related potential study |
title_full | The arithmetic problem size effect in children: an event-related potential study |
title_fullStr | The arithmetic problem size effect in children: an event-related potential study |
title_full_unstemmed | The arithmetic problem size effect in children: an event-related potential study |
title_short | The arithmetic problem size effect in children: an event-related potential study |
title_sort | arithmetic problem size effect in children: an event-related potential study |
topic | Neuroscience |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4174746/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25309405 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2014.00756 |
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