Changes in brain activation induced by the training of hypothesis generation skills: an fMRI study.
The aim of the present study is to investigate the learning-related changes in brain activation induced by the training of hypothesis generation skills regarding biological phenomena. Eighteen undergraduate participants were scanned twice with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) before and after training over a period of 2 months. The experimental group underwent eight biological hypothesis generation training programs, but the control group was not given any during the 2-month period. The results showed that the left frontal gyri, the cingulate gyrus, and the cuneus were activated during hypothesis generation. In addition, the brain activation of the trained group increased in the left inferior and the superior frontal gyri, which are related to working memory load and higher-order inferential processes. However, the activation after training decreased in the occipito-parietal route, which is associated with the perception and the analysis processes of visual information. Furthermore, the results have suggested that the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) region is the critical area in the training of hypothesis generation skills.
Department of Biology Education, Korea National University of Education, Chungbuk 363-791, Republic of Korea. kwonyj@knue.ac.kr
Yong-Ju
YJ
Kwon
Jun-Ki
JK
Lee
Dong-Hoon
DH
Shin
Jin-Su
JS
Jeong
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000502:physiology; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009778:Occipital Lobe / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult