title: Arithmetic tasks in different formats and their influence on behavior and brain oxygenation as assessed with near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS): a study involving primary and secondary school children.
abstract: This study investigated whether near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) can be used to measure the processing of arithmetic problems in school children. Another aim was to assess whether distinct formats of such problems would lead to different neural processing. Two large samples of school children from different age groups were examined while calculating or reading arithmetic problems that were either presented in numeric or in word format. As expected, we found that, compared to reading, calculation resulted in greater average oxygenation in parietal and posterior frontal regions. Neither format nor age had a significant effect on brain oxygenation. We were able to demonstrate that NIRS measurements can readily be conducted with children and in school settings, which is an indication for the ecological validity of this measurement technique.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Psychophysiology and Functional Imaging, University Hospital Wuerzburg, Fuechsleinstr. 15, 97080 Wuerzburg, Germany. Dresler_T@klinik.uni-wuerzburg.de
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dresler
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Obersteiner
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schecklmann
authors.forename: A Carina M
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Vogel
authors.forename: Ann-Christine
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Ehlis
authors.forename: Melany M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Richter
authors.forename: Michael M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Plichta
authors.forename: Kristina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Reiss
authors.forename: Reinhard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pekrun
authors.forename: Andreas J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Fallgatter
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D019540:Area Under Curve; D001519:Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D055641:Mathematical Concepts; D010100:Oxygen / Q000378:metabolism*; D011932:Reading; D019265:Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared; D013850:Thinking / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen