The brain-structural correlates of mathematical expertise.
Adult
Anisotropy
Brain
/ pathology
Brain Mapping
/ methods
Cognition
/ physiology
Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
Humans
Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
/ methods
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
/ methods
Male
Mathematics
Neuropsychological Tests
Parietal Lobe
/ physiology
White Matter
/ physiology
Young Adult
Expertise
Grey matter
Mathematics
Numerical cognition
White matter
Journal
Cortex; a journal devoted to the study of the nervous system and behavior
ISSN: 1973-8102
Titre abrégé: Cortex
Pays: Italy
ID NLM: 0100725
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
05 2019
05 2019
Historique:
received:
01
11
2017
revised:
27
06
2018
accepted:
04
10
2018
pubmed:
15
11
2018
medline:
4
8
2020
entrez:
15
11
2018
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
Studies in several domains of expertise have established that experience-dependent plasticity brings about both functional and anatomical changes. However, little is known about how such changes come to shape the brain in the case of expertise acquired by professional mathematicians. Here, we aimed to identify cognitive and brain-structural (grey and white matter) characteristics of mathematicians as compared to non-mathematicians. Mathematicians and non-mathematician academics from the University of Oxford underwent structural and diffusion MRI scans, and were tested on a cognitive battery assessing working memory, attention, IQ, numerical and social skills. At the behavioural level, mathematical expertise was associated with better performance in domain-general and domain-specific dimensions. At the grey matter level, in a whole-brain analysis, behavioural performance correlated with grey matter density in left superior frontal gyrus - positively for mathematicians but negatively for non-mathematicians; in a region of interest analysis, we found in mathematicians higher grey matter density in the right superior parietal lobule, but lower grey matter density in the right intraparietal sulcus and in the left inferior frontal gyrus. In terms of white matter, there were no significant group differences in fractional anisotropy or mean diffusivity. These results reveal new insights into the relationship between mathematical expertise and grey matter metrics in brain regions previously implicated in numerical cognition, as well as in regions that have so far received less attention in this field. Further studies, based on longitudinal designs and cognitive training, could examine the conjecture that such cross-sectional findings arise from a bidirectional link between experience and structural brain changes that is itself subject to change across the lifespan.
Identifiants
pubmed: 30424836
pii: S0010-9452(18)30335-6
doi: 10.1016/j.cortex.2018.10.009
pmc: PMC6996130
pii:
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
140-150Subventions
Organisme : Wellcome Trust
Pays : United Kingdom
Organisme : Wellcome Trust
ID : WT88378
Pays : United Kingdom
Commentaires et corrections
Type : CommentIn
Type : CommentIn
Informations de copyright
Copyright © 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.
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