What can we learn from sudoku puzzle solving

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event What can we learn from sudoku puzzle solving Hana Zimmerman-Karl1, Anat Barnea2 and Miriam Reiner1* 1 Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, ISB, Israel 2 Bio-Keshev Center, ISB, Israel Problem solving requires some mental effort, but it can also be fun. Holm et al. 2009 introduced an index for mental load. What can we say about mental effort that involves fun and success like Sudoku Puzzles? We measured the EEG before, during and after engaging in solving easy and difficult Sudoku Puzzles. We used the mental load index Theta Fz / Alpha Pz (Holm et al. 2009), (Theta at Fz = average power in the 3-7Hz frequency band at frontal midline electrode Fz, Alpha at Pz = power in 7-12 Hz at parietal midline electrode Pz). We predicted that the ratio will increase from the easy to the difficult Sudoku Puzzle. We further inquired whether there is a similar change in EEG during eyes open condition from before to after engaging in the Sudoku problem. There was no consistent change in the Theta Fz / Alpha Pz ratio between the easy and difficult Sudoku problems. There was also no consistent change in the ratio between the eyes open before and after conditions. However there was a consistent reduction of power in all 4 bands from before to after Sudoku, particularly in the frontal region. The proposed (Theta Fz / Alpha Pz) index of mental load does not apply to pleasurable-type problem solving. We suggest that pleasurable problem solving is an effective condition for learning and we seek to discover a neurophysiologic measure of difficulty that will apply to this kind of cognitive task. Conference: EARLI SIG22 - Neuroscience and Education, Zurich, Switzerland, 3 Jun - 5 Jun, 2010. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: Arithmetic and higher-order mathematics Citation: Zimmerman-Karl H, Barnea A and Reiner M (2010). What can we learn from sudoku puzzle solving. Front. Neurosci. Conference Abstract: EARLI SIG22 - Neuroscience and Education. doi: 10.3389/conf.fnins.2010.11.00073 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 01 Jun 2010; Published Online: 01 Jun 2010. * Correspondence: Miriam Reiner, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, ISB, Haifa, Israel, miriamr@technion.ac.il Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Hana Zimmerman-Karl Anat Barnea Miriam Reiner Google Hana Zimmerman-Karl Anat Barnea Miriam Reiner Google Scholar Hana Zimmerman-Karl Anat Barnea Miriam Reiner PubMed Hana Zimmerman-Karl Anat Barnea Miriam Reiner Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.