Performance In Arithmetic Tasks Research Articles

Environmental Sounds Enhance Cortical Responses Related to a Serial Arithmetic Task

In this study, we used near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to examine the effects of environmental sounds on performance of a serial arithmetic task. Subjects included 6 males and 15 females aged 21 or 22 years. All subjects were required to perform a serial arithmetic task according to the Uchida-Kraepelin performance test. We used four environmental conditions: hubbub sound, forest sound, traffic noise, and a silent control condition. During the serial arithmetic task, we also measured hemodynamic changes in the frontal cortex using NIRS to assess the effects of environmental sounds on brain function during the serial arithmetic task. Results showed that exposure to environmental sounds did not enhance or detract from task performance speed in a serial arithmetic task performance when compared with results obtained upon exposure to silence. However, environmental sounds enhanced cortical responses during the serial arithmetic task. Our results reveal differences in activation of the prefrontal cortex under different sound conditions, which may help increase our understanding of the potential effects of environmental sounds.

Modulating arithmetic fact retrieval: A single-blind, sham-controlled tDCS study with repeated fMRI measurements

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive technique which has been used to modulate various cognitive functions in healthy participants as well as stroke patients. Despite the increasing number of tDCS studies, it still remains questionable whether tDCS is suitable for modulating performance in arithmetic tasks and whether a single tDCS session may cause brain activity changes that can be detected with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We asked healthy participants to repeatedly solve simple multiplication tasks in three conditions: STIMULATION (anodal tDCS over the right angular gyrus, AG), SHAM (identical electrode set-up without stimulation), and CONTROL (no electrodes attached). Before and after tDCS, we used fMRI to examine changes in brain activity. Behavioural results indicate that a single session of tDCS did not modulate task performance significantly. However, fMRI measurements revealed that the neural correlates of multiplication were modified following a single session of anodal tDCS. In the bilateral AG, activity was significantly higher for multiplication problems rehearsed during active tDCS, as compared to multiplication problems rehearsed without tDCS or during sham tDCS. In sum, we present first neuro-functional evidence that tDCS modulates arithmetic processing. Implications of these findings for future tDCS studies and for the rehabilitation of acalculic patients with deficits in arithmetic fact retrieval are discussed.

Exertion-Dependent Effects of Physical and Mental Workload on Physiological Outcomes and Task Performance

OCCUPATIONAL APPLICATIONS The findings from the current study illustrate the adverse effects of concurrent physical and mental demands on shoulder muscle activation. Furthermore, the results also suggest that the effects of concurrent physical and mental demands are more pronounced during static, as opposed to dynamic, exertions. As such, it is important to consider the interaction of said work parameters (i.e., force levels, mental demands, and type of exertion) when evaluating/designing tasks. Occupational tasks requiring concurrent physical and mental work should be redesigned to reduce static loading (by changing postures or providing frequent breaks). With tasks requiring static exertions, other physical parameters (such as force) should be reduced to minimize interference due to additional cognitive processing. To conclude, concurrent physical and mental demands affect muscle activation and impede worker performance; ergonomists should consider this interaction during task design/redesign, evaluations of injury risk, and potential causal models of injury development. TECHNICAL ABSTRACT Background: Static work is considered an occupational risk factor in the development of injuries, thus there is an emphasis on employing dynamic exertions to work tasks. With workers experiencing concurrent physical and mental demands in their daily jobs, it is unclear whether these exertion types affect overall task demands differentially. Objective: The aim of this study was to compare exertion-dependent physiological responses due to concurrent physical and mental workload during intermittent shoulder exertion. Methods: Twelve young participants, balanced by gender, performed intermittent static and dynamic shoulder abduction for 3 minutes at three levels of physical workload (low, moderate, and high) in the absence and presence of a mental arithmetic task. Study measures included muscle activity, muscle oxygenation, motor and mental arithmetic task performance, and subjective responses (NASA-Task Load Index and Borg CR10 Scale). Results: Static exertions and higher physical demands adversely affected physiological responses (i.e., muscle activity and oxygenation) and performance measures, and they were associated with higher levels of perceived exertion and workload. Additional mental demands negatively affected muscle activity, mental task performance, and subjective workload measures. However, these results were more pronounced during static exertions at high physical demand levels. Conclusions: Results indicated that certain job parameters (static exertions and high physical demands) are more susceptible to interference with mental demands than others (dynamic exertions and low demands). When assessing overall demands placed on workers during concurrent physical and mental work, it is important to consider the interaction of work parameters, specifically physical demand levels and exertion type, with mental demands.

Academic skill profiles in a sample of Mexican school children

It is important to understand learning disabilities (LD) because they are prevalent worldwide. Currently there is great controversy about LD definition, as some studies focus on the discrepancy between intelligence and academic skills, while others focus only on academic skill assessments. The DSM-IV-TR provides the most commonly used definition for LD, which includes specific learning disabilities (reading, writing, arithmetic) and unspecified learning disabilities. For specific one would expect a significant discrepancy between academic skills and IQ, in contrast, significant discrepancies should not be observed in the unspecified. The literature also reports comorbidities among LD types. The objective of this study was to evaluate reading, writing, and arithmetic task performance profiles in 127 public elementary school children. Based on DSM-IV-TR criteria, we determined academic skill profiles, the presence of LD, LD type, and potential comorbidities in our sample. Using normalized test scores for reading, writing, and arithmetic, we applied a hierarchical cluster analysis to identify academic skill patterns. The results showed the following clusters among school children: 1) children with normal academic skills (n = 80), 2) children with unspecified LD including deficiencies in all three academic processes (n = 27), and 3) children with specific reading LD including arithmetic and writing deficiencies (n = 20). These classification types may later help identify specific neuropsychological characteristics underlying a specific disability, and subsequently facilitate treatments. Key words: Learning disabilities, reading disabilities, LD subtypes, hierarchical-clusters.

Exploring the Linkage between Facial Expression and Mental Workload for Arithmetic Tasks

The measurement of mental workload is a commonly used and widely accepted means of assessing cognitively driven human performance tasks. The aim of this study was to investigate the linkage between facial expression and mental workload in the performance of arithmetic tasks. Eighteen participants were recruited and asked to perform various levels of arithmetic tasks. Classical subjective and physiological measures were used to track mental workload levels; these measures included NASA Task Load Index (NASA TLX), Subjective Workload Assessment Technique (SWAT), and electroencephalogram (EEG). In addition we utilize and propose a new measurement based on facial expressions, coded with the Facial Action Coding System. The results showed that facial expression is a viable index for measuring mental workload.

Relations between balancing and arithmetic skills in children – Evidence of cerebellar involvement?

Reading performance has been shown to be linked with balancing skills, possibly indicating an involvement of the cerebellum in reading-related tasks. In our study, we examined whether a similar connection can be detected for arithmetic performance. We assessed basic arithmetic skills of 8–10-year-old children ( n = 53) and asked them to balance on the left or right foot, with eyes open or closed. Results revealed substantial correlations between performance in arithmetic tasks and in the balancing tasks with closed eyes even when controlling for attentional and reasoning capabilities. These findings are interpreted in terms of a cerebellar involvement in arithmetic tasks. We propose that verbally mediated arithmetic tasks like multiplication might be related to cerebellar functions in different ways than those arithmetic tasks that require elaboration strategies and quantity manipulations, such as subtraction.

The development of numeracy in England and Slovenia

The Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) placed Slovene 9 year olds significantly above the international mean in mathematics and English 9 year olds significantly below. As the project to be described here shows, however, such findings can mask finer differences in numerical abilities and problem-solving which qualitative analysis can reveal. While performance in arithmetic tasks of English 6 year olds was superior to Slovene pre-schoolers of the same age, at 7 years Slovene pupils had caught up and between 8 and 11 years forged ahead. By contrast, Slovene pupils were not quite so successful at problem-solving tasks in comparison with the English sample. Possible improvements, in the first place, might be obtained by a careful synthesis of curricula and instructional strategies but is this too simple a solution? A major goal of this paper will be to provide insight into the limitations of large-scale international studies and research methodologies as well as advocate qualitative approaches which, if not challenging such studies certainly complement and enrich them by setting out to answer another set of research questions. This paper also raises important questions about cultural differences which influence the aims and philosophy of education both directly and indirectly.

Personal control over work pace--circulatory, neuroendocrine and subjective responses in borderline hypertension.

Cardiovascular and neuroendocrine reactivity during arithmetic task performance were studied in 24 patients with borderline hypertension and normotensive controls. Personal control (self-paced versus externally paced performance) resulted in an attenuated blood pressure (BP) response to task performance in normotensives but not in borderline hypertensives. In response to self-paced work, systolic blood blood pressure (SBP) reactivity was significantly greater in borderline hypertensives, but the heart rate (HR) reactivity was similar in borderline hypertensives and normotensives under the different pacing conditions. Task difficulty (pace variation during external pacing) did not differentially affect reactivity in borderline hypertensives and normotensives. Venous plasma noradrenaline and adrenaline were unaffected by task performance. At rest after the task performance plasma noradrenaline was elevated in both normotensives and borderline hypertensives. The latter group also showed a persistent elevation of diastolic blood pressure after task performance, suggesting a prolonged vasoconstrictor response. The present findings indicate that, in terms of circulatory responses, borderline hypertensives may profit less than normotensives from personal control over environmental demands.

Self-reinforcement: Impact of instructions, criterion setting, and tangible rewards

This investigation was designed to ascertain the effects of instructions, criterion setting, and the presence of tangible rewards on the self-reinforcement process. Fifty-two third- and fourth-grade subjects were assigned to one of four treatment groups: (a) stringent instructions/criterion setting/tangible reward, (b) stringent instructions/criterion setting/no tangible reward, (c) nonstringent instructions/criterion setting/tangible reward, and (d) nonstringent instructions/no tangible reward. In the stringent-instruction conditions, subjects received social reinforcement for selecting stringent performance criteria, whereas in the non-stringent-instruction conditions, social reinforcement was withheld. Subjects in the tangible-reward groups were allowed to select a prize following the successful completion of their self-selected work performance. Subjects in the no-tangible-reward groups received no prizes for their work. All subjects performed an arithmetic task in which the number of correct problems completed, number of problems attempted, and time at task served as dependent variables across five reinforcement and two extinction trials. The results suggest that the condition of stringent instructions, criterion setting, and tangible reward was more effective in producing behavior change than the other three conditions. Perceived task difficulty and previous achievement on arithmetic task performance were shown to affect criteria selected and mathematical performance. The results are discussed in light of the contributory role of instructions, criterion setting, and tangible rewards on the self-reinforcement procedure.

Do lorazeam-induced deficits in learning result from impaired rehearsal, reduced motivation or increased sedation?

1 The effects of 1.0 mg and 2.5 mg lorazepam on learning performance were examined in a double-blind cross-over study using student volunteers. 2 Test conditions were manipulated to prevent rehearsal and to vary the subjects' motivation to perform well. Self-ratings of alertness, motivation to perform well and state anxiety were obtained prior to each test. 3 Performance in arithmetic tasks of varying difficulty was also studied. 4 Lorazepam produced dose-related deficits in verbal and nonsense-syllable learning tasks. A greater proportion of errors in the number of problems attempted in the arithmetic tests reflected an impairment in cognitive function. Lorazepam reduced the number of arithmetic problems that were correctly solved as well as increasing the percentage of errors in the problems attempted. 5 Lorazepam did not significantly decrease motivation to perform well and the lorazepam impairment was found even when the test conditions were manipulated so as to prevent rehearsal. Therefore the learning deficits cannot be explained solely by changes in motivation or impairments in rehearsal. 6 Performance in the learning tasks correlated with ratings of alertness and therefore the deficits observed after administration of lorazepam seem likely to result from the non-specific sedative effect of the drug.

Right frontal lobe activation and right hemisphere performance. Decrement during a depressed mood.

Evidence from psychiatric patients has suggested that depressive affect may coincide with a decrement in the functioning of the right cerebral hemisphere. We have observed that college students who reported greater depression also reported less vivid imagery. Students undergoing experimental induction of depressive and euphoric moods in the laboratory showed an auditory attentional bias and impaired imagery during the depression condition, while their arithmetic task performance was unchanged. A second mood-induction experiment indicated a depressed mood to be characterized by asymmetrical EEG activation over the frontal lobes, with relatively greater activity in the right frontal region. These observations suggest that anterior regions of the brain may modulate the differential effects of emotional arousal on the information-processing capacities of the cerebral hemispheres.