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Integral calculus problem solving: an fMRI investigation.

Krueger F, Spampinato MV, Pardini M, Pajevic S, Wood JN, Weiss GH, Landgraf S, Grafman J

aCognitive Neuroscience Section, NINDS bMathematical and Statistical Computing Laboratory, Division of Computational Bioscience, Center for Information Technology, Bethesda, Maryland cDepartment of Radiology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, USA dDepartment of Neurosciences, Ophthalmology and Genetics, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy ePierre & Marie Curie University, Paris, France.

Only a subset of adults acquires specific advanced mathematical skills, such as integral calculus. The representation of more sophisticated mathematical concepts probably evolved from basic number systems; however its neuroanatomical basis is still unknown. Using fMRI, we investigated the neural basis of integral calculus while healthy participants were engaged in an integration verification task. Solving integrals activated a left-lateralized cortical network including the horizontal intraparietal sulcus, posterior superior parietal lobe, posterior cingulate gyrus, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Our results indicate that solving of more abstract and sophisticated mathematical facts, such as calculus integrals, elicits a pattern of brain activation similar to the cortical network engaged in basic numeric comparison, quantity manipulation, and arithmetic problem solving.

Published 3 July 2008 in Neuroreport, 19(11): 1095-1099.
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