The Relationship between Working Memory and Arithmetic in Primary School Children: A Meta-Analysis

Zhang, Yuxin; Tolmie, Andrew; Gordon, Rebecca

doi:10.3390/brainsci13010022

Cited by 6 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 111 publications

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“…Continuous exercise, such as swimming and cycling, increases capillary density in brain tissue and activates networks that regulate response inhibition (Shi et al, 2019; Voelcker‐Rehage et al, 2011). However, some studies (Shi & Feng, 2022; Zhang et al, 2022) have shown that sequential skills yield more cognitive benefits. In addition, a systematic review by Shi, Tang, et al (2022) also found that sequential skills were more effective than continuous skills in intervening in the executive function of typical children.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of physical exercise in real‐world settings on executive function of atypical children: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Shi,

Zhang,

Feng

et al. 2023

Child

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BackgroundImpaired executive function is a core symptom of cognitive impairment in atypical children. The purpose of this systematic review and meta‐analysis is to explore the effectiveness of interventions for exercise in real‐life settings on executive function in atypical children.MethodsThis study searched the CNKI, Wan‐Fang, VIP, WOS, PubMed, Scopus and EBSCO databases. Two researchers independently selected articles, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias for the included studies. Exercise activities were categorized into open and closed skills based on the unpredictability of the environmental context and into sequential and continuous skills based on the complexity of the movement structure. Based on these two classifications, motor skills were categorized into open‐sequential (e.g. basketball), open‐continuous (e.g. obstacle running), closed‐sequential (e.g. martial arts) and closed‐continuous (e.g. swimming) skills. The SPSS 25.0 and Stata 16.0 software were used for statistical analysis.ResultsA total of 19 articles (23 studies) were included in the systematic review and meta‐analysis. The participants were 990 atypical children with neurodevelopmental disorders. Physical exercise in real‐world settings had significant intervention effects on inhibitory control (SMD = −0.592, P = 0.033), working memory (SMD = −0.473, P = 0.034) and cognitive flexibility (SMD = −0.793, P = 0.014) in atypical children. Quantitative intervention characteristics and motor skill types moderated the effect of exercise on promoting executive function in atypical children. Overall, exercise for 30–50 min, three to seven times a week for less than 10 weeks is effective in improving executive function in atypical children. Open skills and sequential skills have a positive intervention effect on more dimensions of executive function in atypical children.ConclusionsPhysical exercise in real‐world settings has a positive intervention effect on executive function in atypical children. We should design interventions based on the personality traits of the subject and the type of exercise they are interested in to better promote improved executive function in atypical children.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of physical exercise in real‐world settings on executive function of atypical children: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Shi,

Zhang,

Feng

et al. 2023

Child

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The componential nature of arithmetical cognition: some important questions

Dowker

2023

Front. Psychol.

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Research on typically developing children and adults and people with developmental and acquired dyscalculia converges in indicating that arithmetical ability is not unitary but is made up of many different components. Categories of components include non-symbolic quantity representation and processing; symbolic quantity representation and processing; counting procedures and principles; arithmetic operations; arithmetical knowledge and understanding; multiple forms and applications of conceptual knowledge of arithmetic; and domain-general abilities such as attention, executive functions and working memory. There is much evidence that different components can and often do show considerable functional independence, not only in developmental and acquired dyscalculia, but in typically achieving children and adults. At the same time, it is possible to find complex interactions and bidirectional relationships between the different components, including between domain-specific and apparently domain-general abilities. There is a great deal that still needs to be discovered. In particular, we need to learn more about the origins in infancy of subitizing and approximate magnitude comparison, the extent to which these interact, the extent to which they may be further divisible, and the extent and ways in which they themselves may develop with age and the extent to which they may influence later-developing components. There also needs to be a lot more research on exactly how domain-general and domain-specific abilities contribute to mathematical development, and how they interact with one another.

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Brain Active Areas Associated with a Mental Arithmetic Task: An eLORETA Study

Dattola,

Bonanno,

Ielo

et al. 2023

Bioengineering

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The neural underpinnings of mental calculation, the fundamentals of arithmetic representations and processes, and the development of arithmetic abilities have been explored by researchers over the years. In the present work, we report a study that analyzes the brain-activated areas of a group of 35 healthy subjects (9 males, 26 females, mean age ± SD = 18.23 ± 2.20 years) who performed a serial subtraction arithmetic task. In contrast to most of the studies in the literature based on fMRI, we performed the brain active source reconstruction starting from EEG signals by means of the eLORETA method. In particular, the subjects were classified as bad counters or good counters, according to the results of the task, and the brain activity of the two groups was compared. The results were statistically significant only in the beta band, revealing that the left limbic lobe was found to be more active in people showing better performance. The limbic lobe is involved in visuospatial processing, memory, arithmetic fact retrieval, and emotions. However, the role of the limbic lobe in mental arithmetic has been barely explored, so these interesting findings could represent a starting point for future in-depth analyses. Since there is evidence in the literature that the motor system is affected by the execution of arithmetic tasks, a more extensive knowledge of the brain activation associated with arithmetic tasks could be exploited not only for the assessment of mathematical skills but also in the evaluation of motor impairments and, consequently, in rehabilitation for motor disorders.

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The Relationship between Working Memory and Arithmetic in Primary School Children: A Meta-Analysis

Cited by 6 publications

References 111 publications

Effect of physical exercise in real‐world settings on executive function of atypical children: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Effect of physical exercise in real‐world settings on executive function of atypical children: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

The componential nature of arithmetical cognition: some important questions

Brain Active Areas Associated with a Mental Arithmetic Task: An eLORETA Study

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