Research article summary (published 30 May 2002):

Prefrontal cortex involvement in processing incorrect arithmetic equations: evidence from event-related fMRI.

Full Abstract

The main aim of this study was to investigate the differential processing of correct and incorrect equations to gain further insight into the neural processes involved in arithmetic reasoning. Electrophysiological studies in humans have demonstrated that processing incorrect arithmetic equations (e.g., 2 + 2 = 5) elicits a prominent event-related potential (ERP) compared to processing correct equations (e.g., 2 + 2 = 4). In the present study, we investigated the neural substrates of this process using event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Subjects were presented with arithmetic equations and asked to indicate whether the solution displayed was correct or incorrect. We found greater activation to incorrect, compared to correct equations, in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC, BA 46) and the left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC, BA 47). Our results provide the first brain imaging evidence for differential processing of incorrect vs. correct equations. The prefrontal cortex activation observed in processing incorrect equations overlaps with brain areas known to be involved in working memory and interference processing. The DLPFC region differentially activated by incorrect equations was also involved in overall arithmetic processing, whereas the VLPFC was activated only during the differential processing of incorrect equations. Differential response to correct and incorrect arithmetic equations was not observed in parietal cortex regions such as the angular gyrus and intra-parietal sulcus, which are known to play a specific role in performing arithmetic computations. The pattern of brain response observed is consistent with the hypothesis that processing incorrect equations involves detection of an incorrect answer and resolution of the interference between the internally computed and externally presented incorrect answer. More specifically, greater activation during processing of incorrect equations appears to reflect additional operations involved in maintaining the results in working memory, while subjects attempt to resolve the conflict and select a response. These findings allow us to further delineate and dissociate the contributions of prefrontal and parietal cortices to arithmetic reasoning.Copyright 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

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Author information

Author/s: Menon, Vinod (V); Mackenzie, Katherine (K); Rivera, Susan Michelle (SM); Reiss, Allan Leonard (AL);

Affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305-5719, USA. menon(-atsign-)stanford.edu

Grants: HD31715 (Agency:NICHD NIH HHS) ; HD40761 (Agency:NICHD NIH HHS) ; MH01142 (Agency:NIMH NIH HHS) ; MH50047 (Agency:NIMH NIH HHS)

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

Journal: Human brain mapping (Hum Brain Mapp), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2002-Jun; vol 16 (issue 2) : pp 119-30

Dates: Created 2002/04/15; Completed 2002/07/26; Revised 2007/11/14;

PMID: 11954061, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adolescent Adult Brain Mapping Cognition - physiology Female Functional Laterality - physiology Humans Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Male Mathematics Nerve Net - anatomy & histology; physiology Neural Pathways - anatomy & histology; physiology Neuropsychological Tests Observer Variation Parietal Lobe - anatomy & histology; physiology Prefrontal Cortex - anatomy & histology; physiology

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