scholarly journals 2D:4D and spatial abilities: From rats to humans

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
N Müller ◽  
S Campbell ◽  
M Nonaka ◽  
TM Rost ◽  
G Pipa ◽  
...  

Variance in spatial abilities are thought to be determined by in utero levels of testosterone and oestrogen, measurable in adults by the length ratio of the 2nd and 4th digit (2D:4D). We confirmed the relationship between 2D:4D and spatial performance using rats in two different tasks (paired-associate task and watermaze) and replicated this in humans. We further clarified anatomical and functional brain correlates of the association between 2D:4D and spatial performance in humans.

2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 328-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Sutton ◽  
A. Williams ◽  
D. Tremain ◽  
P. Kilgour

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide an insight into the relationship between students’ spatial ability and their university entrance score (Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank [ATAR]). The ATAR provides entry into university studies but does not necessary provide a good measure of students’ spatial skills. Spatial abilities are fundamental to success in many design courses. This paper aims to show whether the ATAR is a good predictor of spatial skills and considers the implications of this. Design/methodology/approach Students entering university design courses in architecture were tested three times during their first year using a three-dimensional (3D) Ability Test (3DAT), an online psychometric test of 3D spatial ability. The students’ results in 3DAT were then compared to students’ ATAR scores using a Pearson’s correlation test were also conducted to assess the relationship between ATAR and spatial performance. Findings There was no correlation between ATAR and spatial performance. Therefore, there was no relationship between an individual’s ATAR and their spatial performance upon entering university. Research limitations/implications Participants were required to select their ATAR from ranges, i.e. 71-80, 81-90 and 91-100, which meant their exact ATAR was not recorded. This meant that the participants were clustered, making it difficult to establish a linear relationship that was a true reflection of the population. Practical implications Initiatives to support students entering design courses may be necessary to compensate for the range of spatial skills students possess when entering university because of their school experiences. Social implications Individuals who have strong spatial skills are able to perform spatial problems faster and more efficiently than those with weak spatial skills. High spatial performance has been shown relate to performance in areas such as mathematics science technology and design. Originality/value This paper fulfils the need to better understand the diversity of spatial abilities students have on entering design courses.


2016 ◽  
Vol 224 (4) ◽  
pp. 240-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mélanie Bédard ◽  
Line Laplante ◽  
Julien Mercier

Abstract. Dyslexia is a phenomenon for which the brain correlates have been studied since the beginning of the 20th century. Simultaneously, the field of education has also been studying dyslexia and its remediation, mainly through behavioral data. The last two decades have seen a growing interest in integrating neuroscience and education. This article provides a quick overview of pertinent scientific literature involving neurophysiological data on functional brain differences in dyslexia and discusses their very limited influence on the development of reading remediation for dyslexic individuals. Nevertheless, it appears that if certain conditions are met – related to the key elements of educational neuroscience and to the nature of the research questions – conceivable benefits can be expected from the integration of neurophysiological data with educational research. When neurophysiological data can be employed to overcome the limits of using behavioral data alone, researchers can both unravel phenomenon otherwise impossible to document and raise new questions.


2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 237-261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sin Ki Ng ◽  
Donna M. Urquhart ◽  
Paul B. Fitzgerald ◽  
Flavia M. Cicuttini ◽  
Sultana M. Hussain ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
pp. jnnp-2021-326604
Author(s):  
Melisa Gumus ◽  
Alexandra Santos ◽  
Maria Carmela Tartaglia

Postconcussion syndrome (PCS) is a term attributed to the constellation of symptoms that fail to recover after a concussion. PCS is associated with a variety of symptoms such as headaches, concentration deficits, fatigue, depression and anxiety that have an enormous impact on patients’ lives. There is currently no diagnostic biomarker for PCS. There have been attempts at identifying structural and functional brain changes in patients with PCS, using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and functional MRI (fMRI), respectively, and relate them to specific PCS symptoms. In this scoping review, we appraised, synthesised and summarised all empirical studies that (1) investigated structural or functional brain changes in PCS using DTI or fMRI, respectively, and (2) assessed behavioural alterations in patients with PCS. We performed a literature search in MEDLINE (Ovid), Embase (Ovid) and PsycINFO (Ovid) for primary research articles published up to February 2020. We identified 8306 articles and included 45 articles that investigated the relationship between DTI and fMRI parameters and behavioural changes in patients with PCS: 20 diffusion, 20 fMRI studies and 5 papers with both modalities. Most frequently studied structures were the corpus callosum, superior longitudinal fasciculus in diffusion and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and default mode network in the fMRI literature. Although some white matter and fMRI changes were correlated with cognitive or neuropsychiatric symptoms, there were no consistent, converging findings on the relationship between neuroimaging abnormalities and behavioural changes which could be largely due to the complex and heterogeneous presentation of PCS. Furthermore, the heterogeneity of symptoms in PCS may preclude discovery of one biomarker for all patients. Further research should take advantage of multimodal neuroimaging to better understand the brain–behaviour relationship, with a focus on individual differences rather than on group comparisons.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1966 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 858-864
Author(s):  
Arthur J. Moss ◽  
Ovidio Rettori ◽  
Norman S. Simmons

The viscosity of amniotic fluid was measured in 52 ewes and the results correlated with the postnatal course of the lambs delivered by cesarean section. Viscosity was not related to length of gestation or to the immediate prepartum condition of the ewe, but a definite relationship was found between amniotic fluid viscosity (AFV) and the postnatal course of the fetus. Of 22 lambs considered viable, 9 failed to survive. In 10 of the 13 survivors, AFV was less than 1.6; whereas in the nonsurvivors, AFV varied between 1.6 and 4.4. All of the nonsurvivors experienced respiratory difficulty associated with copious amounts of extremely viscous secretions in the mouth and oropharynx. The substance responsible for the high AFV was a mucoprotein and was detectable in all samples with a viscosity of 1.24 or more but in none with a viscosity below 1.24. The data suggest the possibility that fetal distress may induce qualitative or quantitative alterations of fetal mucous secretions in utero which subsequently could impede lung expansion at birth.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Paula Cristiane Strina Juliasz ◽  
Sonia Maria Vanzella Castellar

<p><strong>Abstract.</strong> Spatial thinking, comprised of concepts, representations and spatial abilities, is a cognitive activity developed in everyday living, and can be systematized through different school disciplines, mainly Geography. The comprehension of this concept and the investigation of how it can be developed and systematized in schools are critical points, involving different languages that represent the space. Our main objective is to propose theoretical and methodological references for the spatial knowledge of children aged between 4 and 6 years old. The research is based on the following question: Which spatial abilities and concepts can be addressed in activities aimed at developing spatial thinking in children aged 4 to 6 years old? To answer this question and achieve the main objective, the specific objectives were: a) to investigate and analyze the pertinence, possibilities and approaches regarding the spatial notions in children’s education; b) develop teaching situations based on guiding theories about spatial thinking, children’s drawing and the concept construction under a historical and cultural perspective; c) understand the patterns in children’s graphic representations; and d) analyze the children’s dialogues. The analysis of the research data allowed us to conclude that drawing is part of the cartographic initiation, and words are fundamental elements that concretize the way of thinking, in this case, spatial thinking ability. In this research, we reaffirm the direct relationship between Geography and the development of spatial thinking, considering the very nature of this Science, and Cartography as the language used to materialize this way of thinking.</p>


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikhil Goyal ◽  
Dustin Moraczewski ◽  
Peter Bandettini ◽  
Emily S. Finn ◽  
Adam Thomas

AbstractUnderstanding brain functionality and predicting human behavior based on functional brain activity is a major goal of neuroscience. Numerous studies have been conducted to investigate the relationship between functional brain activity and attention, subject characteristics, autism, psychiatric disorders, and more. By modeling brain activity data as networks, researchers can leverage the mathematical tools of graph and network theory to probe these relationships. In their landmark study, Smith et al. (2015) analyzed the relationship of young adult connectomes and subject measures, using data from the Human Connectome Project (HCP). Using canonical correlation analysis (CCA), Smith et al. found that there was a single prominent CCA mode which explained a statistically significant percentage of the observed variance in connectomes and subject measures. They also found a strong positive correlation of 0.87 between the primary CCA mode connectome and subject measure weights. In this study, we computationally replicate the findings of the original study in both the HCP 500 and HCP 1200 subject releases. The exact computational replication in the HCP 500 dataset was a success, validating our analysis pipeline for extension studies. The extended replication in the larger HCP 1200 dataset was partially successful and demonstrated a dominant primary mode.


Author(s):  
Mustafa Aydın ◽  
Mehmet Tuğrul Yılmaz ◽  
Muzaffer Şeker

Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between the spatial abilities of medical school students and their learning in anatomy. Methods: The spatial abilities of the 120 students (74 females, 46 males) were examined using Mental Rotation Test (MRT). The relationship between the mental rotation scores and the mean scores of their practical and theoretical anatomy examinations was determined in terms of gender. Results: The study revealed that mental rotation skills of female participants were lower than males; however, there was no significant difference in their exam (theoretical and practical anatomy examinations) scores in terms of gender. The spatial ability of the students had a low level significant effect on their anatomy scores, regarding practical applications. Conclusion: The results of the study revealed a significant relationship between students’ spatial ability and their success in practical anatomy examinations. This suggests that improving spatial ability skills may have a significant contribution to practical anatomy learning and may be considered as a part of anatomy education.


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