The Mathematical Brain Across The Lifespan

The Mathematical Brain Across the Lifespan is the latest volume in the Progress in Brain Research series that focuses on new trends and developments. This established international series examines major areas of basic and clinical research within the neurosciences, as well as popular and emerging subfields. Provides a comprehensive review of the most recent progress in the mathematical brain across the lifespan Explores new trends and developments in the field Enhances the literature of neuroscience by further expanding the established, ongoing international series Progress in Brain Research

Nowadays, it is widely accepted that there is no single influence (be it nature or nurture) on cognitive development. Cognitive abilities emerge as a result of interactions between gene expression, cortical and subcortical brain networks, and environmental influences. In recent years, our study of neurodevelopmental disorders has provided much valuable information on how genes, brain development, behaviour, and environment interact to influence development from infancy to adulthood. This is the first book to present evidence on development across the lifespan across these multiple levels of description (genetic, brain, cognitive, environmental). In the book, the authors have chosen a well-defined disorder, Williams syndrome (WS), to explore the impact of genes, brain development, behaviour, as well as the individual's environment on development. WS is used as a model disorder to demonstrate the authors approach to understanding development, whilst being presented in comparison to other neurodevelopmental disorders - Autism, Developmental Dyscalculia, Down syndrome, Dyslexia, Fragile X syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome, Specific Language Impairment, Turner syndrome - to illustrate differences in development across neurodevelopmental disorders. Williams syndrome is particularly informative for exploring development: Firstly, it has been extensively researched at multiple levels: genes, brain, cognition and behaviour, as well as in terms of the difficulties of daily living and social interaction. Secondly, it has been studied across the lifespan, with many studies on infants and toddlers with WS as well as a large number on children, adolescents and adults. The authors also explore a number of domain-general and domain-specific processes in the verbal, non-verbal and social domains, across numerous neurodevelopmental disorders. This illustrates, among other factors, the importance of developmental timing, i.e. that the development of a cognitive skill at a specific timepoint can impact on subsequent development within that domain, but also across domains. In addition, the authors discuss the value of investigating basic-level abilities from as close to the infant start-state as possible, presenting evidence of where cross-syndrome comparisons have shed light on the cascading impacts of subtle similarities and discrepancies in early delay or deviance, on subsequent development. Designed such that readers with an interest in any neurodevelopmental disorder can gain insight into the intricate dynamics of cognitive development, the book covers both theoretical issues and those of clinical relevance. It will be an invaluable reference for any researcher, clinician, student as well as interested parents or teachers wishing to learn about neurodevelopmental disorders from a developmental framework.

Brain-Computer Interfaces: Lab Experiments to Real-World Applications, the latest volume in the Progress in Brain Research series, focuses on new trends and developments. This established international series examines major areas of basic and clinical research within the neurosciences, as well as popular and emerging subfields. Explores new trends and developments in brain research Enhances the literature of neuroscience by further expanding this established, ongoing international series Examines major areas of basic and clinical research within the field

The book synergizes research on number across two disciplines—mathematics education and psychology. The underlying problem the book addresses is how the brain constructs number. The opening chapter frames the problem in terms of children’s activity, including mental and physical actions. Subsequent chapters are organized into sections that address specific domains of number: natural numbers, fractions, and integers. Chapters within each section address ways that children build upon biological primitives (e.g., subitizing) and prior constructs (e.g., counting sequences) to construct number. The book relies on co-authored chapters and commentaries at the end of each section to create dialogue between junior faculty and senior researchers, as well as between psychologists and mathematics educators. The final chapter brings this work together around the framework of children’s activity and additional themes that arise in the collective work. The book is aimed to appeal to mathematics educators, mathematics teacher educators, mathematics education researchers, educational psychologists, cognitive psychologists, and developmental psychologists.

Arithmetic disability stems from deficits in neurodevelopment, with great individual differences in development or function of an individual at neuroanatomical, neuropsychological, behavioral, and interactional levels. Heterogeneous Contributions to Numerical Cognition: Learning and Education in Mathematical Cognition examines research in mathematical education methods and their neurodevelopmental basis, focusing on the underlying neurodevelopmental features that must be taken into account when teaching and learning mathematics. Cognitive domains and functions such as executive functions, memory, attention, and language contribute to numerical cognition and are essential for its proper development. These lines of research and thinking in neuroscience are discussed in this book to further the understanding of the neurodevelopmental and cognitive basis of more complex forms of mathematics – and how to best teach them. By unravelling the basic building blocks of numerical thinking and the developmental basis of human capacity for arithmetic, this book and the discussions within are important for the achievement of a comprehensive understanding of numerical cognition, its brain basis, development, breakdown in brain-injured individuals, and failures to master mathematical skills. A novel innovative reference on the emerging field of numerical cognition and neurodevelopment underlying mathematical education Includes an overview of the multiple disciplines that comprise numerical cognition written by world-leading researchers in the numerical cognition and neurodevelopment fields Features an innovative organization with each section providing a general overview, developmental research, neurocognitive mechanisms, and discussion about relevant studies

Heterogeneity of Function in Numerical Cognition presents the latest updates on ongoing research and discussions regarding numerical cognition. With great individual differences in the development or function of numerical cognition at neuroanatomical, neuropsychological, behavioral, and interactional levels, these issues are important for the achievement of a comprehensive understanding of numerical cognition, hence its brain basis, development, breakdown in brain-injured individuals, and failures to master mathematical skills. These functions are essential for the proper development of numerical cognition. Provides an innovative reference on the emerging field of numerical cognition and the branches that converge on this diverse cognitive domain Includes an overview of the multiple disciplines that comprise numerical cognition Focuses on factors that influence numerical cognition, such as language, executive attention, memory and spatial processing Features an innovative organization with each section providing a general overview, developmental research, and evidence from neurocognitive studies

Ongoing Advancements in Philosophy of Mathematics Education approaches the philosophy of mathematics education in a forward movement, analyzing, reflecting, and proposing significant contemporary themes in the field of mathematics education. The theme that gives life to the book is philosophy of mathematics education understood as arising from the intertwining between philosophy of mathematics and philosophy of education which, through constant analytical and reflective work regarding teaching and learning practices in mathematics, is materialized in its own discipline, philosophy of mathematics education. This is the field of investigation of the chapters in the book. The chapters are written by an international cohort of authors, from a variety of countries, regions, and continents. Some of these authors work with philosophical and psychological foundations traditionally accepted by Western civilization. Others expose theoretical foundations based on a new vision and comprising innovative approaches to historical and present-day issues in educational philosophy. The final third of the book is devoted to these unique and innovative research stances towards important and change resistant societal topics such as racism, technology gaps, or the promotion of creativity in the field of mathematics education.