JOURNAL VOLUMES & ISSUES
RESEARCH ARTICLE

An fNIRS examination of the neural correlates of mental rotation in preschoolers

Dandan Wu, Jinfeng Yang, Sha Xie, Jiutong Luo, Chunqi Chang , Hui Li 

5 June 2020
Vol. 1, Issue 2
DOI:
10.37716/HBAB.2020010201
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Abstract

This study examined the neural correlates of mental rotation (MR) in preschoolers using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Forty-eight preschoolers completed a MR task in which they were asked to rotate a test stimulus to match a target stimulus. Results of comparative and General Linear Model (GLM) analyses revealed significant differences between the High Performance (HP) and Low Performance (LP) groups. The two groups differed significantly in oxyhaemoglobin (HbO) change in Brodmann Areas (BAs) 6, 9 and 44. Specifically, significant increase in HbO in BA 44 was observed in both groups, while significant decrease in deoxyhaemoglobin (HbR) in BA 9 was observed only in the HP group and in BA 44 only in the LP group. These results jointly indicated BA 44 as one of the core neural correlates of MR in preschoolers, while BA 6 and BA 9 might also be involved in MR processing under a compensatory mechanism.

Keywords: neural correlates, mental rotation, compensatory mechanism, Chinese preschoolers

Cite this article
D. Wu, J. Yang, S. Xie, J. Luo, C. Chang, H. Li, An fNIRS examination of the neural correlates of mental rotation in preschoolers, Human Behaviour and Brain 1(2), 37-42 (2020).


Received
24 February 2020
Accepted
31 March 2020
Published
 
5 June 2020