📋 Tender Overview
Early Mathematical Learning Dynamics In The Developing Brain
Understanding How The Brain Learns Mathsmathematics Is Important, Yet Not Everyone Learns It The Same Way. Some People Struggle With It More Than Others. The Journey Towards Numerical Fluency Is A Complex And Protracted One, With Early Developmental Stages Playing A Crucial Role In Shaping Future Mathematical Abilities. However, The Neural Underpinnings Of These Early Stages And The Reasons For Differences Between Individuals Remain Elusive. In This Context, The Erc-Funded Mathwaves Project Aims To Decode The Secrets Of The Brain. Through Cutting-Edge Techniques Like Magnetoencephalography, The Project Tracks The Subtle Shifts In Brain Function, Unravelling The Essence Of Mathematical Cognition. The Findings Will Not Only Shed Light On Human Learning, But Also Lay The Groundwork For Transformative Diagnostic And Remedial Strategies.
Funded Under
European Research Council (Erc)
Total Cost
€ 1 497 516,00
Eu Contribution
€ 1 497 516,00
Coordinated By
Universite Libre De Bruxelles
Belgium
Start Date
1 October 2023
End Date
30 September 2028
Objective
Mathematical thinking is one of the most remarkable human cognitive abilities, but unfortunately, not all individuals are equal concerning those abilities. Becoming numerate is a long-lasting learning process in which the early stages are of paramount importance to ensure positive future outcomes. However, the neural bases supporting these early abilities and the path to inter-individual differences remain elusive. MATHWAVES aims at understanding the neural mechanisms supporting the emergence of the early steps of mathematical learning. First, a longitudinal framework will test whether the developmental trajectory of audio-visual integration of numerical formats is the gateway to mathematical abstraction. Second, cross-sectional comparisons will assess the balance between brain networks engaged in efficient implicit and explicit numerical processing. Third, we will investigate whether mathematical learning is associated with brain plasticity at different times-scales: the slow changes across development vs. the short-term changes while processing numbers. We will highlight the developmental changes in long-lasting or transient properties of the brain’s functional organization that explain the fluctuations in mathematical abilities within and across individuals. Through a novel combination of frequency-based and functional connectivity approaches implemented in magnetoencephalography, MATHWAVES will dynamically track early mathematical learning and neuroplastic changes associated with the emergence of those abilities. Characterizing the neurocognitive mechanisms of early mathematical learning at different timescales represents a complete paradigm shift that is imperative to understand learning dynamics at the onset of human mathematical thinking and individual differences. MATHWAVES tackles the broader question of how learning
