Research › Learning & Development
Modulation of specific brain activity by the perceptual analysis of very subtle geometrical relationships of the Mangina-Test stimuli: A functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) investigation in young healthy adults
STS Instructor Authored by Giuseppe A. Chiarenza
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Study at a glance
- Area
- Learning & Development
- Study type
- Observational study
- Authors
- Mangina CA, Beuzeron-Mangina H, Casarotto S, Chiarenza GA, Pietrini P, Ricciardi E
- Journal
- International Journal of Psychophysiology
- Year
- 2009
- Participants
- 12 young healthy adults
- Population
- Adults
- Protocol
- fMRI during a computerised visual-perception test
Key findings
- Accuracy did not differ between maths-type, reading-type and mixed items
- Maths-type items drew more on parietal, premotor, prefrontal and anterior cingulate regions
- Reading-type items drew more on occipito-temporal, amygdala/parahippocampal, sensorimotor and right inferior frontal regions
- Mixed items specifically engaged the posterior parahippocampal cortex
Young healthy adults did a computer version of the Mangina-Test, which asks people to spot a simple shape hidden inside a more complex one, while brain activity was measured with fMRI. Items judged on size and dimension are thought to relate to maths ability, items judged on direction and orientation to reading ability, and some items mix both. Performance was similar across item types, but each type engaged partly different brain networks, which the authors take as evidence that the test taps distinct cognitive abilities. The sample was small.