npj Science of Learning最新文献

This study investigated the impact of soundfield amplification (SFA) on reading fluency in normal-hearing students (n = 84) aged 8-10 years. Twenty-three grade 3 and 4 classes participated across three academic terms, alternating between SFA-On and SFA-Off conditions. Reading fluency was assessed using the Wheldall Assessment of Reading Passages. Baseline cognitive abilities, including non-verbal intelligence, auditory working memory, speech discrimination in noise, and attention, were also evaluated. Results showed no significant overall difference in reading fluency development between SFA-On and SFA-Off conditions. However, intelligence was mildly predictive of the reading fluency advantage obtained during SFA-On periods, with lower-IQ students benefiting more from amplification. The study's findings suggest that while SFA may not provide universal academic benefits for all students, it may offer advantages to students with lower cognitive abilities, suggesting it is a valuable support for the many classrooms that do not meet recommended acoustic standards.

When humans encounter the same perturbation twice, they typically adapt faster the second time, a phenomenon called savings. Studies have examined savings following adaptation to a gradually introduced perturbation, with mixed results. These inconsistencies might be caused by differences in how behavior returns to its baseline state during the 'washout' phase in between learning periods. To test this, participants controlled a cursor that was subject to a visual rotation in its motion direction. The rotation was applied during two learning periods, separated by a washout period where the rotation was removed abruptly, gradually, or without error feedback. We found that the type of error experienced during washout affected savings: abrupt washout with large errors eliminated savings, whereas gradual or no-feedback washout preserved it. Model-based analyses indicated these effects were driven by changes in error sensitivity, suggesting that salient, opposing errors experienced during washout downregulate the response to error, nullifying savings.

Reading is a fundamental human capacity that recruits and tunes brain circuitry subserving several neurocognitive skills. Individual differences in reading-related skills are largely influenced by genetic variation. However, the molecular basis of the heritability of reading-related skills remains narrowly replicated. Genome-wide association studies have enabled the computation of cumulative indices (polygenic scores-PGSs) aiming to capture individuals' genetic susceptibility for a given trait. By using a multiple-mediator framework, we investigated whether the associations between a reading-specific PGS (Reading-PGS) and reading decoding and comprehension could be explained by reading-related endophenotypes (i.e., phonological awareness-PA, phonological memory, rapid auditory processing, rapid bimodal temporal processing-RBTP, and rapid automatized naming) in a sample of 8-year-old French-speaking Canadian twins (N = 328 subjects (87 MZ and 241 DZ) from 208 twin pairs-one child per MZ pairs; males, N = 159). The association between Reading-PGS and reading performance is partially mediated by PA and RBTP. Furthermore, we supported the specificity of the direct and indirect effects between Reading-PGS and reading skills after controlling for the shared genetic variation with educational attainment and cognitive ability. Finally, we uncovered a sequence from Reading-PGS to behavior mediated through sensory processing and phonological skills, supporting one of the most robust theoretical hypothesis underlying reading acquisitions. PGSs specifically targeting reading skills are essential for improved prediction and understanding of the complex etiology through which reading skills unfold during childhood. This will facilitate the early identification of children with a genetic susceptibility for reading (dis)ability at a time when these phenotypes remain malleable to intervention.

Menstrual symptoms may negatively impact academic achievement, but rigorous population-based studies are lacking. 2,698 participants from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) self-reported heavy or prolonged bleeding and menstrual pain during adolescence and multivariable regression were used to estimate associations with linked data on absences and attainment at age 15/16, adjusting for confounders. Heavy or prolonged bleeding and pain were associated with missing 1.7 (16.58% increase) and 1.2 (12.83% increase) additional days of school per year, respectively, and 48% and 42% higher odds of persistent (≥10%) absence. Heavy or prolonged bleeding was associated with lower examination scores (-5.7 points) and 27% lower odds of achieving five standard passes. The association between pain and attainment was weaker but still present (-3.14 points; 95% CI: -7.46, 1.17; 16% lower odds of five standard passes). Greater research and support are needed to prevent adolescents' menstrual symptoms impacting their academic achievement.

Academic institutions are increasingly adopting active learning methods to enhance educational outcomes. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we investigated neurobiological differences between active learning and traditional lecture-based approaches in university physics education. Undergraduate students enrolled in an introductory physics course underwent an fMRI session before and after a 15-week semester. Coactivation pattern (CAP) analysis was used to examine the temporal dynamics of brain states across different cognitive contexts, including physics conceptual reasoning, physics knowledge retrieval, and rest. CAP results identified seven distinct brain states, with contributions from frontoparietal, somatomotor, and visuospatial networks. Among active learning students, physics learning was associated with increased engagement of a somatomotor network, supporting an embodied cognition framework, while lecture-based students demonstrated stronger engagement of a visuospatial network, consistent with observational learning. These findings suggest significant neural restructuring over a semester of physics learning, with different instructional approaches preferentially modulating distinct patterns of brain dynamics.

Eyeblink conditioning is mediated by similar cerebellar pathways in humans and animals and is typically investigated using delay or trace protocols. These studies show that humans can easily acquire eyeblink conditioning within a single day of training whereas animals usually require around 3-10 days of acquisition training before they consistently exhibit conditioned responses. We aimed to study how a multiple-day acquisition training, across 3 non-consecutive days of a month, with 100 trials per day affected learning in young human adults. We employed an embedded protocol in which the US is embedded within the CS duration without co-termination. Our findings show, for the first time in humans using this protocol, that learning improves substantially on days 2 and 3. Our findings encourage research into how human cerebellum mediates consolidation across several days of eyeblink conditioning as well as into the neurocognitive mechanisms of the relatively underexplored embedded eyeblink conditioning protocol.

Children with mathematical difficulties (MD) often struggle to connect abstract numerical symbols with corresponding nonsymbolic quantities, a foundational skill for mathematical development. We evaluated a 4-week personalized cross-format number (CFN) tutoring program designed to strengthen these symbolic-nonsymbolic mappings in children with MD aged 7-10 years. CFN tutoring was associated with significant improvements in numerical and arithmetic fluency. Neural representational similarity (NRS) analysis revealed that deficient cross-format NRS in children with MD was normalized following tutoring, aligning with pre-tutoring levels of typically-developing (TD) peers. This normalization was most pronounced in parietal and parahippocampal regions known to support quantity and spatial representation. We observed a distinctive pattern of neural plasticity across groups-children with MD showed increased cross-format NRS following tutoring, while TD children showed a decrease-suggesting a nonlinear, skill-dependent plasticity. These findings underscore the need for developmentally tailored interventions to support children with MD through targeted, evidence-based strategies.

While prior research has explored the neurobiological mechanisms underlying adolescent school performance, these mechanisms remain poorly understood in college students. Impulsivity has been highlighted as a key factor affecting academic success; however, its influence on the relationship between school performance and brain structure remains underexplored. In this study, we used a sample of college students to investigate which gray matter volume (GMV) in brain regions was associated with grade point average (GPA), and whether impulsivity mediates these relationships. Our findings revealed correlations between GMV in the caudate nucleus (CN) and cerebellum with GPA. Increased CN was correlated with poorer GPA through higher impulsivity, whereas higher cerebellum was associated with better GPA through lower impulsivity. These results indicate that CN and cerebellum play crucial roles in school performance and associated impulsivity. Various interventions targeting impulsivity, such as therapy, counseling, and medication, could improve educational outcomes by addressing the underlying neurobiological factors.

This study explores the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying math avoidance in individuals with high math anxiety (HMA), a pattern contributing to reduced practice and poor performance. Using an approach-avoid conflict paradigm and both general linear mixed model and Hierarchical Drift Diffusion Model (HDDM) regression analyses, we found their avoidance behavior is primarily driven by heightened sensitivity to task difficulty, rather than reward sensitivity. Task difficulty sensitivity also mediated the link between math anxiety and avoidance tendency. Neuroimaging revealed distinct activation in the ventral valuation network (e.g., nucleus accumbens, hippocampus) and cognitive control regions (e.g., precuneus, mid-cingulate cortex, temporo-parietal junction) in HMA individuals. Functional connectivity among these regions effectively distinguished HMA from low math anxiety participants. Additionally, activations in the hippocampus, mid-cingulate cortex, and posterior insula mediated the relationship between math anxiety and avoidance. These findings highlight the cognitive and neural bases of math avoidance and may inform targeted interventions.

Reward-predictive items capture attention even when task-irrelevant. While value-driven attention typically generalizes to stimuli sharing critical reward-associated features (e.g., red), recent evidence suggests an alternative generalization mechanism based on feature relationships (e.g., redder). Here, we investigated whether relational coding of reward-associated features operates across different learning contexts by manipulating search mode and target-distractor similarity. Results showed that singleton search training induced value-driven relational attention regardless of target-distractor similarity (Experiments 1a-1b). In contrast, feature search training produced value-driven relational attention only when targets and distractors were dissimilar, but not when they were similar (Experiments 2a-2c). These findings indicate that coarse selection training (singleton search or feature search among dissimilar items) promotes relational coding of reward-associated features, while fine selection (feature search among similar items) engages precise feature coding. The precision of target selection during reward learning thus critically determines value-driven attentional mechanisms.