Research
Research areas
Our three research lines of the lab are:
Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience - Numerical and mathematical cognition in early development
While babies are born with the ability of non-symbolic numerical knowledge, our ancestors developed a symbolic language for numbers that became the basis of mathematical thinking. We might hypothesise that the acquisition of numerical knowledge follows a developmental trajectory from non-symbolic numerical knowledge (e.g., responding to the changing number of cartoon animals that are visually presented on the screen) during infancy and toddlerhood to symbolic numerical knowledge (e.g., associating visual symbol ‘2’ or auditory symbol ‘two’ to the quantity of ‘two things’). We are currently tracking the longitudinal changes in the neural and behavioural correlates of symbolic numerical knowledge acquisition in preschool children using fNIRS.
Educational Neuroscience - Mathematical learning in atypically developing children
Individuals with learning and developmental disorders usually reveal difficulties in learning and understanding mathematical concepts. It harms their career perspectives, mental health, and economic status and puts a burden on society. It is essential to understand the neurocognitive mechanisms of numerical and mathematical learning in those individuals to further develop brain-based educational interventions. We are currently investigating the neural and behavioural correlates of symbolic numerical knowledge acquisition in children at risk of dyscalculia (i.e., mathematical difficulties) and dyslexia (i.e., reading difficulties) using EEG.
Cross-cultural Neuroscience - The interplay of cultural and brain in mathematical development
Most of our knowledge about mathematical learning and development comes from the WEIRD populations (Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich, Democratic) that are generalised to other societies. However, cross-cultural psychology and anthropology have demonstrated that cross-cultural variability, values, educational systems, and environmental demands create differences in human cognition such as mathematics. Moreover, while we are born with a pre-wired neural system to face the world, our brains are shaped by culture, education, and environment. There has been little study of the cultural effects on mathematical education and learning, especially on the neural level. We are currently investigating cross-cultural differences in the neural and behavioural correlates of numerical and mathematical development between the UK, Iran, and South Africa using fNIRS and EEG.
