Encoding of physics concepts: Concreteness and presentation modality reflected by human brain dynamics

Lai, K; She, HC; Chen, SC; Chou, WC; Huang, LY; Jung, TP; Gramann, K

Encoding of physics concepts: Concreteness and presentation modality reflected by human brain dynamics

Lai, K She, HC Chen, SC Chou, WC Huang, LY Jung, TP Gramann, K

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: PLoS ONE, 2012, 7 (7)
Issue Date:: 2012-07-27

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Lai, K	en_US
dc.contributor.author	She, HC	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Chen, SC	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Chou, WC	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Huang, LY	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Jung, TP	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Gramann, K https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2673-1832	en_US
dc.date.available	2012-06-25	en_US
dc.date.issued	2012-07-27	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	PLoS ONE, 2012, 7 (7)	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/130155
dc.description.abstract	Previous research into working memory has focused on activations in different brain areas accompanying either different presentation modalities (verbal vs. non-verbal) or concreteness (abstract vs. concrete) of non-science concepts. Less research has been conducted investigating how scientific concepts are learned and further processed in working memory. To bridge this gap, the present study investigated human brain dynamics associated with encoding of physics concepts, taking both presentation modality and concreteness into account. Results of this study revealed greater theta and low-beta synchronization in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) during encoding of concrete pictures as compared to the encoding of both high and low imageable words. In visual brain areas, greater theta activity accompanying stimulus onsets was observed for words as compared to pictures while stronger alpha suppression was observed in responses to pictures as compared to words. In general, the EEG oscillation patterns for encoding words of different levels of abstractness were comparable but differed significantly from encoding of pictures. These results provide insights into the effects of modality of presentation on human encoding of scientific concepts and thus might help in developing new ways to better teach scientific concepts in class. © 2012 Lai et al.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	PLoS ONE	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1371/journal.pone.0041784	en_US
dc.subject.classification	General Science & Technology	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Brain	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Humans	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Electroencephalography	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Photic Stimulation	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Behavior	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Language	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Imagination	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Physics	en_US
dc.title	Encoding of physics concepts: Concreteness and presentation modality reflected by human brain dynamics	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	7	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology/School of Computer Science
utslib.copyright.status	open_access
pubs.issue	7	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	7	en_US

Abstract:

Previous research into working memory has focused on activations in different brain areas accompanying either different presentation modalities (verbal vs. non-verbal) or concreteness (abstract vs. concrete) of non-science concepts. Less research has been conducted investigating how scientific concepts are learned and further processed in working memory. To bridge this gap, the present study investigated human brain dynamics associated with encoding of physics concepts, taking both presentation modality and concreteness into account. Results of this study revealed greater theta and low-beta synchronization in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) during encoding of concrete pictures as compared to the encoding of both high and low imageable words. In visual brain areas, greater theta activity accompanying stimulus onsets was observed for words as compared to pictures while stronger alpha suppression was observed in responses to pictures as compared to words. In general, the EEG oscillation patterns for encoding words of different levels of abstractness were comparable but differed significantly from encoding of pictures. These results provide insights into the effects of modality of presentation on human encoding of scientific concepts and thus might help in developing new ways to better teach scientific concepts in class. © 2012 Lai et al.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/130155