Author
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PIVIK, RUDOLPH - ACNC/UAMS |
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Submitted to: Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Conference
Publication Type: Abstract Only Publication Acceptance Date: 1/31/2008 Publication Date: 4/9/2008 Citation: Pivik, R.T. 2008. The influence of mathematical ability and morning nutrition on mental arithmetic in preadolescents: An ERP study [abstract]. The FASEB Journal. 22:874.2. Interpretive Summary: This study looked at the effects of eating or skipping breakfast on brain responses and performance in healthy 8- to 11-year-old children while they were doing simple mental arithmetic (subtraction problems). Children were randomly divided into those who would either eat or skip breakfast, and it happened that the math skills of those assigned to the group that skipped breakfast were better than those in the group that ate breakfast. Children were tested in the morning first while fasting and then again after they had either eaten or skipped breakfast. The performance of both groups was better on the second compared with their first tests, and improvement was greater in children who ate breakfast. Also, group differences in brain potentials during mental calculations present when both groups were fasting were greatly reduced during the second test. These findings suggest that eating breakfast makes brain processes used for simple math calculations more efficient and improves math performance. Technical Abstract: The effects of eating or skipping breakfast on ERP correlates of mental arithmetic were studied in preadolescents differing in experience (age) and mathematical skills. Participants, randomly assigned to treatment [eat (B) or skip (SB) breakfast (each, n = 41)], were sub-grouped by age [8.8 yrs (B: n = 12; SB, n = 9), 9.7 yrs (B, n = 15; SB, n = 18), 10.5 yrs (B, n = 14; SB, n = 14). At enrollment WRAT Arithmetic scores were superior in SB subjects. Addition and subtraction problems (randomized; 1-2 digit integers] followed by 3 possible answers were sequentially presented on a monitor (0.2 sec; button press to indicate answer). Subjects were tested while fasting and again after treatment. Artifact-free recordings (F3, F4, C3, C4, P3, P4) to correct-answer subtraction problems were digitized and analyzed off-line (ANOVA with post-hoc t-tests). Eating breakfast: a) attenuated or eliminated initial fasting between-group ERP differences; b) affected component latencies in the youngest subjects [> early frontal (p less than/equal to .05), < late central (p = .02) relative to similar-aged SB children]; and, c) improved performance in older children, i.e., increased number correct (9 yr group) and decreased reaction time (10 yr group). These findings suggest that morning nutrition facilitates mental arithmetic calculation and related response processes. |
