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Abstract #2480

Cerebral Plasticity Induced by Abacus-Based Mental Calculation Training in Children

Yuzheng Hu1, Fengji Geng1,2, Yunqi Wang1,2, Feiyan Chen1

1BioX lab, Department of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China, People's Republic of; 2Department of Psychology & Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China, People's Republic of


Many studies reported the training effects on brain structures and they provided deep insight into the relationship between brain functions and the underlying neural substrates. This study aimed to examine the effects of abacus-based mental calculation training on cerebral structure in 10-years olds, using voxle-based morphometric method. Results showed increased cerebral volume in some regions such as SMA in the training group when compared with the controls. Furthermore, volumes of these regions were found to be significantly correlated with individual digit memory spans. Thus, we suggested that abacus-based calculation training may affect some brain regions related to visuospatial functions.