No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.
Evaluation of memory in Abacus learners
Abstract
Abacus is a method used by Chinese, Japanese and Koreans to improve mathematical skills. This system has now invaded our country. The improvement in mathematical skills is said to be due to a coordinated functioning of both right and left hemisphere. As learning and memory in any field is achieved by coordinating and analyzing the different sensory inputs, whether an abacus trainee would also improve the short-term memory as a whole was evaluated in our study. 50 children of average IQ between 5 and 12 years from 2 regular schools and 50 from an abacus institute were evaluated for short-term memory before and after a period of one and two years. The memory tests were taken from Wechsler memory scale, Mini mental state examination, Mann - Buitar visual memory screen for objects. The results showed that the abacus learners at the end of one and two years had a better visual and auditory memory when compared to non-abacus learners.
... Seven studies showed an association between WM and AMC training. 16,17,[28][29][30][31][32] The one study in older adults 22 showed that this type of cognitive intervention promoted significant improvement in MMSE scores. ...
... In the study by Bhaskaran et al. 31 of 100 participants over a 2-year period, AMC training in children led to improved short-term memory performance, more specifically visual and auditory memory. Confirming the findings of the classic study of Hatano and Osawa, 37 and also of Tanaka et al., 38 the results of the study by Bhaskaran et al. 31 showed that learners that became expert in the use of MA could memorize a very long sequence of numbers and letters, both for forwards and backward span, using the Letter-Number Sequencing WM test. ...
... In the study by Bhaskaran et al. 31 of 100 participants over a 2-year period, AMC training in children led to improved short-term memory performance, more specifically visual and auditory memory. Confirming the findings of the classic study of Hatano and Osawa, 37 and also of Tanaka et al., 38 the results of the study by Bhaskaran et al. 31 showed that learners that became expert in the use of MA could memorize a very long sequence of numbers and letters, both for forwards and backward span, using the Letter-Number Sequencing WM test. The authors explained that, while memorizing in forward span is immediately associated with short-term memory performance, the mental processes involved in reversing the sequence can also reflect the use of visuospatial abilities. ...
The literature indicates that cognitive stimulation interventions have shown promising results. Abacus represents a tool with great potential in such interventions.
Objectives:
To carry out a systematic review of studies published in recent years that entailed the delivery of a cognitive training program using an abacus to boost target cognitive abilities of older persons and also other age groups, with or without cognitive impairment.
Methods:
A systematic review study was conducted in July 2020 involving PubMed, MedLine, LILACS, and SciELO databases.
Results:
A total of 29 studies were retrieved, of which 8 aimed to identify the effect of abacus-based mental calculation (AMC) for different age groups and to determine its applicability as a method of cognitive stimulation for older adults. In AMC technique, participants first learn to use the physical abacus (PA) and after achieving proficiency they perform calculations using a mental image of the device, manipulating the beads of the so-called mental abacus (MA).
Conclusions:
The number of studies addressing abacus use as a cognitive training tool was rather limited, considering the relevance of the theme. Their interventions have shown benefits for cognitive functioning of individuals of various age groups, including older adults with cognitive impairment. Future studies that involve larger samples of healthy and/or cognitively impaired older adults with a longitudinal design and a more elaborate methodological design are suggested.
... Scholars have reached mixed findings on this topic. Previous studies have revealed transfer effects in attention (e.g., Geeta & Gavas, 2014;Stigler, 1984), memory (e.g., Amaiwa & Hatano, 1989;Bhaskaran et al., 2006;Hatano et al., 1977;Liu et al., 2006;Liu & Sun, 2017;Stigler, 1984;Sun et al., 2006;Wang et al., 2015;Zhen et al., 2007), reasoning (e.g., Fan et al., 2005;Jiang, 2012;Liu et al., 2006;Wang et al., 2019), and even language processing (Jiang, 2009(Jiang, , 2012, but other studies have failed to demonstrate such effects. Liu and Sun (2017) found that long-term abacus training promoted children's spatial attention orientation ability on a Posner spatial cueing task. ...
... No larger transfer effects of abacus training were observed in spatial N-back and short-term memory tests. This is inconsistent with previous studies where abacus training effects were observed for working memory (e.g., Amaiwa & Hatano, 1989;Bhaskaran et al., 2006;Hatano et al., 1977;Liu et al., 2006;Liu & Sun, 2017;Sun et al., 2006;Tanaka et al., 2002;Wang et al., 2015;Zhen et al., 2007). Some researchers have proposed that abacus training improves the working memory for letters or words (e.g., Hu et al., 2011) and visuospatial materials (e.g., Wang et al., 2015;Zhen et al., 2007;Zhou et al., 2019). ...
... This made it difficult to assess the real effects of the three types of interventions. Indeed, previous abacus intervention studies have used a blank control group and observed significant enhancement due to abacus training, including on memory (e.g., Bhaskaran et al., 2006), matrix reasoning (e.g., Jiang, 2012), and even language processing (Jiang, 2009(Jiang, , 2012 tests. The effects may be from placebo effect or inflated estimates of the intervention effect (Cunningham et al., 2013;Simons et al., 2016). ...
The Chinese abacus was invented 1800 years ago as a piece of calculation equipment for economic education and support. The abacus no longer serves as an economic tool but has emerged as a powerful educational tool to promote individual development. It is not yet known, however, whether abacus training may lead to cognitive transfer in the individual development context. This transfer effect was investigated in the present study with a randomized controlled design centered on comparison against abacus training with cognitive training and English training. The final sample consisted of 343 vocational school/college students (55 males, mean age = 17.79 years, range: 14.17 to 24.67 years) whom completed the pre-test, the 52-h training session, and the post-test. Participants in each school or college were randomly assigned into three training groups based on their pre-test scores. Abacus training is shown to promote calculation and spatial abilities by comparison with English training, and to promote calculation ability and processing speed by comparison with cognitive training. Cognitive training shows transfer effect of spatial ability by comparison with English training. However, abacus training does not show pervasive transfer effect for any general cognitive abilities that do not typically involve numerical processing or visuospatial processing. These findings suggest a limited transfer effect of abacus training on cognitive development.
... The abacus is a sort of traditional calculator that has been used in China, Korea, Japan, and India since 1200 AD for rapid precise calculations [9]. The abacus can be used to perform arithmetic, including addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and root calculations. ...
... Previous studies have found that cognitive training has an effect not only on skills that are trained, but also on skills that are not explicitly trained [22,23]. As special cognitive training, a transfer effect of abacus training has been found in the domains of other cognitive functions, such as general intelligence [24] and memory [9]. In an early study by Stigler et al. [12], AMC skills were found to develop primarily as a result of practice rather than socioeconomic status, ability, or previous mathematical knowledge. ...
... This training may result in qualitative changes in a child's ability to represent numerical information through the development of a "mental abacus" and improve response inhibition. Furthermore, AMC skills can be used to develop number concepts, increase efficiency in mathematical calculations, achieve substantial gains in numerical processing efficiency [8], and improve the ability of students to apply mathematical skills to reallife situations [9,24,25]. Most of these behavioral studies were performed on children, and the brains of children can develop quickly. ...
The human brain has an enormous capacity to adapt to a broad variety of environmental demands. Previous studies in the field of abacus training have shown that this training can induce specific changes in the brain. However, the neural mechanism underlying these changes remains elusive. Here, we reviewed the behavioral and imaging findings of comparisons between abacus experts and average control subjects and focused on changes in activation patterns and changes in brain structure. Finally, we noted the limitations and the future directions of this field. We concluded that although current studies have provided us with information about the mechanisms of abacus training, more research on abacus training is needed to understand its neural impact.
... The abacus is a unique traditional arithmetic tool that has been used in Asian countries such as Korea, Japan, China, and India since 1200 AD. 1,2) Arithmetic calculations are performed by altering the configurations of beads that represent numbers (Fig. 1). Several studies have reported improvements in the arithmetic ability of subjects trained to use an abacus. ...
... Most studies of arithmetic ability have measured the ability to perform simple calculations, such as addition and subtraction, among subjects not trained to use an abacus, whereas trained abacus users can perform complicated arithmetic calculations, including multi-plication and division. 4) In terms of other cognitive functions, previous studies have focused primarily on memory 2,5,6) and general intelligence 7) ; other cognitive domains, such as attention, have not been evaluated in children and adolescents trained to use an abacus. Because attention may serve as the neurocognitive basis for better memory and intelligence, this may be another important cognitive domain influenced by abacus training. ...
... Although our study did not replicate this finding, several previous studies reported that working memory was significantly better in abacus-trained children compared with controls. 2,3,33) For example, Irwing et al. 7) reported that children trained to use an abacus scored approximately 7 points higher on IQ tests than did controls, and abacus-trained children performed better in visual and auditory working memory tasks, 2) and had better visuo-spatial working memory, compared with controls. 6) Although we cannot fully explain these among-study differences, the age, duration of training, and skill level of abacustrained children may have contributed to the observed discrepancies. ...
The abacus, first used in Asian countries more than 800 years ago, enables efficient arithmetic calculation via visuospatial configuration. We investigated whether abacus-trained children performed better on cognitive tasks and demonstrated higher levels of arithmetic abilities compared to those without such training.
We recruited 75 elementary school children (43 abacus-trained and 32 not so trained). Attention, memory, and arithmetic abilities were measured, and we compared the abacus with the control group.
Children who had learned to use an abacus committed fewer commission errors and showed better arithmetic ability than did controls. We found no significant differences between children with and without abacus training in other areas of attention.
We speculate that abacus training improves response inhibition via neuroanatomical alterations of the areas that regulate such functions. Further studies are needed to confirm the association between abacus training and better response inhibition.
... (Freeman, 2014;Hu et al., 2011;Huang et al., 2015) Οι μελέτες δείχνουν επίσης, ότι ο άβακας δεν αναπτύσσει μόνο τις ικανότητες μαθηματικών υπολογισμών, αλλά βοηθάει και στην σταθερή βελτίωση της μνήμης. Η γρήγορη αλληλεπίδραση μεταξύ χεριών και διέγερσης του εγκεφάλου συνεισφέρει στην ταχεία και ισορροπημένη ανάπτυξη του εγκεφάλου (Bhaskaran, 2006;Vasuki, 2003). Η εκμάθηση του άβακα βελτιώνει την αριθμητική μνήμη (Amaiwa, 2004), ενώ η μακροχρόνια χρήση του άβακα από μικρή ηλικία μπορεί να βελτιώσει τη μνημονική ικανότητα γενικότερα (Hu et al., 2011, Bhaskaran, 2006, καθώς οι αλλαγές στον εγκέφαλο λαμβάνουν χώρα με εντατική προπόνηση και εξάσκηση στον άβακα (Hu et al., 2011). ...
... Η γρήγορη αλληλεπίδραση μεταξύ χεριών και διέγερσης του εγκεφάλου συνεισφέρει στην ταχεία και ισορροπημένη ανάπτυξη του εγκεφάλου (Bhaskaran, 2006;Vasuki, 2003). Η εκμάθηση του άβακα βελτιώνει την αριθμητική μνήμη (Amaiwa, 2004), ενώ η μακροχρόνια χρήση του άβακα από μικρή ηλικία μπορεί να βελτιώσει τη μνημονική ικανότητα γενικότερα (Hu et al., 2011, Bhaskaran, 2006, καθώς οι αλλαγές στον εγκέφαλο λαμβάνουν χώρα με εντατική προπόνηση και εξάσκηση στον άβακα (Hu et al., 2011). ...
Έχοντας υπόψη τα παιδαγωγικά οφέλη της ενσωμάτωσης της Ιστορίας των Μαθηματικών στη διδασκαλία τους, η παρούσα μελέτη στοχεύει στην ανάδειξη της σπουδαιότητας του ιαπωνέζικου άβακα ως υπολογιστικό εργαλείο προβάλλοντας συνάμα και τα οφέλη της εφαρμογής του στη μαθηματική εκπαίδευση. Από τη βιβλιογραφική διερεύνηση προκύπτει ότι η χρήση του άβακα μπορεί να βοηθήσει στην επίτευξη βαθύτερης εννοιολογικής κατανόησης της νοερής αριθμητικής και στην ανάπτυξη ικανοτήτων νοερών υπολογισμών και επίλυσης προβλήματος, καθώς οι μαθητές αντιλαμβάνονται καλύτερα την θεσιακή αξία των ψηφίων, ενώ ταυτόχρονα αναπτύσσουν διανοητικές ικανότητες, κίνητρα και θετική στάση προς τα μαθηματικά.
... The abacus is an ancient type of calculator [15] that has been used to develop various complex arithmetic operations, such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, square root, and cubic root, and is considered the first machine used to develop various complex arithmetic operations, such as multiplication, division, square root, and cubic root, and is consid capable of performing calculations [12]. The numbers are represente ment of accounts in columns, each of which represents a position from right to left [16] (see Figure 1). ...
... Our study reported that memory was significantly better in abacus-trained children compared to the control group. Similarly, in the scientific literature, we can find other studies that carried out the same intervention and found significant improvements in this cognitive parameter, but unlike our study, the intervention time was much longer, as, for example, in the study by Irwing et al. [44], which carried out a 34-week intervention, or in the study by Bhaskaran et al. [16], which reported significant improvements over a one-year cross-sectional study with the abacus. ...
(1) Background: An abacus is an instrument used to perform different arithmetic operations. The objective was to analyze the benefits of mathematical calculations made with an abacus to improve the concentration, attention, memory, perceptive attitudes, and creativity cognitive abilities of primary school students. (2) Methods: A total of 65 children, aged 7–11 years (8.49 ± 1.65) participated in this randomized controlled clinical trial. The children were randomly distributed into a control group (n = 34) and experimental group (n = 31). The questionnaires used were the D2 test to measure attention and concentration, the Difference Perception Test (FACE-R) test for the perception of differences, the test of immediate auditory memory (AIM), and the test to evaluate creative intelligence (CREA). (3) Results: No significant differences were found between both groups before the intervention. Significant improvements were observed in the cognitive parameters of concentration, memory, perceptive attitudes, and creativity after the intervention, using the abacus, with respect to the control group. (4) Conclusions: It is demonstrated that a calculation program based on the use of the abacus for 8 weeks has beneficial effects on the cognitive capacities of concentration, immediate auditory memory, perceptive attitudes, and creativity. In addition, the benefits of using the abacus to improve cognitive attitudes are reported.
... It is the abacus that forms the basis which, in the opinion of numerous researchers, contributes to mental development of the child, because in the beginning of the learning process, it creates a concrete visual and manipulative background. Studies have shown that abacus develops not only mathematics calculation, but also develops memory consistently (Bhaskaran et al., 2006). Using abacus "sharpens our memory and increases our ability to perform mental calculations" (Sarvari et al., 2015b: 125). ...
... Abacus also helps in the visualization process, which directly reflects on mental development. The fast communication that takes place between hands and brain stimulation contributes to the rapid and balanced overall brain development (Bhaskaran et al., 2006). Аbacus learning is an improvement of numeral memory, as well as an improvement of memory in spatial arrangement (Amaima, 2004). ...
... It is the abacus that forms the basis which, in the opinion of numerous researchers, contributes to mental development of the child, because in the beginning of the learning process, it creates a concrete visual and manipulative background. Studies have shown that abacus develops not only mathematics calculation, but also develops memory consistently (Bhaskaran et al., 2006). Using abacus "sharpens our memory and increases our ability to perform mental calculations" (Sarvari et al., 2015b: 125). ...
... Abacus also helps in the visualization process, which directly reflects on mental development. The fast communication that takes place between hands and brain stimulation contributes to the rapid and balanced overall brain development (Bhaskaran et al., 2006). Аbacus learning is an improvement of numeral memory, as well as an improvement of memory in spatial arrangement (Amaima, 2004). ...
Between 26th and 30th October 2018 the Faculty of Education in Jagodina, University of Kragujevac, and the Teacher Education Faculty, University of Belgrade, organized the first international conference on the uses of the history of mathematics in mathematics education in Serbia. The conference took place in a beautiful town of Jagodina, in the southeast of the country. The training conference, supported by the European Society
for the Research in Mathematics Education (ERME), involved twenty-seven delegates, mainly from the countries of the former Yugoslavia’s region. This special issue of Teaching Innovations, although it was inspired by some of the papers which were presented, and the work that went on during this conference, come also from our international colleagues from further apart. Let us explain this further.
The interest around the theme has existed for some time in the region, and it is important to note that some of the participants of the said conference, as well as some of the contributors to this issue (the two sets do not entirely correspond), had already collaborated over the period of the past six years, and there has already been one special issue on the history of mathematics in mathematics education published in 2014 in Journal Teaching Innovations.
We are now happy to present another issue on this theme with some old and new researchers who we have met since then.
To make the joint work more clear, we will first consider the outcomes of this first conference on the history of mathematics in mathematics education in Serbia, and then explain further how we put this volume together with the participants from this conference and included some of our other international researchers.
... Auditory working memory refers to the ability of the person to process the auditory information, analyze it, and store the information which has to be recalled later [5]. According to Bhaskaran et al. [6], abacus helps to visualize and manage calculations with large numbers. While performing mathematical calculations in abacus, children use both hands to move the beads. ...
... While performing mathematical calculations in abacus, children use both hands to move the beads. The quick communication between the hands and brain stimulation promotes quick, balanced and whole brain development [6]. Sokol et al. [7] reported that mental calculation involves well-learned procedures, problem-solving skills, and dependence on working memory. ...
PurposeAbacus involves remembering multiple numbers and calculations, and thus auditory working memory is getting trained. Hence, auditory working memory could be enhanced in children who practice working memory. In the present study, it is attempted to examine the difference in the auditory working memory of the children with abacus training and children without abacus training.Methods
The study was carried out to compare the score and reaction time for digit forward test, digit backward, ascending digit span and descending digit span test in individuals with and without abacus training and to correlate the level of abacus training with the scores and reaction time for all the tests in individuals with abacus training. The participants were divided based on those with and without abacus training between the age of 9–13 years. The children with the abacus training group were taking intensive abacus training in the range of 2–4 years.ResultsThe results of the study revealed that children with abacus training had significantly better reaction time and scores than children without abacus training with effect size between 0.73 and 0.91 which suggests a strong difference. The results also showed moderate to strong correlation (r = 0.53–0.84) between the abacus levels and scores and reaction time for the auditory working memory tests.Conclusions
The results agree with previous studies, which also report superior auditory performance and enhanced auditory working memory in children with abacus training.
... The children who belonging to control group is also shown as slight improvement because of they are part of undergoing program in the school. However the scores in Abacus learners were significantly higher when compared with the subjects of control group (in all types of tests) [9,10,11,12]. ...
... More over grand experts of Abacus can recall 13-20 digits in both forward and backward reproduction because Abacus learners place numbers on the Abacus image as they mentally calculate with the abacus method [9,10]. A test was given by calling out digits to the abacus learners before they took lessons in abacus and again after the completion of the course. ...
... Using an event-related functional MRI study, Tanaka et al. [2002] found that superior short-term memory for digit was associated with greater activity in cortical areas related to visuospatial working memory. Additionally, previous behavioral studies indicated that abacus training is helpful to improve short-memory capacity in children [Bhaskaran et al., 2006;Lee et al., 2007]. In this study, digit working memory spans were found larger in the AMC group (see Fig. 2), which confirms the effects of AMC training. ...
... In the intelligence tests with WISC-RC, the six verbal tests include information, digit span, vocabulary, arithmetic, comprehension and similarities, whereas the six performance tests include picture completion, picture arrangement, block design, object assembly, coding and mazes. In our study, scale scores were found significantly higher in the AMC group than in the control group in such three subtests as digit span, information, and coding, which confirms the influence of AMC training on digit memory [Bhaskaran et al., 2006;Tanaka et al., 2002] and further suggests that AMC training improves the ability in digit-symbol substitution (as indicated in coding subtest). Interestingly, digit memory spans, higher in the AMC group than in the controls, were found positively correlated with WM integrity. ...
Experts of abacus, who have the skills of abacus-based mental calculation (AMC), are able to manipulate numbers via an imagined abacus in mind and demonstrate extraordinary ability in mental calculation. Behavioral studies indicated that abacus experts utilize visual strategy in solving numerical problems, and fMRI studies confirmed the enhanced involvement of visuospatial-related neural resources in AMC. This study aims to explore the possible changes in brain white matter induced by long-term training of AMC. Two matched groups participated: the abacus group consisting of 25 children with over 3-year training in abacus calculation and AMC, the controls including 25 children without any abacus experience. We found that the abacus group showed higher average fractional anisotropy (FA) in whole-brain fiber tracts, and the regions with increased FA were found in corpus callosum, left occipitotemporal junction and right premotor projection. No regions, however, showed decreased FA in the abacus group. Further analysis revealed that the differences in FA values were mainly driven by the alternation of radial rather than axial diffusivities. Furthermore, in forward digit and letter memory span tests, AMC group showed larger digit/letter memory spans. Interestingly, individual differences in white matter tracts were found positively correlated with the memory spans, indicating that the widespread increase of FA in the abacus group result possibly from the AMC training. In conclusion, our findings suggested that long-term AMC training from an early age may improve the memory capacity and enhance the integrity in white matter tracts related to motor and visuospatial processes.
... The musical training-induced improvements were not only seen in the trained-task (pitch and level variations [20]), but they were also transferable to other skills like temporal resolution [21] and auditory cognitive processing [22]. Similarly, abacus training improved not only task-related mathematical skills [23], but also boosted cognitive skills in other sensory domains (auditory working memory [10]; auditory and visual memory [24]). ...
Objectives: The present study explored the auditory benefits of abacus-training using a battery of tests (auditory acuity, clarity, and cognition). The study also aimed to identify the relative contributions of auditory processing tests that are most sensitive to the effects of abacus-training.
Materials and methods: The study was conducted on 60 children aged between 9 – 14 years. These participants were divided into two groups (abacus trained and untrained) of 30 each, who underwent a series of auditory functioning tests. The battery of tests included: auditory acuity (frequency, intensity, temporal, binaural and
spatial resolution), auditory clarity (speech perception in noise), and auditory cognition (working digit and syllable memory).
Results: Statistically (t-test and Mann Whitney U test), significant changes were observed in the spatial resolution,
auditory clarity, and cognition tests, suggestive of positive outcomes of abacus training at the higher-order auditory processing. This finding was complemented by the discriminant function (DF) analyses, which showed that clarity and cognitive measures helped for effective group segregation (abacus-trained and un-trained). These measures had significantly higher contributions to the DF.
Conclusions: The findings of the study provide evidence of the multi-component benefits of abacus training in children and the transferability of learning effects to the auditory modality
... Kamali et al. (2019) found that experienced AMC children (more than 3 years AMC training) showed an advantage over novices (less than half year AMC training) on three different visuospatial span tests. Bhaskaran et al. (2006) conducted a longitudinal study in which 100 primary school students received either 2 years AMC training or similar amounts of additional standard math learning. After training, the study found larger improvements on visuospatial span tests in the AMC group relative to the controls. ...
Abacus, which represents numbers via a visuospatial format, is a traditional device to facilitate arithmetic operations. Skilled abacus users, who have acquired the ability of abacus-based mental calculation (AMC), can perform fast and accurate calculations by manipulating an imaginary abacus in mind. Due to this extraordinary calculation ability in AMC users, there is an expanding literature investigating the effects of AMC training on cognition and brain systems. This review study aims to provide an updated overview of important findings in this fast-growing research field. Here, findings from previous behavioral and neuroimaging studies about AMC experts as well as children and adults receiving AMC training are reviewed and discussed. Taken together, our review of the existing literature suggests that AMC training has the potential to enhance various cognitive skills including mathematics, working memory and numerical magnitude processing. Besides, the training can result in functional and anatomical neural changes that are largely located within the frontal-parietal and occipital-temporal brain regions. Some of the neural changes can explain the training-induced cognitive enhancements. Still, caution is needed when extend the conclusions to a more general situation. Implications for future research are provided.
... The gradual increase is seen in fig 2, 3 after level II and level III respectively. As the performance of abacus increases there is an increase in different skills such mathematical skills are developed, motivational, concentration, memory retention and recall, visualization skills are developed [9,10]. In fig 4 shows the individual development of abacus learners. ...
... Öğrencilerin sayısal, sözel, görsel ve işitsel belleklerinin geliştiği, onların sadece matematikte değil sözel derslerde de yüksek performans gösterdikleri tespit edilmiştir (Bhaskaran, Madhu ve Ranganathan, 2006). Yapılan fMRI çalışmaları öğrencilerin mental işlemler sırasında beynin "görsel mekânsal kısımlarının" artan derecede bir aktive meydana geldiğini kanıtlamıştır (Hu ve diğ., 2011). ...
Bu çalışmada, abaküsle mental aritmetik eğitiminin, okulöncesidönemdeki çocukların görsel algı düzeylerine etkisi incelenmiştir. Araştırmada, nicel bir model kullanılmış ve elde edilen sonuçlar nitel verilerle desteklenmiştir.Araştırmada öğrencilerin görsel algı düzeylerini ölçmek maksadıylaaraştırmacılar tarafından geliştirilen “Görsel Algılama Ölçeği” kullanılmıştır. Çalışma grubunu 4-6 yaş grubundaki öğrenciler oluşturmaktadır. Deney grubu 20 ve kontrol grubu 20 olmak üzere toplamda 40 öğrenciden oluşmaktadır.Grupların denkliği Levene ve Scheffe Testleri ile incelenmiştir. Veriler, abaküsle mental aritmetik eğitiminin başlangıcında ve sonunda uygulananöntest-sontest sonuçları ile yılsonu gelişim
raporları ve veli anket sonuçlarından elde edilmiştir.Verilerin analizinde “ilişkili ve ilişkisiz grup t-testi”, “aritmetik ortalama”, “standart sapma” ve “içerik analizi” gibi istatistikler kullanılmıştır. Araştırmaya göre, abaküsle mental aritmetik eğitiminin çocukların “görsel algılama”, “ayırt etme”, “şekil-zemin ayrımı”, “eşleştirme” ve “dikkat becerilerini” arttırdığı tespit edilmiştir.
Abstract
In this study, the effect of abacus mental arithmetic training (mental abacus) on the visual perception level of the preschool kids was investigated. In this study, quantitative research model was used and the findings weresupported with qualitative data. The "Visual Perception Scale" developed by the researchers was employed to measure visual perception levels. The study group consists of students aged 4 to 6total of 40 students participated in the study; 20 students in the experiment group and 20 students in the control group. In order to investigate whether the groups are equivalent, Levene and Scheffe tests were performed. The
data was obtained by analyzing the pre-test and the post-test applied before and after abacus mental arithmetic training, reports of year-end development and parent survey results.
Related and “independent samples t tests”,“t-test”,“arithmetic mean”,“standard deviation”,
and “content analysis” were utilized to analyze the data. According to the results, it was found that abacus mental arithmetic education improves the “visual perception”, “pattern discrimination”, “figure-ground discrimination”, “matching” and “attention” skills in the children.
Keywords: Abacustraining, mental arithmetic, visual perception scale, preschool
... As persons grow they use their experiences to establish, elaborate meaningful relations in the information to be remembered, as a consequence, to remember more accurately. 13,5 Our result have shown that there was a significant improvement in the patients suffering from the anxiety and depression after the treatment with Dr. Brain syrup. The sensitivity and specificity of the HADS questionnaire to measure the level of the anxiety and depression was also found highly significant after the treatment with Dr. Brain syrup through obtaining the ROC curve. ...
p class="abstract"> Background: Epidemiological studies of Indian population show that dementia, anxiety, and depression are largely a major hidden problem in India. Ayurveda claims several plants are beneficial in cognitive disorders . The prime objective of study was to clinically evaluate polyherbal formulation (Dr. Brain syrup) and compare it with the Placebo. It was randomized, placebo controlled, single blinded clinical study, approved by Institutional Human Ethics Committee.
Methods: 60 outpatients from P. D. Patel Ayurveda Hospital (8-70 years) ready to sign Informed consent form were included in study. All these patients were given either Placebo syrup or Dr. Brain syrup at similar dose of 10 ml twice a day for 6 weeks. They were evaluated based on the HADS (hospital anxiety depression scale), EDQ (early dementia questionnaire) and symptoms assessment parameters on weekly basis .
Results: Result showed that there was significant reduction in HADS score at the end of the study. Moreover, the sensitivity and specificity of the HADS was observed highly relevant to detect the level of anxiety and depression by obtaining ROC curve. Numerical analysis of the EDQ was also shown eye-catching differences in patient receiving Dr. Brain syrup improved their memory at the end of the study compared to placebo group.
Conclusions: This study prooves the efficacy and safety of the Dr. Brain syrup in improving the memory and reducing the level of anxiety and depression in particular diseased patients without any side effects.
</p
... Tests for assessment of attention and memory were administered. Tests for attention was digit span forward, test for working memory were digit span backward, [9][10][11] word recall meaningful, word recall nonmeaningful, [12] and tests for logical memory were story recall immediate and story recall delayed, [13] and picture recall was used for visual memory. [14] Before each test, the method of answering was explained and the children were trained. ...
Background and Aim: Noise pollution has been of increasing concern worldwide, particularly in urban areas. Children could be particularly vulnerable to the effects of noise because of its potential to interfere with learning at a critical development stage. Most of the learning occurs at school and thus noise exposure at school is most pertinent to its influences on cognitive performance. Hence, the objective of this study was to evaluate and compare the attention and memory in school children exposed to noise with the school children in relatively noise free area in the city of Bengaluru. Methods: The study involved two groups, a case group consisting of 80 students learning in a noise environment of 80.4 dB and a control group consisting of 80 students learning in noise environment of 56.28 dB. Both groups were found to be matched for age, gender, intelligence, and socioeconomic status. Attention and memory were assessed using a battery of performance tests. The results were analyzed for statistical significance. Results: Exposure to high levels of noise during learning significantly reduced scores in attention, working memory with an auditory component, and logical memory. However, there was no significant reduction in working memory with a visual component and visual memory. Conclusion: The results suggest that high levels of noise is a disadvantage to children's learning capacity and learning environment must not be neglected.
... Memory does improve with age. As persons grow they use their experiences to establish, elaborate meaningful relations in the information to be remembered, as a consequence, to remember more accurately [30] . Our results have shown that there was a significant increase in IQ score in PHF treated group (p<0.001) between 0 day and 90 days treatment. ...
Epidemiological studies of Indian population reveal that dementia is largely a hidden problem in India. Ayurveda claims several plants are beneficial in cognitive disorders. Pharmacoepidemiological studies reveal that herbal and allopathic learning and memory enhancing medicines are becoming very popular among Indian population. The objective of study was to clinically evaluate polyherbal formulation (PHF) and compare with multivitamin (MV) preparations used as learning and memory enhancer. It was randomized, placebo controlled, double blind clinical study approved by Institutional Human Ethics Committee. Forty-seven healthy human volunteers from colleges of Mehsana (18-24 years) ready to sign informed consent form were included in study. All these subjects were given either one capsule of placebo or two capsules of PHF (500 mg) at night or MV (500 mg) 1 capsule two times a day for a period of three months. They were monitored for neuropsychological tests initially, after first and third month of active treatment with PHF / MV. Results showed that there was significant increase in IQ score and short term memory score in PHF treated group between 0 and 90 days treatment. In the other battery test significant alterations were observed in all three groups. Our data suggest both PHF and MV supplementation specifically improves learning and memory as compared to placebo in healthy young subjects. PHF appears to be more active than MV.
Introduction The spatial auditory system, though developed at birth, attains functional maturity in the late childhood (12 years). Spatial changes during childhood affect navigation in the environment and source segregation. Accommodation of a new skill through learning, especially during childhood, can expedite this process.
Objective To explore the auditory spatial benefits of abacus training on psychoacoustic metrics in children. The study also aimed to identify the most sensitive metric to abacus training related changes in spatial processing, and utilize this metric for a detailed spatial error profiling.
Methods A standard group comparison analysis with 90 participants divided into three groups: I: children with abacus training (C-AT); II: children with no training (C-UT); III: adults with no training (A-UT). The groups underwent a series of psychoacoustic tests, such as interaural time difference (ITD), interaural level difference (ILD), and virtual auditory space identification (VASI), as well as perceptual tests such as the Kannada version of the speech, spatial, and quality questionnaire (K-SSQ).
Results Significant group differences were observed in the multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and post-hoc tests, with the C-AT group showing significantly lower ILD scores ( p =0.01) and significantly higher VASI scores ( p <0.001) compared to the C-UT group, which is indicative of better spatial processing abilities in the former group. The discriminant function (DF) analyses showed that the VASI was the most sensitive metric for training-related changes, based on which elaborate error analyses were performed.
Conclusions Despite the physiological limits of the immature neural framework, the performance of the C-AT group was equivalent to that of untrained adults on psychoacoustic tests, which is reflective of the positive role of abacus training in expediting auditory spatial maturation.
The Heisenberg-Gabor uncertainty principle defines the limits of information resolution in both time and frequency domains. The limit of resolution discloses unique properties of a time series by frequency decomposition. However, classical methods such as Fourier analysis are limited by spectral leakage, particularly in longitudinal data with shifting periodicity or unequal intervals. Wavelet transformation provides a workable compromise by decomposing the signal in both time and frequency through translation and scaling of a basis function followed by correlation or convolution with the original signal. This study aimed to compare the accuracy of predictive models in mental arithmetic in time and frequency domains. Analysis of the author's response time at mental arithmetic using a soroban was modeled for two periods, an initial period (TI = 68 days), and a return period (TR = 170 days) both separated by an interval of 370 days. The median (min,max) response times in seconds (s) was longer for all tasks during the TI compared to the TR period (p < 0.001), for addition [CTAdd 62 (45, 127) vs 50 (38, 75) s] and summation [CTSum 68 (47, 108) vs 57(43, 109) s]. Response times were longer for errors regardless of the study period or task. There was an increasing phase difference for the addition and summation tasks during the TI period toward the end of the series 49.65o compared to the TR period where the phase difference between the two tasks was only 2.05o, indicating that both tasks are likely demonstrating similar learning rates during the latter study period. A comparison between time and time/frequency domain forecasts for an additional 100 tasks demonstrated higher accuracy of the maximum overlap discrete wavelet transform (MODWT) model, where the mean absolute percentage error ranged between 5.48 and 8.19% and that for the time domain models [autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA), generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (GARCH)] was 6.16–10.80%.
Background:
Hand-eye coordination is essential for our daily activities. It involves the accuracy and concentration with which an individual performs tasks. Memory tasks like abacus involve the increased use of the superior and middle frontal gyrus, the motor region of the cerebral cortex, which improves the blood supply to this region, and nourishment to the neurons. This enhances neural plasticity in the developing age, which, in turn, improves the rapidity and precision of physical responses to various stimuli.
Objectives:
To assess and compare the reaction times of children who have undergone abacus training and those who have not undergone abacus training in the age group of 8-13 years.
Methods:
It is a cross-sectional study, selected by Indian Council of Medical Research- Short Term Studentship 2018, approved by the undergraduate research monitoring committee, and institutional ethics committee. The research study was conducted in a central school in Puducherry among age-matched and body mass index (BMI)-matched healthy children aged between 8 and 13 years who were undergoing abacus training and who did not receive abacus training. Anthropometric parameters such as weight, height, and BMI were measured. Following that, the auditory (ART) and visual reaction time (VRT) of the participants were measured using a recognition reaction time apparatus.
Results:
The auditory and visual reaction time in the study group was significantly less than that of the control group (P = 0.04 for ART and P = 0.001 for VRT).
Interpretation and conclusion:
This study concludes that students trained in memory tasks like abacus have better hand-eye coordination as recorded by their enhanced processing speed, thereby decreased response to auditory and visual stimuli when compared with untrained students.
Mental abacus is mental arithmetic with the help of an imagined abacus. Children skilled in mental abacus have been shown to exhibit top-quality arithmetic abilities. The current study investigated whether children with high-level mental abacus ability could outperform untrained control children in non-symbolic number sense, which is considered to be fundamental for arithmetic development. One hundred and fifty children (75 children skilled in mental abacus and 75 controls) took part in this study. Children skilled in mental abacus completed a mental abacus level test. The two groups of children performed serial cognitive tasks, assessing non-symbolic number comparison, arithmetic, language, spatial processing, visual perception, attention, processing speed, working memory, and general intelligence. Results showed that children skilled in mental abacus had significantly better non-symbolic number sense than the other children after controlling for general intelligence. The significant difference in non-symbolic number sense remained after controlling for age, gender, all types of cognitive processing available, and arithmetic performance. A mediation model showed that non-symbolic number sense partially mediated the group difference in arithmetic development. These findings suggest that children skilled in mental abacus have enhanced non-symbolic number sense and raise the possibility that mental abacus training could directly improve children’s non-symbolic numerical skills.
This study aimed at examining whether the computational procedure with abacus would transfer to paper and pencil computation when third grade children had the experience to solve the same problems alternately by abacus and written computational procedures. These third graders were able to solve the problems correctly by abacus, but not always in written computation. The results showed that a transfer between the two computational procedures did not occur easily. It seemed to be due to the following: 1) The two computational procedures were located in different learning contexts and were not necessarily recognized as the same, and 2) Those subjects did not understand the meaning of each step of abacus operation. For example, they failed to recognize the equivalence between the original procedure and the reverse ordered processing on abacus (from units to tens and to hundreds) that could easily be matched with the pape r-andpencil computation.
[reviews] research on adult age differences in human memory . . . conducted very largely within the framework of current theoretical views of memory / organized in terms of the topics and concepts suggested by these approaches / the literature on memory and aging is now so extensive that the review must be selective—we [the authors] focus on topics of current debate and largely on research reported in the last 10 years
approaches to the study of memory [memory stores, processing models, memory systems] / empirical evidence [sensory and perceptual memory, short-term and working memory, age differences in working memory] / age differences in encoding [qualitative differences in encoding] / age differences in retrieval / age differences in nonverbal memory / age differences in memory of the past and for the future / aging and memory systems (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Hemispheric specialization for mental calculation and verbal tasks in abacus (Soroban in Japanese) experts and control subjects was tested using time-sharing tasks. In Experiment 1, the effects of auditorily presented mental calculation and news-listening tasks on sequential finger tappings were examined. The results revealed that in the mental calculation condition, abacus experts showed greater interference effects on left hand tapping, whereas control subjects showed greater interference effects on right hand tapping (as compared to left hand). In the news-listening condition, abacus experts showed no hand difference while the controls showed greater interference effects on the right hand. In Experiment 2, the effects of visually presented mental calculation and word-reading tasks on sequential finger tapping were examined. The results revealed that in the mental calculation condition, abacus experts showed a non-significant tendency towards greater interference in the left hand whereas the controls showed no hand difference. In the word-reading condition, both abacus experts and controls showed greater interference in the right hand than in the left hand. In Experiment 3, intermediate and upper-rank abacus experts performed a similar task to Experiment 1 under two instruction conditions. The results of this control experiment confirmed that a greater left hand reduction in calculation of abacus experts is not due to subject's cognitive mode but due to the amount of abacus learning experience. These data suggest that (1) learning experiences can affect the pattern of cerebral specialization through the change of approaches to perform cognitive tasks, and (2) the right hemisphere engages in mental calculation for the abacus experts whereas the left hemisphere contributes to mental calculation in ordinary people having no experience of abacus learning.
Abacus experts exhibit superior short-term memory for digits, but the underlying neurophysiological mechanism remains unknown. Using event-related fMRI, we examined the brain activity of abacus experts and non-experts during the memory retention period of a delayed match-to-sample task using digits as stimuli. In controls, activity was greater in cortical areas related to verbal working memory, including Broca's area. In contrast, in experts, activity was greater in cortical areas related to visuo-spatial working memory, including the bilateral superior frontal sulcus and superior parietal lobule. This provides neurophysiological evidence that abacus experts utilize a visuo-spatial representation for digit memory.