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Math Anxiety; Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; connectivity; EEG; functional connectivity
Abstract:
Highly math-anxious (HMA) individuals are characterized by a strong tendency to avoid math, which ultimately undercuts their math competence and forecloses important career paths (Ashcraft, 2002). It is hypothesized that worries and intrusive thoughts associated with math anxiety (MA) reduce working memory resources needed for cognitively demanding math tasks (Chang & Beilock, 2016). However, mental processes that access the memory representations of mathematical knowledge has not been fully uncovered (Ashcraft, 2001). Previous studies indicate that the frontal cortex is dominantly involved in working memory (WM) and more specifically while updating the working memory representations (Smith & Jonides, 1997). Additionally, Klados et. al. 2015 show that higher event-related potential (ERP) measures of HMA subjects are predominantly located at frontocentral sites at cortex, while performing WM tasks. Here, we aim to explore the changes in cortical connectivity profile induced by MA during WM tasks.
