Neural Basis of Repetition Priming during Mathematical Cognition: Repetition Suppression or Repetition Enhancement?

■ We investigated the neural basis of repetition priming (RP) during mathematical cognition. Previous studies of RP have focused on repetition suppression as the basis of behavioral facilitation, primarily using word and object identification and classification tasks. More recently, researchers have suggested associative stimulus-response learning as an alternate model for behavioral facilitation. We examined the neural basis of RP during mathematical problem solving in the context of these two models of learning. Brain imaging and behavioral data were acquired from 39 adults during novel and repeated presentation of three-operand mathematical equations. Despite widespread decreases in activation during repeat, compared with novel trials, there was no direct relation between the behavioral facilitation and the degree of repetition suppression in any brain region. Rather, RT improvements were directly correlated with repetition enhancement in the hippocampus and the posteromedial cor...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2010
• Where: JOCN
• Authors: Valorie N. Salimpoor, Catie Chang, Vinod Menon
• Keywords: Behavioral Facilitation, JOCN 2010, Neural Basis, Repetition Suppression