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Physical Exercise and Cognitive Enhancement
Published in Henning Budde, Mirko Wegner, The Exercise Effect on Mental Health, 2018
Beyond these correlational associations, experimental evidence has also demonstrated that the link is causal – motor training leads to enhanced performance on spatial ability and working memory capacity tasks (Moreau, Clerc, Mansy-Dannay, & Guerrien 2012; Moreau, Morrison, & Conway 2015), and these behavioral changes are mediated by cortical changes (Adkins, Boychuk, Remple, & Kleim 2006). This line of research paves the way for interesting applications intended to target cognitive gains via behavioral interventions, which we discuss in the next section.
Sexual Differentiation of Spatial Functions in Humans
Published in Akira Matsumoto, Sexual Differentiation of the Brain, 2017
Spatial abilities evolved to enable our hominid ancestors to solve spatial problems in the natural environment. Today, they are typically assessed in the laboratory setting using a variety of psychometric tests or synthetic problems. An example item from a test of spatial ability is shown in Figure 15.1. The type of function assessed in this case is called “mental rotation” or “spatial orientation.” Factor analytic studies of mental test batteries have long identified spatial orientation as a separable form of spatial ability. In everyday life, mental rotation is required in many mechanical or building-related activities and is involved in recognizing one’s surroundings from different vantage points. Mental rotation tests are widely used to assess spatial ability in human research and reliably elicit a male advantage. The size of the sex difference varies, but on mental rotation tests with a high degree of difficulty, average scores for men and women differ by as much as one full standard deviation.
Application of the neuropsychological evaluation in vocational planning after brain injury
Published in Robert T. Fraser, David C. Clemmons, Traumatic Brain Injury Rehabilitation, 2017
The parietal lobes are important for visual-spatial organizational ability. This part of the brain assists in interpreting information that is delivered through the visual senses, and is known as spatial ability. For most people, the right parietal lobe is more responsible for analyzing and organizing spatial information. For example, a mechanic may employ visual organizational skills in assembling and figuring out problems with a carburetor. Awareness of three-dimensional objects and designs, and the ability to integrate motor activities (e.g., drawing an object on a piece of paper by looking at the object) is a function of this part of the brain. It is thought that the left parietal lobe is important for executing arithmetic problems, comprehending and repeating speech, and reading and writing abilities.
Is there proof of transferability of laparoscopic psychomotor skills from the simulator laboratory to the operating room? Results from a systematic review
Published in Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 2022
Zaki Sleiman, Roger Bitar, Costas Christoforou, Péter Török, Michele Fichera, Marco Marzio Panella, Antonio Biondi, Antonio Simone Laganà, Simone Garzon, Ghida Radwan
Laparoscopic skills are today an integral part of a surgeon’s armamentarium, both for benign disease (Donnez and Nisolle 1995; Laganà et al. 2016; Sturlese et al. 2017; Vitale et al. 2017) and oncological cases (Nezhat et al. 2014; Bellia et al. 2016; Rossetti et al. 2017). Achieving proficiency is hampered by training time limitation, lack of training opportunities, counter-intuitive nature of skill acquiring, and long learning curve. Psychomotor abilities, namely visual-spatial ability, depth perception and motor precision, are cornerstones to acquire surgical skills. Competency can be achieved with proper training: nevertheless, aiming to do this during actual live surgeries is tedious and lengthy, and might even be considered unethical due to the potential increased risk for the patient (Sleiman et al. 2015). Besides, the development of laparoscopic surgery in gynaecology has necessitated additional training in minimally invasive surgery for many trainees, even for benign diseases such as deep infiltrating endometriosis and large fibroids (Laganà et al. 2016; Raffaelli et al. 2018; Vitale 2020).
Spatial Ability in Children with Mathematics Learning Disorder (MLD) and Its Impact on Executive Functions
Published in Developmental Neuropsychology, 2021
Samira Yazdani, Solmaz Soluki, Ali Akbar Arjmandnia, Jalil Fathabadi, Saeid Hassanzadeh, Vahid Nejati
Mathematics learning ability is closely related to cognitive functions (Hallahan & Mercer, 2002). An ever-growing body of literature show that spatial ability (SA) is one of the main cognitive functions that is crucial for learning mathematics (Burnett, Lane, & Dratt, 1979; Casey, Nuttall, & Pezaris, 2001; Delgado & Prieto, 2004; Geary, Hoard, Byrd‐Craven, Nugent, & Numtee, 2007; Holmes, Adams, & Hamilton, 2008; Kyttälä, Aunio, Lehto, Van Luit, & Hautamäki, 2003; Lubinski & Benbow, 1992; McKenzie, Bull, & Gray, 2003; McLean & Hitch, 1999; Rasmussen & Bisanz, 2005). SA is related to particular types of math skills such as arithmetic, counting, geometry, and so on (Geary, 1993). Therefore, it can affect academic skills which is one of the important functions of children’s daily life.
Role of Gender in Dual-Tasking Timed Up and Go Tests: A Cross-Sectional Study
Published in Journal of Motor Behavior, 2019
Although sexual dimorphism is well documented in cognitive studies, the gender variable has not yet been controlled for when assessing the impact of different cognitive tasks on performance on a fall-assessment test such as the TUG test. Women have been found to perform better on verbal and memory tasks, whereas men outperform women in spatial ability and mental calculation tasks (Kimura, 1996; Wegesin, 1998). With advanced aging, some of these differences across gender persist and others do not. For instance, older women outperform men in verbal memory and word-listing tasks (Jorm, Anstey, Christensen, & Rodgers, 2004; Van Hooren et al., 2007). Conversely, other reports have found no variability in mental calculation task performance between older men and women (Van Hooren et al., 2007). It is important to determine whether an interaction between gender and these different cognitive tasks exists in order to select the appropriate cognitive load when using DT for more accurate fall-risk assessment.