Différences de performance dans les compétences langagières et en lecture entre élèves à parcours scolaire régulier et irrégulier, issus de familles immigrées portugaises au Luxembourg.

in University of Luxembourg, LUCET; Ministère de l’Éducation nationale, de l’Enfance et de la Jeunesse, SCRIPT (Eds.) Rapport national sur l’éducation au Luxembourg 2021 (2021)

Learning mathematics with shackles: How lower reading comprehension in the language of mathematics instruction accounts for lower mathematics achievement in speakers of different home languages

in Acta Psychologica (2021)

Canonical representations of fingers and dots trigger an automatic activation of number semantics: an EEG study on 10-year-old children

in Neuropsychologia (2021)

Over the course of development, children must learn to map a non-symbolic representation of magnitude to a more precise symbolic system. There is solid evidence that finger and dot representations can ... [more ▼]

Over the course of development, children must learn to map a non-symbolic representation of magnitude to a more precise symbolic system. There is solid evidence that finger and dot representations can facilitate or even predict the acquisition of this mapping skill. While several behavioral studies demonstrated that canonical representations of fingers and dots automatically activate number semantics, no study so far has investigated their cerebral basis. To examine these questions, 10-year-old children were presented a behavioral naming task and a Fast Periodic Visual Stimulation EEG paradigm. In the behavioral task, children had to name as fast and as accurately as possible the numbers of dots and fingers presented in canonical and non-canonical configurations. In the EEG experiment, one category of stimuli (e.g., canonical representation of fingers or dots) was periodically inserted (1/5) in streams of another category (e.g., non-canonical representation of fingers or dots) presented at a fast rate (4 Hz). Results demonstrated an automatic access to number semantics and bilateral categorical responses at 4 Hz/5 for canonical representations of fingers and dots. Some differences between finger and dot configuration’s processing were nevertheless observed and are discussed in light of an effortful-automatic continuum hypothesis. [less ▲]

Lernstörungen im multilingualen Kontext: Diagnose und Hilfestellungen.

Book published by Melusina Press (2021)

Um Kinder mit einer Lernstörung durch möglichst angepasste Hilfsmaßnahmen unterstützen zu können, ist eine umfassende Diagnostik maßgeblich. Die Diagnostik von Lernstörungen stellt vor allem in ... [more ▼]

Um Kinder mit einer Lernstörung durch möglichst angepasste Hilfsmaßnahmen unterstützen zu können, ist eine umfassende Diagnostik maßgeblich. Die Diagnostik von Lernstörungen stellt vor allem in multilingualen Kontexten - wie in Luxemburg - eine Herausforderung dar. Auch werden derzeit vorwiegend im Ausland entwickelte diagnostische Tests durchgeführt, welche die luxemburgischen Besonderheiten, wie etwa das Erlernen der schriftsprachlichen und mathematischen Kompetenzen in einer Zweit- oder Drittsprache, nicht berücksichtigen. Ausgehend vom aktuellen Forschungs- und Wissensstand wird ein vertieftes Verständnis im Hinblick auf Lese- und Rechtschreibstörungen und Rechenstörungen dargelegt. Darauf aufbauend werden diagnostische Vorgehensweisen sowie pädagogische Hilfsmaßnahmen mithilfe von Erfahrungswerten praktizierender Fachkräfte aus dem luxemburgischen Förderbereich vorgestellt. [less ▲]

Developmental changes in neural letter-selectivity: A 1-year follow-up of beginning readers

in Developmental science (2021), 24(1), 12999

The development of early visual-spatial abilities--considering effects of test mode

in Cognitive Development (2021), 60

Long-term Relevance and Interrelation of Symbolic and Non-symbolic Abilities in Mathematical-numerical Development: Evidence from Large-scale Assessment Data

in Cognitive Development (2021), 58

Harmonic amplitude summation for frequency-tagging analysis

in Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience (2021)

In the approach of frequency tagging, stimuli that are presented periodically generate periodic responses of the brain. Following a transformation into the frequency domain, the brain’s response is often ... [more ▼]

In the approach of frequency tagging, stimuli that are presented periodically generate periodic responses of the brain. Following a transformation into the frequency domain, the brain’s response is often evident at the frequency of stimulation, F, and its higher harmonics (2F, 3F, etc.). This approach is increasingly used in neuroscience, as it affords objective measures to characterize brain function. However, whether these specific harmonic frequency responses should be combined for analysis, and if so, how, remains an outstanding issue. In most studies, higher harmonic responses have not been described or were described only individually; in other studies, harmonics have been combined with various approaches, e.g., averaging and root mean squared summation. A rationale for these approaches in the context of frequency-based analysis principles, and understanding of how they relate to the brain’s response amplitudes in the time domain, has been missing. Here, with these elements addressed, the summation of (baseline-corrected) harmonic amplitude is recommended. [less ▲]

Varying stimulus duration reveals consistent neural activity and behavior for human face individuation

in Neuroscience (2021), 472

Establishing consistent relationships between neural activity and behavior is a challenge in human cognitive neuroscience research. We addressed this issue using variable time constraints in an oddball ... [more ▼]

Establishing consistent relationships between neural activity and behavior is a challenge in human cognitive neuroscience research. We addressed this issue using variable time constraints in an oddball frequency-sweep design for visual discrimination of complex images (face exemplars). Sixteen participants viewed sequences of ascending presentation durations, from 25 to 333 ms (40–3 Hz stimulation rate) while their electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded. Throughout each sequence, the same unfamiliar face picture was repeated with variable size and luminance changes while different unfamiliar facial identities appeared every 1 s (1 Hz). A neural face individuation response, tagged at 1 Hz and its unique harmonics, emerged over the occipito-temporal cortex at 50 ms stimulus duration (25–100 ms across individuals), with an optimal response reached at 170 ms stimulus duration. In a subsequent experiment, identity changes appeared non-periodically within fixed-frequency sequences while the same participants performed an explicit face individuation task. The behavioral face individuation response also emerged at 50 ms presentation time, and behavioral accuracy correlated with individual participants’ neural response amplitude in a weighted middle stimulus duration range (50–125 ms). Moreover, the latency of the neural response peaking between 180 and 200 ms correlated strongly with individuals’ behavioral accuracy in this middle duration range, as measured independently. These observations point to the minimal (50 ms) and optimal (170 ms) stimulus durations for human face individuation and provide novel evidence that inter-individual differences in the magnitude and latency of early, high-level neural responses are predictive of behavioral differences in performance at this function. [less ▲]

The importance of visuospatial abilities for verbal number skills in preschool: Adding spatial language to the equation

in Journal of Experimental Child Psychology (2021)