EEG-Based Cortical Localization of Neural Efficiency Related to Mathematical Giftedness

Using two inductive reasoning tasks with high and low levels of complexity, this electroencephalogram (EEG) study examined the relationship between gamma-band response (GBR) of human brain and neural efficiency in math-gifted and average-level adolescents. The event-related synchronization/ desynchronization (ERS/ERD) maps of math-gifted subjects and averagelevel subjects were analyzed in the first place. Furthermore, by means of feature selection based on a sequential forward floating search (SFFS) algorithm, this study investigated the important EEG scalp locations for discriminating cortical areas between groups of subjects and between task conditions. The experimental results show that math-gifted adolescents can more efficiently recruit frontoparietal cortices while performing both levels of inductive reasoning tasks. Right frontal and bilateral parietal cortices are suggested to be highly involved in neural efficiency related to mathematical giftedness. © Springer-Verlag 2013.