Comprehension of computer code relies primarily on domain-general executive brain regions.

ABSTRACT: Computer programming is a novel cognitive tool that has transformed modern society. What cognitive and neural mechanisms support this skill? Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate two candidate brain systems: the multiple demand (MD) system, typically recruited during math, logic, problem solving, and executive tasks, and the language system, typically recruited during linguistic processing. We examined MD and language system responses to code written in Python, a text-based programming language (Experiment 1) and in ScratchJr, a graphical programming language (Experiment 2); for both, we contrasted responses to code problems with responses to content-matched sentence problems. We found that the MD system exhibited strong bilateral responses to code in both expe

SUBMITTER: Ivanova AA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7738192 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature