Dr. Dror Dotan
My lab aims to understand and improve fundamental abilities of symbolic mathematical thinking: reading and writing numbers, calculation, algorithmic thinking, programming, and more: Mathematics is a kind of language: similar to language, it allows using a basic set of symbols to express complex meanings by combining these symbols according to certain rules. For example, the base-10 system allows combining digits or words into numbers; operators such as + and ÷ allow combining these numbers to perform basic arithmetic; and mathematical procedures combine simple calculations to attain more complex goals, e.g., solving an equation. My lab examines how, when children and adults do mathematics, their mind handles these systems of symbols and rules via cognitive mechanisms such as language and executive functions. We investigate this question for ‘the average person’, but we also examine individual differences, i.e., how and why some people are better than others in particular aspects of math, and which precise learning disorders disrupt specific mathematical abilities. To investigate these issues we use a variety of methods from Cognitive Psychology and Neuropsychology. We believe that cognitive research should not remain in the lab, but rather be used to improve education. Thus, we create methods and tools to diagnose mathematical learning disorders in individual children and adults, and we develop research-based educational methods that should make math learning easier and more efficient.
Behavioral Neuroscience
Clinical Neuroscience
Cognitive Neuroscience
- Dotan, D., & Zviran-Ginat, S. (2022). Elementary math in elementary school: The effect of interference on learning the multiplication table. Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications, 7, 101. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41235-022-00451-0
- Dotan, D., Eliahou, O., & Cohen, S. (2021). Serial and syntactic processing in the visual analysis of multi-digit numbers. Cortex, 134, 162-180. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2020.10.012
- Dotan, D. & Dehaene, S. (2020). Parallel and serial processes in number-to-quantity conversion. Cognition, 204, 104387. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2020.104387
- Dotan, D., Pinheiro-Chagas, P., Al-Roumi F., & Dehaene, S. (2019). Track it to crack it: Dissecting processing stages with trajectory tracking. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 23(12), 1058-1070. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2019.10.002
- Dotan, D. & Friedmann, N. (2018). A cognitive model for multi-digit number reading: Inferences from individuals with selective impairments. Cortex, 101, 249-281. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2017.10.025
