Universidad de León, León, Spain.
Universidad of Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain.
Sci Rep. 2021 Apr 12;11(1):7982. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-87191-1.
Neuroscience has studied deductive reasoning over the last 20 years under the assumption that deductive inferences are not only de jure but also de facto distinct from other forms of inference. The objective of this research is to verify if logically valid deductions leave any cerebral electrical trait that is distinct from the trait left by non-valid deductions. 23 subjects with an average age of 20.35 years were registered with MEG and placed into a two conditions paradigm (100 trials for each condition) which each presented the exact same relational complexity (same variables and content) but had distinct logical complexity. Both conditions show the same electromagnetic components (P3, N4) in the early temporal window (250-525 ms) and P6 in the late temporal window (500-775 ms). The significant activity in both valid and invalid conditions is found in sensors from medial prefrontal regions, probably corresponding to the ACC or to the medial prefrontal cortex. The amplitude and intensity of valid deductions is significantly lower in both temporal windows (p = 0.0003). The reaction time was 54.37% slower in the valid condition. Validity leaves a minimal but measurable hypoactive electrical trait in brain processing. The minor electrical demand is attributable to the recursive and automatable character of valid deductions, suggesting a physical indicator of computational deductive properties. It is hypothesized that all valid deductions are recursive and hypoactive.
在过去的 20 年里，神经科学一直在研究演绎推理，假设演绎推理不仅在法律上而且实际上也与其他形式的推理不同。这项研究的目的是验证逻辑有效的推论是否会留下任何与非有效推论留下的特征不同的大脑电特征。23 名平均年龄为 20.35 岁的受试者接受了 MEG 登记，并被置于两种条件范式中（每种条件 100 次试验），每种条件都呈现出相同的关系复杂性（相同的变量和内容），但逻辑复杂性不同。两种条件在早期时间窗口（250-525ms）和晚期时间窗口（500-775ms）中都显示出相同的电磁成分（P3、N4）和 P6。在有效的和无效的条件中都发现了显著的活动在从中线前额区域的传感器，可能对应于 ACC 或中线前额皮质。在两个时间窗口中，有效和无效条件下的振幅和强度都显著降低（p=0.0003）。有效条件下的反应时间慢了 54.37%。有效性在大脑处理中留下了一个微小但可测量的低活动电特征。这种较小的电需求归因于有效推论的递归和自动化特性，这表明了计算演绎属性的物理指标。假设所有有效的推论都是递归的和低活动的。
