一句话：通过fMRI与fNIRS人体实验揭示数据结构操作与空间推理共享但程度不同的脑区，并比较两种成像技术。
数据结构在软件工程中无处不在，但其相关的人类认知过程尚未被充分理解。本文借鉴心理学中的空间能力概念，结合医学成像解码若干基本数据结构及其操作的神经表征。研究招募76名参与者，使用功能近红外光谱（fNIRS）和功能磁共振成像（fMRI）完成列表、数组、树以及心理旋转任务。结果表明，数据结构操作与空间操作使用相同的大脑局部区域但激活程度不同，二者相关但属于不同神经任务；更困难的计算机科学问题比纯空间推理引发更高认知负荷。此外，fNIRS成本更低、限制更少，但某些与计算相关的脑区只能由fMRI覆盖。
Data structures permeate many aspects of software engineering, but their associated human cognitive processes are not thoroughly understood. We leverage medical imaging and insights from the psychological notion of spatial ability to decode the neural representations of several fundamental data structures and their manipulations. In a human study involving 76 participants, we examine list, array, tree, and mental rotation tasks using both functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We find a nuanced relationship: data structure and spatial operations use the same focal regions of the brain but to different degrees. They are related but distinct neural tasks. In addition, more difficult computer science problems induce higher cognitive load than do problems of pure spatial reasoning. Finally, while fNIRS is less expensive and more permissive, there are some computing-relevant brain regions that only fMRI can reach.
@inproceedings{HuangLKSHLW19,
title = {Distilling Neural Representations of Data Structure Manipulation using fMRI and fNIRS},
author = {Yu Huang and Xinyu Liu and Ryan Krueger and Tyler Santander and Xiaosu Hu and Kevin Leach and Westley Weimer},
booktitle = {ICSE},
year = {2019},
doi = {10.1109/icse.2019.00053}
}