一句话：通过静息态 fMRI 比较程序员与非程序员，发现编程经验伴随语言、数学、注意及视觉相关脑区连接差异。
论文关注专家程序员为何更高效、其神经基础如何形成。已有研究多让被试执行编程理解任务，但难以发现与编程经验系统相关的脑活动差异，且任务可能限制参与脑网络。作者转而分析静息态 fMRI：在无任务状态下测量 150 名参与者（其中 96 名程序员）的功能连接，并考察编程年限与连接强度的关系。结果显示，程序员在语言、数学和时间注意相关脑区之间连接更强；非程序员则在社会与情绪认知相关脑区连接更强。此外，编程经验越丰富，两个分别与阅读时视觉加工和发音/构音相关的脑区之间连接越低。研究提示长期编程经验可能与静息态脑功能组织的可塑性变化有关。
Expert programmers are more effective at coding activities, but the reasons for this remain elusive. Accordingly, recent research has used neuroimaging such as fMRI to analyze how expert programmers might think as they perform coding activities. Those experiments have all involved specific program-ming tasks (i.e., comprehension), but have been unable to detect systematic differences based on coding experience. By using tasks, however, those studies may limit the number and type of brain networks involved. In Cognitive Neuroscience, researchers commonly analyze resting-state data, in which participants' brain activity is recorded as they lay idle in the scanner. The brain's functional organization is plastic, and can change with experience. These changes can be measured at rest, making this a suitable data type for studying how programming activities affect neural organization over time. In this paper, we analyzed the resting state scans from 150 participants, 96 of whom were programmers. We found increased connectivity in programmers between brain regions involved in language, math, and the tempo-ral attention. Non-programmers demonstrated more connectivity with regions involved in social and emotional cognition. We found that as years of programming experience increases, connectivity decreases between two regions associated with visual processing during reading and articulation, respectively.
@inproceedings{paperbot8853,
title = {Studying Programmers Without Programming: Investigating Expertise Using Resting State fMRI},
author = {Zachary Karas and Benjamin Gold and Violet Zhou and Noah Reardon and Thad Polk and Catie Chang and Yu Huang},
booktitle = {ICSE},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.1109/icse55347.2025.00164}
}