Applying Frequency Bands to Explore the Identification of Two Dimensional Figures

Abstract

The aim of this study was to apply frequency bands to explore how mental rotation strategies affect the identification of 2D figures. Eighteen adults were recruited for this study. In the ERP experiments, the participants were required to identify 2D figures with mental rotation. The results showed the differences between the high-achieving (HA) and low-achieving (LA) spatial ability participants in their use of mental rotation for identifying 2D figures. At 300-380 ms, the HA participants showed higher brain activity in the right hemisphere than in other brain areas, whereas the LA participants showed activity in the whole brain. At 520 to 620 ms, the areas of brain activity were in the opposite hemisphere for the HA and LA participants. The highest brain activity was shown in the left hemisphere of the HA participants and in the right hemisphere for the LA participants at 520 to 620 ms. The implication of this study is that right hemisphere specialization for mental rotation might appear in early cognitive processing, but in late cognitive processing, the left hemisphere specialization form of mental rotation might show an advantage.