- Data Descriptor
- Open access
- Published: 27 December 2025
Scientific Data , Article number: (2025) Cite this article
We are providing an unedited version of this manuscript to give early access to its findings. Before final publication, the manuscript will undergo further editing. Please note there may be errors present which affect the content, and all legal disclaimers apply.
Abstract
We present a dataset of healthy children (N = 99) to explore the impact of long-term cognitive training on multimodal brain structure, function, and cognitive performance. At the start of primary school, participants were randomly assigned to…
- Data Descriptor
- Open access
- Published: 27 December 2025
Scientific Data , Article number: (2025) Cite this article
We are providing an unedited version of this manuscript to give early access to its findings. Before final publication, the manuscript will undergo further editing. Please note there may be errors present which affect the content, and all legal disclaimers apply.
Abstract
We present a dataset of healthy children (N = 99) to explore the impact of long-term cognitive training on multimodal brain structure, function, and cognitive performance. At the start of primary school, participants were randomly assigned to an experimental group (n = 53), which received five years of structured abacus-based mental calculation (AMC) training from Grade 1 to Grade 5, or a control group (n = 46) without additional training. Neuroimaging data, including resting-state functional MRI and T1-weighted structural MRI, were collected after the first training year (at the start of Grade 2). Behavioral data, including standardized mathematical ability tests and psychological assessments, were collected longitudinally across Grades 2 to 5. To promote open access, the Brain Imaging Data Structure (BIDS) formatted data and corresponding quality control reports are available on the Science Data Bank. It offers a unique opportunity to deepen our understanding of how long-term training shapes neural and behavioral development in childhood.
Data availability
The dataset24 described in this Data Descriptor is available through the SciDB repository at https://doi.org/10.57760/sciencedb.o00133.00034. Access to the data follows the requirements of the CCNP-DUA (https://doi.org/10.57760/sciencedb.o00133.00020), which outlines the terms, security standards, and usage guidelines necessary to obtain the dataset.
Code availability
All tools used for data processing are open-source, with usage details available in the cited references.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 32071096), and Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (Grant No. 2022A1515110105). The authors are grateful to the Chinese Abacus and Mental Arithmetic Association and the Heilongjiang Abacus Association for their kind support, as well as to children, parents, and teachers of Qiqihar for their participation in the study.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
School of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
Jiali Mu, Tianyong Xu & Feiyan Chen 1.
School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
Ye Xie
Authors
- Jiali Mu
- Tianyong Xu
- Ye Xie
- Feiyan Chen
Contributions
J.L. Mu: formal data analysis; manuscript preparation; data curation; management of online repositories. F.Y. Chen: study design; data collection and data curation. T.Y. Xu, Y. Xie: study design, data collection and analysis. All authors edited and revised the manuscript.
Corresponding author
Correspondence to Feiyan Chen.
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The authors declare no competing interests.
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Cite this article
Mu, J., Xu, T., Xie, Y. et al. A multi-modal neuroimaging dataset on long-term cognitive training in school children. Sci Data (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-025-06500-9
Received: 24 April 2025
Accepted: 18 December 2025
Published: 27 December 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-025-06500-9