Connecting the dots: rethinking the relationship between code and prose writing with functional connectivity

Medical imaging studies of software engineering have risen in popularity and may reveal the neural underpinnings of coding activities. To date, however, all studies in computer science venues have treated brain regions independently and in isolation. Since most complex neural activity involves coordination among multiple regions, previous analyses may overlook neural behavior.

We propose to apply functional connectivity analysis to medical imaging data from software engineering tasks. Informally, this analysis treats the brain as a graph, rather than a series of independent modules, and statistically infers relevant edges. We present a functional connectivity analysis of existing data, which elucidates the interconnections between code writing and prose writing, especially regarding higher mathematics and semantic processing. First, we found a significant link between Broca's Area (language) and the Number Form Area (higher mathematics) for coding. This both refines previous interpretations that code writing and natural language are distinct from each other, and may also contribute to the understanding of the Number Form Area in the Psychology literature. Second, we identify an area with important functional connectivity for both prose writing and coding, unlike previous analyses that associated it with coding. This advances our neural understanding of coding and prose writing, and was only exposed by using functional connectivity analysis. Third, for coding, we find a strong functional connectivity result for a brain region involved in semantic processing for language, with implications for CS training. Finally, we find a neural relationship between coding and expertise, including a more grounded explanation than prior work.