The Coding Brain: P600 Effects Elicited by the Visual Programming Language ScratchJr

This preregistered study examined the neural mechanisms underlying the visual programming language ScratchJr. The researchers recorded event-related potentials (ERPs) from 40 adults as they completed a semantic congruency task using ScratchJr stimuli. The results showed a P600 response to semantic violations, indicating that ScratchJr processing engages neural mechanisms related to structured processes like natural language. This contribution to the growing evidence on the semantic nature of the P600 has important implications for early childhood coding education, as it suggests that ScratchJr taps into the brain's language-like processing. The study's findings provide a foundation for developing more effective teaching strategies that leverage the cognitive similarities between coding and natural language.