Does writing handedness affect neural representation of symbolic number? An fMRI adaptation study

Cortex ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 121 ◽  
pp. 27-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Celia Goffin ◽  
H. Moriah Sokolowski ◽  
Michael Slipenkyj ◽  
Daniel Ansari
Keyword(s):  
Neural Representation ◽  
Fmri Adaptation ◽  
Symbolic Number

scholarly journals Symbols are special: An fMRI adaptation study of symbolic, nonsymbolic and non-numerical magnitude processing in the human brain

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Moriah Sokolowski ◽  
Zachary Hawes ◽  
Lien Peters ◽  
Daniel Ansari
Keyword(s):  
Human Brain ◽  
Processing System ◽  
Number Processing ◽  
Numerical Magnitude ◽  
Physical Size ◽  
Parietal Lobes ◽  
Magnitude Processing ◽  
The Right ◽  
Fmri Adaptation ◽  
Symbolic Number

Humans have the unique ability to represent and manipulate symbols. It is widely believed that this ability is rooted in an evolutionarily ancient system used to process nonsymbolic quantities in the human brain. In the current study, we used an fMRI adaptation paradigm to isolate the representations of symbols, quantities, and physical size in forty-five human adults. Results indicate that the neural correlates supporting symbolic number processing are entirely distinct from those supporting nonsymbolic magnitude processing. At the univariate level, symbolic number processing is associated with activation in the left inferior parietal lobule, whereas the processing of nonsymbolic magnitudes (both quantity and physical size), relates to activation in the right intraparietal sulcus. At the multivariate level, normalized patterns of activation for symbolic number processing exhibit a dissimilar pattern of activation compared to nonsymbolic magnitude processing in both the left and right parietal lobes. Additionally, the patterns of activation that associate with quantity and physical size are practically indistinguishable from one another. These findings challenge the longstanding belief that the culturally acquired ability to conceptualize symbolic numbers is rooted in an evolutionarily ancient system for nonsymbolic magnitude processing. Moreover, these data reveal that the system used to process nonsymbolic numbers may actually be a general magnitude processing system used to process numerical and non-numerical magnitudes. These findings highlight the need for the field to shift away from exploring how symbols are grounded in analog nonsymbolic representations, and toward more complex questions related to the neural consequences of learning symbolic numbers.

scholarly journals Application of fMRI adaptation to characterize the neural representation of color.

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 51-51
Author(s):  
A. S. Persichetti ◽  
S. L. Thompson-Schill ◽  
D. H. Brainard ◽  
O. H. Butt ◽  
N. S. Hsu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neural Representation ◽  
Fmri Adaptation

Number Representations and their Relation with Mathematical Ability

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Titia Gebuis ◽  
Bert Reynvoet
Keyword(s):  
Number System ◽  
Neural Representation ◽  
Approximate Number System ◽  
Developmental Models ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Mathematical Abilities ◽  
Number Representations ◽  
The One ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Symbolic Number

In this chapter we review research on the processes that underlie the development of mathematical abilities. It is proposed that numerical deficiencies might arise from domain specific problems. The approximate number system that supports reasoning with non-symbolic numbers, on the one hand, and the symbolic number system on the other hand were put forth as possible candidates. To gain insight into the two different systems, we will describe the development of non-symbolic and symbolic number processing and introduce the two main theories about numerical deficiencies: the approximate number system and the access deficit hypothesis. The paradigms used to study both accounts differ in several ways and are of importance for research on the relation between non-symbolic and symbolic number and mathematical abilities. Then, we will review how the studies investigating both accounts relate to two different sets of developmental models that describe the neural representation of number.

scholarly journals Getting to Know Someone: Familiarity, Person Recognition, and Identification in the Human Brain

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (12) ◽  
pp. 2205-2225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gyula Kovács
Keyword(s):  
Neural Representation ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
Correct Identification ◽  
Multivariate Pattern Analysis ◽  
Person Recognition ◽  
Neuroimaging Data ◽  
Multivariate Pattern ◽  
Fmri Adaptation ◽  
Identity Processing

In our everyday life, we continuously get to know people, dominantly through their faces. Several neuroscientific experiments showed that familiarization changes the behavioral processing and underlying neural representation of faces of others. Here, we propose a model of the process of how we actually get to know someone. First, the purely visual familiarization of unfamiliar faces occurs. Second, the accumulation of associated, nonsensory information refines person representation, and finally, one reaches a stage where the effortless identification of very well-known persons occurs. We offer here an overview of neuroimaging studies, first evaluating how and in what ways the processing of unfamiliar and familiar faces differs and, second, by analyzing the fMRI adaptation and multivariate pattern analysis results we estimate where identity-specific representation is found in the brain. The available neuroimaging data suggest that different aspects of the information emerge gradually as one gets more and more familiar with a person within the same network. We propose a novel model of familiarity and identity processing, where the differential activation of long-term memory and emotion processing areas is essential for correct identification.

Neural Underpinnings of Numerical and Spatial Cognition: An fMRI Meta-Analysis of Brain Regions Associated with Symbolic Number, Arithmetic, and Mental Rotation

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zachary Hawes ◽  
H Moriah Sokolowski ◽  
Chuka Bosah Ononye ◽  
Daniel Ansari
Keyword(s):  
Mental Rotation ◽  
Parietal Lobe ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Likelihood Estimation ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Angular Gyrus ◽  
Number Representation ◽  
Neural Underpinnings ◽  
The Right ◽  
Symbolic Number

Where and under what conditions do spatial and numerical skills converge and diverge in the brain? To address this question, we conducted a meta-analysis of brain regions associated with basic symbolic number processing, arithmetic, and mental rotation. We used Activation Likelihood Estimation (ALE) to construct quantitative meta-analytic maps synthesizing results from 86 neuroimaging papers (~ 30 studies/cognitive process). All three cognitive processes were found to activate bilateral parietal regions in and around the intraparietal sulcus (IPS); a finding consistent with shared processing accounts. Numerical and arithmetic processing were associated with overlap in the left angular gyrus, whereas mental rotation and arithmetic both showed activity in the middle frontal gyri. These patterns suggest regions of cortex potentially more specialized for symbolic number representation and domain-general mental manipulation, respectively. Additionally, arithmetic was associated with unique activity throughout the fronto-parietal network and mental rotation was associated with unique activity in the right superior parietal lobe. Overall, these results provide new insights into the intersection of numerical and spatial thought in the human brain.

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