Functional imaging of numerical processing in adults and 4-y-old children.
Abstract
Adult humans, infants, pre-school children, and non-human animals appear to share
a system of approximate numerical processing for non-symbolic stimuli such as arrays
of dots or sequences of tones. Behavioral studies of adult humans implicate a link
between these non-symbolic numerical abilities and symbolic numerical processing (e.g.,
similar distance effects in accuracy and reaction-time for arrays of dots and Arabic
numerals). However, neuroimaging studies have remained inconclusive on the neural
basis of this link. The intraparietal sulcus (IPS) is known to respond selectively
to symbolic numerical stimuli such as Arabic numerals. Recent studies, however, have
arrived at conflicting conclusions regarding the role of the IPS in processing non-symbolic,
numerosity arrays in adulthood, and very little is known about the brain basis of
numerical processing early in development. Addressing the question of whether there
is an early-developing neural basis for abstract numerical processing is essential
for understanding the cognitive origins of our uniquely human capacity for math and
science. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) at 4-Tesla and an event-related
fMRI adaptation paradigm, we found that adults showed a greater IPS response to visual
arrays that deviated from standard stimuli in their number of elements, than to stimuli
that deviated in local element shape. These results support previous claims that there
is a neurophysiological link between non-symbolic and symbolic numerical processing
in adulthood. In parallel, we tested 4-y-old children with the same fMRI adaptation
paradigm as adults to determine whether the neural locus of non-symbolic numerical
activity in adults shows continuity in function over development. We found that the
IPS responded to numerical deviants similarly in 4-y-old children and adults. To our
knowledge, this is the first evidence that the neural locus of adult numerical cognition
takes form early in development, prior to sophisticated symbolic numerical experience.
More broadly, this is also, to our knowledge, the first cognitive fMRI study to test
healthy children as young as 4 y, providing new insights into the neurophysiology
of human cognitive development.
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/6960Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1371/journal.pbio.0040125Publication Info
Cantlon, Jessica F; Brannon, Elizabeth M; Carter, Elizabeth J; & Pelphrey, Kevin A (2006). Functional imaging of numerical processing in adults and 4-y-old children. PLoS biology, 4(5). 10.1371/journal.pbio.0040125. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/6960.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Elizabeth M. Brannon
Professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience
Dr. Brannon's research program examines the evolution and development of quantitative
cognition. She studies how number, time, and spatial extent are represented by adult
humans, infants, young children and nonhuman animals without language. With her many
collaborators at Duke she applies behavioral techniques, event-related potentials,
functional magnetic resonance imaging, and single-unit physiology to explore the cognitive
and neural underpinnings of numerical cognition in nonhuman primates
This author no longer has a Scholars@Duke profile, so the information shown here reflects
their Duke status at the time this item was deposited.

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