Numerical processing in the human parietal cortex during experimental and natural conditions

Dastjerdi, M.H. Choopan; Özker, Müge; Foster, Brett L.; Rangarajan, Vinitha; Parvizi, Josef

doi:10.1038/ncomms3528

Cited by 79 publications

(90 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…Our findings in the LPC corroborate our previous work, showing a subregion in the aIPS region that is selectively activated when subjects solve mathematical equations in an experimental setting or when they deal with numerical entities in a naturalistic setting (20). One could argue that the activity we observe in the aIPS when subjects judge arithmetic equations as true or false (task 2) is not truly math specific but instead reflects more general externally directed attention or cognitive control functions and thus could be part of the dorsal attention network (69) or frontoparietal control network (70).…”

Section: Numerical Processing In Discrete Neuronal Populations Withinsupporting

confidence: 82%

“…Our analyses were aimed first at characterizing the response properties of subregions within the VTC and LPC to confirm the presence of numeral-and/or math-selective neuronal populations that we and other groups have reported previously (20,22,23,37,39,40). Next, we measured the relative timing of the activation of each of these regions during arithmetic computations.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Neuroimaging, electrophysiology, and lesion studies in both humans and nonhuman primates have long implicated the parietal lobe, particularly the anterior segment of the intraparietal sulcus (aIPS), in abstract quantity representations irrespective of the modality of presentation (e.g., "4" vs. "four" vs. "::"), with specific neurons or neuronal populations exhibiting tuning around a preferred numerosity (4,(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25). Moreover, brain activity within this region and its functional and anatomical connectivity with other brain regions are correlated with mathematical performance in individual subjects (26)(27)(28)(29), and perturbation of activity in this region appears to affect mathematical performance (30)(31)(32).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Mapping human temporal and parietal neuronal population activity and functional coupling during mathematical cognition

Daitch

Foster

Schrouff

et al. 2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Brain areas within the lateral parietal cortex (LPC) and ventral temporal cortex (VTC) have been shown to code for abstract quantity representations and for symbolic numerical representations, respectively. To explore the fast dynamics of activity within each region and the interaction between them, we used electrocorticography recordings from 16 neurosurgical subjects implanted with grids of electrodes over these two regions and tracked the activity within and between the regions as subjects performed three different numerical tasks. Although our results reconfirm the presence of math-selective hubs within the VTC and LPC, we report here a remarkable heterogeneity of neural responses within each region at both millimeter and millisecond scales. Moreover, we show that the heterogeneity of response profiles within each hub mirrors the distinct patterns of functional coupling between them. Our results support the existence of multiple bidirectional functional loops operating between discrete populations of neurons within the VTC and LPC during the visual processing of numerals and the performance of arithmetic functions. These findings reveal information about the dynamics of numerical processing in the brain and also provide insight into the fine-grained functional architecture and connectivity within the human brain.A lthough the ability to approximate or compare rough quantities is present even in human infants (1) and in other species such as nonhuman primates (2-4) and birds (5), the association of exact quantities with symbols (e.g., the numeral "10") or verbal representations (e.g., the word "ten") is unique to humans exposed to such culturally learned entities (6-8). Moreover, dissociable number-and quantity-related behavioral deficits (i.e., deficits relating to symbolic or verbal numerical representations versus abstract quantity representations) are associated with different lesion locations within the brain (9-14). These observations in part motivated the Triple Code model positing that the human brain contains three different numerical representations: symbolic, verbal, and abstract quantity, each coded in a different brain region (15,16). The model also predicts that, depending on task demands (e.g., simple visual recognition of a numeral versus determining the larger of two numerals versus verbal naming of a numeral), all or a subset of these brain regions interact with each other (15, 16).Neuroimaging, electrophysiology, and lesion studies in both humans and nonhuman primates have long implicated the parietal lobe, particularly the anterior segment of the intraparietal sulcus (aIPS), in abstract quantity representations irrespective of the modality of presentation (e.g., "4" vs. "four" vs. "::"), with specific neurons or neuronal populations exhibiting tuning around a preferred numerosity (4, 17-25). Moreover, brain activity within this region and its functional and anatomical connectivity with other brain regions are correlated with mathematical performance in individual subjects (26)(27)(28)(29),...

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Section: Numerical Processing In Discrete Neuronal Populations Withinsupporting

confidence: 82%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mapping human temporal and parietal neuronal population activity and functional coupling during mathematical cognition

Daitch

Foster

Schrouff

et al. 2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…, which is commonly considered responsible for numerical representation (4,(39)(40)(41)(42)(43)(44)(45)(46)(47)(48)(49)(50)(51)(52)(53), using an established method of functional MRI (fMRI) adaptation for the study of numerosity perception (4). Neural tuning curve shift caused by connectivity in probes.…”

Section: Sulcus (Ips)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Topology-defined units in numerosity perception

Zhou

et al. 2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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What is a number? The number sense hypothesis suggests that numerosity is "a primary visual property" like color, contrast, or orientation. However, exactly what attribute of a stimulus is the primary visual property and determines numbers in the number sense? To verify the invariant nature of numerosity perception, we manipulated the numbers of items connected/enclosed in arbitrary and irregular forms while controlling for low-level features (e.g., orientation, color, and size). Subjects performed discrimination, estimation, and equality judgment tasks in a wide range of presentation durations and across small and large numbers. Results consistently show that connecting/ enclosing items led to robust numerosity underestimation, with the extent of underestimation increasing monotonically with the number of connected/enclosed items. In contrast, grouping based on color similarity had no effect on numerosity judgment. We propose that numbers or the primitive units counted in numerosity perception are influenced by topological invariants, such as connectivity and the inside/outside relationship. Beyond the behavioral measures, neural tuning curves to numerosity in the intraparietal sulcus were obtained using functional MRI adaptation, and the tuning curves showed that numbers represented in the intraparietal sulcus were strongly influenced by topology.W hat is a number? The answer to this age-old and fundamental question of philosophy has increasingly benefited from recent scientific investigation using psychology and neuroscience. The number sense hypothesis (1, 2) suggests that a number is "a basic property of the environment" (3) and particularly, because of its remarkable adaptation effect, "a primary visual property" (2), like color, contrast, or orientation (2-8). However, exactly what attribute in the environment is the primary property and determines numbers in the number sense, or more concretely, what is counted in numerosity perception? Consider the invariant nature of numerosity perception. It is self-evident that numerosity is invariant to specific features (e.g., orientation, size, shape, and color) of individual items to be counted. In other words, the primitive units to be counted must be invariant with variation in form dimensions and other visual features (2, 3, 7, 9-11). Then, the critical question becomes how to define precisely such abstract and invariant attributes. ResultsGeneralizing Connection to a Topological Invariant: Connectivity. We designed arbitrary and irregular shapes of connecting line segments (Fig. 1A, Upper) to test the invariant effect of connection on numerosity judgement independent of the concrete forms or manners of connection (12, 13). Three conditions of connection were constructed: zero, one, and two connected pairs of dots in the test patterns (Fig. 1A). A typical numerosity discrimination task was adopted, in which two visual patterns of dots were briefly presented on opposite sides of fixation (one serving as a reference and the other one serving as a test), and subj...

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“…Comparison across cultures in cognitive arithmetic [23] presented different performance success between students with different origin. Canadian university students -Chinese origin (CC), non-Asian origin (NAC) and Chinese university students educated in Asia (AC) -solved simple arithmetic problems with four basic operations.…”

Section: Numerosity and Arithmetic In Humansmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neuroanthropological Understanding of Complex Cognition - Numerosity and Arithmetics

Muršič

2013

: Interdiscip. Descr. Complex Syst.

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Humankind has a long evolutionary history. When we are trying to understand human complex cognition, it is as well important to look back to entire evolution. I will present the thesis that our biological predispositions and culture, together with natural and social environment, are tightly connected. During ontogenetically development we are shaped by various factors, and they enabled humans to develop some aspects of complex cognition, such as mathematics.In the beginning of the article I present the importance of natural and cultural evolution in other animals. In the following part, I briefly examine the field of mathematics -numerosity and arithmetic.Presentation of comparative animal studies, mainly made on primates, provides some interesting examples in animals' abilities to separate between different quantities. From abilities for numerosity in animals I continue to neuroscientific studies of humans and our ability to solve simple arithmetic tasks. I also mention cross-cultural studies of arithmetic skills. In the final part of the text I present the field neuroanthropology as a possible new pillar of cognitive science. Finally, it is important to connect human evolution and development with animal cognition studies, but as well with cross-cultural studies in shaping of human ability for numerosity and arithmetic.

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Numerical processing in the human parietal cortex during experimental and natural conditions

Cited by 79 publications

References 60 publications

Mapping human temporal and parietal neuronal population activity and functional coupling during mathematical cognition

Mapping human temporal and parietal neuronal population activity and functional coupling during mathematical cognition

Topology-defined units in numerosity perception

Neuroanthropological Understanding of Complex Cognition - Numerosity and Arithmetics

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