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Research paper thumbnail of Children perform better on left than right targets in an ordinal task

Research paper thumbnail of Neural basis of number word mapping in cardinal principle knowers

Research paper thumbnail of ABSTRACT What Makes  Our  Minds  Human?     Comparative  Phylogenetic  Perspectives  on  the Evolution of  Cognition

Research paper thumbnail of The Neurobiology of Social Cognition: Role of the Posterior Cingulate Cortex

It has been suggested that primate brains are inherently biased towards gathering and processing ... more It has been suggested that primate brains are inherently biased towards gathering and processing the social information present in the world. In fact, the neural network that mediates our engagement with the external world-the default mode network (DMN)-is strongly convergent with the neural circuitry for social cognition. The posterior cingulate (PCC) is believed to be a key node in both the DMN and in social cognition. Human and non-human primate studies have demonstrated a role for the PCC in outcome monitoring: it tracks rewards, subjective values of choices, task engagement and global choice strategies. It is also implicated in social cognition. Human studies show that PCC activity varies with the recall of autobiographical memories and exposure to social stimuli. While several electrophysiological studies explicate the response of PCC neurons to non-social outcome monitoring and valuation, there is a lack of similar studies for social valuation. This thesis is concerned with characterizing the neuronal responses in the PCC to social stimuli and determining whether social valuation occurs in the PCC in a manner similar to that previously described for nonsocial outcomes. I recorded the single unit activity of neurons in the PCC of rhesus macaques while they performed behavioral tasks that required attending to the faces of high-status or low-status individuals. Monkeys valued the faces of high-status individuals more than low-status individuals, though they were equally likely to v identity and overtly attend to faces of both social classes. This differential valuation of face stimuli was represented in the firing activity of PCC neurons, with higher neuronal activity seen in response to subordinate faces as compared to dominant ones. Cells in the PCC did not track the individual identity of the presented faces. Furthermore, neuronal activity in the PCC predominantly tracked social value, and not non-social reward delivery as previously reported. Neuronal activity also predicted task engagement, with higher firing rates being predictive of a decrease in task engagement. To summarize, the PCC is biased towards social information processing, and neuronal activity in the PCC tracks the salience of social information.

Research paper thumbnail of The Evolution and Ontogeny of Ordinal Numerical Ability

The Cognitive Animal, 2002

Research paper thumbnail of Numerical encoding encoding in in early early visual visual cortex cortex

Research paper thumbnail of Comprar Space, Time And Number In The Brain, Searching For The Foundations Of Mathematical Thought | S. Dehaene | 9780123859488 | Academic Press

Tienda online donde Comprar Space, Time And Number In The Brain, Searching For The Foundations Of... more Tienda online donde Comprar Space, Time And Number In The Brain, Searching For The Foundations Of Mathematical Thought al precio 71,77 € de S. Dehaene | Elizabeth Brannon, tienda de Libros de Medicina, Libros de Neurologia - Neurologia general

Research paper thumbnail of Space, Time and Number in the Brain

Research paper thumbnail of Two Potential Mechanisms Underlying the Link between Approximate Number Representations and Symbolic Math in Preschool Children

Cognitive Science, 2016

The approximate number system (ANS) is frequently considered to be a foundation for the acquisiti... more The approximate number system (ANS) is frequently considered to be a foundation for the acquisition of uniquely human symbolic numerical capabilities. However, the mechanism by which the ANS influences symbolic number representations and mathematical thought remains poorly understood. Here, we tested the relation between ANS acuity, cardinal number knowledge, approximate arithmetic, and symbolic math achievement in a one-year longitudinal investigation of preschoolers’ early math abilities. Our results suggest that cardinal number knowledge is an intermediary factor in the relation between ANS acuity and symbolic math achievement. Furthermore, approximate arithmetic performance contributes unique variance to math achievement that is not accounted for by ANS acuity. These findings suggest that there are multiple routes by which the ANS influences math achievement. Therefore, interventions targeting both the precision and manipulability of the ANS may prove to be more beneficial for i...

Research paper thumbnail of Annual International Conference On Comparative Cognition Sponsored by the Comparative Cognition Society *

Research paper thumbnail of Similarly oriented objects appear more numerous

Journal of Vision, 2020

Several non-numerical factors influence the numerical estimation of visual arrays, including the ... more Several non-numerical factors influence the numerical estimation of visual arrays, including the spacing of items and whether they are arranged randomly or symmetrically. Here we report a novel numerosity illusion we term the coherence illusion. When items in an array have a coherent orientation (all pointing in the same direction) they seem to be more numerous than when items are oriented randomly. Participants show parametric effects of orientation coherence in three distinct numerical judgment tasks. These findings are not predicted by any current model of numerical estimation. We discuss array entropy as a possible framework for explaining both the coherence illusion and the previously reported regular-random illusion.

Research paper thumbnail of Number sense biases children's area judgments

Research paper thumbnail of Middle identification for rhesus monkeys is influenced by number but not extent

Scientific Reports, 2020

concept learning provides a fundamental building block for many cognitive functions in humans. He... more concept learning provides a fundamental building block for many cognitive functions in humans. Here we address whether rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) can learn the abstract concept of “middle” in a series of objects. First, we trained monkeys to select the middle dot in a horizontal series of three dots presented on a touchscreen. Monkeys maintained a preference to choose the middle dot despite changes in the appearance, location, and spacing of the horizontal series of dots. They maintained high performance when the color, shape and the length of the stimuli were new, indicating that their responses did not depend upon the particular appearance of the array items. Next, we asked whether monkeys would generalize the middle concept to a 7 dot series. Although accuracy decreased when the number of dots was increased, monkeys continued to preferentially select the middle dot. Our results demonstrate that rhesus macaques can learn to use a middle concept for a discrete set of items.

Research paper thumbnail of Non-symbolic division ability mediates the relation between visual number discrimination acuity and symbolic math skill

Research paper thumbnail of Automatic Encoding of Visual Numerosity

Research paper thumbnail of Pharmacological inactivation does not support a unique causal role for intraparietal sulcus in the discrimination of visual number

PloS one, 2017

The "number sense" describes the intuitive ability to quantify without counting. Single... more The "number sense" describes the intuitive ability to quantify without counting. Single neuron recordings in non-human primates and functional imaging in humans suggest the intraparietal sulcus is an important neuroanatomical locus of numerical estimation. Other lines of inquiry implicate the IPS in numerous other functions, including attention and decision making. Here we provide a direct test of whether IPS has functional specificity for numerosity judgments. We used muscimol to reversibly and independently inactivate the ventral and lateral intraparietal areas in two monkeys performing a numerical discrimination task and a color discrimination task, roughly equilibrated for difficulty. Inactivation of either area caused parallel impairments in both tasks and no evidence of a selective deficit in numerical processing. These findings do not support a causal role for the IPS in numerical discrimination, except insofar as it also has a role in the discrimination of color. W...

Research paper thumbnail of Does the Approximate Number System Serve as a Foundation for Symbolic Mathematics?

Language Learning and Development, 2017

Research paper thumbnail of The contributions of numerical acuity and non-numerical stimulus features to the development of the number sense and symbolic math achievement

Research paper thumbnail of Numerosity processing in early visual cortex

NeuroImage, 2017

While parietal cortex is thought to be critical for representing numerical magnitudes, we recentl... more While parietal cortex is thought to be critical for representing numerical magnitudes, we recently reported an event-related potential (ERP) study demonstrating selective neural sensitivity to numerosity over midline occipital sites very early in the time course, suggesting the involvement of early visual cortex in numerosity processing. However, which specific brain area underlies such early activation is not known. Here, we tested whether numerosity-sensitive neural signatures arise specifically from the initial stages of visual cortex, aiming to localize the generator of these signals by taking advantage of the distinctive folding pattern of early occipital cortices around the calcarine sulcus, which predicts an inversion of polarity of ERPs arising from these areas when stimuli are presented in the upper versus lower visual field. Dot arrays, including 8-32 dots constructed systematically across various numerical and non-numerical visual attributes, were presented randomly in either the upper or lower visual hemifields. Our results show that neural responses at about 90 ms post-stimulus were robustly sensitive to numerosity. Moreover, the peculiar pattern of polarity inversion of numerosity-sensitive activity at this stage suggested its generation primarily in V2 and V3. In contrast, numerosity-sensitive ERP activity at occipito-parietal channels later in the time course (210-230 ms) did not show polarity inversion, indicating a subsequent processing stage in the dorsal stream. Overall, these results demonstrate that numerosity processing begins in one of the earliest stages of the cortical visual stream.

Research paper thumbnail of Developmental trajectory of neural specialization for letter and number visual processing

Developmental science, May 5, 2017

Adult neuroimaging studies have demonstrated dissociable neural activation patterns in the visual... more Adult neuroimaging studies have demonstrated dissociable neural activation patterns in the visual cortex in response to letters (Latin alphabet) and numbers (Arabic numerals), which suggest a strong experiential influence of reading and mathematics on the human visual system. Here, developmental trajectories in the event-related potential (ERP) patterns evoked by visual processing of letters, numbers, and false fonts were examined in four different age groups (7-, 10-, 15-year-olds, and young adults). The 15-year-olds and adults showed greater neural sensitivity to letters over numbers in the left visual cortex and the reverse pattern in the right visual cortex, extending previous findings in adults to teenagers. In marked contrast, 7- and 10-year-olds did not show this dissociable neural pattern. Furthermore, the contrast of familiar stimuli (letters or numbers) versus unfamiliar ones (false fonts) showed stark ERP differences between the younger (7- and 10-year-olds) and the older...

Research paper thumbnail of Children perform better on left than right targets in an ordinal task

Research paper thumbnail of Neural basis of number word mapping in cardinal principle knowers

Research paper thumbnail of ABSTRACT What Makes  Our  Minds  Human?     Comparative  Phylogenetic  Perspectives  on  the Evolution of  Cognition

Research paper thumbnail of The Neurobiology of Social Cognition: Role of the Posterior Cingulate Cortex

It has been suggested that primate brains are inherently biased towards gathering and processing ... more It has been suggested that primate brains are inherently biased towards gathering and processing the social information present in the world. In fact, the neural network that mediates our engagement with the external world-the default mode network (DMN)-is strongly convergent with the neural circuitry for social cognition. The posterior cingulate (PCC) is believed to be a key node in both the DMN and in social cognition. Human and non-human primate studies have demonstrated a role for the PCC in outcome monitoring: it tracks rewards, subjective values of choices, task engagement and global choice strategies. It is also implicated in social cognition. Human studies show that PCC activity varies with the recall of autobiographical memories and exposure to social stimuli. While several electrophysiological studies explicate the response of PCC neurons to non-social outcome monitoring and valuation, there is a lack of similar studies for social valuation. This thesis is concerned with characterizing the neuronal responses in the PCC to social stimuli and determining whether social valuation occurs in the PCC in a manner similar to that previously described for nonsocial outcomes. I recorded the single unit activity of neurons in the PCC of rhesus macaques while they performed behavioral tasks that required attending to the faces of high-status or low-status individuals. Monkeys valued the faces of high-status individuals more than low-status individuals, though they were equally likely to v identity and overtly attend to faces of both social classes. This differential valuation of face stimuli was represented in the firing activity of PCC neurons, with higher neuronal activity seen in response to subordinate faces as compared to dominant ones. Cells in the PCC did not track the individual identity of the presented faces. Furthermore, neuronal activity in the PCC predominantly tracked social value, and not non-social reward delivery as previously reported. Neuronal activity also predicted task engagement, with higher firing rates being predictive of a decrease in task engagement. To summarize, the PCC is biased towards social information processing, and neuronal activity in the PCC tracks the salience of social information.

Research paper thumbnail of The Evolution and Ontogeny of Ordinal Numerical Ability

The Cognitive Animal, 2002

Research paper thumbnail of Numerical encoding encoding in in early early visual visual cortex cortex

Research paper thumbnail of Comprar Space, Time And Number In The Brain, Searching For The Foundations Of Mathematical Thought | S. Dehaene | 9780123859488 | Academic Press

Tienda online donde Comprar Space, Time And Number In The Brain, Searching For The Foundations Of... more Tienda online donde Comprar Space, Time And Number In The Brain, Searching For The Foundations Of Mathematical Thought al precio 71,77 € de S. Dehaene | Elizabeth Brannon, tienda de Libros de Medicina, Libros de Neurologia - Neurologia general

Research paper thumbnail of Space, Time and Number in the Brain

Research paper thumbnail of Two Potential Mechanisms Underlying the Link between Approximate Number Representations and Symbolic Math in Preschool Children

Cognitive Science, 2016

The approximate number system (ANS) is frequently considered to be a foundation for the acquisiti... more The approximate number system (ANS) is frequently considered to be a foundation for the acquisition of uniquely human symbolic numerical capabilities. However, the mechanism by which the ANS influences symbolic number representations and mathematical thought remains poorly understood. Here, we tested the relation between ANS acuity, cardinal number knowledge, approximate arithmetic, and symbolic math achievement in a one-year longitudinal investigation of preschoolers’ early math abilities. Our results suggest that cardinal number knowledge is an intermediary factor in the relation between ANS acuity and symbolic math achievement. Furthermore, approximate arithmetic performance contributes unique variance to math achievement that is not accounted for by ANS acuity. These findings suggest that there are multiple routes by which the ANS influences math achievement. Therefore, interventions targeting both the precision and manipulability of the ANS may prove to be more beneficial for i...

Research paper thumbnail of Annual International Conference On Comparative Cognition Sponsored by the Comparative Cognition Society *

Research paper thumbnail of Similarly oriented objects appear more numerous

Journal of Vision, 2020

Several non-numerical factors influence the numerical estimation of visual arrays, including the ... more Several non-numerical factors influence the numerical estimation of visual arrays, including the spacing of items and whether they are arranged randomly or symmetrically. Here we report a novel numerosity illusion we term the coherence illusion. When items in an array have a coherent orientation (all pointing in the same direction) they seem to be more numerous than when items are oriented randomly. Participants show parametric effects of orientation coherence in three distinct numerical judgment tasks. These findings are not predicted by any current model of numerical estimation. We discuss array entropy as a possible framework for explaining both the coherence illusion and the previously reported regular-random illusion.

Research paper thumbnail of Number sense biases children's area judgments

Research paper thumbnail of Middle identification for rhesus monkeys is influenced by number but not extent

Scientific Reports, 2020

concept learning provides a fundamental building block for many cognitive functions in humans. He... more concept learning provides a fundamental building block for many cognitive functions in humans. Here we address whether rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) can learn the abstract concept of “middle” in a series of objects. First, we trained monkeys to select the middle dot in a horizontal series of three dots presented on a touchscreen. Monkeys maintained a preference to choose the middle dot despite changes in the appearance, location, and spacing of the horizontal series of dots. They maintained high performance when the color, shape and the length of the stimuli were new, indicating that their responses did not depend upon the particular appearance of the array items. Next, we asked whether monkeys would generalize the middle concept to a 7 dot series. Although accuracy decreased when the number of dots was increased, monkeys continued to preferentially select the middle dot. Our results demonstrate that rhesus macaques can learn to use a middle concept for a discrete set of items.

Research paper thumbnail of Non-symbolic division ability mediates the relation between visual number discrimination acuity and symbolic math skill

Research paper thumbnail of Automatic Encoding of Visual Numerosity

Research paper thumbnail of Pharmacological inactivation does not support a unique causal role for intraparietal sulcus in the discrimination of visual number

PloS one, 2017

The "number sense" describes the intuitive ability to quantify without counting. Single... more The "number sense" describes the intuitive ability to quantify without counting. Single neuron recordings in non-human primates and functional imaging in humans suggest the intraparietal sulcus is an important neuroanatomical locus of numerical estimation. Other lines of inquiry implicate the IPS in numerous other functions, including attention and decision making. Here we provide a direct test of whether IPS has functional specificity for numerosity judgments. We used muscimol to reversibly and independently inactivate the ventral and lateral intraparietal areas in two monkeys performing a numerical discrimination task and a color discrimination task, roughly equilibrated for difficulty. Inactivation of either area caused parallel impairments in both tasks and no evidence of a selective deficit in numerical processing. These findings do not support a causal role for the IPS in numerical discrimination, except insofar as it also has a role in the discrimination of color. W...

Research paper thumbnail of Does the Approximate Number System Serve as a Foundation for Symbolic Mathematics?

Language Learning and Development, 2017

Research paper thumbnail of The contributions of numerical acuity and non-numerical stimulus features to the development of the number sense and symbolic math achievement

Research paper thumbnail of Numerosity processing in early visual cortex

NeuroImage, 2017

While parietal cortex is thought to be critical for representing numerical magnitudes, we recentl... more While parietal cortex is thought to be critical for representing numerical magnitudes, we recently reported an event-related potential (ERP) study demonstrating selective neural sensitivity to numerosity over midline occipital sites very early in the time course, suggesting the involvement of early visual cortex in numerosity processing. However, which specific brain area underlies such early activation is not known. Here, we tested whether numerosity-sensitive neural signatures arise specifically from the initial stages of visual cortex, aiming to localize the generator of these signals by taking advantage of the distinctive folding pattern of early occipital cortices around the calcarine sulcus, which predicts an inversion of polarity of ERPs arising from these areas when stimuli are presented in the upper versus lower visual field. Dot arrays, including 8-32 dots constructed systematically across various numerical and non-numerical visual attributes, were presented randomly in either the upper or lower visual hemifields. Our results show that neural responses at about 90 ms post-stimulus were robustly sensitive to numerosity. Moreover, the peculiar pattern of polarity inversion of numerosity-sensitive activity at this stage suggested its generation primarily in V2 and V3. In contrast, numerosity-sensitive ERP activity at occipito-parietal channels later in the time course (210-230 ms) did not show polarity inversion, indicating a subsequent processing stage in the dorsal stream. Overall, these results demonstrate that numerosity processing begins in one of the earliest stages of the cortical visual stream.

Research paper thumbnail of Developmental trajectory of neural specialization for letter and number visual processing

Developmental science, May 5, 2017

Adult neuroimaging studies have demonstrated dissociable neural activation patterns in the visual... more Adult neuroimaging studies have demonstrated dissociable neural activation patterns in the visual cortex in response to letters (Latin alphabet) and numbers (Arabic numerals), which suggest a strong experiential influence of reading and mathematics on the human visual system. Here, developmental trajectories in the event-related potential (ERP) patterns evoked by visual processing of letters, numbers, and false fonts were examined in four different age groups (7-, 10-, 15-year-olds, and young adults). The 15-year-olds and adults showed greater neural sensitivity to letters over numbers in the left visual cortex and the reverse pattern in the right visual cortex, extending previous findings in adults to teenagers. In marked contrast, 7- and 10-year-olds did not show this dissociable neural pattern. Furthermore, the contrast of familiar stimuli (letters or numbers) versus unfamiliar ones (false fonts) showed stark ERP differences between the younger (7- and 10-year-olds) and the older...