SNANeB · At the roots of Spatial Numerical Association: from behavioural observation to Neural Basis
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2018-10-01 → 2021-12-23
- EU contribution
- €244,269
- Participants
- 2
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF-GF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
At the roots of Spatial Numerical Association: from behavioural observation to Neural Basis
Number knowledge and processing are fundamental for everyday living. In humans, numerical abilities are present pre-linguistically in infancy. Qualitatively and quantitatively similar mathematical performance has been observed in different species, including human adults, consistent with a shared, ancestral, nonverbal numerical mechanism. Uniquely human mathematical abilities appear to be scaffolded on this ontogenetically and evolutionarily ancient “number sense”. A peculiar characteristic of numbers concerns their strong association with space: humans represent numbers on a mental number line oriented from left to right. Traditionally, spatial numerical association, SNA, has been considered a by-product of culture. Recently, evidence on the SNA in animals suggests it originates from pre-linguistic and biologically determined precursors. In the SNANeB project, I studied the origin of SNA in monkeys and day-old domestic chicks, thus addressing the SNA’s origin in the absence of language or culture. Better understanding of the brain mechanisms behind SNA would be critical for disentangling the wellspring of number-space mapping and for understanding how this could affect mathematical reasoning, providing a valuable early intervention for infants with potential problems in mathematical comprehension.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
Humans represent numbers on a left to right oriented mental number line, with small numbers located on the left and large ones on the right space. It has been suggested that the left-to-right orientation of the mental number line emerges as a result of exposure to formal instruction. Recent evidence has shown that pre-verbal infants and non-human animals associate numbers with space; suggesting that the spatial numerical association (SNA) originates from pre-linguistic and biologically determined precursors. Numerical knowledge constitutes a domain-specific cognitive ability, with a dedicated neural substrate located in the parietal cortices. The challenge at present is to explain how this neural substrate can determine a left-to-right orientation of the SNA, which is the main aim of this project.Here I will study the neural correlates of SNA from a comparative perspective, using domestic chicks and rhesus monkeys as animal models. Both species master numerical skills and have been used to understand the neural basis of cognitive processes. I will use paradigms which allow to test the presence of any facilitation to respond to small numbers on the left space and to large numbers on the right space. The neural correlates of SNA will be studied in monkeys employing a repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), to understand whether neural perturbation could affect SNA, and in chicks using non-invasive techniques -e.g. monocular occlusion- to disentangle the engagement of each hemisphere in SNA.Overall this project will help in determining the neural basis of SNA. A better understanding of neural representation of numbers will permit optimized designs of clinical applications to enhance numerical comprehension. This might provide a valuable intervention for infants with potential problems in mathematical comprehension, as occurs in Williams syndrome or dyscalculia.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI PADOVA · PadovaCoordinatorItaly
- THE TRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA CORP · PhiladelphiaUnited States
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union