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The relation between finger gnosis and mathematical ability: Can we attribute function to cortical structure with cross-domain modeling
- Proceedings of the 33 rd Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society
, 2011
"... This paper details and applies a novel method for assigning function to local cortical structure. Imaging results from multiple cognitive domains were used to investigate what a shared neural substrate could be contributing to two apparently different domains: finger and number representation. We id ..."
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This paper details and applies a novel method for assigning function to local cortical structure. Imaging results from multiple cognitive domains were used to investigate what a shared neural substrate could be contributing to two apparently different domains: finger and number representation. We identified a region within the left precentral gyrus contributing to both tasks; identified, across several cognitive domains, other cognitive uses to which the ROI may have been put; and looked across these cognitive uses to ascertain the functional contribution of the ROI. The result of this process is a proposed local working—an array of pointers—that can be tested empirically and will allow for further elaboration of the redeployment view of the relation between finger and number representations. This work is significant for understanding the relationship between finger gnosis and math, and for introducing cross-domain modeling as a new empirical method.
Neural reuse in the evolution and development of the brain: Evidence for developmental homology?
"... Abstract: This paper lays out some of the empirical evidence for the importance of neural reuse—the reuse of existing (inherited and/or early-developing) neural circuitry for multiple behavioral purposes—in defining the overall functional structure of the brain. We then discuss in some detail one pa ..."
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Abstract: This paper lays out some of the empirical evidence for the importance of neural reuse—the reuse of existing (inherited and/or early-developing) neural circuitry for multiple behavioral purposes—in defining the overall functional structure of the brain. We then discuss in some detail one particular instance of such reuse: the involvement of a local neural circuit in finger awareness, number representation, and other diverse functions. Finally, we consider whether and how the notion of a developmental homology can help us understand the relationships between the cognitive functions that develop out of shared neural supports. How are neural resources deployed to support cognitive functioning in the adult organism, and how does that architecture come about? That is, what evolutionary and developmental pathways does the brain follow in acquiring its repertoire of capacities? Consider two possible options, one that has been largely identified with the embodied/embedded school of cognitive science, and another associated with evolutionary psychology. A long-standing guiding principle of both embodied cognitive science (ECS) and evolutionary psychology (EvoPsy) is that cognition was built within a system primarily fitted to situated action. The central nervous system—the neocortex most definitely included—is first and
Subitizing, finger gnosis, and the representation of number
- Cognitive Science Society
, 2009
"... What precursor abilities form the building blocks of numerical representations? Two abilities were investigated: the ability to mentally represent small numerosities, indexed by subitizing speed (Butterworth, 1999), and the ability to mentally represent one’s fingers, indexed by finger gnosis (Butte ..."
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What precursor abilities form the building blocks of numerical representations? Two abilities were investigated: the ability to mentally represent small numerosities, indexed by subitizing speed (Butterworth, 1999), and the ability to mentally represent one’s fingers, indexed by finger gnosis (Butterworth, 1999; Penner-Wilger & Anderson, 2008). We examined the longitudinal relation between these abilities in Grade 1 and tasks assessing numerical representation in Grade 2—symbolic number comparison and number-line estimation – for 100 Canadian children. Finger gnosis (but not subitizing speed) in Grade 1 was related to children’s symbolic distance effect in number comparison and to the linearity of children’s estimates in Grade 2. Thus, children with better finger gnosis scores had lower symbolic distance effects and more accurate estimates, reflecting a more precise mapping between numerals and their associated magnitude.
Circuit sharing and the implementation of intelligent systems
, 2008
"... The paper outlines some of the broad architectural implications of the modularity thesis, and reports on an attempt to test for them. The method involved analysing 472 functional magnetic resonance imaging experiments in eight cognitive domains to discover which brain regions co-operated with which ..."
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The paper outlines some of the broad architectural implications of the modularity thesis, and reports on an attempt to test for them. The method involved analysing 472 functional magnetic resonance imaging experiments in eight cognitive domains to discover which brain regions co-operated with which others, under what conditions. The results indicate that the same brain regions contribute to functions across various cognitive domains, but in each domain co-operate with one another in different patterns. This does not appear to be compatible with the modularity thesis. The paper discusses the implications of the finding for the best approach to the design and implementation of intelligent systems in general, and of language-using robots in particular. Implications for the best approach to analysing and modelling cognitive functions will also be discussed.
21 c00021 On the Grounds of (X)-Grounded Cognition
"... For the least the last 10 years, there has been growing interest in, and growing evidence for, the intimate relations between more abstract or higher order cognition—such as reasoning, planning, and language use—and the more concrete, immediate, or lower order operations of the perceptual and motor ..."
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For the least the last 10 years, there has been growing interest in, and growing evidence for, the intimate relations between more abstract or higher order cognition—such as reasoning, planning, and language use—and the more concrete, immediate, or lower order operations of the perceptual and motor systems that support seeing, feeling, moving, and manipulating. A sub-field of the larger research program in embodied cognition ( Clark, 1997, 1998; Wilson,
PAPER Objects, numbers, fingers, space: clustering of ventral and dorsal functions in young children and adults
"... In the primate brain, sensory information is processed along two partially segregated cortical streams: the ventral stream, mainly coding for objects ’ shape and identity, and the dorsal stream, mainly coding for objects ’ quantitative information (including size, number, and spatial position). Neur ..."
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In the primate brain, sensory information is processed along two partially segregated cortical streams: the ventral stream, mainly coding for objects ’ shape and identity, and the dorsal stream, mainly coding for objects ’ quantitative information (including size, number, and spatial position). Neurophysiological measures indicate that such functional segregation is present early on in infancy, and that the two streams follow independent maturational trajectories during childhood. Here we collected, in a large sample of young children and adults, behavioural measures on an extensive set of functions typically associated with either the dorsal or the ventral stream. We then used a correlational approach to investigate the presence of inter-individual variability resulting in clustering of functions. Results show that dorsal- and ventral-related functions follow two uncorrelated developmental trajectories. Moreover, within each stream, some functions show age-independent correlations: finger gnosis, non-symbolic numerical abilities and spatial abilities within the dorsal stream, and object and face recognition abilities within the ventral stream. This pattern of clear within-stream cross-task correlation seems to be lost in adults, with two notable exceptions: performance in face and object recognition on one side, and in symbolic and non-symbolic comparison on the other, remain correlated, pointing to distinct shape recognition and quantity comparison systems.
