Non-symbolic and symbolic notations in simple arithmetic differentially involve intraparietal sulcus and angular gyrus activity
Publication year
2016Number of pages
12 p.
Source
Brain Research, 1643, (2016), pp. 91-102ISSN
Publication type
Article / Letter to editor

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Organization
SW OZ BSI OLO
PI Group Neurobiology of Language
Cognitive Neuroscience
Journal title
Brain Research
Volume
vol. 1643
Languages used
English (eng)
Page start
p. 91
Page end
p. 102
Subject
110 000 Neurocognition of Language; Learning and Plasticity; Radboudumc 13: Stress-related disorders DCMN: Donders Center for Medical NeuroscienceAbstract
Addition problems can be solved by mentally manipulating quantities for which the bilateral intraparietal sulcus (IPS) is likely recruited, or by retrieving the answer directly from fact memory in which the left angular gyrus (AG) and perisylvian areas may play a role. Mental addition is usually studied with problems presented in the Arabic notation (4+2), and less so with number words (four+two) or dots (:: +.). In the present study, we investigated how the notation of numbers influences processing during simple mental arithmetic. Twenty-five highly educated participants performed simple arithmetic while their brain activity was recorded with functional magnetic resonance imaging. To reveal the effect of number notation, arithmetic problems were presented in a non-symbolic (Dots) or symbolic (Arabic; Words) notation. Furthermore, we asked whether IPS processing during mental arithmetic is magnitude specific or of a more general, visuospatial nature. To this end, we included perception and manipulation of non-magnitude formats (Colors; unfamiliar Japanese Characters). Increased IPS activity was observed, suggesting magnitude calculations during addition of non-symbolic numbers. In contrast, there was greater activity in the AG and perisylvian areas for symbolic compared to non-symbolic addition, suggesting increased verbal fact retrieval. Furthermore, IPS activity was not specific to processing of numerical magnitude but also present for non-magnitude stimuli that required mental visuospatial processing (Color-mixing; Character-memory measured by a delayed match-to-sample task). Together, our data suggest that simple non-symbolic sums are calculated using visual imagery, whereas answers for simple symbolic sums are retrieved from verbal memory.
This item appears in the following Collection(s)
- Academic publications [203793]
- Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging [3390]
- Faculty of Medical Sciences [80320]
- Faculty of Social Sciences [27292]
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