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Decarli G, Rämä P, Granjon L, Veggiotti L, de Hevia MD. Electrophysiological Evidence for A Number-Action Mapping in Infancy. Brain Sci 2022; 12:1480. [PMID: 36358406 PMCID: PMC9688680 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12111480] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2022] [Revised: 10/23/2022] [Accepted: 10/29/2022] [Indexed: 08/16/2023] Open
Abstract
In the last decades, a growing body of literature has focused on the link between number and action. Many studies conducted on adult participants have provided evidence for a bidirectional influence between numerosity processing and grasping or reaching actions. However, it is not yet clear whether this link is functional in early infancy. Here, we used the event-related potential (ERP) technique to record electrical activity of the brain in response to number-hand pairings. We implemented a cueing paradigm where 3- to 4-month-old infants observed images showing either congruency (e.g., a large numerosity primed by a large hand opening) or incongruency (e.g., a large numerosity primed by a small hand opening). Infants' brain activity was modulated by the congruency of the pairings: amplitudes recorded over frontal and parietal-occipital scalp positions differed for congruent versus incongruent pairings. These findings suggest that the association between number and hand action processing is already functional early in life.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Maria Dolores de Hevia
- Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition Center, Université Paris Cité, CNRS, F-75006 Paris, France
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2
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Rugani R, Regolin L. Approach direction and accuracy, but not response times, show spatial-numerical association in chicks. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0257764. [PMID: 34591878 PMCID: PMC8483340 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0257764] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2021] [Accepted: 09/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Chicks trained to identify a target item in a sagittally-oriented series of identical items show a higher accuracy for the target on the left, rather than that on the right, at test when the series was rotated by 90°. Such bias seems to be due to a right hemispheric dominance in visuospatial tasks. Up to now, the bias was highlighted by looking at accuracy, the measure mostly used in non-human studies to detect spatial numerical association, SNA. In the present study, processing by each hemisphere was assessed by scoring three variables: accuracy, response times and direction of approach. Domestic chicks were tested under monocular vision conditions, as in the avian brain input to each eye is mostly processed by the contralateral hemisphere. Four-day-old chicks learnt to peck at the 4th element in a sagittal series of 10 identical elements. At test, when facing a series oriented fronto-parallel, birds confined their responses to the visible hemifield, with high accuracy for the 4th element. The first element in the series was also highly selected, suggesting an anchoring strategy to start the proto-counting at one end of the series. In the left monocular condition, chicks approached the series starting from the left, and in the right monocular condition, they started from the right. Both hemispheres appear to exploit the same strategy, scanning the series from the most lateral element in the clear hemifield. Remarkably, there was no effect in the response times: equal latency was scored for correct or incorrect and for left vs. right responses. Overall, these data indicate that the measures implying a direction of choice, accuracy and direction of approach, and not velocity, i.e., response times, can highlight SNA in this paradigm. We discuss the relevance of the selected measures to unveil SNA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosa Rugani
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
- * E-mail:
| | - Lucia Regolin
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
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3
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Pressigout A, Dore-Mazars K. How does number magnitude influence temporal and spatial parameters of eye movements? Exp Brain Res 2019; 238:101-109. [PMID: 31797009 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-019-05701-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2019] [Accepted: 11/25/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
The influence of numerical processing on individuals' behavior is now well documented. The spatial representation of numbers on a left-to-right mental line (i.e., SNARC effect) has been shown to have sensorimotor consequences, the majority of studies being mainly concerned with its impact on the response times. Its impact on the motor programming stage remains less documented, although swiping movement amplitudes have recently been shown to be modulated by number magnitude. Regarding saccadic eye movements, the few available studies have not provided clear-cut conclusions. They showed that spatial-numerical associations modulated ocular drifts, but not the amplitude of memory-guided saccades. Because these studies held saccadic coordinates constant, which might have masked potential numerical effects, we examined whether spontaneous saccadic eye movements (with no saccadic target) could reflect numerical effects. Participants were asked to look either to the left or to the right side of an empty screen to estimate the magnitude (< or > 5) of a centrally presented digit. Latency data confirmed the presence of the classical SNARC and distance effects. More critically, saccade amplitude reflected a numerical effect: participants' saccades were longer for digits far from the standard (1 and 9) and were shorter for digits close to it (4 and 6). Our results suggest that beyond response times, kinematic parameters also offer valuable information for the understanding of the link between numerical cognition and motor programming.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Pressigout
- Université de Paris, VAC, 92100, Boulogne-Billancourt, France.
| | - K Dore-Mazars
- Université de Paris, VAC, 92100, Boulogne-Billancourt, France
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4
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Numbers in action during cognitive flexibility – A neurophysiological approach on numerical operations underlying task switching. Cortex 2019; 120:101-115. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2019.03.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2018] [Revised: 12/14/2018] [Accepted: 03/21/2019] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
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Seegelke C, Wühr P. Compatibility between object size and response side in grasping: the left hand prefers smaller objects, the right hand prefers larger objects. PeerJ 2018; 6:e6026. [PMID: 30533312 PMCID: PMC6282946 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.6026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2018] [Accepted: 10/29/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
It has been proposed that the brain processes quantities such as space, size, number, and other magnitudes using a common neural metric, and that this common representation system reflects a direct link to motor control, because the integration of spatial, temporal, and other quantity-related information is fundamental for sensorimotor transformation processes. In the present study, we examined compatibility effects between physical stimulus size and spatial (response) location during a sensorimotor task. Participants reached and grasped for a small or large object with either their non-dominant left or their dominant right hand. Our results revealed that participants initiated left hand movements faster when grasping the small cube compared to the large cube, whereas they initiated right hand movements faster when grasping the large cube compared to the small cube. Moreover, the compatibility effect influenced the timing of grip aperture kinematics. These findings indicate that the interaction between object size and response hand affects the planning of grasping movements and supports the notion of a strong link between the cognitive representation of (object) size, spatial (response) parameters, and sensorimotor control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Seegelke
- Biopsychology and Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Sport Sciences, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
- Center of Excellence Cognitive Interaction Technology (CITEC), Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Peter Wühr
- Institute of Psychology, TU Dortmund University, Dortmund, Germany
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Pinheiro-Chagas P, Didino D, Haase VG, Wood G, Knops A. The Developmental Trajectory of the Operational Momentum Effect. Front Psychol 2018; 9:1062. [PMID: 30065673 PMCID: PMC6056750 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2017] [Accepted: 06/06/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Mental calculation is thought to be tightly related to visuospatial abilities. One of the strongest evidence for this link is the widely replicated operational momentum (OM) effect: the tendency to overestimate the result of additions and to underestimate the result of subtractions. Although the OM effect has been found in both infants and adults, no study has directly investigated its developmental trajectory until now. However, to fully understand the cognitive mechanisms lying at the core of the OM effect it is important to investigate its developmental dynamics. In the present study, we investigated the development of the OM effect in a group of 162 children from 8 to 12 years old. Participants had to select among five response alternatives the correct result of approximate addition and subtraction problems. Response alternatives were simultaneously presented on the screen at different locations. While no effect was observed for the youngest age group, children aged 9 and older showed a clear OM effect. Interestingly, the OM effect monotonically increased with age. The increase of the OM effect was accompanied by an increase in overall accuracy. That is, while younger children made more and non-systematic errors, older children made less but systematic errors. This monotonous increase of the OM effect with age is not predicted by the compression account (i.e., linear calculation performed on a compressed code). The attentional shift account, however, provides a possible explanation of these results based on the functional relationship between visuospatial attention and mental calculation and on the influence of formal schooling. We propose that the acquisition of arithmetical skills could reinforce the systematic reliance on the spatial mental number line and attentional mechanisms that control the displacement along this metric. Our results provide a step in the understanding of the mechanisms underlying approximate calculation and an important empirical constraint for current accounts on the origin of the OM effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pedro Pinheiro-Chagas
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, CEA DRF/I2BM, INSERM, Université Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin Center, Orsay, France
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience, Stanford Human Intracranial Cognitive Electrophysiology Program, Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States
| | - Daniele Didino
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Vitor G. Haase
- Developmental Neuropsychology Laboratory (LND), Department of Psychology, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Neurociências, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
- Department of Psychology, Graduate Program in Psychology, Cognition and Behavior – Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
- Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia sobre Comportamento, Cognição e Ensino, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, Brazil
| | - Guilherme Wood
- Department of Psychology, University of Graz, Graz, Austria
- BioTechMed-Graz, University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - André Knops
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- CNRS UMR 8240, Laboratory for the Psychology of Child Development and Education, Paris, France
- University Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, France
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7
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Rugani R, Betti S, Sartori L. Numerical Affordance Influences Action Execution: A Kinematic Study of Finger Movement. Front Psychol 2018; 9:637. [PMID: 29765348 PMCID: PMC5938414 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2017] [Accepted: 04/16/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Humans represent symbolic numbers as oriented from left to right: the mental number line (MNL). Up to now, scientific studies have mainly investigated the MNL by means of response times. However, the existing knowledge on the MNL can be advantaged by studies on motor patterns while responding to a number. Cognitive representations, in fact, cannot be fully understood without considering their impact on actions. Here we investigated whether a motor response can be influenced by number processing. Participants seated in front of a little soccer goal. On each trial they were visually presented with a numerical (2, 5, 8) or a non-numerical ($) stimulus. They were instructed to kick a small ball with their right index toward a frontal soccer goal as soon as a stimulus appeared on a screen. However, they had to refrain from kicking when number five was presented (no-go signal). Our main finding is that performing a kicking action after observation of the larger digit proved to be more efficient: the trajectory path was shorter and lower on the surface, velocity peak was anticipated. The smaller number, instead, specifically altered the temporal and spatial aspects of trajectories, leading to more prolonged left deviations. This is the first experimental demonstration that the reaching component of a movement is influenced by number magnitude. Since this paradigm does not require any verbal skill and non-symbolic stimuli (array of dots) can be used, it could be fruitfully adopted to evaluate number abilities in children and even preschoolers. Notably, this is a self-motivating and engaging task, which might help children to get involved and to reduce potential arousal connected to institutional paper-and-pencil examinations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosa Rugani
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | - Sonia Betti
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | - Luisa Sartori
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.,Padova Neuroscience Center, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
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Rugani R, Betti S, Ceccarini F, Sartori L. Act on Numbers: Numerical Magnitude Influences Selection and Kinematics of Finger Movement. Front Psychol 2017; 8:1481. [PMID: 28912743 PMCID: PMC5582418 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01481] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2017] [Accepted: 08/17/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
In the past decade hand kinematics has been reliably adopted for investigating cognitive processes and disentangling debated topics. One of the most controversial issues in numerical cognition literature regards the origin - cultural vs. genetically driven - of the mental number line (MNL), oriented from left (small numbers) to right (large numbers). To date, the majority of studies have investigated this effect by means of response times, whereas studies considering more culturally unbiased measures such as kinematic parameters are rare. Here, we present a new paradigm that combines a "free response" task with the kinematic analysis of movement. Participants were seated in front of two little soccer goals placed on a table, one on the left and one on the right side. They were presented with left- or right-directed arrows and they were instructed to kick a small ball with their right index toward the goal indicated by the arrow. In a few test trials participants were presented also with a small (2) or a large (8) number, and they were allowed to choose the kicking direction. Participants performed more left responses with the small number and more right responses with the large number. The whole kicking movement was segmented in two temporal phases in order to make a hand kinematics' fine-grained analysis. The Kick Preparation and Kick Finalization phases were selected on the basis of peak trajectory deviation from the virtual midline between the two goals. Results show an effect of both small and large numbers on action execution timing. Participants were faster to finalize the action when responding to small numbers toward the left and to large number toward the right. Here, we provide the first experimental demonstration which highlights how numerical processing affects action execution in a new and not-overlearned context. The employment of this innovative and unbiased paradigm will permit to disentangle the role of nature and culture in shaping the direction of MNL and the role of finger in the acquisition of numerical skills. Last but not least, similar paradigms will allow to determine how cognition can influence action execution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosa Rugani
- Department of General Psychology, University of PadovaPadova, Italy
| | | | | | - Luisa Sartori
- Department of General Psychology, University of PadovaPadova, Italy
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9
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Badets A, Michelet T, de Rugy A, Osiurak F. Creating semantics in tool use. Cogn Process 2017; 18:129-134. [PMID: 28224314 DOI: 10.1007/s10339-017-0795-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2016] [Accepted: 02/14/2017] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
This article presents the first evidence for a functional link between tool use and the processing of abstract symbols like Arabic numbers. Participants were required to perform a tool-use task after the processing of an Arabic number. These numbers represented either a small (2 or 3) or a large magnitude (8 or 9). The tool-use task consisted in using inverse pliers for gripping either a small or a large object. The inverse pliers enable to dissociate the hand action from the tool action in relation to the object (i.e., closing the hand led to an opening of the tool and vice versa). The number/tool hypothesis predicts that the quantity representation associated with Arabic numbers will interact with the action of the tool toward the object. Conversely, the number/hand hypothesis predicts that the quantity associated with numbers will interact with the action of the hand toward the tool. Results confirmed the first hypothesis and rejected the second. Indeed, large numbers interacted with the action of the tool, such that participants were longer to perform an "opening-hand/closing-tool" action after the processing of large numbers. Moreover, no effect was detected for small numbers, confirming previous studies which used only finger movements. Altogether, our finding suggests that the well-known finger/number interaction can be reversed with tool use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arnaud Badets
- CNRS, INCIA - Institut de Neurosciences Cognitives et Intégratives d'Aquitaine (UMR 5287), Université de Bordeaux, Bât. 2A- 2ème étage, 146 rue Léo Saignat, 33076, Bordeaux Cedex, France.
| | - Thomas Michelet
- Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, CNRS, Université de Bordeaux, 33000, Bordeaux Cedex, France
| | - Aymar de Rugy
- CNRS, INCIA - Institut de Neurosciences Cognitives et Intégratives d'Aquitaine (UMR 5287), Université de Bordeaux, Bât. 2A- 2ème étage, 146 rue Léo Saignat, 33076, Bordeaux Cedex, France.,Centre for Sensorimotor Performance, School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | - François Osiurak
- Laboratoire d'Etude des Mécanismes Cognitifs (EA 3082), Université de Lyon, Lyon, France.,Institut Universitaire de France, Paris, France
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