Double Dissociation of Format-Dependent and Number-Specific Neurons in Human Parietal Cortex
Open Access
- 5 January 2010
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Cerebral Cortex
- Vol. 20 (9), 2166-2171
- https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhp273
Abstract
Based on neuroimaging methods, it is a commonly held view that numerical representation in the human parietal lobes is format independent. We used a transcranial magnetic stimulation adaptation paradigm to examine the existence of functionally segregated overlapping populations of neurons for different numerical formats and to reveal how numerical information is encoded and represented. Based on 2 experiments, we found that right parietal lobe stimulation showed a dissociation between digits and verbal numbers, whereas the left parietal lobe showed a double dissociation between the different numerical formats. Further analysis and modeling also excluded pre- or postrepresentational components as the source of the current effects. These results demonstrate that both parietal lobes are equipped with format-dependent neurons that encode quantity.Keywords
This publication has 51 references indexed in Scilit:
- The Neural Development of an Abstract Concept of NumberJournal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 2009
- Associative sequence learning: the role of experience in the development of imitation and the mirror systemPhilosophical Transactions Of The Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, 2009
- The parietal cortex and the representation of time, space, number and other magnitudesPhilosophical Transactions Of The Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, 2009
- Anticipatory haemodynamic signals in sensory cortex not predicted by local neuronal activityNature, 2009
- Testing the validity of the TMS state-dependency approach: Targeting functionally distinct motion-selective neural populations in visual areas V1/V2 and V5/MT+NeuroImage, 2008
- Semantic Associations between Signs and Numerical Categories in the Prefrontal CortexPLoS Biology, 2007
- The speed of magnitude processing and executive functions in controlled and automatic number comparison in children: an electro-encephalography studyBehavioral and Brain Functions, 2007
- Functional Imaging of Numerical Processing in Adults and 4-y-Old ChildrenPLoS Biology, 2006
- Bootstrapping & the origin of conceptsDaedalus, 2004
- Speed of adding and comparing numbers.Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1970