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Published on: August 12, 2019
Processing of abstract ordinal knowledge in the horizontal segment of the intraparietal sulcus
Wim Fias1, Jan Lammertyn, Bernie Caessens
1Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Gent, Belgium. wim.fias@ugent.be
Abstract:
The anterior intraparietal sulcus, and more specifically its horizontal segment (hIPS), is known to play a crucial role in the cognitive representation of numerical quantity. Whether the involvement of hIPS is restricted to the processing of numerical information or generalizes to non-numerical ordinal dimensions remains an open question. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging during comparison tasks, we demonstrate that the hIPS is equally responsive to numbers and letters, indicating that hIPS is also involved in the representation and processing of non-numerical ordinal series. This extends the numerical processing function of IPS into the realm of abstract knowledge processing.
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