Neural correlates of approximate quantification strategies in young and older adults: an fMRI study

Young and older adults assessed the approximate number of dots in collections including between 20 and 50 dots, with two strategies. The benchmark strategy is based on retrieving memory representations of quantities after visually scanning stimulus. The anchoring strategy involves both enumeration and estimation processes. Brain activations and performance were analyzed as a function of strategies, size of collections and age. Executing the benchmark strategy produced faster performance. It was associated with increased activity of a bilateral parieto/occipital and insular cortical network, including the postcentral gyrus, the cuneus, the middle occipital gyrus, and the insula. In addition to these bilateral activations, the benchmark strategy activated right prefrontal area. The anchoring strategy activated right superior parietal lobule, bilateral subcortical structures (putamen), and left dorso-lateral prefrontal cortex. The effects of aging on these cortical networks depended on strategies. These results suggest dissociation between two numerosity estimation strategies underlying different cognitive estimation processes and help to clarify age differences in numerosity estimation.