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Tactile enumeration: A case study of acalculia
Zahira Z Cohen1, Isabel Arend1, Kenneth Yuen2
1Department of Psychology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, POB 653, Beer-Sheva, Israel; Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, POB 653, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
Brain and Cognition
|October 20, 2018
Summary
Tactile enumeration using fingers was studied in a patient with acalculia. Improvements were observed in enumeration and arithmetic fluency, alongside gray matter increases in the occipital cortex during recovery.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neurology
Background:
- Subitizing, the rapid enumeration of small quantities, is well-researched visually but less so tactually.
- Acalculia, a deficit in arithmetic abilities, can result from brain injury, impacting numerical processing.
Observation:
- A patient with acalculia (JD) demonstrated deficits in tactile enumeration using fingers in the acute phase post-stroke.
- JD showed significant improvement in tactile enumeration and arithmetic fluency in the chronic phase.
Findings:
- Voxel-based morphometry revealed increased gray matter volume in JD's right middle occipital cortex, particularly in the chronic phase.
- Pattern recognition suggests subitizing is the primary enumeration process when using one hand for tactile counting.
Implications:
- This case provides insights into tactile enumeration deficits and recovery in acalculia.
- Findings support the role of the occipital cortex in a multisensory 'sense of magnitude' and potential recovery pathways for numerical deficits.
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