Developmental alterations of the numerical processing networks in the brain.
Gözde Vatansever1, Sertaç Üstün2, Nazife Ayyıldız1
1Department of Interdisciplinary Neuroscience, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey; Brain Research Center, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey.
Brain and Cognition
|February 24, 2020
Summary
Brain number processing shows developmental changes, particularly around the number form area (NFA), not a frontoparietal shift as previously theorized. This neuroimaging study reveals key differences in how children and adults represent numerical information.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Developmental Neuroscience
Background:
- Number perception is primarily associated with the parietal cortex.
- A debated theory suggests a developmental shift in number processing from the frontal to the parietal lobe.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate developmental variations in the neural underpinnings of number representation using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
- To examine age-related differences in brain activation patterns during numerical tasks.
Main Methods:
- fMRI was employed with 16 young adults and 15 children performing a numerosity comparison task.
- Activations were analyzed across different numerical conditions and difficulty levels.
- Region of interest analysis was conducted on specific brain clusters.
Main Results:
- Adults exhibited widespread activation in the parietal cortex, prefrontal cortex, and cingulate cortex.
- Children showed activation in the intraparietal sulcus and peristriate cortex (PC).
- Significant group differences were found in the posterior insula, fusiform gyrus, and PC, areas overlapping with the number form area (NFA).
Conclusions:
- Contrary to the frontoparietal shift theory, no age-related differences were observed in frontoparietal regions.
- Developmental changes in number processing appear to center around the NFA.
- The study highlights the NFA's role in the maturation of numerical cognition.
