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Electrophysiological evidence for the involvement of the approximate number system in preschoolers' processing of spoken number words.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Pinhas, M; Donohue, SE; Woldorff, MG; Brannon, EM
Published in: J Cogn Neurosci
September 2014

Little is known about the neural underpinnings of number word comprehension in young children. Here we investigated the neural processing of these words during the crucial developmental window in which children learn their meanings and asked whether such processing relies on the Approximate Number System. ERPs were recorded as 3- to 5-year-old children heard the words one, two, three, or six while looking at pictures of 1, 2, 3, or 6 objects. The auditory number word was incongruent with the number of visual objects on half the trials and congruent on the other half. Children's number word comprehension predicted their ERP incongruency effects. Specifically, children with the least number word knowledge did not show any ERP incongruency effects, whereas those with intermediate and high number word knowledge showed an enhanced, negative polarity incongruency response (N(inc)) over centroparietal sites from 200 to 500 msec after the number word onset. This negativity was followed by an enhanced, positive polarity incongruency effect (P(inc)) that emerged bilaterally over parietal sites at about 700 msec. Moreover, children with the most number word knowledge showed ratio dependence in the P(inc) (larger for greater compared with smaller numerical mismatches), a hallmark of the Approximate Number System. Importantly, a similar modulation of the P(inc) from 700 to 800 msec was found in children with intermediate number word knowledge. These results provide the first neural correlates of spoken number word comprehension in preschoolers and are consistent with the view that children map number words onto approximate number representations before they fully master the verbal count list.

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Published In

J Cogn Neurosci

DOI

EISSN

1530-8898

Publication Date

September 2014

Volume

26

Issue

9

Start / End Page

1891 / 1904

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Vocabulary
  • Time Factors
  • Statistics as Topic
  • Reading
  • Reaction Time
  • Photic Stimulation
  • Mathematics
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Female
 

Citation

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Pinhas, M., Donohue, S. E., Woldorff, M. G., & Brannon, E. M. (2014). Electrophysiological evidence for the involvement of the approximate number system in preschoolers' processing of spoken number words. J Cogn Neurosci, 26(9), 1891–1904. https://doi.org/10.1162/jocn_a_00631
Pinhas, Michal, Sarah E. Donohue, Marty G. Woldorff, and Elizabeth M. Brannon. “Electrophysiological evidence for the involvement of the approximate number system in preschoolers' processing of spoken number words.J Cogn Neurosci 26, no. 9 (September 2014): 1891–1904. https://doi.org/10.1162/jocn_a_00631.
Pinhas M, Donohue SE, Woldorff MG, Brannon EM. Electrophysiological evidence for the involvement of the approximate number system in preschoolers' processing of spoken number words. J Cogn Neurosci. 2014 Sep;26(9):1891–904.
Pinhas, Michal, et al. “Electrophysiological evidence for the involvement of the approximate number system in preschoolers' processing of spoken number words.J Cogn Neurosci, vol. 26, no. 9, Sept. 2014, pp. 1891–904. Pubmed, doi:10.1162/jocn_a_00631.
Pinhas M, Donohue SE, Woldorff MG, Brannon EM. Electrophysiological evidence for the involvement of the approximate number system in preschoolers' processing of spoken number words. J Cogn Neurosci. 2014 Sep;26(9):1891–1904.
Journal cover image

Published In

J Cogn Neurosci

DOI

EISSN

1530-8898

Publication Date

September 2014

Volume

26

Issue

9

Start / End Page

1891 / 1904

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Vocabulary
  • Time Factors
  • Statistics as Topic
  • Reading
  • Reaction Time
  • Photic Stimulation
  • Mathematics
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Female