Date of Award
2007
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science
Program
Psychology
Abstract
Symbolic numerals are ubiquitous in everyday life. However, little is known about the neural mechanisms that connect numerical symbols to their semantic referents or how these mechanisms change over developmental time. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we assessed developmental changes in the functional neuroanatomy of symbolic and non-symbolic number processing. Children (age 6-9) and adults compared the relative magnitude of symbolic and non-symbolic stimuli. I investigated brain areas which were significantly more activated by symbolic than non-symbolic comparison. Results revealed several areas including the bilateral angular and supramarginal gyri. An examination of age-related differences in symbolic versus non- symbolic comparison implicated the left supramarginal gyrus as important for the development of access of numerical semantic information through Arabic numerals. Activity in this area was also shown to be related to mathematics achievement. These data may reflect changes in the efficiency with which individuals access numerical representations from numerical symbols.
Recommended Citation
Holloway, Ian, "DEVELOPMENTAL CHANGES IN THE NEURAL CORRELATES OF SYMBOLIC AND NONSYMBOLIC NUMBER COMPARISON" (2007). Digitized Theses. 5031.
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/digitizedtheses/5031