The emergence of precise numerosity representations in the human brain

• Applicant: Dr. Michael Skeide
• Subject Area: Developmental and Educational Psychology
• Term: since 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 433715509

Humans are born with the ability to approximately discriminate numerosities. While this ability gradually refines in the course of ontogeny, children can only precisely represent numerosities as soon as they learn to count. It is currently unknown, however, how the developing brain reorganizes at the transition from the approximate number system to the precise symbolic counting system. To shed light on this unexplored developmental cognitive trajectory, the key questions to be answered in the proposed project are: (1) How does the brain respond to numerosities in children that have not yet learned to count? (2) How does the brain create neural resources that allow children to refer to precise numerosities? (3) How do large-scale networks change when children build precise numerosity representations? These questions will be answered in a blinded randomized controlled intervention study. To this end, 3-year-old children, that are not yet able to count, will take part either in a number learning intervention (target group) or in an intervention targeting foundational skills for reading (active control group). In parallel, they take part in a longitudinal functional magnetic resonance imaging experiment capturing neuroplastic changes related to the emerging ability to refer to precise numerosities. The current project has the potential to reveal novel insights into a milestone of human cognitive development that provides the foundation for mathematical thinking.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Co-Investigator: Professor Dr. Andreas Nieder