Number Representation in Primates

灵长类动物中的数字表示

• 批准号: 6928277
• 负责人: ELIZABETH M BRANNON
• 金额: $ 14.24万
• 依托单位: DUKE UNIVERSITY
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2005
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2005-06-13 至 2010-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/6928277
• 关键词: Macaca fascicularis; Macaca mulatta; Prosimii; behavioral /social science research tag; biological models; cognition; learning; mathematics; model design /development; neural information processing

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Mathematical abilities in adult humans exceed the numerical capacities of any non-human animal. Although neither rat nor monkey is likely to balance a checkbook or prove Pythagorous' theorem there is considerable evidence that non-human animals are capable of impressive mathematical feats in their own right. Animal genera as diverse as rats, pigeons, ferrets, raccoons, monkeys, and apes have been shown to make numerical judgments with stimuli that include light flashes, tones, abstract visual elements, house-hold objects, food morsels, and their own responses (for reviews see Boysen & Capaldi, 1992; Brannon & Roitman 2003; Gallistel & Gelman, 1992; Dehaene, 1997). The PI's previous research has contributed to this literature by demonstrating that rhesus monkeys represent abstract ordinal relations between numerosities and that pigeons represent number on a linear rather than a logarithmic scale. Furthermore, a growing body of data suggests that the nonverbal numerical system, held by animals, is shared by humans and appears early in development (e.g., Brannon, 2002; Brannon & Terrace, 2002; Whalen et al., 1999; Spelke, 2000). Studying the evolutionary basis of human numerical capacities will provide important insight into the nature of this system. Three main gaps remain in our knowledge of non-verbal numerical cognition in animals, 1) whether numerical representations are abstract or concrete, 2) the role of learning in the expression of particular numerical abilities, and 3) which aspects of human numerical cognition are phylogenetically conservative and which aspects are shared by some or all primates. The results of the proposed experiments will provide a more complete understanding of non-verbal numerical cognition and provide a springboard for understanding the evolutionary bases of human numerical cognition. Furthermore the proposed research seeks to provide a monkey model that will provide insight into normal numerical development in children and a basis for understanding atypical development. As such this research will contribute to the PIs broad goal of understanding the relationship between mathematical thinking in animals and human infants in an effort to shed light on thought without language and the building blocks of adult human cognition.

描述（由申请人提供）：成年人的数学能力超过任何非人类动物的数学能力。尽管老鼠和猴子都不太可能平衡支票簿或证明毕达哥拉斯定理，但有大量证据表明，非人类动物凭借自身能力能够取得令人印象深刻的数学成就。老鼠、鸽子、雪貂、浣熊、猴子和猿等不同属的动物已被证明可以利用闪光、音调、抽象视觉元素、家用物品、食物以及它们自己的反应等刺激做出数字判断。评论见 Boysen & Capaldi, 1992; Gallistel & Gelman, 1992; 1997）。 PI 之前的研究对这篇文献做出了贡献，证明恒河猴代表数字之间的抽象序数关系，而鸽子代表线性而不是对数尺度的数字。此外，越来越多的数据表明，动物所拥有的非语言数字系统为人类所共有，并且出现在发展的早期（例如，Brannon，2002；Brannon & Terrace，2002；Whalen 等人，1999；Spelke，2000） ）。研究人类数字能力的进化基础将为了解该系统的本质提供重要的见解。我们对动物非语言数字认知的了解仍然存在三个主要差距：1）数字表示是抽象的还是具体的；2）学习在表达特定数字能力中的作用；3）人类数字认知的哪些方面是系统发育保守以及某些或所有灵长类动物共有哪些方面。所提出的实验结果将为非语言数字认知提供更完整的理解，并为理解人类数字认知的进化基础提供跳板。此外，拟议的研究旨在提供一种猴子模型，该模型将深入了解儿童的正常数字发展，并为理解非典型发展奠定基础。因此，这项研究将有助于 PI 的广泛目标，即理解动物和人类婴儿的数学思维之间的关系，以阐明无语言的思维和成人认知的构建模块。