Number Representation in Primates

灵长类动物中的数字表示

• 批准号: 7076968
• 负责人: ELIZABETH M BRANNON
• 金额: $ 13.91万
• 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/7076968
• 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）：成人人类的数学能力超过任何非人类动物的数值能力。尽管老鼠和猴子都不可能平衡支票簿或证明pythaguls'定理，但有大量证据表明，非人类动物本身能够具有令人印象深刻的数学壮举。 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). PI先前的研究为这一文献做出了贡献，证明了恒河猴代表数字之间的抽象序数关系，而鸽子代表数字在线性而不是对数尺度上代表数字。此外，越来越多的数据表明，动物持有的非语言数值系统是人类共享的，并在发育的早期出现（例如Brannon，2002; Brannon＆Terrace，2002; Whalen等，1999; Spelke，2000）。研究人数能力的进化基础将为该系统的性质提供重要的见解。我们对动物非语言数值认知的了解仍然存在三个主要差距，1）数值表示是抽象的还是具体的，2）学习在特定数值能力表达中的作用，以及3）人类数值认知的哪些方面是系统生理学上保守的，以及某些或所有灵长类动物的哪些方面是保守的。提出的实验的结果将为非语言数值认知提供更完整的理解，并为理解人数认知的进化基础提供了跳板。此外，拟议的研究旨在提供一个猴子模型，该模型将洞悉儿童正常数值发展，并为理解非典型发展提供基础。因此，这项研究将有助于PIS的广泛目标，即了解动物和人类婴儿的数学思维之间的关系，以阐明没有语言的思想和成人人类认知的基础。