HMN 2025: How to Uncover the mind’s versatile mechanisms for representing various numbers

The National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) has revealed, by way of fMRI-based mind exercise evaluation, that a number of areas within the human cerebral cortex flexibly symbolize numerical amount.

This discovering comes from analysis by Hayashi Masamichi (Researcher (Tenure-Track)) on the Center for Information and Neural Networks (CiNet), a part of NICT’s Advanced ICT Research Institute, in collaboration with the University of Tokyo’s graduate pupil Kido Teruaki (NICT cooperative visiting researcher), and Prof. Yotsumoto Yuko.

Although sure mind areas are identified to answer numerical amount, this study expands that understanding by exhibiting that some areas reply to relative amount (e.g., “extra-small,” “small,” “massive,” and “extra-large”) quite than absolute amount (i.e., particular amount). Moreover, these context-dependent, relative representations develop into extra pronounced alongside the pathway from the parietal to the frontal lobe.

These outcomes spotlight the versatile nature of numerical amount processing within the mind, and they’re anticipated to advance our understanding of how the mind handles different varieties of “magnitude” ideas, together with time and measurement.

This work is published within the journal Nature Communications.

It has lengthy been identified that sure mind areas comprise neurons that reply selectively to particular numbers. However, it remained unclear whether or not they all the time react to the identical numbers, resembling 8 or 15, no matter context (absolute illustration), or if their response adjustments relying on the scenario.

If neurons strictly adopted absolute amount, an impractically massive variety of neurons could be required to course of infinite numerical portions, making it unclear how the human mind, with its restricted neurons, effectively processes such a variety of numbers.

In this study, researchers used purposeful magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure members’ mind exercise and analyzed it with multivariate sample evaluation. Over three days, members considered black-and-white dot patterns that offered numerical info in numerous ranges whereas their mind exercise was recorded.

The outcomes confirmed that regardless of variations in numbers, sure mind areas exhibited comparable exercise patterns. This occurred when the relative magnitude throughout the vary was the identical (e.g., XS within the massive set and that within the small set). This means that neurons could alter their responses to numbers primarily based on context (i.e., the numerical vary), enabling environment friendly encoding whereas conserving neural sources.

Furthermore, the review revealed a hierarchical construction in visible processing: decrease sensory areas represented numbers in absolute phrases, whereas higher-order cortices, from the parietal to the frontal lobe, steadily shifted towards relative numerical amount representations. This shift highlights how the mind flexibly encodes numerical magnitude primarily based on context.

Numerical info is embedded in varied types of media, and its correct and efficient communication performs an important position in figuring out the standard of communication. This study goals to reinforce communication high quality by uncovering the mind capabilities concerned in processing numerical ideas.

While this study targeted on numerical amount, comparable mechanisms may additionally underlie different quantitative ideas, resembling measurement and time. Investigating whether or not the mind represents these ideas in a relative method may present deeper insights into how the mind perceives and interprets its setting as an entire.

Provided by
National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT)