Distinct neuronal representation of small and large numbers in the human medial temporal lobe.
Journal
Nature human behaviour
ISSN: 2397-3374
Titre abrégé: Nat Hum Behav
Pays: England
ID NLM: 101697750
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
Nov 2023
Nov 2023
Historique:
received:
12
02
2023
accepted:
31
08
2023
medline:
27
11
2023
pubmed:
3
10
2023
entrez:
2
10
2023
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
Whether small numerical quantities are represented by a special subitizing system that is distinct from a large-number estimation system has been debated for over a century. Here we show that two separate neural mechanisms underlie the representation of small and large numbers. We performed single neuron recordings in the medial temporal lobe of neurosurgical patients judging numbers. We found a boundary in neuronal coding around number 4 that correlates with the behavioural transition from subitizing to estimation. In the subitizing range, neurons showed superior tuning selectivity accompanied by suppression effects suggestive of surround inhibition as a selectivity-increasing mechanism. In contrast, tuning selectivity decreased with increasing numbers beyond 4, characterizing a ratio-dependent number estimation system. The two systems with the coding boundary separating them were also indicated using decoding and clustering analyses. The identified small-number subitizing system could be linked to attention and working memory that show comparable capacity limitations.
Identifiants
pubmed: 37783890
doi: 10.1038/s41562-023-01709-3
pii: 10.1038/s41562-023-01709-3
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
1998-2007Subventions
Organisme : Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation)
ID : Ni 618/11-1
Organisme : Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation)
ID : Mo 930/4-2
Organisme : Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation)
ID : SFB 1089
Informations de copyright
© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.
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