Acquisition of the Cardinal Principle Coincides with Improvement in Approximate Number System Acuity in Preschoolers.

ABSTRACT: Human mathematical abilities comprise both learned, symbolic representations of number and unlearned, non-symbolic evolutionarily primitive cognitive systems for representing quantities. However, the mechanisms by which our symbolic (verbal) number system becomes integrated with the non-symbolic (non-verbal) representations of approximate magnitude (supported by the Approximate Number System, or ANS) are not well understood. To explore this connection, forty-six children participated in a 6-month longitudinal study assessing verbal number knowledge and non-verbal numerical acuity. Cross-sectional analyses revealed a strong relationship between verbal number knowledge and ANS acuity. Longitudinal analyses suggested that increases in ANS acuity were most strongly related to the acquisition o

SUBMITTER: Shusterman A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4831828 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature