Neurodevelopmental differences in task-evoked number network connectivity: Comparing symbolic and nonsymbolic number discrimination in children and adults

ElsevierVolume 58, December 2022, 101159Developmental Cognitive NeuroscienceHighlights•

Identified developmental differences in symbolic and nonsymbolic number processing.

Adults’ functional connectivity indicative of developmental ANS estrangement.

Greater connectivity overlap between symbolic (Arabic, verbal) number in adults.

Children’s functional connectivity indicates domain-general effortful processing.

Number symbols increasingly processed by retrieval than mapping over development.

Abstract

Numerical cognition can take place in multiple representational formats, such as Arabic digits (e.g., 1), verbal number words (e.g., “two”), and nonsymbolic (e.g., •••) numerical magnitude. Basic numerical discrimination abilities are key factors underlying the development of arithmetic abilities, acting as an important developmental precursor of adult-level numeracy. While prior research has begun to detail the neural correlates associated with basic numerical discrimination skills in different representational formats, the interactions between functional neural circuits are less understood. A growing body of evidence suggests that the functional networks recruited by number discrimination tasks differ between children and adults, which may provide valuable insights into the development of numerical cognition. To this end, we posed two questions: how do the interactions between functional circuits associated with number processing differ in children and adults? Are differences in functional network connectivity modulated by numerical representational codes? A theoretically motivated 22 ROI analysis indicated significant functional connectivity differences between children and adults across all three codes. Adults demonstrated sparser and more consistent connectivity patterns across codes, indicative of developmental domain-specialization for number processing. Although neural activity in children and adults is similar, the functional connectivity supporting number processing appears subject to substantial developmental maturation effects.

Keywords

TCM

Number processing

Development

FcMRI

Numerical cognition

Connectivity

Data availability

Associated group-level neuroimaging data is available from the Open Science Foundation: https://osf.io/n5uvy/?view_only=30d349bd1c5943c98929b180f81a873c.

© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.

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