"Math neurons" identified in the brain
2022
University of Bonn Medical Center, Bonn, Germany(1)
University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany(2)
University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany(2)
Arithmetic is a cornerstone of scientifically and technologically advanced human culture, but its neuronal mechanisms are poorly understood. Here, the researchers explored the brain mechanisms involved in simple arithmetic operations by recording single-neuron activity from the medial temporal lobe of human subjects performing additions and subtractions. Five women and four men who had electrodes implanted in their brains due to epilepsy treatment participated in the study. The authors found that different neurons fired during additions than during subtractions. This suggests different cognitive functions for medial temporal lobe regions in arithmetic. This study marks an important step towards a better understanding of one of our most important symbolic abilities, namely calculating with numbers.
Neuronal codes for arithmetic rule processing in the human brain
Florian Mormann(1), Andreas Nieder(2)
Added on: 03-10-2022
[1] https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(22)00116-6?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0960982222001166%3Fshowall%3Dtrue[2] https://www.bionity.com/en/news/1174821/math-neurons-identified-in-the-brain.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=bionityde&WT.mc_id=ca0264
