title: Is it logical to count on quantifiers? Dissociable neural networks underlying numerical and logical quantifiers.
abstract: The present study examined the neural substrate of two classes of quantifiers: numerical quantifiers like "at least three" which require magnitude processing, and logical quantifiers like "some" which can be understood using a simple form of perceptual logic. We assessed these distinct classes of quantifiers with converging observations from two sources: functional imaging data from healthy adults, and behavioral and structural data from patients with corticobasal degeneration who have acalculia. Our findings are consistent with the claim that numerical quantifier comprehension depends on a lateral parietal-dorsolateral prefrontal network, but logical quantifier comprehension depends instead on a rostral medial prefrontal-posterior cingulate network. These observations emphasize the important contribution of abstract number knowledge to the meaning of numerical quantifiers in semantic memory and the potential role of a logic-based evaluation in the service of non-numerical quantifiers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, United States.
authors.forename: Vanessa
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Troiani
authors.forename: Jonathan E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Peelle
authors.forename: Robin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.forename: Murray
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Grossman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008128:Logic; D008297:Male; D008433:Mathematics; D008606:Mental Processes / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009415:Nerve Net; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen
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