Semantic processing of mathematical gestures.
OBJECTIVE
To examine whether or not university mathematics students semantically process gestures depicting mathematical functions (mathematical gestures) similarly to the way they process action gestures and sentences. Semantic processing was indexed by the N400 effect.


RESULTS
The N400 effect elicited by words primed with mathematical gestures (e.g. "converging" and "decreasing") was the same in amplitude, latency and topography as that elicited by words primed with action gestures (e.g. drive and lift), and that for terminal words of sentences.


CONCLUSIONS
Findings provide a within-subject demonstration that the topographies of the gesture N400 effect for both action and mathematical words are indistinguishable from that of the standard language N400 effect. This suggests that mathematical function words are processed by the general language semantic system and do not appear to involve areas involved in other mathematical concepts (e.g. numerosity).
Lim
Vanessa K
VK
Department of Psychology, Research Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand. v.lim@auckland.ac.nz
Wilson
Anna J
AJ
Hamm
Jeff P
JP
Phillips
Nicola
N
Iwabuchi
Sarina J
SJ
Corballis
Michael C
MC
Arzarello
Ferdinando
F
Thomas
Michael O J
MO
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005868:Gestures; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008433:Mathematics; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; D013067:Speech Perception / Q000502:physiology; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult