Numbers in the cultural brain.
Recent functional neuroimaging studies have indicated that culture may contribute to differential representation of Arabic numbers in the brain of Chinese and English speakers. The brain networks underlying even very simple arithmetic operation differ among these groups. To what extent do different cultures lead to differences in functional connectivity among the distributed brain areas that constitute the network supporting numerical and arithmetic processes? Key cultural differences are educational system, learning strategy, reading experience, and even genetic background; which ones are important? This review addresses these questions and summarizes findings from recent research on number/arithmetic cognition as well related studies in other cognitive domains. Future directions are also addressed.
Tang
Yi-Yuan
YY
Institute of Neuroinformatics, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China. yiyuan@uoregon.edu
Liu
Yijun
Y
D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D003469:Culture; D005006:Ethnicity; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008433:Mathematics; D009484:Neuropsychology / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D011603:Psychophysiology; D014705:Verbal Behavior / Q000502:physiology