title: The language of geometry: Fast comprehension of geometrical primitives and rules in human adults and preschoolers.
abstract: During language processing, humans form complex embedded representations from sequential inputs. Here, we ask whether a "geometrical language" with recursive embedding also underlies the human ability to encode sequences of spatial locations. We introduce a novel paradigm in which subjects are exposed to a sequence of spatial locations on an octagon, and are asked to predict future locations. The sequences vary in complexity according to a well-defined language comprising elementary primitives and recursive rules. A detailed analysis of error patterns indicates that primitives of symmetry and rotation are spontaneously detected and used by adults, preschoolers, and adult members of an indigene group in the Amazon, the Munduruku, who have a restricted numerical and geometrical lexicon and limited access to schooling. Furthermore, subjects readily combine these geometrical primitives into hierarchically organized expressions. By evaluating a large set of such combinations, we obtained a first view of the language needed to account for the representation of visuospatial sequences in humans, and conclude that they encode visuospatial sequences by minimizing the complexity of the structured expressions that capture them.
authors.affiliation: Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, CEA DSV/I2BM, INSERM, Université Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin center, Gif/Yvette, France.|Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, IFD, Paris, France.|Collège de France, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Amalric
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience, Key Laboratory of Primate Neurobiology, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Liping
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Instituto do Cérebro, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brasil.|UMR 7023 Structures Formelles du Langage CNRS, Université Paris 8, Saint-Denis, France.
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-9452-5446
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pica
authors.affiliation: Department of Computer Science, FCEN, University of Buenos Aires and ICC-CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Santiago
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Figueira
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Laboratory, Universidad Torcuato Di Tella, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Mariano
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sigman
authors.affiliation: Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, CEA DSV/I2BM, INSERM, Université Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin center, Gif/Yvette, France.|Collège de France, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Stanislas
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dehaene
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000465:Algorithms; D002675:Child, Preschool; D032882:Comprehension / Q000502:physiology*; D003210:Concept Formation / Q000502:physiology*; D003469:Culture; D006801:Humans; D007199:Indians, South American; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D055641:Mathematical Concepts; D008433:Mathematics / Q000193:education; D017145:Models, Educational; D009626:Terminology as Topic