Examining the Triple Code Model in numerical cognition: An fMRI study

PLoS One. 2018 Jun 28;13(6):e0199247. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0199247. eCollection 2018.

Abstract

The Triple Code Model (TCM) of numerical cognition argues for the existence of three representational codes for number: Arabic digits, verbal number words, and analog nonsymbolic magnitude representations, each subserved by functionally dissociated neural substrates. Despite the popularity of the TCM, no study to date has explored all three numerical codes within one fMRI paradigm. We administered three tasks, associated with each of the aforementioned numerical codes, in order to explore the neural correlates of numerosity processing in a sample of adults (N = 46). Independent task-control contrast analyses revealed task-dependent activity in partial support of the model, but also highlight the inherent complexity of a distributed and overlapping fronto-parietal network involved in all numerical codes. The results indicate that the TCM correctly predicts the existence of some functionally dissociated neural substrates, but requires an update that accounts for interactions with attentional processes. Parametric contrasts corresponding to differences in task difficulty revealed specific neural correlates of the distance effect, where closely spaced numbers become more difficult to discriminate than numbers spaced further apart. A conjunction analysis illustrated overlapping neural correlates across all tasks, in line with recent proposals for a fronto-parietal network of number processing. We additionally provide tentative results suggesting the involvement of format-independent numerosity-sensitive retinotopic maps in the early visual stream, extending previous findings of nonsymbolic stimulus selectivity. We discuss the functional roles of the components associated with the model, as well as the purported fronto-parietal network, and offer arguments in favor of revising the TCM.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Behavior
  • Biobehavioral Sciences*
  • Brain / physiology*
  • Brain Mapping
  • Cluster Analysis
  • Cognition*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging / methods
  • Male
  • Mathematical Concepts*
  • Young Adult

Grants and funding

This research was partially supported by a grant from Linköping University (Dnr: LiU-2009-01356; https://liu.se/en) awarded to U. T. and partially supported by a grant from the Marianne and Marcus Wallenberg Foundation (Dnr: 2014-0173; https://www.wallenberg.com/mmw/en) awarded to D. V. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.