Number Representation in Primates

描述（由申请人提供）：成年人的数学能力超过任何非人类动物的数学能力。尽管老鼠和猴子都不可能去平衡支票簿或证明毕达哥拉斯定理，但有相当多的证据表明，非人类的动物能够凭借自己的能力完成令人印象深刻的数学壮举。动物种类繁多，如大鼠、鸽子、雪貂、浣熊、猴子和猿等，都被证明可以对闪光、音调、抽象视觉元素、家用物体、食物以及它们自己的反应等刺激做出数字判断（有关综述，请参见Boysen & Capaldi，1992; Brannon & Roitman，2003; Galvel & Gelman，1992; Dehaene，1997）。PI先前的研究为这篇文献做出了贡献，证明了恒河猴代表了数字之间的抽象序数关系，鸽子代表了线性而不是对数尺度的数字。此外，越来越多的数据表明，动物拥有的非语言数字系统是人类共有的，并且在发育的早期就出现了（例如，Brannon，2002年; Brannon & Terrace，2002年; Whalen等人，1999; Spelke，2000）。研究人类数字能力的进化基础将为深入了解这一系统的本质提供重要的启示。我们对动物非语言数字认知的认识存在三个主要空白：1）数字表征是抽象的还是具体的; 2）学习在特定数字能力表达中的作用; 3）人类数字认知的哪些方面是遗传保守的，哪些方面是部分或全部灵长类动物共有的。本研究的结果将有助于我们更全面地理解非言语数字认知，并为理解人类数字认知的进化基础提供一个跳板。此外，拟议的研究旨在提供一个猴子模型，将提供洞察儿童的正常数字发展和理解非典型发展的基础。因此，这项研究将有助于PI的广泛目标，即理解动物和人类婴儿的数学思维之间的关系，以揭示没有语言的思维和成年人类认知的基石。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Mathematical abilities in adult humans exceed the numerical capacities of any non-human animal. Although neither rat nor monkey is likely to balance a checkbook or prove Pythagorous' theorem there is considerable evidence that non-human animals are capable of impressive mathematical feats in their own right. Animal genera as diverse as rats, pigeons, ferrets, raccoons, monkeys, and apes have been shown to make numerical judgments with stimuli that include light flashes, tones, abstract visual elements, house-hold objects, food morsels, and their own responses (for reviews see Boysen & Capaldi, 1992; Brannon & Roitman 2003; Gallistel & Gelman, 1992; Dehaene, 1997). The PI's previous research has contributed to this literature by demonstrating that rhesus monkeys represent abstract ordinal relations between numerosities and that pigeons represent number on a linear rather than a logarithmic scale. Furthermore, a growing body of data suggests that the nonverbal numerical system, held by animals, is shared by humans and appears early in development (e.g., Brannon, 2002; Brannon & Terrace, 2002; Whalen et al., 1999; Spelke, 2000). Studying the evolutionary basis of human numerical capacities will provide important insight into the nature of this system. Three main gaps remain in our knowledge of non-verbal numerical cognition in animals, 1) whether numerical representations are abstract or concrete, 2) the role of learning in the expression of particular numerical abilities, and 3) which aspects of human numerical cognition are phylogenetically conservative and which aspects are shared by some or all primates. The results of the proposed experiments will provide a more complete understanding of non-verbal numerical cognition and provide a springboard for understanding the evolutionary bases of human numerical cognition. Furthermore the proposed research seeks to provide a monkey model that will provide insight into normal numerical development in children and a basis for understanding atypical development. As such this research will contribute to the PIs broad goal of understanding the relationship between mathematical thinking in animals and human infants in an effort to shed light on thought without language and the building blocks of adult human cognition.