Number Representation in Primates

描述(申请人提供)：成年人类的数学能力超过任何非人类动物的数字能力。尽管老鼠和猴子都不太可能平衡支票簿或证明毕达哥斯定理，但有相当多的证据表明，非人类动物本身就有能力做出令人印象深刻的数学壮举。各种动物，如老鼠、鸽子、雪貂、浣熊、猴子和类人猿，已经被证明用包括闪光、音调、抽象视觉元素、居家物品、食物和它们自己的反应在内的刺激进行数字判断(有关评论，请参阅Boysen&Capaldi，1992；Brannon&Roitman 2003；Gallistel&Gelman，1992；Dehaene，1997)。PI之前的研究为这一文献做出了贡献，证明了恒河猴代表数字之间的抽象顺序关系，以及鸽子代表线性而不是对数尺度上的数字。此外，越来越多的数据表明，动物拥有的非语言数字系统被人类共享，并出现在发育的早期(例如，Brannon，2002；Brannon&Terrace，2002；Whalen等人，1999；Spelke，2000)。研究人类数字能力的进化基础将为了解这一系统的本质提供重要的见解。我们对动物非语言数字认知的认识存在三个主要差距，1)数字表征是抽象的还是具体的，2)学习在表达特定数字能力方面的作用，3)人类数字认知的哪些方面在系统发育上是保守的，哪些方面是部分或全部灵长类动物共有的。这些实验结果将对非语言数字认知提供更全面的理解，并为理解人类数字认知的进化基础提供跳板。此外，拟议的研究试图提供一个猴子模型，该模型将为儿童正常的数字发展提供洞察，并为理解非典型发展提供基础。因此，这项研究将有助于PIS理解动物和人类婴儿数学思维之间的关系的广泛目标，努力阐明没有语言的思维和成人人类认知的基础。

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.