Boundary conditions of conceptual spaces

概念知识表示背后的地形结构仍然存在生动的争论。可以区分两种主要的描述：空间描述和非空间描述。试图在这两种说法之间作出裁决，但没有成功。我们假设习得和表现过程中的边界条件决定了认知和神经层面的地形结构。这一建议旨在描绘界定概念知识地形的边界条件。主要讨论两个问题：1。情境因素对概念知识结构及其行为和神经表达的影响是什么？例如，数字的传递性使其能够在空间上将数值大小投射到一维流形上。对于更复杂的（例如二维）概念，表示可以采用类似地图的地形。然而，对于非传递序列和其他存储内容，如算术事实，空间架构似乎不太适合和图形化，语义网络已被提出。因此，概念性知识的传递性和维度可能需要不同的地形，因此可能代表定义地形的潜在边界因素。其他尚未解决的问题包括如何将两个先前不相关的传递序列投射到一个共同的度量上，以及如何将二维概念空间转化为手动和视觉行为。其他潜在的边界因素，如专业知识和对概念的熟悉程度，在概念表征的构建中起什么作用？新获得的概念与现有知识相联系的方式影响着行为。我们研究了先天数字大小表征的特征效应（距离和大小效应）是如何在儿童数字符号习得过程中出现的。因此，我们研究了发展依赖对概念知识形态的影响。该项目使用一套通用的实验，结合了互补的行为测量来描绘地形结构（反应时间、触摸屏上的指向位置、眼动追踪的眼部参数）和成人和小学生的神经功能功能性磁共振成像数据。为了阐明已有知识的作用，该项目结合了一种培训方法，参与者将学习新的概念空间和对现有概念（如数字知识）的调查。描述概念内容获取和适应的神经和认知原理将促进我们对概念知识表征的理解。通过将焦点从是否所有概念都在空间上表示的问题转移到上下文变量如何塑造观察到的性能的更富有成效的问题上，该项目实现了更富有成效的辩论。

The topographic structure underlying conceptual knowledge representations remains vividly debated. Two major accounts can be distinguished: spatial vs. non-spatial accounts. Attempts to adjudicate between these accounts have been unsuccessful. We hypothesize that boundary conditions during acquisition and performance determine the topographic structure at the cognitive and neural level. This proposal aims at delineating the boundary conditions that define the topography of conceptual knowledge. Two major questions will be addressed:1. What is the impact of context factors on the architecture of conceptual knowledge and its behavioral and neural expression? The transitive nature of numbers, for example, lends itself for spatially projecting numerical magnitude onto a one-dimensional manifold. For more complex (e.g. two-dimensional) concepts, the representation may take a map-like topography. For non-transitive series and other memory contents such as arithmetic facts, however, a spatial architecture appears less suited and graph-like, semantic networks have been proposed. Hence, transitivity and dimensionality of the conceptual knowledge may call for different topographies and may hence represent potential boundary factors that define the topography. Other unresolved issues that will be addressed include the question how two previously unrelated transitive series are projected onto a common metric and how two-dimensional conceptual spaces translate into manual and ocular behavior.2. What role do other potential boundary factors such as expertise and familiarity with concepts play in the construction of conceptual representations? The way in which newly acquired concepts are linked with existing knowledge influences behavior. We investigate how signature effects of the innate numerical magnitude representation (distance and size effects) emerge during the acquisition of numerical symbols in children. Hence we investigate the impact of developmental dependencies on the shape of conceptual knowledge.Using a common set of experiments, the project combines complementary behavioral measures to delineate the topographical structure (reaction times, pointing positions on a touchscreen, ocular parameters from eye tracking) and neurofunctional functional magnetic resonance imaging data from adults and elementary school children. To elucidate the role of pre-existing knowledge, the project combines a training approach in which participants will be taught new conceptual spaces with the investigation of existing concepts such as number knowledge.Delineating neural and cognitive principles underlying the acquisition and adaptation of conceptual content will advance our understanding of conceptual knowledge representation. By shifting the focus from the question whether all concepts are spatially represented toward the more fruitful question of how contextual variables shape the observed performance, this project enables a more productive debate.