Descripción del proyecto
La relación entre el espacio y los números en el encéfalo
El espacio, el tiempo y los números ofrecen intuiciones «a priori» que estructuran el modo en que los humanos sentimos nuestro entorno. La investigación en materia de ciencia cognitiva muestra que las representaciones temporal, espacial y numérica de un estímulo son capaces de interactuar. Las asociaciones numérico-espaciales son comunes en los humanos. Se aprecian, por ejemplo, en la tendencia a registrar magnitudes numéricas cada vez mayores en una orientación de izquierda a derecha en el encéfalo. El proyecto financiado con fondos europeos SPANUMBRA pondrá en marcha investigaciones destinadas a conocer los orígenes del desarrollo, neuronales y genéticos de las asociaciones numérico-espaciales en humanos y otros animales. Los hallazgos del equipo contribuirán a mejorar los tratamientos contra afecciones como la discalculia, que provoca dificultades a la hora de procesar números.
Objetivo
Research in cognitive science has revealed that the temporal, spatial, and numerical features of a stimulus can interact with one another. An example is the tendency to map increasing numerical magnitudes with a left-to-right orientation. Numerical-spatial associations (NSA) are pervasive in human behaviour and have relevance to health (e.g. dyscalculia is thought to be related to improper understanding of the so-called «mental number line»). NSA have been shown to occur in human newborns and in non-human animals for non-symbolic numerousness. SPANUMBRA aims to investigate NSA in different animal models (domestic chicks, mice and zebrafish) and in human neonates and infants to provide a comprehensive and comparative perspective on the developmental, neural and genetic origins of this phenomenon. The project will be guided by a new hypothesis that links the direction of NSA to a differential role of the two sides of the brain to the perceived value (valence) of changes in magnitudes. The role of the experience (WP1) in the development of NSA will be investigated making use of early exposure to light in chicks’ embryos to modulate brain asymmetry, and controlled-rearing experiments in which newly-hatched chicks will be exposed to correlated and anti-correlated discrete and continuous magnitudes. Development of NSA will be also studied in human neonates and infants (WP2) before, during, and after the exposure to culture-specific NSA associations (numbers organized in spatially oriented layouts) to investigate the role of culture in shaping/reinforcing NSA. The study of the neural basis of the NSA (WP3) will combine neurobiological techniques (immediate early gene expression in chicks and zebrafish), and non-invasive methods (EEG and fNIRS in human neonates). The genetic bases of NSA (WP4) will be investigated using transgenic lines of zebrafish and mice, in order to understand the role of some genes implicated in the development of lateralization and in dyscalculia.
Ámbito científico
Programa(s)
Régimen de financiación
ERC-ADG - Advanced GrantInstitución de acogida
38122 Trento
Italia