Decoding numeracy and literacy in the human brain: insights from MEG and MVPA
Abstract Numbers and letters are the fundamental building blocks of our everyday social interactions. Previous studies have focused on determining the cortical pathways shaped by numeracy and literacy in the human brain, partially supporting the hypothesis of distinct perceptual neural circuits invo...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2023-07-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-37113-0 |
| _version_ | 1797784680195424256 |
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| author | Sanjeev Nara Haider Raza Manuel Carreiras Nicola Molinaro |
| author_facet | Sanjeev Nara Haider Raza Manuel Carreiras Nicola Molinaro |
| author_sort | Sanjeev Nara |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Numbers and letters are the fundamental building blocks of our everyday social interactions. Previous studies have focused on determining the cortical pathways shaped by numeracy and literacy in the human brain, partially supporting the hypothesis of distinct perceptual neural circuits involved in the visual processing of the two categories. In this study, we aim to investigate the temporal dynamics for number and letter processing. We present magnetoencephalography (MEG) data from two experiments (N = 25 each). In the first experiment, single numbers, letters, and their respective false fonts (false numbers and false letters) were presented, whereas, in the second experiment, numbers, letters, and their respective false fonts were presented as a string of characters. We used multivariate pattern analysis techniques (time-resolved decoding and temporal generalization), testing the strong hypothesis that the neural correlates supporting letter and number processing can be logistically classified as categorically separate. Our results show a very early dissociation (~ 100 ms) between numbers, and letters when compared to false fonts. Number processing can be dissociated with similar accuracy when presented as isolated items or strings of characters, while letter processing shows dissociable classification accuracy for single items compared to strings. These findings reinforce the evidence indicating that early visual processing can be differently shaped by the experience with numbers and letters; this dissociation is stronger for strings compared to single items, thus showing that combinatorial mechanisms for numbers and letters could be categorically distinguished and influence early visual processing. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T00:43:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2ab23b732b5748faa11694e0758da11d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T00:43:21Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-2ab23b732b5748faa11694e0758da11d2023-07-09T11:11:18ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222023-07-011311910.1038/s41598-023-37113-0Decoding numeracy and literacy in the human brain: insights from MEG and MVPASanjeev Nara0Haider Raza1Manuel Carreiras2Nicola Molinaro3Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Physics, Geography, Mathematical Institute, Justus-Liebig-Universität GießenSchool of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering, University of EssexBasque Center on Cognition, Brain and LanguageBasque Center on Cognition, Brain and LanguageAbstract Numbers and letters are the fundamental building blocks of our everyday social interactions. Previous studies have focused on determining the cortical pathways shaped by numeracy and literacy in the human brain, partially supporting the hypothesis of distinct perceptual neural circuits involved in the visual processing of the two categories. In this study, we aim to investigate the temporal dynamics for number and letter processing. We present magnetoencephalography (MEG) data from two experiments (N = 25 each). In the first experiment, single numbers, letters, and their respective false fonts (false numbers and false letters) were presented, whereas, in the second experiment, numbers, letters, and their respective false fonts were presented as a string of characters. We used multivariate pattern analysis techniques (time-resolved decoding and temporal generalization), testing the strong hypothesis that the neural correlates supporting letter and number processing can be logistically classified as categorically separate. Our results show a very early dissociation (~ 100 ms) between numbers, and letters when compared to false fonts. Number processing can be dissociated with similar accuracy when presented as isolated items or strings of characters, while letter processing shows dissociable classification accuracy for single items compared to strings. These findings reinforce the evidence indicating that early visual processing can be differently shaped by the experience with numbers and letters; this dissociation is stronger for strings compared to single items, thus showing that combinatorial mechanisms for numbers and letters could be categorically distinguished and influence early visual processing.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-37113-0 |
| spellingShingle | Sanjeev Nara Haider Raza Manuel Carreiras Nicola Molinaro Decoding numeracy and literacy in the human brain: insights from MEG and MVPA Scientific Reports |
| title | Decoding numeracy and literacy in the human brain: insights from MEG and MVPA |
| title_full | Decoding numeracy and literacy in the human brain: insights from MEG and MVPA |
| title_fullStr | Decoding numeracy and literacy in the human brain: insights from MEG and MVPA |
| title_full_unstemmed | Decoding numeracy and literacy in the human brain: insights from MEG and MVPA |
| title_short | Decoding numeracy and literacy in the human brain: insights from MEG and MVPA |
| title_sort | decoding numeracy and literacy in the human brain insights from meg and mvpa |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-37113-0 |
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