The numerate brain Flashcards
Dyscalculia
Difficulties in understanding numbers; calculation difficulties
Place value system
A system of writing numbers in which the quantity is determined by its place in the written string.
Habituation
In infant studies, old or familiar objects receive less attention.
Counting
The process of putting each item in a collection in one-to-one correspondence with a number or some internal/external tally.
Subitizing
The capacity to enumerate an exact quantity of objects without counting them.
Distance effect
It is harder to decide which of two numbers is larger when the distance between them is small (e.g., 8-9 relative to 2-9).
Size effect
It is easier to state which number is larger when the numbers are small (e.g., 2 and 4) relative to large (e.g., 7 and 9) even when the distance between them is the same.
Number neurons
Neurons that respond preferentially to particular set sizes.
Mental number line
An internal analogue/continuous scale (like a line) used for comparing both discrete and continuous quantities.
SNARC effect (spatial numerical association of response codes)
If people are asked to make judgments about numbers (e.g., odd/even judgments), they are faster with their left hand for small numbers but faster with their right hand for large numbers.
Number forms
Stable mental images of the number sequence reported by a minority of the population.
Gerstmann’s syndrome
A set of four deficits believed to be associated with damage to the left parietal lobe (acalculia, finger agnosia, agraphia and left-right disorientation).
Transcoding
The means by which one symbol is translated into another of a different type.
Number form area
A region of fusiform cortex that responds, in brain imaging, to numerals more than letters.
