Damage to the Intraparietal Sulcus Impairs Magnitude Representations of Results of Complex Arithmetic Problems. (1st July 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ganor-Stern, Dana; Gliksman, Yarden; Naparstek, Sharon; Ifergane, Gal; Henik, Avishai
• Is Part Of: Neuroscience. Volume 438(2020)
• Page Start: 137
• Page End: 144
• Publication Date: 2020-07-01
• Subjects: 1D single digit -- 2D two digits -- ACC accuracy -- ADHD attention deficit hyperactivity disorder -- IPS intraparietal sulcus -- JD the acalculic patient -- PE percent error -- RT response time -- SD standard deviation -- WM working memory; acalculia -- IPS -- computation estimation -- sense of magnitude; Neurochemistry -- Periodicals; Neurophysiology -- Periodicals; Neurology -- Periodicals; Neurochimie -- Périodiques; Neurophysiologie -- Périodiques; Neurochemistry; Neurophysiology; Electronic journals; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 612.8
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2020.05.006
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0306-4522

Abstract

Highlights: JD, a young acalculic patient, with a focal lesion in the IPS estimated the results of multidigit multiplication problems. Unlike the control participants, JD did not show the common distance and size effects in accuracy or speed. JD relied solely on approximated calculations, while the control participants relied also on sense of magnitude. The IPS damage impaired the magnitude representations underlying this estimation task. Abstract: Past research investigating the role of the intraparietal sulcus (IPS) in numerical processes focused mainly on quantity and numerical comparisons as well on single digit arithmetic. The present study investigates the involvement of the IPS in estimating the results of multi-digit multiplication problems. For this purpose, the performance a 24-year-old female (JD) with brain damage in the left IPS was compared to an age-matched control group in the computation estimation task. When required to estimate whether the results of multi-digit multiplication problems are smaller or larger than given reference numbers, JD, in contrast to controls, did not show the common patterns of distance and size effects. Her strategy use was also atypical. Most control participants used both the approximated calculation strategy that involves rounding and calculation procedures and the sense of magnitude strategy that relies on an intuitive approximated magnitude representation of the results. In contrast, JD used only the former but not the latter strategy. Together, these findings suggest that the damage to the IPS impaired JD's representations of magnitude that play an important role in this computation estimation task.