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Numerical abstraction: It ain't broke

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 August 2009

Jessica F. Cantlon ,
Sara Cordes ,
Melissa E. Libertus  and
Elizabeth M. Brannon
Jessica F. Cantlon
Affiliation:
Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708. [email protected]@[email protected]@duke.edu
Sara Cordes
Affiliation:
Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708. [email protected]@[email protected]@duke.edu
Melissa E. Libertus
Affiliation:
Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708. [email protected]@[email protected]@duke.edu
Elizabeth M. Brannon
Affiliation:
Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708. [email protected]@[email protected]@duke.edu
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Abstract

The dual-code proposal of number representation put forward by Cohen Kadosh & Walsh (CK&W) accounts for only a fraction of the many modes of numerical abstraction. Contrary to their proposal, robust data from human infants and nonhuman animals indicate that abstract numerical representations are psychologically primitive. Additionally, much of the behavioral and neural data cited to support CK&W's proposal is, in fact, neutral on the issue of numerical abstraction.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 32 , Issue 3-4 , August 2009 , pp. 331 - 332
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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