The development of numerical cognition in children and artificial systems: a review of the current knowledge and proposals for multi-disciplinary research

Numerical cognition is a distinctive component of human intelligence such that the observation of its practice provides a window into high-level brain function. The modelling of numerical abilities in artificial cognitive systems can help to confirm existing child development hypotheses and define new ones by means of computational simulations. Meanwhile, new research will help to discover innovative principles for the design of artificial agents with advanced reasoning capabilities and clarify the underlying algorithms (e.g. deep learning) that can be highly effective but difficult to understand for humans. This article promotes new investigation by providing a common resource for researchers with different backgrounds, including computer science, robotics, neuroscience, psychology, and education, who are interested in pursuing scientific collaboration on mutually stimulating research on this topic. The article emphasises the fundamental role of embodiment in the initial development of numerical cognition in children. This strong relationship with the body motivates the Cognitive Developmental Robotics (CDR) approach for new research that can (among others) help to standardise data collection and provide open databases for benchmarking computational models. Furthermore, we discuss the potential application of robots in classrooms and argue that the CDR approach can be extended to assist educators and favour mathematical education

How Are Mental Rotation Ability and Postural Stability Related?

This thesis explores the relationship between the cognitive skill of mental rotation and the physical ability of postural stability, considering the long-standing knowledge that cognitive and motor tasks can impact one another (Shumway-Cook & Woollacott, 2007). The capacity to mentally rotate objects is known as mental rotation ability. Research in this area has shown that mental and motor rotations share common processes (Wohlschläger & Wohlschläger, 1998) and that mental rotation is considered a covert motor rotation (Wexler et al., 1998). Relationships to complex sports activity (Pietsch & Jansen, 2012; Voyer & Jansen, 2017) and basic motor abilities, like postural stability (Budde et al., 2021; Burcal et al., 2014; Dault et al., 2001; Kawasaki et al., 2014), were discovered throughout time. To better understand the relationship between mental rotation and postural stability, this thesis investigated several possible explanatory factors. Study 1 examined the effects of simultaneous mental rotation on upright bipedal stance in different standard mental rotation tests, egocentric vs. object-based, with different stimulus material, embodied vs. non-embodied. The simultaneous solution of mental rotation tasks led to postural stabilization compared to a neutral condition. Egocentric mental rotation tasks provoked more postural stability than object-based tasks with cube figures. Furthermore, a more stable stance was observed for embodied stimuli than for non-embodied stimuli. An explorative approach showed the tendency that higher rotation angles in object-based mental rotation task stimuli led to more postural sway. Study 2 focused on embodied stimulus material to clarify its role in the relationship between mental rotation and postural stability. It was investigated whether the function of the stimulus in postural control influences the amount of the embodiment effect. Therefore, two separate experiments examined the interference of egocentric and object-based mental rotation tasks, with embodied stimuli (foot, hand, whole body), with postural stability. Both experiments showed stabilization of body sway during the mental rotation tasks compared to a neutral control condition and an increased body sway with an increasing angle in the mental rotation tasks. While egocentric mental rotation tasks showed that mental rotation of hand and foot stimuli tended to elicit more body sway than whole-body stimuli, no difference between stimuli could be shown in object-based mental rotation tasks. In addition, reaction time in mental rotation tasks was a good indicator of postural stability in both experiments. Study 3 attempted to generalize the relationship between mental rotation and postural stability and thereby discover the role of working memory in this relation. In contrast to the clear relationships from the two interference studies, study 1 and study 2, only a descriptively weak, if any, correlation was found between the two tasks. The role of working memory in this correlation is also negligible. Neither component of the visuospatial sketchpad of working memory showed a relationship to postural stability. The results of this thesis contribute to a better understanding of the interaction between mental rotation and basic motor processes, like postural stability. While working memory does not seem to play a major role in this relationship, the role of embodiment is emphasized, even though study 2 showed no consistent effect of human body part stimuli

Action-Related Representations

Theories of grounded cognition state that there is a meaningful connection between action and cognition. Although these claims are widely accepted, the nature and structure of this connection is far from clear and is still a matter of controversy. This book argues for a type of cognitive representation that essentially combines cognition and action, and which is foundational for higher-order cognitive capacities

The Relationship Between Sensorimotor Integration and Social Processing

To interact with the physical world, the brain must integrate information across multiple sensory and motor domains to create a stable representation of the body. Crucially, it is the effective integration of visual, tactile, proprioceptive, and motor information which creates the experience of a bodily self. The embodied cognition framework proposes that important social processes such as self-awareness, perspective-taking, and interpersonal synchrony are grounded within the bodily self. Thus, exploring the links between the senses, the body, and social processes can elucidate how humans interact, understand each other, and move in time with each other. Research investigating why certain populations show differences in how they socially interact can shed further light on the contribution of sensorimotor integration in social processing. Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by differences in social interaction, communication, and sensory processing. Research suggests that sensory processing differences may account for the characteristic differences in social behaviour in autism. However, the exact relationship between sensorimotor integration and social processing is not fully understood. This thesis aimed to investigate the relationship between sensorimotor integration and social processing in autistic and non-autistic individuals. Chapter 2 found evidence to suggest that an internal representation of the body, built upon multisensory integration may be implicated in self-referential processing in non-autistic adults. Chapter 3 found evidence that whilst autistic adults exhibit self-referential processing it may not be related to sensorimotor integration and the body schema. These findings suggest that whilst non-autistic self-conceptualisation is intertwined with body representations, autistic self-conceptualisation may not. Chapter 4 found that altering the experience of self-location did not impact visual perspective-taking performance in non-autistic adults. Moreover, visuo-proprioceptive-motor integration was not found to relate to the ability to take another person’s perspective. This finding elucidates the role of sensorimotor integration and internal representations of the body in visual perspective-taking. Chapter 5 found that sensorimotor and joint action processes facilitate interpersonal synchrony and subsequent social bonding in typically developing children and adults. Importantly, these findings suggest that sensorimotor processes are key for developing the ability to move in time with another person and benefit from subsequent social bonding. Chapter 6 found that autistic adults experience sensory fluctuations across multiple modalities and that these sensory differences have a significant impact on their daily lives, including social well-being. Together, the present thesis evidences the intertwined relationship between internal representations of the body, sensorimotor integration, and how we understand and interact with others. Importantly, it also demonstrates the crucial roles of multisensory experience, and body representation, in the mental, physical, and social well-being of autistic adults

Image and Evidence: The Study of Attention through the Combined Lenses of Neuroscience and Art

: Levy, EK 2012, ‘An artistic exploration of inattention blindness’, in Frontiers Hum Neurosci, vol. 5, ISSN=1662-5161.Full version unavailable due to 3rd party copyright restrictions.This study proposed that new insights about attention, including its phenomenon and pathology, would be provided by combining perspectives of the neurobiological discourse about attention with analyses of artworks that exploit the constraints of the attentional system. To advance the central argument that art offers a training ground for the attentional system, a wide range of contemporary art was analysed in light of specific tasks invoked. The kinds of cognitive tasks these works initiate with respect to the attentional system have been particularly critical to this research. Attention was explored within the context of transdisciplinary art practices, varied circumstances of viewing, new neuroscientific findings, and new approaches towards learning. Research for this dissertation required practical investigations in a gallery setting, and this original work was contextualised and correlated with pertinent neuroscientific approaches. It was also concluded that art can enhance public awareness of attention disorders and assist the public in discriminating between medical and social factors through questioning how norms of behaviour are defined and measured. This territory was examined through the comparative analysis of several diagnostic tests for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), through the adaptation of a methodology from economics involving patent citation in order to show market incentives, and through examples of data visualisation. The construction of an installation and collaborative animation allowed participants to experience first-hand the constraints on the attentional system, provoking awareness of our own “normal” physiological limitations. The embodied knowledge of images, emotion, and social context that are deeply embedded in art practices appeared to be capable of supplementing neuroscience’s understanding of attention and its disorders

On the relation between body and movement space representation: an experimental investigation on spinal cord injured people

Body Representation (BR) and Movement Space Perception (MSP) are fundamental for human beings in order to move in space and interact with object s and other people. Both BR and space representation change after spinal cord injuries in complete paraplegic individuals (CPP), who suffer from lower limbs paralysis and anesthesia. To date, the interaction between BR and MSP in paraplegic individuals rem ains unexplored. In two consecutive experiments, we tested I ) if the individual\u2019s wheelchair is embodied in BR; and ii) if the embodied wheelchair modifies the MSP. For the first question a speeded detection task was used. Participants had to respond to v isual stimuli flashing on their trunk, legs or wheelchair. In three counterbalanced conditions across participant, they took part to the experiment while: 1) sitting in their wheelchair, 2) in another wheelchair, or 3) with the LEDs on a wooden bar. To in dicate the embodiment, there was no difference in the CPP\u2019s responses for LEDs on the body and personal wheelchair while these were slower in other conditions After this, while sitting in their or another wheelchair, CPPs were asked to judge the slope of a ramp rendered in immersive virtual reality and to estimate the distance of a flag positioned over the ramp. When on their own wheelchair, CPPs perceived the flag closer than in the other wheelchair. These results indicate that the continuous use of a too l induces embodiment and that this i mpact on the perception of MSP

The Relationship Between Sensorimotor Integration and Social Processing

To interact with the physical world, the brain must integrate information across multiple sensory and motor domains to create a stable representation of the body. Crucially, it is the effective integration of visual, tactile, proprioceptive, and motor information which creates the experience of a bodily self. The embodied cognition framework proposes that important social processes such as self-awareness, perspective-taking, and interpersonal synchrony are grounded within the bodily self. Thus, exploring the links between the senses, the body, and social processes can elucidate how humans interact, understand each other, and move in time with each other. Research investigating why certain populations show differences in how they socially interact can shed further light on the contribution of sensorimotor integration in social processing. Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by differences in social interaction, communication, and sensory processing. Research suggests that sensory processing differences may account for the characteristic differences in social behaviour in autism. However, the exact relationship between sensorimotor integration and social processing is not fully understood. This thesis aimed to investigate the relationship between sensorimotor integration and social processing in autistic and non-autistic individuals. Chapter 2 found evidence to suggest that an internal representation of the body, built upon multisensory integration may be implicated in self-referential processing in non-autistic adults. Chapter 3 found evidence that whilst autistic adults exhibit self-referential processing it may not be related to sensorimotor integration and the body schema. These findings suggest that whilst non-autistic self-conceptualisation is intertwined with body representations, autistic self-conceptualisation may not. Chapter 4 found that altering the experience of self-location did not impact visual perspective-taking performance in non-autistic adults. Moreover, visuo-proprioceptive-motor integration was not found to relate to the ability to take another person’s perspective. This finding elucidates the role of sensorimotor integration and internal representations of the body in visual perspective-taking. Chapter 5 found that sensorimotor and joint action processes facilitate interpersonal synchrony and subsequent social bonding in typically developing children and adults. Importantly, these findings suggest that sensorimotor processes are key for developing the ability to move in time with another person and benefit from subsequent social bonding. Chapter 6 found that autistic adults experience sensory fluctuations across multiple modalities and that these sensory differences have a significant impact on their daily lives, including social well-being. Together, the present thesis evidences the intertwined relationship between internal representations of the body, sensorimotor integration, and how we understand and interact with others. Importantly, it also demonstrates the crucial roles of multisensory experience, and body representation, in the mental, physical, and social well-being of autistic adults

A study of the wholist-analytic and verbal-imagery dimensions of cognitive style

Individuals' consistent aptitudes in processing information are referred to as cognitive styles (i.e. the wholist-analytic and verbal-imagery cognitive styles). They have been suggested to be relevant to many observed behaviours especially in the learning and teaching circumstances. However, experimental evidence is required to support their validity and further the understanding of their nature. he first stream of inquiry profiled different facets of the nature of the wholist-analytic cognitive style by various strands of evidence. The other stream of investigation examined the verbal-imagery cognitive style, which is concerned with information representation, verbally or pictorially.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

The mentalizing triangle: how interactions among self, other and object prompt mentalizing

To smoothly interact with other people requires individuals to generate appropriate responses based on other’s mental states. The ability we rely on is termed mentalizing. As humans it seems that we are endowed with the abilities to rapidly process other’s mental states, either by taking their perspectives or using mindreading skills. These abilities allow us to go beyond our direct experience of reality and to see or infer some of the contents of another’s mental world. Due to the complexity of social contexts, our mentalizing system needs to address a variety of challenges which put different requirements on either time or flexibility. During years of research, investigators have come up with various theories to explain how we cope with these challenges. Among them, the two-system account raised up by Apperly and colleagues (2010) has been favoured by many studies. Concisely, the two-system account claims that we have a fast-initiated mentalizing system which guarantees us to make quick judgments with limited cognitive resource; and a flexible system which allows deliberate thinking and enables mentalizing to generalize to multiple targets. Such a framework provides good explanations to debates such as whether preverbal young children can process mentalizing or not. But it is still largely unknown how healthy adults engage in mentalizing in everyday life. Specifically, why it seems easier for some targets to activate our mentalizing system, but with some others, we frequently fail to consider their perspectives or beliefs? To give an explanation to this question, I adopted a different research orientation in my PhD from the two-system account, which considers the dynamic interactions among three key elements in mentalizing: the self, agent(s), and object(s). I put forward a mentalizing triangle model and assume the interactions in these triadic relationships act as gateways triggering mentalizing. Thus, with some agents, we feel more intimate with them, which makes it easier for us to think about their minds. Similarly, in certain context, the agent may have frequent interactions with the object, thus we become more motivated to engage in mentalizing. In the following chapters, I first reviewed current literatures and illustrate evidence that could support or oppose the triangle model, then examined these triangle hypotheses both from behavioural and neuroimaging levels. In Study 1, I first measured mentalizing in the baseline condition where no interaction in the triangle relationships was provided. By adapting the false belief paradigm used by Kovacs, Teglas, & Endress (2010), I imported the Signal Detection theory to obtain more indices which could reflect participants mentalizing processes. Results of this study showed that people have a weak tendency to ascribe other’s beliefs when there is no interaction. Then, in Study 2, we added another condition which included the ‘agent-object’ interaction factor while using a similar paradigm in Study 1. Results in the noninteractiond condition replicated our findings of Study 1, but adding ‘agent-object’ interactions didn’t boost mentalizing. Study 3 and 4 tested the ‘self-agent’ interaction hypothesis in visual perspective taking (VPT), another basic mentalizing ability. In Study 3, I adopted virtual reality approach and for the first time investigated how people select which perspective to take when exposed to multiple conflicting perspectives. Importantly, I examined whether the propensity to engage in VPT is correlated with how we perceive other people as humans, i.e. the humanization process. Congruent with our hypotheses, participant exhibited stronger propensity to take a more humanised agent’s perspective. Then in Study 4, I used functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and investigated the neural mechanism underlying this finding. In general, the ‘selfagent’ hypothesis in the mentalizing triangle model was supported but not for the ‘agentobject’ hypothesis, which we consider may due to several approach limitations. The findings in this thesis are derived from applying novel approaches to classic experimental paradigms, and have shown the potentials of using new techniques, such as VR and fNIRS, in investigating the philosophical question of mentalizing. It also enlights social cognitive studies by considering classic psychological methods such as the Signal Detection Theory in future research