The oculomotor resonance effect in spatial-numerical mapping.

We investigated automatic Spatial-Numerical Association of Response Codes (SNARC) effect in auditory number processing. Two experiments continually measured spatial characteristics of ocular drift at central fixation during and after auditory number presentation. Consistent with the notion of a spatially oriented mental number line, we found spontaneous magnitude-dependent gaze adjustments, both with and without a concurrent saccadic task. This fixation adjustment (1) had a small-number/left-lateralized bias and (2) it was biphasic as it emerged for a short time around the point of lexical access and it received later robust representation around following number onset. This pattern suggests a two-step mechanism of sensorimotor mapping between numbers and space - a first-pass bottom-up activation followed by a top-down and more robust horizontal SNARC. Our results inform theories of number processing as well as simulation-based approaches to cognition by identifying the characteristics of an oculomotor resonance phenomenon

The Mechanics of Embodiment: A Dialogue on Embodiment and Computational Modeling

Embodied theories are increasingly challenging traditional views of cognition by arguing that conceptual representations that constitute our knowledge are grounded in sensory and motor experiences, and processed at this sensorimotor level, rather than being represented and processed abstractly in an amodal conceptual system. Given the established empirical foundation, and the relatively underspecified theories to date, many researchers are extremely interested in embodied cognition but are clamouring for more mechanistic implementations. What is needed at this stage is a push toward explicit computational models that implement sensory-motor grounding as intrinsic to cognitive processes. In this article, six authors from varying backgrounds and approaches address issues concerning the construction of embodied computational models, and illustrate what they view as the critical current and next steps toward mechanistic theories of embodiment. The first part has the form of a dialogue between two fictional characters: Ernest, the �experimenter�, and Mary, the �computational modeller�. The dialogue consists of an interactive sequence of questions, requests for clarification, challenges, and (tentative) answers, and touches the most important aspects of grounded theories that should inform computational modeling and, conversely, the impact that computational modeling could have on embodied theories. The second part of the article discusses the most important open challenges for embodied computational modelling

Interactions between knowledge representations: affordances, numbers, and words

Understanding the world involves complex cognitive processes occurring and interacting within the mind. Traditionally, this has been thought of as analogous to computational processes, with strict rules that encapsulate obligatory and domain specific modules. Current theories of cognition suggest a radically different approach in that sensorimotor simulation forms a necessary basis of abstract and concrete knowledge. These theories suggest that the ability to represent knowledge relies not only on brain-based processing, but also on the embodied experiences of the cognizer in the environment. However, there remains little agreement as to the nature of such embodied representations, particularly at the level of what constrains their properties and their ability to interact with one another. This thesis focuses on how cross-representational interplay is made possible. Through an empirical dataset, a case for a conceptual interface is made, suggesting co-activated distinct representations may interact by means of a third-party mediating mechanism (e.g. a joint attentional bias). This is demonstrated across a range of experiments using concepts representing several conceptual knowledge domains from more abstract to more concrete, including concepts denoting numerical magnitude, spatial semantics, emotional valency, and manual affordances

Mathematics Experience and Format-specific Effects in Numerical Cognition

A persistent issue in numerical cognition research is how the format of numerical information influences numerical processing. The format-independent view postulates that information from various formats (e.g. ‘3’ or ‘three’) is represented in a uniform numerical code and that format should thus have no influence on number manipulation. The format-specific view assumes separate representational pathways for arabic digits and number words, which come into play during number processing as well as manipulation. Five experiments were undertaken with methods ranging from behavioural measures of reaction time to more refined measures of cognitive processes such as eye-tracking and eventrelated potentials (ERPs). In each experiment, effects of format were investigated at different levels of mathematics experience, in order to examine how the processing of numbers might differ in this regard. The first three experiments focused on basic number processing and processing differences that can occur for arabic digits, number words and quantifier words. In Experiment 1, a modified counting Stroop task was employed to investigate cognitive interference of arabic digits and number words. Participants took longer to respond on incongruent trials (e.g. 4 4 4; how many numbers are present? Correct response: ‘3’) relative to neutral (e.g. * * *; Correct response: ‘3’) and congruent (e.g. 3 3 3; Correct response: ‘3’) trials. Individuals with high mathematics experience showed greater interference on digit trials, whereas no effect of mathematics experience was found for word trials (e.g. three three; respond ‘2’). This suggests that the influence of format on number processing can be regulated by mathematics experience. Experiment 2 investigated this effect further by considering numerical (e.g. 5 2; which number is higher?) and physical size (e.g. 5 2; which number is physically bigger?) comparisons of digit and word stimuli. For both formats, participants responded faster on trials with a large numerical distance (e.g. 2 7) compared to trials with a small numerical distance (e.g. 2 3) suggesting that specific number meanings are accessed spontaneously from digits and number words, however the size congruity effect only occurred for digit stimuli. Individuals with greater mathematics experience showed an overall advantage for numerical comparison, regardless of format. Based on the findings from Experiments 1 and 2, Experiment 3 modified the counting Stroop task (Experiment 1) to investigate if mathematics experience can be related to the processing of quantifier words (e.g. many, few, each). Stimuli were presented as either specific (e.g. both both; correct response ‘2’) or general (e.g. some some) quantifier words and participants were required to count the items on-screen. While the effects were minimal in comparison with Experiment 1, any effects related to the congruity of the stimuli only emerged for the highly mathematics experienced participants, suggesting the involvement of number experience in quantifier word processing, and in turn for extracting number meaning from language in general. As the first three experiments demonstrated format-specific effects in basic number processing, the second part of the thesis investigated these effects for more advanced numerical processing such as arithmetic. The second part of the thesis also employed more refined measures of cognitive processing (eyetracking and event-related potential [ERP] technology) to investigate effects that might not be evident from behavioural data alone. Experiment 4 employed eye tracking technology to compare effects of problem size, operation and format at different levels of mathematics experience. Fixation patterns supported the format-specific view of number processing by suggesting that in comparison with digit-format, word-format impeded the use of direct memory retrieval in arithmetic, an effect that seemed to be more pronounced for individuals with low mathematics experience. Eye-tracking data also supported behavioural data as well as self-report data that have been noted in reports on strategy use in arithmetic. From this, inferences were made regarding the degree to which surface format influences subsequent calculation processes and how this might be moderated by mathematics experience. Experiment 5 investigated the interaction between the encoding and answer-retrieval stages in digit- and word-format arithmetic by separating the presentation of the first operand and the rest of the equation in a true–false verification task (e.g. ‘3’ and ‘x 4 = 12’; correct response ‘true’). Before each test block, participants were told which operation was to follow (addition or multiplication). ERP findings suggested that operands presented in the same format were encoded in the same way, with effects of operation only emerging during the second part of the equation, after participants had seen the operation sign (‘+’ or ‘x’). Regardless of format, the High Maths group showed greater left anterior potentials for multiplication than addition, suggesting an advantage for arithmetic fact retrieval. In the final chapter of the thesis the findings are discussed in relation to existing theoretical accounts on the influence of format in numerical cognition, with specific focus on the benefit of considering mathematics experience in this regard

Cognition in ungulates: a new perspective in the evolutionary field

[eng] The study of animal cognition has advanced greatly over the century. We now know that many cognitive processes are shared among several species in the animal kingdom. The interest over the evolution of behaviour and cognition of animals is growing among scientists and also among society and the study of animals now encompasses more species, but some are still greatly underrepresented. In this thesis, we have tested ungulates (i.e. hoofed animals) in cognitive tasks that are broadly used in this field, but that had never been employed in the study species of this thesis. Ungulates are very important animals for our society as they are the main type of species kept in farms, but we barely know anything about how they understand the world. Our better understanding of this animals’ trough behavioural experimentation could improve animal welfare in the near future. Trough the experiments made in this thesis, we showed that giraffes have the ability to find hidden food after short periods of time, have quantity discrimination skills similar to species with much larger relative brain sizes, and are capable of making statistical inferences to find their preferred food, something that had only been shown in a handful of species. We also found notable differences between several ungulate species in cognitive abilities. For example, forest buffalos do not show giraffes' ability to find food after short periods of time. European bison are good problem solvers and can bring an experimenter the tool needed to be fed, when they see the experimenter approaching but not feeding them. What give us a clue that we should not treat all ungulate species in the same way and design enrichments specialized for each of them. On the other side, both domestic and non-domestic ungulates showed basic gaze following abilities. Moreover, in a study comparing more than 10 ungulate species, we found that the individuals less integrated in the group and less neophobic showed a greater ability to display innovative behaviours. Moreover, less neophobic individuals, individuals of domesticated species and having higher fission-fusion dynamics were more likely to participate in the task but not to solve it. Overall, ungulates appear a very interesting taxon to test evolutionary hypotheses on the emergence of cognition, due to the variety of their socio-ecological characteristics and the variation in how they respond to tests. This thesis represents an initial approach towards better comprehending the cognition of this diverse and underrepresented in behavioural science group of animals.[spa] El estudio de la cognición animal ha avanzado mucho a lo largo del siglo. Ahora sabemos que muchos procesos cognitivos son compartidos entre especies del reino animal. El interés por la evolución del comportamiento y la cognición de los animales está creciendo tanto entre los científicos como entre la sociedad, y el estudio de los animales abarca ahora a más especies, aunque algunas siguen estando muy poco representadas. En esta tesis, hemos hecho pruebas a ungulados (es decir, animales con pezuñas) en tareas cognitivas ampliamente utilizadas en nuestro campo científico, pero que nunca antes se habían empleado en las especies de estudio de esta tesis. Los ungulados son animales muy importantes para nuestra sociedad, ya que son el principal tipo de animal criado en granjas, pero apenas sabemos nada acerca de cómo entienden el mundo. Si comprendemos mejor a estos animales a través de la experimentación conductual, podríamos mejorar el bienestar animal en un futuro cercano. A través de los experimentos realizados en esta tesis, demostramos que las jirafas tienen la capacidad de encontrar alimentos escondidos después de períodos cortos de tiempo, tienen habilidades de discriminación de cantidad similares a las especies con tamaños relativos de cerebro mucho más grandes y son capaces de hacer inferencias estadísticas para encontrar su alimento preferido, algo que solo se había mostrado en un puñado de especies. También encontramos diferencias notables entre varias especies de ungulados en cuanto a sus habilidades cognitivas. Por ejemplo, los búfalos enanos no muestran la habilidad de las jirafas para encontrar alimentos después de períodos cortos de tiempo. Los bisontes europeos son buenos solucionadores de problemas y pueden llevarle a un experimentador la herramienta necesaria para ser alimentados cuando ven que el experimentador se acerca pero no los alimenta. Esto nos da una pista de que no debemos tratar a todas las especies de ungulados de la misma manera y diseñar enriquecimientos especializados para cada una de ellas. Por otro lado, tanto los ungulados domésticos como los no domésticos mostraron habilidades básicas de seguimiento de la mirada. Además, en un estudio que comparaba más de 10 especies de ungulados, encontramos que los individuos menos integrados en el grupo y menos neofóbicos mostraban una mayor capacidad para mostrar comportamientos innovadores. Además, los individuos menos neofóbicos, los individuos de especies domesticadas y aquellos con una dinámica de fisión-fusión más alta tenían más probabilidades de participar en la tarea pero no de resolverla. En general, los ungulados parecen un taxón muy interesante para probar hipótesis evolutivas sobre la evolución de la cognición, debido a la variedad de sus características socio-ecológicas y a la variación entre ellos en cómo responden a las pruebas. Esta tesis representa un acercamiento inicial para comprender mejor la cognición de este diverso y poco representado grupo de animales en la ciencia del comportamiento