一個由法國原子能委員會和法國衛(wèi)生和健康研究院的科研人員組成的研究小組發(fā)現(xiàn),，人類對于數(shù)字概念的認(rèn)知自出生后3個月起就開始初步形成,，該項研究成果刊登在最近出版的《科學(xué)公共圖書館·生物學(xué)》（PLoS Biology）上,。
20多年來,，科學(xué)界一般都認(rèn)為,，一個人對于數(shù)字的最初意識開始于嬰兒期的5到6個月,，這個時期嬰兒的舉動和反映顯示他們已經(jīng)對數(shù)字有了最初的意識,。而對于數(shù)學(xué)概念的認(rèn)識,，根據(jù)美國哈佛大學(xué)的一項研究表明，一個人通常要到5歲到6歲,、或是更晚在10歲到12歲才開始真正理解數(shù)學(xué)概念,。
此次法國研究人員在法國原子能委員會下屬的NEUROSPIN實驗室，利用該實驗室電磁場影像技術(shù)來解析大腦感覺和認(rèn)知過程中神經(jīng)元圖像這一領(lǐng)域的技術(shù)優(yōu)勢和豐富經(jīng)驗,，通過電子腦造影技術(shù)來觀察和測量嬰兒大腦對外界事物及數(shù)字變化的反應(yīng),。根據(jù)以往的研究顯示,，在人類的大腦中有著對數(shù)字和算術(shù)特別敏感的神經(jīng)元。研究顯示,，對于3個月的嬰兒而言,，他們雖然沒有像成人或兒童那樣的對數(shù)字的認(rèn)知能力和意識，但是通過對嬰兒的腦電造影成像顯示,，當(dāng)他們面前的物體出現(xiàn)數(shù)字性變化,，如1個變成2個時，嬰兒大腦中的神經(jīng)元會有異常反應(yīng),，這也就表明,，這個時期的嬰兒已經(jīng)對數(shù)字有了最初的認(rèn)知。
該項研究成果對于人類更好地了解大腦的功能和運(yùn)作,，特別是神經(jīng)元的運(yùn)作規(guī)律,，從而進(jìn)一步開發(fā)大腦有著重要意義。（來源：科技日報 毛文波）
（《科學(xué)公共圖書館·生物學(xué)》（PLoS Biology）,，doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0060011,，Véronique Izard, Stanislas Dehaene）
生物谷推薦原始出處：
PLoS Biology，doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0060011,，Véronique Izard, Stanislas Dehaene
Distinct Cerebral Pathways for Object Identity and Number in Human Infants
Véronique Izard1,2,3,4*, Ghislaine Dehaene-Lambertz1,2,3,5, Stanislas Dehaene1,2,3,6
1 INSERM, U562, Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, F-91191 Gif/Yvette, France, 2 CEA, DSV/I2BM, NeuroSpin Center, Gif/Yvette, France, 3 Université Paris-Sud, Orsay, France, 4 Laboratory for Developmental Studies, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America, 5 AP-HP, Service de Neurologie Pédiatrique, Hôpital Bicêtre, Kremlin Bicêtre, France, 6 Collège de France, Paris, France
All humans, regardless of their culture and education, possess an intuitive understanding of number. Behavioural evidence suggests that numerical competence may be present early on in infancy. Here, we present brain-imaging evidence for distinct cerebral coding of number and object identity in 3-mo-old infants. We compared the visual event-related potentials evoked by unforeseen changes either in the identity of objects forming a set, or in the cardinal of this set. In adults and 4-y-old children, number sense relies on a dorsal system of bilateral intraparietal areas, different from the ventral occipitotemporal system sensitive to object identity. Scalp voltage topographies and cortical source modelling revealed a similar distinction in 3-mo-olds, with changes in object identity activating ventral temporal areas, whereas changes in number involved an additional right parietoprefrontal network. These results underscore the developmental continuity of number sense by pointing to early functional biases in brain organization that may channel subsequent learning to restricted brain areas.
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