Colloque - Andreas Nieder : The Neuronal Basis of Numerical Cognition in Humans and Nonhuman Primates

Stanislas Dehaene Chaire Psychologie cognitive expérimentale Année 2025-2026 Collège de France

Colloque : Seeing the Mind, Educating the Brain Part 2: Training and Educating the Brain The Neuronal Basis of Numerical Cognition in Humans and Nonhuman Primates

Colloque - Andreas Nieder : The Neuronal Basis of Numerical Cognition in Humans and Nonhuman Primates

Andreas Nieder Institut de neurobiologie, département de biologie, université de Tübingen, Allemagne

Résumé

Our understanding of numbers, vital to our scientifically and technically advanced culture, has deep biological roots. Research across developmental psychology, anthropology, and animal cognition suggests that our ability to count symbolically arises from more primitive non-symbolic number representations. By studying single-neuron activity in associative brain areas of awake human patients and monkeys, we aim to uncover the physiological principles behind how numbers are represented in the brain. In both species, we've identified "number neurons" that encode set sizes regardless of how the stimuli are presented. These neurons play a crucial role in processing numerical information during goal-directed behavior. Moreover, investigating how numbers are processed in working memory offers insights into high-level cognitive control functions. Comparative research in numerical cognition is uniquely positioned to unravel the brain processes enabling humans to transition from nonsymbolic to symbolic representations, a hallmark of our species.