Intracranial recordings show evidence of numerosity tuning in human parietal cortex

van Dijk, J. A., de Jong, M. C., Piantoni, G., Fracasso, A. , Vansteensel, M. J., Groen, I. I. A., Petridou, N. and Dumoulin, S. O. (2022) Intracranial recordings show evidence of numerosity tuning in human parietal cortex. PLoS ONE, 17(8), e0272087. (doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0272087) (PMID:35921261) (PMCID:PMC9348694)

Abstract

Numerosity is the set size of a group of items. Numerosity perception is a trait shared across numerous species. Numerosity-selective neural populations are thought to underlie numerosity perception. These neurons have been identified primarily using electrical recordings in animal models and blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in humans. Here we use electrical intracranial recordings to investigate numerosity tuning in humans, focusing on high-frequency transient activations. These recordings combine a high spatial and temporal resolution and can bridge the gap between animal models and human recordings. In line with previous studies, we find numerosity-tuned responses at parietal sites in two out of three participants. Neuronal populations at these locations did not respond to other visual stimuli, i.e. faces, houses, and letters, in contrast to several occipital sites. Our findings further corroborate the specificity of numerosity tuning of in parietal cortex, and further link fMRI results and electrophysiological recordings.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Fracasso, Dr Alessio

Creator Roles

Fracasso, A.: Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Software, Supervision, Writing – review and editing

• Authors: van Dijk, J. A., de Jong, M. C., Piantoni, G., Fracasso, A., Vansteensel, M. J., Groen, I. I. A., Petridou, N., and Dumoulin, S. O.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Psychology & Neuroscience
• Journal Name: PLoS ONE
• Publisher: Public Library of Science
• ISSN: 1932-6203
• ISSN (Online): 1932-6203
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2022 van Dijk et al.
• First Published: First published in PLoS ONE 17(8): e0272087
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License
• Data DOI: 10.17605/OSF.IO/3W9SG

Project Code	Award No	Project Name	Principal Investigator	Funder's Name	Funder Ref	Lead Dept
303685		Stable perception of external stimuli over time: oculo-motor and visual processing mechanisms	Alessio Fracasso	Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)	BB/S006605/1	Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging