Events

"Intuitive Mathematics in the Developing Brain"

Jessica F Cantlon, PhD
Professor and Zdrojkowski Developmental Neuroscience Chair
Department of Psychology
Carnegie Mellon University

Abstract: Children learn to think about numbers, space, and patterns in just a few years, but this ability does not emerge from scratch. Our work shows that these forms of reasoning grow out of older brain systems that humans share with other animals, especially in parietal cortex, which represents quantity and spatial relationships. Young children use these universal intuitive systems to reason about quantity and space from a young age, and as they develop, they use them to scaffold reasoning about counting and arithmetic, spatial geometry, and to recognize and generalize patterns and rules. Across development, species, and cultures, we find the same pattern: complex thought is universally constructed by extending a core set of cognitive systems that we all share. This suggests that mathematics development is not about creating new ways of thinking, but about building on an evolutionary ancient mathematical foundation.

Jessica F. Cantlon is a Professor of Psychology at Carnegie Mellon University and the Zdrojkowski Chair in Developmental Neuroscience. Her research uses behavioral methods and functional neuroimaging (fMRI) to investigate how the human brain builds mathematical, spatial, and relational knowledge across development and evolution, integrating studies of children, non-human primates, and diverse cultural groups. Her work has been recognized with the Young Investigator Award from the Society for Experimental Psychologists, a James S. McDonnell Scholar Award, and the Cowan Young Investigator Award.