Neurocognitive development of numeracy and mathematics in contexts with limited exposure to number digits

Resumen de los autores

In the Minority World, children are exposed to number symbols early in life (e.g., television, toys, store signage). In these contexts, both symbolic (e.g., 3 vs. 4) and nonsymbolic (e.g., ∵ vs. ∷) magnitude processing, at both behavioural and neural levels, relate to mathematics skills, with stronger associations between symbolic magnitude and mathematics. However, little is known about the neurocognitive development of numerical processing in contexts where children have minimal exposure to number digits prior to formal schooling. We used functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to investigate the behavioural and neural predictors of mathematics development in rural Cote d’Ivoire (N=142, Mage=9.23, SDage= 1.44). Overall, mathematics skills were low, including in the oldest children (11-13) who still struggled with single- and double-digit addition and subtraction. Despite minimal exposure to number digits prior to formal schooling, at the behavioural level, symbolic skills were predictive of mathematics. At the neural level, age-related neural sensitivity to magnitude was related to how children leveraged symbolic skills for mathematics. More specifically, greater magnitude sensitivity in the right angular gyrus in younger, but not older, children was associated with stronger links between symbolic skills and emergent mathematics. Results suggest developmental sensitivity for successfully leveraging symbolic skills for mathematics. In line with a neuroconstructivist framework, our findings emphasize the complex interplay between development, neural processing of magnitudes, and symbolic magnitude skills in supporting mathematics.

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Cómo citar (APA 7)

Whitehead, H., Bugden, S., Tanoh, D. F., Wolf, S., Ogan, A., & Jasińska, K. K. (2026). Neurocognitive development of numeracy and mathematics in contexts with limited exposure to number digits. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/p4v3z_v1