These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

  • Title: Origins of the specialization for letters and numbers in ventral occipitotemporal cortex.
    Author: Hannagan T, Amedi A, Cohen L, Dehaene-Lambertz G, Dehaene S.
    Journal: Trends Cogn Sci; 2015 Jul; 19(7):374-82. PubMed ID: 26072689.
    Abstract:
    Deep in the occipitotemporal cortex lie two functional regions, the visual word form area (VWFA) and the number form area (NFA), which are thought to play a special role in letter and number recognition, respectively. We review recent progress made in characterizing the origins of these symbol form areas in children or adults, sighted or blind subjects, and humans or monkeys. We propose two non-mutually-exclusive hypotheses on the origins of the VWFA and NFA: the presence of a connectivity bias, and a sensitivity to shape features. We assess the explanatory power of these hypotheses, describe their consequences, and offer several experimental tests.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]