Introduction

Question

Discussion

Hypotheses

Method

Results Inna Tarabukhina ● Dirk Schlimm

McGill University

Figure 2: Comparison of English and French Experiment 1 results. Counting task French vs. Control was significant, F(1, 5)=180.39, p>0.05. Subjects performed better during the control (x=15.83) than during the test condition (x=10.17)

How do we transcode numbers? In other words, how do we switch between verbal and written codes and process numbers, for example, when we hear a number and are required to write it down? Zuber et al. (2009) propose an asemantic number transcoding model (ADAPT) that relies on working memory (WM). Working

Memory

Central Executive

Phonological Visuo-spatial Episodic Buffer

According to the model, the Central Executive component is the strongest predictor of transcoding performance in children. This was tested in German, a ‘non-transparent’ transcoding language where the digit order is reversed: say “one and twenty,” write down “twenty one”. No study has looked at transcoding past development and in other languages, such as English (transparent transcoding) and French (partially transparent transcoding)

Does WM play a role in number transcoding past development (i.e. in adults)? If so, is it language specific?

1. If the Central Executive component is implicated in number transcoding (according to ADAPT model), tasking the Central Executive should result in decreased transcoding performance.

2. If transcoding is language-specific, transcoding in French should show a greater effect of tasked WM due to organization of French higher-decade number words (may involve mathematical manipulation).

Participants • 6 English monolinguals and 6 French simultaneous

bilinguals participated, aged 18-24 Design Experiment 1 Continuous Operation Span Task • Asked to perform a running operation of +/- 1 to a

displayed root number at rate of operation/second

• A block included a set of root number manipulations, with increasing operations for a total of 4 blocks

• Following a block of operations, participants heard a number (test condition) or a noun (control condition)

• During recall, asked to remember the words

4 /+1 /+1 / -1 Say “four plus one five, plus

one six, minus one five”

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Control

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Figure 3: Comparison of English and French Experiment 2 results. Corsi task English vs. Control was significant, F(1, 5)=6.6, p>0.05. Subjects performed better during the control (x=58.33) than during the test condition (x=40.83) on total scores. Corsi task French vs. Control was significant, F(1, 5)=6.9, p>0.05. Subjects performed better on the control trial (x=64.17) than on the testing trial (x=36) on total scores

Fig. 1: Corsi task; participants duplicate a lit-up cube sequence of increasing length

Does WM play a role in number transcoding past development? Yes, transcoding performance suffers with tasked executive WM, as demonstrated by the Corsi and Operational Span Tasks. If so, is it language specific? The effect of reduced transcoding ability with tasked WM is common to both English and French, with no significant differences between the languages, suggesting that it is not the transparence property of a language that influences transcoding, but WM resources available to dedicate to the task.

Experiment 2 Corsi Block Task • Participants complete a Corsi

block task while listening to number words (test) or hearing nothing (control)

• Asked to transcribe any number words heard as digits; total scores graphed