研究方向：數字和數量概念
主題：Neural correlates of merging number words in Chinese and French speakers
說明：
Large numerical quantities are typically expressed by chaining multiple number words. Even when they rely on base ten, the principles for building up large number words vary across languages (e.g., Chinese is more transparent than French). Here, we focused on the merging operation for combining successive number words (e.g., ‘twenty two’ vs. ‘two twenty’, the latter does not combine). We wondered to what extent this merging operation engages the brain areas sensitive to numerical quantity (e.g., the inferior parietal sulcus) and those sensitive to phrase building in language (e.g., the inferior frontal gyrus). Because we also wondered whether cross-linguistic differences could exist in this respect, we tested both Chinese and French speakers in their own languages. Their task was to name number words presented in rapid serial visual presentation. Measures of naming times showed, in both languages, that a number word was produced more quickly when it could merge with the preceding one. With functional magnetic resonance imaging, we observed that the activations of the left inferior frontal gyrus and the left inferior parietal sulcus increased as a function of the degrees of mergeability for both groups. Participant-based region-of-interest analyses further showed that the neural substrates for the processing of number words and sentences overlapped in the left inferior frontal gyrus. The results suggest that the left inferior frontal gyrus and the left inferior parietal sulcus provide the neural bases for the universal base-ten numeral system, and the inferior frontal gyrus supports a general merging mechanism in numbers and languages.
主題：無意識的數字大小對於時間知覺的影響
說明：
本研究的主要目的，在於探討在無意識（unconsciousness）的條件下，和作業目標無關的數量訊息（magnitude，以下皆以「量」稱之），是否會影響我們對於時間長度的複製，進而釐清數量訊息是否會自動影響時間知覺。Chang（2011）的研究，是探討在有意識（consciousness）的條件下，數字訊息和時間訊息的交互作用。這個研究提出：受試者所感受到的視覺刺激呈現時間，會受和作業無關的數量訊息所影響；較大的數字（例如：9）會使受試者認為刺激材料的呈現時間較長，而較小的數字（例如：1）則會使受試者認為刺激材料呈現的時間較短。因此，本研究計畫書提出四個實驗，對以Chang（2011）的研究發現為基礎所形成的假設進行檢測：相較於以往相類似的實驗，本研究的重心是將刺激呈現的條件，由受試者可清楚意識到的情況延伸到受試者無法清楚意識到的情況。具體來說，研究者將以英文字母呈現於刺激材料中以遮蔽（mask）數字，在實驗一至四中，要求受試者進行時間複製作業，同時操弄與作業無關的數字大小訊息，觀察受試者的時間知覺表現是否會受數量訊息影響。而在實驗一至四間，研究者將操弄促發刺激（prime）呈現的時間長度和目標刺激物（target）呈現的方式，以觀察與作業無關的數量訊息是否自動對時間知覺產生非主觀控制之反應。實驗的結果顯示，在無意識的條件下，數量訊息不會自動對時間知覺產生非主觀控制之反應。