PIXABAY, MABELAMBER
The ability to perceive the number of items in a set, or numerosity, is widespread in the animal kingdom. Scientists have long wondered whether this skill, observed in species as diverse as monkeys, birds, and insects, is innate. Now, researchers have identified neurons that respond spontaneously to number in crows never trained to distinguish numerical quantities. The findings, published today (March 15) in Current Biology, suggest that numerosity may indeed be a hardwired trait.
A growing body of evidence supports the idea of a “number sense,” the innate ability to process discrete amounts. For example, researchers have found that newborn chicks have rudimentary arithmetic capabilities, and that human babies can perceive abstract numerical representations after only 50 hours of life.
“In principle, one might have ...
