Automatic Extraction of Meaning From Visual Number Symbols Detected by Frequency‐Tagged EEG in Children

Abstract

Acquiring robust semantic representations of numbers is crucial for math achievement. However, the learning stage where magnitude becomes automatically elicited by number symbols (i.e., digits from 1 to 9) remains unknown due to the difficulty to measure automatic semantic processing. We used a frequency‐tagging EEG paradigm targeting automatic magnitude processing in children (N = 33, 5–10‐year‐old, predominantly of White or Mixed ethnicity). A stream of digits (1–9) was presented at 10 Hz with small digits as standards, and large digits as deviants at 1.25 Hz (and the reverse). Frequency‐tagged responses to the deviants show that magnitude is a salient semantic feature associated with digits in long‐term memory. Automatic access to magnitude can be measured with EEG in children at the end of preschool.