Neglect disrupts the mental number line (original) (raw)

Brain damage

Nature volume 417, pages 138–139 (2002) Cite this article

Abstract

A popular metaphor for the representation of numbers in the brain is the 'mental number line', in which numbers are represented in a continuous, quantity-based analogical format1,2. Here we show that patients with hemispatial neglect3 misplace the midpoint of a numerical interval when asked to bisect it (for example, stating that five is halfway between two and six), with an error pattern that closely resembles the bisection of physical lines4. This new form of representational neglect constitutes strong evidence that the mental number line is more than simply a metaphor, and that its spatial nature renders it functionally isomorphic to physical lines.

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Figure 1: Displacement error with respect to the midpoint (0) of a numerical interval as a function of interval size.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Psicologia Generale, Università di Padova, via Venezia 8, Padova, 35131, Italy
    Marco Zorzi, Konstantinos Priftis & Carlo Umiltà
  2. Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele, via Olgettina 58, Milano, 20132, Italy
    Marco Zorzi

Authors

  1. Marco Zorzi
  2. Konstantinos Priftis
  3. Carlo Umiltà

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Correspondence toMarco Zorzi.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Zorzi, M., Priftis, K. & Umiltà, C. Neglect disrupts the mental number line.Nature 417, 138–139 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/417138a

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