Beyond natural numbers: negative number representation in parietal cortex.

Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
Kristen P BlairVinod Menon

Abstract

Unlike natural numbers, negative numbers do not have natural physical referents. How does the brain represent such abstract mathematical concepts? Two competing hypotheses regarding representational systems for negative numbers are a rule-based model, in which symbolic rules are applied to negative numbers to translate them into positive numbers when assessing magnitudes, and an expanded magnitude model, in which negative numbers have a distinct magnitude representation. Using an event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging design, we examined brain responses in 22 adults while they performed magnitude comparisons of negative and positive numbers that were quantitatively near (difference <4) or far apart (difference >6). Reaction times (RTs) for negative numbers were slower than positive numbers, and both showed a distance effect whereby near pairs took longer to compare. A network of parietal, frontal, and occipital regions were differentially engaged by negative numbers. Specifically, compared to positive numbers, negative number processing resulted in greater activation bilaterally in intraparietal sulcus (IPS), middle frontal gyrus, and inferior lateral occipital cortex. Representational similarity analysis revealed ...Continue Reading

Citations

Dec 3, 2014·Cortex; a Journal Devoted to the Study of the Nervous System and Behavior·Gesa HartwigsenJonas Obleser
Jul 15, 2015·Neuropsychologia·Ting-Ting ChangVinod Menon
Mar 26, 2015·Experimental Psychology·Dana Ganor-Stern

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