IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/nature/v417y2002i6885d10.1038_417138a.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Neglect disrupts the mental number line

Author

Listed:
  • Marco Zorzi

    (Università di Padova
    Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele)

  • Konstantinos Priftis

    (Università di Padova)

  • Carlo Umiltà

    (Università di Padova)

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Marco Zorzi & Konstantinos Priftis & Carlo Umiltà, 2002. "Neglect disrupts the mental number line," Nature, Nature, vol. 417(6885), pages 138-139, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:417:y:2002:i:6885:d:10.1038_417138a
    DOI: 10.1038/417138a
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/417138a
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/417138a?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ping Ren & Michael E R Nicholls & Yuan-ye Ma & Lin Chen, 2011. "Size Matters: Non-Numerical Magnitude Affects the Spatial Coding of Response," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 6(8), pages 1-6, August.
    2. Patrizia Turriziani & Massimiliano Oliveri & Sonia Bonnì & Giacomo Koch & Daniela Smirni & Lisa Cipolotti, 2009. "Exploring the Relationship between Semantics and Space," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 4(4), pages 1-11, April.
    3. Arnaud Viarouge & Edward M Hubbard & Bruce D McCandliss, 2014. "The Cognitive Mechanisms of the SNARC Effect: An Individual Differences Approach," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(4), pages 1-10, April.
    4. Marie-Claire Cammaerts & Roger Cammaerts, 2021. "Young Ants Already Possess a Mental Number Line," International Journal of Biology, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 12(2), pages 1-1, December.
    5. Peter Wakker & Veronika Köbberling & Christiane Schwieren, 2007. "Prospect-theory’s Diminishing Sensitivity Versus Economics’ Intrinsic Utility of Money: How the Introduction of the Euro can be Used to Disentangle the Two Empirically," Theory and Decision, Springer, vol. 63(3), pages 205-231, November.
    6. Hermann Bulf & Viola Macchi Cassia & Maria Dolores de Hevia, 2014. "Are Numbers, Size and Brightness Equally Efficient in Orienting Visual Attention? Evidence from an Eye-Tracking Study," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(6), pages 1-6, June.
    7. Maria Dolores de Hevia & Luisa Girelli & Margaret Addabbo & Viola Macchi Cassia, 2014. "Human Infants' Preference for Left-to-Right Oriented Increasing Numerical Sequences," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(5), pages 1-10, May.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:417:y:2002:i:6885:d:10.1038_417138a. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.