External Seminar: On the properties of the mental magnitude representation and how they interact with mental arithmetic

Abstract

In this presentation, I will delineate the neural and behavioral properties of the mental magnitude representation and demonstrate how those dripple down to the functional level of mental arithmetic. This includes the question whether the neurocognitive system for approximating numbers is independent from modalitiy (visual, auditive, etc.) and mode (sequential vs. simultaneous). A second question is how the spatial character of the mental number representation (mental number line) affects mental arithmetic. I will present evidence for one possible mechanism via visuo-spatial attention. Finally, I will show evidence suggesting that subitizing (i.e. the flawless perception of a small number of items) draws upon spatial map organization of visual space in posterior parietal cortex.