Motion along the mental number line reveals shared representations for numerosity and space

Perception of number and space are tightly intertwined. It has been proposed that this is due to ‘cortical recycling’, where numerosity processing takes over circuits originally processing space. Do such ‘recycled’ circuits retain their original functionality? Here, we investigate interactions betwe...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Caspar M Schwiedrzik, Benjamin Bernstein, Lucia Melloni
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: eLife Sciences Publications Ltd 2016-01-01
Series:eLife
Subjects:
Online Access:https://elifesciences.org/articles/10806
_version_ 1811181464092409856
author Caspar M Schwiedrzik
Benjamin Bernstein
Lucia Melloni
author_facet Caspar M Schwiedrzik
Benjamin Bernstein
Lucia Melloni
author_sort Caspar M Schwiedrzik
collection DOAJ
description Perception of number and space are tightly intertwined. It has been proposed that this is due to ‘cortical recycling’, where numerosity processing takes over circuits originally processing space. Do such ‘recycled’ circuits retain their original functionality? Here, we investigate interactions between numerosity and motion direction, two functions that both localize to parietal cortex. We describe a new phenomenon in which visual motion direction adapts nonsymbolic numerosity perception, giving rise to a repulsive aftereffect: motion to the left adapts small numbers, leading to overestimation of numerosity, while motion to the right adapts large numbers, resulting in underestimation. The reference frame of this effect is spatiotopic. Together with the tuning properties of the effect this suggests that motion direction-numerosity cross-adaptation may occur in a homolog of area LIP. ‘Cortical recycling’ thus expands but does not obliterate the functions originally performed by the recycled circuit, allowing for shared computations across domains.
first_indexed 2024-04-11T09:18:10Z
format Article
id doaj.art-807c92496c444715a143fd68795b14c0
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2050-084X
language English
last_indexed 2024-04-11T09:18:10Z
publishDate 2016-01-01
publisher eLife Sciences Publications Ltd
record_format Article
series eLife
spelling doaj.art-807c92496c444715a143fd68795b14c02022-12-22T04:32:17ZengeLife Sciences Publications LtdeLife2050-084X2016-01-01510.7554/eLife.10806Motion along the mental number line reveals shared representations for numerosity and spaceCaspar M Schwiedrzik0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0661-8859Benjamin Bernstein1Lucia Melloni2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8743-5071Laboratory of Neural Systems, The Rockefeller University, New York, United StatesDepartment of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, United StatesDepartment of Neurophysiology, Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Frankfurt am Main, Germany; Department of Neurosurgery, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, United States; Department of Neurology, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, United StatesPerception of number and space are tightly intertwined. It has been proposed that this is due to ‘cortical recycling’, where numerosity processing takes over circuits originally processing space. Do such ‘recycled’ circuits retain their original functionality? Here, we investigate interactions between numerosity and motion direction, two functions that both localize to parietal cortex. We describe a new phenomenon in which visual motion direction adapts nonsymbolic numerosity perception, giving rise to a repulsive aftereffect: motion to the left adapts small numbers, leading to overestimation of numerosity, while motion to the right adapts large numbers, resulting in underestimation. The reference frame of this effect is spatiotopic. Together with the tuning properties of the effect this suggests that motion direction-numerosity cross-adaptation may occur in a homolog of area LIP. ‘Cortical recycling’ thus expands but does not obliterate the functions originally performed by the recycled circuit, allowing for shared computations across domains.https://elifesciences.org/articles/10806numerical cognitionvisual motionadaptationparietal cortexcortical recycling
spellingShingle Caspar M Schwiedrzik
Benjamin Bernstein
Lucia Melloni
Motion along the mental number line reveals shared representations for numerosity and space
eLife
numerical cognition
visual motion
adaptation
parietal cortex
cortical recycling
title Motion along the mental number line reveals shared representations for numerosity and space
title_full Motion along the mental number line reveals shared representations for numerosity and space
title_fullStr Motion along the mental number line reveals shared representations for numerosity and space
title_full_unstemmed Motion along the mental number line reveals shared representations for numerosity and space
title_short Motion along the mental number line reveals shared representations for numerosity and space
title_sort motion along the mental number line reveals shared representations for numerosity and space
topic numerical cognition
visual motion
adaptation
parietal cortex
cortical recycling
url https://elifesciences.org/articles/10806
work_keys_str_mv AT casparmschwiedrzik motionalongthementalnumberlinerevealssharedrepresentationsfornumerosityandspace
AT benjaminbernstein motionalongthementalnumberlinerevealssharedrepresentationsfornumerosityandspace
AT luciamelloni motionalongthementalnumberlinerevealssharedrepresentationsfornumerosityandspace