Brain scans reveal 'number line' that's used to mentally compare values
Although whole numbers and fractions are processed differently in the brain, when you compare their values, a single "mental map" akin to a number line lights up.
New research using brain scans has revealed a "number line" that the human brain employs to mentally compare values. Study co-authors Daniela Valério and Stanislas Dehaene found that numbers are represented in the brain as unique coordinates on a shared map, allowing us to compare and reason about their values. This system integrates both integers and fractions, despite their apparent differences.
Using a high-resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner, the researchers measured brain activity in 20 adults while they performed a task involving the comparison of a mix of fractions and whole numbers. The brain scans showed distinct activity patterns in the anterior inferior parietal cortex, a region known for processing numbers.
As participants compared numerical values, this brain region lit up in an organized pattern resembling a number line, with smaller numbers represented in reddish hues and larger numbers in bluish hues.
The shared mental map integrates different number formats, organizing them based on their quantities rather than separate systems for integers and fractions. This finding builds on previous research on whole numbers but provides new insights into how the brain processes fractions. The researchers suggest that future studies could explore the organization of decimal numbers and investigate how this neural representation varies across people of different ages, educational levels, and mathematical backgrounds.
Written by urgent.news from Live Science's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
