Sheridan, R, van Rooijen, M, Giles, OT et al. (4 more authors) (2017) Counting on the mental number line to make a move: sensorimotor ('pen') control and numerical processing. Experimental Brain Research, 235 (10). pp. 3141-3152. ISSN 0014-4819
Abstract
Mathematics is often conducted with a writing implement. But is there a relationship between numerical processing and sensorimotor ‘pen’ control? We asked participants to move a stylus so it crossed an unmarked line at a location specified by a symbolic number (1–9), where number colour indicated whether the line ran left–right (‘normal’) or vice versa (‘reversed’). The task could be simplified through the use of a ‘mental number line’ (MNL). Many modern societies use number lines in mathematical education and the brain’s representation of number appears to follow a culturally determined spatial organisation (so better task performance is associated with this culturally normal orientation—the MNL effect). Participants (counter-balanced) completed two consistent blocks of trials, ‘normal’ and ‘reversed’, followed by a mixed block where line direction varied randomly. Experiment 1 established that the MNL effect was robust, and showed that the cognitive load associated with reversing the MNL not only affected response selection but also the actual movement execution (indexed by duration) within the mixed trials. Experiment 2 showed that an individual’s motor abilities predicted performance in the difficult (mixed) condition but not the easier blocks. These results suggest that numerical processing is not isolated from motor capabilities—a finding with applied consequences.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Author(s) 2017. This article is an open access publication distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. |
Keywords: | Sensorimotor control; Motor; Movement; Number; Maths |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Medicine and Health (Leeds) > School of Psychology (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 27 Jul 2017 11:19 |
Last Modified: | 23 Jun 2023 22:33 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Springer Verlag |
Identification Number: | 10.1007/s00221-017-5019-z |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:119549 |