Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28752328›Full record

ArticleExperimental brain research2017

Counting on the mental number line to make a move: sensorimotor ('pen') control and numerical processing.

Rebecca Sheridan, Maaike van Rooijen, Oscar Giles, Faisal Mushtaq, Bert Steenbergen, Mark Mon-Williams, Amanda Waterman

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Experimental brain research, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact, top 90% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed, 2 citations in OpenAlex.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 2 institutions in 3 countries.

Rebecca SheridanSchool of Psychology, University of Leeds, Leeds, YSW, LS2 9JT, UK.
Maaike van RooijenBehavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Oscar GilesSchool of Psychology, University of Leeds, Leeds, YSW, LS2 9JT, UK.
Faisal MushtaqSchool of Psychology, University of Leeds, Leeds, YSW, LS2 9JT, UK.
Bert SteenbergenBehavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Mark Mon-WilliamsSchool of Psychology, University of Leeds, Leeds, YSW, LS2 9JT, UK.
Amanda WatermanSchool of Psychology, University of Leeds, Leeds, YSW, LS2 9JT, UK. a.h.waterman@leeds.ac.uk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9882-7206
University of Leeds · GBRadboud University Nijmegen · NL

Funding

Economic and Social Research Council ES/J50025/1
6 · The paper itself

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.

Indexed as

Mathematical ConceptsAdolescentAdultFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedMotor ActivityMotor SkillsSpace PerceptionYoung AdultMathsMotorMovementNumberSensorimotor control

Identifiers

PMID28752328
PMCPMC5603638
OpenAlexW2740585025

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.