Research
Numerical cognition is the set of mental processes by which human beings, whether children or adults, are able to manipulate numbers and perform calculations. It covers the processes involved in determining the numerosity of collections of objects or series of events, processing, comparing and transforming quantities and various numerical notations, and solving arithmetic problems mentally or in writing. The NumCog Lab studies these processes and their physical and cerebral correlates.
The study of numerical cognition also provides us with a unique paradigm to address issues transversal to other domains of human cognition, such as the respective role of nature and nurture, the embodiment of abstract concepts, or the notion of cognitive cost. Our collaborations within IoNS have contributed to consolidate a multimodal approach integrating the methods of experimental psychology (mental chronometry, psychophysics, eye-tracking), neuropsychology (brain-damaged patients with visuospatial disorders, individuals with atypical sensorimotor development), neurostimulation (TMS, tDCS) and neuroimaging (fMRI). The outcome of this research is used to explore original hypotheses about dyscalculia, a major challenge in modern societies, and assess the potential of neurorehabilitation, especially in the domain of hemineglect.
Team members
Principal Investigators
- ANDRES Michael, FNRS Research Associate
- PESENTI Mauro, FNRS Senior Research Associate
Postdocs
PhD students
Emeritus
Collaborations
- Université Libre de Bruxelles (B)
- Université de Liège (B)
- Gent Universiteit (B)
- Katholiek Universiteit Leuven (B)
- Université de Bordeaux (F)
- Université du Luxembourg (L)
- University College London (UK)
- University of Loughborough (UK)
- Università Milano-Bicocca (I)
- Università degli Studi di Padova (I)
- Tübingen University (D)
- Université de Montréal (C)
Ongoing projects
- A first ongoing project concerns the role of eye movements and their links with shifts in visuo-spatial attention. For example, in mental arithmetic, our group has demonstrated that mentally visualising numbers on a spatial continuum makes it possible to reduce the range of plausible responses, in a predictive manner, and thus to reduce cognitive load.
- A second ongoing project concerns the influence of the finger-counting experience on the mental representation of numbers. Our results converge to show that fingers and numbers share a common representation in the human parietal cortex, with properties reminiscent of the base-5 system underlying finger counting.
- A third ongoing project concerns the role of visual processing pathways in the perception of numerosity, length and duration.
Key publications
- Andres, M., Michaux, N., & Pesenti, M. (2012). Common substrate for mental arithmetic and finger representation in the parietal cortex. Neuroimage, 62(3), 1520-1528.
- Andres, M., & Pesenti, M. (2015). Finger-based representation of mental arithmetic. In R. Cohen Kadosh & A. Dowkers (Eds.), Oxford Handbook of Mathematical Cognition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 67-88.
- Salvaggio, S., Masson, N., & Andres, M. (2019). Eye position reflects the spatial coding of numbers during magnitude comparison. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 45(10), 1910.
- Andres, M., Salvaggio, S., Lefèvre, N., Pesenti, M., & Masson, N. (2020). Semantic associations between arithmetic and space: Evidence from temporal order judgements. Memory and Cognition, 48(3), 361-369.
- Masson, N., Andres, M. Carneiro Pereira, S., Pesenti, M., & Vannuscorps, G. (2020). Exogenous covert shift of attention without the ability to plan eye movements. Current Biology, 30, R1032-R1033
- Geers, L., Pesenti, M., Derosiere, G., Duque, J., Dricot, L., & Andres, M. (2021). Role of the fronto-parietal cortex in prospective action judgments. Scientific Report, 11: 7454.
- Masson, N., & Pesenti, M. (2023). A functional role for oculomotor preparation in mental arithmetic evidenced by the abducted-eye paradigm. Psychological Research, 87, 919-928.