Neural underpinnings of numerical and spatial cognition: An fMRI meta-analysis of brain regions associated with symbolic number, arithmetic, and mental rotation

• Published in: Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews 2019-08, Vol.103, p.316-336
• Main Authors: Hawes, Zachary, Sokolowski, H. Moriah, Ononye, Chuka Bosah, Ansari, Daniel
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Activation likelihood estimation (ALE); Brain Mapping - statistics & numerical data; Cerebral Cortex - diagnostic imaging; Cerebral Cortex - physiology; fMRI meta-analysis; Humans; Imagination - physiology; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - statistics & numerical data; Mathematical cognition; Mathematical Concepts; Mental arithmetic; Mental rotation; Numerical cognition; Space Perception - physiology; Spatial cognition; Thinking - physiology
• ISSN: 0149-7634; 1873-7528
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.05.007

•Where and under what conditions do spatial and numerical skills converge and diverge in the brain?•We conducted an fMRI meta-analysis examining the neural correlates of symbolic number, arithmetic, and mental rotation.•Our results revealed large areas of overlap in the bilateral parietal lobes.•We also found evidence of regions more sensitive to numerical reasoning and domain-general mental manipulation.•These results provide new insights into the intersection of numerical and spatial thought in the human brain. Where and under what conditions do spatial and numerical skills converge and diverge in the brain? To address this question, we conducted a meta-analysis of brain regions associated with basic symbolic number processing, arithmetic, and mental rotation. We used Activation Likelihood Estimation (ALE) to construct quantitative meta-analytic maps synthesizing results from 83 neuroimaging papers (24–31 studies/cognitive process). All three cognitive processes were found to activate bilateral parietal regions in and around the intraparietal sulcus (IPS); a finding consistent with shared processing accounts. Numerical and arithmetic processing were associated with overlap in the left IPS, whereas mental rotation and arithmetic both showed activity in the middle frontal gyri. These patterns suggest regions of cortex potentially more specialized for symbolic number representation and domain-general mental manipulation, respectively. Additionally, arithmetic was associated with unique activity throughout the fronto-parietal network and mental rotation was associated with unique activity in the right superior parietal lobe. Overall, these results provide new insights into the intersection of numerical and spatial thought in the human brain.