Neuroscience
The functions and dysfunctions of the parietal lobes are often the most difficult of the four cerebral lobes for a student to understand when learning about brain-behavior relations. This month's issue of Nature Reviews Neuroscience includes free full-text access to a review paper about some of these parietal functions; it is a reasonably good (albeit technical) read.
(By the way, this issue of the journal also includes a poster-sized .pdf graphic of aspects of post-synaptic functioning.)
Edward M. Hubbard, Manuela Piazza, Philippe Pinel, & Stanislas Dehaene. Interactions between number and space in parietal cortex. Nature Reviews Neuroscience. 2005; 6, 435-448 [doi:10.1038/nrn1684]
Inserm Unit 562 'Cognitive Neuroimaging' Service Hospitalier Frédéric Joliot, 4 place du Général Leclerc, F94101 Orsay, France.
Abstract
Since the time of Pythagoras, numerical and spatial representations have been inextricably linked. We suggest that the relationship between the two is deeply rooted in the brain's organization for these capacities. Many behavioural and patient studies have shown that numerical–spatial interactions run far deeper than simply cultural constructions, and, instead, influence behaviour at several levels. By combining two previously independent lines of research, neuroimaging studies of numerical cognition in humans, and physiological studies of spatial cognition in monkeys, we propose that these numerical–spatial interactions arise from common parietal circuits for attention to external space and internal representations of numbers.
[ ... Read the full article ... ]
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Anthony H. Risser | neuroscience | neuropsychology | brain
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- Neuropsychology Abstract Of The Day: Parietal Function
Haramati S, Soroker N, Dudai Y, & Levy DA. The posterior parietal cortex in recognition memory: A neuropsychological study. Neuropsychologia. 2007 Nov 29 [Epub ahead of print] Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, P.O. Box 26, Rehovot...
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- Dendritic Spines And Long-term Plasticity
Neuroscientific and basic neuropsychological research about changes in the brain that occur as a result of learning are topical areas of novel technologies and rapid developments. The new April 2005 issue of Nature Reviews Neuroscience includes a free...
Neuroscience
Numerical-Spatial Cognitive Interactions of the Parietal Lobe
The functions and dysfunctions of the parietal lobes are often the most difficult of the four cerebral lobes for a student to understand when learning about brain-behavior relations. This month's issue of Nature Reviews Neuroscience includes free full-text access to a review paper about some of these parietal functions; it is a reasonably good (albeit technical) read.
(By the way, this issue of the journal also includes a poster-sized .pdf graphic of aspects of post-synaptic functioning.)
Edward M. Hubbard, Manuela Piazza, Philippe Pinel, & Stanislas Dehaene. Interactions between number and space in parietal cortex. Nature Reviews Neuroscience. 2005; 6, 435-448 [doi:10.1038/nrn1684]
Inserm Unit 562 'Cognitive Neuroimaging' Service Hospitalier Frédéric Joliot, 4 place du Général Leclerc, F94101 Orsay, France.
Abstract
Since the time of Pythagoras, numerical and spatial representations have been inextricably linked. We suggest that the relationship between the two is deeply rooted in the brain's organization for these capacities. Many behavioural and patient studies have shown that numerical–spatial interactions run far deeper than simply cultural constructions, and, instead, influence behaviour at several levels. By combining two previously independent lines of research, neuroimaging studies of numerical cognition in humans, and physiological studies of spatial cognition in monkeys, we propose that these numerical–spatial interactions arise from common parietal circuits for attention to external space and internal representations of numbers.
[ ... Read the full article ... ]
-
Anthony H. Risser | neuroscience | neuropsychology | brain
- Forget Stroop, Here's The Snarc
You’ve probably heard of the Stroop effect (if not, see here), now let me introduce you to the SNARC. The Spatial Numerical Association of Response Codes (SNARC) effect is the observation that people are faster to make a judgment about a number if the...
- Hemispheric Bias Shifts With Tiredness
Normally we have a slight bias to the left-hand side of space. So if we’re asked to mark the centre of a line, for example, we tend to overestimate the length of the left-hand portion. Now Tom Manly (pictured) at the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences...
- Neuropsychology Abstract Of The Day: Parietal Function
Haramati S, Soroker N, Dudai Y, & Levy DA. The posterior parietal cortex in recognition memory: A neuropsychological study. Neuropsychologia. 2007 Nov 29 [Epub ahead of print] Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, P.O. Box 26, Rehovot...
- Well Worth Reading: Dr. Michael Gazzaniga On Split-brain Research
The new August 2005 issue of Nature Reviews Neuroscience includes an essay by Dr. Michael Gazzaniga about split-brain research. The article is not available in full text online, but worth getting a copy of for a good read! Here is the abstract:Michael S. Gazzaniga....
- Dendritic Spines And Long-term Plasticity
Neuroscientific and basic neuropsychological research about changes in the brain that occur as a result of learning are topical areas of novel technologies and rapid developments. The new April 2005 issue of Nature Reviews Neuroscience includes a free...