For the first time, scientists have found that the human brain has a “map” for perceiving numbers.
Topographical maps of the human brain are known to exist for the primary senses, such as sight, hearing and touch, but this is the first time such a map has been found for numerosity, or number sense.
The map’s layout allows for the most efficient communication among neurons doing similar tasks, scientists said.
Studies in monkeys have shown that certain neurons in the parietal cortex, located at the back of the brain beneath the crown of the hair, became active when the animals viewed a specific number of items. These studies did not find a map for numerosity, though scientists have long suspected one exists.
Researcher Ben Harvey, a neuroscientist at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, and his colleagues placed participants in a magnetic resonance imaging scanner and showed them patterns of dots that varied in number over time.
They would show one dot over and over, then two dots over and over, then three dots, and so on, LiveScience reported.
The researchers used an advanced imaging method known as high-field fMRI, which allowed them to see fine-scale details of brain activity.