Ricerc@Sapienza

Inspecting or transforming the position of Arabic numbers in mental space helps everyday mathematical calculations. Nonetheless the neural and functional bases of this ability are poorly understood. Here we show that imagining the position of Arabic numbers on a horizontal mental number line speeds up the detection of targets appearing at corresponding positions in visual space. No similar advantage is found when numbers are merely perceived or classified according to their magnitude.

The SNARC effect consists of faster reaction times to small numerical magnitudes when manual responses are delivered in the left-side of space and to large magnitudes when responses are delivered in the right-side. This spatial compatibility effect points at the interaction between the representations of space and that of numbers. Several studies have highlighted that an important determinant for the production of the SNARC is the use of contrasting left/right spatial codes in the selection of motor responses. In these studies, one spatial code for response selection, e.g.

Numbers and warfare are strictly bounded: in particular, war is a very special situation where numbers acquire a very important meaning and function. Even nowadays, when speaking of and analysing war, we are inevitably attracted by numbers and, we could say, numbers precisely dictate the reason and choice of war on the one hand, and the outcome and implication of fighting on the other. In particular, after the battle is over, a virtual fight of numbers begins comparing victories and losses, survivors and fallen