• Korean Journal of Cognitive Science
• /
• v.24 no.3
• /
• pp.271-300
• /
• 2013

Human and animals are born with an intuitive ability to determine approximate numerosity. This ability is termed approximate number sense (hereafter, number sense). Evolutionarily, number sense is thought to be an essential ability for hunting, gathering and survival. According to previous research, children with mathematical learning disability have impaired number sense. On the other hand, individuals with more accurate number sense have higher mathematical achievement. These results support the hypothesis that number sense provides a basis for the development of mathematical cognition. Recently, researchers have been examining whether number sense training can lead to enhancement in mathematical achievement and changes in brain activity in relation to mathematical problem solving. Numerosity which basically represents discontinuous quantity is expected to be closely related to continuous quantity such as representations of space and time. A theory of magnitude (ATOM) states that processing of number, space and time is based on a common magnitude system in the posterior parietal cortex, especially the intraparietal sulcus. The present paper introduces current literature and future directions for the study of the common magnitude system.