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Vision

Vision

Vision is the result of light being detected and transduced into neural signals by the retina of the eye. This information is then further analyzed and interpreted by the brain. First, light enters the front of the eye and is focused by the cornea and lens onto the retina—a thin sheet of neural tissue lining the back of the eye. Because of refraction through the convex lens of the eye, images are projected onto the retina upside-down and reversed.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 21, 2026

Environmental Modulations of the Number of Midbrain Dopamine Neurons in Adult Mice

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The mental number line modulates visual cortical excitability.

Zaira Cattaneo¹, Juha Silvanto, Lorella Battelli

¹Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milano, Italy. zaira.cattaneo@unimib.it

Neuroscience Letters

|July 21, 2009

Summary

The mental number line influences spatial attention, shifting it left for low numbers and right for high numbers. This attentional shift affects early visual cortex excitability, as shown by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) studies.

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Area of Science:

Cognitive Neuroscience
Neuroscience
Visual Perception

Background:

The mental number line (MNL) concept suggests numbers are spatially represented.
MNL influences visuo-spatial attention, with low numbers directing attention left and high numbers directing attention right.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate if MNL-driven attentional modulation impacts early visual cortex excitability.
To explore the neural mechanisms underlying the interaction between number processing and spatial attention.

Main Methods:

Utilized transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to probe visual cortical excitability.
Measured phosphene threshold as an indicator of early visual cortex excitability.
Employed number priming tasks to induce attentional shifts.

Main Results:

Number priming modulated early visual cortex excitability topographically.
Low numbers increased right visual cortex excitability and decreased left visual cortex excitability.
High numbers showed the opposite pattern, decreasing right and increasing left visual cortex excitability.

Conclusions:

Attentional shifts associated with the mental number line are reflected in the excitability of the early visual cortex.
Findings suggest a direct link between abstract numerical cognition and early-stage visual processing.
MNL representation influences sensory processing at a fundamental cortical level.