Pure left neglect for Arabic numerals

Arabic numerals are diffused and language-free representations of number magnitude. To be effectively processed, the digits composing Arabic numerals must be spatially arranged along a left-to-right axis. We studied one patient (AK) to show that left neglect, after right hemisphere damage, can selectively impair the computation of the spatial frames underpinning recognition and understanding of Arabic numerals, without impairing the spatial frames for coding alphabetic strings or for coding environmental spatial information. The presence in our brain of these specific and precise spatial frames must be rooted in the paramount importance of Arabic numerals processing in our everyday activities.