Sun, 06 Jul 2008 03:47:50 BST CiteULike: brembs' Schubiger http://www.citeulike.org/user/brembs/author/Schubiger CiteULike.org en-gb Copyright © 2004-2008 citeulike.org http://www.citeulike.org/user/brembs/article/2307582 <i>Current Biology, Vol. 18, No. 2. (22 January 2008), pp. R60-R62.</i><br /><br />Summary Numerical and spatial cognition rely on common functional circuits in the parietal lobes of the brain [1]. While previous work has established that the mere perception of numbers can bias a subject's attention in space [2], the method of random digit generation has only recently been introduced to a rapidly growing literature exploring asymmetries in number space [3]. Here we show that human subjects' attempts to generate numbers `at random' are systematically influenced by lateral head turns, which are known to reallocate spatial attention in the outside world. Specifically, while facing left, subjects produced relatively small numbers, whereas while facing right they tended to produce larger numbers. These results support current concepts of parietal cortex as mediating the interplay between spatial attention and abstract thought [4]. Head turns bias the brain's internal random generator Tobias Loetscher Urs Schwarz Michele Schubiger Peter Brugger doi:10.1016/j.cub.2007.11.015 Current Biology, Vol. 18, No. 2. (22 January 2008), pp. R60-R62. 2008-01-30T14:47:28-00:00 2008 Current Biology 18 2 R60 R62 numbers random spontaneous