It is known that small and large numbers facilitate left/right respectively (the SNARC effect). Recently, it has been proposed that numerical magnitude is just one example of a range of quantities, which have a common cognitive/neural representation. To investigate this proposition, response congruency effects were explored for stimuli which differed according to their: (a) numerical size, (b) physical size, (c) luminance, (d) conceptual size and (e) auditory intensity. In a series of experiments, groups of undergraduate participants made two-alternative forced choice discriminations with their left or right hands. There were clear interactions between magnitude and responding hand whereby right hand responses were faster for stimuli with (a) large numbers, (b) large physical size, (c) low luminance, and (d) a reference to large objects. There was no congruency effect for the auditory stimuli. The data demonstrate that the response congruency effect observed for numbers also occurs for a variety of other non-numerical visual quantities. These results support models of general magnitude representation and suggest that the association between magnitude and the left/right sides of space may not be related to culture and/or directional reading habits.

Background/Objectives Vision-based speed of processing (VSOP) training is a promising cognitive intervention for older adults. However, it is unknown whether VSOP training can affect cognitive processing in individuals at high risk for dementia. Here, we examined cognitive and neural effects of VSOP training in older adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and contrasted those effects with an active control (mental leisure activities; MLA). Design A randomized single-blinded controlled pilot trial. Setting An academic medical center. Participants Twenty-one participants with aMCI. Intervention A 6-week computerized VSOP training. Measurements Multiple cognitive processing measures, instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), and two key resting state neural networks regulating cognitive processing: central executive network (CEN) and default mode network (DMN). Results We found that, compared to MLA control, VSOP training led to significant improvements in trained (processing speed and attention: F1,19 = 6.61, Partial η2 = 0.26, p = .019) and untrained cognitive domains (working memory: F1,19 = 7.33, Partial η2 = 0.28, p = .014; IADL: F1,19 = 5.16, Partial η2 = 0.21, p = .035), and protective maintenance in DMN (F1, 9 = 14.63, Partial η2 = 0.62, p = .004). Additionally, VSOP training, but not MLA, resulted in a significant improvement in CEN connectivity (Z = −2.37, p = .018). Conclusion We identified both target and transfer effects of VSOP training and revealed links between VSOP training and two key neural networks associated with aMCI. These findings highlight the potential of VSOP training to slow cognitive decline in aMCI. Further delineation of mechanisms underlying VSOP-induced plasticity is necessary to understand in what populations and conditions such training may be most effective.

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