“Zeroing” in on mathematics in the monkey brain

Abstract

A new study documented that monkeys showed selective neuronal responding to the concept of zero during a numerical task, and that there were two distinct classes of neurons that coded the absence of stimuli either through a discrete activation pattern (zero or not zero) or a continuous one for which zero was integrated with other numerosities in the relative rate of activity. These data indicate that monkeys, like humans, have a concept of zero that is part of their analog number line but that also may have unique properties compared to other numerosities.

Sometimes nothing is simply nothing: Automatic processing of empty sets

“…Specifically, it is unclear whether numbers are internally represented in a notation-specific (e.g., Campbell, 1994; Campbell & Clark, 1988; Cohen Kadosh & Walsh, 2009) or an abstract way (e.g., Dehaene, 1992; Dehaene & Cohen, 1995; Gallistel & Gelman, 1992). In this context, the “zero question” arises, namely, the question of whether an empty set, an abstract notion indicating the absence of quantity, is mentally represented as part of the numerical magnitude system (Beran, 2016). Importantly, there may be a difference between the understanding of zero when it is represented symbolically and nonsymbolically: whereas the symbolic representation of zero, like that of other numbers in the magnitude system, is marked by a symbol (i.e., “0”), which, itself, is perceived as “something” regardless of the exact quantity it is associated with (e.g., Fias, 2001; Pinhas & Tzelgov, 2012), the nonsymbolic representation of zero (i.e., an empty set presented as an empty frame) is simply “nothing.” Therefore, the external notation of zero may contribute substantially to the way it is perceived and processed.…”