人类数字、时间和空间加工的关联性与独立性

Relationships and independence of human number, time and space processing

数字、时间和空间的认知问题是人类认识世界时所面临的根本问题.人脑对这三者的加工均涉及数量的加工.对数字和时间加工来说,研究揭示出二者的加工具有内在联系,但时间加工可能涉及一些特异性的过程;对数字和空间加工来说,除了数字本身具有空间特性之外,二者还表现出了共同的加工特点,但同时也表现出了一定的分离;对时间和空间加工来说,研究发现时间表征也存在空间特点,并且二者的加工相互影响,尤其是人类在加工时间时无法避免无关空间信息的影响.当前有研究者指出,存在着多重数量系统负责数字、时间和空间的加工,也有研究者认为存在着共享的数量系统是这三者加工的基础.未来研究应注重系统地探讨数字、时间和空间的共同机制,探讨其他加工过程的相关性(如运算过程),以及探讨其他相似维度(如声音、亮度等)的加工等.

Perception of number, time and space are basic cognitive processes that humans use when they interact with their environment. Magnitude processing is an important aspect of these three processes. Research has shown that number and time processing interact with each other, while time processing may also occur independently. Number and space processing share common features but have some differences. When humans invoke time and space processing, time processing may be influenced by irrelevant space information. Taken together, some researchers argue that there are multiple magnitude systems responsible for number, time, and space processing, while others believe that a common magnitude system is the basis for this type of processing. Future research should explore the processing of numbers, time and space more systematically, the relationships of other types of processing （e.g., calculation）, and other magnitude dimensions （e.g., sound, lightness）.