Laterality in Simple Multiplication: Assessing Hemispheric Specialization of Arithmetic Fact Retrieval in a Visual Hemifield Paradigm

The prominent view in numerical cognition is that highly overlearned arithmetic facts are verbally mediated and unilaterally processed in a left-hemispheric network, including language areas. However, this view has recently been challenged. Here, we evaluated the hemispheric specialization of verbal arithmetic fact retrieval and number magnitude processing using two verification tasks (i.e., multiplication and number magnitude comparison) in a divided hemifield paradigm in healthy participants (n = 35). In the number comparison task, we replicated bilateral processing advantages for the unit-decade compatibility effect. Magnitude processing was facilitated after bilateral compared with a unilateral presentation. In the multiplication task, lateralized presentation to the left hemisphere yielded processing advantages in arithmetic fact retrieval when the required interhemispheric transitions from the input, processing, and output stages were considered. Crucially, we observed a systematic processing advantage in left visual hemifield stimuli presentation (i.e., initial right-hemisphere processing). Our findings corroborate the assumption that arithmetic fact retrieval is subserved by left-lateralized verbal/linguistic processing. Thereby, they suggest a distinction between unilateral left-hemispheric linguistic processing of arithmetic fact retrieval and bilateral number magnitude processing. Interestingly, however, our data present right-hemispheric processing advantages in identifying early processed visual symbolic numerical stimuli. Public Significance StatementThis study strongly suggests an involvement of the two hemispheres in the brain in solving numerical tasks. This study observed right-hemisphere processing for the early identification of visually presented numbers in all tasks. In number magnitude comparison, bilateral processing was advantageous. In subsequent simple multiplication, left-hemispheric processing advantages were found when considering the minimum number of interhemispheric transitions to solve the task, favoring an association of arithmetic facts and language processing. The study results suggest a distinction between unilateral processing of arithmetic fact retrieval and bilateral number magnitude processing.