Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder in school-age children. Although it has been well documented that children with ADHD are associated with impairment of executive functions including working memory (WM) and inhibitory control, there is not yet a consensus as to the relationship between ADHD and memory-driven attentional capture (i.e., representations in WM bias attention toward the WM-matched distractors). The present study herein examined whether children with ADHD have sufficient cognitive control to modulate memory-driven attentional capture. 73 school-age children (36 with ADHD and 37 matched typically developing (TD) children) were instructed to perform a visual search task while actively maintaining an item in WM. In such a paradigm, the modality and the validity of the memory sample were manipulated. The results showed that under the visual WM encoding condition, no memory-driven attentional capture was observed in TD children, but significant capture was found in children with ADHD. In addition, under the audiovisual WM encoding condition, memory-matched distractors did not capture the attention of both groups. The results indicate a deficit of cognitive control over memory-driven attentional capture in children with ADHD, which can be improved by multisensory WM encoding. These findings enrich the relationship between ADHD and cognitive control and provide new insight into the influence of cross-modal processing on attentional guidance.

The impact of embodiment on numerical cognition remains under debate, with varying interpretations of its role in numerical processing. To clarify the overall effect size of embodied numerosity and its influencing factors, this study conducted a meta-analysis of 73 effect sizes from 49 papers using a random effects model. The main effect revealed a medium-strength effect size of embodied cognition on number processing, g = 0.660, 95 % CI [0.541, 0.779], p < 0.001. Subgroup analyses indicated that both the finger and non-finger groups had medium-strength effect sizes. Moderator effects analyses showed that the embodied numerosity effect was moderated by experimental task, gender, and handedness, while explicit instructions and the online state of sensorimotor activation were more likely to activate the embodied numerosity effect. This study provides a basis for understanding the relationship between embodiment and numerical cognition.

Ordinal processing is a core component of numerical cognition, and its behavioral signature is the Reverse Distance Effect (RDE). However, previous studies indicate that the RDE is influenced by sequence composition, and it is unclear whether it is similarly affected by sequence types. Prior research has largely focused on non-repeating sequences (e.g., 1-2-3), while the processing of repeated item sequences (i.e., non-strict sequences; e.g., 1-2-2-3) remains unexplored. Experiment 1 (numbers) showed a significant RDE in the first and last repetition conditions. However, the middle repetition condition resulted in a null effect, suggesting that the middle repeated item interferes differentially with ordinal representation. In contrast, Experiment 2 (letters) showed a significant RDE regardless of repetition position. Overall, the RDE extends to repeated item sequences when interference is comparable between distance conditions. Moreover, the presence of the RDE in the letter task indicates that the effect observed in repeated item sequences extends to non-numerical materials. This study provides the first systematic investigation of repeated item sequences, highlighting the role of repeated items in order judgment and expanding the scope of ordinal processing research.

The sensorimotor system is critical for number cognition, as embodied numerosity is linked to sensorimotor experiences. Despite evidence that hand movements engage numerical semantics, there has been little investigation into the relationship between hand motion and numerical activation, as well as actions and abstract number conceptions. In order to examine how perceived magnitude affects numerical judgments, participants in the current study were given variable-length gestures and asked to complete a numerical comparison task while having their EEG records taken. The results showed that embodied, semi-embodied, and non-embodied materials differed significantly, with the embodied influence being the strongest. In the frontal, fronto-central, central, and centro-parietal regions, the embodied effect activated the P2 component, showing that increases in both length and magnitude produced higher P2 responses. Additionally, greater P2p activation was observed in the left parietal-occipital region under embodied and semi-embodied conditions. These results supported the embodied numerosity perspective and showed that the perception of embodied length gestures affects quantitative judgments, implying that the body implicitly conveys numerical magnitudes.