Neurostructural correlate of math anxiety in the brain of children

Abstract

Adequate mathematical competencies are currently indispensable in professional and social life. However, mathematics is often associated with stress and frustration and the confrontation with tasks that require mathematical knowledge triggers anxiety in many children. We examined if there is a relationship between math anxiety and changes in brain structure in children with and without developmental dyscalculia. Our findings showed that math anxiety is related to altered brain structure. In particular, the right amygdala volume was reduced in individuals with higher math anxiety. In conclusion, math anxiety not only hinders children in arithmetic development, but it is associated with altered brain structure in areas related to fear processing. This emphasizes the far-reaching outcome emotional factors in mathematical cognition can have and encourages educators and researchers alike to consider math anxiety to prevent detrimental long-term consequences on school achievement and quality of life, especially in children with developmental dyscalculia.

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“…Concerning math achievement, both groups (high and low anxious children, grade 3) improved their performance in an arithmetic problem solving task equally, as there was no interaction with math anxiety level. Recent work by Kucian et al (2018a) has demonstrated that math anxiety is even related to changes in brain structure. Particularly, the volume of the amygdala was reduced, which represents the key area in our brain for negative emotional processing such as fear, stress and anxiety.…”

We Feel, Therefore We Memorize: Understanding Emotions in Learning Mathematics Using Neuroscience Research Perspectives

“…These parts can influence students' cognitive processes in classroom. The prefrontal cortex is the part of the brain that processes information for a high level of reasoning while the amygdala records emotions or situations in life [29,7,11,12]. From the findings of the neuroscience research, the researchers will discuss in more detail; the results of this study can be applied in the context of learning.…”

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