Scientists discover parts of the brain that determine whether kids will be good at math

By Mark Waghorn via SWNS

A brain switch that boosts maths skills in children has been discovered by scientists.

It triggers an area known as the IPS (intraparietal sulcus) which is involved in processing figures.

The circuit is also linked to the hippocampus where memories are stored.

Targeting it with special tutoring may improve learning abilities, say the American research team.

To add and subtract, children must connect abstract symbols like '4' or '6' to a quantity.

Dubbed 'number sense', a study identified the IPS as key. It lies near the back of the head.

Lead author Dr. Hyesang Chang, of Stanford University, California, said: "Mathematical skill development relies on number sense, the ability to discriminate between quantities.

"Our integrated number sense training program was effective in children across a wide range of math abilities, including children with learning difficulties.

"We identify hippocampal-parietal circuits that predict individual differences in learning gains.

"Our study identifies a novel brain circuit predictive of the acquisition of foundational number sense skills and delineates a robust target for effective interventions and monitoring response to cognitive training."

A four-week training program emphasized mapping symbols to the amounts they represent, rather than simple fact memorization.

The researchers examined synchronized activity between the hippocampus and other brain areas in 96 American children aged seven to ten.

Brain scans showed the connection between the hippocampus and the IPS before training predicted a child’s ability to learn number sense.

Those with more synchronized activity learned more during the course.

It applied to typically developing children and peers with maths learning difficulties.

Dr. Chang said: "Number sense in early childhood is predictive of academic and professional success, and deficits are thought to underlie lifelong impairments in mathematical abilities.

"Despite its importance, the brain circuit mechanisms that support number sense learning remain poorly understood.

"Here, we designed a theoretically motivated training program to determine brain circuit mechanisms underlying foundational number sense learning in female and male elementary school-aged children.

"Our four-week integrative number sense training program gradually strengthened the understanding of the relations between symbolic Arabic numerals and non-symbolic representations of quantity.

"We found our number sense training program improved symbolic quantity discrimination ability in children across a wide a range of math abilities including those with learning difficulties.

"Crucially, the strength of pre-training functional connectivity between the hippocampus and intraparietal sulcus, brain regions implicated in associative learning and quantity discrimination, respectively, predicted individual differences in number sense learning across typically developing children and children with learning difficulties."

The study was published in the journal JNeurosci.