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[The following is an exact transcript of this podcast.]
I still tend to move my fingers, almost subconsciously, when doing arithmetic. Well, that might not be so strange, according to research published in the May 8th issue of the journal Science. The report says that math and movement through space use some of the same brain circuitry.
Researchers in France scanned the neural activity in the brains of people who were moving their eyes right or left. Then study participants were asked to do arithmetic in their heads. And the brain scan data correctly showed whether the person was adding or subtracting. Because adding used the same brain circuits as when eyes moved right. And subtraction matched up with the neurons firing when eyes moved left.
Researchers say this finding shows that the development of math is too recent and advanced to have a brain region devoted solely to it. So we reuse systems that we already have. The study authors note that “throughout the history of mathematics, concepts of number and space have been tightly intertwined.” Now we know that the connection even occurs in our brains. So I don’t feel too bad about still counting on my fingers.
—Cynthia Graber
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8 Comments
Add CommentI wonder if the results hold true for people who learn to read a language that scans right to left? Or does it get reversed?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMy guess is that it's more to do with how we conceptualize the number line (small numbers to the left, large ones to the right). So the question becomes: do e.g. Arab cultures have a right-to-left number line as well as right-to-left text?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYet another case of making a correlation into a cause effect.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisNumbers are left-to-right in Arabic, while text is right-to-left.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWestern numbers are Arab numbers - check your history of mathematics :-)
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisKeep in mind that Arab numbers 'start' with the least significant digit on the right, English copied this even though writing words is left-to-right.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisNow I see why Giuseppe Peano came up with those axioms! Just kidding. SciAm, you are in pseudo science territory with that one.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI don't think the average person has enough exposure with the number line for that to be a likely explanation. I wonder if there are other mathematical thoughts that correspond with movements...
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