Mathematics is known to be a powerful tool for increasing brain capacity. It encourages the development of strong observational skills and stimulates critical thinking. Professional mathematicians often train their brain function by solving challenging math problems. But what is actually happening in the brain when this occurs? Despite decades of research into teaching and learning mathematics, there is still much to be learned about how specific brain functions are linked to math skills.
Mathematics sharpens the mind, increases power of reasoning, and helps the mind to be more cheerful and open. The more math problems you solve, the more your reasoning power will increase. Researchers have looked for similarities in brain activity when children complete memory and math tasks, in order to establish a link between memory and mathematics. According to an article published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers were able to detect those studying mathematics or not after age 16 based on the concentrations of a brain chemical in each student.
This allowed them to examine whether this lack of mathematics education in students from similar environments could affect brain development and cognition. Preparation skills include not only mathematics and reading, but also socio-emotional skills such as listening and cooperating with others, which are equally important in the classroom. The study found that students who did not study mathematics had a smaller amount of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a chemical crucial for brain plasticity, in a key brain region that is involved in many important cognitive functions such as reasoning, problem solving, mathematics, memory and learning. Unfortunately, the opportunity to stop studying mathematics at this age seems to create a gap between adolescents who abandon their mathematics education and those who continue it.
Mathematics requires one to create connections and recognize patterns. This type of critical thinking develops brain muscles, which extend to other facets of life, academic and otherwise. Mathematics requires abstract and concrete thinking, leading to the development of brain muscles. The findings are important because students in the United Kingdom are allowed to leave mathematics at age 16, unlike those in much of the rest of the world.
Studying mathematics can help increase general intelligence by developing important skills such as systematic thinking, problem solving, recognition of sequences and patterns, etc. Alternatives that produce the same effect should be investigated, including training in logic and reasoning involving the same brain area as mathematics. New brain research reveals that through hard work and effort, you can improve your intelligence. It has been shown that people are not born with mathematical skills or not; however, mathematics is a recent activity (numbers are at most 10,000 years old), so the brain didn't evolve to think that way.
