A new study by researchers at UT Dallas' Center for Vital
Longevity, Duke University, and the University of Michigan has found
that the strength of communication between the left and right
hemispheres of the brain predicts performance on basic arithmetic
problems.
The findings shed light on the neural basis of human math
abilities and suggest a possible route to aiding those who suffer from
dyscalculia-- an inability to understand and manipulate numbers.
It has been known for some time that the parietal cortex, the
top/middle region of the brain, plays a central role in so-called
numerical cognition--our ability to process numerical information.
Previous brain imaging studies have shown that the right parietal region
is primarily involved in basic quantity processing (like gauging
relative amounts of fruit in baskets), while the left parietal region is
involved in more precise numerical operations like addition and
subtraction.
What has not been known is whether the two hemispheres can
work together to improve math performance. The new study demonstrates
that they can. The findings were recently published online in Cerebral Cortex.
