Math Anxiety Can Prompt Brain to Cause Some People Physical Pain

Mathematics anxiety can prompt a response in the brain similar to when a person experiences physical pain, according to new research out of the University of Chicago. Using brain scans, scholars have determined that the brain areas that are active when highly math-anxious people prepare to do math overlap with the same brain areas that register the threat of bodily harm — and in some cases, physical pain.

“For someone who has math anxiety, the anticipation of doing math prompts a similar brain reaction as when they experience pain — say, burning one’s hand on a hot stove,” says Sian Beilock, professor of psychology at the University of Chicago and a leading expert on math anxiety. For more information, click here to read the full release.