Difficulty in mathematics, why some struggle more than others: what neuroscience says

For many, the mathematics it is an elegant language that describes the universe; for others, it is one constant source of anxiety and frustration. Why is there such a clear divide? Modern science tells us that difficulty in mathematicswhich in the most severe cases can lead to developmental dyscalculia, are not simply the result of poor commitment or bad education. As highlighted by recent studies, including one published in 2024, highlighted that numerical skills depend on one distributed network of brain regionswhich work in concert to come up with quantities and rules. When these networks they do not communicate effectively or have structural alterations, learning becomes a steep climb. In summary, difficulties in mathematics are not just a question of numbers, but the result of how the brain constructs, distinguishes and retrieves information, a process that for some requires a expenditure of cognitive energy enormously higher than others.

Difficulty in mathematics: also a question of brain wiring and genetics

Mathematical skills do not reside in a single “mathematics center”, but emerge from the collaboration of different areas of the brainin particular the parietal sulcus and the prefrontal cortex, the posterior parietal cortex, the ventral temporo-occipital cortex. Small variations in the volume and structure of these specific areas appear to be responsible for individual differences that we find in mathematics. The aforementioned 2024 study, published in the journal Science Advances, noand children with mathematical difficulties, are often observed reduced volumes of gray matter and lower integrity of white matter, which serves as a “highway” for information between different brain areas involved in mathematical calculations. These variations do not indicate real cognitive deficits: they simply describe one different configuration of our brain in processing numbers.

These structural differences have a strong genetic component. As the study published on always reports Science Advances, twin research suggests that genetic factors explain about 60-70% of differences in mathematical ability. The same research even identified specific gene expression profiles in the brain related with mathematical skills: for example, genes related to neuronal signaling and potassium channel activity appear to play a crucial role in the synaptic plasticity necessary for learning. Furthermore, as reported by the review Neurobiology of numerical learning, specific genetic variantssuch as those on the ROBO1 gene, have been linked to volume of gray matter and right parietal cortexdirectly affecting the ability to process quantities.

On a chemical level, the balance of neurotransmitters is also critical. It has been observed that GABA concentrations (an inhibitory neurotransmitter) and glutamate (excitatory) in the intraparietal sulcus predict mathematical performance and the ability to learn, suggesting that brain plasticity in these areas is regulated by precise molecular mechanisms that vary from person to person.

Brain and mental representations in children: the study

In addition to the physical structure of the brain, mathematical difficulties arise from the way the brain processes information. A crucial aspect is the brain’s ability to create distinct representations for different operations. In children with good math skills, the brain activates clearly differentiated neural pathways when faced with addition versus subtraction. On the contrary, in children with mathematical learning difficulties, these neural representations appear “blurred” and overlapping: the brain struggles to distinguish at a neural level between the two operations. This lack of neural differentiation is found in key areas such as the intraparietal sulcus and the anterior temporal cortex, responsible for semantic memory.

Confusion at the neural level translates into strategies inefficient behaviour. While competent individuals quickly move from counting to direct retrieval of arithmetic facts from memory (automatically knowing that 3+4 equals 7), those who have difficulty continue to rely on laborious and slow procedureslike counting on your fingers, even for simple calculations. Furthermore, more complex operations overload working memory. A 2018 study published in Brain Structure and Function demonstrated that individuals with high mathematical abilities they recruit additional frontal areas to handle this extra cognitive load, while those who struggle fail to mobilize these neural resources effectively, leading to poorer performance.