Experiencing math anxiety may be like the experience of physical pain

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For many of us, anxiety about math performance isn't so much a question of whether it will happen, but at what level of math it kicks in (in my case, Calculus III, sophomore year in college). But, as the authors of a new paper on math anxiety point out, most forms of higher math didn't even exist until a few centuries ago. It's very unlikely that this sort of anxiety has evolved a specialized brain structure dedicated to it. So, the researchers used a combination of math quizzes and functional MRI scans to identify the areas of the brain associated with the fear of math.

It turned out to be one that was previously associated with the experience of physical pain. And it doesn't appear to be the first time that area has been borrowed for other purposes by evolution: it also helps register the discomfort of social rejection.

The test the authors devised was pretty ingenious. First, they took their subjects (28 total) and divided them based on their level of distaste for math, using a series of questions termed the Short Math Anxiety Rating-Scale, or SMARS. Then, they put them in the MRI tubes and exposed them to a series of quizzes, some math focused, others targeting verbal skills. To trigger anxiety, a small warning indicator changed color based on the nature of the next test: a yellow circle indicated math was on its way, while a blue square indicated verbal questions would follow.

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