Impact of Lack of Mathematics Education on Brain Development and Future Achievement

PNAS June 15, 2021 118 (24) e2013155118; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2013155118

Commentary

Formal education has a long-term impact on an individual's life.

However, our knowledge of the impact of lack of certain types of education, such as mathematics, is inadequate but highly relevant given the extant differences in educational curricula across countries and in access to education.

This study examined whether neurotransmitter concentrations in the brain of adolescents can classify whether a student lacks mathematics education or not.

Decreased gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) concentrations in the middle frontal gyrus (MFG) successfully classified whether adolescents studied mathematics and were negatively associated with frontal gyrus connectivity.

A second experiment revealed that the findings were not due to pre-existing differences before math education ended. Furthermore, we showed that MFG GABA not only classifies whether adolescents are studying mathematics, but also predicts changes in mathematical reasoning after about 19 months.

As these results highlight the role of GABA neurotransmission in synaptic and network plasticity, they extend previous studies in animals that have highlighted the effects of specific lack of education on MFGGABA concentrations and learning-dependent plasticity.

It highlights the reciprocal effects between brain development and education, and shows the negative impact of specific lack of education in adolescents on brain plasticity and cognitive function.