National Geographic News, Reporting Your World Daily

Monday, November 23, 2009

Photo: Mental Math Linked to Eye Motion, Brain Scans Show


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Ancient brain patterns involved in looking left and right were "recycled" to accommodate mathematics, a May 2009 study suggests. (Above, a child in Ireland concentrates on his studies in an undated photo.)

Using a computer program, scientists were able to predict when participants were mentally adding or subtracting based on their brain activity.

Photograph by Winfield Parks/NGS