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numeracy

This shows a brain, bottle caps, and numbers.

·September 9, 2025·6 min read

Left or Right? Brain’s Split Determines How We Map Numbers

A study in newborn chicks shows that brain lateralisation is essential for the development of a left-to-right mental number line. Chicks with strongly lateralised brains consistently mapped numbers from left to right, while weakly lateralised chicks did not display this pattern.

Featured Neuroscience

·December 4, 2024·5 min read

How Evolution Shaped the Brain’s Understanding of Numbers

Human number cognition may be rooted in the putamen, a deep brain structure traditionally associated with movement rather than abstract thought. Neurosurgery patients demonstrated activity in this area while processing numbers as symbols, words, and concepts, suggesting that numerical understanding emerged early in evolution.

Autism Featured Neuroscience

·October 25, 2024·8 min read

Autistic Children’s Fascination with Letters Offers Learning Clues

A recent study highlights that many autistic children show an intense interest in letters and numbers, which may play a distinct role in their language development. By analyzing clinical records and interviewing parents, researchers found that 37% of autistic children had a strong interest in letters, in contrast to just 3% of non-autistic peers. This interest often emerges around 30 months, aligning with typical development timelines but diverging in how it's applied.

Featured Neuroscience

·April 16, 2024·4 min read

Rats Can Count: Study Unveils Numerical Sense in Rodents

Summary: Researchers made a groundbreaking discovery confirming that rats possess a distinct number sense. Their study used advanced brain manipulation...

This shows a person surrounded by numbers.

Featured Neuroscience

·October 3, 2023·6 min read

Perception Puzzles: Our Brain’s Unique Counting Methods

A new study reveals intriguing insights into how our brains perceive different quantities of objects. When faced with a small number of items (four or fewer), our brains can quickly and accurately determine the count, a phenomenon known as "subitizing." Conversely, with five or more items, our estimation becomes increasingly imprecise and time-consuming.

Featured Neuroscience

·January 31, 2023·3 min read

Can a Computer Teach Babies to Count?

Study offers promising insight into how technology can aid in early math skills and can be used to close gaps in early childhood learning.

This shows a calculus paper and calculator

Featured Neuroscience

·August 27, 2022·5 min read

Counting From Left to Right Feels ‘Natural’, but New Research Shows Our Brains Count Faster From Bottom to Top

People actually process numbers faster when they are displayed vertically, with the smaller number at the bottom and larger number at the top.

$This shows math work$

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·February 7, 2020·2 min read

Brain training does not improve early number skills

Brain training exercises do not help boost early math learning. However, core thinking skills, including memory and attention, are key skills that support early math learning.

This shows the researcher and a dog next to an fMRI machine

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·December 18, 2019·4 min read

Dogs process numerical quantities in similar brain region as humans

fMRI neuroimaging reveals the parietotemporal cortex of dogs responds to numeric concepts. The study provides evidence that numerosity is a shared evolutionary neural mechanism.

This shows a toddler with four dolls in front of her

Featured Neuroscience

·October 25, 2019·3 min read

Babies understand counting years earlier than believed

Counting directs an infant's attention to numerical aspects of their environment, proving they recognize counting as numerically relevant years before acquiring the meaning of number words.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·January 19, 2017·4 min read

What Humans and Primates Both Know When It Comes to Numbers

A new study reports primates have the ability to distinguish between small and large quantities of objects, regardless of the surface area on which the objects are placed.