Neural representations of transitive relations predict current and future math calculation skills in children

A large body of evidence suggests that math learning in children is built upon innate mechanisms for representing numerical quantities in the intraparietal sulcus (IPS). Learning math, however, is about more than processing quantitative information. It is also about understanding relations between quantities and making inferences based on these relations. Consistent with this idea, recent behavioral studies suggest that the ability to process transitive relations (A > B, B > C, therefore A > C) may contribute to math skills in children. Here we used fMRI coupled with a longitudinal design to determine whether the neural processing of transitive relations in children could predict their current and future math skills. At baseline (T₁), children (n = 31) processed transitive relations in an MRI scanner. Math skills were measured at T₁ and again 1.5 years later (T₂). Using a machine learning approach with cross-validation, we found that activity associated with the representation of transitive relations in the IPS predicted math calculation skills at both T₁ and T₂. Our study highlights the potential of neurobiological measures of transitive reasoning for forecasting math skills in children, providing additional evidence for a link between this type of reasoning and math learning.