Implications of neural integration of math and spatial experiences for math ability and math anxiety

Mathematical and spatial abilities are positively related at both the behavioral and neural levels. Much of the evidence illuminating this relationship comes from classic laboratory-based experimental methods focused on cognitive performance despite most individuals also experiencing math and space in other contexts, such as in conversations or lectures. To broaden our understanding of math-space integration in these more commonplace situations, we used an auditory memory-encoding task with stimuli whose content evoked a range of educational and everyday settings related to math or spatial thinking. We used a multivariate approach to directly assess the extent of neural similarity between activity patterns elicited by these math and spatial stimuli. Results from whole-brain searchlight analysis revealed a highly specific positive relation between math and spatial activity patterns in bilateral anterior hippocampi. Examining individual variation in math-space similarity, we found that greater math-space similarity in bilateral anterior hippocampi was associated with poorer math skills and higher anxiety about math. Integration of neural responses to mathematical and spatial content may not always portend positive outcomes. We suggest that episodic simulation of quotidian contexts may link everyday experiences with math and spatial thinking-and the strength of this link is predictive of math in a manner that diverges from math-space associations derived from more lab-based tasks. On a methodological level, this work points to the value of considering a wider range of experimental paradigms, and of the value of combining multivariate fMRI analysis with behavioral data to better contextualize interpretations of brain data.