Knowledge Presentation Correlates With Mathematical Anxiety: Neural Evidence From Electroencephalography

Recent studies establish associations between mathematical knowledge representation and mathematical anxiety; however, the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying this relationship remain unclear. On the basis of the three-component mathematics theory, this study investigates the neural correlates of mathematical anxiety across three representations through electroencephalography (EEG). In the study, 62 college students were tested on three types of mathematical problem-solving tasks (symbolic, verbal, and situational), whereas their EEG signals were recorded during task. Results showed that (1) symbolic cues (180-250 ms) elicited enhanced N200 amplitudes compared to verbal and situational cues. (2) In both priming (400-800 ms after cues) and the problem-solving phase (3500-8000 ms after problem presented), symbolic conditions triggered sustained activation enhancement. (3) The frequency domain analysis revealed that the mean power at 43-45 Hz was strongest under the symbolic condition during priming phase. (4) Time-frequency analyses further demonstrated anxiety-modulated oscillatory patterns: symbolic processing induced high-β synchronization (27-31 Hz) during priming phase (800-950 ms) and 24-27 Hz synchronization during problem-solving phase (220-580 ms), indicating anticipatory cognitive overload. (5) These EEG metrics difference among conditions exhibited significant correlations with mathematical anxiety scores. These findings support a symbolic processing vulnerability hypothesis, revealing that symbolic representation most significantly amplifies mathematical anxiety by impairing neural efficiency during mathematical processing.