problem solving function in the brain

Executive processes (capacity to plan, organize, initiate, and self-monitor) Voluntary behavior Problem-solving Voluntary motor control Intelligence Language processing Language comprehension Self-control Emotional control

The frontal lobes are believed to be our behavior and emotional control centers, meaning that this area is activated when needing to control our behaviors to be socially appropriate and with controlling our emotional responses, especially in social situations.

Moreover, the frontal lobes are thought to be the home of our personalities. Alike to most lobes in the brain, there are two frontal lobes, located in the left and right hemispheres.

Each lobe controls the operations on opposite sides of the body: the left hemisphere controls the right side of the body and vice versa.

It is believed the left frontal lobe is the most dominant lobe and works predominantly with language, logical thinking, and analytical reasoning.

The right frontal lobe, on the other hand, is most associated with non-verbal abilities, creativity, imagination, and musical, and art skills.

The frontal lobe, like other structures of the brain, does not always work in isolation from each other. The frontal lobes work alongside other brain regions in order to control a variety of functions.

Substructures

The frontal lobe contains the motor cortex, which is involved in planning and coordinating movement; the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for higher-level cognitive functioning; and Broca’s area, which is essential for language production.

Prefrontal Cortex

The prefrontal cortex is primarily responsible for the ‘higher’ brain functions of the frontal lobes, including decision-making, problem-solving, intelligence, and emotion regulation.

This area has also been found to be associated with the social skills and personality of humans.

This idea is supported by the famous case study of Phineas Gage, whose personality changed after losing a part of his prefrontal cortex after an iron rod impaled his head.

The frontal cortex has also been shown to be activated when an experience becomes conscious. Different ideas and perceptions are bound together in this region, both of which are necessary for conscious experience. Concluding that this area may be especially important for consciousness.

Cognitive disorders that have been shown to be linked to this region are attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ( ADH ), Autism, bipolar disorder, depression, and schizophrenia.

The prefrontal cortex can be further divided into the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the orbitofrontal cortex.

Motor and Premotor Cortex

The motor cortex is critical for initiating motor movements, as well as coordinating motor movements, hence why it is called the motor cortex.

Each area of the motor cortex corresponds precisely with specific body parts. For instance, there is an area that controls the left and the right foot.

The premotor cortex is associated with planning and executing motor movements. Within this area, voluntary movement is rehearsed, distinguishing these movements from unconscious reactions.

The premotor cortex has also been shown to be important for imitation learning through the use of mirror neurons. These neurons essentially allow us to reflect the body language, facial expressions, and emotions of others.

Furthermore, the prefrontal cortex can support cognitive functions of a social kind, such as showing empathy.

As being able to imitate the social language and being empathetic as considered to be lacking in those with Autism, it could be suggested that they may have differences in their motor cortices or within their mirror neuron function.

Broca’s Area

Another region of the frontal lobes worth mentioning is Broca’s area . This region is located in the dominant hemisphere of the frontal lobes, which is the left side for around 97% of humans.

This region is associated with the production of speech and written language, as well as with the processing and comprehension of language.

The name is taken from the French scientist Paul Broca, whose work with language-impaired patients led him to conclude that we speak with our left brains.

Language differences in those with Autism may be correlated to differences in the structure and function of Broca’s area (Bauman & Kemper, 2005).

As the frontal lobes are situated at the front of the brain and are large in size, this makes them more susceptible to damage. This area is the most common for traumatic brain injuries, with damage to this region causing a variety of symptoms.

Below is a list of symptoms that may occur if an individual has experienced damage within their frontal lobe:

Damage to Broca’s area, in particular, has been shown to affect the ability to speak, understand language, and produce coherent sentences.

One of the most famous case studies associated with frontal lobe damage is the case of Phineas Gage . He was a railway construction worker who suffered an unfortunate accident when a metal rod impaled his brain in the frontal region.

Gage survived this accident but was said to have experienced some personality changes because of the trauma. Before the accident, Gage was described as a ‘well-balanced’ and smart, energetic person.

After his accident, he was described as being childlike in his intellectual capacities and had a loss of social inhibition (behaving in ways that were considered socially inappropriate).

This case study implies that the frontal lobes are essential to our personalities, intelligence, and social skills. As well as trauma to the head is a cause of damage to the frontal lobes, there are many other causes that can lead to damage.

For instance, a brain tumor, stroke, or infection can cause deficits in this lobe. Similarly, conditions such as cerebral palsy, Huntington’s disease, dementia, or other neurodegenerative diseases can lead to associated damage.

If someone is suspected to have frontal lobe damage, there are methods to diagnose this. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computerized tomography (CT) scans can detect some differences in the frontal lobes after suffering a stroke or infection, as well as be able to detect dementia.

Also, neuropsychological evaluations can be completed to test for areas such as speech comprehension, social behavior, memory, problem-solving, and impulse control, among others.

Some common test to establish frontal lobe damage are the Wisconsin Card Sorting task. Within this task, individuals will be shown cards of varying sorts, such as some having symbols, numbers, different shapes, and colors on them.

They will then be asked to sort the cards by a certain criterion, which will then change throughout the test. Those who have damage to a certain part of the frontal lobes may struggle with this task and will not adjust to new sorting criteria, they will stick with the original criteria (this is called perseveration).

Other tests worth noting as finger tapping tests, to test for motor skill ability, and the Token Test, which tests for language skills.

To be able to treat frontal lobe damage, occupational, speech, and physical therapy can be helpful for rehabilitating these lost or damaged skills.

Finally, a talking therapy called cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is common for working on regulating emotions and aiding impulse behaviors.

CBT may not fully treat physical damage to the frontal lobes, but it can help support those with impairments to cope and manage with their symptoms.

Research Studies

Bauman, M. L., & Kemper, T. L. (2005). Neuroanatomic observations of the brain in autism: a review and future directions. International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience, 23 (2-3), 183-187.

Catani, M., Dell’Acqua, F., Budisavljevic, S., Howells, H., Thiebaut de Schotten, M., Froudist-Walsh, S., … & Murphy, D. G. (2016). Frontal networks in adults with autism spectrum disorder. Brain, 139 (2), 616-630.

Eslinger, P. J., & Grattan, L. M. (1993). Frontal lobe and frontal-striatal substrates for different forms of human cognitive flexibility. Neuropsychologia, 31 (1), 17-28.

Kaufman, D. M., Geyer, H. L., & Milstein, M. J. (2017). Chapter 21-neurotransmitters and drug abuse. Kaufman’s Clinical Neurology for Psychiatrists . 8th ed. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 495-517.

Kolb, B., & Milner, B. (1981). Performance of complex arm and facial movements after focal brain lesions. Neuropsychologia, 19( 4), 491-503.

Mubarik, A., & Tohid, H. (2016). Frontal lobe alterations in schizophrenia: a review. Trends in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy , 38(4), 198-206.

Semmes, J., Weinstein, S., GHENT, G., Meyer, J. S., & Teuber, H. L. (1963). Correlates of impaired orientation in personal and extrapersonal space. Brain, 86 (4), 747-772.

Stuss, D. T., Ely, P., Hugenholtz, H., Richard, M. T., LaRochelle, S., Poirier, C. A., & Bell, I. (1985). Subtle neuropsychological deficits in patients with good recovery after closed head injury. Neurosurgery, 17 (1), 41-47.

Vega, J. (2020, October 14). An Overview of Frontal Lobe Damage. Very Well Health. https://www.verywellhealth.com/the-brains-frontal-lobe-3146196

Villines, Z. (2017, June 29). What does the frontal lobe do? Medical News Today. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318139

Walker, A. E., & Blumer, D. (1975). The localization of sex in the brain. In Cerebral localization (pp. 184-199). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.

Brain's Problem-solving Function At Work When We Daydream

A new University of British Columbia study finds that our brains are much more active when we daydream than previously thought.

The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , finds that activity in numerous brain regions increases when our minds wander. It also finds that brain areas associated with complex problem-solving – previously thought to go dormant when we daydream – are in fact highly active during these episodes.

"Mind wandering is typically associated with negative things like laziness or inattentiveness," says lead author, Prof. Kalina Christoff, UBC Dept. of Psychology. "But this study shows our brains are very active when we daydream – much more active than when we focus on routine tasks."

For the study, subjects were placed inside an fMRI scanner, where they performed the simple routine task of pushing a button when numbers appear on a screen. The researchers tracked subjects' attentiveness moment-to-moment through brain scans, subjective reports from subjects and by tracking their performance on the task.

The findings suggest that daydreaming – which can occupy as much as one third of our waking lives – is an important cognitive state where we may unconsciously turn our attention from immediate tasks to sort through important problems in our lives.

Until now, the brain's "default network" – which is linked to easy, routine mental activity and includes the medial prefrontal cortex (PFC), the posterior cingulate cortex and the temporoparietal junction – was the only part of the brain thought to be active when our minds wander.

However, the study finds that the brain's "executive network" – associated with high-level, complex problem-solving and including the lateral PFC and the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex – also becomes activated when we daydream.

"This is a surprising finding, that these two brain networks are activated in parallel," says Christoff. "Until now, scientists have thought they operated on an either-or basis – when one was activated, the other was thought to be dormant." The less subjects were aware that their mind was wandering, the more both networks were activated.

The quantity and quality of brain activity suggests that people struggling to solve complicated problems might be better off switching to a simpler task and letting their mind wander.

"When you daydream, you may not be achieving your immediate goal – say reading a book or paying attention in class – but your mind may be taking that time to address more important questions in your life, such as advancing your career or personal relationships," says Christoff.

The research team included members who are now at Stanford University and University of California, Santa Barbara.

Story Source:

Materials provided by University of British Columbia . Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference :

Kalina Christoff, Alan M. Gordon, Jonathan Smallwood, Rachelle Smith, and Jonathan W. Schooler. Experience sampling during fMRI reveals default network and executive system contributions to mind wandering . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , 2009; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0900234106

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How Lack of Sleep Impacts Cognitive Performance and Focus

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Dr. Vyas is a pediatrician and founder of Sleepless in NOLA. She specializes in helping parents establish healthy sleep habits for children.

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Sleep is an important time for the brain. Levels of brain activity change in each stage of sleep — including both rapid eye movement (REM) and non-REM (NREM) sleep — and evidence increasingly suggests that sleep enhances most types of cognitive function.

Getting enough hours of high-quality sleep fosters attention and concentration, which are a prerequisite for most learning. Sleep also supports numerous other aspects of thinking including memory, problem-solving, creativity, emotional processing, and judgment.

For people with sleep deprivation , insomnia, sleep apnea, or other conditions that prevent getting adequate rest, short-term daytime cognitive impairment is common. In addition, multiple studies have linked poor sleep with longer-term cognitive decline, including the development of dementia and Alzheimer’s dementia.

Thankfully, there is evidence that improving sleep can boost both short- and long-term cognitive performance. Better sleep can promote sharper thinking and may reduce the likelihood of age-related cognitive decline.

What Happens to the Brain During Sleep?

During a typical night of sleep, an individual goes through four to six sleep cycles that range from 70 to 120 minutes in duration. Both the brain and body experience distinct changes during these cycles that correspond to individual stages of sleep.

During NREM stages, brain activity slows overall, but certain pulses of brain waves remain. This pattern of brain waves is most pronounced in stage 3 NREM sleep, which is also known as slow-wave sleep or deep sleep.

In contrast, REM sleep is marked by a sizable uptick in brain activity. In many ways, the brain’s activity during REM sleep is similar to being awake. Not surprisingly, REM sleep is known to produce more vivid dreams.

It’s normal to cycle through both NREM and REM stages, with REM sleep being more concentrated in the second half of the night. During each part of this process, different chemicals in the brain become activated or deactivated to coordinate rest and recovery.

Experts still aren’t exactly certain why sleep proceeds in this pattern, but it is believed to facilitate mental recovery, which can unlock cognitive benefits related to attention, thinking, and memory.

How Poor Sleep Affects the Brain

Without sleep, the brain struggles to function properly. Because they don’t have time to recuperate, neurons in the brain become overworked and less capable of optimal performance in various types of thinking.

Poor sleep can take many forms, including short sleep duration or fragmented sleep. Both insufficient and interrupted sleep make it difficult to progress through sleep cycles in a normal, healthy way, which makes it more difficult to think straight and process information after a poor night of sleep

The short-term detriments of poor sleep on the brain and cognition can be the result of simply pulling an all-nighter, while those with chronic sleep problems may see a continuous negative effect on day-to-day tasks. Over the long-term, however, poor sleep may put someone at a higher risk of cognitive decline and dementia.

Graphic summarizing the short-term impacts of poor sleep compared to the long-term risk of cognitive decline and dementia.

What Are the Short-Term Impacts of Poor Sleep on Cognition?

The potential short-term impacts of sleep on cognitive performance are wide-ranging.

Most people are familiar with the daytime effects that result from a night of poor sleep, such as drowsiness and fatigue. In response to excessive fatigue, a person may inadvertently nod off for a few seconds, which is known as a microsleep .

Daytime sleepiness resulting from a night of disrupted sleep can cause serious cognitive impairments. Poor sleep reduces a person’s attention, as well as their learning and processing. A lack of sleep has also been found to induce effects that are similar to being drunk Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. View Source , which slows down thinking and reaction time .

Research indicates that poor sleep quality has specific impacts on various facets of mental function Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. View Source . Insufficient or disrupted sleep can cause harm to certain parts of the brain responsible for various types of cognition.

Studies of the selective impact of sleep on cognition do not always generate consistent results. This may be the result of many variables, including differences in participants, how their sleep is changed in the research, or how cognitive effects are measured. However, there is some scientific consensus on the ways poor sleep may impair intellectual performance.

Poor sleep diminishes placekeeping Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. View Source , which includes the ability to carry out instructions. Motor skills, keeping rhythm, and even some types of speech can decline without proper sleep.

Some studies have found lack of sleep to hinder cognitive flexibility, reducing the ability to adapt and thrive in uncertain or changing circumstances. A major reason this occurs is rigid thinking and “feedback blunting,” Trusted Source Oxford Academic Journals (OUP) OUP publishes the highest quality journals and delivers this research to the widest possible audience. View Source in which the capacity to learn and improve on-the-fly is diminished.

Poor sleep can also alter how emotional information is understood Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. View Source . When learning something new, analyzing a problem, or making a decision, recognizing the emotional context is often important. However, insufficient sleep — which frequently affects mood — impedes the ability to properly process the emotional component of information.

In some cases, this dysregulated emotional response impairs judgment. People who do not get sufficient sleep are more likely to make risky choices Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. View Source and may focus on a potential reward rather than downsides. It can be difficult to learn from these mistakes, since the normal method of processing and consolidating emotional memory is compromised due to lack of sleep.

Existing research strongly supports the notion that not sleeping makes it harder to think straight. Without quality sleep, people are more likely to make errors, fail to absorb new information, suffer deficits in memory, or have impaired decision-making.

As a result, poor sleep can harm intellectual performance, academic achievement, creative pursuits, and productivity at work. The cognitive impacts of poor sleep can also create health risks, including life-threatening dangers from drowsy driving or operating heavy machinery without adequate sleep.

What Are the Long-Term Impacts of Poor Sleep on Cognition?

Some cognitive effects of poor sleep can be felt immediately, but mounting evidence shows that sleep influences the long-term risks of memory issues, cognitive decline and dementia.

Both NREM and REM sleep appear to be important for broader memory consolidation Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. View Source , which helps reinforce information in the brain so that it can be recalled when needed. For example, NREM sleep has been linked with formation of declarative memory, which includes things like basic facts or statistics, and REM sleep is believed to boost procedural memory such as remembering a sequence of steps.

Poor sleep impairs memory consolidation by disrupting the normal process that draws on both NREM and REM sleep for building and retaining memories, which is closely linked to both NREM and REM sleep. Studies have even found that people who are sleep deprived are at risk of forming false memories Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. View Source . Fragmented sleep has also been found to negatively affect memory even if a person gets adequate sleep.

An analysis of more than 25 observational studies found a considerably higher risk of cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. View Source in people with sleep problems. In fact, that analysis estimated that as many as 15% of cases of Alzheimer’s disease are attributable to poor sleep.

Research shows that sleep helps the brain conduct important housekeeping, such as clearing out potentially dangerous substances like beta amyloid proteins. In Alzheimer’s disease, beta amyloid forms in clusters, called plaques, that worsen cognitive function. Studies have found that even one night of sleep deprivation can increase the amount of beta amyloid in the brain Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. View Source .

This is one possible explanation for why insufficient sleep and sleep fragmentation have been associated with cognitive decline and dementia. Furthermore, in people already diagnosed with dementia, poor sleep has been linked to a worse disease prognosis.

How Does Poor Sleep Affect Creativity and Other Cognitive Processes?

Creativity is another aspect of cognition that is harmed by sleeping problems. Connecting loosely associated ideas is a hallmark of creativity, and this ability is strengthened by good sleep. NREM sleep provides an opportunity for information to be restructured and reorganized Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. View Source in the brain, while new ideas and links between thoughts often emerge during REM sleep Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. View Source . These processes enable insight, a core element of innovation and creative problem-solving.

Limited or restless sleep can also indirectly affect cognition because of other problems that they cause. For example, migraine sufferers are more likely to have morning headache attacks Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. View Source when they do not get enough sleep, and lack of sleep can increase the risk of infections Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. View Source like the common cold. Sleep deprivation may worsen symptoms of mental health conditions like anxiety and depression. These and numerous other physical and mental health issues are shaped by sleep quality, and may affect a person’s attention and concentration.

Are the Impacts of Poor Sleep on Thinking the Same For Everyone?

Not everyone is affected by poor sleep in the same way. Studies have found that some individuals may be more susceptible to cognitive impairment from sleep deprivation, and this may be influenced by genetics.

Research has discovered that adults are better at overcoming the effects of sleep deprivation than younger people. Teens are considered to be especially high-risk for detrimental effects of poor sleep on thinking, decision-making, and academic performance because of the ongoing brain development occurring during teen years .

Some studies have also found that women are more adept at coping with the effects of sleep deprivation than men, although it is not yet clear if this is related to biological factors, social and cultural influences, or a combination of both.

Can Sleep Disorders Affect Cognition?

Sleep disorders frequently involve insufficient or fragmented sleep, so it comes as little surprise that they can be linked to cognitive impairment.

Insomnia, which can involve problems with both falling asleep and staying asleep through the night, has been connected to both short- and long-term cognitive issues.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is among the most common sleep disorders. It occurs when the airway gets blocked, which then leads to lapses in breathing during sleep and reduced oxygen in the blood.

OSA has been associated with daytime sleepiness as well as notable cognitive problems related to attention, thinking, memory, and communication. Studies have also found that people with sleep apnea have a higher risk of developing dementia .

Does Too Much Sleep Affect Cognition?

Many studies examining the effects of sleep on thinking have found an excess of sleep can also be problematic for brain health.. In many cases, research has discovered that both too little and too much sleep Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. View Source are associated with cognitive decline.

The explanation for this association remains unclear. It is not known if excess sleep is caused by a coexisting health condition that may also predispose someone to cognitive problems. Overall, these research findings are an important reminder that recommendations for healthy sleep involve both a minimum and a maximum duration of sleep.

Will Improving Sleep Benefit Cognition?

For people with sleeping problems, improving sleep offers a practical way to enhance cognitive performance. Getting the recommended amount of uninterrupted sleep can help the brain recuperate and avoid many of the negative consequences of poor sleep on diverse aspects of thinking.

Researchers and public health experts are increasingly viewing good sleep as a potential form of prevention against dementia and Alzheimer’s disease Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. View Source . Although more studies are needed to conclusively determine sleep’s role in preventing cognitive decline, early research suggests that taking steps to improve sleep may reduce the longer-term likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

Tips To Improve Sleep and Cognitive Performance

Anyone who feels that they are experiencing cognitive impairment or excessive daytime sleepiness should first speak with their doctor. A physician can help identify or rule out any other conditions, including sleep disorders, that may be causing these symptoms. They can also discuss strategies to get better sleep.

Many approaches to improving sleep start with healthy sleep hygiene . By optimizing your bedroom environment and everyday habits and routines, you can eliminate many common barriers to sleep. Setting a regular bedtime and sleep schedule, avoiding alcohol and caffeine in the evening, and minimizing electronics in the bedroom are a few examples of sleep hygiene tips that can make it easier to rest well each night.

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Tdcs anodal stimulation of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex improves creative performance in real-world problem solving.

1. Introduction

2. materials and methods, 2.1. participants, 2.2. materials, 2.2.1. tdcs, 2.2.2. design tasks, 2.2.3. tdcs adverse effects questionnaire, 2.3. experimental procedure, 2.4. measures, 2.4.1. creativity scoring, 2.4.2. statistical analysis, 3.1. results of the basic information, 3.2. results of the tdcs adverse effects questionnaire, 3.3. creativity scoring, 4. discussion, 4.1. relationship between the influence of the right dlpfc on creativity, 4.2. possibility of influencing real-world creativity performance through tdcs stimulation, 4.3. contributions and limitations, 5. conclusions, author contributions, institutional review board statement, informed consent statement, data availability statement, conflicts of interest.

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Guo, J.; Luo, J.; An, Y.; Xia, T. tDCS Anodal Stimulation of the Right Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex Improves Creative Performance in Real-World Problem Solving. Brain Sci. 2023 , 13 , 449. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci13030449

Guo J, Luo J, An Y, Xia T. tDCS Anodal Stimulation of the Right Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex Improves Creative Performance in Real-World Problem Solving. Brain Sciences . 2023; 13(3):449. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci13030449

Guo, Jiayue, Jiani Luo, Yi An, and Tiansheng Xia. 2023. "tDCS Anodal Stimulation of the Right Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex Improves Creative Performance in Real-World Problem Solving" Brain Sciences 13, no. 3: 449. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci13030449

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Math problem solving and brain activity

By Murray Bourne , 02 Jul 2008

I believe that solving math problems is a very important issue. Mathematics is more than just "doing algebra". If we know how to solve a real-world problems, then we'll have a powerful and important ability, and best of all we'll see why we are doing all this math.

Let's say you have a math problem that is in sentence form. Most people struggle with word problems and one reason is that math word problem solving uses many parts of the brain.

Here are some tips on how to attack math problem solving — and I have included an indication of what goes on in the brain during each step. Here is a diagram of the brain so you can follow along. The front of the brain is on the right of the diagram.

a. Read over the whole problem: Understand the whole question first and take special note of the what?, when?, which?, how many? parts of the question, usually at the end.

The areas of the brain that you use for this portion of the math problem are the very back of the brain (your occipital lobe) where you process what you see. You also use the language areas of your brain (a large portion of the left hemisphere, surrounding your left ear).

b. Write down or draw what the question tells you: By listing the information in the question, it helps you to sift through what you already know and it reminds you of the math that might be involved. Once again your left brain is involved in the writing part, in particular Broca's Area and Wernecke's Area, which are above your left ear.

If there is any geometry involved (or graphs, or moving objects, or any other visual element) in the question, draw the situation . For drawing, you use the areas towards the rear top of your brain (the parietal lobes), the area at the top of your head (the sensorimotor region) and the back of your brain (vision).

c. What do they want? Is the quesion asking for a speed, or a time, or a length, or a position, or a cost? Many students answer a word problem by giving an answer that is not what the question actually asked. In the real world, will your boss be impressed if you give a time answer when they actually asked for a cost?

At this point, it is good to estimate the answer and to write down that estimate for checking later. Estimation involves non-language areas of the brain (while exact arithmetic involves language areas).

So far in our math problem solving, we have a good idea what the question has told us and we know what we need to find. We also have an approximation for our answer.

d. Identify the math required: Now you need to make a decision about the math. Will it involve algebra? Or maybe trigonometry? Or logarithms? Maybe it will involve differentiation or perhaps integration? This is where you see the need to actually learn the formulas in each section of math that you study, and not rely 100% on formula sheets. The best way to recognize the math that you need to use, is to know that math in the first place.

This step uses the higher-order thinking areas at the front of the brain (the frontal lobes) and the memory areas of the brain (which tend to be all over).

e. Do the math: Now we need to churn through the algebra (or whatever) to get our answer. Assign variables to the known and unknown quantities in the question. In the brain, this step involves the frontal lobes and the area behind and above the ears.

Your answer must include units (if there are units in the question).

f. Check, check and check: Firstly, check if your answer is close to your estimate. If not, it's back to the drawing board.

Next, read over the question again and check that you have actually found what the question was asking for.

Finally, check all the algebra and arithmetic steps.

Phew! We are done.

Now don't be scared about all the brain activity involved in math problem solving. It's like most human abilities — the more you do it, the easier it becomes and the brain can begin to relax.

George Polya contributed greatly to our understanding of how to solve math word problems. You can see a summary of his approach from his 1957 book "How to Solve It" at G. Polya: How to Solve It .

See the 20 Comments below.

Posted in Learning mathematics category - 02 Jul 2008 [ Permalink ]

20 Comments on “Math problem solving and brain activity”

its a great article thank u for this full explanation about that programme ,, for me the word questions r not hard ,, i like to solve them ,, but for alot of sudents its a problem ,, what u told us will help in math and also in physics cause every thing in physics talks about the real life

its a very very informative and good article which has not only helped me to analyse my ways of doing word problems but will also help me to tell it to the tsudents as a teacher..

it's an honour for everything you have done for us. i also guess to know maths means to know how to to explain it' so can i get the better ways of teaching maths. and if ever possible, i would also like you to give us some problems as to train ourselves and try to find our self confidence

Thanks for the post, Zac.

Do women process math problems differently to men, or is that just a male chauvinist rumor?

i have very much passion about math and physics. but i can not get any time to practice it coz of my academic studies and economic problem. i like this web very much. i always have the love and respect to the scientists and the person who are working for human being.

i like it! when i read this article i have a new ideas know in teaching math in the classroom. thank you so much...

Steph: It may be true that women have an advantage when it comes to doing math problems. Since women have a larger corpus callosum (the tissue that connects the left and right sides of the brain) than men, they have more pathways between the left and right hemispheres. So all this activity between different parts of the brain is actually less effort for women.

As a man, I'm jealous.

However, this issue of male and female brain differences is disputed. See Characterization of sexual dimorphism in the human corpus callosum (full article) and Sex Differences in the Human Corpus Callosum: Myth or Reality? (abstract only).

Thankyou verymuch

Great article and very helpful.

I always thought girls were not supposed to be able to do math as well as boys. Certainly there are very few girls in higher math and in fields like engineering.

And you're saying they actually have an advantage? Wow.

It is good. It helped me to solve mathematical problems with more patience.

I am a math teacher just starting to explore how and where the brain processes math information. This article illustrates that nearly EVERY part of the brain is utilized in a word problem. As a teacher, it is my job to break down a problem so students can comprehend each part, this information is extremely helpful, especially if a student has a specific learning difficulty. I will be able to better scaffold their assignments. Thank you!!

Hi Nancy and thanks for your comment.

Good on you for exploring this issue. I wish more math teachers would do so and then rather than turning their students off with mindless "drill and kill", they may be more aware of what actually triggers - and maintains - interest in a math class.

HI and thnx for this website it is an honour since i flunk math to get to know this it really helps so thnx eyy and i agree with ladies being better in math srry i dont use long words:p

good article. pls tell me which part of brain to be stimulated (left or right) for solving maths

Hi S. Mathematical thinking occurs in most parts of the brain. This video may give you some insight: Right brain math .

How does this affect students who have disabilities, like severe learning disabilities, intellectual disailbities, etc.? Are there studies to show how their brain functioning can be stimulated or helped to increase their problem solving skills? It appears they are such concrete thinkers that they cannot seem to get to the abstract and stick with the algorithm that is comfortable to them for all problems and don't comprehend past that thought?

This affects those with learning difficulties on many levels - attention, higher-order thinking, processing words and numbers, connecting back to earlier parts of the problem, and so on. There has been quite a bit of research on this. This Google search shows up a lot of interesting articles.

Interesting article. I was curious about the relationship between the area of the brain that does math and my headaches. I have Multiple Sclerosis and every time I do algebra I feel like my head is going to explode. The lesions are in the occipital and parietal lobes. Now I know I am not being a big baby when it comes to algebra.

Thanks for sharing, Kathleen. All the best with it!

I like it helps .me.on hard word problems☺☺

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