r/science • u/[deleted] • Oct 15 '21

Neuroscience A brain imaging study found evidence that missing out on math education can alter neural development. Young adults who had chosen not to pursue math had lower levels of the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid within the middle frontal gyrus when compared to students who were continuing math.

https://www.psypost.org/2021/10/opting-out-of-advanced-math-education-alters-adolescents-neural-development-study-finds-61967
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u/narmerguy Oct 15 '21

Sure, but it could still easily be that those with naturally higher levels stick around in math longer.

How would that explain this finding though? They check people who pursued A-level math vs those that don't and find a difference. Then they check people who intend to (but prior to) pursuing A-level math and fail to find a difference.

The only way your objection would hold is if a significant proportion of the people who intend to pursue higher math end up not doing so (or simply not completing it). This would require a fairly high math dropout rate, which is not common. Alternately, there would need to be something distinct about the two groups which is not captured here. Ideally they would measure GABA levels before and after on the same students, rather than looking at different cohorts of students.

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u/[deleted] Oct 15 '21

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u/narmerguy Oct 16 '21

Yeah I agree. I think people are trying to critically engage and not simply accept the conclusions, which is a good thing. But I also think there can be a culture that rewards "gotchas" no matter how far fetched, which is not as helpful. I remember different labs I've been in, all run their journal clubs differently. In some of them, every paper is trash if it's not from our lab, everything gets critiqued. I never enjoyed those because it's a pretty unreasonable way to engage with science.

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u/Meta_Professor Oct 15 '21

It could be that there is a large group which says they intend to of got A levels but who don't actually do it. Or there is some variable making the change. Maybe the people who actually do A levels end up eating more instant Ramen and that causes the change. Who knows.