Fear of maths evokes pain response, study finds

Fear of maths can activate regions of the brain linked with the experience of physical pain, a study has found.

The higher a person’s anxiety over a maths task, the more it increases activity in regions of their brain associated with visceral threat detection, and often the experience of pain itself, according to researchers Ian Lyons and Sian Beilock from the University of Chicago, writing in the journal Plos One.

The authors say previous research has shown that other forms of psychological stress, such as social rejection or a traumatic break-up, can also elicit feelings of physical pain.