title: Cognitive and brain systems underlying early mathematical development.
abstract: We review current debate regarding the core competencies that support early mathematics learning, focusing on the contributions of the inherent system for representing approximate magnitudes, and domain-general systems that facilitate learning across academic domains. The latter include the executive control system that enables explicit processing of quantitative symbols, such as Arabic numerals, and the logical problem-solving abilities (intelligence) that facilitate learning the relations among numerals. The neural systems that underlie these abilities, as related to mathematical learning, are also discussed, albeit briefly. We place the contributions of inherent quantitative abilities and domain-general mechanisms in an evolutionary context and provide some discussion as to how they interact during the learning of evolutionarily novel mathematics.
authors.affiliation: University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, United States. Electronic address: GearyD@Missouri.edu.
authors.forename: D C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Geary
authors.affiliation: University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, United States.
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Moore
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008433:Mathematics; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011340:Problem Solving / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Approximate number system; Executive functions; Intelligence; Mathematics achievement; Mathematics learning; Object tracking system