We think of math anxiety as causing an emotional “static” in the brain. It might be best to begin by thinking about the brain (entirely hypothetically) as consisting of three parts:

• an input area
• a memory bank
• some kind of understanding and recall pathways connecting the two.

If the system is working well, upon looking at a math problem, the math-healthy person will: call up from memory the right formula and the right approach. He or she will move back and forth effortlessly along the recall and understanding pathways of the brain until the problem is solved or the new mathematical idea is understood.

If stuck, he or she can return to the memory bank or get some more information from the problem, draw a diagram or put some hypothetical numbers into the problem to make it more concrete. But whatever he or she chooses to do, the learner will be busy moving along the pathways of the brain, activating memory, using analytical skills, learning, and doing.

Now, suppose the learner’s memory bank is intact and understanding and recall skills are well developed, but every time he or she looks at some new mathematical materials, negative emotions come into play.

There is panic. “This is just the kind of problem I can never solve.”

Tension develops that comes from time pressure and uncertainty, as well as from lack of confidence. At this point, the understanding and recall pathways will become cluttered by emotions.
This is what we mean by “static.”

There is an inability to think, but not because the hardware is inadequate. The input, memory, and understanding and recall systems are as good as they were before.
But, because the pathways have been blocked, the student cannot remember.

• Soon the pencil stops moving; the brain seems to stop functioning altogether.
• The student thinks, “I cannot work because I cannot think.”
• In fact, it is just the reverse. The student cannot think because she or he has stopped working.