People who speak English and those who speak Chinese apparently have a different way of seeing numbers.A study found that native English speakers do math differently than those whose first language was Chinese.They use different parts of the brain.Researchers used brain imaging to see which parts of the brain were active while people did simple addition problems using Arabic numerals.Both groups engaged a potion of the braincalled the inferior parietal cortex,which is involved in quantity representation and reading.But native English speakers also showed activity in a language-processing area of the brain,while native Chinese speakers used a brain region involved in the processing of visual information.Researchers aren’tsurewhy.They say cultural factors may play a part,such as math learning strategies and school training.