In acknowledging the many benefits of abacus training, it is important to first understand how the brain functions. The role of the brain, as we know, is to gather and process information and then trigger a response telling the body what to do. It consists of five major parts, of which the cerebrum is the largest. It is the cerebrum that is largely responsible for the things we do, see, think, feel, and so forth.

The cerebrum is made up of two main hemispheres, which are commonly referred to as the left brain and the right brain. Studies have shown that most of us have a dominant brain which we rely on extensively for day-to-day functioning. The left brain is responsible for the logical and systematic processing of information and is associated with reasoning, analysing, speech, and solving math problems. The right brain, on the other hand, is concerned with holistic functions such as figuring colours, geometrical shapes, music, and art and crafts.

Dr. Roger Sperry of the California Institute of Technology won a Nobel Prize for his work on the functions of the brain’s hemispheres.

The integral point to note is that the dual-hand abacus method (which CMA teaches) helps to develop both the left and right brains.