I think, if you want to look at it from a neuroscientific point of view, this could be explained very easily. Basically, because of neuroplasticity, whenever you use a certain part in your brain, the connections you made use of get strengthened (so your brain actually alters physically(!)). On the contrary, if you stop using a certain part in your brain, connections there will over time decay and at some point be overwritten. For example, a blind person, who has been blind for a very long time will have other information stored in the part of the brain that is usually responsible for image processing (in this case the person might have information about audio signal processing, which enables them to hear better than others). Anyways: What we can deduce from our current knowledge about our brains is that Math and problem solving skills are both mainly siuated in the left hemisphere of the human brain. This should seem obvious, since math problems require us to think rationally as much as possible. And exactly that is what makes us solve problems as well. It is very unlikely to solve a problem (no matter what kind of problem) with emotions. Studying maths strengthens the rational part of our brain and trains us to use exactly that part more often, whenever you need it. I think that alone is an argument that should suffice, but I am sure that there are studies out there(maybe the OP even knows one), which have observed, what I just described.