You’ll need to use the global keyword inside your function.
http://php.net/manual/en/language.variables.scope.php
EDIT (embarrassed I overlooked this, thanks to the commenters)
…and store the result somewhere
$var="1";
function() {
global $var;
$var += 1; //are you sure you want to both change the value of $var
return $var; //and return the value?
}