Abstract
Mathematical disability (MD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder affecting math abilities. Here, we propose a new explanatory account of MD, the procedural deficit hypothesis (PDH), which may further our understanding of the disorder. According to the PDH of MD, abnormalities of brain structures subserving the procedural memory system can lead to difficulties with math skills learned in this system, as well as problems with other functions that depend on these brain structures. This brain-based account is motivated in part by the high comorbidity between MD and language disorders such as dyslexia that may be explained by the PDH, and in part by the likelihood that learning automatized math skills should depend on procedural memory. Here, we first lay out the PDH of MD, and present specific predictions. We then examine the existing literature for each prediction, while pointing out weaknesses and gaps to be addressed by future research. Although we do not claim that the PDH is likely to fully explain MD, we do suggest that the hypothesis could have substantial explanatory power, and that it provides a useful theoretical framework that may advance our understanding of the disorder.
Highlights
Children show marked individual differences in their mathematical abilities (Geary, 1994)
The posited impairments of procedural and nonprocedural functions such as of grammar, reading, motor skills, and attention could result in comorbidities between Mathematical disability (MD) and disorders of these domains, such as specific language impairment (SLI), dyslexia, developmental coordination disorder (DCD), and ADHD, at least where these disorders are due to abnormalities of brain structures that underlie procedural memory (Ullman, 2004; Ullman and Pierpont, 2005)
Our theoretical and empirical understanding of the procedural deficit hypothesis (PDH) in language disorders promises to facilitate the investigation of the PDH in MD, even beyond the predictions laid out above
Summary
We propose a new explanatory account of MD, the procedural deficit hypothesis (PDH), which may further our understanding of the disorder. According to the PDH of MD, abnormalities of brain structures subserving the procedural memory system can lead to difficulties with math skills learned in this system, as well as problems with other functions that depend on these brain structures. This brain-based account is motivated in part by the high comorbidity between MD and language disorders such as dyslexia that may be explained by the PDH, and in part by the likelihood that learning automatized math skills should depend on procedural memory.
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