Abstract
BackgroundVery little is known about attention deficits in developmental dyscalculia, hence, this study was designed to provide the missing information. We examined attention abilities of participants suffering from developmental dyscalculia using the attention networks test - interactions. This test was designed to examine three different attention networks--executive function, orienting and alerting--and the interactions between them.MethodsFourteen university students that were diagnosed as suffering from developmental dyscalculia--intelligence and reading abilities in the normal range and no indication of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder--and 14 matched controls were tested using the attention networks test - interactions. All participants were given preliminary tests to measure mathematical abilities, reading, attention and intelligence.ResultsThe results revealed deficits in the alerting network--a larger alerting effect--and in the executive function networks--a larger congruity effect in developmental dyscalculia participants. The interaction between the alerting and executive function networks was also modulated by group. In addition, developmental dyscalculia participants were slower to respond in the non-cued conditions.ConclusionsThese results imply specific attentional deficits in pure developmental dyscalculia. Namely, those with developmental dyscalculia seem to be deficient in the executive function and alertness networks. They suffer from difficulty in recruiting attention, in addition to the deficits in numerical processing.
Highlights
Very little is known about attention deficits in developmental dyscalculia, this study was designed to provide the missing information
The present study explores attentional deficits in developmental dyscalculia by studying developmental dyscalculia participants not suffering from ADHD
For every participant in each condition, mean reaction time (RT) was calculated. These mean RTs were subjected to a four-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with group as the only between-subject factor and congruity, alertness and cueing as withinsubject factors
Summary
Very little is known about attention deficits in developmental dyscalculia, this study was designed to provide the missing information. We examined attention abilities of participants suffering from developmental dyscalculia using the attention networks test - interactions. Developmental dyscalculia is generally defined as a disorder in mathematical abilities presumed to be due to a specific impairment in brain function [1,2]. The present study aims to examine attention in developmental dyscalculia by employing a recently designed test of three attentional networks and their interactions [3]. One line of thinking is that developmental dyscalculia is a domain-specific (pure) disorder that involves only deficits in basic numerical processing and is related to one biological marker (i.e., a deficit in the intraparietal sulcus) [e.g., see [19]]
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