Abstract
BackgroundDevelopmental dyscalculia (DD) is a specific learning disability affecting the acquisition of mathematical skills in children with otherwise normal general intelligence. The goal of the present study was to examine cerebral mechanisms underlying DD.MethodsEighteen children with DD aged 11.2 ± 1.3 years and twenty age-matched typically achieving schoolchildren were investigated using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during trials testing approximate and exact mathematical calculation, as well as magnitude comparison.ResultsChildren with DD showed greater inter-individual variability and had weaker activation in almost the entire neuronal network for approximate calculation including the intraparietal sulcus, and the middle and inferior frontal gyrus of both hemispheres. In particular, the left intraparietal sulcus, the left inferior frontal gyrus and the right middle frontal gyrus seem to play crucial roles in correct approximate calculation, since brain activation correlated with accuracy rate in these regions. In contrast, no differences between groups could be found for exact calculation and magnitude comparison. In general, fMRI revealed similar parietal and prefrontal activation patterns in DD children compared to controls for all conditions.ConclusionIn conclusion, there is evidence for a deficient recruitment of neural resources in children with DD when processing analog magnitudes of numbers.
Highlights
Developmental dyscalculia (DD) is a specific learning disability affecting the acquisition of mathematical skills in children with otherwise normal general intelligence
The term 'developmental dyscalculia' (DD) will be used here, which is defined as a significant discrepancy between specific math performance and performance in other domains and/or general intelligence that cannot be explained by mental retardation, inappropriate schooling or poor social environment according to the International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision (ICD-10, F81.2, [5])
Completed number of trials did not differ between children with or without dyscalculia in any condition (AP: p > 0.5; EX: p > 0.7; magnitude comparison (MC): p > 0.2)
Summary
Developmental dyscalculia (DD) is a specific learning disability affecting the acquisition of mathematical skills in children with otherwise normal general intelligence. Just as diverse as the manifestation of specific math learning disabilities is the wide range of terms referring to these developmental math disabilities (developmental dyscalculia, mathematical disability, arithmetical learning disability, number fact disorder, psychological difficulties in mathematics). In spite of the lack of definitional consistency, the prevalence of DD across countries is relatively uniform, ranging from 3–6% in the normal population, which is similar to that of developmental dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) [6]. Unlike these other learning disabilities, girls and boys seem to be affected by DD [6,7]. Over the past two decades sufficient genetic, neurobiological, and epidemiologic evidence has accumulated to indicate that learning disabilities, including DD, are expressions of brain dysfunction [12,13,14,15,16,17,18]
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