Children with dyscalculia show altered parietal activation during number processing, including compensatory greater activation in the left IPS, but the evidence base is too small for reliable conclusions¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (3 entries) · review r2–r3 · q2
Currency · newest study 2021 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Children with dyscalculia show significant differences, often deactivation, in the functional organization of brain regions associated with number processing, in particular the IPS. → Stephan E. Vogel and Bert De Smedt 2021 q2 i? Some studies find greater activation in the left IPS, frontal cortex and visual areas in dyscalculia, probably indicating compensatory engagement of cognitive control resources. → Stephan E. Vogel and Bert De Smedt 2021 (2) q2 i? Brain-activation differences during arithmetic in dyscalculia include both increases and decreases across studies, and the data are too small to draw reliable conclusions. → Stephan E. Vogel and Bert De Smedt 2021 (3)

Evidence¶

Stephan E. Vogel and Bert De Smedt 2021¶

Stephan E. Vogel and Bert De Smedt. (2021). Developmental brain dynamics of numerical and arithmetic abilities. npj Science of Learning (2021) 6:22. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-021-00099-3

q2 · i? · review · r2

Review attribution to the few studies of basic numerical abilities in children with dyscalculia: "significant differences, often deactivation" in regions associated with nonsymbolic and symbolic number processing, especially the IPS; no effect sizes are printed.

"Findings from this research suggest signi ficant differences, often deactivation, in the func- tional organization of the brain regions associated with nonsym- bolic and symbolic number processing, in particular the IPS"

Stephan E. Vogel and Bert De Smedt 2021 (2)¶

Stephan E. Vogel and Bert De Smedt. (2021). Developmental brain dynamics of numerical and arithmetic abilities. npj Science of Learning (2021) 6:22. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-021-00099-3

q2 · i? · review · r3

The review reports greater activation during number processing in left IPS, frontal cortex and visual areas in children with dyscalculia, "probably indicating" compensatory engagement of additional cognitive control resources; this is the authors' interpretation and no effect sizes are printed.

"Studies have also found greater activation during number processing in the left IPS, the frontal cortex, and in visual areas in children with dyscalculia,"

Stephan E. Vogel and Bert De Smedt 2021 (3)¶

Stephan E. Vogel and Bert De Smedt. (2021). Developmental brain dynamics of numerical and arithmetic abilities. npj Science of Learning (2021) 6:22. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-021-00099-3

q2 · i? · review · r3

On arithmetic activity in dyscalculia, the review reports both increases (parietal, prefrontal, occipitotemporal during addition and subtraction in one study) and decreases (prefrontal, right posterior parietal, occipitotemporal in another); it states the body of data "is simply too small to draw reliable conclusions".

"The existing body of the data is simply too small to draw reliable conclusions on what these activation and deactivation differences mean."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Learning Disabilities and Developmental Differences — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes

Related Claims¶

• Children with DD show greater brain activation than TD children in parietal, occipito-temporal and prefrontal regions during both addition and subtraction — related
• DD children show operation-specific hyperactivation: greater IPS, superior parietal lobule and fusiform activity during subtraction, while during addition only the right superior parietal lobule differs (lower in DD) — related
• When the other operation is not controlled, subtraction models include left IPS and multiplication models include right AG — related