Prior structural brain-wide association studies of arithmetic skills used small samples (n = 11 to n = 59), risking inflated, hard-to-replicate effects¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r3 · q2
Currency · newest study 2023 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Review-cited sample sizes of structural BWAS of arithmetic skills ranged from 11 to 59 participants, and underpowered BWAS may yield inflated, difficult-to-replicate effects. → Nurit Viesel-Nordmeyer and Jérôme Prado 2023

Evidence¶

Nurit Viesel-Nordmeyer and Jérôme Prado 2023¶

Nurit Viesel-Nordmeyer and Jérôme Prado. (2023). Arithmetic skills are associated with left fronto-temporal gray matter volume in 536 children and adolescents. npj Science of Learning. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-023-00201-x

q2 · i? · associational · r3

The introduction, citing Peters and de Smedt's review, reports structural BWAS sample sizes "ranged from n = 11 to n = 59, with an average of n = 24", and states that underpowered BWAS yield inflated effects. The authors' own study (n = 536) is presented as the response to this problem.

"BWAS with such relatively small sample sizes may be characterized by effect sizes that are inflated and difficult to replicate because studies are underpowered to detect functional or structural brain-behavior associations."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Structural brain measures of the arithmetic network correlate with arithmetic performance, but cross-sectional designs cannot separate cause from consequence — related
• Exploratory whole-sample cortical thickness analysis found no relation between arithmetic score and cortical thickness — related