Developmental dyscalculia is related to visuo-spatial memory and inhibition impairment
Developmental dyscalculia is related to visuo-spatial memory and inhibition impairment
Developmental dyscalculia is thought to be a specific impairment of mathematics ability. Currently dominant cognitive neuroscience theories of developmental dyscalculia suggest that it originates from the impairment of the magnitude representation of the human brain, residing in the intraparietal sulcus, or from impaired connections between number symbols and the magnitude representation. However, behavioral research offers several alternative theories for developmental dyscalculia and neuro-imaging also suggests that impairments in developmental dyscalculia may be linked to disruptions of other functions of the intraparietal sulcus than the magnitude representation. Strikingly, the magnitude representation theory has never been explicitly contrasted with a range of alternatives in a systematic fashion. Here we have filled this gap by directly contrasting five alternative theories (magnitude representation, working memory, inhibition, attention and spatial processing) of developmental dyscalculia in 9–10-year-old primary school children. Participants were selected from a pool of 1004 children and took part in 16 tests and nine experiments. The dominant features of developmental dyscalculia are visuo-spatial working memory, visuo-spatial short-term memory and inhibitory function (interference suppression) impairment. We hypothesize that inhibition impairment is related to the disruption of central executive memory function. Potential problems of visuo-spatial processing and attentional function in developmental dyscalculia probably depend on short-term memory/working memory and inhibition impairments. The magnitude representation theory of developmental dyscalculia was not supported.
developmental disorders, intraparietal sulcus (IPS), developmental learning disability, mathematical difficulty, number sense
2674-2688
Szucs, Denes
ba252bc9-ec9f-49dc-9091-bc0bf9ea38de
Devine, Amy
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Soltesz, Fruzsina
cbc12e4b-9d6f-4c24-8203-47ae2bd8f470
Nobes, Alison
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Gabriel, Florence
2a2bdcad-73fd-4c94-af44-994140c4524c
November 2013
Szucs, Denes
ba252bc9-ec9f-49dc-9091-bc0bf9ea38de
Devine, Amy
ff3b6537-9172-4b67-8fd1-037acd7eef4a
Soltesz, Fruzsina
cbc12e4b-9d6f-4c24-8203-47ae2bd8f470
Nobes, Alison
15bc39ec-6883-48c8-be12-373e7a2e2c87
Gabriel, Florence
2a2bdcad-73fd-4c94-af44-994140c4524c
Szucs, Denes, Devine, Amy, Soltesz, Fruzsina, Nobes, Alison and Gabriel, Florence
(2013)
Developmental dyscalculia is related to visuo-spatial memory and inhibition impairment.
Cortex, 49 (10), .
(doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2013.06.007).
(PMID:23890692)
Abstract
Developmental dyscalculia is thought to be a specific impairment of mathematics ability. Currently dominant cognitive neuroscience theories of developmental dyscalculia suggest that it originates from the impairment of the magnitude representation of the human brain, residing in the intraparietal sulcus, or from impaired connections between number symbols and the magnitude representation. However, behavioral research offers several alternative theories for developmental dyscalculia and neuro-imaging also suggests that impairments in developmental dyscalculia may be linked to disruptions of other functions of the intraparietal sulcus than the magnitude representation. Strikingly, the magnitude representation theory has never been explicitly contrasted with a range of alternatives in a systematic fashion. Here we have filled this gap by directly contrasting five alternative theories (magnitude representation, working memory, inhibition, attention and spatial processing) of developmental dyscalculia in 9–10-year-old primary school children. Participants were selected from a pool of 1004 children and took part in 16 tests and nine experiments. The dominant features of developmental dyscalculia are visuo-spatial working memory, visuo-spatial short-term memory and inhibitory function (interference suppression) impairment. We hypothesize that inhibition impairment is related to the disruption of central executive memory function. Potential problems of visuo-spatial processing and attentional function in developmental dyscalculia probably depend on short-term memory/working memory and inhibition impairments. The magnitude representation theory of developmental dyscalculia was not supported.
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Accepted/In Press date: 19 June 2013
e-pub ahead of print date: 28 June 2013
Published date: November 2013
Keywords:
developmental disorders, intraparietal sulcus (IPS), developmental learning disability, mathematical difficulty, number sense
Organisations:
Psychology
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 375332
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/375332
ISSN: 0010-9452
PURE UUID: 68b1502f-d406-4be2-97ef-d6cd8d900029
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Date deposited: 20 Mar 2015 17:02
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 19:24
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Contributors
Author:
Denes Szucs
Author:
Amy Devine
Author:
Fruzsina Soltesz
Author:
Alison Nobes
Author:
Florence Gabriel
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