Neural development and disorders of math processing

描述(申请人提供)：数学障碍影响了大约6%的儿童人口，并持续到青春期，因此，是一个主要的生物医学问题。成人的神经心理学和神经成像研究在数量比较(例如减法)中涉及顶内沟和额中回，但在数学事实的言语提取(例如乘法)中涉及到颞顶皮质和额下回。成年人的神经成像研究也表明，随着练习的增加，对言语提取系统的依赖增加，它被更多地用于处理更容易的问题。行为研究表明，对言语提取系统的依赖在发育过程中有所增加，一些有数学障碍的儿童在这一系统中表现出明显的缺陷。行为研究还表明，一些数学障碍儿童患有阅读障碍，一些人建议，数学和阅读障碍儿童(MD+RD)应该在言语提取系统方面存在缺陷，而只有数学障碍儿童(MD)应该在数量比较系统方面存在缺陷。尽管已经有大量成人的神经成像研究和儿童的行为研究，但对儿童数学发展的神经基础或儿童数学障碍的神经基础知之甚少。该项目将使用功能磁共振成像(FMRI)来检测典型发育中的儿童(10至14岁)在数量比较(即减法)和语言提取(即乘法)方面的神经发展，并检查患有和不伴有阅读障碍的儿童的数学障碍的神经基础。PI将使用传统的fMRI分析来检查信号强度的差异，但也将使用动态因果建模(DCM)来检查有效连通性的差异。这个项目将采用更容易的任务和更难的任务来更有效地描绘参与不同形式的数学处理的大脑区域，采用纵向设计来检查早期功能是否预示着以后的发展，并使用阅读任务来确定它们与数学处理的相互关系。该项目研究了典型发育儿童和伴有和不伴有阅读障碍的数学障碍儿童的数学发展的神经基础，其结果将对数学障碍的诊断和补救具有一定的意义。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Math disability affects about 6% of the childhood population and continues into adolescence, and therefore, represents a major biomedical issue. Neuropsychological and neuroimaging studies in adults have implicated the intra-parietal sulcus and middle frontal gyrus in quantity comparison (e.g. subtraction), but have implicated the temporo- parietal cortex and inferior frontal gyrus in verbal retrieval of math facts (e.g. multiplication). Neuroimaging research in adults has also suggested that reliance on the verbal retrieval system increases with practice and it is utilized more for easier problems. Behavioral research suggests there are developmental increases in the reliance on the verbal retrieval system and that some children with math disability show pronounced deficits in this system. Behavioral research has also shown that some children with math disability have a reading disability, and some have suggested that children with a math and reading disability (MD+RD) should have a deficit in the verbal retrieval system, whereas children with a math disability only (MD) should have a deficit in the quantity comparison system. Although there has been a substantial amount of neuroimaging research in adults and behavioral research in children, very little is known about the neural basis of math development or of math disability in children. This project will use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine the neural development of quantity comparison (i.e. subtraction) and verbal retrieval (i.e. multiplication) in typically developing children (10- to 14-year-olds) and to examine the neural bases of math disability in children with and without co-morbid reading disability. The PIs will examine differences in signal intensity using conventional fMRI analyses, but will also examine differences in effective connectivity using dynamic causal modeling (DCM). This project will employ easier versus harder tasks to more effectively delineate brain regions involved in different forms of math processing, a longitudinal design to examine whether early functioning predicts later development, and reading tasks to determine their inter-relations with math processing. The results of this project to examine the neural basis of mathematical development in typically developing children and in children math disability with and without co-morbid reading disability will have implications for the diagnosis and remediation of math disability.