Neurocognitive mechanisms of co‐occurring math difficulties in dyslexia: Differences in executive function and visuospatial processing

Marks, Rebecca A.; Pollack, Courtney; Meisler, Steven L.; D'Mello, Anila M.; Centanni, Tracy M.; Romeo, Rachel R.; Wade, Karolina; Matejko, Anna A.; Ansari, Daniel; Gabrieli, John D. E.; Christodoulou, Joanna A.

Abstract

Children with dyslexia frequently also struggle with math. However, studies of reading disability (RD) rarely assess math skill, and the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying co-occurring reading and math disability (RD+MD) are not clear. The current study aimed to identify behavioral and neurocognitive factors associated with co-occurring MD among 86 children with RD. Within this sample, 43% had co-occurring RD+MD and 22% demonstrated a possible vulnerability in math, while 35% had no math difficulties (RD-Only). We investigated whether RD-Only and RD+MD students differed behaviorally in their phonological awareness, reading skills, or executive functions, as well as in the brain mechanisms underlying word reading and visuospatial working memory using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The RD+MD group did not differ from RD-Only on behavioral or brain measures of phonological awareness related to speech or print. However, the RD+MD group demonstrated significantly worse working memory and processing speed performance than the RD-Only group. The RD+MD group also exhibited reduced brain activations for visuospatial working memory relative to RD-Only. Exploratory brain-behavior correlations along a broad spectrum of math ability revealed that stronger math skills were associated with greater activation in bilateral visual cortex. These converging neuro-behavioral findings suggest that poor executive functions in general, including differences in visuospatial working memory, are specifically associated with co-occurring MD in the context of RD.

Citation

Marks, R. A., Pollack, C., Meisler, S. L., D'Mello, A. M., Centanni, T. M., Romeo, R. R., …Christodoulou, J. A. (2024). Neurocognitive mechanisms of co‐occurring math difficulties in dyslexia: Differences in executive function and visuospatial processing. Developmental Science, 27(2), Article e13443. https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.13443

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Aug 14, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Sep 7, 2023
• Publication Date: 2024-03
• Deposit Date: Mar 12, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 12, 2024
• Journal: Developmental Science
• Print ISSN: 1363-755X
• Electronic ISSN: 1467-7687
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 27
• Issue: 2
• Article Number: e13443
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.13443
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2326558