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dyscalculia

Dyscalculia

Older news items (pre-2010) brought over from the old website

Right parietal lobe implicated in dyscalculia

By temporarily knocking out an area in the right parietal lobe (the right intraparietal sulcus), researchers have induced dyscalculia in normal subjects, providing strong evidence that dyscalculia is caused by malfunction in this area. These findings were further validated by testing participants suffering from developmental dyscalculia. Although less well-known, dyscalculia is as prevalent as dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (around 5%).

Kadosh, R.C. et al. 2007. Virtual Dyscalculia Induced by Parietal-Lobe TMS Impairs Automatic Magnitude Processing. Current Biology, online ahead of print March 22

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070322132931.htm
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-03/ucl-tro032107.php

Scientists find brain function most important to math ability

A finding that an area of the brain widely thought to be involved in processing number information generally, in fact has two very separate functions, may be the key to diagnosing dyscalculia. One function is responsible for counting 'how many' things are present and the other is responsible for knowing 'how much'. The brain activity specific to estimating numbers of things is thought to be the brain network that underlies arithmetic and may be abnormal in dyscalculics.

Castelli, F., Glaser, D. E., & Butterworth, B. (2006). Discrete and analogue quantity processing in the parietal lobe: A functional MRI study. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 103(12), 4693-4698. Retrieved from http://www.pnas.org/content/103/12/4693.abstract

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-03/ucl-sfb030606.php

Calculation difficulties in children of very low birthweight

Learning difficulties, including problems with numeracy, are common in Western populations. Many children with learning difficulty are survivors of preterm birth. Although some of these children have neurological disabilities, many are neurologically normal. A neuroimaging study of neurologically normal adolescent children who had been born preterm at 30 weeks gestation or less found an area in the left parietal lobe where children without a deficit in calculation ability have more grey matter than those who do have this deficit.

Isaacs, E. B., Edmonds, C. J., Lucas, A., & Gadian, D. G. (2001). Calculation difficulties in children of very low birthweight: A neural correlate. Brain, 124(9), 1701-1707. Retrieved from http://brain.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/124/9/1701

http://brain.oupjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/124/9/1701
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1512000/1512664.stm
http://www.independent.co.uk/story.jsp?story=90945

Electrical stimulation improves name recall, math skill

In a study involving 15 young adults, a very small electrical current delivered to the scalp above the right anterior temporal lobe significantly improved their memory for the names of famous people (by 11%). Memory for famous landmarks was not affected. The findings support the idea that the anterior temporal lobes are critically involved in the retrieval of people's names.

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