Dysfunctions associated with the intraparietal sulcus and a distributed network in individuals with math learning difficulties: An ALE meta‐analysis

Abstract

Math learning difficulty (MLD) is a learning disorder characterized by persistent impairments in the understanding and application of numbers independent of intelligence or schooling. The current study aims to review existing neuroimaging studies to characterize the neurobiological basis in MLD for their quantity and arithmetic dysfunctions. We identified a total of 24 studies with 728 participants through the literature. Using the activation likelihood estimate (ALE) method, we found that the most consistent neurobiological dysfunction in MLD was observed in the right intraparietal sulcus (IPS) with distinct patterns of the anterior and posterior aspects. Meanwhile, neurobiological dysfunctions were also observed in a distributed network including the fusiform gyrus, inferior temporal gyrus, insula, prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and claustrum. Our results suggest a core dysfunction in the right anterior IPS and left fusiform gyrus with atypically upregulated functions in brain regions for attention, working memory, visual processing, and motivation, serving as the neurobiological basis of MLD.

Developmental dyscalculia is not associated with atypical brain activation: A univariate fMRI study of arithmetic, magnitude processing, and visuospatial working memory

“…The current, pre‐registered study investigated differences in brain activation elicited by number processing, arithmetic, and VSWM tasks between typically achieving children (TA) and children with developmental dyscalculia (DD). Previous studies have lacked consensus, often reporting both increased and decreased activation for DD children compared to their TA peers across these tasks, with some recent coherence of decreased activity for DD in the right anterior IPS, presented through meta‐analyses (Martinez‐Lincoln et al, 2023; Tablante et al, 2023). One reason for this inconsistency may be that previous studies were challenged by limitations in sample size and inconsistent inclusion criteria for DD.…”

“…Two recent meta‐analyses provide two common findings across this literature. Both Martinez‐Lincoln et al (2023) and Tablante et al (Tablante et al, 2023) report that a region of the right anterior intraparietal sulcus (IPS) is consistently less active for individuals with math difficulties than for their typically achieving (TA) peers and that one region in the right insula is more active for the math difficulty group. However, there is less specificity about what elicits these differences in processing.…”

Analisis Kesulitan Belajar Matematika pada Materi Bilangan dan Pengukuran Siswa Kelas II Sekolah Dasar Jakarta

“…Terjadinya kesulitan belajar di kalangan siswa dalam pembelajaran matematika dianggap sebagai fenomena yang lumrah dan wajar. Hal ini disebabkan karena matematika dianggap sebagai disiplin ilmu yang abstrak dan menantang, sehingga menimbulkan kesulitan tidak hanya bagi siswa sekolah dasar tetapi bahkan bagi mahasiswa (Cañizares, 2023;Muñez, 2022;Tablante, 2023). Jika dicermati lebih lanjut, menjadi jelas bahwa mengatasi kesulitan belajar pada anak-anak pada usia dini sangatlah penting, karena hal ini akan berdampak signifikan terhadap keberhasilan akademis mereka di masa depan (Yeni, 2015).…”

Activation and functional connectivity of cerebellum during reading and during arithmetic in children with combined reading and math disabilities

“…This leads to difficulties learning and retrieving arithmetic facts from long-term memory ( Geary, 2004 ; Peters and De Smedt, 2018 ). Mainstream theories describe aberrant function of left-hemisphere perisylvian regions during phonological and orthographic processing in RD ( Maisog et al, 2008 ; Gabrieli, 2009 ; Richlan et al, 2011 ; Linkersdörfer et al, 2012 ; Eden et al, 2015 ), and aberrant function of bilateral fronto-parietal regions during magnitude and numerical processing in MD ( Ashkenazi et al, 2013 ; Peters and De Smedt, 2018 ; Martinez-Lincoln et al, 2023 ; Tablante et al, 2023 ). However, separate lines of research also implicate the cerebellum as a cause of RD ( Nicolson et al, 2001 ; Nicolson and Fawcett, 2019 ) and MD ( Vandervert, 2017 ), but support of these models is mixed.…”