Brain activity patterns predict math problem solving struggles in children

Some children have a condition that makes them persistently struggle with math problem solving (developmental dyscalculia), yet behavioral and mechanistic details about this condition are lacking. New in JNeurosci, Oliver Lasnick and colleagues at Stanford University advanced understanding by exploring problem-solving strategy use and brain activity in children with developmental dyscalculia. 

From a cohort of 68 children aged 8–10 years old, the researchers found that children with developmental dyscalculia were less efficient than other children at using a variety of math problem-solving strategies. Children with the condition took longer to switch between strategies, were less sensitive to changes in problem difficulty, and did not improve in selecting ideal strategies over time. Activity in a brain system was distinguishable between children with developmental dyscalculia and children who were more proficient at math strategies. This activity could even predict how well children counted and switched between math problem-solving strategies. 

According to the researchers, this work shows that persistent childhood struggles with using problem-solving strategies and controlling attention, thinking, and memory may lead to the onset of developmental dyscalculia and points to altered brain activity that may drive these characteristic behaviors. Adds Lasnick, "Importantly, this study also emphasizes the individual variability observed in dyscalculia, further demonstrating that the disorder reflects cognitive and neural dysfunction across multiple processes."