Anatomical substrates and neurocognitive predictors of daily numerical abilities in mild cognitive impairment.

Patients with mild cognitive impairment experience difficulties in mathematics that affect their functioning in the activities of everyday life. What are the associated anatomical brain changes and the cognitive correlates underlying such deficits? In the present study, 33 patients with Mild Cognitive Impairments (MCI) and 29 cognitively normal controls underwent volumetric MRI, and completed the standardized battery of Numerical Activities of Daily Living (NADL) along with a comprehensive clinical neuropsychological assessment. Group differences were examined on the numerical tasks and volumetric brain measures. The gray (GM) and white matter (WM) volume correlates were also evaluated. The results showed that relative to controls, the MCI group had impairments in number comprehension, transcoding, written operations, and in daily activities involving time estimation and money usage. In the volumetric measures, group differences emerged for the transcoding subtask in the left insula and left superior temporal gyrus. Among MCI patients, number comprehension and formal numerical performance were correlated with volumetric variability in the right middle occipital areas and right frontal gyrus. Money-usage scores showed significant correlations with left mesial frontal cortex, right superior frontal and right superior temporal cortex. Regression models revealed that neuropsychological measures of long-term memory, language, visuo-spatial abilities, and abstract reasoning were predictive of the patients' decline in daily activities. The present findings suggest that early neuropathology in distributed cortical regions of the brain including frontal, temporal and occipital areas leads to a breakdown of cognitive abilities in MCI that impacts on numerical daily functioning. The findings have implications for diagnosis, clinical and domestic care of patients with MCI

Individual Differences in White Matter Microstructure Predict Mathematical Achievement

The current study uses diffusion tensor imaging to test whether individual differences in white matter predict performance on the math subtest of the preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT). Grade 10 and 11 PSAT scores were obtained from 30 young adults (ages 17- 18) with wide-ranging math achievement levels. Tract based spatial statistics was used to examine the correlation between PSAT math scores, fractional anisotropy (FA), radial diffusivity (RD) and axial diffusivity (AD). FA in left parietal white matter was positively correlated with math PSAT scores (specifically in the left superior longitudinal fasciculus, left superior corona radiata, and left corticospinal tract). Furthermore, RD, but not AD, was correlated with PSAT math scores in these white matter microstructures. The negative correlation with RD suggests increased myelination in participants with higher PSAT math scores. Individual differences in FA and RD may reflect variability in experience dependent plasticity over the course of learning and development

The Neurocognitive Underpinnings of Arithmetic in Children and Adults: Examining the Roles of Domain General and Domain Specific Abilities

What are the cognitive underpinnings of arithmetic and how do they contribute to individual differences in children’s calculation abilities? Behavioural research has provided insights into which domain general (e.g. working memory) and domain specific (e.g. symbol-quantity associations) competencies are important for the acquisition of arithmetic skills. However, how domain general and domain specific skills are related to arithmetic at the neural level remains unclear. This thesis investigates the interplay between arithmetic and both domain general and specific competencies in the brain. In Chapter 2 I examine how visuo-spatial working memory (VSWM) networks overlap with those for arithmetic in children and adults. While both children and adults recruited the intraparietal sulcus (IPS) for VSWM and arithmetic, children showed more focal activation within the right IPS, whereas adults recruited the bilateral IPS. These findings indicate that the regions underlying VSWM and arithmetic undergo age-related changes and become more left-lateralized in adults. Chapter 3 provides evidence that basic number processing networks overlap with those for arithmetic in adults and children. Number processing and arithmetic elicited conjoint activity in the IPS in children and adults. Their overlap was also related to arithmetic problem size (i.e. how demanding the problems were of time-intensive procedural strategies); both arithmetic and basic number processing recruited the IPS when the problems relied on procedural strategies that likely involve the manipulation of numerical quantities. In Chapter 4 I investigate how individual differences in domain general and domain specific competencies relate to the recruitment of the IPS during arithmetic. Both VSWM and symbolic number skills correlated with brain activity in the IPS, however, the relationships depended on the index of brain activity used. VSWM was related to a neural index of arithmetic complexity (neural problem size effect), whereas symbolic number skills were related to overall arithmetic activity (small and large problems). The present thesis provides the first empirical evidence that shows how domain general and domain specific abilities are related to the neural basis of arithmetic in children and adults. Moreover, this thesis suggests the IPS plays a multifaceted role during arithmetic and cannot be attributed to one function

Why mental arithmetic counts: Brain activation during single digit arithmetic predicts high school math scores

Do individual differences in the brain mechanisms for arithmetic underlie variability in high school mathematical competence? Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we correlated brain responses to single digit calculation with standard scores on the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT) math subtest in high school seniors. PSAT math scores, while controlling for PSAT Critical Reading scores, correlated positively with calculation activation in the left supramarginal gyrus and bilateral anterior cingulate cortex, brain regions known to be engaged during arithmetic fact retrieval. At the same time, greater activation in the right intraparietal sulcus during calculation, a region established to be involved in numerical quantity processing, was related to lower PSAT math scores. These data reveal that the relative engagement of brain mechanisms associated with procedural versus memory-based calculation of single-digit arithmetic problems is related to high school level mathematical competence, highlighting the fundamental role that mental arithmetic fluency plays in the acquisition of higher-level mathematical competence. © 2013 the authors

Pain and Academic Performance in Youth with Spina Bifida: The Mediating Role of Neuropsychological Functioning

Objective: The current literature has identified few modifiable condition parameters associated with academic performance in youth with spina bifida (SB). Nevertheless, youth with SB are more likely to struggle academically than their typically developing (TD) peers. Therefore, identifying areas for clinical intervention is paramount. Pain, an understudied secondary condition in youth with SB, has been found to be associated with poorer academic performance in TD youth. Further, neuropsychological functioning has been found to be both negatively associated with pain and positively associated with academic outcomes. The aims of this study were to examine (1) the relationship between pain and academic functioning in youth with SB and (2) neuropsychological mechanisms that may explain the potential relationship between pain symptoms and academic performance. These aims were examined cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Methods: Participants were recruited as part of a larger ongoing longitudinal study (Devine et al., 2012). The current study included parent and teacher report of attention, executive functioning (working memory, cognitive flexibility, inhibition), and academic competence, as well as teacher report of academic motivation and academic record. Moreover, this study included neuropsychological performance measures given to youth to examine working memory, attention, and academic achievement. Finally, this study used child self-report of three pain symptoms (frequency, intensity, duration). Analyses controlled for SES, age, and illness severity. Results: no significant associations were found between pain and academic constructs as well as pain and neuropsychological functioning, cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Attention and working memory were both found to be strongly associated with all academic outcomes. Inhibition was only significantly associated with academic motivation and cognitive flexibility was not found to be associated with any academic outcomes. Conclusions: Pain does not appear to be significantly associated with academic outcomes for youth with SB. Working memory and attention are strongly associated with academic outcomes over time. Results have clinical implications for developing a clinical intervention for academic success in this population

Effects of Trauma Induced Stress on Attention, Executive Functioning, Processing Speed, and Resilience in Urban Children

Brain development, and particularly structures involved in executive functioning, occurs at different rates in children, leading to differential performance in school. Due to neuroanatomical changes secondary to the stress response, children who have experienced stress as a result of poverty and traumatic events may be at increased risk for cognitive difficulties, including attention, executive functioning, and processing speed (Blair, Granger, & Razza, 2005; DeBellis, Hooper, & Sapia, 2005). Prevalence rates among urban children suggest that 70-100% have been exposed to trauma (Dempsey, Overstreet, & Moely, 2000; Macy, Baryry, & Noam, 2003). Some of these children develop posttraumatic stress disorder and some do not, raising the question of resilience (Bonanno & Mancini, 2008). Difficulties with cognitive functioning, as well as the role of protective factors have major implications for school performance (Gathercole, Pickering, Knight, & Stegmann, 2004). The current study examined sustained attention, initiation, working memory, and processing speed and the influence of resilience in 47 underprivileged urban elementary school children, ages 8 through 13, who have experienced stress as a result of poverty and trauma. Data were collected through neuropsychological assessments and participant self-report measures. Results suggested that stronger resilience was associated with fewer difficulties with sustained attention and working memory. These findings have significant implications for resilience training and increased academic supports in the classroom. Suggestions and literature on such programs are provided

Effects of Trauma Induced Stress on Attention, Executive Functioning, Processing Speed, and Resilience in Urban Children

Brain development, and particularly structures involved in executive functioning, occurs at different rates in children, leading to differential performance in school. Due to neuroanatomical changes secondary to the stress response, children who have experienced stress as a result of poverty and traumatic events may be at increased risk for cognitive difficulties, including attention, executive functioning, and processing speed (Blair, Granger, & Razza, 2005; DeBellis, Hooper, & Sapia, 2005). Prevalence rates among urban children suggest that 70-100% have been exposed to trauma (Dempsey, Overstreet, & Moely, 2000; Macy, Baryry, & Noam, 2003). Some of these children develop posttraumatic stress disorder and some do not, raising the question of resilience (Bonanno & Mancini, 2008). Difficulties with cognitive functioning, as well as the role of protective factors have major implications for school performance (Gathercole, Pickering, Knight, & Stegmann, 2004). The current study examined sustained attention, initiation, working memory, and processing speed and the influence of resilience in 47 underprivileged urban elementary school children, ages 8 through 13, who have experienced stress as a result of poverty and trauma. Data were collected through neuropsychological assessments and participant self-report measures. Results suggested that stronger resilience was associated with fewer difficulties with sustained attention and working memory. These findings have significant implications for resilience training and increased academic supports in the classroom. Suggestions and literature on such programs are provided

Language and cognitive profiles of Norwegian 8-year-olds

The main aim of this study was to separate transient between language problems from problems caused by SLI and/or dyslexia among bilingual 8-year olds having Norwegian as their second language (L2). The sample in the study was 20 bilingual-3rd grade school children from a larger Norwegian city. We had a control group of 42 monolingual children, from a previous study. Assessment tools were based on both linguistic (L2) skills and neurocognitive factors, according to the three levels (symptomatic, cognitive and biological) of the differential diagnosis model by Morton and Frith. We hypothesized that bilingual children with language impairment can be identified by Morton and Frith’s differential diagnostic model. We thus aimed to explore whether the differential diagnosing model, can serve as a method in defining language impairment in bilingual children. We also wished to see if bilingual participants exhibit some cognitive advantages over their monolingual counterparts. We hypothesized that monolinguals will outperform bilinguals on language abilities, but no group differences were expected with respect to neurocognitive abilities. As predicted our findings showed poor bilingual performances in language tests compared to monolingual performances. The neurocognitive tests showed bilingual strengths in visual and auditory processing compared to the L1 group. Findings from our study clinically imply that the differential diagnostic model can be used to identify bilingual children at risk of having language impairment and/ or dyslexia, from children with between language problems.Hovedformålet med denne studien var å kunne skille mellom språkvansker som skyldes en forbigående mellomspråklig vanske, og vansker som skyldes SLI og /eller dysleksi hos tospråklige 8 -åringer med Norsk som andrespråk. Utvalget i studien var 20 tospråklige 3.-klassinger fra en større norsk by. Vi hadde en kontrollgruppe på 42 enspråklige barn, fra en tidligere studie. Testbatteriet var basert på både språklige (L2) ferdigheter og nevrokognitive faktorer, i henhold til de tre nivåene (symptomatisk, kognitivt og biologisk) hentet fra den differensialdiagnostiske modellen til Morton og Frith. Vår hypotese var at tospråklige barn med språkvansker kan identifiseres av Morton og Frith sin modell for differensialdiagnostisering. Vi ønsket også å se om tospråklige barn har noen nevrokognitive fordeler i forhold til den enspråklige gruppen. Vår hypotese var at enspråklige vil ha bedre resultat på de språklige testene i forhold til L2-gruppen, men det var ikke forventet noen forskjeller på gruppene med hensyn til nevrokognitive evner. Som ventet, viste funnene dårligere resultat på språktestene for L2 -gruppen i forhold til den enspråklige gruppen. De kognitive testene viste at de tospråklige hadde bedre resultat på de testene som omhandlet visuelle og auditive evner sammenlignet med L1-gruppen. Resultatene fra studien viser at det er mulig å bruke den differensialdiagnostiske modellen til å identifisere tospråklige barn som er i risikosone for å ha språkvansker og/eller dysleksi og å skille mellom dem og de som har en mellomspråklig vanske.Masteroppgave i logopediLOGO345MAPS-LOG0