Cognitive and Neural Correlates of Mathematical Giftedness in Adults and Children: A Review.

Most mathematical cognition research has focused on understanding normal adult function and child development as well as mildly and moderately impaired mathematical skill, often labeled developmental dyscalculia and/or mathematical learning disability. In contrast, much less research is available on cognitive and neural correlates of gifted/excellent mathematical knowledge in adults and children. In order to facilitate further inquiry into this area, here we review 40 available studies, which examine the cognitive and neural basis of gifted mathematics. Studies associated a large number of cognitive factors with gifted mathematics, with spatial processing and working memory being the most frequently identified contributors. However, the current literature suffers from low statistical power, which most probably contributes to variability across findings. Other major shortcomings include failing to establish domain and stimulus specificity of findings, suggesting causation without sufficient evidence and the frequent use of invalid backward inference in neuro-imaging studies. Future studies must increase statistical power and neuro-imaging studies must rely on supporting behavioral data when interpreting findings. Studies should investigate the factors shown to correlate with math giftedness in a more specific manner and determine exactly how individual factors may contribute to gifted math ability

Gender differences in mathematics anxiety and the relation to mathematics performance while controlling for test anxiety.

BACKGROUND: Mathematics anxiety (MA), a state of discomfort associated with performing mathematical tasks, is thought to affect a notable proportion of the school age population. Some research has indicated that MA negatively affects mathematics performance and that girls may report higher levels of MA than boys. On the other hand some research has indicated that boys' mathematics performance is more negatively affected by MA than girls' performance is. The aim of the current study was to measure girls' and boys' mathematics performance as well as their levels of MA while controlling for test anxiety (TA) a construct related to MA but which is typically not controlled for in MA studies. METHODS: Four-hundred and thirty three British secondary school children in school years 7, 8 and 10 completed customised mental mathematics tests and MA and TA questionnaires. RESULTS: No gender differences emerged for mathematics performance but levels of MA and TA were higher for girls than for boys. Girls and boys showed a positive correlation between MA and TA and a negative correlation between MA and mathematics performance. TA was also negatively correlated with mathematics performance, but this relationship was stronger for girls than for boys. When controlling for TA, the negative correlation between MA and performance remained for girls only. Regression analyses revealed that MA was a significant predictor of performance for girls but not for boys. CONCLUSIONS: Our study has revealed that secondary school children experience MA. Importantly, we controlled for TA which is typically not controlled for in MA studies. Girls showed higher levels of MA than boys and high levels of MA were related to poorer levels of mathematics performance. As well as potentially having a detrimental effect on 'online' mathematics performance, past research has shown that high levels of MA can have negative consequences for later mathematics education. Therefore MA warrants attention in the mathematics classroom, particularly because there is evidence that MA develops during the primary school years. Furthermore, our study showed no gender difference in mathematics performance, despite girls reporting higher levels of MA. These results might suggest that girls may have had the potential to perform better than boys in mathematics however their performance may have been attenuated by their higher levels of MA. Longitudinal research is needed to investigate the development of MA and its effect on mathematics performance.RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are

Ioncsatornák, modulációs mechanizmusok és szinaptikus kapcsolatok jelentősége a patkány nucleus cochlearis jelfeldolgozó működésében = Roles of ion channels, modulatory mechanisms and synaptic connections in the signal processing of the rat cochlear nucleus

A projekt célja a nucleus cochlearis jelfeldolgozó tevékenységében jelentős ioncsatornák, modulációs mechanizmusok és szinaptikus kapcsolatok elemzése volt. A munka legfontosabb eredményei a következők: (a) Azonosítottuk a nucleus cochlearisban expresszált HCN-csatornaalegységeket. Feltártuk a h-áram jelentőségét az óriássejtek elektromos sajátságaiban és szinaptikus kapcsolataik finomhangolásában. (b) Leírtuk a kolinerg ingerlés hatását az óriássejtek elektrofiziológiai sajátságaira és a rajtuk kialakuló posztszinaptikus áramokra. Azonosítottuk a hatást közvetítő receptor-altípusokat. (c) Elemeztük a szemcsesejtek aktivitásfüggő intracelluláris kalciumkoncentráció-változásait. Kifejlesztettünk egy olyan félautomatikus kiértékelési eljárást, ami alkalmas a neuronális kalciumtranziensek felismerésére és analízisére. (d) Feltártuk egyes muszkarinerg receptorok szerepét sejttenyészeti körülmények között fenntartott astrocyták intracelluláris kalciumkoncentráció-változásaiban. (e) Képalkotó és elektrofiziológiai módszereket alkalmazva leírtuk a nucleus cochlearisban található Purkinje-szerű neuronok sajátságait. (f) Kvantitatív morfometriai analízis segítségével azonosítottuk a pyramis- és az óriássejtek elkülönítésére legalkalmasabb paramétereket. (f) Leírtuk a tacrolimus hatását a pyramis-sejteken kialakuló posztszinaptikus áramok tulajdonságaira. (g) Feltártuk a protein-foszfatáz-1M és a Rho-kináz szerepét a bushy-sejtek és az acusticus rostok közötti szinapszis működésében. | Our aim was to assess the roles of ionic channels, modulatory mechanisms, and synaptic connections in regulating the activity of the cochlear nucleus (CN). The most important results are as follows. (a) We identified all HCN channel subunits expressed in the CN. We revealed the significance of the h-current in shaping the electrical properties and fine-tunig the synaptic connections of the giant cells. (b) We described the effects of cholinergic stimulation on the membrane properties and postsynaptic currents of the giant cells along with the identification of the receptor subtypes mediating the effects. (c) We investigated activity-related cytoplasmic calcium concentration changes of the granule neurones, and developed a semiautomatic method for the identification and evaluation of neuronal calcium transients. (d) We assessed the involvement of various muscarinergic receptors in the regulation of intracellular calcium concentration changes of cultured astrocytes. (e) Using imaging and electrophysiological techniques, we described the properties of Purkinje-like cells of the CN. (f) We identified morphological parameters that are suitable for the unambiguous discrimination between pyramidal and giant neurones. (f) We documented the effects of tacrolimus on the postsynaptic currents recorded from pyramidal neurones. (g) We revealed and described the roles of the protein-phosphatase-1M and Rho-kinase in the synaptic transmission between the bushy cells and acoustic fibers

Predictors of mathematics in primary school: Magnitude comparison, verbal and spatial working memory measures.

We determined the relative importance of the so-called approximate number system (ANS), symbolic number comparison (SNC) and verbal and spatial short-term and working memory (WM) capacity for mathematics achievement in 1,254 Grade 2, 4 and 6 children. The large sample size assured high power and low false report probability and allowed us to determine effect sizes precisely. We used reading decoding as a control outcome measure to test whether findings were specific to mathematics. Bayesian analysis allowed us to provide support for both null and alternative hypotheses. We found very weak zero-order correlations between ANS measures and math achievement. These correlations were not specific to mathematics, became non-significant once intelligence was considered and ANS measures were not selected as predictors of math by regression models. In contrast, overall SNC accuracy and spatial WM measures were reliable and mostly specific predictors of math achievement. Verbal short-term and WM and SNC reaction time were predictors of both reading and math achievement. We conclude that ANS tasks are not suitable as measures of math development in school-age populations. In contrast, all other cognitive functions we studied are promising markers of mathematics development

Full Genome Sequence of the Western Reserve Strain of Vaccinia Virus Determined by Third-Generation Sequencing.

The vaccinia virus is a large, complex virus belonging to the Poxviridae family. Here, we report the complete, annotated genome sequence of the neurovirulent Western Reserve laboratory strain of this virus, which was sequenced on the Pacific Biosciences RS II and Oxford Nanopore MinION platforms

The underlying structure of visuospatial working memory in children with mathematical learning disability.

This study examined visual, spatial-sequential, and spatial-simultaneous working memory (WM) performance in children with mathematical learning disability (MLD) and low mathematics achievement (LMA) compared with typically developing (TD) children. Groups were matched on reading decoding performance and verbal intelligence. Besides statistical significance testing, we used bootstrap confidence interval estimation and computed effect sizes. Children were individually tested with six computerized tasks, two for each visuospatial WM subcomponent. We found that both MLD and LMA children had low visuospatial WM function in both spatial-simultaneous and spatial-sequential WM tasks. The WM deficit was most expressed in MLD children and less in LMA children. This suggests that WM scores are distributed along a continuum with TD children achieving top scores and MLD children achieving low scores. The theoretical and practical significance of findings is discussed. Statement of Contribution What is already known on this subject? Working memory plays an important role in mathematical achievement. Children with mathematical learning disability (MLD) usually have low working memory resources. Conflicting results have been reported concerning the role of VSWM in individuals with MLD. What the present study adds? Children with different degree of impairment in math achievement and typically developing children were tested. Visual, spatial-sequential, and spatial-simultaneous working memory tasks were examined. Only spatial-sequential and spatial-simultaneous working memory tasks discriminated the two impairments groups

A kognitív sémák és a társkapcsolatok fejlődésének különböző útjai gyermekkori daganatos betegségből felgyógyult felnőtteknél = Different process of development in cognitive schemata and social relations in cancer survivals whose illness onset dated from early or late childhood

Elméleti háttér: Az egyre javuló orvosi ellátás, a gyerekkori onkológiai betegek túlélési arányának növekedése ellenére a trauma következményei a kezelések befejezését követően is még éveken keresztül fennmaradhatnak, befolyásolva a mindennapi adaptációt, szociális kapcsolatok alakulását. A megterhelő életeseményre adott reakciókat, a hosszabb távú pszichoszociális alkalmazkodást a támogató társas környezeten túl nagymértékben befolyásolja a gyermek életkora és a kognitív érettsége. Cél: Vizsgálatunk célja a nyolcéves kor alatt és nyolcéves kor feletti életkorban elszenvedett onkológiai betegség felnőttkori társas kapcsolatokra és értelmező sémákra gyakorolt hatásainak elemzése. Vizsgálati mintánk gyermekkori onkológiai betegséget túlélő felnőttekből (N = 59), míg a kontrollcsoport (N = 53) gyermekkori krónikus betegségben nem szenvedő, a túlélőkhöz hasonló életkorú felnőttekből állt. Módszerek: A vizsgált személyek kognitív séma, megküzdési mód, társkapcsolati, szorongás, depresszió, valamint traumatizációs jellemzőinek felmérése az alábbi eszközökkel történt: Young-féle Séma Kérdőív, EMBU (Neveltetésem Emlékei Kérdőív), Közvetlen Kapcsolatok Élményei Kérdőív, COPE (Megküzdés Kérdőív), Kórházi Szorongás és Depresszió Skála, Poszttraumás Stressz Skála. Eredmények: Eredményeink szerint a nyolcévesnél idősebb korban diagnosztizált felnőtt túlélők és egészséges kontrollszemélyek között sem a nők, sem a férfiak vonatkozásában nincs a vizsgált paraméterekben különbség. A nyolcévesnél fiatalabb korban kezelt felnőtt nők gyakrabban folyamodnak passzív megküzdési stratégiához, továbbá olyan különféle maladaptív sémák alkalmazásához, mint a fokozott szeparációs érzés, korlátozott autonómia, függőség és aggodalmaskodás. Következtetések: Eredményeink hangsúlyozzák a kora gyermekkorban onkológiai betegségben szenvedő lányok esetén a pszichoszociális ellátás fontosságát, különösen a felnőttkori kapcsolati problémák megelőzésére való tekintettel. A későbbi gondozás során fokozott figyelmet kell fordítani a problémamegoldás aktív formáinak támogatására, az elszakítottságérzés csillapítására, az autonómia erősítésére, a független motivációkból származó cselekedetek támogatására és az aggodalmaskodás enyhítésére. | Background: Despite the improving medical care and increasing survival rate, the consequences of pediatric cancer may persist for many years after the end of treatment, which can influence everyday adaptation and social relationships. Perception of the stressful life events and the long term psychosocial adaptation are influenced by social support and cognitive appraisal determined by many factors including cognitive maturity and age. Aim: The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of social relationships and cognitive schemata in childhood cancer survivors. The patient group consisted of persons suffered from cancer before and after eight years of age (N = 59) and a matched control group without chronic childhood illness (N = 53). Methods: The participant’s cognitive schemata system, coping capacity, close relationships, anxiety, depression, and trauma-related data were measured by a test battery involving Young Schema Questionnaire, COPE (Coping questionnaire), Experience of Close Relationships, My Memories of Upbringing (Egna Minnen Beträffande Uppfostran), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and Impact of Event Scale-R. Results: No differences were found in test parameters of survivors diagnosed after eight years of age and healthy control participants, among males and females. However, women with cancer diagnosed before eight years of age reported more passive coping style and different kind of maladaptive schemata including feelings of separation, limited autonomy, dependency, and apprehensiveness. Conclusion: Our data underline the importance of psychosocial care of early childhood cancer which might have significant influences on adult interpersonal problems, first of all among females. During follow-up, psychosocial interventions — focusing on active problem-solving, decreasing feelings of separation, strengthening autonomy, reducing dependency — are highly recommended

Atypical right hemisphere response to slow temporal modulations in children with developmental dyslexia.

Phase entrainment of neuronal oscillations is thought to play a central role in encoding speech. Children with developmental dyslexia show impaired phonological processing of speech, proposed theoretically to be related to atypical phase entrainment to slower temporal modulations in speech (<10Hz). While studies of children with dyslexia have found atypical phase entrainment in the delta band (~2Hz), some studies of adults with developmental dyslexia have shown impaired entrainment in the low gamma band (~35-50Hz). Meanwhile, studies of neurotypical adults suggest asymmetric temporal sensitivity in auditory cortex, with preferential processing of slower modulations by right auditory cortex, and faster modulations processed bilaterally. Here we compared neural entrainment to slow (2Hz) versus faster (40Hz) amplitude-modulated noise using fNIRS to study possible hemispheric asymmetry effects in children with developmental dyslexia. We predicted atypical right hemisphere responding to 2Hz modulations for the children with dyslexia in comparison to control children, but equivalent responding to 40Hz modulations in both hemispheres. Analyses of HbO concentration revealed a right-lateralised region focused on the supra-marginal gyrus that was more active in children with dyslexia than in control children for 2Hz stimulation. We discuss possible links to linguistic prosodic processing, and interpret the data with respect to a neural 'temporal sampling' framework for conceptualizing the phonological deficits that characterise children with developmental dyslexia across languages.This workwassupportedbytheMedicalResearchCouncil,grants G0400574andG0902375This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Elsevier at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.08.012

Shaping prestimulus neural activity with auditory rhythmic stimulation improves the temporal allocation of attention.

Human attention fluctuates across time, and even when stimuli have identical physical characteristics and the task demands are the same, relevant information is sometimes consciously perceived and at other times not. A typical example of this phenomenon is the attentional blink, where participants show a robust deficit in reporting the second of two targets (T2) in a rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) stream. Previous electroencephalographical (EEG) studies showed that neural correlates of correct T2 report are not limited to the RSVP period, but extend before visual stimulation begins. In particular, reduced oscillatory neural activity in the alpha band (8-12 Hz) before the onset of the RSVP has been linked to lower T2 accuracy. We therefore examined whether auditory rhythmic stimuli presented at a rate of 10 Hz (within the alpha band) could increase oscillatory alpha-band activity and improve T2 performance in the attentional blink time window. Behaviourally, the auditory rhythmic stimulation worked to enhance T2 accuracy. This enhanced perception was associated with increases in the posterior T2-evoked N2 component of the event-related potentials and this effect was observed selectively at lag 3. Frontal and posterior oscillatory alpha-band activity was also enhanced during auditory stimulation in the pre-RSVP period and positively correlated with T2 accuracy. These findings suggest that ongoing fluctuations can be shaped by sensorial events to improve the allocation of attention in time.This work was supported by a UK Medical Research Council grant G90951 (DS).This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Wolters Kluwer via https://doi.org/10.1097/WNR.000000000000056