ICYMI: Brain Scans Shed Light on Root of Math Learning Disabilities

Researchers used fMRI scans to assess what’s happening in the brains of kids with math learning disabilities.

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For many students, math isn’t the easiest class. But some children — up to 14% — have learning disabilities that make the subject particularly difficult to grasp. In a study published Feb. 9 in the Journal of Neuroscience, researchers identified some of the neural mechanisms potentially driving these disabilities.

The team observed kids’ brain activity using fMRI and their behavior as they answered questions about which number was larger than another. They found children with mathematical learning disabilities, who demonstrated a level of haphazardness when responding to the math problems, displayed lower activity in the middle frontal gyrus and anterior cingulate cortex. These brain regions are linked to processing numbers and evaluating mistakes, respectively.

Big Picture: The researchers also discovered that when kids with these disabilities were presented with math problems using dots rather than typical numbers, they demonstrated a greater awareness of the errors they made while assessing them. Although the findings don’t prove dot-based numerical problems could drastically improve these kids’ ability to do math, they do offer insight into how math learning disabilities play out in the brain. They could also point to the value of giving kids a range of tools to solve problems in the classroom, according to Science News.

Read More: Why is math harder for some kids? Brain scans offer clues. Science News

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About the Author

Bella Isaacs-Thomas

Bella is the Staff Writer and Editor for BrainFacts. She previously worked as a digital science reporter at PBS NewsHour, where she was named a fellow in the 2022-2023 class of the National Science-Health-Environment Reporting Fellowships (SHERF) and earned a 2021 D.C. Science Writers Association Newsbrief Award for writing. She graduated from the University of Michigan with a bachelor's degree in 2018.