Math skills are a strong predictor of life success, yet many people struggle to acquire basic numerical and mathematical skills. Being able to fluently process symbolic numbers (i.e. Arabic digits) is a key foundation for the development of basic math skills. However, very little is known about the brain systems which support the processing numerical symbols, how those systems develop in the early school years, and how they are related to math skill development. Understanding the development of these systems will help in achieving new insights into typical and atypical math development. This project, led by a team of researchers at Vanderbilt University, will provide the first multimodal, cohesive characterization of the trajectories and interrelations of the component mechanisms within the symbolic number processing brain network, and crucially, their relation to growth in math skills, during a window of time crucial for successful math development. In so doing, this project will provide significant new knowledge regarding typical development of symbolic number processing mechanisms and their relation to math that is crucial if we are to understand the sources of math learning disabilities. Thus, the results of the proposed project will lay the foundation for future research investigating the causal mechanisms underlying math learning disabilities such as dyscalculia, by providing both an experimental and theoretical framework for empirical testing. Furthermore, this project will yield new insights into the developmental relations between symbolic and nonsymbolic number processing mechanisms, and the relation between brain structure and function. The results of this project will provide empirical evidence to support the development of more effective pedagogies and intervention approaches for math education. Such knowledge is crucial if we are to better understand math disabilities and better facilitate the acquisition of math skills. The project is funded by the EHR Core Research (ECR) program, which supports work that advances the fundamental research literature on STEM learning.
The goal of this project is to provide a multimodal characterization of the neural networks involved in the processing of symbolic numbers using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), as well as structural metrics of grey and white matter. No prior study has assessed the longitudinal development of children's number processing neural networks. The proposed connective network for symbolic number processing (intraparietal sulci, left angular gyrus, supramarginal gyri, ventral occipito-temporal cortex, and inferior frontal gyrus) is well-motivated from the literature on adult symbolic number processing. The project will examine the development of those networks from kindergarten through 2nd grade, and will examine the extent to which they predict math skill development. Investigators will study 120 children longitudinally from kindergarten to 2nd grade. In each year participants will complete a battery of symbolic and nonsymbolic number processing tasks in the fMRI scanner, in addition to a battery of behavioral tests measuring math skills and general cognitive abilities. Measures of brain structure will also be collected in each year.