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Parietal and hippocampal hyper‐connectivity is associated with low math achievement in adolescence – A preliminary study
Author(s) -
AbreuMendoza Roberto A.,
Pincus Melanie,
Chamorro Yaira,
Jolles Dietsje,
Matute Esmeralda,
RosenbergLee Miriam
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
developmental science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.801
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1467-7687
pISSN - 1363-755X
DOI - 10.1111/desc.13187
Subject(s) - intraparietal sulcus , psychology , hippocampal formation , cognitive psychology , cognition , functional connectivity , resting state fmri , association (psychology) , developmental psychology , middle frontal gyrus , academic achievement , neuroscience , posterior parietal cortex , psychotherapist
Mathematical cognition requires coordinated activity across multiple brain regions, leading to the emergence of resting‐state functional connectivity as a method for studying the neural basis of differences in mathematical achievement. Hyper‐connectivity of the intraparietal sulcus (IPS), a key locus of mathematical and numerical processing, has been associated with poor mathematical skills in childhood, whereas greater connectivity has been related to better performance in adulthood. No studies to date have considered its role in adolescence. Further, hippocampal connectivity can predict mathematical learning, yet no studies have considered its contributions to contemporaneous measures of math achievement. Here, we used seed‐based resting‐state fMRI analyses to examine IPS and hippocampal intrinsic functional connectivity relations to math achievement in a group of 31 adolescents (mean age = 16.42 years, range 15–17), whose math performance spanned the 1% to 99% percentile. After controlling for IQ, IPS connectivity was negatively related to math achievement, akin to findings in children. However, the specific temporo‐occipital regions were more akin to the posterior loci implicated in adults. Hippocampal connectivity with frontal regions was also negatively correlated with concurrent math measures, which contrasts with results from learning studies. Finally, hyper‐connectivity was not a global feature of low math performance, as math performance did not modulate connectivity of Heschl's gyrus, a control seed not involved in math cognition. Our results provide preliminary evidence that adolescence is a transitional stage in which patterns found in childhood and adulthood can be observed; most notably, hyper‐connectivity continues to be related to low math ability into this period.