Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37675857›Full record

ArticleDevelopmental science2024

Neurocognitive mechanisms of co-occurring math difficulties in dyslexia: Differences in executive function and visuospatial processing.

Rebecca A Marks, Courtney Pollack, Steven L Meisler, Anila M D'Mello, Tracy M Centanni, Rachel R Romeo, Karolina Wade, Anna A Matejko, Daniel Ansari, John D E Gabrieli and 1 more

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Developmental science, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
6.1field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed, 18 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. Reading Disabilities With and Without Co-Occurring ADHD: No Evidence for Additive Impact on Reading Skills.Scientific studies of reading : the official journal of the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading · 2026
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Reflections on the past two decades of Mind, Brain, and Education.Mind, brain and education : the official journal of the International Mind, Brain, and Education Society · 2024
    Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.

Rebecca A MarksDepartment of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-8691-2542
Courtney PollackDepartment of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Steven L MeislerDepartment of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-8888-1572
Anila M D'MelloDepartment of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Tracy M CentanniDepartment of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Rachel R RomeoDepartment of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Karolina WadeDepartment of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Anna A MatejkoDepartment of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.
Daniel AnsariDepartment of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.
John D E GabrieliDepartment of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Joanna A ChristodoulouDepartment of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
McGovern Institute for Brain Research · USWestern University · CAHarvard University · USInstitute of Cognitive and Brain Sciences · USTexas Christian University · US

Funding

Influence of ADHD and Executive Functions on Developmental DyslexiaR01HD106122 · NICHD · MGH INSTITUTE OF HEALTH PROFESSIONS · PI JOANNA CHRISTODOULOU · 2022 to 2026
$3.5M
Upgrade to 3 Tesla MRI scanner for brain imaging at MITS10OD021569 · OD · MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY · PI GABRIELI, JOHN · 2016 to 2016
$600k
Summer slide, glide, or gain: The effects of socioeconomic status and reading disability on summer reading outcomesR15HD102881 · NICHD · MGH INSTITUTE OF HEALTH PROFESSIONS · PI CHRISTODOULOU, JOANNA · 2021 to 2021
$479k
Neurocognitive Foundations of Morphological Processing in Children with DyslexiaF32HD110967 · NICHD · MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY · PI MARKS, REBECCA · 2022 to 2024
$136k
NICHD NIH HHS F32 HD110967NICHD NIH HHS R01 HD106122NICHD NIH HHS R15 HD102881NIH HHS S10 OD021569
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Children with dyslexia frequently also struggle with math. However, studies of reading disability (RD) rarely assess math skill, and the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying co-occurring reading and math disability (RD+MD) are not clear. The current study aimed to identify behavioral and neurocognitive factors associated with co-occurring MD among 86 children with RD. Within this sample, 43% had co-occurring RD+MD and 22% demonstrated a possible vulnerability in math, while 35% had no math difficulties (RD-Only). We investigated whether RD-Only and RD+MD students differed behaviorally in their phonological awareness, reading skills, or executive functions, as well as in the brain mechanisms underlying word reading and visuospatial working memory using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The RD+MD group did not differ from RD-Only on behavioral or brain measures of phonological awareness related to speech or print. However, the RD+MD group demonstrated significantly worse working memory and processing speed performance than the RD-Only group. The RD+MD group also exhibited reduced brain activations for visuospatial working memory relative to RD-Only. Exploratory brain-behavior correlations along a broad spectrum of math ability revealed that stronger math skills were associated with greater activation in bilateral visual cortex. These converging neuro-behavioral findings suggest that poor executive functions in general, including differences in visuospatial working memory, are specifically associated with co-occurring MD in the context of RD. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Children with reading disabilities (RD) frequently have a co-occurring math disability (MD), but the mechanisms behind this high comorbidity are not well understood. We examined differences in phonological awareness, reading skills, and executive function between children with RD only versus co-occurring RD+MD using behavioral and fMRI measures. Children with RD only versus RD+MD did not differ in their phonological processing, either behaviorally or in the brain. RD+MD was associated with additional behavioral difficulties in working memory, and reduced visual cortex activation during a visuospatial working memory task.

Indexed as

DyslexiaLearning DisabilitiesBrainChildExecutive FunctionHumansMemory, Short-Termexecutive functionlearning disabilitiesmathreadingvisuospatial processingworking memory

Identifiers

PMID37675857
PMCPMC10918042
OpenAlexW4386506073

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.