Multi-method brain imaging reveals impaired representations as well as altered connectivity in adults with dyscalculia

Bulthe, J.; Prinsen, J.; Vanderauwera, J.; Duyck, S.; Daniels, N.; Gillebert, C. R.; Mantini, D.; Op de Beeck, H. P.; De Smedt, B.

doi:10.1101/162115

bioRxiv · 10.1101/162115

Multi-method brain imaging reveals impaired representations as well as altered connectivity in adults with dyscalculia

Bulthe, J.·Prinsen, J.·Vanderauwera, J.·Duyck, S.·Daniels, N.·Gillebert, C. R.·Mantini, D.·Op de Beeck, H. P.·De Smedt, B.

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Abstract

Two hypotheses have been proposed about the etiology of neurodevelopmental disorders: representation impairments versus disrupted access to representations. We implemented a multi-method brain imaging approach to directly compare the representation vs. access hypotheses in dyscalculia, a highly prevalent but understudied neurodevelopmental disorder in learning to calculate. We combined several magnetic resonance imaging methods and analyses, including multivariate analyses, functional and structural connectivity, and voxel-based morphometry analysis, in a sample of 24 adults with dyscalculia and 24 carefully matched controls. Results showed a clear deficit in the non-symbolic magnitude representations in parietal, temporal, and frontal regions in dyscalculia. We also observed hyper-connectivity in visual brain regions and increased grey matter volume in the default mode network in adults with dyscalculia. Hence, dyscalculia is related to a combination of diverse neural markers which are altogether distributed across a substantial portion of cerebral cortex, supporting a multifactorial model of this neurodevelopmental disorder.

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Bulthe, J., Prinsen, J., Vanderauwera, J., Duyck, S., Daniels, N., Gillebert, C. R., Mantini, D., Op de Beeck, H. P., De Smedt, B.. 2017-07-11. Multi-method brain imaging reveals impaired representations as well as altered connectivity in adults with dyscalculia. https://doi.org/10.1101/162115

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