Child Development, Dyscalculia, Learning Disabilities, Learning Disabilities, Child, Math Learning Disability
Conditions
Keywords
Mathematical Learning Disabilities, Numerical skills in children, Low math abilities, Early Intervention, Educational
Brief summary
The purpose of this study is to investigate neurocognitive mechanisms underlying response to intervention aimed at enhancing and remediating weaknesses in arithmetic skills in children, including those with mathematical learning disabilities.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALSpeeded practice training
Speeded practice training includes activities that focus solely on enhancing arithmetic fluency.
BEHAVIORALArithmetic strategy training
Arithmetic strategy training includes activities that progressively develop the efficient use of arithmetic problem-solving strategies.
Sponsors
Stanford University
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
6 Years to 12 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
1. Elementary school-aged children starting from first grade (6-12 years old) 2. Intelligence Quotient: Participants with a Full Scale Intelligence Quotient is greater than 70 on the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence Quotient 3. Identification of Mathematical Learning Disabilities: Scores below the 20th percentile on two or more Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, Fourth Edition math subtests 4. Identification of typically developing children: Scores at or above the 50th percentile on two or more Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, Fourth Edition math subtests 5. Normal or corrected-to-normal vision and no hearing impairments 6. Inclusion in MRI scan session: Right-handed
Exclusion criteria
1. History of neurological or psychiatric disorder (i.e., schizophrenia, psychosis, depression, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) 2. History of trauma involving head injury 3. Consistent psychiatric medications 4. Exclusion from magnetic resonance imaging scan session: No major contraindication for magnetic resonance imaging (braces, metal implants, pacemakers, vascular stents, metallic ear tubes, consistent exposure to metal, or claustrophobia)
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change from baseline in arithmetic task performance (accuracy) | Baseline and post-intervention (after 6 weeks) | Performance will be measured by children's accuracy (% trials correct) on arithmetic task |
| Change from baseline in latent cognitive measures of arithmetic performance (post-error adjustment) | Baseline and post-intervention (after 6 weeks) | Latent cognitive processing will be measured by post-error adjustment from children's arithmetic task performance |
| Change from baseline in brain activation during arithmetic task performance | Baseline and post-intervention (after 6 weeks) | Neural activity will be measured during a functional magnetic resonance imaging arithmetic task. Data will consist of beta values from individual-subject contrast maps for the Small vs. Large contrast in the whole-brain general linear modeling functional magnetic resonance imaging analysis. |
| Change from baseline in brain representation during arithmetic task performance | Baseline and post-intervention (after 6 weeks) | Neural activity will be measured during the functional magnetic resonance imaging arithmetic task. Data will consist of spatial correlations of voxel-wise brain activation between Trained vs. Rest and Untrained vs. Rest contrasts for individual subjects. |
| Change from baseline in brain connectivity during arithmetic task performance | Baseline and post-intervention (after 6 weeks) | Neural activity will be measured during the functional magnetic resonance imaging arithmetic task. Data will consist of generalized psychophysiological interaction beta values from individual subject contrast maps for Small vs. Large contrast. |
| Change from baseline in arithmetic task performance (reaction time) | Baseline and post-intervention (after 6 weeks) | Performance will be measured by children's reaction time (milliseconds) on arithmetic task |
| Change from baseline in latent cognitive measures of arithmetic task performance (drift rate) | Baseline and post-intervention (after 6 weeks) | Latent cognitive processing will be measured by drift rate from children's arithmetic task performance |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change from baseline in untrained arithmetic task performance (reaction time) | Baseline and post-intervention (after 6 weeks) | Performance will be measured by children's reaction time (milliseconds) on untrained arithmetic task |
| Change from baseline in untrained arithmetic task performance (accuracy) | Baseline and post-intervention (after 6 weeks) | Performance will be measured by children's accuracy (% trials correct) on untrained arithmetic task |
Countries
United States
Contacts
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORVinod Menon, Ph.D.
Stanford University
Outcome results
None listed