Mathematics skills in children with genetic generalized epilepsy: Cognitive and clinical correlates. Preliminary results.

Impairments in mathematics have been found in children with Genetic Generalized Epilepsy (GGE), yet little is known about the underpinnings of these difficulties. The aim of this study was to investigate basic numeracy and secondary mathematics skills in GGE and explore cognitive and clinical correlates that relate to those skills. Nineteen children with GGE and 22 typically developing controls aged 8-16 years completed a neuropsychological battery which assessed: (i) basic numeracy skills: non-symbolic and symbolic magnitude comparison; (ii) secondary mathematics skills: calculation, reasoning, and fluency; and (iii) cognitive skills: intelligence, fluid reasoning, processing speed, and working memory.

Higher level domain specific skills in mathematics; The relationship between algebra, geometry, executive function skills and mathematics achievement.

Algebra and geometry are important components of mathematics that are often considered gatekeepers for future success. However, most studies that have researched the cognitive skills required for success in mathematics have only considered the domain of arithmetic. We extended models of mathematical skills to consider how executive function skills play both a direct role in secondary-school-level mathematical achievement as well as an indirect role via algebra and geometry, alongside arithmetic.

Positive impact of sleep on recall of multiplication facts.

This study tested the hypothesis that learning complex multiplication problems (e.g. 8 × 23 = 184) prior to sleep would benefit recall in adult participants compared with learning the problems prior to a period of wakefulness.

Mathematics Skills in Epilepsy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Mathematics incorporates a broad range of skills, which includes basic early numeracy skills, such as subitizing and basic counting to more advanced secondary skills including mathematics calculation and reasoning. The aim of this review was to undertake a detailed investigation of the severity and pattern of early numeracy and secondary mathematics skills in people with epilepsy. Searches were guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement.

Assessing the impact of LEGO® construction training on spatial and mathematical skills.

Lego construction ability is associated with a variety of spatial skills and mathematical outcomes. However, it is unknown whether these relations are causal. We aimed to establish the causal impact of Lego construction training on: Lego construction ability; a broad range of spatial skills; and on mathematical outcomes in 7-9-year-olds.

Learning artificial number symbols with ordinal and magnitude information.

The question of how numerical symbols gain semantic meaning is a key focus of mathematical cognition research. Some have suggested that symbols gain meaning from magnitude information, by being mapped onto the approximate number system, whereas others have suggested symbols gain meaning from their ordinal relations to other symbols. Here we used an artificial symbol learning paradigm to investigate the effects of magnitude and ordinal information on number symbol learning.

Multiple number-naming associations: How the inversion property affects adults' two-digit number processing.

Some number-naming systems are less transparent than others. For example, in Dutch, 49 is named "negenenveertig," which translates to "nine and forty," i.e.

Associations and indirect effects between LEGO® construction and mathematics performance.

There is a known association between LEGO® construction ability and mathematics achievement, yet the mechanisms which drive this association are largely unknown. This study investigated the spatial mechanisms underlying this association, and whether this differs for concrete versus digital construction. Between January 2020 and July 2021, children aged 7-9 years (N = 358, 189 female, ethnicity not recorded) completed spatial and mathematics tasks, and either a concrete or digital Lego construction task.

Understanding the complexities of mathematical cognition: A multi-level framework.

Mathematics skills are associated with future employment, well-being, and quality of life. However, many adults and children fail to learn the mathematics skills they require. To improve this situation, we need to have a better understanding of the processes of learning and performing mathematics.

Counting many as one: Young children can understand sets as units except when counting.

Young children frequently make a peculiar counting mistake. When asked to count units that are sets of multiple items, such as the number of families at a party, they often count discrete items (i.e.

Next Directions in Measurement of the Home Mathematics Environment: An International and Interdisciplinary Perspective.

This article synthesizes findings from an international virtual conference, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), focused on the home mathematics environment (HME). In light of inconsistencies and gaps in research investigating relations between the HME and children's outcomes, the purpose of the conference was to discuss actionable steps and considerations for future work. The conference was composed of international researchers with a wide range of expertise and backgrounds.

Etiology of persistent mathematics difficulties from childhood to adolescence following very preterm birth.

Children born very preterm (VP; <32 weeks' gestation) have poorer mathematics achievement than term-born peers. This study aimed to determine whether VP children's mathematics difficulties persist from primary to secondary school and to explore the nature of mathematics difficulties in adolescence. For this study, 127 VP and 95 term-born adolescents were assessed at age 11-15 years.

Conceptual knowledge of the associativity principle: A review of the literature and an agenda for future research.

Individuals use diverse strategies to solve mathematical problems, which can reflect their knowledge of arithmetic principles and predict mathematical expertise. For example, '6 + 38 - 35' can be solved via '38 - 35 = 3' and then '3 + 6 = 9', which is a shortcut-strategy derived from the associativity principle. The shortcut may be critical for understanding algebra, however approximately 50% of adults fail to use it.

Verbal count sequence knowledge underpins numeral order processing in children.

Recent research has suggested that numeral order processing - the speed and accuracy with which individuals can determine whether a set of digits is in numerical order or not - is related to arithmetic and mathematics outcomes. It has therefore been proposed that ordinal relations are a fundamental property of symbolic numeral representations. However, order information is also inherent in the verbal count sequence, and thus verbal count sequence knowledge may instead explain the relationship between performance on numeral order tasks and arithmetic.

No Excess of Mathematics Anxiety in Adolescents Born Very Preterm.

Objective: To assess whether adolescents born very preterm (VP; <32 weeks' gestation) have an excess of mathematics anxiety compared with their classmates born at term.

Methods: This cohort study included 127 adolescents born VP (51% male, mean age 13.9 years, SD 0.

Investigating the role of attention in the identification of associativity shortcuts using a microgenetic measure of implicit shortcut use.

Many mathematics problems can be solved in different ways or by using different strategies. Good knowledge of arithmetic principles is important for identifying and using strategies that are more sophisticated. For example, the problem "6 + 38 - 35" can be solved through a shortcut strategy where the subtraction "38 - 35 = 3" is performed before the addition "3  + 6  = 9," a strategy that is derived from the arithmetic principle of associativity.

Improving developmental and educational support for children born preterm: evaluation of an e-learning resource for education professionals.

Objectives: Children born preterm are at higher risk for special educational needs and poor academic attainment compared with term-born peers, yet education professionals receive limited training and have poor knowledge of preterm birth. We have developed an interactive e-learning resource and evaluated its efficacy in improving teachers' knowledge of preterm birth and their confidence in supporting the learning of children born preterm.

Setting: Eight primary, infant or junior schools in England.

Understanding arithmetic concepts: The role of domain-specific and domain-general skills.

A large body of research has identified cognitive skills associated with overall mathematics achievement, focusing primarily on identifying associates of procedural skills. Conceptual understanding, however, has received less attention, despite its importance for the development of mathematics proficiency. Consequently, we know little about the quantitative and domain-general skills associated with conceptual understanding.

The measurement of approximate number system acuity across the lifespan is compromised by congruency effects.

Recent studies have highlighted the influence of visual cues such as dot size and cumulative surface area on the measurement of the approximate number system (ANS). Previous studies assessing ANS acuity in ageing have all applied stimuli generated by the Panamath protocol, which does not control nor measure the influence of convex hull. Crucially, convex hull has recently been identified as an influential visual cue present in dot arrays, with its impact on older adults' ANS acuity yet to be investigated.

Developmental differences in approaches to nonsymbolic comparison tasks.

Nonsymbolic comparison tasks are widely used to measure children's and adults' approximate number system (ANS) acuity. Recent evidence has demonstrated that task performance can be influenced by changes to the visual characteristics of the stimuli, leading some researchers to suggest it is unlikely that an ANS exists that can extract number information independently of the visual characteristics of the arrays. Here, we analysed 124 children's and 120 adults' dot comparison accuracy scores from three separate studies to investigate individual and developmental differences in how numerical and visual information contribute to nonsymbolic numerosity judgements.

Is the ANS linked to mathematics performance?

Leibovich et al. argue persuasively that researchers should not assume that approximate number system (ANS) tasks harness an innate sense of number. However, some studies have reported a causal link between ANS tasks and mathematics performance, implicating the ANS in the development of numerical skills.

When is working memory important for arithmetic? The impact of strategy and age.

Our ability to perform arithmetic relies heavily on working memory, the manipulation and maintenance of information in mind. Previous research has found that in adults, procedural strategies, particularly counting, rely on working memory to a greater extent than retrieval strategies. During childhood there are changes in the types of strategies employed, as well as an increase in the accuracy and efficiency of strategy execution.

Direct and indirect influences of executive functions on mathematics achievement.

Achievement in mathematics is predicted by an individual's domain-specific factual knowledge, procedural skill and conceptual understanding as well as domain-general executive function skills. In this study we investigated the extent to which executive function skills contribute to these three components of mathematical knowledge, whether this mediates the relationship between executive functions and overall mathematics achievement, and if these relationships change with age. Two hundred and ninety-three participants aged between 8 and 25years completed a large battery of mathematics and executive function tests.

Congruency effects in dot comparison tasks: convex hull is more important than dot area.

The dot comparison task, in which participants select the more numerous of two dot arrays, has become the predominant method of assessing Approximate Number System (ANS) acuity. Creation of the dot arrays requires the manipulation of visual characteristics, such as dot size and convex hull. For the task to provide a valid measure of ANS acuity, participants must ignore these characteristics and respond on the basis of number.