The quandary of diagnosing mathematical difficulties in a generally low performing population.

Unlabelled: Brazilian students' mathematical achievement was repeatedly observed to fall below average levels of mathematical attainment in international studies such as PISA.

Objective: In this article, we argue that this general low level of mathematical attainment may interfere with the diagnosis of developmental dyscalculia when a psychometric criterion is used establishing an arbitrary cut-off (e.g.

Coping in the Covid-19 pandemia: how different resources and strategies can be risk or protective factors to mental health in the Brazilian population.

Objective: The present study's objective was to investigate the pandemic's impact on mental health and identify variables that can increase or decrease the chances of stress, anxiety, and depression, in both a sample with and one without self-reported mental health issues, in a Brazilian population.

Design: a cross-sectional quantitative study. Data were collected online in May and June of 2020.

Are "cool" executive function impairments more salient in ADHD symptoms than in reading disability?

Introduction: Reading disability (RD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms often co-occur in school-age children.

Methods: The present study evaluated the performance of 216 Brazilian children from 3 and 4 grades on "cool" executive function (EF) abilities and phonological processing. The children were divided into three groups: those with ADHD symptoms only, those with RD only, and controls.

How Good Is the Phoneme Elision Test in Assessing Reading, Spelling and Arithmetic-Related Abilities?

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties and diagnostic accuracy of phoneme elision task (PET).

Method: We assessed cross-sectionally 470 Brazilian children (54.3% girls) aged between 7 and 11 years (mean age = 8.

Neuropsychological and environmental predictors of reading performance in Brazilian children.

Word-level reading is strongly associated with phonological processing. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of cognitive and environmental variables on word reading performance. Our sample consisted of 185 fourth-grade students.

Examining pitch and numerical magnitude processing in congenital amusia: A quasi-experimental pilot study.

Introduction: Congenital amusia is a developmental disorder associated with deficits in pitch height discrimination or in integrating pitch sequences into melodies. This quasi-experimental pilot study investigated whether there is an association between pitch and numerical processing deficits in congenital amusia. Since pitch height discrimination is considered a form of magnitude processing, we investigated whether individuals with amusia present an impairment in numerical magnitude processing, which would reflect damage to a generalized magnitude system.

What Is Specific and What Is Shared Between Numbers and Words?

Reading and spelling performance have a significant correlation with number transcoding, which is the ability to establish a relationship between the verbal and Arabic representations of numbers, when a conversion of numerical symbols from one notation to the other is necessary. The aim of the present study is to reveal shared and non-shared mechanisms involved in reading and writing of words and Arabic numerals in Brazilian school-aged children. One hundred and seventy-two children from second to fourth grades were evaluated.

Stable measures of number sense accuracy in math learning disability: Is it time to proceed from basic science to clinical application?

Math learning disability (MLD) or developmental dyscalculia is a highly prevalent and persistent difficulty in learning arithmetic that may be explained by different cognitive mechanisms. The accuracy of the number sense has been implicated by some evidence as a core deficit in MLD. However, research on this topic has been mainly conducted in demographically selected samples, using arbitrary cut-off scores to characterize MLD.

From "five" to 5 for 5 minutes: Arabic number transcoding as a short, specific, and sensitive screening tool for mathematics learning difficulties.

Number transcoding (e.g., writing 29 when hearing "twenty-nine") is one of the most basic numerical abilities required in daily life and is paramount for mathematics achievement.

Contributions from specific and general factors to unique deficits: two cases of mathematics learning difficulties.

Mathematics learning difficulties are a highly comorbid and heterogeneous set of disorders linked to several dissociable mechanisms and endophenotypes. Two of these endophenotypes consist of primary deficits in number sense and verbal numerical representations. However, currently acknowledged endophenotypes are underspecified regarding the role of automatic vs.

Phonemic awareness as a pathway to number transcoding.

Although verbal and numerical abilities have a well-established interaction, the impact of phonological processing on numeric abilities remains elusive. The aim of this study is to investigate the role of phonemic awareness in number processing and to explore its association with other functions such as working memory and magnitude processing. One hundred seventy-two children in 2nd grade to 4th grade were evaluated in terms of their intelligence, number transcoding, phonemic awareness, verbal and visuospatial working memory and number sense (non-symbolic magnitude comparison) performance.

Count on dopamine: influences of COMT polymorphisms on numerical cognition.

Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) is an enzyme that is particularly important for the metabolism of dopamine. Functional polymorphisms of COMT have been implicated in working memory and numerical cognition. This is an exploratory study that aims at investigating associations between COMT polymorphisms, working memory, and numerical cognition.