This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Some children have a condition that causes them to persistently struggle with math problem-solving (developmental dyscalculia), yet behavioral and mechanistic details about this condition are lacking. In a new study in JNeurosci, Oliver Lasnick and colleagues at Stanford University furthered understanding by exploring problem-solving strategy use and brain activity in children with developmental dyscalculia.
From a cohort of 68 children ages 8–10, the researchers found that children with developmental dyscalculia were less efficient than other children at using a variety of math problem-solving strategies. Children with the condition took longer to switch between strategies, were less sensitive to changes in problem difficulty and did not improve in selecting optimal strategies over time. Brain-system activity differed between children with developmental dyscalculia and children who were more proficient in using math strategies.
This activity could even predict how well children counted and switched between math problem-solving strategies. According to the researchers, this work shows that persistent childhood struggles with using problem-solving strategies and controlling attention, thinking and memory may lead to the onset of developmental dyscalculia and points to altered brain activity that may drive these characteristic behaviors. Lasnick added, "Importantly, this study also emphasizes the individual variability observed in dyscalculia, further demonstrating that the disorder reflects cognitive and neural dysfunction across multiple processes." Uncovering Latent Cognitive, Metacognitive, and Neural Bases of Problem-Solving Deficits in Children with Developmental Dyscalculia, JNeurosci (2026).
DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2200-25.2026 Journal information: Journal of Neuroscience Swati Mestri holds a bachelor's degree in Electronics Engineering and has worked as a content editor since 2019. She has experience editing research documents across technology, health care, and materials science, and has a particular interest in technology and space. Full profile → Bachelor's in mathematical biology, Master's in creative writing.
Well-traveled with unique perspectives on science and language.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
