scholarly journals The Relationship between Visuospatial Working Memory and Mathematical Performance in School-Aged Children: a Systematic Review

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 509-531 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katie Allen ◽  
Steve Higgins ◽  
John Adams
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 796
Author(s):  
Micaela Maria Zucchelli ◽  
Laura Piccardi ◽  
Raffaella Nori

Individuals with agoraphobia exhibit impaired exploratory activity when navigating unfamiliar environments. However, no studies have investigated the contribution of visuospatial working memory (VSWM) in these individuals’ ability to acquire and process spatial information while considering the use of egocentric and allocentric coordinates or environments with or without people. A total of 106 individuals (53 with agoraphobia and 53 controls) navigated in a virtual square to acquire spatial information that included the recognition of landmarks and the relationship between landmarks and themselves (egocentric coordinates) and independent of themselves (allocentric coordinates). Half of the participants in both groups navigated in a square without people, and half navigated in a crowded square. They completed a VSWM test in addition to tasks measuring landmark recognition and egocentric and allocentric judgements concerning the explored square. The results showed that individuals with agoraphobia had reduced working memory only when active processing of spatial elements was required, suggesting that they exhibit spatial difficulties particularly in complex spatial tasks requiring them to process information simultaneously. Specifically, VSWM deficits mediated the relationship between agoraphobia and performance in the allocentric judgements. The results are discussed considering the theoretical background of agoraphobia in order to provide useful elements for the early diagnosis of this disorder.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Anna A. Matejko ◽  
Daniel Ansari

Abstract Visuospatial working memory (VSWM) plays an important role in arithmetic problem solving, and the relationship between these two skills is thought to change over development. Even though neuroimaging studies have demonstrated that VSWM and arithmetic both recruit frontoparietal networks, inferences about common neural substrates have largely been made by comparisons across studies. Little work has examined how brain activation for VSWM and arithmetic converge within the same participants and whether there are age-related changes in the overlap of these neural networks. In this study, we examined how brain activity for VSWM and arithmetic overlap in 38 children and 26 adults. Although both children and adults recruited the intraparietal sulcus (IPS) for VSWM and arithmetic, children showed more focal activation within the right IPS, whereas adults recruited the bilateral IPS, superior frontal sulcus/middle frontal gyrus, and right insula. A comparison of the two groups revealed that adults recruited a more left-lateralized network of frontoparietal regions for VSWM and arithmetic compared with children. Together, these findings suggest possible neurocognitive mechanisms underlying the strong relationship between VSWM and arithmetic and provide evidence that the association between VSWM and arithmetic networks changes with age.


Author(s):  
M.J Presentación ◽  
Rebeca Siegenthaler ◽  
V. Pinto ◽  
Jesica Mercader ◽  
C. Colomer ◽  
...  

Abstract:This study aims to explore working memory in preschool children with and without low mathematical performance. The sample consisted of 255 children aged 5-6 years, to whom were administered neuropsychological tests of working memory and TEDI-MATH to estimate the mathematical performance. The results highlight the capacity of verbal working memory to significantly differentiate groups of children with and without problems in 8 of the 9 analyzed mathematical domains. This factor together with visuospatial working memory differentiate the group of children at risk for mathematical learning disabilities.Keywords: working memory, preschool, math performance, mathematics learning disabilitiesResumen:Este estudio se propone analizar la memoria de trabajo en niños de Educación Infantil con y sin bajo rendimiento matemático. La muestra estaba compuesta de 255 niños de 5 a 6 años, a los que se les aplicó pruebas neuropsicológicas de memoria de trabajo y el TEDI-MATH para estimar el rendimiento matemático. Los resultados destacan la capacidad de la memoria de trabajo verbal para diferenciar significativamente los grupos de niños con y sin dificultades en 8 de los 9 dominios matemáticos analizados. Este mismo factor junto con la memoria de trabajo viso-espacial estática diferencian al grupo de niños con riesgo de aprendizaje de las matemáticas.Palabras clave: memoria de trabajo, Educación Infantil, rendimiento matemático, dificultades de aprendizaje de las matemáticas.


Author(s):  
Sieak Ling-Teo ◽  
Kee Jiar-Yeo

Deficit in working memory is common among young children across multiple abilities. Teachers have pointed to poor memory as one contributing factor to inattentiveness and short attention spans as well as some behavioural problems among students. This study aimed to explore the relationship among working memory, externalizing and internalizing behavioural problems and Malay language (writing). A total of 469 children (aged 8 and 11 year-old) and 17 school teachers were involved in the current study. It was found that working memory, externalizing behavioural problems and internalizing behavioural problems played critical roles in affecting the scores of Malay language (writing) at school. Specifically, there were five predictor variables being found in the regression model namely verbal short-term memory, inattention, somatic complaints, visuospatial working memory and aggression. As a whole, the correlation for the fivefactor model yielded a great result of 0.987.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document