Understanding the Cognition Related to Mathematics Difficulties: A Meta-Analysis on the Cognitive Deficit Profiles and the Bottleneck Theory

2018 ◽  
Vol 88 (3) ◽  
pp. 434-476 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peng Peng ◽  
Cuicui Wang ◽  
Jessica Namkung

The current study investigated the cognitive deficit profiles among individuals with mathematics difficulties (MD) and potential moderators and mechanism for these profiles. Seventy-five cognitive profiling studies on MD were included, representing a total of 13,001 individuals and 126 independent samples. Results showed that compared with typically developing individuals, individuals with MD showed deficits (from most severe to less severe) in phonological processing, processing speed, working memory, attention, short-term memory, executive functions, and visuospatial skills. Moderation analyses indicated that comorbidity (with reading disabilities) and types of MD screening affected the cognitive deficits. Severity of MD was related to processing speed deficits. Deficits in phonological processing and attention were more severe in younger individuals with MD. Deficits in processing speed and working memory were most severe in the numerical domain. Deficits in low-level cognitive skills (i.e., processing speed and short-term memory) could not completely explain the deficits in high-level skills (i.e., working memory, attention, and executive functions), partially supporting the bottleneck theory. These findings, taken together, suggest that (a) deficits in processing speed and working memory are most salient and stable cognitive markers of MD, (b) numerical-processing deficit and the cognitive deficits of MD are relatively independent from each other, and (c) MD may be a discrete construct with heterogeneity reflected by MD subtypes and age. Implications for incorporating cognition in the diagnosis and the interventions for MD are discussed.

2008 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Derek H Berg

An age-matched/achievement-matched design was utilized to examine the cognitive functioning of children with severe arithmetic difficulties. A battery of cognitive tasks was administered to three groups of elementary aged children: 20 children with severe arithmetic difficulties (SAD), 20 children matched in age (CAM) to the children with SAD, and 20 younger children matched in arithmetic achievement (AAM) to the children with SAD. Measures were related to processing speed, short-term memory, verbal working memory, and visual-spatial working memory. Results suggest three important fi ndings. First, in contrast to previous studies, children with SAD did not show a processing speed impairment. Second, children with SAD were impaired in short-term memory for numerical and non-numerical information. And third, while children with SAD displayed working memory impairments, these impairments were not uniform within verbal working memory or visualspatial working memory. Taken together, findings indicate that previous studies that have reported differences between children with SAD and their normally achieving peers might have overestimated or mischaracterized the differential cognitive functioning of these groups. Results are discussed within a framework that views the cognitive functioning impairments of children with SAD as representative of a developmental lag rather than a cognitive deficit.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 1445
Author(s):  
José Miguel Sánchez-Nieto ◽  
Uriel Dagoberto Rivera-Sánchez ◽  
Víctor Manuel Mendoza-Núñez

Background: Previous systematic reviews report that arterial hypertension (AHT) is associated with lower performance in cognition in the elderly. However, some studies show that with higher blood pressure, a better cognitive performance is obtained. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between AHT with cognitive performance in the elderly. Methods: the review involved a search on PubMed, Scopus and PsycINFO databases from January 1990 to March, 2020 to identify the relationship among AHT and cognitive performance in older people. Results: 1170 articles were identified, 136 complete papers were reviewed, a qualitative analysis of 26 studies and a quantitative analysis of eight studies were carried out. It was found that people with AHT have a lower performance in processing speed SMD = 0.40 (95% CI: 0.25, 0.54), working memory SMD = 0.28 (95% CI: 0.15, 0.41) in short-term memory and learning SMD = −0.27 (95% CI: −0.37, −0.17) and delayed recall SMD = −0.20 (95% CI: −0.35, −0.05). Only one study found that higher blood pressure was associated with better memory performance. Conclusion: Our results suggest that high blood pressure primarily affects processing speed, working memory, short-term memory and learning and delayed recall.


2015 ◽  
Vol 58 (6) ◽  
pp. 1761-1772 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jayne Newbury ◽  
Thomas Klee ◽  
Stephanie F. Stokes ◽  
Catherine Moran

Purpose This study explored whether measures of working memory ability contribute to the wide variation in 2-year-olds' expressive vocabulary skills. Method Seventy-nine children (aged 24–30 months) were assessed by using standardized tests of vocabulary and visual cognition, a processing speed measure, and behavioral measures of verbal working memory and phonological short-term memory. Results Strong correlations were observed between phonological short-term memory, verbal working memory, and expressive vocabulary. Speed of spoken word recognition showed a moderate significant correlation with expressive vocabulary. In a multivariate regression model for expressive vocabulary, the most powerful predictor was a measure of phonological short-term memory (accounting for 66% unique variance), followed by verbal working memory (6%), sex (2%), and age (1%). Processing speed did not add significant unique variance. Conclusions These findings confirm previous research positing a strong role for phonological short-term memory in early expressive vocabulary acquisition. They also extend previous research in two ways. First, a unique association between verbal working memory and expressive vocabulary in 2-year-olds was observed. Second, processing speed was not a unique predictor of variance in expressive vocabulary when included alongside measures of working memory.


2016 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary C. Potter

AbstractRapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) of words or pictured scenes provides evidence for a large-capacity conceptual short-term memory (CSTM) that momentarily provides rich associated material from long-term memory, permitting rapid chunking (Potter 1993; 2009; 2012). In perception of scenes as well as language comprehension, we make use of knowledge that briefly exceeds the supposed limits of working memory.


2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (12) ◽  
pp. 4162-4178
Author(s):  
Emily Jackson ◽  
Suze Leitão ◽  
Mary Claessen ◽  
Mark Boyes

Purpose Previous research into the working, declarative, and procedural memory systems in children with developmental language disorder (DLD) has yielded inconsistent results. The purpose of this research was to profile these memory systems in children with DLD and their typically developing peers. Method One hundred four 5- to 8-year-old children participated in the study. Fifty had DLD, and 54 were typically developing. Aspects of the working memory system (verbal short-term memory, verbal working memory, and visual–spatial short-term memory) were assessed using a nonword repetition test and subtests from the Working Memory Test Battery for Children. Verbal and visual–spatial declarative memory were measured using the Children's Memory Scale, and an audiovisual serial reaction time task was used to evaluate procedural memory. Results The children with DLD demonstrated significant impairments in verbal short-term and working memory, visual–spatial short-term memory, verbal declarative memory, and procedural memory. However, verbal declarative memory and procedural memory were no longer impaired after controlling for working memory and nonverbal IQ. Declarative memory for visual–spatial information was unimpaired. Conclusions These findings indicate that children with DLD have deficits in the working memory system. While verbal declarative memory and procedural memory also appear to be impaired, these deficits could largely be accounted for by working memory skills. The results have implications for our understanding of the cognitive processes underlying language impairment in the DLD population; however, further investigation of the relationships between the memory systems is required using tasks that measure learning over long-term intervals. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.13250180


1997 ◽  
Author(s):  
Randall W. Engle ◽  
Stephen Tuholski ◽  
James Laughlin ◽  
Andrew Conway

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