Subcontract from University of Texas-Houston, Cognitive, Instructional, and Neuroimaging Studies of Math

Abstract:

The objective of this program project is to respond to RFA HD-02-031 by initiating a research program that explicitly attempts to integrate investigations of the cognitive, instructional, and neurobiological factors that account for individual differences in the development of mathematical proficiencies in children with different types of learning disabilities in math. The central theme is that children vary in the degree to which they learn mathematical proficiencies and that these individual differences manifest themselves in different subtypes of math disability.

To understand the sources of variability, the types must be defined and evaluated against cognitive, instructional, and neurobiological measures, and in relation to other learning and attention difficulties.

The proposed program project includes four projects and 3 Cores.

Project 1 (Cognition) proposes to evaluate mathematical and cognitive processes that underlie the difficulties experienced by children with specific math disabilities and comorbid math and reading disabilities.

Project 2 (Instruction) provides randomized controlled studies of children with only reading and comorbid reading and math disabilities, including interventions addressing of fact retrieval, procedural knowledge, and arithmetic word problems.

Project 3 (MRI) proposes functional and structural neuroimaging studies of the subtypes of math disability evaluated in Projects 1 and 2, specifically examining the neural correlates of these subtypes and response to intervention.

Project 4 (MSI) proposes magnetic source imaging studies of the subtypes evaluation in Projects 1 and 2, also identifying the neural correlates and response to intervention with a different, but complementary functional neuroimaging modality.

The cores include the Administrative Services Core (A), the Recruitment and Evaluation Core (B), and the Database and Statistics Core (C).

This research program will lead to a more comprehensive classification of learning disabilities in general, a more integrated understanding of how children develop mathematical proficiencies and why some struggle, provide specific evaluations of remedial interventions, and provide important cross-discipline insights into the nature of math disabilities in children.

Performance Sites:

University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX

University of Houston, Houston, TX

Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN

The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, CANADA

Key Personnel:

University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX

J.M. Fletcher, PI; Co-PI, Core A&B; Co-PI, P2&4

E.M. Castillo, Co-PI, P4

L. Ewing-Cobbs, PI, P1; Co-PI, Core B

A.C. Papanicolaou, PI, P4

P. Simos, Co-PI, P4

University of Houston, Houston, TX

P. Cirino, Co-PI, Core C

D.J. Francis, PI, Core C

Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN

A.W. Anderson, Co-PI, P3

D. Fuchs, Co-PI; PI, P1; Co-PI, Core A

L. Fuchs, Co-PI, Core B; P1, P2

J.C. Gatenby, Co-PI, P3

J.C. Gore, PI, P3

C.L. Hamlett, Co-PI, P1

The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, CANADA

M.A. Barnes, Co-PI, P1