Deductive Reasoning and Math Learning Difficulty

Hospices Civils de Lyon137 enrolled

Overview

Most studies to date that have examined the factors underlying math achievement in children have focused on basic numerical knowledge. Yet, math skills are clearly not limited to basic numerical knowledge and recent behavioral studies suggest a relationship between math and deductive reasoning skills. The goal of this study is to determine the neural mediators of this relationship using functional magnetic resonance imaging. The investigators will ask children from 8 to 14 to complete a standardized math achievement test, and measure their brain activity while they process deductive arguments. The investigators will then correlate brain activity during reasoning to individual math skills to identify the brain regions in which activity during reasoning is modulated by math skill.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

NONE

Enrollment

137

Conditions

Healthy

Interventions

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 8 YearsMax age: 14 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Girl or boy between 8 and 14 * Right-handed * Affiliated to the French social security * Whose parents gave informed consent Exclusion Criteria: * Neurological disorders * Psychiatric disorders * Birth complications requiring admission into neonatal intensive care unit * Medication affecting central nervous system processing * Significant hearing impairment * Uncorrected visual impairment * Non-native French speaker * Contraindications for MRI

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Correlation between brain activity during deductive reasoning and math skill 18 to 24 months later

Brain activity measured using fMRI and math skill measured using a standardized test 18 to 24 months after scanning

Time frame: 18 to 24 months after scanning