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Does the neural representation of symbolic magnitude task predict future mathematical ability in young children?

Poster Session A - Saturday, March 29, 2025, 3:00 – 5:00 pm EDT, Back Bay Ballroom/Republic Ballroom

Amanda Martinez-Lincoln¹ (amanda.martinez-lincoln@vanderbilt.edu), Gavin Price², Laurie Cutting¹; ¹Vanderbilt University, ²University of Exeter

Children's behavioral performance on symbolic comparison tasks is robustly correlated with their concurrent and future mathematical ability [1]. Parallel to behavior findings, brain imaging data indicates that the left and the right intraparietal sulci (IPS) are important brain regions associated with symbolic comparison tasks [2] and individual differences in IPS activation are correlated with mathematic skills [3]. In addition to the IPS, the arithmetic network also includes auxiliary brain areas, including the prefrontal cortex, which supports executive functioning (EF) processes [4]. Activity in these auxiliary prefrontal brain regions typically increases during the early stages of learning math [5]. While brain findings support the idea of a developmental shift in reliance on ancillary EF brain regions [6-8], how this shift relates to future mathematical ability is unclear. The current study will examine whether the neural representation in math and auxiliary EF brain regions predicts future mathematic skills in children. 94 kindergarten children completed behavioral mathematical measures and neuroimaging, which they completed a symbolic comparison task. Children returned in first grade for behavioral testing (time 2). Behavioral findings indicate that mathematical ability at time 2 was positively correlated with early symbolic numeracy (r = 0.49, p = 0.01) at time 1. Data will be analyzed to examine if the neural representation of the symbolic magnitude task in kindergarten predicts first-grade mathematic skills. This study's findings will provide a greater understanding of the development of math skills and the relationship between executive function and math.

Topic Area: EXECUTIVE PROCESSES: Development &aging