Studies of math and reading

Today, I look at three articles, the first on math, then two on reading. I have used work by Gaye before on central executive training for children with ADHD. This time, Gaye et al. (2023) published “Working Memory and Math skills in children with and without ADHD” in Neuropsychology.  Here are the edited abstract and impact statements:

Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) frequently demonstrate deficits in working memory and in multiple domains of math skills, including underdeveloped problem-solving and computation skills. The Baddeley model of working memory posits a multicomponent system, including a domain-general central executive and two domain-specific subsystems—phonological short-term memory and visuospatial short-term memory. Extant literature indicates a strong link between neurocognitive deficits in working/short-term memory and math skills; however, the extent to which each component of working/short-term memory may account for this relation is unclear. The present study was the first to use bifactor (S·I-1) modeling to examine relations between each working/short-term memory subcomponent (i.e., central executive, phonological short-term memory, and visuospatial short-term memory), ADHD symptoms, and math skills in a clinically evaluated sample of 186 children ages 8–13 (Myears = 10.40, SD = 1.49; 62 girls; 69% White/non-Hispanic). Structural equation modeling indicated that all three working/short-term memory components exert a significant and approximately equal effect on latent math skills (β = .29–.50, all p < .05) and together explain 56% of the variance in children’s math achievement (R² = .56). Exploratory analyses indicated that teacher-reported ADHD inattentive symptoms provided a small but significant contribution to predicting latent math skills (ΔR² = .07) and accounted for 24% of the central executive/math association. These findings suggest that math difficulties in children with ADHD and clinically evaluated children without ADHD are associated, in large part, with their neurocognitive vulnerabilities in working/short-term memory and, to a lesser extent, overt ADHD symptoms. All three components of working memory predicted math performance significantly and approximately equally, and explained over half of the variance in children’s math achievement even when controlling for age, sex, socioeconomic status, and ADHD symptoms. Math skills appear to be approximately equally influenced by central executive working memory and both short-term memory subsystems to the same extent for children with ADHD as they are for children without ADHD, thus informing potential targets for cognitive and academic intervention. Experimental and/or longitudinal work is needed to evaluate the potential causal relations between working/short-term memory and math performance in children with and without ADHD. 

I love Baddeley’s work and liked seeing it utilized in ways that may be helpful to professionals working with children with ADHD. The next study looks at reading and inhibitory control. Yamasaki & Prat (2023) published “Individual Differences in Inhibitory Control Relate to Neural Efficiency During Reading” in Mind, Brain, and Education. Here’s the edited abstract:

Neural efficiency, adaptability, and synchronization, or the ability to recruit, dynamically modulate, and coordinate neural resources on an “as needed” basis, have been proposed as hallmarks of skilled reading. The current study explored the relation between these aspects of neural functioning during reading, as measured by electroencephalography (EEG), and individual differences in inhibitory control, as measured by performance on the Simon task. Wireless 16-channel EEG headsets were used to record eyes-closed resting-state EEG and EEG during reading (recorded while participants completed a reading comprehension test). Results from 140 participants showed a significant correlation between inhibitory control and neural efficiency in the theta frequency band within the right posterior region-of-interest, but no significant correlations with neural adaptability or synchronization. Given the established relation between theta-based activity and linguistic processes, this finding suggests that readers with better inhibitory control demonstrate more efficient use of their language network while reading.

I like studies that creatively use technology and thought this study was helpful in documenting the role of inhibitory control in reading. The next study takes a very different, but equally promising approach. Felver, Clawson, Ash & Wang (2023) “Effects of Brief Mindfulness Practice on Reading Performance among Racially Minoritized Adolescents” in School Psychology. The edited abstract and impact statements follow:

This research evaluated the effects of a year-long mindfulness intervention in a predominately Black student sample in an urban high-poverty middle school. Five English Language Arts classrooms (n = 56) were randomly assigned to brief daily 5-min mindfulness practice or an active control. Students were measured at three time points throughout the school year on standardized curriculum-based measures of reading performance. Results indicate that students in the mindfulness condition had significantly higher reading scores (sentence-level comprehension and fluency) than students assigned to control condition at the end of the school year. This article provides the first empirical evidence indicating that brief mindfulness practice (i.e., 5-min daily) may support reading among a sample of predominately Black and economically disadvantaged youth. This work provides initial support for the utility of mindfulness practices to indirectly affect reading performance of adolescents and details a viable universal classroom practice that shows promise for historically marginalized students. 

While the first two studies utilize procedures not available to the average person, this last one suggests a simple and inexpensive way to improve reading scores in economically disadvantaged and minority youth.