PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Students who struggle with math may have a neurocognitive disorder called dyscalculia

Disorder affects roughly as many people as dyslexia

2011-05-27
(Press-News.org) Students who struggle to learn mathematics may have a neurocognitive disorder that inhibits the acquisition of basic numerical and arithmetic concepts, according to a new paper by University of Minnesota and British researchers. Called developmental dyscalculia, the disorder affects roughly the same number of people as dyslexia but has received much less attention (and research funding). The paper by University of Minnesota Educational Psychology assistant professor Sashank Varma and his British colleagues that shines a light on the causes of and interventions for dyscalculia will be published Thursday, May 27 in the journal Science.

The paper, "Dyscalculia, From Brain to Education," documents how scientists across the world have used magnetic resonance imaging to map the neural network that supports arithmetic. Through this process, they have discovered abnormalities in this network among learners with dyscalculia.

These findings have the potential to lead to evidence-based interventions for dyscalculia, Varma says. "Knowledge about what parts of the brain we use while learning mathematics is spurring the design of new computer learning environments that can strengthen simple number and arithmetic concepts," he explains. The paper envisions future research where neuroscientists, psychologists and educational researchers collaborate to offer a productive way forward on the important question of why some children struggle with learning mathematics.

### Varma co-authored the paper with lead author Professor Brian Butterworth, of the University College London Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, and Diana Laurillard, a member of the Institute of Education at the University of London. "Dyscalculia: From Brain to Education" is published online today in Science.

Varma studies how people understand complex symbol systems such as mathematics and language, and the neural underpinnings of this understanding. In 2008, he published an influential paper on the relation between neuroscience and education in the journal Educational Researcher with Daniel Schwartz at Stanford University and Bruce McCandliss at Vanderbilt University.

About the University of Minnesota College of Education and Human Development The Department of Educational Psychology is one of eight academic departments in the University of Minnesota College of Education and Human Development (CEHD). The college ranks third nationally in research among all public colleges of education, with 260 professionals directly involved in research. CEHD enrolls about 2,350 undergraduate students and 2,900 graduate students.


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Study shows brain's response to sadness can predict relapses into depression

2011-05-27
A University of Toronto study shows that when formerly depressed people experience mild states of sadness, their brain's response can predict if they will become depressed again. "Part of what makes depression such a devastating disease is the high rate of relapse," says Norman Farb, a PhD psychology student and lead author of the study. "However, the fact that some patients are able to fully maintain their recovery suggests the possibility that different responses to the type of emotional challenges encountered in everyday life could reduce the chance of relapse." Farb ...

Get Your Solar Inverter 'Fix' from Fronius Australia with Business Review Australia

Get Your Solar Inverter Fix from Fronius Australia with Business Review Australia
2011-05-27
Business Review Australia takes a look at Fronius Australia. Austrian-based Fronius International has been developing and manufacturing welding equipment and battery technology for over half a century. Since 1995, Fronius expanded its operations to include solar power electronics. With operations spanning the globe, Fronius inverters have been available to the Australian market since 1992. Fronius International realized the growing potential of the Australian solar power market and opened a solar electronics division in Melbourne in October 2010. Fronius Australia now ...

Aging, obsolete cells prime the lungs for pneumonia

Aging, obsolete cells prime the lungs for pneumonia
2011-05-27
SAN ANTONIO (May 26, 2011) — Community-acquired pneumonia is the leading cause of infectious death among the elderly. Newly published research from The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio suggests why older people are vulnerable and offers a possible defense. The researchers found that when it comes to aging and pneumonia, one bad apple can ruin the barrel. Lung cells that were supposed to die due to DNA damage — but didn't — were 5 to 15 times more susceptible to invasion by pneumonia-causing bacteria. These bad apples also increased the susceptibility ...

TGen study identifies compounds that could slow down Alzheimer's disease

2011-05-27
PHOENIX, Ariz. — May 26, 2011 — A family of naturally occurring plant compounds could help prevent or delay memory loss associated with Alzheimer's disease, according to a new study by the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen). Beta-carboline alkaloids could potentially be used in therapeutic drugs to stop, or at least slow down, the progressively debilitating effects of Alzheimer's, according to the study published recently in the scientific journal Public Library of Science (PLoS) One. One of these alkaloids, called harmine, inhibits a protein known as ...

Common transplant drug inhibits breast cancer growth, UNC laboratory study shows

2011-05-27
Tacrolimus, a drug that is commonly used to prevent organ transplantation rejection, inhibits breast cancer growth in pre-clinical studies. The finding from UNC scientists was reported in the May 26th PLoS ONE. Nancy Klauber-DeMore, MD, associate professor of surgery, said, " We now have a rationale for performing human clinical trials to determine if Tacrolimus reduces breast cancer growth in humans. Since Tacrolimus is already an FDA-approved drug, the safety and toxicity profile is known, which means that Tacrolimus could potentially go directly into a later stage ...

Bruce Marks to Speak at US-Russia Business Council Forum in London

Bruce Marks to Speak at US-Russia Business Council Forum in London
2011-05-27
Leading law firm, Marks & Sokolov, is pleased to announce Managing Director, Bruce S. Marks, will moderate a prestigious panel at the 3rd US Russia Business Council Legal Forum. A world leader in US, Russian and Ukrainian law and litigation, Bruce S. Marks brings a unique and important perspective to the forum. Taking place in London on June 9th, 2011, the forum will gather the world's leading practitioners in US Russian commercial legal matters. Bruce S. Marks will moderate a panel entitled 'Legal Reform and the Courts in Russia'. It's more than two years since ...

Current test-based incentive programs have not consistently raised

2011-05-27
WASHINGTON — Despite being used for several decades, test-based incentives have not consistently generated positive effects on student achievement, says a new report from the National Research Council. The report examines evidence on incentive programs, which impose sanctions or offer rewards for students, teachers, or schools on the basis of students' test performance. Federal and state governments have increasingly relied on incentives in recent decades as a way to raise accountability in public education and in the hope of driving improvements in achievement. School-level ...

People with body-image disorders process 'big picture' visual information abnormally

2011-05-27
People suffering from body dysmorphic disorder, or BDD — a severe mental illness characterized by debilitating misperceptions that one appears disfigured and ugly — process visual information abnormally, even when looking at inanimate objects, according to a new UCLA study. First author Dr. Jamie Feusner, a UCLA assistant professor of psychiatry, and colleagues found that patients with the disorder have less brain activity when processing holistic visual elements that provide the "big picture," regardless of whether that picture is a face or an object. The research ...

5 new hot spots where medicine and technology will converge

5 new hot spots where medicine and technology will converge
2011-05-27
Medicine and technology are converging in patient care at a faster pace than most people realize. Space age advancements from point-of-care health technologies like telemedicine to medical robots performing surgery are fast becoming commonplace in many hospitals. What's next? Ask NJIT Distinguished Professor Atam Dhawan, an electrical engineer and associate dean of the NJIT Albert Dorman Honors College, chair of the the IEEE emerging technology committee, and workshop chair for the upcoming 33rd IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS) Annual International ...

Pan American Metals Pleased to Announce Gold and Silver Once Again the 'Safe Haven' Choice

2011-05-27
Market reports May 24 showed that gold and silver had regained their standing as 'safe haven' investments, with gold remaining comfortably above the $1500 an ounce benchmark, closing the day at $1523, the highest price for three weeks. Silver has also bounced back to close, May 24, at $36.12. Mounting concerns over European debt following rumors of a Greek default helped drive investors back toward the 'safety net' of precious metals. The UK, Italy, Spain and Portugal were causing concern as they faced reduced credit ratings and, in the case of Spain, a change of government. ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Carbon capture, utilization, and storage: A comprehensive review of CCUS-EOR

New high-temperature stable dispersed particle gel for enhanced profile control in CCUS applications

State gun laws and firearm-related homicides and suicides

Use of tobacco and cannabis following state-level cannabis legalization

Long-term obesity and biological aging in young adults

Eindhoven University of Technology and JMIR Publications announce unlimited open access publishing agreement

Orphan nuclear receptors in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease development

A technological breakthrough for ultra-fast and greener AI

Pusan National University researchers identify key barriers hindering data-driven smart manufacturing adoption

Inking heterometallic nanosheets: A scalable breakthrough for coating, electronics, and electrocatalyst applications

Adults with autism show similar brain mapping of body parts as typically developing adults

Uncovering behavioral clues to childhood maltreatment

Premenstrual symptoms linked to increased risk of cardiovascular disease

Newly discovered remains of ancient river landscapes control ice flow in East Antarctica

Newly discovered interstellar object 'may be oldest comet ever seen'

Animal-inspired AI robot learns to navigate unfamiliar terrain

Underserved youth less likely to visit emergency department for concussion in Ontario, study finds

‘Molecular shield’ placed in the nose may soon treat common hay fever trigger

Beetles under climate stress lay larger male eggs: Wolbachia infection drives adaptive reproduction strategy in response to rising temperature and CO₂

Groundbreaking quantum study puts wave-particle duality to work

Weekly injection could be life changing for Parkinson’s patients

Toxic metals linked to impaired growth in infants in Guatemala

Being consistently physically active in adulthood linked to 30–40% lower risk of death

Nerve pain drug gabapentin linked to increased dementia, cognitive impairment risks

Children’s social care involvement common to nearly third of UK mums who died during perinatal period

‘Support, not judgement’: Study explores links between children’s social care involvement and maternal deaths

Ethnic minority and poorer children more likely to die in intensive care

Major progress in fertility preservation after treatment for cancer of the lymphatic system

Fewer complications after additional ultrasound in pregnant women who feel less fetal movement

Environmental impact of common pesticides seriously underestimated

[Press-News.org] Students who struggle with math may have a neurocognitive disorder called dyscalculia
Disorder affects roughly as many people as dyslexia