How is anxiety related to math performance in young students? A longitudinal study of Grade 2 to Grade 3 children.

Both general and math-specific anxiety are related to proficiency in mathematics. However, it is not clear when math anxiety arises in young children, nor how it relates to early math performance. This study therefore investigated the early association between math anxiety and math performance in Grades 2 and 3, by accounting for general anxiety and by further inspecting the prevalent directionality of the anxiety-performance link. Results revealed that this link was significant in Grade 3, with a prevalent direction from math anxiety to performance, rather than the reverse. Longitudinal analyses also showed an indirect effect of math anxiety in Grade 2 on subsequent math performance in Grade 3. Overall, these findings highlight the importance of monitoring anxiety from the early stages of schooling in order to promote proficient academic performance.

The contribution of general cognitive abilities and approximate number system to early mathematics.

BACKGROUND: Math learning is a complex process that entails a wide range of cognitive abilities to be fulfilled. There is sufficient evidence that both general and specific cognitive skills assume a fundamental role, despite the absence of shared consensus about the relative extent of their involvement. Moreover, regarding general abilities, there is no agreement about the recruitment of the different memory components or of intelligence. In relation to specific factors, great debate subsists regarding the role of the approximate number system (ANS). AIMS: Starting from these considerations, we wanted to conduct a wide assessment of memory components and ANS, by controlling for the effects associated with intelligence and also exploring possible relationships between all precursors. SAMPLE AND METHOD: To achieve this purpose, a sample of 157 children was tested at both beginning and end of their Grade 1. Both general (memory and intelligence) and specific (ANS) precursors were evaluated by a wide battery of tests and put in relation to concurrent and subsequent math skills. Memory was explored in passive and active aspects involving both verbal and visuo-spatial components. RESULTS: Path analysis results demonstrated that memory, and especially the more active processes, and intelligence were the strongest precursors in both assessment times. ANS had a milder role which lost significance by the end of the school year. Memory and ANS seemed to influence early mathematics almost independently. CONCLUSION: Both general and specific precursors seemed to have a crucial role in early math competences, despite the lower involvement of ANS.

Preoperative plasticity in the functional naming network of patients with left insular gliomas.

Plasticity could take place as a compensatory process following brain glioma growth. Only a few studies specifically explored plasticity in patients affected by a glioma invading the left insula; even more, plasticity of the insular cortex in task-based functional language network is almost unexplored. In the current study, we explored potential plasticity in a consecutive series of 22 patients affected by a glioma centered to the left insula, by comparing their preoperative object-naming functional network with that of a group of healthy controls. After having controlled for demographic variables, fMRI results showed that patients vs. controls activated a cluster in the right, contralesional pars triangularis including the Broca's area. On the other hand, controls did not significantly activate any brain region more than patients. At behavioral level, patients retained a generally preserved naming performance as well as a proficient language processing profile. These findings suggest that involvement of language-specific areas in the healthy hemisphere could help compensate for the left, affected insula, thus allowing preservation of the naming functions. Results are commented in relation to lesion site, naming performance, and potential relevance for neurosurgery.

Pre-Operative Functional Mapping in Patients with Brain Tumors by fMRI and MEG: Advantages and Disadvantages in the Use of One Technique over the Other.

Pre-operative mapping of brain functions is crucial to plan neurosurgery and investigate potential plasticity processes. Due to its availability, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is widely used for this purpose; on the other hand, the demanding cost and maintenance limit the use of magnetoencephalography (MEG), despite several studies reporting its accuracy in localizing brain functions of interest in patient populations. In this review paper, we discuss the strengths and weaknesses of both techniques, from a methodological perspective first; then, we scrutinized and commented on the findings from 16 studies, identified by a database search, that made pre-operative assessments using both techniques in patients with brain tumors. We commented on the results by accounting for study limitations associated with small sample sizes and variability in the used tasks. Overall, we found that, although some studies reported the superiority for MEG, the majority of them underlined the complementary use of these techniques and suggested assessment using both. Indeed, both fMRI and MEG present some disadvantages, although the development of novel devices and processing procedures has enabled ever more accurate assessments. In particular, the development of new, more feasible MEG devices will allow widespread availability of this technique and its routinely combined use with fMRI.

Normal-appearing white matter structural integrity in incidentally discovered low-grade gliomas: a single institution study.

BACKGROUND: Incidentally discovered low-grade gliomas (iLGGs) are poorly reported in the literature and little is still known about their effects on white-matter structure. In this study, we investigated whether iLLG growth in either hemisphere could affect main white-matter association tracts and cortico-spinal tract. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed white-matter integrity in a group of 18 patients with iLGG having a mostly preserved cognitive status [1]. We identified two groups of patients, 13 having iLGG in left hemisphere (LH) and five in right hemisphere (RH) and maximum lesion overlap in inferior frontal gyrus and in medial frontal areas, respectively. A group of healthy controls (N.=20) was included. We carried out a univariate analysis of variance to inspect potential effect of interaction between hemisphere harboring the lesion (i.e., LH or RH) and hemisphere taken into account on number of streamlines and fractional anisotropy (FA) of reconstructed white-matter tracts. RESULTS: The sole significant interaction concerned left arcuate fasciculus, with patients with iLGG in LH having a lower number of streamlines than healthy controls; interaction involving FA was not significant for any of the fascicles. Lack of any other significant findings indicates overall preserved white matter. CONCLUSIONS: iLGG size and growth pattern could explain why white-matter status did not markedly differ with respect to the healthy controls. Findings therefore support evidence that iLGGs represent the earlier phase in natural history of LGGs and are discussed in a clinical perspective and in support to safe early surgery.

The interplay between math anxiety and working memory on math performance: a longitudinal study.

Mathematical skills are essential to mastering everyday activities, making professional choices, and exercising citizenship in a numerate society. There is extensive evidence of the relationship between math anxiety (MA) and working memory (WM) influencing math attainment. Studies have mainly considered adult samples, however, leaving primary school children almost unexplored. This study is a first attempt to examine how the complex interplay between MA and WM affects math achievement from a developmental perspective. A total of 148 third graders were assessed with WM, general anxiety (GA), MA, and math tasks. Anxiety and WM were assessed at the beginning of the school year when children started attending grade 3, while math achievement was tested twice at the start of grades 3 and 4. The findings seem to confirm that GA has both a direct and an indirect effect (mediated by WM) on math performance in third and fourth graders. MA has a direct effect on math performance in grade 4, but only an indirect effect in grade 3, suggesting MA has a developmental trajectory, becoming stronger over time. The implications in the educational setting are discussed, pointing to the importance of a combined intervention on MA and WM.

Hemispheric Asymmetry of the Hand Motor Representations in Patients with Highly Malignant Brain Tumors: Implications for Surgery and Clinical Practice.

We addressed both brain pre-surgical functional and neurophysiological aspects of the hand representation in 18 right-handed patients harboring a highly malignant brain tumor in the sensorimotor (SM) cortex (10 in the left hemisphere, LH, and 8 in the right hemisphere, RH) and 10 healthy controls, who performed an fMRI hand-clenching task with both hands alternatively. We extracted the main ROI in the SM cortex and compared ROI values and volumes between hemispheres and groups, in addition to their motor neurophysiological measures. Hemispheric asymmetry in the fMRI signal was observed for healthy controls, namely higher signal for the left-hand movements, but not for either patients' groups. ROI values, although altered in patients vs. controls, did not differ significantly between groups. ROI volumes associated with right-hand movement were lower for both patients' groups vs. controls, and those associated with left-hand movement were lower in the RH group vs. all groups. These results are relevant to interpret potential preoperative plasticity and make inferences about postoperative plasticity and can be integrated in the surgical planning to increase surgery success and postoperative prognosis and quality of life.

Effects of Linguistic Distance on Second Language Brain Activations in Bilinguals: An Exploratory Coordinate-Based Meta-Analysis.

In this quantitative meta-analysis, we used the activation likelihood estimation (ALE) approach to address the effects of linguistic distance between first (L1) and second (L2) languages on language-related brain activations. In particular, we investigated how L2-related networks may change in response to linguistic distance from L1. Thus, we examined L2 brain activations in two groups of participants with English as L2 and either (i) a European language (European group, n = 13 studies) or (ii) Chinese (Chinese group, n = 18 studies) as L1. We further explored the modulatory effect of age of appropriation (AoA) and proficiency of L2. We found that, irrespective of L1-L2 distance-and to an extent-irrespective of L2 proficiency, L2 recruits brain areas supporting higher-order cognitive functions (e.g., cognitive control), although with group-specific differences (e.g., the insula region in the European group and the frontal cortex in the Chinese group). The Chinese group also selectively activated the parietal lobe, but this did not occur in the subgroup with high L2 proficiency. These preliminary results highlight the relevance of linguistic distance and call for future research to generalize findings to other language pairs and shed further light on the interaction between linguistic distance, AoA, and proficiency of L2.

Normal-appearing naming-related functional activation in incidentally discovered lowgrade gliomas: a single institution study.

BACKGROUND: Incidentally discovered low-grade gliomas (iLGGs) represent a rare neurological condition, which is associated with a good clinical status and usually preserved - or borderline - cognitive functions; only recently, knowledge has increased on their development and clinical features. Better understanding these aspects is fundamental to set up the most appropriate clinical protocol. METHODS: We used fMRI to conduct an exploratory investigation of the effects of iLGG growth on the brain and the potential occurrence of early rearrangement in the functional network associated with object naming. We compared this group of 13 patients with an iLGG in the left hemisphere (maximum lesion overlap in the left inferior frontal gyrus and median tumor volume 12 cm3) and with preserved naming skills with that of a healthy control group. RESULTS: No significant differences were observed in the functional activations between the two groups, but a cluster in the controls vs. patients contrast mainly located in the right lateral visual cortex. As this region is unspecific for object naming and no significant changes emerged in the affected hemisphere nor in naming-specific homologues of the contralesional hemisphere, we concluded that iLGG growth did not affect the functional network and plasticity-related reorganization did not occur yet. We attributed this finding to iLGG features, such as small tumor size at the diagnosis and lack or minimal infiltration. CONCLUSIONS: These findings are preliminary and we recommend future investigation to replicate them and test generalizability to other functional networks. Understanding the potential functional effects of iLGG growth is fundamental for the choice of the most appropriate treatment.

What do we know about pre- and postoperative plasticity in patients with glioma? A review of neuroimaging and intraoperative mapping studies.

Brain plasticity potential is a central theme in neuro-oncology and is currently receiving increased attention. Advances in treatment have prolonged life expectancy in neuro-oncological patients and the long-term preservation of their quality of life is, therefore, a new challenge. To this end, a better understanding of brain plasticity mechanisms is vital as it can help prevent permanent deficits following neurosurgery. Indeed, reorganization processes can be fundamental to prevent or recover neurological and cognitive deficits by reallocating brain functions outside the lesioned areas. According to more recent studies in the literature, brain reorganization taking place following neurosurgery is associated with good neurofunctioning at follow-up. Interestingly, in the last few years, the number of reports on plasticity has notably increased. Aim of the current review was to provide a comprehensive overview of pre- and postoperative neuroplasticity patterns. Within this framework, we aimed to shed light on some tricky issues, including i) involvement of the contralateral healthy hemisphere, ii) role and potential changes of white matter and connectivity patterns, and iii) reorganization in low- versus high-grade gliomas. We finally discussed the practical implications of these aspects and role of additional potentially relevant factors to be explored. Final purpose was to provide a guideline helpful in promoting increase in the extent of tumor resection while preserving the patients' neurological and cognitive functioning.

Relation Between Reading Performance and White-Matter Alteration and Reorganization in Neurosurgical Patients.

Reading abilities and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) parameters were retrospectively analyzed in a group of neurosurgical patients to investigate (Study 1) the role of white matter-in particular the arcuate fasciculus (AF)-in preserved vs. impaired reading; 4 months after surgery, we explored the plasticity processes (Study 2). Study 1 involved 40 patients with brain glioma (23 low-grade and 17 high-grade gliomas). We compared preoperative DTI parameters of language-related fascicles between patients who developed a reading impairment after surgery (n = 23) and patients with preserved reading (n = 17). Besides lower fractional anisotropy (FA), patients with impaired reading also displayed lower number and density of streamlines of a direct (i.e., directly connecting temporal and frontal lobes) AF segment. In Study 2, we longitudinally tested at follow-up-when reading performance had generally improved-13 patients diagnosed with low-grade glioma. The most relevant finding was a significant increase in length of streamlines of the direct AF segments in both hemispheres. From a neurosurgical perspective, our preliminary findings suggest the clinical importance of sparing direct AF segments for the involvement they showed in reading; however, the results also suggest the reorganization potential of these segments, possibly compensating of the right homologs as well.

Language Brain Representation in Bilinguals With Different Age of Appropriation and Proficiency of the Second Language: A Meta-Analysis of Functional Imaging Studies.

Language representation in the bilingual brain is the result of many factors, of which age of appropriation (AoA) and proficiency of the second language (L2) are probably the most studied. Many studies indeed compare early and late bilinguals, although it is not yet clear what the role of the so-called critical period in L2 appropriation is. In this study, we carried out coordinate-based meta-analyses to address this issue and to inspect the role of proficiency in addition to that of AoA. After the preliminary inspection of the early (also very early) and late bilinguals' language networks, we explored the specific activations associated with each language and compared them within and between the groups. Results confirmed that the L2 language brain representation was wider than that associated with L1. This was observed regardless of AoA, although differences were more relevant in the late bilinguals' group. In particular, L2 entailed a greater enrollment of the brain areas devoted to the executive functions, and this was also observed in proficient bilinguals. The early bilinguals displayed many activation clusters as well, which also included the areas involved in cognitive control. Interestingly, these regions activated even in L1 of both early and late bilingual groups, although less consistently. Overall, these findings suggest that bilinguals in general are constantly subjected to cognitive effort to monitor and regulate the language use, although early AoA and high proficiency are likely to reduce this.