Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Parenting and Special Education Research Group, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leopold Vanderkelenstraat 32, 3000, Leuven, Belgium.
Sci Rep. 2022 Jul 19;12(1):12323. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-15335-y.
Investigating how the brain may constrain academic achievement is not only relevant to understanding brain structure but also to providing insight into the origins of individual differences in these academic abilities. In this pre-registered study, we investigated whether the variability of sulcal patterns, a qualitative feature of the brain determined in-utero and not affected by brain maturation and learning, accounted for individual differences in reading and mathematics. Participants were 97 typically developing 10-year-olds. We examined (a) the association between the sulcal pattern of the IntraParietal Sulcus (IPS) and mathematical ability; (b) the association between the sulcal pattern of the Occipito Temporal Sulcus (OTS) and reading ability; and (c) the overlap and specificity of sulcal morphology of IPS and OTS and their associations with mathematics and reading. Despite its large sample, the present study was unable to replicate a previously observed relationship between the IPS sulcal pattern and mathematical ability and a previously observed association between the left posterior OTS sulcal pattern and reading. We found a weak association between right IPS sulcal morphology and symbolic number abilities and a weak association between left posterior OTS and reading. However, both these associations were the opposite of previous reports. We found no evidence for a possible overlap or specificity in the effect of sulcal morphology on mathematics and reading. Possible explanations for this weak association between sulcal morphology and academic achievement and suggestions for future research are discussed.
研究大脑如何限制学业成就不仅与理解大脑结构有关，还有助于深入了解这些学术能力个体差异的起源。在这项预先注册的研究中，我们调查了脑回模式的可变性（脑的一种定性特征，在子宫内确定，不受大脑成熟和学习的影响）是否可以解释阅读和数学方面的个体差异。参与者是 97 名典型的 10 岁发育正常的儿童。我们研究了：（a）顶内沟（IPS）脑回模式与数学能力之间的关系；（b）枕颞沟（OTS）脑回模式与阅读能力之间的关系；以及（c）IPS 和 OTS 的脑回形态的重叠和特异性及其与数学和阅读的关联。尽管本研究样本量较大，但仍无法复制之前观察到的 IPS 脑回模式与数学能力之间的关系，也无法复制之前观察到的左后 OTS 脑回模式与阅读之间的关系。我们发现右 IPS 脑回形态与符号数能力之间存在微弱关联，左后 OTS 与阅读之间存在微弱关联。然而，这两个关联都与之前的报告相反。我们没有发现脑回形态对数学和阅读的影响存在可能的重叠或特异性的证据。对于脑回形态与学业成就之间这种微弱关联，我们进行了讨论并提出了未来研究的建议。
