# Investigation of the role of Turner syndrome on approximate number sense

> **NIH NIH K99** · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $64,813

## Abstract

Approximate number sense is a shared evolutionary ability that underlies human's propensity for complex
mathematics. Investigation of the neurobehavioral correlates of approximate number sense in healthy
populations has helped elucidate how numeracy is represented in the brain, and has highlighted important
behavioral signatures of abstract numerical discrimination that predict math performance throughout life
(Halberda, Ly, Wilmer, Naiman, & Germine, 2012; Halberda, Mazzocco, & Feigenson, 2008; Libertus, Odic, &
Halberda, 2012). The study of approximate number sense in patient populations with persistent neural and
behavioral deficits in math and number processing, such as women with Turner syndrome (TS) (Hong,
Scaletta Kent, & Kesler, 2009; Kesler, Menon, & Reiss, 2006; Molko et al., 2003), has the potential to highlight
important components of numeracy processing that may improve our understanding of numerical cognition for
all (Butterworth & Kovas, 2013). While our meta-analysis of behavioral performance on tests of math and
number competency indicates basic numerical reasoning skills are largely preserved in this group (Baker &
Reiss, 2015), very little is currently understood about the neural and behavioral correlates of approximate
number sense in patient populations with genetic abnormalities leading to poor mathematics. The proposed
K99/R00 research will directly address these gaps through a focused assessment of the neurobehavioral
signatures of number sense in children, adolescents, and adult women with TS. This contribution will
substantively advance our understanding of the effects of a specific genetic abnormality on domain-specific
cognitive processes related to numerical cognition, and will help elucidate the underlying cause of poor math
aptitude for the significant number of women living with TS. This contribution will accrue multiple tangible
benefits to the scientific and TS communities alike. For example, findings from this project will encourage novel
and more refined empirical hypotheses regarding the developmental progression of math deficits in patient
populations with poor number sense. Furthermore, interrogation of the effectiveness of Web-based number
sense training in this group will encourage the development of novel math interventions that are optimized for
the specific cognitive constraints inherent in TS, but which may also be generalized to a broader population of
individuals that struggle with mathematics. Finally, because the majority of research on numerical reasoning in
TS has been conducted on children and teens, very little is understood about the neural and behavioral
manifestation of these processes in adult women with TS. Thus, results from this project are expected to
contribute new and fundamental information about numerical cognition throughout the life span of women with
TS, and will directly advance the National Institute of Health and National Institute of Child Health and
Development's overlapping...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10267663
- **Project number:** 5K99HD092883-03
- **Recipient organization:** STANFORD UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Joseph Baker
- **Activity code:** K99 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $64,813
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-08-01 → 2021-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10267663

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10267663, Investigation of the role of Turner syndrome on approximate number sense (5K99HD092883-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10267663. Licensed CC0.

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