# Functional and Anatomical investigations of Domain-specific and Domain-General Alterations in Neural Systems underlying Math & Reading Difficulty

> **NIH NIH P50** · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO · 2022 · $128,702

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
PROJECT III: FUNCTIONAL AND ANATOMICAL INVESTIGATIONS OF DOMAIN-SPECIFIC
 AND DOMAIN-GENERAL ALTERATIONS IN NEURAL SYSTEMS UNDERLYING
 MATH & READING DIFFICULTY
The goal of this high-risk/high-reward project will be to investigate, using a new and novel perspective, the
neural underpinnings of reading and math difficulties. In particular, in a novel theoretical conceptualization, this
project links specific neural systems to specific behavioral characteristics exhibited by individuals with learning
disabilities. The center within which this project is embedded focuses on three types of behaviors proposed to
be altered in reading and math disability: processing speed, domain-specific processes that are needed to
enable a given ability (e.g., word recognition for reading; numerical sense for math), and executive processes
that aid in selecting and prioritizing specific information to support domain-specific processes. This project tests
a model which posits that alterations of each of these three behaviors is associated with alterations in each of
three specific aspects of neural function. The project will examine whether slowed processing speed, which is
observed trans-diagnostically across reading and math disability, is associated with poorer overall integration
and coordination of information across the brain. Brain organization will be assessed by state-of-the art
methods. In one method drawn from graph theory, the brain is conceptualized as consisting as a set of nodes
or regions, with the connections between them acting as a route for information flow (much like an airline
network). The hypothesis to be tested argues that the first behavioral characteristic, slowed processing speed,
will be associated with reduced efficiency of information flow through the brain. In the other method, the brain
is divided into intrinsic connectivity networks, where brain regions whose activity co-varies together over time
are grouped together (much as the world is composed of different alliances such as the European Union and
North American Free Trade Association). From this perspective, it is proposed that in individuals with slowed
processing speed, processing within these networks is not well insulated from one another. The project will
also test the hypothesis that the second behavioral characteristic, domain-specific deficits (i.e., math difficulties,
reading difficulties) are reflected in altered processing in brain regions critical to a given domain. In the case of
reading, such critical areas include the language-related superior temporal/inferior parietal regions along with
inferior frontal regions of the left hemisphere. For math, the critical region is the intraparietal sulcus. Finally,
the project will test the hypothesis that those individuals with learning difficulty who also exhibit executive
dysfunction, the third behavioral characteristic, will show alterations in function of lateral prefrontal regions, as
well as disrupted co...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10686619
- **Project number:** 3P50HD027802-30S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO
- **Principal Investigator:** Marie T Banich
- **Activity code:** P50 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $128,702
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2022-08-01 → 2023-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10686619

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10686619, Functional and Anatomical investigations of Domain-specific and Domain-General Alterations in Neural Systems underlying Math & Reading Difficulty (3P50HD027802-30S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10686619. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*