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Neurobiological mechanisms associated with reading and math processes

Poster Session F - Tuesday, March 10, 2026, 8:00 – 10:00 am PDT, Fairview/Kitsilano Ballroom

Amanda Martinez-Lincoln¹ (), Laurie Cutting¹; ¹Vanderbilt University

Children’s reading and math skills are critical to their future educational outcomes, career readiness, and overall health and well-being, yet many children do not reach proficient status in either academic domain. Individuals who struggle with math or learning to read often display weaknesses in executive function skills on behavioral measures, which may underlie a fundamental basis for their deficits. Conversely, individuals who struggle with reading or math may need to recruit additional executive function skills to compensate for their poor reading and math problem-solving to meet task demands. This study aims to distinguish the neurobiological mechanisms underlying reading and math processes, especially highlighting those associated with executive functions, to help understand the development of these academic skills. Children, ages 7-9, completed behavioral and neuroimaging tasks related to reading, mathematics, and executive functions. Behavioral findings indicate that working memory was positively correlated with reading and mathematical ability. Interestingly, attention and inhibition were positively correlated with math, but not reading. Preliminary brain imaging results indicate that although there was activation in brain regions associated with EF across tasks, the patterns of activation in these regions were distinct for reading, math, and executive functioning tasks. Data will continue to be analyzed to further examine the underlying role of executive functions in reading and math in children. By understanding the association between executive functions and domain-specific academic skills, we will gain greater insight into the development of reading and math, and how executive functions can hinder or facilitate academic growth.

Topic Area: EXECUTIVE PROCESSES: Other