Developmental Dyscalculia and Brain Laterality

The correlation between arithmetic dysfunction and brain laterality was studied in 25 children with developmental dyscalculia (DD). The children were tested on a standardized arithmetic battery and underwent a neurological and neuro-psychological evaluation. A diagnosis of left hemisphere dysfunction (n =13) was based on right side soft neurological signs, performance IQ (PIQ)>verbal IQ (VIQ), dyslexia and intact visuo-spatial functions. The criteria for right hemisphere dysfunction (n =12) were left body signs, VIQ>PIQ, impaired visuo-spatial functions and normal language skills. The groups were similar for age, gender, socio-economic status. Our results showed that both groups scored more than 2 SD below the mean adjusted score on the arithmetic battery, but the left group was significantly worse in 3 areas: mastery of addition/subtraction, complex multiplication and division and visuo-spatial errors (p<0.05). The data indicate that dysfunction of either hemisphere hampers arithmetic acquisition, but arithmetic impairment is more profound with left hemisphere dysfunction.