A Stanford-led study suggests that some children who struggle in math may have trouble adjusting their approach after errors during number-comparison tasks, rather than having only a core difficulty with numbers. Using brain imaging and computational modeling, researchers reported weaker activity in brain regions involved in monitoring performance and adapting behavior, patterns that also helped predict which children were more likely to struggle.
Researchers at Stanford University, led by Hyesang Chang, examined why some children find math much harder than their classmates. The findings were published in The Journal of Neuroscience (JNeurosci), according to a research summary distributed by the Society for Neuroscience.
Testing number comparison in symbols and dots
In the study, children completed a series of number-comparison trials, deciding which of two quantities was larger. Some trials presented quantities as written numerals (for example, 4 versus 7), while others used groups of dots that required quick estimation. By alternating between numerals and dot arrays, the researchers assessed performance across both symbolic and non-symbolic quantity discrimination.
Rather than focusing only on correct versus incorrect answers, the team used a mathematical modeling approach to evaluate how consistently children performed across many trials and how they adjusted after making mistakes.
A reduced tendency to adapt after errors
The researchers reported that children with mathematical learning disabilities were less likely to update their strategy after errors, including across different kinds of mistakes. In the report, this difficulty in post-error adjustment was described as a key difference between children with typical math abilities and those with math learning challenges.
Brain activity tied to monitoring and control
Brain imaging conducted during the tasks showed weaker activity in regions associated with monitoring performance and adjusting behavior—functions often described as part of cognitive control. In the journal article, the authors reported that reduced activity in the anterior cingulate cortex was linked to deficits in post-error adjustment, and reduced activity in the middle frontal gyrus was linked to differences in response caution during symbolic trials.
The researchers also reported that these brain-activity patterns could help predict whether a child had typical or atypical math abilities.
Implications beyond math
Chang said the findings may point to broader issues that extend beyond numerical skills: “These impairments may not necessarily be specific to numerical skills, and could apply to broader cognitive abilities that involve monitoring task performance and adapting behavior as children learn.”
The researchers said they plan to test their model in larger and more diverse groups of children, including those with other learning disabilities, to examine whether difficulties with strategy adjustment extend beyond math.
The study’s authors include Hyesang Chang, Percy K. Mistry, Yuan Zhang, Flora Schwartz, and Vinod Menon. The paper is titled “Latent neurocognitive mechanisms underlying quantity discrimination in children with and without mathematical learning disabilities” and is published in The Journal of Neuroscience (DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2385-24.2025).
