BRAIN DRAIN

Kids’ learning difficulties do not correspond to specific brain regions, say Cambridge researchers.

Poor connectivity between ‘hubs’ within the brain are more likely indicated, say scientists from the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge. Between 14% and 30% of children and adolescents worldwide have learning difficulties severe enough to require additional support. These difficulties are often associated with cognitive and/or behavioural problems. In some cases, children receive a formal diagnosis of a specific learning difficulty or disability, such as dyslexia, dyscalculia or developmental language disorder, or of a developmental disorder such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyspraxia, or autism spectrum disorder. Scientists have struggled to identify specific areas of the brain that might give rise to these difficulties, suggesting that each case involves different combinations of brain regions. However, this research suggest there are, in fact, no specific brain areas that cause these difficulties. Instead, the team found that the children’s brains were organised around hubs, like an efficient traffic system. Children who had well-connected brain hubs had either very specific cognitive difficulties, such as poor listening skills, or had no cognitive difficulties at all. Children with poorly connected hubs had widespread and severe cognitive problems. Dr Duncan Astle, senior author on the study, said the results suggest interventions should be less reliant on diagnostic labels. “Receiving a diagnosis is important for families. It can give professional recognition for a child’s difficulties and open the door to specialist support. But in terms of specific interventions, for example from the child’s teachers, they can be a distraction. It’s better to look at their areas of cognitive difficulties and how these can be supported, for example using specific interventions to improve listening skills or language competencies.”