mPFC hemorrhage induces hippocampal CA1 dendritic spine plasticity and attentional deficits in mice.

Language ability plays a critical role in the mastery of academic subjects. Language is the medium through which instruction is delivered, creating challenges for individuals who have difficulty with language comprehension. Theoretical perspectives of learning highlight this crucial role of language ability in mastery of reading, math and science. Current educational standards in the United States, where this investigation was conducted, including the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English Language Arts & Literacy, the CCSS Mathematics Standards for Mathematical Practice, and the Next Generation Science Standards, emphasize the importance of language ability in the core subject areas. Similarly, in the United Kingdom, the national curriculum and in Brazil, the Base Nacional Comum Curricular (BNCC) highlight the role of language across subjects. Yet, despite the fundamental role language plays in learning each school subject, relatively few studies have empirically investigated the performance of children with language disorders across the academic curriculum. The current investigation compares fourth-grade students with and without communication disorders in their performance on measures of grade-level reading, math, and science. It includes the roles of gender and income level, given the literature on gender and socioeconomic differences in both communication ability and academic performance. Prior research has indicated that children with language impairment perform more poorly than typically developing children in language arts, math, and science. For example, Durkin et al. found that language scores significantly predicted performance in English, math, and science at age 11. They revealed that English was the most difficult of the three subjects for students with language impairment. Science was a relative strength for the children with language impairment, and math ability fell between English and science proficiency. Five-year-old children who had been identified as late talkers as toddlers earned significantly lower scores on measures of reading and math compared with typically developing peers. Phonological awareness and oral language comprehension at age five are significant predictors of language and mathematics in 4, 7, and 10 grades. Children with language impairment perform more poorly than typically developing peers on aspects of mathematics including number transcoding, counting, arithmetic, and story problems. Mathematical difficulties in children with language impairment may be due to difficulty with manipulating mathematical symbols, using working memory to recognize patterns, and using complex linguistic syntax.