Study
finds differences in brains of children with nonverbal learning disability
Posted By News On November 20, 2013 - 5:01pm
EAST LANSING, Mich. — A Michigan State University researcher
has discovered the first anatomical evidence that the brains of children with a
nonverbal learning disability – long considered a "pseudo" diagnosis
– may develop differently than the brains of other children.
The finding, published in Child Neuropsychology,
could ultimately help educators and clinicians better distinguish between – and
treat – children with a nonverbal learning disability, or NLVD, and those with
Asperger's, or high functioning autism, which is often confused with NLVD.
"Children with nonverbal learning disabilities and
Asperger's can look very similar, but they can have very different reasons for
why they behave the way they do," said Jodene Fine, assistant professor of
school psychology in MSU's College of Education.
Understanding the biological differences in children with
learning and behavioral challenges could help lead to more appropriate
intervention strategies.
Children with nonverbal learning disability tend to have
normal language skills but below average math skills and difficulty solving
visual puzzles. Because many of these kids also show difficulty understanding
social cues, some experts have argued that NVLD is related to high functioning
autism – which this latest study suggests may not be so.
Fine and Kayla Musielak, an MSU doctoral student in school
psychology, studied about 150 children ages 8 to 18. Using MRI scans of the
participants' brains, the researchers found that the children diagnosed with
NVLD had smaller spleniums than children with other learning disorders such as
Asperger's and ADHD, and children who had no learning disorders.
The splenium is part of the corpus callosum, a thick band of
fibers in the brain that connects the left and right hemispheres and
facilitates communication between the two sides. Interestingly, this posterior
part of the corpus callosum serves the areas of the brain related to visual and
spatial functioning.
In a second part of the study, the participants' brain
activity was analyzed after they were shown videos in an MRI that portrayed
both positive and negative examples of social interaction. (A typical example
of a positive event was a child opening a desired birthday present with friend;
a negative event included a child being teased by other children.)
The researchers found that the brains of children with
nonverbal learning disability responded differently to the social interactions
than the brains of children with high functioning autism, or HFA, suggesting
the neural pathways that underlie those behaviors may be different.
"So what we have is evidence of a structural difference
in the brains of children with NLVD and HFA, as well as evidence of a
functional difference in the way their brains behave when they are presented
with stimuli," Fine said.
While more research is needed to better understand how
nonverbal learning disability fits into the family of learning disorders, Fine
said her findings present "an interesting piece of the puzzle."
"I would say at this point we still don't have enough
evidence to say NVLD is a distinct diagnosis, but I do think our research
supports the idea that it might be," she said.
Michigan State University's Jodene Fine has discovered the
first anatomical evidence suggesting the brains of children with nonverbal
learning disability are different than the brains of other children.
(Photo
Credit: Michigan State University)
Michigan
State University researcher Jodene Fine has discovered the first anatomical
evidence that the brains of children with a nonverbal learning disability may
develop differently than the brains of other children.
(Photo Credit: Michigan State
University)
Source: Michigan
State University
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