Giulia, Lazzaro; Didino, Daniele; Guerra, Carolina; Leonardelli, Linda; Brandtner, Matthias; Vicari, Stefano; Meneghini, Deny and Cappelletti, Marinella. 2025. Reward boosts number acuity in adolescents with developmental dyscalculia. Psychological Science, ISSN 0956-7976 [Article] (Forthcoming)

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Abstract or Description

Developmental dyscalculia (DD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by persistent difficulties in numerical processing, often linked to atypical functioning of fronto-parietal brain networks. Despite its considerable social, economic, and psychological impact on individuals and society, existing interventions targeting numeracy in DD have shown limited efficacy. This highlights the urgent need for more effective strategies to support numerical learning in individuals with DD. In the present study, we propose an ecologically valid and easy-to-implement approach based on reward to enhance numerical abilities in adolescents with DD matched to controls. Our findings demonstrate, for the first time, that even modest monetary incentives can improve basic numerical processing in this population, suggesting a cost-effective and scalable means of supporting cognitive intervention. The observed effects of rewards may reflect increased stimulus salience through dopaminergic–noradrenergic interactions, potentially engaging attentional-parietal networks involved in quantity representation. This study highlights the feasibility of leveraging reward-based strategies in everyday settings—such as homes or schools—to support adolescents with numerical difficulties.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Funding: This research was supported by the Italian Ministry of Health with “Current Research” funding.
Data Access Statement:	Raw and processed data will be available in OSF (https://osf.io/5sqnt/).
Keywords:	Motivation; Incentive; Attention; Intervention; Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Departments, Centres and Research Units:	Psychology
Dates:	Date Event 28 June 2025 Accepted
Item ID:	39419
Date Deposited:	20 Aug 2025 08:29
Last Modified:	20 Aug 2025 08:38
URI:	https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/39419

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