On February 3rd, 2026, the Helsinki SEN research community hosted a seminar with Dr. Nurit Viesel-Nordmeyer from Aix-Marseille University, France. Her keynote focused on associations between mathematical and language skills and the role of executive functions. Dr. Viesel-Nordmeyer presented the current scientific evidence from meta-analyses and empirical studies from both behavioural and neuroscientific perspectives.
The keynote began with an introduction to previous theories and models of the math-language relations, such as the Triple Code Model (Dehaene, 1992) and her own model based on Krajewski (2014) and von Aster (2013). How are language skills related to mathematical abilities? Could the association be partially explained by the specific types of language skills studied? The specific language skills discussed were reading, phonological processing, vocabulary, and grammar.
First, Nurit described a meta-analysis comparing the profiles of children with reading difficulties, mathematical difficulties, or both. The results suggested that reading and math difficulties tend to combine in an additive way, as the sum of the two deficits. However, the deficits in executive functions (namely inhibition, switching, and updating) corresponded to under-additivity, meaning that the deficits were less severe than what would have been expected if they were summed up.
Next, she presented a large set of neuroimaging studies through another meta-analysis, where she and her colleagues examined whether grammar and arithmetic skills rely on shared neural systems. The analysis revealed overlapping regions in the left hemisphere, even though grammar and arithmetic also showed their own distinct patterns. She continued with findings from a large-scale study of more than five hundred children and adolescents. The project combined multiple datasets to identify which brain regions relate to individual differences in arithmetic skills. Despite the diversity of earlier studies, the combined data pointed consistently to left-hemisphere structures.
Then, Dr. Viesel-Nordmeyer presented several longitudinal studies that followed children’s language and mathematical development over time. Interestingly, grammar skills predicted mathematical skills, while vocabulary did not.
In her closing remarks, she suggested that the links between language and mathematics may arise from cognitive processes that both domains rely on and the understanding of rules and structures, such as in understanding grammar. Vocabulary seemed to play a more limited role, possibly because it supports communication rather than structured rule application.
The seminar continued with a lively discussion, including study designs, measurement tools, and intervention perspectives of digital tools. Nurit discussed guided digital learning activities on math problem solving that she and her colleagues are currently developing in the framework of AMPIRIC using maple learn from maple soft. She also gave a short demonstration of the Meister Cody KIDS game developed by her team. The tool is designed as both a screener and a platform to support early mathematical skills in preschool children and includes components for language and executive functions.
Thank you to Dr. Viesel-Nordmeyer for visiting Helsinki with her keynote, and to all the participants for being part of the seminar!