The hippocampus is known to play a critical role in a variety of complex abilities, including visual‐spatial reasoning, social functioning, and math. Nonverbal learning disability (NVLD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in visual‐spatial reasoning that are accompanied by impairment in social function or mathematics, as well as motor or executive function skills. Despite the overlap between behaviors supported by the hippocampus and impairments in NVLD, the structure and function of the hippocampus in NVLD has not been studied. To address this gap in the literature, we first compared hippocampal volume and resting‐state functional connectivity in children with NVLD (n = 24) and typically developing (TD) children (n = 20). We then explored associations between hippocampal structure, connectivity, and performance on measures of spatial, social, and mathematical ability. Relative to TD children, those with NVLD showed significant reductions in left hippocampal volume and greater hippocampal‐cerebellar connectivity. In children with NVLD, reduced hippocampal volume associated with worse mathematical problem solving. Although children with NVLD exhibited more social problems (social responsiveness scale [SRS]) and higher hippocampal‐cerebellar connectivity relative to TD children, greater connectivity was associated with fewer social problems among children with NVLD but not TD children. Such an effect may suggest a compensatory mechanism. These structural and functional alterations of the hippocampus may disrupt its putative role in organizing conceptual frameworks through cognitive mapping, thus contributing to the cross‐domain difficulties that characterize NVLD.

中文翻译：

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海马体结构和功能连接的改变与非语言学习障碍的社交和数学困难有关。


众所周知，海马体在多种复杂能力中发挥着关键作用，包括视觉空间推理、社会功能和数学。非语言学习障碍（NVLD）是一种神经发育障碍，其特征是视觉空间推理缺陷，并伴有社会功能或数学以及运动或执行功能技能的损害。尽管海马体支持的行为与 NVLD 损伤之间存在重叠，但 NVLD 中海马体的结构和功能尚未被研究。为了解决文献中的这一差距，我们首先比较了 NVLD 儿童 ( n = 24) 和典型发育 (TD) 儿童 ( n = 20) 的海马体积和静息态功能连接。然后，我们探讨了海马结构、连接性和空间、社交和数学能力测量表现之间的关联。与 TD 儿童相比，患有 NVLD 的儿童左侧海马体积显着减少，海马-小脑连接性更强。在患有 NVLD 的儿童中，海马体积减少与数学问题解决能力较差相关。尽管与 TD 儿童相比，NVLD 儿童表现出更多的社会问题（社会反应量表 [SRS]）和更高的海马-小脑连通性，但 NVLD 儿童（而非 TD 儿童）更大的连通性与更少的社会问题相关。这种效应可能暗示着一种补偿机制。海马体的这些结构和功能改变可能会破坏其通过认知映射组织概念框架的假定作用，从而导致 NVLD 的跨领域困难。