Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42401539›Full record

ArticleNature communications2026

Glutamatergic signaling underlies brain structural organization for mathematical and reading abilities in children.

Yuan Zhang, Hyesang Chang, Dawlat El-Said, Vinod Menon

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Yuan ZhangDepartment of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA. yuanzh@stanford.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9157-5544
Hyesang ChangDepartment of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2231-1112
Dawlat El-SaidDepartment of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3850-9868
Vinod MenonDepartment of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA. menon@stanford.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1622-9857

Funding

Interventions in Math Learning Disabilities: Cognitive and Neural CorrelatesR01HD059205 · NICHD · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI Vinod Menon · 2009 to 2026
$10.8M
Longitudinal Neurocognitive Studies of Mathematical Disabilities: trajectories and outcomesR37HD094623 · NICHD · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI Vinod Menon · 2018 to 2026
$6.8M
Mathematical Cognition in Autism: A Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience ApproachR01MH084164 · NIMH · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI MENON, VINOD · 2011 to 2021
$6.7M
Integrative computational models of latent behavioral and neural constructs in children: a longitudinal developmental big-data approachR01MH121069 · NIMH · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI MENON, VINOD · 2019 to 2023
$3.9M
NICHD NIH HHS R01 HD059205NICHD NIH HHS R37 HD094623NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH084164NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH121069U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | National Institutes of Health (NIH) HD094623, HD059205, MH084164, and MH121069
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The neurochemical mechanisms underlying individual differences in children's mathematical and reading abilities remain largely unknown. Here we investigate how neurotransmitter systems relate to brain structural organization supporting these abilities in two independent cohorts of children (N = 991). We mapped brain-wide structural phenotypes associated with academic performance onto a comprehensive PET atlas of 19 neurotransmitter receptors and transporters. Across both domains and cohorts, NMDA glutamatergic receptor distribution showed the most consistent associations with brain structural organization supporting academic abilities (replication Bayes factors >9e4 for mathematics; >4 for reading). NMDA receptor density corresponded with multiple functional networks for mathematical abilities but showed more spatially focused associations within visual networks for reading, suggesting both shared and domain-specific neurochemical mechanisms. Dopaminergic, cholinergic, serotonergic, and GABAergic systems showed weaker, non-replicable associations. These findings bridge molecular neurochemistry and macro-scale brain architecture supporting academic skills, identifying glutamatergic signaling as a candidate target for interventions addressing learning disabilities.

Indexed as

BrainGlutamic AcidMathematicsReadingBrain MappingChildFemaleHumansMalePositron-Emission TomographyReceptors, N-Methyl-D-AspartateSignal TransductionGlutamic AcidReceptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate

Identifiers

PMID42401539
PMCPMC13470007

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.