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Teresa Iuculano

Ph.D

Associate research professor

CNRS

Teresa obtained a B.Sc. in Psychobiology (2004) from the University of Trieste, Italy, where she also obtained a M.Sc. in Neuropsychology (2006) with a thesis on numerical abilities in a sample of mono- and di-zygotic twins. In 2007, she started her Ph.D. in Cognitive Neuroscience at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London, UK, under the supervision of Professor Brian Butterworth. From 2012 to 2017 she was a postdoctoral research fellow and research associate at the Stanford Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience Laboratory at Stanford University, US. In 2018, she joined the Developmental Psychology and Child Education Laboratory at the University Paris Descartes, as an associate research professor (chargé de recherché classe normale), CNRS, Ile-de-France. Her research focuses on how the brain successfully develops and learns new information in academically relevant domains, such as mathematics. She integrates neuroscience methods (fMRI, MRI, tDCS) with pedagogical and cognitive models to examine how the unique educational experience of learning to count and perform arithmetic drives changes in brain architecture and function, and how these processes can go awry in those with specific learning disabilities, such as developmental dyscalculia. The ultimate goal of her research is to leverage neuroscience-based knowledge on learning and brain plasticity related to heterogeneity of mathematical skills to foster better teaching practices and learning profiles for vulnerable students, including those with specific learning disabilities, as well as those from low-socio-economic backgrounds.

PUBLICATIONS

Iuculano, T, & Cohen Kadosh, R. (2023). Numerical and Mathematical Abilities in Children: Behavioral and Neural Correlates. In  Kathrin Cohen Kadosh (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198827474.013.22

Chen, L.*, Iuculano, T.*, Mistry, P, Nicholas, J., Zhang, Y., & Menon, V. (2021). Linear and nonlinear profiles of weak behavioral and neural differentiation between numerical operations in children with math learning difficulties. Neuropsychologia, 160, 107977. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2021.107977

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Supekar, K. *, Chang, H. *, Mistry, P. *, Iuculano, T., & Menon, V. (2021). Neurocognitive modeling of latent memory processes reveals hippocampal-cortical circuit reorganization underlying learning and efficient strategies. Communications Biology, 4, 405. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-021-01872-1

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Iuculano, T., Padmanabhan, A., Chen, L., Nicholas, J., Mitsven, S., de los Angeles, C., & Menon, V. (2020). Neural correlates of cognitive variability in childhood autism and relation to heterogeneity in decision-making dynamics. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 42, 100754. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2020.100754

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Chen, L., Abrams, D.A., Rosenberg-Lee, M., Iuculano, T., Wakeman, H.N., Prathap, S., Chen, T., & Menon, V. (2019). Quantitative analysis of heterogeneity in academic achievement of children with autism. Clinical Psychological Science, 7(2), 362-380. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167702618809353

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Rosenberg-Lee, M., Iuculano, T., Bae, S. R., Richardson, J. C., Qin, S., Jolles, D., & Menon, V. (2018). Short-term cognitive training recapitulates hippocampal functional changes associated with one year of longitudinal skill development. Trends in Neuroscience and Education, 10, 19–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tine.2017.12.001

Supekar, K., Iuculano, T., Chen, L., & Menon, V. (2015). Remediation of childhood math anxiety and associated neural circuits through cognitive tutoring. The Journal of Neuroscience, 35(36), 12574- 12583. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0786-15.2015

Iuculano, T., Rosenberg-Lee, M., Richardson, J., Tenison, C., Fuchs, L., Supekar, K., & Menon, V. (2015). Cognitive tutoring induces widespread neuroplasticity and remediates brain function in children with mathematical learning disabilities. Nature Communications, 6, 8453. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms9453

Iuculano, T., Rosenberg-Lee, M., Supekar, K., Lynch, C.J., Khouzam, A., Phillips, J., Uddin, L.Q., & Menon, V. (2014). Brain organization underlying superior mathematical abilities in children with autism. Biological Psychiatry, 75(3), 223-230. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2013.06.018

Iuculano, T., & Cohen Kadosh, R. (2014). Preliminary evidence for performance enhancement following parietal lobe stimulation in developmental dyscalculia. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 8, 38. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2014.00038

Iuculano, T., & Cohen Kadosh, R. (2013). The mental cost of cognitive enhancement. The Journal of Neuroscience, 33(10), 4482-4486. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4927-12.2013

Semenza, C., Bonollo, S., Polli, R., Busana, C., Pignatti, R., Iuculano, T., Maria Laverda, Priftis, K., & Murgia, A. (2012). Genetics and mathematics: FMR1 premutation female carriers. Neuropsychologia, 50(14), 3757-3763. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2012.10.021

Karolis, V., Iuculano, T., & Butterworth, B. (2011). Mapping numerical magnitudes along the right lines: differentiating between scale and bias. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 140(4), 693-706. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0024255

Iuculano, T., Moro, R., & Butterworth, B. (2011). Updating working memory and arithmetical attainment in school. Learning and Individual Differences, 21(6), 655-661. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2010.12.002

Iuculano, T., & Butterworth, B. (2011). Understanding the real value of fractions and decimals. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 64(11), 2088-2098. https://doi.org/10.1080/17470218.2011.604785

Cohen Kadosh, R., Soskic, S., Iuculano, T., Kanai, R., & Walsh, V. (2010). Modulating neuronal activity produces specific and long-lasting changes in numerical competence.

Current Biology, 20, 2016-2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2010.10.007

Iuculano, T., Tang, J., Hall, C., & Butterworth, B. (2008). Core information processing deficits in developmental dyscalculia and low numeracy. Developmental Science, 11(5), 669-680. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7687.2008.00716.x

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