Fig. 2: Similarities and differences in key convergent regions between adults and children for number-arithmetic and reading.

a Conjunction analyses revealed significant overlap between adults and children for both lower- and higher-level contrasts. For number-arithmetic, lower-level contrasts showed overlap in the parietal cortex, while higher-level contrasts showed overlap in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) and anterior insula (AI) across both age groups (Left panel; See Tables S13). For reading, lower-level contrasts showed overlap within the frontal-temporal reading network, while higher-level contrasts showed overlap in the dmPFC and AI between adults and children (Right panel; See Tables S14). b Contrast analyses revealed greater activations in children compared to adults for both contrast levels. For number-arithmetic, children showed greater activation in the parietal cortex, including the intraparietal sulcus (IPS), as well as the dmPFC/dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and AI for lower-level contrasts. For higher-level contrasts, greater activation in children was observed within a small cluster in the middle frontal gyrus (MFG) (Left panel; See Tables S15). For reading, children showed greater activation in the frontal-temporal cortices and AI for lower-level contrasts. Higher-level contrasts revealed additional differences between adults and children in frontal-parietal regions, including the left dmPFC, AI and angular gyrus (AG) (Right panel; see Tables S16). Note, the color scales indicate the estimated ALE values and the IPS was identified by the Juelich atlas in FSL. FG fusiform gyrus, IFG inferior frontal gyrus, IPL inferior parietal lobe, IPS intraparietal sulcus, MTG middle temporal gyrus, PCu precuneus, preCG precentral gyrus, SFG superior frontal gyrus, SMG supramarginal gyrus, SPL superior parietal lobule, L left, R right.