Are mathematics disabilities due to a domain-general or a domain-specific working memory deficit?

The relationship between verbal and visual-spatial working memory and mathe matical computation skill was examined in children and adults with and with out disabilities in mathematics. A hierarchical regression analysis showed that, when partialing for the influence of reading ability, age, and gender , mathematical computation was better predicted by verbal than by visual-sp atial working memory. Furthermore, the results showed that the relationship between mathematics ability and working memory were not significantly mode rated by age but were stable across a broad age span. We concluded that, re gardless of age, deficits in mathematics are mediated by both a domain-gene ral and a domain-specific working memory system.