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Pantaleo MM, Arcuri G, Manfredi M, Proverbio AM. Music literacy improves reading skills via bilateral orthographic development. Sci Rep 2024; 14:3506. [PMID: 38347056 PMCID: PMC10861541 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-54204-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2023] [Accepted: 02/09/2024] [Indexed: 02/15/2024] Open
Abstract
Considerable evidence suggests that musical education induces structural and functional neuroplasticity in the brain. This study aimed to explore the potential impact of such changes on word-reading proficiency. We investigated whether musical training promotes the development of uncharted orthographic regions in the right hemisphere leading to better reading abilities. A total of 60 healthy, right-handed culturally matched professional musicians and controls took part in this research. They were categorised as normo-typical readers based on their reading speed (syl/sec) and subdivided into two groups of relatively good and poor readers. High density EEG/ERPs were recorded while participants engaged in a note or letter detection task. Musicians were more fluent in word, non-word and text reading tests, and faster in detecting both notes and words. They also exhibited greater N170 and P300 responses, and target-non target differences for words than controls. Similarly, good readers showed larger N170 and P300 responses than poor readers. Increased reading skills were associated to a bilateral activation of the occipito/temporal cortex, during music and word reading. Source reconstruction also showed a reduced activation of the left fusiform gyrus, and of areas devoted to attentional/ocular shifting in poor vs. good readers, and in controls vs. musicians. Data suggest that music literacy acquired early in time can shape reading circuits by promoting the specialization of a right-sided reading area, whose activity was here associated with enhanced reading proficiency. In conclusion, music literacy induces measurable neuroplastic changes in the left and right OT cortex responsible for improved word reading ability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta Maria Pantaleo
- Cognitive Electrophysiology Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza Dell'Ateneo Nuovo 1, 20162, Milan, Italy
| | - Giulia Arcuri
- Cognitive Electrophysiology Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza Dell'Ateneo Nuovo 1, 20162, Milan, Italy
| | - Mirella Manfredi
- Psychologisches Institut, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Alice Mado Proverbio
- Cognitive Electrophysiology Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza Dell'Ateneo Nuovo 1, 20162, Milan, Italy.
- Milan Center for Neuroscience, NeuroMI, Milan, Italy.
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2
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Forkel SJ, Labache L, Nachev P, Thiebaut de Schotten M, Hesling I. Stroke disconnectome decodes reading networks. Brain Struct Funct 2022; 227:2897-2908. [PMID: 36192557 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-022-02575-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2022] [Accepted: 09/19/2022] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Cognitive functional neuroimaging has been around for over 30 years and has shed light on the brain areas relevant for reading. However, new methodological developments enable mapping the interaction between functional imaging and the underlying white matter networks. In this study, we used such a novel method, called the disconnectome, to decode the reading circuitry in the brain. We used the resulting disconnection patterns to predict a typical lesion that would lead to reading deficits after brain damage. Our results suggest that white matter connections critical for reading include fronto-parietal U-shaped fibres and the vertical occipital fasciculus (VOF). The lesion most predictive of a reading deficit would impinge on the left temporal, occipital, and inferior parietal gyri. This novel framework can systematically be applied to bridge the gap between the neuropathology of language and cognitive neuroscience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie J Forkel
- Brain Connectivity and Behaviour Laboratory, Sorbonne Universities, Paris, France. .,Donders Centre for Cognition, Radboud University, Thomas van Aquinostraat 4, 6525 GD, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. .,Department of Neuroimaging, Centre for Neuroimaging Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK. .,Department of Neurosurgery, Technical University of Munich School of Medicine, Munich, Germany.
| | - Loïc Labache
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA
| | - Parashkev Nachev
- UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, Queen Square, London, WC1N 3GB, UK
| | - Michel Thiebaut de Schotten
- Brain Connectivity and Behaviour Laboratory, Sorbonne Universities, Paris, France.,Groupe d'Imagerie Neurofonctionnelle, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives-UMR 5293, CNRS, CEA University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France
| | - Isabelle Hesling
- Groupe d'Imagerie Neurofonctionnelle, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives-UMR 5293, CNRS, CEA University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France
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3
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Neudorf J, Gould L, Mickleborough MJS, Ekstrand C, Borowsky R. Unique, Shared, and Dominant Brain Activation in Visual Word Form Area and Lateral Occipital Complex during Reading and Picture Naming. Neuroscience 2022; 481:178-196. [PMID: 34800577 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2021.11.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2021] [Revised: 11/08/2021] [Accepted: 11/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Identifying printed words and pictures concurrently is ubiquitous in daily tasks, and so it is important to consider the extent to which reading words and naming pictures may share a cognitive-neurophysiological functional architecture. Two functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiments examined whether reading along the left ventral occipitotemporal region (vOT; often referred to as a visual word form area, VWFA) has activation that is overlapping with referent pictures (i.e., both conditions significant and shared, or with one significantly more dominant) or unique (i.e., one condition significant, the other not), and whether picture naming along the right lateral occipital complex (LOC) has overlapping or unique activation relative to referent words. Experiment 1 used familiar regular and exception words (to force lexical reading) and their corresponding pictures in separate naming blocks, and showed dominant activation for pictures in the LOC, and shared activation in the VWFA for exception words and their corresponding pictures (regular words did not elicit significant VWFA activation). Experiment 2 controlled for visual complexity by superimposing the words and pictures and instructing participants to either name the word or the picture, and showed primarily shared activation in the VWFA and LOC regions for both word reading and picture naming, with some dominant activation for pictures in the LOC. Overall, these results highlight the importance of including exception words to force lexical reading when comparing to picture naming, and the significant shared activation in VWFA and LOC serves to challenge specialized models of reading or picture naming.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josh Neudorf
- Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
| | - Layla Gould
- Division of Neurosurgery, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
| | - Marla J S Mickleborough
- Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
| | - Chelsea Ekstrand
- Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
| | - Ron Borowsky
- Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada; Division of Neurosurgery, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.
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4
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Garcea FE, Almeida J, Sims MH, Nunno A, Meyers SP, Li YM, Walter K, Pilcher WH, Mahon BZ. Domain-Specific Diaschisis: Lesions to Parietal Action Areas Modulate Neural Responses to Tools in the Ventral Stream. Cereb Cortex 2019; 29:3168-3181. [PMID: 30169596 PMCID: PMC6933536 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhy183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2018] [Revised: 07/04/2018] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Neural responses to small manipulable objects ("tools") in high-level visual areas in ventral temporal cortex (VTC) provide an opportunity to test how anatomically remote regions modulate ventral stream processing in a domain-specific manner. Prior patient studies indicate that grasp-relevant information can be computed about objects by dorsal stream structures independently of processing in VTC. Prior functional neuroimaging studies indicate privileged functional connectivity between regions of VTC exhibiting tool preferences and regions of parietal cortex supporting object-directed action. Here we test whether lesions to parietal cortex modulate tool preferences within ventral and lateral temporal cortex. We found that lesions to the left anterior intraparietal sulcus, a region that supports hand-shaping during object grasping and manipulation, modulate tool preferences in left VTC and in the left posterior middle temporal gyrus. Control analyses demonstrated that neural responses to "place" stimuli in left VTC were unaffected by lesions to parietal cortex, indicating domain-specific consequences for ventral stream neural responses in the setting of parietal lesions. These findings provide causal evidence that neural specificity for "tools" in ventral and lateral temporal lobe areas may arise, in part, from online inputs to VTC from parietal areas that receive inputs via the dorsal visual pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frank E Garcea
- University of Rochester, Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, 358 Meliora Hall, Rochester, NY, USA
- University of Rochester, Center for Language Sciences, 358 Meliora Hall, Rochester, NY, USA
- University of Rochester, Center for Visual Science, 274 Meliora Hall, Rochester, NY, USA
- Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute, 50 Township Line Road, Elkins Park, PA, USA
| | - Jorge Almeida
- University of Coimbra, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Rua do Colégio Novo, Coimbra, Portugal
- University of Coimbra, Proaction Laboratory, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Rua do Colégio Novo, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Maxwell H Sims
- University of Rochester, Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, 358 Meliora Hall, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Andrew Nunno
- University of Rochester, Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, 358 Meliora Hall, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Steven P Meyers
- University of Rochester Medical Center, Department of Imaging Sciences, 601 Elmwood Avenue, Rochester, NY, USA
- University of Rochester Medical Center, Department of Neurosurgery, 601 Elmwood Avenue, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Yan Michael Li
- University of Rochester Medical Center, Department of Neurosurgery, 601 Elmwood Avenue, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Kevin Walter
- University of Rochester Medical Center, Department of Neurosurgery, 601 Elmwood Avenue, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Webster H Pilcher
- University of Rochester Medical Center, Department of Neurosurgery, 601 Elmwood Avenue, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Bradford Z Mahon
- University of Rochester, Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, 358 Meliora Hall, Rochester, NY, USA
- University of Rochester, Center for Language Sciences, 358 Meliora Hall, Rochester, NY, USA
- University of Rochester, Center for Visual Science, 274 Meliora Hall, Rochester, NY, USA
- University of Rochester Medical Center, Department of Neurosurgery, 601 Elmwood Avenue, Rochester, NY, USA
- Department of Neurology, University of Rochester Medical Center, 601 Elmwood Avenue, Rochester, NY, USA
- Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
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Neudorf J, Ekstrand C, Kress S, Neufeldt A, Borowsky R. Interactions of reading and semantics along the ventral visual processing stream. VISUAL COGNITION 2019. [DOI: 10.1080/13506285.2019.1577319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Josh Neudorf
- Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada
| | - Chelsea Ekstrand
- Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada
| | - Shaylyn Kress
- Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada
| | - Alexandra Neufeldt
- Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada
| | - Ron Borowsky
- Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada
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7
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Ekstrand C, Neudorf J, Gould L, Mickleborough M, Borowsky R. Where words and space collide: The overlapping neural activation of lexical and sublexical reading with voluntary and reflexive spatial attention. Brain Res 2018; 1706:1-12. [PMID: 30347218 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2018.10.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2018] [Revised: 09/18/2018] [Accepted: 10/18/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
Recent research has shown a relationship between reading and attention, however the neuroanatomical overlap of these two processes has remained relatively unexplored. Therefore, we sought to investigate the overlapping neural mechanisms of spatial attention and reading using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Participants performed two attentional orienting tasks (reflexive and voluntary), and two overt word-reading tasks (lexical and sublexical). We hypothesized that there would be greater unique activation overlap of reflexive attention with lexical reading, and of voluntary attention with sublexical reading. Results indicated that lexical reading had greater overlapping activation in reflexive orienting areas compared to sublexical reading, suggesting that lexical reading may employ more automatic attentional mechanisms. In contrast, sublexical reading had greater overlapping activation with voluntary attention areas compared to lexical reading, suggesting that phonetic decoding may rely more heavily on voluntary attention. This research broadens our understanding of the neural overlap that underlies the relationship between reading and spatial attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chelsea Ekstrand
- Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Saskatchewan, 9 Campus Dr., Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A5, Canada
| | - Josh Neudorf
- Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Saskatchewan, 9 Campus Dr., Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A5, Canada
| | - Layla Gould
- Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Saskatchewan, 9 Campus Dr., Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A5, Canada
| | - Marla Mickleborough
- Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Saskatchewan, 9 Campus Dr., Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A5, Canada
| | - Ron Borowsky
- Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Saskatchewan, 9 Campus Dr., Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A5, Canada.
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8
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Glezer LS, Weisberg J, O'Grady Farnady C, McCullough S, Midgley KJ, Holcomb PJ, Emmorey K. Orthographic and phonological selectivity across the reading system in deaf skilled readers. Neuropsychologia 2018; 117:500-512. [PMID: 30005927 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2018.07.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2018] [Revised: 07/06/2018] [Accepted: 07/07/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
People who are born deaf often have difficulty learning to read. Recently, several studies have examined the neural substrates involved in reading in deaf people and found a left lateralized reading system similar to hearing people involving temporo-parietal, inferior frontal, and ventral occipito-temporal cortices. Previous studies in typical hearing readers show that within this reading network there are separate regions that specialize in processing orthography and phonology. We used fMRI rapid adaptation in deaf adults who were skilled readers to examine neural selectivity in three functional ROIs in the left hemisphere: temporoparietal cortex (TPC), inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), and the visual word form area (VWFA). Results show that in deaf skilled readers, the left VWFA showed selectivity for orthography similar to what has been reported for hearing readers, the TPC showed less sensitivity to phonology than previously reported for hearing readers using the same paradigm, and the IFG showed selectivity to orthography, but not phonology (similar to what has been reported previously for hearing readers). These results provide evidence that while skilled deaf readers demonstrate coarsely tuned phonological representations in the TPC, they develop finely tuned representations for the orthography of written words in the VWFA and IFG. This result suggests that phonological tuning in the TPC may have little impact on the neural network associated with skilled reading for deaf adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurie S Glezer
- School of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, San Diego State University, United States; Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, United States.
| | - Jill Weisberg
- School of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, San Diego State University, United States
| | - Cindy O'Grady Farnady
- School of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, San Diego State University, United States
| | - Stephen McCullough
- School of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, San Diego State University, United States
| | | | | | - Karen Emmorey
- School of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, San Diego State University, United States
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9
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Privileged Functional Connectivity between the Visual Word Form Area and the Language System. J Neurosci 2017; 37:5288-5297. [PMID: 28450544 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0138-17.2017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2017] [Revised: 04/03/2017] [Accepted: 04/08/2017] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
The visual word form area (VWFA) is a region in the left occipitotemporal sulcus of literate individuals that is purportedly specialized for visual word recognition. However, there is considerable controversy about its functional specificity and connectivity, with some arguing that it serves as a domain-general, rather than word-specific, visual processor. The VWFA is a critical region for testing hypotheses about the nature of cortical organization, because it is known to develop only through experience (i.e., reading acquisition), and widespread literacy is too recent to have influenced genetic determinants of brain organization. Using a combination of advanced fMRI analysis techniques, including individual functional localization, multivoxel pattern analysis, and high-resolution resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) analyses, with data from 33 healthy adult human participants, we demonstrate that (1) the VWFA can discriminate words from nonword letter strings (pseudowords); (2) the VWFA has preferential RSFC with Wernicke's area and other core regions of the language system; and (3) the strength of the RSFC between the VWFA and Wernicke's area predicts performance on a semantic classification task with words but not other categories of visual stimuli. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that the VWFA is specialized for lexical processing of real words because of its functional connectivity with Wernicke's area.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The visual word form area (VWFA) is critical for determining the nature of category-related organization of the ventral visual system. However, its functional specificity and connectivity are fiercely debated. Recent work concluded that the VWFA is a domain-general, rather than word-specific, visual processor with no preferential functional connectivity with the language system. Using more advanced techniques, our results stand in stark contrast to these earlier findings. We demonstrate that the VWFA is highly specialized for lexical processing of real words, and that a fundamental factor driving this specialization is its preferential intrinsic functional connectivity with core regions of the language system. Our results support the hypothesis that intrinsic functional connectivity contributes to category-related specialization within the human ventral visual system.
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Purcell JJ, Jiang X, Eden GF. Shared orthographic neuronal representations for spelling and reading. Neuroimage 2017; 147:554-567. [PMID: 28011250 PMCID: PMC5303658 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.12.054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2016] [Revised: 12/11/2016] [Accepted: 12/19/2016] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
A central question in the study of the neural basis of written language is whether reading and spelling utilize shared orthographic representations. While recent studies employing fMRI to test this question report that the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and ventral occipitotemporal cortex (vOTC) are active during both spelling and reading in the same subjects (Purcell et al., 2011a; Rapp and Lipka, 2011), the spatial resolution of fMRI limits the interpretation of these findings. Specifically, it is unknown if the neurons which encode orthography for reading are also involved in spelling of the same words. Here we address this question by employing an event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging-adaptation (fMRI-A) paradigm designed to examine shared orthographic representations across spelling and reading. First, we identified areas that independently showed adaptation to reading, and adaptation to spelling. Then we identified spatial convergence for these two separate maps via a conjunction analysis. Consistent with previous studies (Purcell et al., 2011a; Rapp and Lipka, 2011), this analysis revealed the left dorsal IFG, vOTC and supplementary motor area. To further validate these observations, we then interrogated these regions using an across-task adaptation technique, and found adaptation across reading and spelling in the left dorsal IFG (BA 44/9). Our final analysis focused specifically on the Visual Word Form Area (VWFA) in the vOTC, whose variability in location among subjects requires the use of subject-specific identification mechanisms (Glezer and Riesenhuber, 2013). Using a functional localizer for reading, we defined the VWFA in each subject, and found adaptation effects for both within the spelling and reading conditions, respectively, as well as across spelling and reading. Because none of these effects were observed during a phonological/semantic control condition, we conclude that the left dorsal IFG and VWFA are involved in accessing the same orthography-specific representations for spelling and reading.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeremy J Purcell
- Center for the Study of Learning, Department of Pediatrics, United States
| | - Xiong Jiang
- Department of Neuroscience, Georgetown University Medical Center, United States
| | - Guinevere F Eden
- Center for the Study of Learning, Department of Pediatrics, United States.
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11
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Jiang Y, Costello P, He S. Processing of Invisible Stimuli: Advantage of Upright Faces and Recognizable Words in Overcoming Interocular Suppression. Psychol Sci 2016; 18:349-55. [PMID: 17470261 DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.01902.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 225] [Impact Index Per Article: 28.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Familiar and recognizable stimuli enjoy an advantage of predominance during binocular rivalry, and this advantage is usually attributed to their enhanced processing during the dominant phase. However, do familiar and recognizable stimuli have an advantage in breaking suppression? Test images were gradually introduced to one eye to compete against a standard high-contrast dynamic noise pattern presented to the other eye. Results showed that an upright face took less time than an upside-down face to gain dominance against the identical suppression noise. Results also showed that for Chinese readers, Chinese characters were faster to gain dominance than Hebrew words, whereas for Hebrew readers, the reverse was true. These results suggest that familiar and recognizable information, even when suppressed and invisible, is processed differently from unfamiliar information. Apparently, high-level information about visual form does contribute to the strength of a stimulus during its suppressed phase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Jiang
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, 75 E. River Road, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
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Strother L, Coros AM, Vilis T. Visual Cortical Representation of Whole Words and Hemifield-split Word Parts. J Cogn Neurosci 2016; 28:252-60. [DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_00900] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Reading requires the neural integration of visual word form information that is split between our retinal hemifields. We examined multiple visual cortical areas involved in this process by measuring fMRI responses while observers viewed words that changed or repeated in one or both hemifields. We were specifically interested in identifying brain areas that exhibit decreased fMRI responses as a result of repeated versus changing visual word form information in each visual hemifield. Our method yielded highly significant effects of word repetition in a previously reported visual word form area (VWFA) in occipitotemporal cortex, which represents hemifield-split words as whole units. We also identified a more posterior occipital word form area (OWFA), which represents word form information in the right and left hemifields independently and is thus both functionally and anatomically distinct from the VWFA. Both the VWFA and the OWFA were left-lateralized in our study and strikingly symmetric in anatomical location relative to known face-selective visual cortical areas in the right hemisphere. Our findings are consistent with the observation that category-selective visual areas come in pairs and support the view that neural mechanisms in left visual cortex—especially those that evolved to support the visual processing of faces—are developmentally malleable and become incorporated into a left-lateralized visual word form network that supports rapid word recognition and reading.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lars Strother
- 1University of Western Ontario
- 2University of Nevada, Reno
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Ludersdorfer P, Wimmer H, Richlan F, Schurz M, Hutzler F, Kronbichler M. Left ventral occipitotemporal activation during orthographic and semantic processing of auditory words. Neuroimage 2016; 124:834-842. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.09.039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2015] [Revised: 09/10/2015] [Accepted: 09/19/2015] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
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Cavina-Pratesi C, Large ME, Milner AD. Reprint of: Visual processing of words in a patient with visual form agnosia: A behavioural and fMRI study. Cortex 2015; 72:97-114. [PMID: 26475097 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2015.10.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2014] [Revised: 08/29/2014] [Accepted: 09/26/2014] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Patient D.F. has a profound and enduring visual form agnosia due to a carbon monoxide poisoning episode suffered in 1988. Her inability to distinguish simple geometric shapes or single alphanumeric characters can be attributed to a bilateral loss of cortical area LO, a loss that has been well established through structural and functional fMRI. Yet despite this severe perceptual deficit, D.F. is able to "guess" remarkably well the identity of whole words. This paradoxical finding, which we were able to replicate more than 20 years following her initial testing, raises the question as to whether D.F. has retained specialized brain circuitry for word recognition that is able to function to some degree without the benefit of inputs from area LO. We used fMRI to investigate this, and found regions in the left fusiform gyrus, left inferior frontal gyrus, and left middle temporal cortex that responded selectively to words. A group of healthy control subjects showed similar activations. The left fusiform activations appear to coincide with the area commonly named the visual word form area (VWFA) in studies of healthy individuals, and appear to be quite separate from the fusiform face area (FFA). We hypothesize that there is a route to this area that lies outside area LO, and which remains relatively unscathed in D.F.
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15
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Visual processing of words in a patient with visual form agnosia: A behavioural and fMRI study. Cortex 2015; 64:29-46. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2014.09.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2014] [Revised: 08/29/2014] [Accepted: 09/26/2014] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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16
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Martin A, Schurz M, Kronbichler M, Richlan F. Reading in the brain of children and adults: a meta-analysis of 40 functional magnetic resonance imaging studies. Hum Brain Mapp 2015; 36:1963-81. [PMID: 25628041 PMCID: PMC4950303 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.22749] [Citation(s) in RCA: 197] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2014] [Accepted: 01/13/2015] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
We used quantitative, coordinate-based meta-analysis to objectively synthesize age-related commonalities and differences in brain activation patterns reported in 40 functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies of reading in children and adults. Twenty fMRI studies with adults (age means: 23-34 years) were matched to 20 studies with children (age means: 7-12 years). The separate meta-analyses of these two sets showed a pattern of reading-related brain activation common to children and adults in left ventral occipito-temporal (OT), inferior frontal, and posterior parietal regions. The direct statistical comparison between the two meta-analytic maps of children and adults revealed higher convergence in studies with children in left superior temporal and bilateral supplementary motor regions. In contrast, higher convergence in studies with adults was identified in bilateral posterior OT/cerebellar and left dorsal precentral regions. The results are discussed in relation to current neuroanatomical models of reading and tentative functional interpretations of reading-related activation clusters in children and adults are provided.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Martin
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunnerstr. 34, 5020, Salzburg, Austria; Neuroscience Institute, Christian Doppler Clinic, Paracelsus Medical University, Ignaz-Harrer-Str. 79, 5020, Salzburg, Austria
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Abstract
Pure alexia is a severe impairment of word reading in which individuals process letters serially with a pronounced length effect. Yet, there is considerable variation in the performance of alexic readers with generally very slow, but also occasionally fast responses, an observation addressed rarely in previous reports. It has been suggested that "fast" responses in pure alexia reflect residual parallel letter processing or that they may even be subserved by an independent reading system. Four experiments assessed fast and slow reading in a participant (DN) with pure alexia. Two behavioral experiments investigated frequency, neighborhood, and length effects in forced fast reading. Two further experiments measured eye movements when DN was forced to read quickly, or could respond faster because words were easier to process. Taken together, there was little support for the proposal that "qualitatively different" mechanisms or reading strategies underlie both types of responses in DN. Instead, fast responses are argued to be generated by the same serial-reading strategy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tobias Bormann
- a Neurologische Universitätsklinik , Universitätsklinik Freiburg , Freiburg , Germany
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18
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Boukrina O, Hanson SJ, Hanson C. Modeling activation and effective connectivity of VWFA in same script bilinguals. Hum Brain Mapp 2014; 35:2543-60. [PMID: 24038636 PMCID: PMC6869767 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.22348] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2012] [Revised: 04/08/2013] [Accepted: 05/28/2013] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous neuroimaging research revealed a small area in the inferior occipito-temporal cortex (VWFA), which seems to be involved in recognition of written words. The specialized response of the VWFA to words could result from repeated exposure to print in the course of functional fine-tuning of the brain. Research with bilingual speakers holds promise in helping to reveal response properties of the VWFA by assessing its sensitivity to language proficiency, word-form similarity, and meaning overlap across two languages. Using fMRI, we compared VWFA activity for cognate and homograph prime-target pairs in a group of fluent Spanish-English speakers. Cognates share form and meaning in two languages, while homographs only share form. Relative to baseline, the VWFA showed repetition suppression to pairs of homographs, but not to pairs of cognates, suggesting that this area is sensitive to word meaning. The different response to cognates and homographs was only observed when English was the prime language and Spanish was the target language. To help explain this result we compared patterns of effective connectivity between the VWFA and other parts of the reading network implicated in semantic and phonological processing. Our neural models showed that English targets engaged a direct ventral route from the VWFA to the frontal lobe and Spanish targets engaged an indirect dorsal route. Considering that frontal cortex has been implicated in semantic processing, a direct connection to this area could signal a fast and automatic access to meaning and would facilitate early semantic influences in visual word recognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olga Boukrina
- Psychology Department, RutgersThe State University of New JerseyNewarkNew Jersey
| | - Stephen Jose Hanson
- Psychology Department, RutgersThe State University of New JerseyNewarkNew Jersey
| | - Catherine Hanson
- Psychology Department, RutgersThe State University of New JerseyNewarkNew Jersey
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19
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Sebastian R, Gomez Y, Leigh R, Davis C, Newhart M, Hillis AE. The roles of occipitotemporal cortex in reading, spelling, and naming. Cogn Neuropsychol 2014; 31:511-28. [PMID: 24527769 DOI: 10.1080/02643294.2014.884060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
We evaluated the hypothesis that Brodmann's area (BA) 37 within left occipitotemporal cortex has at least two important functions in lexical processing. One role is the computation of case-, font-, location-, and orientation-independent grapheme descriptions for written word recognition and production (reading and spelling). This role may depend on the medial part of BA 37, in left midfusiform gyrus. The second role is in accessing modality-independent lexical representations for output, for naming and for reading and spelling of irregular or exception words. This role may depend on the lateral part of BA 37 in inferior temporal cortex. We tested these hypotheses in 234 participants with acute left hemisphere ischaemic stroke who underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and language testing within 48 hours of onset of stroke symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rajani Sebastian
- a Department of Neurology , Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine , Baltimore , MD , USA
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20
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Gil-Robles S, Carvallo A, Jimenez MDM, Gomez Caicoya A, Martinez R, Ruiz-Ocaña C, Duffau H. Double dissociation between visual recognition and picture naming: a study of the visual language connectivity using tractography and brain stimulation. Neurosurgery 2013; 72:678-86. [PMID: 23246820 DOI: 10.1227/neu.0b013e318282a361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Study of the corticosubcortical functional anatomy of reading and picture naming. OBJECTIVE To study the role of the left basal occipitotemporal area and its white matter pathways. METHODS Three patients underwent awake surgery for lesions in the left basal posterotemporal region with intraoperative electrostimulations. Intraoperative testing consisted of naming, reading, and recognition of symbols. Location of the stimulation sites was obtained by comparing the surgical cavity in the postoperative magnetic resonance imaging with the tags precisely located in each one of these sites seen on intraoperative photographs. RESULTS A double dissociation was elicited, inducing specific visual recognition and reading disturbances during stimulation in the left posterobasal temporal cortex, without naming impairment. Stimulation of the inferior part of the sagittal stratum (inferior longitudinal fascicle) generated the same response, while a specific picture-naming impairment, consisting of semantic paraphasia, was obtained when stimulating superiorly to this fascicle, over the lateral wall and roof of the ventricle (inferior fronto-occipital fascicle). CONCLUSION We propose the existence of a dual visual language route in the left dominant hemisphere. The first pathway seems to run basally, from the occipital lobe to the posterobasal temporal cortex, mediated by the left inferior longitudinal fascicle, subserving visual recognition. The second pathway might run superiorly and more medially, from the occipital pole directly to the frontal areas, and could be underlain by the inferior fronto-occipital fascicle, involved in naming (semantic processing). Such a model might have both fundamental and clinical implications for the selection of the tasks during awake mapping as well as for postsurgical rehabilitation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Santiago Gil-Robles
- Department of Neurosurgery, Hospital Unversitario Quirón Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
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21
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Zhang M, Li J, Chen C, Mei L, Xue G, Lu Z, Chen C, He Q, Wei M, Dong Q. The contribution of the left mid-fusiform cortical thickness to Chinese and English reading in a large Chinese sample. Neuroimage 2012; 65:250-6. [PMID: 23022094 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.09.045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2012] [Revised: 09/13/2012] [Accepted: 09/18/2012] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous functional neuroimaging studies have shown that the left mid-fusiform cortex plays a critical role in reading. However, there is very limited research relating this region's anatomical structure to reading performance either in native or second language. Using structural MRI and three reading tasks (Chinese characters, English words, and alphabetic pseudowords) and a non-reading task (visual-auditory learning), this study investigated the contributions of the left mid-fusiform cortical thickness to reading in a large sample of 226 Chinese subjects. Results showed that the cortical thickness in the left mid-fusiform gyrus was positively correlated with performance on all three reading tasks but not with the performance on the non-reading task. Our findings provide structural evidence for the left mid-fusiform cortex as the "gateway" region for reading Chinese and English. The absence of the association between the left mid-fusiform cortical thickness and non-reading performance implied the specific role of this area in reading skills, not in general language skills.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mingxia Zhang
- National Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
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22
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Lipina SJ, Posner MI. The impact of poverty on the development of brain networks. Front Hum Neurosci 2012; 6:238. [PMID: 22912613 PMCID: PMC3421156 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2012.00238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2012] [Accepted: 07/26/2012] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Although the study of brain development in non-human animals is an old one, recent imaging methods have allowed non-invasive studies of the gray and white matter of the human brain over the lifespan. Classic animal studies show clearly that impoverished environments reduce cortical gray matter in relation to complex environments and cognitive and imaging studies in humans suggest which networks may be most influenced by poverty. Studies have been clear in showing the plasticity of many brain systems, but whether sensitivity to learning differs over the lifespan and for which networks is still unclear. A major task for current research is a successful integration of these methods to understand how development and learning shape the neural networks underlying achievements in literacy, numeracy, and attention. This paper seeks to foster further integration by reviewing the current state of knowledge relating brain changes to behavior and indicating possible future directions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastián J Lipina
- Unidad de Neurobiología Aplicada, Centro de Educación Médica e Investigaciones Clínicas Norberto Quirno (CEMIC), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas CONICET Buenos Aires, Argentina
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23
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Abstract
We investigated the neural systems that support number processing in a patient (JL) who had damage to the left ventral occipito-temporal cortex (LvOT). JL had severely impaired written word recognition but he was remarkably accurate in number tasks, albeit slower than normal. This suggests LvOT activation is necessary for efficient but not for accurate number decisions. Here we investigated how JL made accurate number decisions using fMRI; we compared JL's brain activation to that in healthy controls and in two patients with frontal lobe damage who, like JL, made slow but accurate responses in number tasks. For semantic relative to perceptual decisions on numbers, JL did not activate the left occipito-temporal area that was involved in all other subjects. However, JL had significantly increased activation in a left posterior middle temporal region. In addition, during semantic and perceptual decisions on numbers, JL showed increased activation in: (1) the right occipito-temporal cortex, (2) right caudate, and (3) bilateral frontal regions. These effects were unique to JL and cannot be explained in terms of abnormally long response times because they were not observed in the other patients who made slow but accurate number decisions. Together these results show that although the LvOT usually contributes to efficient number processing, activation in this region is not essential for accurate performance because (i) perceptual processing of numbers can be supported by right occipital, right caudate, and bilateral frontal activation and (ii) semantic processing of numbers can be supported by increased left posterior middle temporal activation associated with hand actions.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Cappelletti
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK.
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24
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Yang J, Wang X, Shu H, Zevin JD. Brain networks associated with sublexical properties of Chinese characters. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2011; 119:68-79. [PMID: 21600637 PMCID: PMC3508435 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2011.03.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2010] [Revised: 03/01/2011] [Accepted: 03/21/2011] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
Cognitive models of reading all assume some division of labor among processing pathways in mapping among print, sound and meaning. Many studies of the neural basis of reading have used task manipulations such as rhyme or synonym judgment to tap these processes independently. Here we take advantage of specific properties of the Chinese writing system to test how differential availability of sublexical information about sound and meaning, as well as the orthographic structure of characters, pseudo-characters and "artificial" control stimuli influence brain activation in the context of the same one-back task. Analyses combine a data-driven approach that identifies temporally coherent patterns of activity over the course of the entire experiment with hypothesis-testing based on the correlation of these patterns with predictors for different stimulus classes. The results reveal a large network of task-related activity. Both the extent of this network and activity in regions commonly observed in studies of Chinese reading are apparently related to task difficulty. Other regions, including temporo-parietal cortex, were sensitive to particular sublexical functional units in mapping among print, sound, and meaning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianfeng Yang
- Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
| | - Xiaojuan Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, China
| | - Hua Shu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, China
| | - Jason D. Zevin
- Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology, Weill Cornell Medical College, USA
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25
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Abstract
Skilled reading requires recognizing written words rapidly; functional neuroimaging research has clarified how the written word initiates a series of responses in visual cortex. These responses are communicated to circuits in ventral occipitotemporal (VOT) cortex that learn to identify words rapidly. Structural neuroimaging has further clarified aspects of the white matter pathways that communicate reading signals between VOT and language systems. We review this circuitry, its development, and its deficiencies in poor readers. This review emphasizes data that measure the cortical responses and white matter pathways in individual subjects rather than group differences. Such methods have the potential to clarify why a child has difficulty learning to read and to offer guidance about the interventions that may be useful for that child.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian A Wandell
- Psychology Department, Stanford University, California 94305, USA.
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26
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Göbel SM, Shaki S, Fischer MH. The Cultural Number Line: A Review of Cultural and Linguistic Influences on the Development of Number Processing. JOURNAL OF CROSS-CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY 2011. [DOI: 10.1177/0022022111406251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 136] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Approximate processing of numerosities is a universal and preverbal skill, while exact number processing above 4 involves the use of culturally acquired number words and symbols. The authors first review core concepts of numerical cognition, including number representation in the brain and the influential view that numbers are associated with space along a “mental number line.” Then, they discuss how cultural influences, such as reading direction, finger counting, and the transparency of the number word system, can influence the representation and processing of numbers. Spatial mapping of numbers emerges as a universal cognitive strategy. The authors trace the impact of cultural factors on the development of number skills and conclude that a cross-cultural perspective can reveal important constraints on numerical cognition.
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27
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Tsapkini K, Vindiola M, Rapp B. Patterns of brain reorganization subsequent to left fusiform damage: fMRI evidence from visual processing of words and pseudowords, faces and objects. Neuroimage 2011; 55:1357-72. [PMID: 21168516 PMCID: PMC3107009 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.12.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2010] [Revised: 11/09/2010] [Accepted: 12/06/2010] [Indexed: 10/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Little is known about the neural reorganization that takes place subsequent to lesions that affect orthographic processing (reading and/or spelling). We report on an fMRI investigation of an individual with a left mid-fusiform resection that affected both reading and spelling (Tsapkini & Rapp, 2010). To investigate possible patterns of functional reorganization, we compared the behavioral and neural activation patterns of this individual with those of a group of control participants for the tasks of silent reading of words and pseudowords and the passive viewing of faces and objects, all tasks that typically recruit the inferior temporal lobes. This comparison was carried out with methods that included a novel application of Mahalanobis distance statistics, and revealed: (1) normal behavioral and neural responses for face and object processing, (2) evidence of neural reorganization bilaterally in the posterior fusiform that supported normal performance in pseudoword reading and which contributed to word reading (3) evidence of abnormal recruitment of the bilateral anterior temporal lobes indicating compensatory (albeit insufficient) recruitment of mechanisms for circumventing the word reading deficit.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyrana Tsapkini
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
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28
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Wang X, Yang J, Shu H, Zevin JD. Left fusiform BOLD responses are inversely related to word-likeness in a one-back task. Neuroimage 2011; 55:1346-56. [PMID: 21216293 PMCID: PMC3086000 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.12.062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2010] [Revised: 11/22/2010] [Accepted: 12/23/2010] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Although its precise functional contribution to reading remains unclear, there is broad consensus that an activity in the left mid-fusiform gyrus is highly sensitive to written words and word-like stimuli. In the current study, we take advantage of a particularity of the Chinese writing system in order to manipulate word-likeness parametrically, from real characters, to pseudo-characters that vary in whether they contain phonological and semantic cues, to artificial stimuli with varying surface similarity to real characters. In a one-back task, BOLD activity in the left mid-fusiform was inversely related to word-likeness, such that the least activity was observed in response to real characters, and the greatest to artificial stimuli that violate the orthotactic constraints of the writing system. One possible explanation for this surprising result is that the short-term memory demands of the one-back task put more pressure on the visual system when other sources of information cannot be used to aid in detecting repeated stimuli. For real characters and, to a lesser extent for pseudo-characters, information about meaning and pronunciation can contribute to performance, whereas artificial stimuli are entirely dependent on visual information. Consistent with this view, functional connectivity analyses revealed a strong positive relationship between left mid-fusiform and other visual areas, whereas areas typically involved in phonological and semantic processing for text were negatively correlated with this region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaojuan Wang
- State Key laboratory of Cogntive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, China
| | - Jianfeng Yang
- Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Science, China
| | - Hua Shu
- State Key laboratory of Cogntive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, China
| | - Jason D. Zevin
- Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology, Weill Cornell Medical College, USA
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29
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Ben-Shachar M, Dougherty RF, Deutsch GK, Wandell BA. The development of cortical sensitivity to visual word forms. J Cogn Neurosci 2011; 23:2387-99. [PMID: 21261451 DOI: 10.1162/jocn.2011.21615] [Citation(s) in RCA: 120] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
The ability to extract visual word forms quickly and efficiently is essential for using reading as a tool for learning. We describe the first longitudinal fMRI study to chart individual changes in cortical sensitivity to written words as reading develops. We conducted four annual measurements of brain function and reading skills in a heterogeneous group of children, initially 7-12 years old. The results show age-related increase in children's cortical sensitivity to word visibility in posterior left occipito-temporal sulcus (LOTS), nearby the anatomical location of the visual word form area. Moreover, the rate of increase in LOTS word sensitivity specifically correlates with the rate of improvement in sight word efficiency, a measure of speeded overt word reading. Other cortical regions, including V1, posterior parietal cortex, and the right homologue of LOTS, did not demonstrate such developmental changes. These results provide developmental support for the hypothesis that LOTS is part of the cortical circuitry that extracts visual word forms quickly and efficiently and highlight the importance of developing cortical sensitivity to word visibility in reading acquisition.
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30
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Menon V. Developmental cognitive neuroscience of arithmetic: implications for learning and education. ZDM : THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL ON MATHEMATICS EDUCATION 2010; 42:515-525. [PMID: 22003371 PMCID: PMC3193278 DOI: 10.1007/s11858-010-0242-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
In this article, we review the brain and cognitive processes underlying the development of arithmetic skills. This review focuses primarily on the development of arithmetic skills in children, but it also summarizes relevant findings from adults for which a larger body of research currently exists. We integrate relevant findings and theories from experimental psychology and cognitive neuroscience. We describe the functional neuroanatomy of cognitive processes that influence and facilitate arithmetic skill development, including calculation, retrieval, strategy use, decision making, as well as working memory and attention. Building on recent findings from functional brain imaging studies, we describe the role of distributed brain regions in the development of mathematical skills. We highlight neurodevelopmental models that go beyond the parietal cortex role in basic number processing, in favor of multiple neural systems and pathways involved in mathematical information processing. From this viewpoint, we outline areas for future study that may help to bridge the gap between the cognitive neuroscience of arithmetic skill development and educational practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vinod Menon
- Symbolic Systems Program, Program in Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, and Department of Neurology & Neurological Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305-5778, USA,
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31
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Barton JJS, Fox CJ, Sekunova A, Iaria G. Encoding in the Visual Word Form Area: An fMRI Adaptation Study of Words versus Handwriting. J Cogn Neurosci 2010; 22:1649-61. [DOI: 10.1162/jocn.2009.21286] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Written texts are not just words but complex multidimensional stimuli, including aspects such as case, font, and handwriting style, for example. Neuropsychological reports suggest that left fusiform lesions can impair the reading of text for word (lexical) content, being associated with alexia, whereas right-sided lesions may impair handwriting recognition. We used fMRI adaptation in 13 healthy participants to determine if repetition–suppression occurred for words but not handwriting in the left visual word form area (VWFA) and the reverse in the right fusiform gyrus. Contrary to these expectations, we found adaptation for handwriting but not for words in both the left VWFA and the right VWFA homologue. A trend to adaptation for words but not handwriting was seen only in the left middle temporal gyrus. An analysis of anterior and posterior subdivisions of the left VWFA also failed to show any adaptation for words. We conclude that the right and the left fusiform gyri show similar patterns of adaptation for handwriting, consistent with a predominantly perceptual contribution to text processing.
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32
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Abstract
Behavioral studies have demonstrated that learning to read and write affects the processing of spoken language. The present study investigates the neural mechanism underlying the emergence of such orthographic effects during speech processing. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was used to tease apart two competing hypotheses that consider this orthographic influence to be either a consequence of a change in the nature of the phonological representations during literacy acquisition or a consequence of online coactivation of the orthographic and phonological representations during speech processing. Participants performed an auditory lexical decision task in which the orthographic consistency of spoken words was manipulated and repetitive TMS was used to interfere with either phonological or orthographic processing by stimulating left supramarginal gyrus (SMG) or left ventral occipitotemporal cortex (vOTC), respectively. The advantage for consistently spelled words was removed only when the stimulation was delivered to SMG and not to vOTC, providing strong evidence that this effect arises at a phonological, rather than an orthographic, level. We propose a possible mechanistic explanation for the role of SMG in phonological processing and how this is affected by learning to read.
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33
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Coch D, Mitra P. Word and pseudoword superiority effects reflected in the ERP waveform. Brain Res 2010; 1329:159-74. [PMID: 20211607 PMCID: PMC2857552 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2010.02.084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2009] [Revised: 02/24/2010] [Accepted: 02/27/2010] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
A variant of the Reicher-Wheeler task was used to determine when in the event-related potential (ERP) waveform indices of word and pseudoword superiority effects might be present, and whether ERP measures of superiority effects correlated with standardized behavioral measures of orthographic fluency and single word reading. ERPs were recorded to briefly presented, masked letter strings that included real words (DARK/PARK), pseudowords (DARL/PARL), nonwords (RDKA/RPKA), and letter-in-xs (DXXX, PXXX) stimuli. Participants decided which of two letters occurred at a given position in the string (here, forced-choice alternatives D and P). Behaviorally, both word (more accurate choices for letters in words than in baseline nonwords or letter-in-xs) and pseudoword (more accurate choices for letters in pseudowords than in baseline conditions) superiority effects were observed. Electrophysiologically, effects of orthographic regularity and familiarity were apparent as early as the P150 time window (100-160ms), an effect of lexicality was observed as early as the N200 time window (160-200ms), and peak amplitude of the N300 and N400 also differentiated word and pseudoword as compared to baseline stimuli. Further, the size of the P150 and N400 ERP word superiority effects was related to standardized behavioral measures of fluency and reading. Results suggest that orthographic fluency is reflected in both lower-level, sublexical, perceptual processing and higher-level, lexical processing in fluently reading adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Donna Coch
- Dartmouth College, Department of Education, Reading Brains Lab, USA.
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34
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Rapp B, Lipka K. The literate brain: the relationship between spelling and reading. J Cogn Neurosci 2010; 23:1180-97. [PMID: 20433242 DOI: 10.1162/jocn.2010.21507] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
We report the results of an fMRI investigation of the neural bases of written language comprehension (reading) and production (spelling). Both tasks were examined in the same individuals, allowing greater precision in establishing the relationship between the neural underpinnings of these two cognitive functions. Also examined was the relationship between written language substrates and those involved in face and object (house) processing. The results reveal that reading and spelling share specific left hemisphere substrates in the mid-fusiform gyrus and in the inferior frontal gyrus/junction. Furthermore, the results indicate that the left mid-fusiform substrates are specifically involved in lexical orthographic processing. We also find that written language and face processing exhibit largely complementary activation patterns in both the fusiform and the inferior frontal/junction areas, with left and right lateralization, respectively. In sum, these results provide perhaps the strongest evidence to date of components that are shared by written language comprehension (reading) and production (spelling), and they further our understanding of the role of literacy within the larger repertoire of cognitive operations and their neural substrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brenda Rapp
- Department of Cognitive Science, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA. e-mail:
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35
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Kherif F, Josse G, Price CJ. Automatic top-down processing explains common left occipito-temporal responses to visual words and objects. Cereb Cortex 2010; 21:103-14. [PMID: 20413450 PMCID: PMC3000565 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhq063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 97] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous studies have demonstrated that a region in the left ventral occipito-temporal (LvOT) cortex is highly selective to the visual forms of written words and objects relative to closely matched visual stimuli. Here, we investigated why LvOT activation is not higher for reading than picture naming even though written words and pictures of objects have grossly different visual forms. To compare neuronal responses for words and pictures within the same LvOT area, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging adaptation and instructed participants to name target stimuli that followed briefly presented masked primes that were either presented in the same stimulus type as the target (word–word, picture–picture) or a different stimulus type (picture–word, word–picture). We found that activation throughout posterior and anterior parts of LvOT was reduced when the prime had the same name/response as the target irrespective of whether the prime-target relationship was within or between stimulus type. As posterior LvOT is a visual form processing area, and there was no visual form similarity between different stimulus types, we suggest that our results indicate automatic top-down influences from pictures to words and words to pictures. This novel perspective motivates further investigation of the functional properties of this intriguing region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ferath Kherif
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK.
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36
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Duncan KJ, Pattamadilok C, Devlin JT. Investigating occipito-temporal contributions to reading with TMS. J Cogn Neurosci 2010; 22:739-50. [PMID: 19302001 PMCID: PMC2827369 DOI: 10.1162/jocn.2009.21207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
The debate regarding the role of ventral occipito-temporal cortex (vOTC) in visual word recognition arises, in part, from difficulty delineating the functional contributions of vOTC as separate from other areas of the reading network. Here, we investigated the feasibility of using TMS to interfere with vOTC processing in order to explore its specific contributions to visual word recognition. Three visual lexical decision experiments were conducted using neuronavigated TMS. The first demonstrated that repetitive stimulation of vOTC successfully slowed word, but not nonword, responses. The second confirmed and extended these findings by demonstrating the effect was specific to vOTC and not present in the adjacent lateral occipital complex. The final experiment used paired-pulse TMS to investigate the time course of vOTC processing for words and revealed activation starting as early as 80-120 msec poststimulus onset-significantly earlier than that expected based on electrophysiological and magnetoencephalography studies. Taken together, these results clearly indicate that TMS can be successfully used to stimulate parts of vOTC previously believed to be inaccessible and provide a new tool for systematically investigating the information processing characteristics of vOTC. In addition, the findings provide strong evidence that lexical status and frequency significantly affect vOTC processing, findings difficult to reconcile with prelexical accounts of vOTC function.
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37
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Ross ED. Cerebral localization of functions and the neurology of language: fact versus fiction or is it something else? Neuroscientist 2010; 16:222-43. [PMID: 20139334 DOI: 10.1177/1073858409349899] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Over the last 15 years there has been a burgeoning number of publications using functional brain imaging (>40,000 articles based on an ISI/Web of Science search) to localize behavioral and cognitive processes to specific areas in the human brain that are often not confirmed by traditional, lesion-based studies. Thus, there is a need to reassess what cerebral localization of functions is and is not. Otherwise, there is no rational way to interpret the escalating claims of localization in the functional imaging literature that is taking on the appearance of neurophysiologic "phrenology". This article will present arguments to suggest that functional localization in the brain is a robust but very dynamic, four-dimensional process. It is a learned phenomenon driven over time by large-scale, spatially distributed, neural networks seeking to efficiently maximize the processing, storage, and manipulation of information for cognitive and behavioral operations. Because of historical considerations and space limitations, the main focus will be on localization of language-related functions whose theoretical neurological basis can be generalized for any complex cognitive-behavioral function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elliott D Ross
- Department of Neurology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and the VA Medical Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA.
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38
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Starrfelt R, Habekost T, Gerlach C. Visual processing in pure alexia: A case study. Cortex 2010; 46:242-55. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2009.03.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2008] [Revised: 03/20/2009] [Accepted: 03/27/2009] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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39
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Tsapkini K, Rapp B. The orthography-specific functions of the left fusiform gyrus: evidence of modality and category specificity. Cortex 2010; 46:185-205. [PMID: 19428003 PMCID: PMC2844337 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2009.02.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2008] [Revised: 11/16/2008] [Accepted: 02/16/2009] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
We report on an investigation of the cognitive functions of an individual with a resection of the left fusiform gyrus. This individual and a group of control participants underwent testing to examine the question of whether or not there are neural substrates within the left fusiform gyrus that are dedicated to orthographic processing. We evaluated the modality specificity (written vs spoken language) and the category specificity (written language vs other visual categories) of this individual's impairments. The results clearly reveal deficits affecting lexical processes in both reading and spelling. Specifically, we find disruption of normal, rapid access to meaning from print in reading and of accurate retrieval of the spellings of words from their meaning in writing. These deficits stand in striking contrast with intact processing of spoken language and categories of visual stimuli such as line drawings of objects and faces. The modality and category specificity of the deficits provide clear evidence of neural substrates within the left-mid-fusiform gyrus that are specialized and necessary for normal orthographic processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyrana Tsapkini
- Department of Cognitive Science, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218-2685, USA.
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40
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The amodal system for conscious word and picture identification in the absence of a semantic task. Neuroimage 2010; 49:3295-307. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2009.12.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2009] [Revised: 11/19/2009] [Accepted: 12/01/2009] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
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41
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Reading words and pseudowords in dyslexia: ERP and behavioural tests in English-speaking adolescents. Int J Psychophysiol 2009; 74:199-208. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2009.09.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2008] [Revised: 08/14/2009] [Accepted: 09/02/2009] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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42
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Davis N, Cannistraci CJ, Rogers BP, Gatenby JC, Fuchs LS, Anderson AW, Gore JC. The neural correlates of calculation ability in children: an fMRI study. Magn Reson Imaging 2009; 27:1187-97. [PMID: 19570639 PMCID: PMC2763038 DOI: 10.1016/j.mri.2009.05.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2009] [Revised: 03/31/2009] [Accepted: 05/07/2009] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Most studies investigating mental numerical processing involve adult participants and little is known about the functioning of these systems in children. The current study used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate the neural correlates of numeracy and the influence of age on these correlates with a group of adults and a group of third graders who had average to above average mathematical ability. Participants performed simple and complex versions of exact and approximate calculation tasks while in the magnet. Like adults, children activated a network of brain regions in the frontal and parietal lobes during the calculation tasks, and they recruited additional brain regions for the more complex versions of the tasks. However, direct comparisons between adults and children revealed significant differences in level of activation across all tasks. In particular, patterns of activation in the parietal lobe were significantly different as a function of age. Findings support previous claims that the parietal lobe becomes more specialized for arithmetic tasks with age.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole Davis
- Vanderbilt University Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development, Nashville, TN 37203, USA.
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43
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Mandonnet E, Gatignol P, Duffau H. Evidence for an occipito-temporal tract underlying visual recognition in picture naming. Clin Neurol Neurosurg 2009; 111:601-5. [DOI: 10.1016/j.clineuro.2009.03.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2008] [Revised: 02/21/2009] [Accepted: 03/29/2009] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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44
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Cai Q, Paulignan Y, Brysbaert M, Ibarrola D, Nazir TA. The Left Ventral Occipito-Temporal Response to Words Depends on Language Lateralization but Not on Visual Familiarity. Cereb Cortex 2009; 20:1153-63. [PMID: 19684250 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhp175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 88] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Qing Cai
- Laboratory of Language, Brain and Cognition (L2C2), CNRS-University of Lyon UMR 5230, 69675 Bron, France.
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45
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Early involvement of dorsal and ventral pathways in visual word recognition: an ERP study. Brain Res 2009; 1272:32-44. [PMID: 19332032 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2009.03.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2008] [Revised: 02/13/2009] [Accepted: 03/06/2009] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Visual expertise underlying reading is attributed to processes involving the left ventral visual pathway. However, converging evidence suggests that the dorsal visual pathway is also involved in early levels of visual word processing, especially when words are presented in unfamiliar visual formats. In the present study, event-related potentials (ERPs) were used to investigate the time course of the early engagement of the ventral and dorsal pathways during processing of orthographic stimuli (high and low frequency words, pseudowords and consonant strings) by manipulating visual format (familiar horizontal vs. unfamiliar vertical format). While early ERP components (P1 and N1) already distinguished between formats, the effect of stimulus type emerged at the latency of the N2 component (225-275 ms). The N2 scalp topography and sLORETA source localisation for this differentiation showed an occipito-temporal negativity for the horizontal format and a negativity that extended towards the dorsal regions for the vertical format. In a later time window (350-425 ms) ERPs elicited by vertically displayed stimuli distinguished words from pseudowords in the ventral area, as confirmed by source localisation. The sustained contribution of occipito-temporal processes for vertical stimuli suggests that the ventral pathway is essential for lexical access. Parietal regions appear to be involved when a serial mechanism of visual attention is required to shift attention from one letter to another. The two pathways cooperate during visual word recognition and processing in these pathways should not be considered as alternative but as complementary elements of reading.
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46
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Duncan KJ, Pattamadilok C, Knierim I, Devlin JT. Consistency and variability in functional localisers. Neuroimage 2009; 46:1018-26. [PMID: 19289173 PMCID: PMC2686646 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2009.03.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2008] [Revised: 02/04/2009] [Accepted: 03/04/2009] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
A critical assumption underlying the use of functional localiser scans is that the voxels identified as the functional region-of-interest (fROI) are essentially the same as those activated by the main experimental manipulation. Intra-subject variability in the location of the fROI violates this assumption, reducing the sensitivity of the analysis and biasing the results. Here we investigated consistency and variability in fROIs in a set of 45 volunteers. They performed two functional localiser scans to identify word- and object-sensitive regions of ventral and lateral occipito-temporal cortex, respectively. In the main analyses, fROIs were defined as the category-selective voxels in each region and consistency was measured as the spatial overlap between scans. Consistency was greatest when minimally selective thresholds were used to define "active" voxels (p<0.05 uncorrected), revealing that approximately 65% of the voxels were commonly activated by both scans. In contrast, highly selective thresholds (p<10(-4) to 10(-6)) yielded the lowest consistency values with less than 25% overlap of the voxels active in both scans. In other words, intra-subject variability was surprisingly high, with between one third and three quarters of the voxels in a given fROI not corresponding to those activated in the main task. This level of variability stands in striking contrast to the consistency seen in retinotopically-defined areas and has important implications for designing robust but efficient functional localiser scans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keith J Duncan
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK.
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47
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Electrophysiological study of the basal temporal language area: A convergence zone between language perception and production networks. Clin Neurophysiol 2009; 120:539-50. [DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2008.12.042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2008] [Revised: 12/02/2008] [Accepted: 12/27/2008] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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48
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Abstract
Extraordinary progress in functional brain imaging, primarily advances in functional magnetic resonance imaging, now allows scientists to understand the neural systems serving reading and how these systems differ in dyslexic readers. Scientists now speak of the neural signature of dyslexia, a singular achievement that for the first time has made what was previously a hidden disability, now visible. Paralleling this achievement in understanding the neurobiology of dyslexia, progress in the identification and treatment of dyslexia now offers the hope of identifying children at risk for dyslexia at a very young age and providing evidence-based, effective interventions. Despite these advances, for many dyslexic readers, becoming a skilled, automatic reader remains elusive, in great part because though children with dyslexia can be taught to decode words, teaching children to read fluently and automatically represents the next frontier in research on dyslexia. We suggest that to break through this "fluency" barrier, investigators will need to reexamine the more than 20-year-old central dogma in reading research: the generation of the phonological code from print is modular, that is, automatic and not attention demanding, and not requiring any other cognitive process. Recent findings now present a competing view: other cognitive processes are involved in reading, particularly attentional mechanisms, and that disruption of these attentional mechanisms play a causal role in reading difficulties. Recognition of the role of attentional mechanisms in reading now offer potentially new strategies for interventions in dyslexia. In particular, the use of pharmacotherapeutic agents affecting attentional mechanisms not only may provide a window into the neurochemical mechanisms underlying dyslexia but also may offer a potential adjunct treatment for teaching dyslexic readers to read fluently and automatically. Preliminary studies suggest that agents traditionally used to treat disorders of attention, particularly attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, may prove to be an effective adjunct to improving reading in dyslexic students.
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49
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The neurocognitive basis of reading single words as seen through early latency ERPs: A model of converging pathways. Biol Psychol 2009; 80:10-22. [PMID: 18538915 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2008.04.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 97] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2008] [Revised: 04/28/2008] [Accepted: 04/28/2008] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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50
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Wright ND, Mechelli A, Noppeney U, Veltman DJ, Rombouts SA, Glensman J, Haynes J, Price CJ. Selective activation around the left occipito-temporal sulcus for words relative to pictures: individual variability or false positives? Hum Brain Mapp 2008; 29:986-1000. [PMID: 17712786 PMCID: PMC3261380 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.20443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
We used high‐resolution fMRI to investigate claims that learning to read results in greater left occipito‐temporal (OT) activation for written words relative to pictures of objects. In the first experiment, 9/16 subjects performing a one‐back task showed activation in ≥1 left OT voxel for words relative to pictures (P < 0.05 uncorrected). In a second experiment, another 9/15 subjects performing a semantic decision task activated ≥1 left OT voxel for words relative to pictures. However, at this low statistical threshold false positives need to be excluded. The semantic decision paradigm was therefore repeated, within subject, in two different scanners (1.5 and 3 T). Both scanners consistently localised left OT activation for words relative to fixation and pictures relative to words, but there were no consistent effects for words relative to pictures. Finally, in a third experiment, we minimised the voxel size (1.5 × 1.5 × 1.5 mm3) and demonstrated a striking concordance between the voxels activated for words and pictures, irrespective of task (naming vs. one‐back) or script (English vs. Hebrew). In summary, although we detected differential activation for words relative to pictures, these effects: (i) do not withstand statistical rigour; (ii) do not replicate within or between subjects; and (iii) are observed in voxels that also respond to pictures of objects. Our findings have implications for the role of left OT activation during reading. More generally, they show that studies using low statistical thresholds in single subject analyses should correct the statistical threshold for the number of comparisons made or replicate effects within subject. Hum Brain Mapp 2008. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas D. Wright
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Andrea Mechelli
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Uta Noppeney
- Max‐Planck‐Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Dick J. Veltman
- Department of Psychiatry, Vrije Universiteit Medical Centre, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Amsterdam Academic Medical Centre, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Serge A.R.B. Rombouts
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands
- Department of Physics & Medical Technology, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Institute for Psychological Research (LU‐IPR), Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands
- Department of Radiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Janice Glensman
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - John‐Dylan Haynes
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Charité ‐ Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Cathy J. Price
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
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