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Lee MM, Stoodley CJ. Neural bases of reading fluency: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Neuropsychologia 2024; 202:108947. [PMID: 38964441 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2024.108947] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2023] [Revised: 06/26/2024] [Accepted: 06/29/2024] [Indexed: 07/06/2024]
Abstract
Reading fluency, the ability to read quickly and accurately, is a critical marker of successful reading and is notoriously difficult to improve in reading disabled populations. Despite its importance to functional literacy, fluency is a relatively under-studied aspect of reading, and the neural correlates of reading fluency are not well understood. Here, we review the literature of the neural correlates of reading fluency as well as rapid automatized naming (RAN), a task that is robustly related to reading fluency. In a qualitative review of the neuroimaging literature, we evaluated structural and functional MRI studies of reading fluency in readers from a range of skill levels. This was followed by a quantitative activation likelihood estimate (ALE) meta-analysis of fMRI studies of reading speed and RAN measures. We anticipated that reading speed, relative to untimed reading and reading-related tasks, would harness ventral reading pathways that are thought to enable the fast, visual recognition of words. The qualitative review showed that speeded reading taps the entire canonical reading network. The meta-analysis indicated a stronger role of the ventral reading pathway in rapid reading and rapid naming. Both reviews identified regions outside the canonical reading network that contribute to reading fluency, such as the bilateral insula and superior parietal lobule. We suggest that fluent reading engages both domain-specific reading pathways as well as domain-general regions that support overall task performance and discuss future avenues of research to expand our understanding of the neural bases of fluent reading.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marissa M Lee
- Department of Neuroscience, American University, USA; Center for Applied Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Tufts University, USA
| | - Catherine J Stoodley
- Department of Neuroscience, American University, USA; Developing Brain Institute, Children's National Hospital, USA; Departments of Neurology and Pediatrics, The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, USA.
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2
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Olivo G, Persson J, Hedenius M. Exploring brain plasticity in developmental dyslexia through implicit sequence learning. NPJ SCIENCE OF LEARNING 2024; 9:37. [PMID: 38802367 PMCID: PMC11130236 DOI: 10.1038/s41539-024-00250-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2023] [Accepted: 05/08/2024] [Indexed: 05/29/2024]
Abstract
Developmental dyslexia (DD) is defined as difficulties in learning to read even with normal intelligence and adequate educational guidance. Deficits in implicit sequence learning (ISL) abilities have been reported in children with DD. We investigated brain plasticity in a group of 17 children with DD, compared with 18 typically developing (TD) children, after two sessions of training on a serial reaction time (SRT) task with a 24-h interval. Our outcome measures for the task were: a sequence-specific implicit learning measure (ISL), entailing implicit recognition and learning of sequential associations; and a general visuomotor skill learning measure (GSL). Gray matter volume (GMV) increased, and white matter volume (WMV) decreased from day 1 to day 2 in cerebellar areas regardless of group. A moderating effect of group was found on the correlation between WMV underlying the left precentral gyrus at day 2 and the change in ISL performance, suggesting the use of different underlying learning mechanisms in DD and TD children during the ISL task. Moreover, DD had larger WMV in the posterior thalamic radiation compared with TD, supporting previous reports of atypical development of this structure in DD. Further studies with larger sample sizes are warranted to validate these results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gaia Olivo
- University of Gothenburg, Department of Psychology, Haraldsgatan 1, 405 03, Göteborg, Sweden.
- Karolinska Institute, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Aging Research Center, Tomtebodavägen 18a, SE-171 65, Solna, Sweden.
| | - Jonas Persson
- Karolinska Institute, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Aging Research Center, Tomtebodavägen 18a, SE-171 65, Solna, Sweden
- Center for Life-span Developmental Research (LEADER), School of Law, Psychology, and Social Work, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden
| | - Martina Hedenius
- Uppsala University, Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Biomedical Center, Husargatan 3, 751 22, Uppsala, Sweden
- Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Centre for Psychiatry Research; Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet & Stockholm Health Care Services, Region Stockholm, Gävlegatan 22, 11330, Stockholm, Sweden
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3
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Lutz CG, Coraj S, Fraga-González G, Brem S. The odd one out - Orthographic oddball processing in children with poor versus typical reading skills in a fast periodic visual stimulation EEG paradigm. Cortex 2024; 172:185-203. [PMID: 38354469 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2023.12.010] [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: 03/17/2023] [Revised: 09/17/2023] [Accepted: 12/12/2023] [Indexed: 02/16/2024]
Abstract
The specialization of left ventral occipitotemporal brain regions to automatically process word forms develops with reading acquisition and is diminished in children with poor reading skills (PR). Using a fast periodic visual oddball stimulation (FPVS) design during electroencephalography (EEG), we examined the level of sensitivity and familiarity to word form processing in ninety-two children in 2nd and 3rd grade with varying reading skills (n = 35 for PR, n = 40 for typical reading skills; TR). To test children's level of "sensitivity", false font (FF) and consonant string (CS) oddballs were embedded in base presentations of word (W) stimuli. "Familiarity" was examined by presenting letter string oddballs with increasing familiarity (CS, pseudoword - PW, W) in FF base stimuli. Overall, our results revealed stronger left-hemispheric coarse sensitivity effects ("FF in W" > "CS in W") in TR than in PR in both topographic and oddball frequency analyses. Further, children distinguished between orthographically legal and illegal ("W/PW in FF" > "CS in FF") but not yet between lexical and non-lexical ("W in FF" vs "PW in FF") word forms. Although both TR and PR exhibit visual sensitivity and can distinguish between orthographically legal and illegal letter strings, they still struggle with nuanced lexical distinctions. Moreover, the strength of sensitivity is linked to reading proficiency. Our work adds to established knowledge in the field to characterize the relationship between print tuning and reading skills and suggests differences in the developmental progress to automatically process word forms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina G Lutz
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychiatric University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Switzerland; Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Seline Coraj
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychiatric University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Switzerland; Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, Switzerland; Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation Center for Neurodevelopment, Growth, and Nutrition of the Newborn, Department of Neonatology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Gorka Fraga-González
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychiatric University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Silvia Brem
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychiatric University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Switzerland; Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, Switzerland; University Research Priority Program (URPP), Adaptive Brain Circuits in Development and Learning (AdaBD), University of Zurich, Switzerland.
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4
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Roy E, Richie-Halford A, Kruper J, Narayan M, Bloom D, Nedelec P, Rauschecker AM, Sugrue LP, Brown TT, Jernigan TL, McCandliss BD, Rokem A, Yeatman JD. White matter and literacy: A dynamic system in flux. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2024; 65:101341. [PMID: 38219709 PMCID: PMC10825614 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2024.101341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2023] [Revised: 08/24/2023] [Accepted: 01/03/2024] [Indexed: 01/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Cross-sectional studies have linked differences in white matter tissue properties to reading skills. However, past studies have reported a range of, sometimes conflicting, results. Some studies suggest that white matter properties act as individual-level traits predictive of reading skill, whereas others suggest that reading skill and white matter develop as a function of an individual's educational experience. In the present study, we tested two hypotheses: a) that diffusion properties of the white matter reflect stable brain characteristics that relate to stable individual differences in reading ability or b) that white matter is a dynamic system, linked with learning over time. To answer these questions, we examined the relationship between white matter and reading in a five-year longitudinal dataset and a series of large-scale, single-observation, cross-sectional datasets (N = 14,249 total participants). We find that gains in reading skill correspond to longitudinal changes in the white matter. However, in the cross-sectional datasets, we find no evidence for the hypothesis that individual differences in white matter predict reading skill. These findings highlight the link between dynamic processes in the white matter and learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ethan Roy
- Graduate School of Education, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
| | - Adam Richie-Halford
- Graduate School of Education, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA; Department of Psychology and eScience Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA; Division of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - John Kruper
- Department of Psychology and eScience Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Manjari Narayan
- Division of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - David Bloom
- Department of Psychology and eScience Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Pierre Nedelec
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Andreas M Rauschecker
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Leo P Sugrue
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Timothy T Brown
- School of Medicine, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Terry L Jernigan
- Center for Human Development, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA
| | | | - Ariel Rokem
- Department of Psychology and eScience Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Jason D Yeatman
- Graduate School of Education, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA; Division of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
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5
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Lasnick OHM, Hoeft F. Sensory temporal sampling in time: an integrated model of the TSF and neural noise hypothesis as an etiological pathway for dyslexia. Front Hum Neurosci 2024; 17:1294941. [PMID: 38234592 PMCID: PMC10792016 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2023.1294941] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2023] [Accepted: 12/04/2023] [Indexed: 01/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Much progress has been made in research on the causal mechanisms of developmental dyslexia. In recent years, the "temporal sampling" account of dyslexia has evolved considerably, with contributions from neurogenetics and novel imaging methods resulting in a much more complex etiological view of the disorder. The original temporal sampling framework implicates disrupted neural entrainment to speech as a causal factor for atypical phonological representations. Yet, empirical findings have not provided clear evidence of a low-level etiology for this endophenotype. In contrast, the neural noise hypothesis presents a theoretical view of the manifestation of dyslexia from the level of genes to behavior. However, its relative novelty (published in 2017) means that empirical research focused on specific predictions is sparse. The current paper reviews dyslexia research using a dual framework from the temporal sampling and neural noise hypotheses and discusses the complementary nature of these two views of dyslexia. We present an argument for an integrated model of sensory temporal sampling as an etiological pathway for dyslexia. Finally, we conclude with a brief discussion of outstanding questions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oliver H. M. Lasnick
- brainLENS Laboratory, Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, United States
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6
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Cross AM, Lammert JM, Peters L, Frijters JC, Ansari D, Steinbach KA, Lovett MW, Archibald LMD, Joanisse MF. White matter correlates of reading subskills in children with and without reading disability. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2023; 241:105270. [PMID: 37141728 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2023.105270] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2022] [Revised: 03/31/2023] [Accepted: 04/18/2023] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Individual differences in reading ability are associated with characteristics of white matter microstructure in the brain. However, previous studies have largely measured reading as a single construct, resulting in difficulty characterizing the role of structural connectivity in discrete subskills of reading. The present study used diffusion tensor imaging to examine how white matter microstructure, measured by fractional anisotropy (FA), relates to individual differences in reading subskills in children aged 8 to 14 (n = 65). Findings showed positive correlations between FA of the left arcuate fasciculus and measures of single word reading and rapid naming abilities. Negative correlations were observed between FA of the right inferior longitudinal fasciculus and bilateral uncinate fasciculi, and reading subskills, particularly reading comprehension. The results suggest that although reading subskills rely to some extent on shared tracts, there are also distinct characteristics of white matter microstructure supporting different components of reading ability in children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra M Cross
- Brain and Mind Institute, The University of Western Ontario, London, Canada; Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Western Ontario, London, Canada; School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada.
| | - Jessica M Lammert
- Brain and Mind Institute, The University of Western Ontario, London, Canada; Department of Psychology, The University of Western Ontario, London, Canada
| | - Lien Peters
- Brain and Mind Institute, The University of Western Ontario, London, Canada; Department of Psychology, The University of Western Ontario, London, Canada
| | - Jan C Frijters
- Child and Youth Studies, Brock University, St. Catharines, Canada
| | - Daniel Ansari
- Brain and Mind Institute, The University of Western Ontario, London, Canada; Department of Psychology, The University of Western Ontario, London, Canada
| | | | - Maureen W Lovett
- The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), Toronto, Canada; Paediatrics and Medical Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Lisa M D Archibald
- Brain and Mind Institute, The University of Western Ontario, London, Canada; Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Western Ontario, London, Canada; School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada; Department of Psychology, The University of Western Ontario, London, Canada
| | - Marc F Joanisse
- Brain and Mind Institute, The University of Western Ontario, London, Canada; Department of Psychology, The University of Western Ontario, London, Canada; Haskins Laboratories, New Haven CT, USA
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7
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ERP Indicators of Phonological Awareness Development in Children: A Systematic Review. Brain Sci 2023; 13:brainsci13020290. [PMID: 36831833 PMCID: PMC9954228 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13020290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2022] [Revised: 02/04/2023] [Accepted: 02/05/2023] [Indexed: 02/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Phonological awareness is the ability to correctly recognize and manipulate phonological structures. The role of phonological awareness in reading development has become evident in behavioral research showing that it is inherently tied to measures of phonological processing and reading ability. This has also been shown with ERP research that examined how phonological processing training can benefit reading skills. However, there have not been many attempts to systematically review how phonological awareness itself is developed neurocognitively. In the present review, we screened 224 papers and systematically reviewed 40 papers that have explored phonological awareness and phonological processing using ERP methodology with both typically developing and children with reading problems. This review highlights ERP components that can be used as neurocognitive predictors of early developmental dyslexia and reading disorders in young children. Additionally, we have presented how phonological processing is developed neurocognitively throughout childhood, as well as which phonological tasks can be used to predict the development of phonological awareness prior to developing reading skills. Neurocognitive measures of early phonological processing can serve as supplemental diagnostic sources to behavioral measures of reading abilities because they show different aspects of phonological sensitivity when compared to behavioral measures.
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8
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Davison KE, Zuk J, Mullin LJ, Ozernov-Palchik O, Norton E, Gabrieli JDE, Yu X, Gaab N. Examining Shared Reading and White Matter Organization in Kindergarten in Relation to Subsequent Language and Reading Abilities: A Longitudinal Investigation. J Cogn Neurosci 2023; 35:259-275. [PMID: 36378907 PMCID: PMC9884137 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01944] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Parent-child language interaction in early childhood carries long-term implications for children's language and reading development. Conversational interaction, in particular, has been linked to white matter organization of neural pathways critical for language and reading. However, shared book reading serves an important role for language interaction as it exposes children to sophisticated vocabulary and syntax. Despite this, it remains unclear whether shared reading also relates to white matter characteristics subserving language and reading development. If so, to what extent do these environmentally associated changes in white matter organization relate to subsequent reading outcomes? This longitudinal study examined shared reading and white matter organization in kindergarten in relation to subsequent language and reading outcomes among 77 typically developing children. Findings reveal positive associations between the number of hours children are read to weekly (shared reading time) and the fractional anisotropy of the left arcuate fasciculus, as well as left lateralization of the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF). Furthermore, left lateralization of the SLF in these kindergarteners is associated with subsequent reading abilities in second grade. Mediation analyses reveal that left lateralization of the SLF fully mediates the relationship between shared reading time and second-grade reading abilities. Results are significant when controlling for age and socioeconomic status. This is the first evidence demonstrating how white matter structure, in relation to shared reading in kindergarten, is associated with school-age reading outcomes. Results illuminate shared reading as a key proxy for the home language and literacy environment and further our understanding of how language interaction may support neurocognitive development.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Xi Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University
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9
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Manning KY, Reynolds JE, Long X, Llera A, Dewey D, Lebel C. Multimodal brain features at 3 years of age and their relationship with pre-reading measures 1 year later. Front Hum Neurosci 2022; 16:965602. [PMID: 36072890 PMCID: PMC9441575 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.965602] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2022] [Accepted: 08/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Pre-reading language skills develop rapidly in early childhood and are related to brain structure and functional architecture in young children prior to formal education. However, the early neurobiological development that supports these skills is not well understood. Here we acquired anatomical, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and resting state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) from 35 children at 3.5 years of age. Children were assessed for pre-reading abilities using the NEPSY-II subtests 1 year later (4.5 years). We applied a data-driven linked independent component analysis (ICA) to explore the shared co-variation of gray and white matter measures. Two sources of structural variation at 3.5 years of age demonstrated relationships with Speeded Naming scores at 4.5 years of age. The first imaging component involved volumetric variability in reading-related cortical regions alongside microstructural features of the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF). The second component was dominated by cortical volumetric variations within the cerebellum and visual association area. In a subset of children with rs-fMRI data, we evaluated the inter-network functional connectivity of the left-lateralized fronto-parietal language network (FPL) and its relationship with pre-reading measures. Higher functional connectivity between the FPL and the default mode and visual networks at 3.5 years significantly predicted better Phonological Processing scores at 4.5 years. Together, these results suggest that the integration of functional networks, as well as the co-development of white and gray matter brain structures in early childhood, support the emergence of pre-reading measures in preschool children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathryn Y. Manning
- Department of Radiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
- Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Calgary, AB, Canada
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
- *Correspondence: Kathryn Y. Manning,
| | - Jess E. Reynolds
- Department of Radiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
- Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Calgary, AB, Canada
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
- Telethon Kids Institute, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia
| | - Xiangyu Long
- Department of Radiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
- Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Calgary, AB, Canada
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Alberto Llera
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Deborah Dewey
- Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Calgary, AB, Canada
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
- Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Catherine Lebel
- Department of Radiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
- Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Calgary, AB, Canada
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
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10
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Investigating the association between variability in sulcal pattern and academic achievement. Sci Rep 2022; 12:12323. [PMID: 35854034 PMCID: PMC9296655 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-15335-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2021] [Accepted: 06/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Investigating how the brain may constrain academic achievement is not only relevant to understanding brain structure but also to providing insight into the origins of individual differences in these academic abilities. In this pre-registered study, we investigated whether the variability of sulcal patterns, a qualitative feature of the brain determined in-utero and not affected by brain maturation and learning, accounted for individual differences in reading and mathematics. Participants were 97 typically developing 10-year-olds. We examined (a) the association between the sulcal pattern of the IntraParietal Sulcus (IPS) and mathematical ability; (b) the association between the sulcal pattern of the Occipito Temporal Sulcus (OTS) and reading ability; and (c) the overlap and specificity of sulcal morphology of IPS and OTS and their associations with mathematics and reading. Despite its large sample, the present study was unable to replicate a previously observed relationship between the IPS sulcal pattern and mathematical ability and a previously observed association between the left posterior OTS sulcal pattern and reading. We found a weak association between right IPS sulcal morphology and symbolic number abilities and a weak association between left posterior OTS and reading. However, both these associations were the opposite of previous reports. We found no evidence for a possible overlap or specificity in the effect of sulcal morphology on mathematics and reading. Possible explanations for this weak association between sulcal morphology and academic achievement and suggestions for future research are discussed.
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11
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Associations between Brain Microstructure and Phonological Processing Ability in Preschool Children. CHILDREN 2022; 9:children9060782. [PMID: 35740719 PMCID: PMC9221994 DOI: 10.3390/children9060782] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2022] [Revised: 05/23/2022] [Accepted: 05/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Neuroimaging studies have associated brain changes in children with future reading and language skills, but few studies have investigated the association between language skills and white matter structure in preschool-aged children. Using 208 data sets acquired in 73 healthy children aged 2–7 years, we investigated the relationship between developmental brain microstructure and phonological processing ability as measured using their phonological processing raw score (PPRS). The correlation analysis showed that across the whole age group, with increasing age, PPRS increased, fractional anisotropy (FA) of the internal capsule and inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus and some other regions increased, and mean diffusivity (MD) of the corpus callosum and internal capsule and some other regions decreased. The results of the mediation analysis suggest that increased FA may be the basis of phonological processing ability development during this period, and the increased number of fiber connections between the right inferior parietal lobule and right supramarginal gyrus may be a key imaging feature of phonological processing ability development. Our study reflects the changes in brain microstructure and contributes to understanding the underlying neural mechanisms of language development in preschool children.
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12
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Goldstein Ferber S, Weller A, Ben-Shachar M, Klinger G, Geva R. Development of the Ontogenetic Self-Regulation Clock. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:993. [PMID: 35055184 PMCID: PMC8778416 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23020993] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2021] [Revised: 01/07/2022] [Accepted: 01/15/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
To date, there is no overarching proposition for the ontogenetic-neurobiological basis of self-regulation. This paper suggests that the balanced self-regulatory reaction of the fetus, newborn and infant is based on a complex mechanism starting from early brainstem development and continuing to progressive control of the cortex over the brainstem. It is suggested that this balance occurs through the synchronous reactivity between the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems, both which originate from the brainstem. The paper presents an evidence-based approach in which molecular excitation-inhibition balance, interchanges between excitatory and inhibitory roles of neurotransmitters as well as cardiovascular and white matter development across gestational ages, are shown to create sympathetic-parasympathetic synchrony, including the postnatal development of electroencephalogram waves and vagal tone. These occur in developmental milestones detectable in the same time windows (sensitive periods of development) within a convergent systematic progress. This ontogenetic stepwise process is termed "the self-regulation clock" and suggest that this clock is located in the largest connection between the brainstem and the cortex, the corticospinal tract. This novel evidence-based new theory paves the way towards more accurate hypotheses and complex studies of self-regulation and its biological basis, as well as pointing to time windows for interventions in preterm infants. The paper also describes the developing indirect signaling between the suprachiasmatic nucleus and the corticospinal tract. Finally, the paper proposes novel hypotheses for molecular, structural and functional investigation of the "clock" circuitry, including its associations with other biological clocks. This complex circuitry is suggested to be responsible for the developing self-regulatory functions and their neurobehavioral correlates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sari Goldstein Ferber
- Department of Psychology, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan 5290002, Israel; (A.W.); (R.G.)
- The Leslie and Susan Gonda (Goldschmied) Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan 5290002, Israel;
| | - Aron Weller
- Department of Psychology, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan 5290002, Israel; (A.W.); (R.G.)
- The Leslie and Susan Gonda (Goldschmied) Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan 5290002, Israel;
| | - Michal Ben-Shachar
- The Leslie and Susan Gonda (Goldschmied) Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan 5290002, Israel;
| | - Gil Klinger
- Department of Neonatology, Schneider Children’s Medical Center, Sackler Medical School, Tel Aviv University, Petach Tikvah 4920235, Israel;
| | - Ronny Geva
- Department of Psychology, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan 5290002, Israel; (A.W.); (R.G.)
- The Leslie and Susan Gonda (Goldschmied) Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan 5290002, Israel;
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13
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Liu T, Thiebaut de Schotten M, Altarelli I, Ramus F, Zhao J. Maladaptive compensation of right fusiform gyrus in developmental dyslexia: A hub-based white matter network analysis. Cortex 2021; 145:57-66. [PMID: 34689032 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2021.07.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2021] [Revised: 06/19/2021] [Accepted: 07/30/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Cognitive theories have been proposed to clarify the causes and symptoms of dyslexia. However, correlations between local network parameters of white matter connectivity and literacy skills remain poorly known. An unbiased hypothesis-free approach was adopted to examine the correlations between literacy symptoms (reading and spelling) and hub-based white matter networks' connectivity parameters [nodal degree fractional anisotropy (FA) values] of 90 brain regions based on Anatomical Atlas Labels (AAL) in a group of French children with dyslexia aged 9-14 years. Results revealed that the higher the right fusiform gyrus's (FFG) nodal degree FA values, the lower the reading accuracy for words and pseudowords in dyslexic children. The results indicate that the severity of word/pseudoword reading symptoms in dyslexia relates to a white matter network centered around the right FFG. The negative correlation between right FFG network connectivity and reading accuracy, in particular pseudoword reading accuracy, suggests that right FFG represents a maladaptive compensation towards a general orthography-to-phonology decoding ability in developmental dyslexia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tianqiang Liu
- School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Shaanxi Provincial Key Research Center of Child Mental and Behavioral Health, Xi'an, China
| | - Michel Thiebaut de Schotten
- Groupe d'Imagerie Neurofonctionnelle, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives-UMR 5293, CNRS, CEA, University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France; Brain Connectivity and Behaviour Laboratory, Sorbonne Universities, Paris, France
| | - Irene Altarelli
- CNRS UMR 8240, Laboratory for the Psychology of Child Development and, Education (LaPsyDE), University Paris Descartes, Université de Paris, Paris, France; Laboratoire de Sciences Cognitives et Psycholinguistique (ENS, EHESS, CNRS), Département d'Etudes Cognitives, Ecole Normale Supérieure, PSL Research University, Paris, France
| | - Franck Ramus
- Laboratoire de Sciences Cognitives et Psycholinguistique (ENS, EHESS, CNRS), Département d'Etudes Cognitives, Ecole Normale Supérieure, PSL Research University, Paris, France.
| | - Jingjing Zhao
- School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Shaanxi Provincial Key Research Center of Child Mental and Behavioral Health, Xi'an, China.
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14
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Collins SE, Thompson DK, Kelly CE, Yang JYM, Pascoe L, Inder TE, Doyle LW, Cheong JLY, Burnett AC, Anderson PJ. Development of brain white matter and math computation ability in children born very preterm and full-term. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2021; 51:100987. [PMID: 34273749 PMCID: PMC8319459 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2021.100987] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2020] [Revised: 07/07/2021] [Accepted: 07/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Children born very preterm (VPT; <32 weeks' gestation) have alterations in brain white matter and poorer math ability than full-term (FT) peers. Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging studies suggest a link between white matter microstructure and math in VPT and FT children, although longitudinal studies using advanced modelling are lacking. In a prospective longitudinal cohort of VPT and FT children we used Fixel-Based Analysis to investigate associations between maturation of white matter fibre density (FD), fibre-bundle cross-section (FC), and combined fibre density and cross-section (FDC) and math computation ability at 7 (n = 136 VPT; n = 32 FT) and 13 (n = 130 VPT; n = 44 FT) years, as well as between change in white matter and math computation ability from 7 to 13 years (n = 103 VPT; n = 21 FT). In both VPT and FT children, higher FD, FC and FDC in visual, sensorimotor and cortico-thalamic/thalamo-cortical white matter tracts were associated with better math computation ability at 7 and 13 years. Longitudinally, accelerated maturation of the posterior body of the corpus callosum (FDC) was associated with greater math computation development. White matter-math associations were similar for VPT and FT children. In conclusion, white matter maturation is associated with math computation ability across late childhood, irrespective of birth group.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simonne E Collins
- Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia; Victorian Infant Brain Study (VIBeS), Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia; Developmental Imaging, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia.
| | - Deanne K Thompson
- Victorian Infant Brain Study (VIBeS), Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia; Developmental Imaging, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia; Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia; Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Claire E Kelly
- Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia; Victorian Infant Brain Study (VIBeS), Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia; Developmental Imaging, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Joseph Y M Yang
- Developmental Imaging, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia; Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia; Neuroscience Advanced Clinical Imaging Suite (NACIS), Department of Neurosurgery, The Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia; Neuroscience Research, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Leona Pascoe
- Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia; Victorian Infant Brain Study (VIBeS), Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Terrie E Inder
- Victorian Infant Brain Study (VIBeS), Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia; Department of Pediatric Newborn Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA
| | - Lex W Doyle
- Victorian Infant Brain Study (VIBeS), Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia; Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia; Newborn Research, The Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia; Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia; Premature Infant Follow-Up Program, Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Jeanie L Y Cheong
- Victorian Infant Brain Study (VIBeS), Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia; Newborn Research, The Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia; Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia; Premature Infant Follow-Up Program, Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Alice C Burnett
- Victorian Infant Brain Study (VIBeS), Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia; Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia; Premature Infant Follow-Up Program, Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia; Neonatal Medicine, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Peter J Anderson
- Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia; Victorian Infant Brain Study (VIBeS), Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia.
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15
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Borghesani V, Wang C, Watson C, Bouhali F, Caverzasi E, Battistella G, Bogley R, Yabut NA, Deleon J, Miller ZA, Hoeft F, Mandelli ML, Gorno-Tempini ML. Functional and morphological correlates of developmental dyslexia: A multimodal investigation of the ventral occipitotemporal cortex. J Neuroimaging 2021; 31:962-972. [PMID: 34115429 PMCID: PMC10832296 DOI: 10.1111/jon.12892] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2021] [Revised: 05/03/2021] [Accepted: 05/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The ventral occipitotemporal cortex (vOT) is a region crucial for reading acquisition through selective tuning to printed words. Developmental dyslexia is a disorder of reading with underlying neurobiological bases often associated with atypical neural responses to printed words. Previous studies have discovered anomalous structural development and function of the vOT in individuals with dyslexia. However, it remains unclear if or how structural abnormalities relate to functional alterations. METHODS In this study, we acquired structural, functional (words and faces processing), and diffusion MRI data from 26 children with dyslexia (average age = 10.4 ± 2.0 years) and 14 age-matched typically developing readers (average age = 10.4 ± 1.6 years). Morphological indices of local gyrification, neurite density (i.e., dendritic arborization structure), and orientation dispersion (i.e., dendritic arborization orientation) were analyzed within the vOT region that showed preferential activation in typically developing readers for words (as compared to face stimuli). RESULTS The two cohorts diverged significantly in both functional and structural measures. Compared to typically developing controls, children with dyslexia did not show selectivity for words in the left vOT (contrast: words > false fonts). This lack of tuning to printed words was associated with greater neurite dispersion heterogeneity in the dyslexia cohort, but similar neurite density. These group differences were not present in the homologous contralateral area, the right vOT. CONCLUSIONS Our findings provide new insight into the neurobiology of the lack of vOT word tuning in dyslexia by linking behavior, alterations in functional activation, and neurite organization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Borghesani
- Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Cheng Wang
- Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
- Dyslexia Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Christa Watson
- Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
- Dyslexia Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Florence Bouhali
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
- Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Eduardo Caverzasi
- Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
- Dyslexia Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Giovanni Battistella
- Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
- Dyslexia Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Rian Bogley
- Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
- Dyslexia Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Nicole A Yabut
- Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
- Dyslexia Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Jessica Deleon
- Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
- Dyslexia Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Zachary A Miller
- Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
- Dyslexia Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Fumiko Hoeft
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
- Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, Mansfield, Connecticut, USA
- Brain Imaging Research Center, University of Connecticut, Mansfield, Connecticut, USA
| | - Maria Luisa Mandelli
- Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
- Dyslexia Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Maria Luisa Gorno-Tempini
- Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
- Dyslexia Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
- Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
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16
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Koirala N, Perdue MV, Su X, Grigorenko EL, Landi N. Neurite density and arborization is associated with reading skill and phonological processing in children. Neuroimage 2021; 241:118426. [PMID: 34303796 PMCID: PMC8539928 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118426] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2021] [Revised: 06/25/2021] [Accepted: 07/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Studies exploring neuroanatomic correlates of reading have associated white matter tissue properties with reading disability and related componential skills (e.g., phonological and single-word reading skills). Mean diffusivity (MD) and fractional anisotropy (FA) are widely used surrogate measures of tissue microstructure with high sensitivity; however, they lack specificity for individual microstructural features. Here we investigated neurite features with higher specificity in order to explore the underlying microstructural architecture. Methods: Diffusion weighted images (DWI) and a battery of behavioral and neuropsychological assessments were obtained from 412 children (6 – 16 years of age). Neurite indices influenced by orientation and density were attained from 23 major white matter tracts. Partial correlations were calculated between neurite indices and indicators of phonological processing and single-word reading skills using age, sex, and image quality metrics as covariates. In addition, mediation analysis was performed using structural equation modeling (SEM) to evaluate the indirect effect of phonological processing on reading skills. Results: We observed that orientation dispersion index (ODI) and neurite density index (NDI) were negatively correlated with single-word reading and phonological processing skills in several tracts previously shown to have structural correlates with reading efficiency. We also observed a significant and substantial effect in which phonological processing mediated the relationship between neurite indices and reading skills in most tracts. Conclusions: In sum, we established that better reading and phonological processing skills are associated with greater tract coherence (lower ODI) and lower neurite density (lower NDI). We interpret these findings as evidence that reading is associated with neural architecture and its efficiency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nabin Koirala
- Haskins Laboratories, New Haven, Connecticut, United States.
| | - Meaghan V Perdue
- Haskins Laboratories, New Haven, Connecticut, United States; Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, Connecticut, United States
| | - Xing Su
- Haskins Laboratories, New Haven, Connecticut, United States
| | - Elena L Grigorenko
- Haskins Laboratories, New Haven, Connecticut, United States; Department of Psychology, University of Houston, Texas, United States
| | - Nicole Landi
- Haskins Laboratories, New Haven, Connecticut, United States; Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, Connecticut, United States
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17
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Sihvonen AJ, Virtala P, Thiede A, Laasonen M, Kujala T. Structural white matter connectometry of reading and dyslexia. Neuroimage 2021; 241:118411. [PMID: 34293464 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2021] [Revised: 06/25/2021] [Accepted: 07/19/2021] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Current views on the neural network subserving reading and its deficits in dyslexia rely largely on evidence derived from functional neuroimaging studies. However, understanding the structural organization of reading and its aberrations in dyslexia requires a hodological approach, studies of which have not provided consistent findings. Here, we adopted a whole brain hodological approach and investigated relationships between structural white matter connectivity and reading skills and phonological processing in a cross-sectional study of 44 adults using individual local connectome matrix from diffusion MRI data. Moreover, we performed quantitative anisotropy aided differential tractography to uncover structural white matter anomalies in dyslexia (23 dyslexics and 21 matched controls) and their correlation to reading-related skills. The connectometry analyses indicated that reading skills and phonological processing were both associated with corpus callosum (tapetum), forceps major and minor, as well as cerebellum bilaterally. Furthermore, the left dorsal and right thalamic pathways were associated with phonological processing. Differential tractography analyses revealed structural white matter anomalies in dyslexics in the left ventral route and bilaterally in the dorsal route compared to the controls. Connectivity deficits were also observed in the corpus callosum, forceps major, vertical occipital fasciculus and corticostriatal and thalamic pathways. Altered structural connectivity in the observed differential tractography results correlated with poor reading skills and phonological processing. Using a hodological approach, the current study provides novel evidence for the extent of the reading-related connectome and its aberrations in dyslexia. The results conform current functional neuroanatomical models of reading and developmental dyslexia but provide novel network-level and tract-level evidence on structural connectivity anomalies in dyslexia, including the vertical occipital fasciculus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aleksi J Sihvonen
- Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Finland; School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Queensland Aphasia Research Centre and UQ Centre for Clinical Research, The University of Queensland, Australia.
| | - Paula Virtala
- Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Finland
| | - Anja Thiede
- Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Finland
| | - Marja Laasonen
- Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Finland; Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Phoniatrics, Head and Neck Surgery, Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, Finland; Logopedics, School of Humanities, Philosophical Faculty, University of Eastern Finland
| | - Teija Kujala
- Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Finland
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18
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Perani D, Scifo P, Cicchini GM, Rosa PD, Banfi C, Mascheretti S, Falini A, Marino C, Morrone MC. White matter deficits correlate with visual motion perception impairments in dyslexic carriers of the DCDC2 genetic risk variant. Exp Brain Res 2021; 239:2725-2740. [PMID: 34228165 PMCID: PMC8448712 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-021-06137-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2020] [Accepted: 05/12/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Motion perception deficits in dyslexia show a large intersubjective variability, partly reflecting genetic factors influencing brain architecture development. In previous work, we have demonstrated that dyslexic carriers of a mutation of the DCDC2 gene have a very strong impairment in motion perception. In the present study, we investigated structural white matter alterations associated with the poor motion perception in a cohort of twenty dyslexics with a subgroup carrying the DCDC2 gene deletion (DCDC2d+) and a subgroup without the risk variant (DCDC2d–). We observed significant deficits in motion contrast sensitivity and in motion direction discrimination accuracy at high contrast, stronger in the DCDC2d+ group. Both motion perception impairments correlated significantly with the fractional anisotropy in posterior ventral and dorsal tracts, including early visual pathways both along the optic radiation and in proximity of occipital cortex, MT and VWFA. However, the DCDC2d+ group showed stronger correlations between FA and motion perception impairments than the DCDC2d– group in early visual white matter bundles, including the optic radiations, and in ventral pathways located in the left inferior temporal cortex. Our results suggest that the DCDC2d+ group experiences higher vulnerability in visual motion processing even at early stages of visual analysis, which might represent a specific feature associated with the genotype and provide further neurobiological support to the visual-motion deficit account of dyslexia in a specific subpopulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Perani
- Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy.,C.E.R.M.A.C. (Centro di Risonanza Magnetica ad Alto Campo), Milan, Italy.,Nuclear Medicine Department, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
| | - Paola Scifo
- C.E.R.M.A.C. (Centro di Risonanza Magnetica ad Alto Campo), Milan, Italy.,Nuclear Medicine Department, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
| | - Guido M Cicchini
- Institute of Neuroscience, National Research Council (CNR), Pisa, Italy.
| | - Pasquale Della Rosa
- C.E.R.M.A.C. (Centro di Risonanza Magnetica ad Alto Campo), Milan, Italy.,Unit of Neuroradiology, IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
| | - Chiara Banfi
- Institute of Psychology, University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Sara Mascheretti
- Child Psychopathology Unit, Scientific Institute Eugenio Medea, Bosisio Parini, Italy
| | - Andrea Falini
- Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy.,C.E.R.M.A.C. (Centro di Risonanza Magnetica ad Alto Campo), Milan, Italy.,Unit of Neuroradiology, IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
| | - Cecilia Marino
- Department of Psychiatry, Unviersity of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.,Division of Child and Youth Psychiatry, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Toronto, Canada
| | - Maria Concetta Morrone
- Department of Translational Research on New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.,Scientific Institute Stella Maris (IRCSS), Pisa, Italy
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19
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Feng Y, Song J, Yan W, Wang J, Zhao C, Zeng Q. Investigation of Local White Matter Properties in Professional Chess Player: A Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study Based on Automatic Annotation Fiber Clustering. IEEE Trans Cogn Dev Syst 2021. [DOI: 10.1109/tcds.2020.2968116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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20
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Langworthy BW, Stephens RL, Gilmore JH, Fine JP. Canonical correlation analysis for elliptical copulas. J MULTIVARIATE ANAL 2021; 183:104715. [PMID: 33518826 PMCID: PMC7839949 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmva.2020.104715] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Canonical correlation analysis (CCA) is a common method used to estimate the associations between two different sets of variables by maximizing the Pearson correlation between linear combinations of the two sets of variables. We propose a version of CCA for transelliptical distributions with an elliptical copula using pairwise Kendall's tau to estimate a latent scatter matrix. Because Kendall's tau relies only on the ranks of the data this method does not make any assumptions about the marginal distributions of the variables, and is valid when moments do not exist. We establish consistency and asymptotic normality for canonical directions and correlations estimated using Kendall's tau. Simulations indicate that this estimator outperforms standard CCA for data generated from heavy tailed elliptical distributions. Our method also identifies more meaningful relationships when the marginal distributions are skewed. We also propose a method for testing for non-zero canonical correlations using bootstrap methods. This testing procedure does not require any assumptions on the joint distribution of the variables and works for all elliptical copulas. This is in contrast to permutation tests which are only valid when data are generated from a distribution with a Gaussian copula. This method's practical utility is shown in an analysis of the association between radial diffusivity in white matter tracts and cognitive tests scores for six-year-old children from the Early Brain Development Study at UNC-Chapel Hill. An R package implementing this method is available at github.com/blangworthy/transCCA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin W. Langworthy
- Department of Biostatistics, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, 135 Dauer Drive, 3101 McGavran-Greenberg Hall, Chapel Hill, NC 27599
| | - Rebecca L. Stephens
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, 101 Manning Dr 1, Chapel Hill, NC 27514
| | - John H. Gilmore
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, 101 Manning Dr 1, Chapel Hill, NC 27514
| | - Jason P. Fine
- Department of Biostatistics, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, 135 Dauer Drive, 3101 McGavran-Greenberg Hall, Chapel Hill, NC 27599
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21
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Lou C, Cross AM, Peters L, Ansari D, Joanisse MF. Rich-club structure contributes to individual variance of reading skills via feeder connections in children with reading disabilities. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2021; 49:100957. [PMID: 33894677 PMCID: PMC8093404 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2021.100957] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2020] [Revised: 03/29/2021] [Accepted: 04/15/2021] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The present work considers how connectome-wide differences in brain organization might distinguish good and poor readers. The connectome comprises a ‘rich-club’ organization in which a small number of hub regions play a focal role in assisting global communication across the whole brain. Prior work indicates that this rich-club structure is associated with typical and impaired cognitive function although no work so far has examined how this relates to skilled reading or its disorders. Here we investigated the rich-club structure of brain’s white matter connectome and its relationship to reading subskills in 64 children with and without reading disabilities. Among three types of white matter connections, the strength of feeder connections that connect hub and non-hub nodes was significantly correlated with word reading efficiency and phonemic decoding. Phonemic decoding was also positively correlated with connectivity between connectome-wide hubs and nodes within the left-hemisphere reading network, as well as the local efficiency of the reading network. Exploratory analyses also identified sex differences indicating these effects were stronger in girls. This work highlights the independent roles of connectome-wide structure and the more narrowly-defined reading network in understanding the neural bases of skilled and impaired reading in children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chenglin Lou
- Department of Psychology, The University of Western Ontario, London, Canada; Brain and Mind Institute, The University of Western Ontario, London, Canada.
| | - Alexandra M Cross
- Brain and Mind Institute, The University of Western Ontario, London, Canada; Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Western Ontario, London, Canada
| | - Lien Peters
- Department of Psychology, The University of Western Ontario, London, Canada; Brain and Mind Institute, The University of Western Ontario, London, Canada
| | - Daniel Ansari
- Department of Psychology, The University of Western Ontario, London, Canada; Brain and Mind Institute, The University of Western Ontario, London, Canada; Faculty of Education, The University of Western Ontario, London, Canada
| | - Marc F Joanisse
- Department of Psychology, The University of Western Ontario, London, Canada; Brain and Mind Institute, The University of Western Ontario, London, Canada; Haskins Laboratories, New Haven, CT, USA
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22
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Van Der Auwera S, Vandermosten M, Wouters J, Ghesquière P, Vanderauwera J. A three-time point longitudinal investigation of the arcuate fasciculus throughout reading acquisition in children developing dyslexia. Neuroimage 2021; 237:118087. [PMID: 33878382 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2020] [Revised: 04/06/2021] [Accepted: 04/08/2021] [Indexed: 10/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Although the neural basis of dyslexia has intensively been investigated, results are still unclear about the existence of a white matter deficit in the arcuate fasciculus (AF) throughout development. To unravel this ambiguity, we examined the difference in fractional anisotropy (FA) of the AF between children developing dyslexia and children developing typical reading skills in a longitudinal sample with three MRI time points throughout reading development: the pre-reading stage (5-6 years old), the early reading stage (7-8 years old) and the advanced reading stage (9-10 years old). Applying along-the-tract analyses of white matter organization, our results confirmed that a white matter deficit existed in the left AF prior to the onset of formal reading instruction in children who developed dyslexia later on. This deficit was consistently present throughout the course of reading development. Additionally, we evaluated the use of applying a continuous approach on the participants' reading skills rather than the arbitrary categorization in individuals with or without dyslexia. Our results confirmed the predictive relation between FA and word reading measurements later in development. This study supports the use of longitudinal approaches to investigate the neural basis of the developmental process of learning to read and the application of triangulation, i.e. using multiple research approaches to help gain more insight and aiding the interpretation of obtained results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stijn Van Der Auwera
- Parenting and Special Education Research Unit, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Belgium
| | | | - Jan Wouters
- Research Group ExpORL, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Belgium
| | - Pol Ghesquière
- Parenting and Special Education Research Unit, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Belgium
| | - Jolijn Vanderauwera
- Parenting and Special Education Research Unit, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Belgium; Research Group ExpORL, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Belgium; Psychological Sciences Research Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium; Institute of Neuroscience, Université Catholique de Louvain, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
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Investigating the white matter correlates of reading performance: Evidence from Chinese children with reading difficulties. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0248434. [PMID: 33705494 PMCID: PMC7951916 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0248434] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2020] [Accepted: 02/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose Reading comprehension is closely associated with word recognition, particularly at the early stage of reading development. This association is reflected in children with reading difficulties (RD) who demonstrate poor reading comprehension along with delayed word recognition or reduced recognition accuracy. Although the neural mechanisms underlying reading comprehension and word recognition are well studied, few has investigated the white matter (WM) structures that the two processes potentially share. Methods To explore the issue, behavioral scores (word recognition & reading comprehension) and diffusion spectrum imaging (DSI) were acquired from Chinese-speaking children with RD and their age-matched typically developing children. WM structures were measured with generalized fractional anisotropy and normalized quantitative anisotropy to optimize fiber tracking precision. Results The children with RD performed significantly poorer than the typically developing children in both behavioral tasks. Between group differences of WM structure were found in the right superior temporal gyrus, the left medial frontal gyrus, the left medial frontal gyrus, and the left caudate body. A significant association between reading comprehension and Chinese character recognition and the DSI indices were found in the corpus callosum. The findings demonstrated the microstructural difference between children with and without reading difficulties go beyond the well-established reading network. Further, the association between the WM integrity of the corpus callosum and the behavioral scores reveals the involvement of the WM structure in both tasks. Conclusion It suggests the two reading-related skills have partially overlapped neural mechanism. Associating the corpus callosum with the reading skills leads to the reconsideration of the right hemisphere role in the typical reading process and, potentially, how it compensates for children with reading difficulties.
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Grotheer M, Yeatman J, Grill-Spector K. White matter fascicles and cortical microstructure predict reading-related responses in human ventral temporal cortex. Neuroimage 2021; 227:117669. [PMID: 33359351 PMCID: PMC8416179 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117669] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2020] [Revised: 12/10/2020] [Accepted: 12/12/2020] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Reading-related responses in the lateral ventral temporal cortex (VTC) show a consistent spatial layout across individuals, which is puzzling, since reading skills are acquired during childhood. Here, we tested the hypothesis that white matter fascicles and gray matter microstructure predict the location of reading-related responses in lateral VTC. We obtained functional (fMRI), diffusion (dMRI), and quantitative (qMRI) magnetic resonance imaging data in 30 adults. fMRI was used to map reading-related responses by contrasting responses in a reading task with those in adding and color tasks; dMRI was used to identify the brain's fascicles and to map their endpoint densities in lateral VTC; qMRI was used to measure proton relaxation time (T1), which depends on cortical tissue microstructure. We fit linear models that predict reading-related responses in lateral VTC from endpoint density and T1 and used leave-one-subject-out cross-validation to assess prediction accuracy. Using a subset of our participants (N=10, feature selection set), we find that i) endpoint densities of the arcuate fasciculus (AF), inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF), and vertical occipital fasciculus (VOF) are significant predictors of reading-related responses, and ii) cortical T1 of lateral VTC further improves the predictions of the fascicle model. In the remaining participants (N=20, validation set), we show that a linear model that includes T1, AF, ILF and VOF significantly predicts i) the map of reading-related responses across lateral VTC and ii) the location of the visual word form area, a region critical for reading. Overall, our data-driven approach reveals that the AF, ILF, VOF and cortical microstructure have a consistent spatial relationship with an individual's reading-related responses in lateral VTC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mareike Grotheer
- Psychology Department, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA..
| | - Jason Yeatman
- Psychology Department, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.; Graduate School of Education, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.; Division of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.; Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford University, CA 94305, USA
| | - Kalanit Grill-Spector
- Psychology Department, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.; Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford University, CA 94305, USA
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A general role for ventral white matter pathways in morphological processing: Going beyond reading. Neuroimage 2020; 226:117577. [PMID: 33221439 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117577] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2020] [Revised: 10/13/2020] [Accepted: 11/11/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability to recognize the structural components of words, known as morphological processing, was recently associated with the bilateral ventral white matter pathways, across different writing systems. However, it remains unclear whether these associations are specific to the context of reading. To shed light on this question, in the current study we investigated whether the ventral pathways are associated with morphological processing in an oral word production task that does not involve reading. Forty-five participants completed a morpheme-based fluency task in Hebrew, as well as diffusion MRI (dMRI) scans. We used probabilistic tractography to segment the major ventral and dorsal white matter pathways, and assessed the correlations between their microstructural properties and performance on the morpheme-based fluency task. We found significant correlations between morpheme-based fluency and properties of the bilateral ventral tracts, suggesting that the involvement of these tracts in morphological processing extends beyond the reading modality. In addition, significant correlations were found in the frontal aslant tract (FAT), a dorsal tract associated with oral fluency and speech production. Together, our findings emphasize that neurocognitive associations reflect both the cognitive construct under investigation as well as the task used for its assessment. Lastly, to elucidate the biological factors underlying these correlations, we incorporated the composite hindered and restricted model of diffusion (CHARMED) framework, measured in independent scans. We found that only some of our findings could be attributed to variation in a CHARMED-based estimate of fiber density. Further, we were able to uncover additional correlations that could not be detected using traditional dMRI indices. In sum, our results show that the involvement of the ventral tracts in morphological processing extends to the production domain, and demonstrate the added value of including sensitive structural measurements in neurocognitive investigations.
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The relation between neurofunctional and neurostructural determinants of phonological processing in pre-readers. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2020; 46:100874. [PMID: 33130464 PMCID: PMC7606842 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2020.100874] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2019] [Revised: 10/15/2020] [Accepted: 10/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Phonological processing skills are known as the most robust cognitive predictor of reading ability. Therefore, the neural determinants of phonological processing have been extensively investigated by means of either neurofunctional or neurostructural techniques. However, to fully understand how the brain represents and processes phonological information, there is need for studies that combine both methods. The present study applies such a multimodal approach with the aim of investigating the pre-reading relation between neural measures of auditory temporal processing, white matter properties of the reading network and phonological processing skills. We administered auditory steady-state responses, diffusion-weighted MRI scans and phonological awareness tasks in 59 pre-readers. Our results demonstrate that a stronger rightward lateralization of syllable-rate (4 Hz) processing coheres with higher fractional anisotropy in the left fronto-temporoparietal arcuate fasciculus. Both neural features each in turn relate to better phonological processing skills. As such, the current study provides novel evidence for the existence of a pre-reading relation between functional measures of syllable-rate processing, structural organization of the arcuate fasciculus and cognitive precursors of reading development. Moreover, our findings demonstrate the value of combining different neural techniques to gain insight in the underlying neural systems for reading (dis)ability.
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Beaulieu C, Yip E, Low PB, Mädler B, Lebel CA, Siegel L, Mackay AL, Laule C. Myelin Water Imaging Demonstrates Lower Brain Myelination in Children and Adolescents With Poor Reading Ability. Front Hum Neurosci 2020; 14:568395. [PMID: 33192398 PMCID: PMC7596275 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2020.568395] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2020] [Accepted: 08/31/2020] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides a means to non-invasively investigate the neurological links with dyslexia, a learning disability that affects one’s ability to read. Most previous brain MRI studies of dyslexia and reading skill have used structural or diffusion imaging to reveal regional brain abnormalities. However, volumetric and diffusion MRI lack specificity in their interpretation at the microstructural level. Myelin is a critical neural component for brain function and plasticity, and as such, deficits in myelin may impact reading ability. MRI can estimate myelin using myelin water fraction (MWF) imaging, which is based on evaluation of the proportion of short T2 myelin-associated water from multi-exponential T2 relaxation analysis, but has not yet been applied to the study of reading or dyslexia. In this study, MWF MRI, intelligence, and reading assessments were acquired in 20 participants aged 10–18 years with a wide range of reading ability to investigate the relationship between reading ability and myelination. Group comparisons showed markedly lower MWF by 16–69% in poor readers relative to good readers in the left and right thalamus, as well as the left posterior limb of the internal capsule, left/right anterior limb of the internal capsule, left/right centrum semiovale, and splenium of the corpus callosum. MWF over the entire group also correlated positively with three different reading scores in the bilateral thalamus as well as white matter, including the splenium of the corpus callosum, left posterior limb of the internal capsule, left anterior limb of the internal capsule, and left centrum semiovale. MWF imaging from T2 relaxation suggests that myelination, particularly in the bilateral thalamus, splenium, and left hemisphere white matter, plays a role in reading abilities. Myelin water imaging thus provides a potentially valuable in vivo imaging tool for the study of dyslexia and its remediation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Beaulieu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Eugene Yip
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Pauline B Low
- Department of Education and Counseling Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | | | | | - Linda Siegel
- Department of Education and Counseling Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Alex L Mackay
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.,Department of Radiology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Cornelia Laule
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.,Department of Radiology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.,Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.,International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (ICORD), University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
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Lancaster HS, Liu X, Dinu V, Li J. Identifying interactive biological pathways associated with reading disability. Brain Behav 2020; 10:e01735. [PMID: 32596987 PMCID: PMC7428467 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.1735] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2020] [Revised: 06/01/2020] [Accepted: 06/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Past research has suggested that reading disability is a complex disorder involving genetic and environment contributions, as well as gene-gene and gene-environment interaction, but to date little is known about the underlying mechanisms. METHOD Using the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, we assessed the contributions of genetic, demographic, and environmental variables on case-control status using machine learning. We investigated the functional interactions between genes using pathway and network analysis. RESULTS Our results support a systems approach to studying the etiology of reading disability with many genes (e.g., RAPGEF2, KIAA0319, DLC1) and biological pathways (e.g., neuron migration, positive regulation of dendrite regulation, nervous system development) interacting with each other. We found that single nucleotide variants within genes often had opposite effects and that enriched biological pathways were mediated by neuron migration. We also identified behavioral (i.e., receptive language, nonverbal intelligence, and vocabulary), demographic (i.e., mother's highest education), and environmental (i.e., birthweight) factors that influenced case-control status when accounting for genetic information. DISCUSSION The behavioral and demographic factors were suggested to be protective against reading disability status, while birthweight conveyed risk. We provided supporting evidence that reading disability has a complex biological and environmental etiology and that there may be a shared genetic and neurobiological architecture for reading (dis)ability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hope Sparks Lancaster
- College of Health SolutionsArizona State UniversityTempeAZUSA
- Department of Computing, Informatics, and Decision Systems EngineeringSchools of EngineeringArizona State UniversityTempeAZUSA
| | - Xiaonan Liu
- Department of Computing, Informatics, and Decision Systems EngineeringSchools of EngineeringArizona State UniversityTempeAZUSA
| | - Valentin Dinu
- College of Health SolutionsArizona State UniversityTempeAZUSA
| | - Jing Li
- School of Industrial and Systems EngineeringGeorgia Institute of TechnologyAtlantaGAUSA
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Yablonski M, Ben-Shachar M. Sensitivity to word structure in adult Hebrew readers is associated with microstructure of the ventral reading pathways. Cortex 2020; 128:234-253. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2020.03.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2019] [Revised: 02/17/2020] [Accepted: 03/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
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Correlation between diffusion tensor imaging measures and the reading and cognitive performance of Arabic readers: dyslexic children perspective. Neuroradiology 2020; 62:525-531. [PMID: 31955236 DOI: 10.1007/s00234-020-02368-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2019] [Accepted: 01/10/2020] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE To investigate the correlation between the diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) measures and the reading, spelling, writing, rapid naming, memory, and motor abilities in Arabic dyslexic children. This could verify the influence of possible white matter alterations on the abilities of those children. METHODS Twenty native Arabic-speaking children with dyslexia (15 males and 5 females; 8.2 years ± 1) underwent DTI of the brain on 1.5 T scanner. Diffusion-weighted images were acquired in 32 noncollinear direction. Tractography of the arcuate fasciculus (AF) was performed. Region of interest (ROI)-based approach was also used. Regions encompass superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), anterior and superior corona radiata (CR), and posterior limb of internal capsule (PLIC) were analyzed. Fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) were measured. The aptitudes of those children were evaluated by the dyslexia assessment test. These abilities were statistically correlated with the FA and ADC of the AF and other ROIs. RESULTS The reduction of FA of right AF was related to worse overall reading and related abilities performance. The ADC of right SLF was negatively correlated with memory abilities. The ADC of right PLIC was positively correlated with writing performance. Other relations were also found. CONCLUSION White matter microstructural DTI measurements in the right AF, right PLIC, SLF, and left anterior and superior CR are correlated to reading, spelling, writing, memory, and rapid naming abilities of the participants. The DTI measures could be promising regarding their use as a biomarker for follow-up in developmental dyslexia.
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Cummine J, Villarena M, Onysyk T, Devlin JT. A Study of Null Effects for the Use of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) in Adults With and Without Reading Impairment. NEUROBIOLOGY OF LANGUAGE (CAMBRIDGE, MASS.) 2020; 1:434-451. [PMID: 36793290 PMCID: PMC9923690 DOI: 10.1162/nol_a_00020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2019] [Accepted: 07/19/2020] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
UNLABELLED There is evidence to support the hypothesis that the delivery of anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to the left temporoparietal junction can enhance performance on reading speed and reading accuracy (Costanzo et al., 2016b; Heth & Lavidor, 2015). Here, we explored whether we could demonstrate similar effects in adults with and without reading impairments. METHOD Adults with (N = 33) and without (N = 29) reading impairment were randomly assigned to anodal or sham stimulation conditions. All individuals underwent a battery of reading assessments pre and post stimulation. The stimulation session involved 15 min of anodal/sham stimulation over the left temporoparietal junction while concurrently completing a computerized nonword segmentation task known to activate the temporoparietal junction. RESULTS There were no conclusive findings that anodal stimulation impacted reading performance for skilled or impaired readers. CONCLUSIONS While tDCS may provide useful gains on reading performance in the paediatric population, much more work is needed to establish the parameters under which such findings would transfer to adult populations. The documentation, reporting, and interpreting of null effects of tDCS are immensely important to a field that is growing exponentially with much uncertainty.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Miya Villarena
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
| | - Taylor Onysyk
- Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
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Grotheer M, Zhen Z, Lerma-Usabiaga G, Grill-Spector K. Separate lanes for adding and reading in the white matter highways of the human brain. Nat Commun 2019; 10:3675. [PMID: 31417075 PMCID: PMC6695422 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-11424-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2018] [Accepted: 07/09/2019] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Math and reading involve distributed brain networks and have both shared (e.g. encoding of visual stimuli) and dissociated (e.g. quantity processing) cognitive components. Yet, to date, the shared vs. dissociated gray and white matter substrates of the math and reading networks are unknown. Here, we define these networks and evaluate the structural properties of their fascicles using functional MRI, diffusion MRI, and quantitative MRI. Our results reveal that there are distinct gray matter regions which are preferentially engaged in either math (adding) or reading, and that the superior longitudinal and arcuate fascicles are shared across the math and reading networks. Strikingly, within these fascicles, reading- and math-related tracts are segregated into parallel sub-bundles and show structural differences related to myelination. These findings open a new avenue of research that examines the contribution of sub-bundles within fascicles to specific behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mareike Grotheer
- Psychology Department, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.
| | - Zonglei Zhen
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Garikoitz Lerma-Usabiaga
- Psychology Department, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
- BCBL. Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language, Mikeletegi Pasealekua 69, Donostia - San Sebastián, 20009, Gipuzkoa, Spain
| | - Kalanit Grill-Spector
- Psychology Department, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
- Stanford Neurosciences Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
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White matter microstructure correlates with mathematics but not word reading performance in 13-year-old children born very preterm and full-term. NEUROIMAGE-CLINICAL 2019; 24:101944. [PMID: 31426019 PMCID: PMC6706654 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2019.101944] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2019] [Revised: 07/04/2019] [Accepted: 07/17/2019] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Individuals born very preterm (VPT; <32 weeks' gestational age) are at increased risk of impaired mathematics and word reading performance, as well as widespread white matter microstructural alterations compared with individuals born full term (FT; ≥37 weeks' gestational age). To date, the link between academic performance and white matter microstructure is not well understood. This study aimed to investigate the associations between mathematics and reading performance with white matter microstructure in 114 VPT and 36 FT 13-year-old children. Additionally, we aimed to investigate whether the association of mathematics and reading performance with white matter microstructure in VPT children varied as a function of impairment. To do this, we used diffusion tensor imaging and advanced diffusion modelling techniques (Neurite Orientation Dispersion and Density Imaging and the Spherical Mean Technique), combined with a whole-brain analysis approach (Tract-Based Spatial Statistics). Mathematics performance across VPT and FT groups was positively associated with white matter microstructural measurements of fractional anisotropy and neurite density, and negatively associated with radial and mean diffusivities in widespread, bilateral regions. Furthermore, VPT children with a mathematics impairment (>1 standard deviation below FT mean) had significantly reduced neurite density compared with VPT children without an impairment. Reading performance was not significantly associated with any of the white matter microstructure parameters. Additionally, the associations between white matter microstructure and mathematics and reading performance did not differ significantly between VPT and FT groups. Our findings suggest that alterations in white matter microstructure, and more specifically lower neurite density, are associated with poorer mathematics performance in 13-year-old VPT and FT children. More research is required to understand the association between reading performance and white matter microstructure in 13-year-old children. Diffusion tensor and neurite density metrics were associated with mathematics. Associations were present in very preterm and full-term children. Associations were widespread throughout the white matter microstructure. Decreased neurite density was evident in children with a mathematics impairment. Limited evidence of associations between white matter microstructure and reading.
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Yablonski M, Rastle K, Taylor J, Ben-Shachar M. Structural properties of the ventral reading pathways are associated with morphological processing in adult English readers. Cortex 2019; 116:268-285. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2018.06.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2017] [Revised: 06/25/2018] [Accepted: 06/25/2018] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
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Kim MJ, Elliott ML, d'Arbeloff TC, Knodt AR, Radtke SR, Brigidi BD, Hariri AR. Microstructural integrity of white matter moderates an association between childhood adversity and adult trait anger. Aggress Behav 2019; 45:310-318. [PMID: 30699245 DOI: 10.1002/ab.21820] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2018] [Revised: 10/10/2018] [Accepted: 12/21/2018] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Amongst a number of negative life sequelae associated with childhood adversity is the later expression of a higher dispositional tendency to experience anger and frustration to a wide range of situations (i.e., trait anger). We recently reported that an association between childhood adversity and trait anger is moderated by individual differences in both threat-related amygdala activity and executive control-related dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) activity, wherein individuals with relatively low amygdala and high dlPFC activity do not express higher trait anger even when having experienced childhood adversity. Here, we examine possible structural correlates of this functional dynamic using diffusion magnetic resonance imaging data from 647 young adult men and women volunteers. Specifically, we tested whether the degree of white matter microstructural integrity as indexed by fractional anisotropy modulated the association between childhood adversity and trait anger. Our analyses revealed that higher microstructural integrity of multiple pathways was associated with an attenuated link between childhood adversity and adult trait anger. Amongst these pathways was the uncinate fasciculus (UF; ΔR 2 = 0.01), which not only provides a major anatomical link between the amygdala and prefrontal cortex but also is associated with individual differences in regulating negative emotion through top-down cognitive reappraisal. These findings suggest that higher microstructural integrity of distributed white matter pathways including but not limited to the UF may represent an anatomical foundation serving to buffer against the expression of childhood adversity as later trait anger, which is itself associated with multiple negative health outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- M. Justin Kim
- Department of Psychology University of Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu Hawaii
| | - Maxwell L. Elliott
- Laboratory of NeuroGenetics, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University Durham North Carolina
| | - Tracy C. d'Arbeloff
- Laboratory of NeuroGenetics, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University Durham North Carolina
| | - Annchen R. Knodt
- Laboratory of NeuroGenetics, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University Durham North Carolina
| | - Spenser R. Radtke
- Laboratory of NeuroGenetics, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University Durham North Carolina
| | - Bartholomew D. Brigidi
- Laboratory of NeuroGenetics, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University Durham North Carolina
| | - Ahmad R. Hariri
- Laboratory of NeuroGenetics, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University Durham North Carolina
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Moreau D, Stonyer JE, McKay NS, Waldie KE. No evidence for systematic white matter correlates of dyslexia: An Activation Likelihood Estimation meta-analysis. Brain Res 2019; 1683:36-47. [PMID: 29456133 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2018.01.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2017] [Revised: 01/11/2018] [Accepted: 01/12/2018] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Dyslexia is a prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder, characterized by reading and spelling difficulties. Beyond the behavioral and functional correlates of this condition, a growing number of studies have explored structural differences between individuals with dyslexia and typically developing individuals. To date, findings remain disparate - some studies suggest differences in fractional anisotropy (FA), an indirect measure of white matter integrity, whereas others do not identify significant disparities. Here, we synthesized the existing literature on this topic by conducting a meta-analysis of Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) studies investigating white matter correlates of dyslexia via voxel-based analyses (VBA) of FA. Our results showed no reliable clusters underlying differences between dyslexics and typical individuals, after correcting for multiple comparisons (false discovery rate correction). Because group comparisons might be too coarse to yield subtle differences, we further explored differences in FA as a function of reading ability, measured on a continuous scale. Consistent with our initial findings, reading ability was not associated with reliable differences in white matter integrity. These findings nuance the current view of profound, structural differences underlying reading ability and its associated disorders, and suggest that their neural correlates might be more subtle than previously thought.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Moreau
- Centre for Brain Research, School of Psychology, University of Auckland, New Zealand.
| | - Josephine E Stonyer
- Centre for Brain Research, School of Psychology, University of Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Nicole S McKay
- Centre for Brain Research, School of Psychology, University of Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Karen E Waldie
- Centre for Brain Research, School of Psychology, University of Auckland, New Zealand
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Moulton E, Bouhali F, Monzalvo K, Poupon C, Zhang H, Dehaene S, Dehaene-Lambertz G, Dubois J. Connectivity between the visual word form area and the parietal lobe improves after the first year of reading instruction: a longitudinal MRI study in children. Brain Struct Funct 2019; 224:1519-1536. [PMID: 30840149 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-019-01855-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2018] [Accepted: 02/25/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Shortly after reading instruction, a region in the ventral occipital temporal cortex (vOTC) of the left hemisphere, the Visual Word Form Area (VWFA), becomes specialized for written words. Its reproducible location across scripts suggests important anatomical constraints, such as specific patterns of connectivity, notably to spoken language areas. Here, we explored the structural connectivity of the emerging VWFA in terms of its specificity relative to other ventral visual regions and its stability throughout the process of reading instruction in ten children studied longitudinally over 2 years. Category-specific regions for words, houses, faces, and tools were identified in the left vOTC of each subject with functional MRI. With diffusion MRI and tractography, we reconstructed the connections of these regions at two time points (mean age ± standard deviation: 6.2 ± 0.3, 7.2 ± 0.4 years). We first showed that the regions for each visual category harbor their own specific connectivity, all of which precede reading instruction and remain stable throughout development. The most specific connections of the VWFA were to the dorsal posterior parietal cortex. We then showed that microstructural changes in these connections correlated with improvements in reading scores over the first year of instruction but not 1 year later in a subsample of eight children (age: 8.4 ± 0.3 years). These results suggest that the VWFA location depends on its connectivity to distant regions, in particular, the left inferior parietal region which may play a crucial role in visual field maps and eye movement dynamics in addition to attentional control in letter-by-letter reading and disambiguation of mirror-letters during the first stages of learning to read.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric Moulton
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit U992, INSERM, CEA DRF/Institut-Joliot/NeuroSpin, Université Paris-Saclay, Université Paris-Sud, 91191, Gif/Yvette, France. .,Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière, ICM, Inserm U 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Sorbonne Université, 75013, Paris, France.
| | - Florence Bouhali
- Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière, ICM, Inserm U 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Sorbonne Université, 75013, Paris, France
| | - Karla Monzalvo
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit U992, INSERM, CEA DRF/Institut-Joliot/NeuroSpin, Université Paris-Saclay, Université Paris-Sud, 91191, Gif/Yvette, France
| | - Cyril Poupon
- CEA DRF/Institut-Joliot/NeuroSpin, UNIRS, Université Paris-Saclay, Université Paris-Sud, 91191, Gif/Yvette, France
| | - Hui Zhang
- Department of Computer Science and Centre for Medical Image Computing, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Stanislas Dehaene
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit U992, INSERM, CEA DRF/Institut-Joliot/NeuroSpin, Université Paris-Saclay, Université Paris-Sud, 91191, Gif/Yvette, France.,Collège de France, Paris, France
| | - Ghislaine Dehaene-Lambertz
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit U992, INSERM, CEA DRF/Institut-Joliot/NeuroSpin, Université Paris-Saclay, Université Paris-Sud, 91191, Gif/Yvette, France
| | - Jessica Dubois
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit U992, INSERM, CEA DRF/Institut-Joliot/NeuroSpin, Université Paris-Saclay, Université Paris-Sud, 91191, Gif/Yvette, France
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38
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Borchers LR, Bruckert L, Dodson CK, Travis KE, Marchman VA, Ben-Shachar M, Feldman HM. Microstructural properties of white matter pathways in relation to subsequent reading abilities in children: a longitudinal analysis. Brain Struct Funct 2019; 224:891-905. [PMID: 30539288 PMCID: PMC6420849 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-018-1813-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2018] [Accepted: 12/04/2018] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Microstructural properties of white matter pathways are associated with concurrent reading abilities in children. In this longitudinal study, we asked whether properties of white matter pathways at the onset of learning to read would be associated with reading abilities at older ages. Children (N = 37) with a wide range of reading abilities completed standardized measures of language and phonological awareness and diffusion MRI at age 6 years. Mean tract-fractional anisotropy (FA) was extracted from reading-related pathways. At age 8, the same children were re-assessed using a standardized reading measure. Using linear regressions, we examined the contribution of tract-FA at age 6 to reading outcome at age 8, beyond known demographic and pre-literacy predictors of reading. Tract-FA of the left arcuate, left and right superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), and left inferior cerebellar peduncle (ICP) made unique contributions to reading outcome after consideration of sex and family history of reading delays. Tract-FA of the left and right SLF and left ICP made unique contributions to reading outcome after the addition of pre-literacy skills. Thus, cerebellar and bilateral cortical pathways represented a network associated with subsequent reading abilities. Early white matter properties may be associated with other neuropsychological functions that predict reading or may influence reading development, independent of reading-related abilities. Tract FA at early stages of learning to read may serve as a biomarker of later reading abilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren R Borchers
- Division of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Medical School Office Building, 1265 Welch Rd, Mail Code 5415, Stanford, 94305, CA, USA
| | - Lisa Bruckert
- Division of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Medical School Office Building, 1265 Welch Rd, Mail Code 5415, Stanford, 94305, CA, USA
| | - Cory K Dodson
- Division of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Medical School Office Building, 1265 Welch Rd, Mail Code 5415, Stanford, 94305, CA, USA
| | - Katherine E Travis
- Division of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Medical School Office Building, 1265 Welch Rd, Mail Code 5415, Stanford, 94305, CA, USA
| | | | - Michal Ben-Shachar
- The Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar Ilan University, 5290002, Ramat Gan, Israel
- Department of English Literature and Linguistics, Bar Ilan University, 5290002, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Heidi M Feldman
- Division of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Medical School Office Building, 1265 Welch Rd, Mail Code 5415, Stanford, 94305, CA, USA.
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39
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Lou C, Duan X, Altarelli I, Sweeney JA, Ramus F, Zhao J. White matter network connectivity deficits in developmental dyslexia. Hum Brain Mapp 2019; 40:505-516. [PMID: 30251768 PMCID: PMC6865529 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24390] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2018] [Revised: 08/15/2018] [Accepted: 08/30/2018] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
A number of studies have shown an abnormal connectivity of certain white matter pathways in developmental dyslexia, as well as correlations between these white matter pathways and behavioral deficits. However, whether developmental dyslexia presents broader white matter network connectivity disruption is currently unknown. The present study reconstructed white matter networks for 26 dyslexic children (11.61 ± 1.31 years) and 31 age-matched controls (11.49 ± 1.36 years) using constrained spherical deconvolution tractography. Network-based statistics (NBS) analysis was performed to identify network connectivity deficits in dyslexic individuals. Network topological features were measured based on graph theory to examine whether these parameters correlate with literacy skills, and whether they explain additional variance over previously established white matter connectivity abnormalities in dyslexic children. The NBS analysis identified a network connecting the left-occipital-temporal cortex and temporo-parietal cortex that had decreased streamlines in dyslexic children. Four network topological parameters (clustering coefficient, local efficiency, transitivity, and global efficiency) were positively correlated with literacy skills of dyslexic children, and explained a substantial proportion of additional variance in literacy skills beyond connectivity measures of white matter pathways. This study for the first time reports a disconnection in a local subnetwork in the left hemisphere in dyslexia and shows that the global white matter network topological properties contribute to reduced literacy skills in dyslexic children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chenglin Lou
- School of PsychologyShaanxi Normal University, and Key Laboratory for Behavior and Cognitive Neuroscience of Shaanxi Province, Xi'anChina
| | - Xiting Duan
- School of PsychologyShaanxi Normal University, and Key Laboratory for Behavior and Cognitive Neuroscience of Shaanxi Province, Xi'anChina
| | - Irene Altarelli
- Laboratoire de Sciences Cognitives et Psycholinguistique (ENS, EHESS, CNRS), Département d'Etudes CognitivesEcole Normale Supérieure, PSL Research UniversityParisFrance
- Faculty Psychology and Science De L'éducation (FPSE)University of GenevaGenevaSwitzerland
| | - John A. Sweeney
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral NeuroscienceUniversity of CincinnatiCincinnatiOhio
| | - Franck Ramus
- Laboratoire de Sciences Cognitives et Psycholinguistique (ENS, EHESS, CNRS), Département d'Etudes CognitivesEcole Normale Supérieure, PSL Research UniversityParisFrance
| | - Jingjing Zhao
- School of PsychologyShaanxi Normal University, and Key Laboratory for Behavior and Cognitive Neuroscience of Shaanxi Province, Xi'anChina
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40
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Huber E, Henriques RN, Owen JP, Rokem A, Yeatman JD. Applying microstructural models to understand the role of white matter in cognitive development. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2019; 36:100624. [PMID: 30927705 PMCID: PMC6969248 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2019.100624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2018] [Revised: 12/18/2018] [Accepted: 01/29/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Diffusion MRI (dMRI) holds great promise for illuminating the biological changes that underpin cognitive development. The diffusion of water molecules probes the cellular structure of brain tissue, and biophysical modeling of the diffusion signal can be used to make inferences about specific tissue properties that vary over development or predict cognitive performance. However, applying these models to study development requires that the parameters can be reliably estimated given the constraints of data collection with children. Here we collect repeated scans using a typical multi-shell diffusion MRI protocol in a group of children (ages 7-12) and use two popular modeling techniques to examine individual differences in white matter structure. We first assess scan-rescan reliability of model parameters and show that axon water faction can be reliably estimated from a relatively fast acquisition, without applying spatial smoothing or de-noising. We then investigate developmental changes in the white matter, and individual differences that correlate with reading skill. Specifically, we test the hypothesis that previously reported correlations between reading skill and diffusion anisotropy in the corpus callosum reflect increased axon water fraction in poor readers. Both models support this interpretation, highlighting the utility of these approaches for testing specific hypotheses about cognitive development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth Huber
- Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences and Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, United States.
| | - Rafael Neto Henriques
- Champalimaud Neuroscience Programme, Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Julia P Owen
- Department of Radiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, United States
| | - Ariel Rokem
- eScience Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, United States
| | - Jason D Yeatman
- Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences and Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, United States
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41
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Tremblay P, Perron M, Deschamps I, Kennedy‐Higgins D, Houde J, Dick AS, Descoteaux M. The role of the arcuate and middle longitudinal fasciculi in speech perception in noise in adulthood. Hum Brain Mapp 2019; 40:226-241. [PMID: 30277622 PMCID: PMC6865648 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2018] [Revised: 08/07/2018] [Accepted: 08/08/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
In this article, we used High Angular Resolution Diffusion Imaging (HARDI) with advanced anatomically constrained particle filtering tractography to investigate the role of the arcuate fasciculus (AF) and the middle longitudinal fasciculus (MdLF) in speech perception in noise in younger and older adults. Fourteen young and 15 elderly adults completed a syllable discrimination task in the presence of broadband masking noise. Mediation analyses revealed few effects of age on white matter (WM) in these fascicles but broad effects of WM on speech perception, independently of age, especially in terms of sensitivity and criterion (response bias), after controlling for individual differences in hearing sensitivity and head size. Indirect (mediated) effects of age on speech perception through WM microstructure were also found, after controlling for individual differences in hearing sensitivity and head size, with AF microstructure related to sensitivity, response bias and phonological priming, and MdLF microstructure more strongly related to response bias. These findings suggest that pathways of the perisylvian region contribute to speech processing abilities, with relatively distinct contributions for the AF (sensitivity) and MdLF (response bias), indicative of a complex contribution of both phonological and cognitive processes to age-related speech perception decline. These results provide new and important insights into the roles of these pathways as well as the factors that may contribute to elderly speech perception deficits. They also highlight the need for a greater focus to be placed on studying the role of WM microstructure to understand cognitive aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pascale Tremblay
- CERVO Brain Research CenterQuebec CityCanada
- Département de Réadaptation, Faculté de MédecineUniversité LavalQuebec CityCanada
| | | | - Isabelle Deschamps
- CERVO Brain Research CenterQuebec CityCanada
- Département de Réadaptation, Faculté de MédecineUniversité LavalQuebec CityCanada
| | - Dan Kennedy‐Higgins
- CERVO Brain Research CenterQuebec CityCanada
- Department of Speech, Hearing and Phonetic SciencesUniversity College LondonUnited Kingdom
| | - Jean‐Christophe Houde
- Département d'informatique, Faculté des Sciences, Sherbrooke Connectivity Imaging LabUniversité de SherbrookeSherbrookeCanada
| | | | - Maxime Descoteaux
- Département d'informatique, Faculté des Sciences, Sherbrooke Connectivity Imaging LabUniversité de SherbrookeSherbrookeCanada
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42
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Ozernov-Palchik O, Norton ES, Wang Y, Beach SD, Zuk J, Wolf M, Gabrieli JDE, Gaab N. The relationship between socioeconomic status and white matter microstructure in pre-reading children: A longitudinal investigation. Hum Brain Mapp 2018; 40:741-754. [PMID: 30276914 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24407] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2018] [Revised: 09/11/2018] [Accepted: 09/17/2018] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Reading is a learned skill crucial for educational attainment. Children from families of lower socioeconomic status (SES) tend to have poorer reading performance and this gap widens across years of schooling. Reading relies on the orchestration of multiple neural systems integrated via specific white-matter pathways, but there is limited understanding about whether these pathways relate differentially to reading performance depending on SES background. Kindergarten white-matter FA and second-grade reading outcomes were investigated in an SES-diverse sample of 125 children. The three left-hemisphere white-matter tracts most associated with reading, and their right-hemisphere homologs, were examined: arcuate fasciculus (AF), superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), and inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF). There was a significant and positive association between SES and fractional anisotropy (FA) in the bilateral ILF in kindergarten. SES moderated the association between kindergarten ILF and second grade reading performance, such that it was positive in lower-SES children, but not significant in higher-SES children. These results have implications for understanding the role of the environment in the development of the neural pathways that support reading.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ola Ozernov-Palchik
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA.,Laboratories of Cognitive Neuroscience, Division of Developmental Medicine, Department of Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA
| | - Elizabeth S Norton
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Department of Medical Social Sciences, and Institute for Innovations in Developmental Sciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
| | - Yingying Wang
- College of Education and Human Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE
| | - Sara D Beach
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA.,Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA
| | - Jennifer Zuk
- Laboratories of Cognitive Neuroscience, Division of Developmental Medicine, Department of Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA.,Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA
| | - Maryanne Wolf
- Center for Dyslexia, Diverse Learners, and Social Justice, Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, UCLA
| | - John D E Gabrieli
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
| | - Nadine Gaab
- Laboratories of Cognitive Neuroscience, Division of Developmental Medicine, Department of Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA.,Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA
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43
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Banfi C, Koschutnig K, Moll K, Schulte-Körne G, Fink A, Landerl K. White matter alterations and tract lateralization in children with dyslexia and isolated spelling deficits. Hum Brain Mapp 2018; 40:765-776. [PMID: 30267634 PMCID: PMC6492145 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2018] [Revised: 09/12/2018] [Accepted: 09/19/2018] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The present study investigated whether children with a typical dyslexia profile and children with isolated spelling deficits show a distinct pattern of white matter alteration compared with typically developing peers. Relevant studies on the topic are scarce, rely on small samples, and often suffer from the limitations of conventional tensor-based methods. The present Constrained Spherical Deconvolution study includes 27 children with typical reading and spelling skills, 21 children with dyslexia and 21 children with isolated spelling deficits. Group differences along major white matter tracts were quantified utilizing the Automated Fiber Quantification software and a lateralization index was calculated in order to investigate the structural asymmetry of the tracts. The two deficit groups mostly displayed different patterns of white matter alterations, located in the bilateral inferior longitudinal fasciculi, right superior longitudinal fasciculus, and cingulum for the group with dyslexia and in the left arcuate fasciculus for the group with isolated spelling deficits. The two deficit groups differed also with respect to structural asymmetry. Children with dyslexia did not show the typical leftward asymmetry of the arcuate fasciculus, whereas the group with isolated spelling deficits showed absent rightward asymmetry of the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus. This study adds evidence to the notion that different profiles of combined or isolated reading and spelling deficits are associated with different neural signatures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Banfi
- University of Graz, Institute of Psychology, Graz, Austria
| | | | - Kristina Moll
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany
| | - Gerd Schulte-Körne
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany
| | - Andreas Fink
- University of Graz, Institute of Psychology, Graz, Austria
| | - Karin Landerl
- University of Graz, Institute of Psychology, Graz, Austria.,BioTechMed-Graz, Graz, Austria
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44
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Clinical and Electrophysiological Differences between Subjects with Dysphonetic Dyslexia and Non-Specific Reading Delay. Brain Sci 2018; 8:brainsci8090172. [PMID: 30201924 PMCID: PMC6162778 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci8090172] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2018] [Revised: 09/03/2018] [Accepted: 09/07/2018] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Reading is essentially a two-channel function, requiring the integration of intact visual and auditory processes both peripheral and central. It is essential for normal reading that these component processes go forward automatically. Based on this model, Boder described three main subtypes of dyslexia: dysphonetic dyslexia (DD), dyseidetic, mixed and besides a fourth group defined non-specific reading delay (NSRD). The subtypes are identified by an algorithm that considers the reading quotient and the % of errors in the spelling test. Chiarenza and Bindelli have developed the Direct Test of Reading and Spelling (DTRS), a computerized, modified and validated version to the Italian language of the Boder test. The sample consisted of 169 subjects with DD and 36 children with NSRD. The diagnosis of dyslexia was made according to the DSM-V criteria. The DTRS was used to identify the dyslexia subtypes and the NSRD group. 2⁻5 min of artefact-free EEG (electroencephalogram), recorded at rest with eyes closed, according to 10⁻20 system were analyzed. Stability based Biomarkers identification methodology was applied to the DTRS and the quantitative EEG (QEEG). The reading quotients and the errors of the reading and spelling test were significantly different in the two groups. The DD group had significantly higher activity in delta and theta bands compared to NSRD group in the frontal, central and parietal areas bilaterally. The classification equation for the QEEG, both at the scalp and the sources levels, obtained an area under the robust Receiver Operating Curve (ROC) of 0.73. However, we obtained a discrimination equation for the DTRS items which did not participate in the Boder classification algorithm, with a specificity and sensitivity of 0.94 to discriminate DD from NSRD. These results demonstrate for the first time the existence of different neuropsychological and neurophysiological patterns between children with DD and children with NSRD. They may also provide clinicians and therapists warning signals deriving from the anamnesis and the results of the DTRS that should lead to an earlier diagnosis of reading delay, which is usually very late diagnosed and therefore, untreated until the secondary school level.
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45
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Žarić G, Timmers I, Gerretsen P, Fraga González G, Tijms J, van der Molen MW, Blomert L, Bonte M. Atypical White Matter Connectivity in Dyslexic Readers of a Fairly Transparent Orthography. Front Psychol 2018; 9:1147. [PMID: 30042708 PMCID: PMC6049043 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2017] [Accepted: 06/14/2018] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Atypical structural properties of the brain's white matter bundles have been associated with failing reading acquisition in developmental dyslexia. Because these white matter properties may show dynamic changes with age and orthographic depth, we examined fractional anisotropy (FA) along 16 white matter tracts in 8- to 11-year-old dyslexic (DR) and typically reading (TR) children learning to read in a fairly transparent orthography (Dutch). Our results showed higher FA values in the bilateral anterior thalamic radiations of DRs and FA values of the left thalamic radiation scaled with behavioral reading-related scores. Furthermore, DRs tended to have atypical FA values in the bilateral arcuate fasciculi. Children's age additionally predicted FA values along the tracts. Together, our findings suggest differential contributions of cortical and thalamo-cortical pathways to the developing reading network in dyslexic and typical readers, possibly indicating prolonged letter-by-letter reading or increased attentional and/or working memory demands in dyslexic children during reading.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gojko Žarić
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
- Maastricht Brain Imaging Center (M-BIC), Maastricht, Netherlands
| | - Inge Timmers
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative, and Pain Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, United States
| | | | - Gorka Fraga González
- Department of Developmental Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Jurgen Tijms
- IWAL Instituut Voor Leerproblemen, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | | | - Leo Blomert
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
- Maastricht Brain Imaging Center (M-BIC), Maastricht, Netherlands
| | - Milene Bonte
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
- Maastricht Brain Imaging Center (M-BIC), Maastricht, Netherlands
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46
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Rapid and widespread white matter plasticity during an intensive reading intervention. Nat Commun 2018; 9:2260. [PMID: 29884784 PMCID: PMC5993742 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-04627-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2017] [Accepted: 05/11/2018] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
White matter tissue properties are known to correlate with performance across domains ranging from reading to math, to executive function. Here, we use a longitudinal intervention design to examine experience-dependent growth in reading skills and white matter in grade school-aged, struggling readers. Diffusion MRI data were collected at regular intervals during an 8-week, intensive reading intervention. These measurements reveal large-scale changes throughout a collection of white matter tracts, in concert with growth in reading skill. Additionally, we identify tracts whose properties predict reading skill but remain fixed throughout the intervention, suggesting that some anatomical properties stably predict the ease with which a child learns to read, while others dynamically reflect the effects of experience. These results underscore the importance of considering recent experience when interpreting cross-sectional anatomy–behavior correlations. Widespread changes throughout the white matter may be a hallmark of rapid plasticity associated with an intensive learning experience. White matter properties correlate with cognitive performance in a number of domains. Here the authors show that altering a child’s educational environment though a targeted intervention program induces rapid, large-scale changes in the white matter, and that these changes track the learning process.
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47
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Su M, Zhao J, Thiebaut de Schotten M, Zhou W, Gong G, Ramus F, Shu H. Alterations in white matter pathways underlying phonological and morphological processing in Chinese developmental dyslexia. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2018; 31:11-19. [PMID: 29727819 PMCID: PMC6969203 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2018.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2017] [Revised: 04/10/2018] [Accepted: 04/10/2018] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Chinese is a logographic language that is different from alphabetic languages in visual and semantic complexity. Thus far, it is still unclear whether Chinese children with dyslexia show similar disruption of white matter pathways as in alphabetic languages. The present study focused on the alteration of white matter pathways in Chinese children with dyslexia. Using diffusion tensor imaging tractography, the bilateral arcuate fasciculus (AF-anterior, AF-posterior and AF-direct segments), inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFOF) and inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF) were delineated in each individual’s native space. Compared with age-matched controls, Chinese children with dyslexia showed reduced fractional anisotropy in the left AF-direct and the left ILF. Further regression analyses revealed a functional dissociation between the left AF-direct and the left ILF. The AF-direct tract integrity was associated with phonological processing skill, an ability important for reading in all writing systems, while the ILF integrity was associated with morphological processing skill, an ability more strongly recruited for Chinese reading. In conclusion, the double disruption locus in Chinese children with dyslexia, and the functional dissociation between dorsal and ventral pathways reflect both universal and specific properties of reading in Chinese.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mengmeng Su
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China; Laboratoire de Sciences Cognitives et Psycholinguistique (ENS, CNRS, EHESS), Ecole Normale Supérieure, PSL Research University, Paris, France; College of Elementary Education, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Jingjing Zhao
- School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University and Key Laboratory for Behavior and Cognitive Neuroscience of Shaanxi Province, Xi'an, China
| | - Michel Thiebaut de Schotten
- Brain Connectivity and Behaviour Group, Brain and Spine Institute (ICM), CNRS UMR 7225, INSERM-UPMC UMRS 1127, Paris, France
| | - Wei Zhou
- Beijing Key Lab of Learning and Cognition, School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Gaolang Gong
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Franck Ramus
- Laboratoire de Sciences Cognitives et Psycholinguistique (ENS, CNRS, EHESS), Ecole Normale Supérieure, PSL Research University, Paris, France.
| | - Hua Shu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
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48
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Dimitriadis SI, Simos PG, Fletcher JΜ, Papanicolaou AC. Aberrant resting-state functional brain networks in dyslexia: Symbolic mutual information analysis of neuromagnetic signals. Int J Psychophysiol 2018; 126:20-29. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2018.02.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2017] [Revised: 01/22/2018] [Accepted: 02/20/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
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49
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Langer N, Peysakhovich B, Zuk J, Drottar M, Sliva DD, Smith S, Becker BLC, Grant PE, Gaab N. White Matter Alterations in Infants at Risk for Developmental Dyslexia. Cereb Cortex 2018; 27:1027-1036. [PMID: 26643353 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhv281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Developmental dyslexia (DD) is a heritable condition characterized by persistent difficulties in learning to read. White matter alterations in left-lateralized language areas, particularly in the arcuate fasciculus (AF), have been observed in DD, and diffusion properties within the AF correlate with (pre-)reading skills as early as kindergarten. However, it is unclear how early these alterations can be observed. We investigated white matter structure in 14 infants with (FHD+; ages 6.6-17.6 months) and 18 without (FHD-; ages 5.1-17.6 months) familial risk for DD. Diffusion scans were acquired during natural sleep, and early language skills were assessed. Tractography for bilateral AF was reconstructed using manual and automated methods, allowing for independent validation of results. Fractional anisotropy (FA) was calculated at multiple nodes along the tracts for more precise localization of group differences. The analyses revealed significantly lower FA in the left AF for FHD+ compared with FHD- infants, particularly in the central portion of the tract. Moreover, expressive language positively correlated with FA across groups. Our results demonstrate that atypical brain development associated with DD is already present within the first 18 months of life, suggesting that the deficits associated with DD may result from altered structural connectivity in left-hemispheric regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas Langer
- Laboratories of Cognitive Neuroscience, Division of Developmental Medicine, Department of Medicine, Children's Hospital Boston, Boston, MA, USA.,Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Barbara Peysakhovich
- Laboratories of Cognitive Neuroscience, Division of Developmental Medicine, Department of Medicine, Children's Hospital Boston, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jennifer Zuk
- Laboratories of Cognitive Neuroscience, Division of Developmental Medicine, Department of Medicine, Children's Hospital Boston, Boston, MA, USA.,Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Marie Drottar
- Fetal Neonatal Neuroimaging and Developmental Science Center, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Danielle D Sliva
- Laboratories of Cognitive Neuroscience, Division of Developmental Medicine, Department of Medicine, Children's Hospital Boston, Boston, MA, USA.,Fetal Neonatal Neuroimaging and Developmental Science Center, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Sara Smith
- Laboratories of Cognitive Neuroscience, Division of Developmental Medicine, Department of Medicine, Children's Hospital Boston, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Bryce L C Becker
- Laboratories of Cognitive Neuroscience, Division of Developmental Medicine, Department of Medicine, Children's Hospital Boston, Boston, MA, USA
| | - P Ellen Grant
- Fetal Neonatal Neuroimaging and Developmental Science Center, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA.,Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Nadine Gaab
- Laboratories of Cognitive Neuroscience, Division of Developmental Medicine, Department of Medicine, Children's Hospital Boston, Boston, MA, USA.,Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.,Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
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Moreau D, Wilson AJ, McKay NS, Nihill K, Waldie KE. No evidence for systematic white matter correlates of dyslexia and dyscalculia. NEUROIMAGE-CLINICAL 2018; 18:356-366. [PMID: 29487792 PMCID: PMC5814378 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2018.02.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2017] [Revised: 01/14/2018] [Accepted: 02/03/2018] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Learning disabilities such as dyslexia, dyscalculia and their comorbid manifestation are prevalent, affecting as much as 15% of the population. Structural neuroimaging studies have indicated that these disorders can be related to differences in white matter integrity, although findings remain disparate. In this study, we used a unique design composed of individuals with dyslexia, dyscalculia, both disorders and controls, to systematically explore differences in fractional anisotropy across groups using diffusion tensor imaging. Specifically, we focused on the corona radiata and the arcuate fasciculus, two tracts associated with reading and mathematics in a number of previous studies. Using Bayesian hypothesis testing, we show that the present data favor the null model of no differences between groups for these particular tracts—a finding that seems to go against the current view but might be representative of the disparities within this field of research. Together, these findings suggest that structural differences associated with dyslexia and dyscalculia might not be as reliable as previously thought, with potential ramifications in terms of remediation. Previous literature indicates important discrepancies in structural differences associated with dyslexia and dyscalculia We explore the relationship between these disorders and fractional anisotropy, a measure of white matter integrity We show support for the null model in the corona radiata and the arcuate fasciculus This suggests that structural differences associated with these disorders are not as reliable as previously thought
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Affiliation(s)
- David Moreau
- Centre for Brain Research, School of Psychology, University of Auckland, New Zealand.
| | - Anna J Wilson
- Department of Psychology, University of Canterbury, New Zealand
| | - Nicole S McKay
- Centre for Brain Research, School of Psychology, University of Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Kasey Nihill
- School of Psychology, University of Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Karen E Waldie
- Centre for Brain Research, School of Psychology, University of Auckland, New Zealand
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