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Ashburn SM, Matejko AA, Eden GF. Activation and functional connectivity of cerebellum during reading and during arithmetic in children with combined reading and math disabilities. Front Neurosci 2024; 18:1135166. [PMID: 38741787 PMCID: PMC11090247 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2024.1135166] [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: 12/31/2022] [Accepted: 02/06/2024] [Indexed: 05/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Background Reading and math constitute important academic skills, and as such, reading disability (RD or developmental dyslexia) and math disability (MD or developmental dyscalculia) can have negative consequences for children's educational progress. Although RD and MD are different learning disabilities, they frequently co-occur. Separate theories have implicated the cerebellum and its cortical connections in RD and in MD, suggesting that children with combined reading and math disability (RD + MD) may have altered cerebellar function and disrupted functional connectivity between the cerebellum and cortex during reading and during arithmetic processing. Methods Here we compared Control and RD + MD groups during a reading task as well as during an arithmetic task on (i) activation of the cerebellum, (ii) background functional connectivity, and (iii) task-dependent functional connectivity between the cerebellum and the cortex. Results The two groups (Control, RD + MD) did not differ for either task (reading, arithmetic) on any of the three measures (activation, background functional connectivity, task-dependent functional connectivity). Conclusion These results do not support theories that children's deficits in reading and math originate in the cerebellum.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Guinevere F. Eden
- Center for the Study of Learning, Department of Pediatrics, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, United States
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2
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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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3
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Yablonski M, Karipidis II, Kubota E, Yeatman JD. The transition from vision to language: Distinct patterns of functional connectivity for subregions of the visual word form area. Hum Brain Mapp 2024; 45:e26655. [PMID: 38488471 PMCID: PMC10941549 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26655] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2023] [Revised: 12/22/2023] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 03/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Reading entails transforming visual symbols to sound and meaning. This process depends on specialized circuitry in the visual cortex, the visual word form area (VWFA). Recent findings suggest that this text-selective cortex comprises at least two distinct subregions: the more posterior VWFA-1 is sensitive to visual features, while the more anterior VWFA-2 processes higher level language information. Here, we explore whether these two subregions also exhibit different patterns of functional connectivity. To this end, we capitalize on two complementary datasets: Using the Natural Scenes Dataset (NSD), we identify text-selective responses in high-quality 7T adult data (N = 8), and investigate functional connectivity patterns of VWFA-1 and VWFA-2 at the individual level. We then turn to the Healthy Brain Network (HBN) database to assess whether these patterns replicate in a large developmental sample (N = 224; age 6-20 years), and whether they relate to reading development. In both datasets, we find that VWFA-1 is primarily correlated with bilateral visual regions. In contrast, VWFA-2 is more strongly correlated with language regions in the frontal and lateral parietal lobes, particularly the bilateral inferior frontal gyrus. Critically, these patterns do not generalize to adjacent face-selective regions, suggesting a specific relationship between VWFA-2 and the frontal language network. No correlations were observed between functional connectivity and reading ability. Together, our findings support the distinction between subregions of the VWFA, and suggest that functional connectivity patterns in the ventral temporal cortex are consistent over a wide range of reading skills.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maya Yablonski
- Division of Developmental‐Behavioral Pediatrics, Department of PediatricsStanford University School of MedicineStanfordCaliforniaUSA
- Stanford University Graduate School of EducationStanfordCaliforniaUSA
| | - Iliana I. Karipidis
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral SciencesStanford School of MedicineStanfordCaliforniaUSA
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and PsychotherapyUniversity Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich, University of ZurichZürichSwitzerland
- Neuroscience Center ZurichUniversity of Zurich and ETHZurichSwitzerland
| | - Emily Kubota
- Psychology DepartmentStanford UniversityStanfordCaliforniaUSA
| | - Jason D. Yeatman
- Division of Developmental‐Behavioral Pediatrics, Department of PediatricsStanford University School of MedicineStanfordCaliforniaUSA
- Stanford University Graduate School of EducationStanfordCaliforniaUSA
- Psychology DepartmentStanford UniversityStanfordCaliforniaUSA
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4
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Centanni TM. Neural Specialization for English and Arabic Print in Early Readers. NEUROBIOLOGY OF LANGUAGE (CAMBRIDGE, MASS.) 2023; 4:639-655. [PMID: 38213783 PMCID: PMC10783792 DOI: 10.1162/nol_a_00119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2023] [Accepted: 08/15/2023] [Indexed: 01/13/2024]
Abstract
Learning to read requires the specialization of a region in the left fusiform gyrus known as the visual word form area (VWFA). This region, which initially responds to faces and objects, develops specificity for print over a long trajectory of instruction and practice. VWFA neurons may be primed for print because of their pre-literate tuning properties, becoming specialized through top-down feedback mechanisms during learning. However, much of what is known about the VWFA comes from studies of Western orthographies, whose alphabets share common visual characteristics. Far less is known about the development of the VWFA for Arabic, which is a complex orthography and is significantly more difficult to achieve fluency in in reading. In the current study, electroencephalography responses were collected from first grade children in the United Arab Emirates learning to read in both English and Arabic. Children viewed words and false font strings in English and Arabic while performing a vigilance task. The P1 and N1 responses to all stimulus categories were quantified in two occipital and two parietal electrodes as well as the alpha band signal across all four electrodes of interest. Analysis revealed a significantly stronger N1 response to English compared to Arabic and decreased alpha power to Arabic compared to English. These findings suggest a fundamental difference in neural plasticity for these two distinct orthographies, even when instruction is concurrent. Future work is needed to determine whether VWFA specialization for Arabic takes longer than more well-studied orthographies and if differences in reading instruction approaches help accelerate this process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tracy M. Centanni
- Department of Psychology, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX, USA
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
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5
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Ashburn SM, Lynn Flowers D, Eden GF. A comparison of functional activation and connectivity of the cerebellum in adults and children during single word processing. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2023; 246:105346. [PMID: 37994829 PMCID: PMC10722870 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2023.105346] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2023] [Revised: 08/17/2023] [Accepted: 10/10/2023] [Indexed: 11/24/2023]
Abstract
Meta-analyses on reading show cerebellar activation in adults, but not children, suggesting a possible age-dependent role of the cerebellum in reading. However, the few studies that compare adults and children during reading report mixed cerebellar activation results. Here, we studied (i) cerebellar activation during implicit word processing in adults and children and (ii) functional connectivity (FC) between the cerebellum and left cortical regions involved in reading. First, both groups activated bilateral cerebellum for word processing when compared to fixation, but not when compared to the active control. There were no differences between adults and children. Second, we found intrinsic FC between several cerebellar seed regions and cortical target regions in adults and children, as well as between-group differences. However, task-modulated FC specific to word processing revealed no within- nor between-group results. Together this study does not provide support for a role of the cerebellum in word processing at either age.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sikoya M Ashburn
- Center for the Study of Learning, Department of Pediatrics, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, United States
| | - D Lynn Flowers
- Center for the Study of Learning, Department of Pediatrics, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, United States
| | - Guinevere F Eden
- Center for the Study of Learning, Department of Pediatrics, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, United States.
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6
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Martinez-Lincoln A, Fotidzis TS, Cutting LE, Price GR, Barquero LA. Examination of common and unique brain regions for atypical reading and math: a meta-analysis. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:6959-6989. [PMID: 36758954 PMCID: PMC10233309 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhad013] [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: 07/26/2022] [Revised: 12/20/2022] [Accepted: 12/21/2022] [Indexed: 02/11/2023] Open
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to identify consistencies across functional neuroimaging studies regarding common and unique brain regions/networks for individuals with reading difficulties (RD) and math difficulties (MD) compared to typically developing (TD) individuals. A systematic search of the literature, utilizing multiple databases, yielded 116 functional magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography studies that met the criteria. Coordinates that directly compared TD with either RD or MD were entered into GingerALE (Brainmap.org). An activation likelihood estimate (ALE) meta-analysis was conducted to examine common and unique brain regions for RD and MD. Overall, more studies examined RD (n = 96) than MD (n = 20). Across studies, overactivation for reading and math occurred in the right insula and inferior frontal gyrus for atypically developing (AD) > TD comparisons, albeit in slightly different areas of these regions; however, inherent threshold variability across imaging studies could diminish overlying regions. For TD > AD comparisons, there were no similar or overlapping brain regions. Results indicate there were domain-specific differences for RD and MD; however, there were some similarities in the ancillary recruitment of executive functioning skills. Theoretical and practical implications for researchers and educators are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda Martinez-Lincoln
- Department of Special Education, Vanderbilt University, 230 Appleton Place, Nashville, TN 37203, United States
| | - Tess S Fotidzis
- Department of Special Education, Vanderbilt University, 230 Appleton Place, Nashville, TN 37203, United States
| | - Laurie E Cutting
- Department of Special Education, Vanderbilt University, 230 Appleton Place, Nashville, TN 37203, United States
- Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, 110 Magnolia Circle, Nashville, TN 37203, United States
| | - Gavin R Price
- Department of Psychology, University of Exeter, Washington Singer Building Perry Road Exeter EX44QG, United Kingdom
| | - Laura A Barquero
- Department of Special Education, Vanderbilt University, 230 Appleton Place, Nashville, TN 37203, United States
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7
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Turesky TK, Luetje MM, Eden GF. An fMRI study of finger movements in children with and without dyslexia. Front Neurosci 2023; 17:1135437. [PMID: 37274202 PMCID: PMC10233035 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1135437] [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: 12/31/2022] [Accepted: 04/24/2023] [Indexed: 06/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Developmental dyslexia is a language-based reading disability, yet some have reported motor impairments, usually attributed to cerebellar dysfunction. Methods Using fMRI, we compared children with and without dyslexia during irregularly paced, left or right-hand finger tapping. Next, we examined seed-to-voxel intrinsic functional connectivity (iFC) using six seed regions of the motor system (left and right anterior lobe of the cerebellum, SM1 and SMA). Results A whole-brain task-evoked analysis revealed relatively less activation in the group with dyslexia in right anterior cerebellum during right hand tapping. For iFC, we found the group with dyslexia to have greater iFC between the right SM1 seed and a medial aspect of right postcentral gyrus for left hand tapping; and greater iFC between the left SM1 seed and left thalamus, as well as weaker local iFC around the left SM1 seed region for right hand tapping. Lastly, extracted activity and connectivity values that had been identified in these between-group comparisons were not correlated with measures of reading. Discussion We conclude that there are some aberrations in motor system function in children with dyslexia, but these are not tied to reading ability.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Guinevere F. Eden
- Center for the Study of Learning, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, United States
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8
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Yablonski M, Karipidis II, Kubota E, Yeatman JD. The transition from vision to language: distinct patterns of functional connectivity for sub-regions of the visual word form area. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.04.18.537397. [PMID: 37131630 PMCID: PMC10153222 DOI: 10.1101/2023.04.18.537397] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Reading entails transforming visual symbols to sound and meaning. This process depends on specialized circuitry in the visual cortex, the Visual Word Form Area (VWFA). Recent findings suggest that this word-selective cortex comprises at least two distinct subregions: the more posterior VWFA-1 is sensitive to visual features, while the more anterior VWFA-2 processes higher level language information. Here, we explore whether these two subregions exhibit different patterns of functional connectivity, and whether these patterns have relevance for reading development. We address these questions using two complementary datasets: Using the Natural Scenes Datasets (NSD; Allen et al, 2022) we identify word-selective responses in high-quality 7T individual adult data (N=8; 6 females), and investigate functional connectivity patterns of VWFA-1 and VWFA-2 at the individual level. We then turn to the Healthy Brain Network (HBN; Alexander et al., 2017) database to assess whether these patterns a) replicate in a large developmental sample (N=224; 98 females, age 5-21y), and b) are related to reading development. In both datasets, we find that VWFA-1 is more strongly correlated with bilateral visual regions including ventral occipitotemporal cortex and posterior parietal cortex. In contrast, VWFA-2 is more strongly correlated with language regions in the frontal and lateral parietal lobes, particularly bilateral inferior frontal gyrus (IFG). Critically, these patterns do not generalize to adjacent face-selective regions, suggesting a unique relationship between VWFA-2 and the frontal language network. While connectivity patterns increased with age, no correlations were observed between functional connectivity and reading ability. Together, our findings support the distinction between subregions of the VWFA, and portray the functional connectivity patterns of the reading circuitry as an intrinsic stable property of the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maya Yablonski
- Division of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, Stanford School of Medicine
- Stanford University Graduate School of Education
| | - Iliana I Karipidis
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford School of Medicine
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich
| | | | - Jason D Yeatman
- Division of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, Stanford School of Medicine
- Stanford University Graduate School of Education
- Psychology Department, Stanford University
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9
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Werth R. Dyslexia: Causes and Concomitant Impairments. Brain Sci 2023; 13:brainsci13030472. [PMID: 36979282 PMCID: PMC10046374 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13030472] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2023] [Revised: 02/07/2023] [Accepted: 03/06/2023] [Indexed: 03/12/2023] Open
Abstract
In recent decades, theories have been presented to explain the nature of dyslexia, but the causes of dyslexia remained unclear. Although the investigation of the causes of dyslexia presupposes a clear understanding of the concept of cause, such an understanding is missing. The present paper proposes the absence of at least one necessary condition or the absence of all sufficient conditions as causes for impaired reading. The causes of impaired reading include: an incorrect fixation location, too short a fixation time, the attempt to recognize too many letters simultaneously, too large saccade amplitudes, and too short verbal reaction times. It is assumed that a longer required fixation time in dyslexic readers results from a functional impairment of areas V1, V2, and V3 that require more time to complete temporal summation. These areas and areas that receive input from them, such as the fusiform gyrus, are assumed to be impaired in their ability to simultaneously process a string of letters. When these impairments are compensated by a new reading strategy, reading ability improves immediately.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reinhard Werth
- Institute for Social Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich, Haydnstr. 5, D-80336 München, Germany
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10
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Wu Y, Feng G, Yan X, Perkins K, Liu L, Yan X, Cao F. Reduced pattern similarity in brain activation during orthographic processing in children with developmental dyslexia. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2022; 235:105201. [PMID: 36368117 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2022.105201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2021] [Revised: 06/22/2022] [Accepted: 11/02/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Intra-individual variability of neural response has been found to be negatively associated with cognitive proficiency and automaticity. However, whether developmental dyslexia (DD) is marked by greater intra-individual neural variability remains unclear. Using a multivariate approach and dual-control group design, the current study aims to examine whether the pattern similarity of brain activation during a visual spelling task is abnormal in children with DD compared to age control and reading control children. We found that there was reduced intra-subject pattern similarity at the left occipito-temporal regions in children with DD than both control groups, suggesting a neural signature of DD. Furthermore, we found that pattern similarity was positively associated with stability of reaction time and reading fluency in both children with DD and typical control children, suggesting that neural stability supports behavioral stability and automaticity during reading.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Wu
- Department of Psychology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, GD 510006, China
| | - Guoyan Feng
- Department of Psychology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, GD 510006, China; School of Management, Guangzhou Xinhua University, Guangzhou, GD 510520, China
| | - Xiaohui Yan
- School of Education Science, Xinyang Normal University, Xinyang, HN 464000, China
| | - Kyle Perkins
- Department of Teaching and Learning, College of Arts, Sciences and Education, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA
| | - Lanfang Liu
- Department of Psychology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, GD 510006, China
| | - Xin Yan
- Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Fan Cao
- Department of Psychology, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; The State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Hong Kong.
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11
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Braid J, Richlan F. The Functional Neuroanatomy of Reading Intervention. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:921931. [PMID: 35784836 PMCID: PMC9243375 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.921931] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2022] [Accepted: 05/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The present article reviews the literature on the brain mechanisms underlying reading improvements following behavioral intervention for reading disability. This includes evidence of neuroplasticity concerning functional brain activation, brain structure, and brain connectivity related to reading intervention. Consequently, the functional neuroanatomy of reading intervention is compared to the existing literature on neurocognitive models and brain abnormalities associated with reading disability. A particular focus is on the left hemisphere reading network including left occipito-temporal, temporo-parietal, and inferior frontal language regions. In addition, potential normalization/compensation mechanisms involving right hemisphere cortical regions, as well as bilateral sub-cortical and cerebellar regions are taken into account. The comparison of the brain systems associated with reading intervention and the brain systems associated with reading disability enhances our understanding of the neurobiological basis of typical and atypical reading development. All in all, however, there is a lack of sufficient evidence regarding rehabilitative brain mechanisms in reading disability, which we discuss in this review.
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12
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Li Y, Bi HY. Comparative research on neural dysfunction in children with dyslexia under different writing systems: A meta-analysis study. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 137:104650. [PMID: 35367220 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104650] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2021] [Revised: 03/03/2022] [Accepted: 03/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Developmental dyslexia is a special learning disorder which is prevalent in all languages. A central question in dyslexia is whether the neural mechanism of their defects is universal or distinct in different writing systems. Using meta-analytic approach, we created meta-images using activation abnormalities in Chinese and alphabetic children with dyslexia to find convergence and divergence under different writing systems. The results revealed that dyslexic children have a universal attention-related dysfunction with hypoactivation in the left inferior frontal cortex (IFC) and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) under different writing systems, in spite of differences of degree and spatial extent in those regions. Alphabetic dyslexic children additionally showed hypoactivation in the left occipito-temporo-parietal regions. Chinese dyslexic children showed specific hyperactivation in the right postcentral gyrus, the left rectus, and the right middle temporal gyrus. The present meta-analysis for the first time showed both shared and distinct abnormalities in children with dyslexia under Chinese and alphabetic writing systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- YiZhen Li
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Center for Brain Science and Learning Difficulties, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Hong-Yan Bi
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Center for Brain Science and Learning Difficulties, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
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13
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Krafnick AJ, Napoliello EM, Flowers DL, Eden GF. The Role of Brain Activity in Characterizing Successful Reading Intervention in Children With Dyslexia. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:898661. [PMID: 35769700 PMCID: PMC9234261 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.898661] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2022] [Accepted: 05/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Studies of reading intervention in dyslexia have shown changes in performance and in brain function. However, there is little consistency in the location of brain regions associated with successful reading gains in children, most likely due to variability/limitations in methodologies (study design, participant criteria, and neuroimaging procedures). Ultimately for the results to be meaningful, the intervention has to be successful, be assessed against a control, use rigorous statistics, and take biological variables (sex) into consideration. Using a randomized, crossover design, 31 children with dyslexia were assigned to a phonological- and orthographic-based tutoring period as well as a within-subjects control period to examine: (1) intervention-induced changes in behavior (reading performance) and in brain activity (during reading); and (2) behavioral and brain activity pre-intervention data that predicted intervention-induced gains in reading performance. We found gains in reading ability following the intervention, but not following the control period, with no effect of participants' sex. However, there were no changes in brain activity following the intervention (regardless of sex), suggesting that individual brain changes are too variable to be captured at the group level. Reading gains were not predicted by pre-intervention behavioral data, but were predicted by pre-intervention brain activity in bilateral supramarginal/angular gyri. Notably, some of this prediction was only found in females. Our results highlight the limitations of brain imaging in detecting the neural correlates of reading intervention in this age group, while providing further evidence for its utility in assessing eventual success of intervention, especially if sex is taken into consideration.
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14
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Karipidis II, Pleisch G, Di Pietro SV, Fraga-González G, Brem S. Developmental Trajectories of Letter and Speech Sound Integration During Reading Acquisition. Front Psychol 2021; 12:750491. [PMID: 34867636 PMCID: PMC8636811 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.750491] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2021] [Accepted: 10/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Reading acquisition in alphabetic languages starts with learning the associations between speech sounds and letters. This learning process is related to crucial developmental changes of brain regions that serve visual, auditory, multisensory integration, and higher cognitive processes. Here, we studied the development of audiovisual processing and integration of letter-speech sound pairs with an audiovisual target detection functional MRI paradigm. Using a longitudinal approach, we tested children with varying reading outcomes before the start of reading acquisition (T1, 6.5 yo), in first grade (T2, 7.5 yo), and in second grade (T3, 8.5 yo). Early audiovisual integration effects were characterized by higher activation for incongruent than congruent letter-speech sound pairs in the inferior frontal gyrus and ventral occipitotemporal cortex. Audiovisual processing in the left superior temporal gyrus significantly increased from the prereading (T1) to early reading stages (T2, T3). Region of interest analyses revealed that activation in left superior temporal gyrus (STG), inferior frontal gyrus and ventral occipitotemporal cortex increased in children with typical reading fluency skills, while poor readers did not show the same development in these regions. The incongruency effect bilaterally in parts of the STG and insular cortex at T1 was significantly associated with reading fluency skills at T3. These findings provide new insights into the development of the brain circuitry involved in audiovisual processing of letters, the building blocks of words, and reveal early markers of audiovisual integration that may be predictive of reading outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iliana I Karipidis
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, United States
| | - Georgette Pleisch
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Sarah V Di Pietro
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Gorka Fraga-González
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Silvia Brem
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,MR-Center of the University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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15
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Girard C, Bastelica T, Léone J, Epinat-Duclos J, Longo L, Prado J. Nurturing the reading brain: home literacy practices are associated with children's neural response to printed words through vocabulary skills. NPJ SCIENCE OF LEARNING 2021; 6:34. [PMID: 34862413 PMCID: PMC8642429 DOI: 10.1038/s41539-021-00112-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2021] [Accepted: 10/29/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Previous studies indicate that children are exposed to different literacy experiences at home. Although these disparities have been shown to affect children's literacy skills, it remains unclear whether and how home literacy practices influence brain activity underlying word-level reading. In the present study, we asked parents of French children from various socioeconomic backgrounds (n = 66; 8.46 ± 0.36 years, range 7.52-9.22; 20 girls) to report the frequency of home literacy practices. Neural adaptation to the repetition of printed words was then measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in a subset of these children (n = 44; 8.49 ± 0.33 years, range 8.02-9.14; 13 girls), thereby assessing how sensitive was the brain to the repeated presentation of these words. We found that more frequent home literacy practices were associated with enhanced word adaptation in the left posterior inferior frontal sulcus (r = 0.32). We also found that the frequency of home literacy practices was associated with children's vocabulary skill (r = 0.25), which itself influenced the relation between home literacy practices and neural adaptation to words. Finally, none of these effects were observed in a digit adaptation task, highlighting their specificity to word recognition. These findings are consistent with a model positing that home literacy experiences may improve children's vocabulary skill, which in turn may influence the neural mechanisms supporting word-level reading.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cléa Girard
- Lyon Neuroscience Research Center (CRNL), INSERM U1028 - CNRS UMR5292, University of Lyon, 69500, Bron, France.
| | - Thomas Bastelica
- Lyon Neuroscience Research Center (CRNL), INSERM U1028 - CNRS UMR5292, University of Lyon, 69500, Bron, France
| | - Jessica Léone
- Lyon Neuroscience Research Center (CRNL), INSERM U1028 - CNRS UMR5292, University of Lyon, 69500, Bron, France
| | - Justine Epinat-Duclos
- Lyon Neuroscience Research Center (CRNL), INSERM U1028 - CNRS UMR5292, University of Lyon, 69500, Bron, France
| | - Léa Longo
- Lyon Neuroscience Research Center (CRNL), INSERM U1028 - CNRS UMR5292, University of Lyon, 69500, Bron, France
| | - Jérôme Prado
- Lyon Neuroscience Research Center (CRNL), INSERM U1028 - CNRS UMR5292, University of Lyon, 69500, Bron, France.
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16
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Werth R. Is Developmental Dyslexia Due to a Visual and Not a Phonological Impairment? Brain Sci 2021; 11:1313. [PMID: 34679378 PMCID: PMC8534212 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11101313] [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: 08/11/2021] [Revised: 09/21/2021] [Accepted: 09/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
It is a widely held belief that developmental dyslexia (DD) is a phonological disorder in which readers have difficulty associating graphemes with their corresponding phonemes. In contrast, the magnocellular theory of dyslexia assumes that DD is a visual disorder caused by dysfunctional magnocellular neural pathways. The review explores arguments for and against these theories. Recent results have shown that DD is caused by (1) a reduced ability to simultaneously recognize sequences of letters that make up words, (2) longer fixation times required to simultaneously recognize strings of letters, and (3) amplitudes of saccades that do not match the number of simultaneously recognized letters. It was shown that pseudowords that could not be recognized simultaneously were recognized almost without errors when the fixation time was extended. However, there is an individual maximum number of letters that each reader with DD can recognize simultaneously. Findings on the neurobiological basis of temporal summation have shown that a necessary prolongation of fixation times is due to impaired processing mechanisms of the visual system, presumably involving magnocells and parvocells. An area in the mid-fusiform gyrus also appears to play a significant role in the ability to simultaneously recognize words and pseudowords. The results also contradict the assumption that DD is due to a lack of eye movement control. The present research does not support the assumption that DD is caused by a phonological disorder but shows that DD is due to a visual processing dysfunction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reinhard Werth
- Institute for Social Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, University of Munich, Haydnstrasse 5, D-80336 Munich, Germany
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17
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Yan X, Jiang K, Li H, Wang Z, Perkins K, Cao F. Convergent and divergent brain structural and functional abnormalities associated with developmental dyslexia. eLife 2021; 10:e69523. [PMID: 34569931 PMCID: PMC8497057 DOI: 10.7554/elife.69523] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2021] [Accepted: 09/24/2021] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Brain abnormalities in the reading network have been repeatedly reported in individuals with developmental dyslexia (DD); however, it is still not totally understood where the structural and functional abnormalities are consistent/inconsistent across languages. In the current multimodal meta-analysis, we found convergent structural and functional alterations in the left superior temporal gyrus across languages, suggesting a neural signature of DD. We found greater reduction in grey matter volume and brain activation in the left inferior frontal gyrus in morpho-syllabic languages (e.g. Chinese) than in alphabetic languages, and greater reduction in brain activation in the left middle temporal gyrus and fusiform gyrus in alphabetic languages than in morpho-syllabic languages. These language differences are explained as consequences of being DD while learning a specific language. In addition, we also found brain regions that showed increased grey matter volume and brain activation, presumably suggesting compensations and brain regions that showed inconsistent alterations in brain structure and function. Our study provides important insights about the etiology of DD from a cross-linguistic perspective with considerations of consistency/inconsistency between structural and functional alterations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaohui Yan
- Department of Psychology, Sun Yat-Sen UniversityGuangzhouChina
| | - Ke Jiang
- Department of Psychology, Sun Yat-Sen UniversityGuangzhouChina
| | - Hui Li
- Department of Preschool Education, Anyang Preschool Education CollegeAnyangChina
| | - Ziyi Wang
- School of Foreign Language, Jining UniversityJiningChina
| | - Kyle Perkins
- Florida International University (Retired Professor)MiamiUnited States
| | - Fan Cao
- Department of Psychology, Sun Yat-Sen UniversityGuangzhouChina
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18
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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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19
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Farah R, Ionta S, Horowitz-Kraus T. Neuro-Behavioral Correlates of Executive Dysfunctions in Dyslexia Over Development From Childhood to Adulthood. Front Psychol 2021; 12:708863. [PMID: 34497563 PMCID: PMC8419422 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.708863] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2021] [Accepted: 07/08/2021] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Dyslexia is a neurobiological learning disability in the reading domain that has symptoms in early childhood and persists throughout life. Individuals with dyslexia experience difficulties in academia and cognitive and emotional challenges that can affect wellbeing. Early intervention is critical to minimize the long-term difficulties of these individuals. However, the behavioral and neural correlates which predict dyslexia are challenging to depict before reading is acquired. One of the precursors for language and reading acquisition is executive functions (EF). The present review aims to highlight the current atypicality found in individuals with dyslexia in the domain of EF using behavioral measures, brain mapping, functional connectivity, and diffusion tensor imaging along development. Individuals with dyslexia show EF abnormalities in both behavioral and neurobiological domains, starting in early childhood that persist into adulthood. EF impairment precedes reading disability, therefore adding an EF assessment to the neuropsychological testing is recommended for early intervention. EF training should also be considered for the most comprehensive outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rola Farah
- Educational Neuroimaging Center, Faculty of Education in Science and Technology, Technion, Haifa, Israel
- Reading and Literacy Discovery Center and the Pediatric Neuroimaging Research Center, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States
| | - Silvio Ionta
- Sensory-Motor Lab (SeMoLa), Department of Ophthalmology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Jules Gonin Eye Hospital-Fondation Asile des Aveugles, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Tzipi Horowitz-Kraus
- Educational Neuroimaging Center, Faculty of Education in Science and Technology, Technion, Haifa, Israel
- Reading and Literacy Discovery Center and the Pediatric Neuroimaging Research Center, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States
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20
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Gavril L, Roșan A, Szamosközi Ș. The role of visual-spatial attention in reading development: a meta-analysis. Cogn Neuropsychol 2021; 38:387-407. [PMID: 35274592 DOI: 10.1080/02643294.2022.2043839] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
The association between visual attention and reading development has been investigated as a possible core causal deficit in dyslexia, in addition to phonological awareness. This study aims to provide a meta-analytic review of the research on attentional processes and their relation to reading development, to examine the possible influence on it of orthographic depth, age, and attentional tasks (interpreted as serial or parallel processing indices). We included studies with participants up to 18 years of age that have considered the visual spatial attention orienting that sustains the serial visual analysis involved in the phonological pathway of decoding, and the visual attention span that supports the multielement parallel processing that is thought to influence lexical decoding. The results confirm a strong association between visual attention and reading development; we evaluate the evidence and discuss the possibility that visual attention processes play a causal role in determining individual differences in reading acquisition.
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21
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Dębska A, Banfi C, Chyl K, Dzięgiel-Fivet G, Kacprzak A, Łuniewska M, Plewko J, Grabowska A, Landerl K, Jednoróg K. Neural patterns of word processing differ in children with dyslexia and isolated spelling deficit. Brain Struct Funct 2021; 226:1467-1478. [PMID: 33761000 PMCID: PMC8096730 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-021-02255-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2020] [Accepted: 03/07/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
There is an ongoing debate concerning the extent to which deficits in reading and spelling share cognitive components and whether they rely, in a similar fashion, on sublexical and lexical pathways of word processing. The present study investigates whether the neural substrates of word processing differ in children with various patterns of reading and spelling deficits. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we compared written and auditory processing in three groups of 9-13-year olds (N = 104): (1) with age-adequate reading and spelling skills; (2) with reading and spelling deficits (i.e., dyslexia); (3) with isolated spelling deficits but without reading deficits. In visual word processing, both deficit groups showed hypoactivations in the posterior superior temporal cortex compared to typical readers and spellers. Only children with dyslexia exhibited hypoactivations in the ventral occipito-temporal cortex compared to the two groups of typical readers. This is the result of an atypical pattern of higher activity in the occipito-temporal cortex for non-linguistic visual stimuli than for words, indicating lower selectivity. The print-speech convergence was reduced in the two deficit groups. Impairments in lexico-orthographic regions in a reading-based task were associated primarily with reading deficits, whereas alterations in the sublexical word processing route could be considered common for both reading and spelling deficits. These findings highlight the partly distinct alterations of the language network related to reading and spelling deficits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agnieszka Dębska
- Laboratory of Language Neurobiology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland.
| | - Chiara Banfi
- Institute of Psychology, University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Katarzyna Chyl
- Laboratory of Language Neurobiology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Gabriela Dzięgiel-Fivet
- Laboratory of Language Neurobiology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Agnieszka Kacprzak
- Laboratory of Language Neurobiology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
- Faculty of Psychology, Warsaw University, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Magdalena Łuniewska
- Laboratory of Language Neurobiology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Joanna Plewko
- Laboratory of Language Neurobiology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Anna Grabowska
- Faculty of Psychology, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Karin Landerl
- Institute of Psychology, University of Graz, Graz, Austria
- BioTechMed-Graz, Graz, Austria
- Department of Cognitive Science, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Katarzyna Jednoróg
- Laboratory of Language Neurobiology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
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22
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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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23
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van de Walle de Ghelcke A, Rossion B, Schiltz C, Lochy A. Developmental changes in neural letter-selectivity: A 1-year follow-up of beginning readers. Dev Sci 2021; 24:e12999. [PMID: 32452594 PMCID: PMC7816260 DOI: 10.1111/desc.12999] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2019] [Revised: 03/23/2020] [Accepted: 04/29/2020] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
The developmental course of neural tuning to visual letter strings is unclear. Here we tested 39 children longitudinally, at the beginning of grade 1 (6.45 ± 0.33 years old) and 1 year after, with fast periodic visual stimulation in electroencephalography to assess the evolution of selective neural responses to letter strings and their relationship with emerging reading abilities. At both grades, frequency-tagged letter strings were discriminated from pseudofont strings (i.e. letter-selectivity) over the left occipito-temporal cortex, with effects observed at the individual level in 62% of children. However, visual words were not discriminated from pseudowords (lexical access) at either grade. Following 1 year of schooling, letter-selective responses showed a specific increase in amplitude, a more complex pattern of harmonics, and were located more anteriorly over the left occipito-temporal cortex. Remarkably, at both grades, neural responses were highly significant at the individual level and correlated with individual reading scores. The amplitude increase in letter-selective responses between grades was not found for discrimination responses of familiar keyboard symbols from pseudosymbols, and was not related to a general increase in visual stimulation responses. These findings demonstrate a rapid onset of left hemispheric letter selectivity, with 1 year of reading instruction resulting in increased emerging reading abilities and a clear quantitative and qualitative evolution within left hemispheric neural circuits for reading.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice van de Walle de Ghelcke
- Psychological Sciences Research Institute and Institute of NeuroscienceUniversité Catholique de LouvainLouvain‐la‐NeuveBelgium
| | - Bruno Rossion
- Psychological Sciences Research Institute and Institute of NeuroscienceUniversité Catholique de LouvainLouvain‐la‐NeuveBelgium
- CNRS‐CRANUniversité de LorraineNancyFrance
- Service de NeurologieCHRU‐NancyUniversité de LorraineNancyFrance
| | - Christine Schiltz
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive SciencesInstitute of Cognitive Science and AssessmentUniversité du LuxembourgEsch‐sur‐AlzetteLuxembourg
| | - Aliette Lochy
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive SciencesInstitute of Cognitive Science and AssessmentUniversité du LuxembourgEsch‐sur‐AlzetteLuxembourg
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24
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Functional connectivity alterations associated with literacy difficulties in early readers. Brain Imaging Behav 2020; 15:2109-2120. [PMID: 33048291 DOI: 10.1007/s11682-020-00406-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/23/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
The link between literacy difficulties and brain alterations has been described in depth. Resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI) has been successfully applied to the study of intrinsic functional connectivity (iFc) both in dyslexia and typically developing children. Most related studies have focused on the stages from late childhood into adulthood using a seed to voxel approach. Our study analyzes iFc in an early childhood sample using the multivariate pattern analysis. This facilitates a hypothesis-free analysis and the possible identification of abnormal functional connectivity patterns at a whole brain level. Thirty-four children with literacy difficulties (LD) (7.1 ± 0.69 yr.) and 30 typically developing children (TD) (7.43 ± 0.52 yr.) were selected. Functional brain connectivity was measured using an rs-fMRI acquisition. The LD group showed a higher iFc between the right middle frontal gyrus (rMFG) and the default mode network (DMN) regions, and a lower iFc between the rMFG and both the bilateral insular cortex and the supramarginal gyrus. These results are interpreted as a DMN on/off routine malfunction in the LD group, which suggests an alteration of the task control network regulating DMN activity. In the LD group, the posterior cingulate cortex also showed a lower iFc with both the middle temporal poles and the fusiform gyrus. This could be interpreted as a failure in the integration of information between brain regions that facilitate reading. Our results show that children with literacy difficulties have an altered functional connectivity in their reading and attentional networks at the beginning of the literacy acquisition. Future studies should evaluate whether or not these alterations could indicate a risk of developing dyslexia.
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25
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Wang F, Karipidis II, Pleisch G, Fraga-González G, Brem S. Development of Print-Speech Integration in the Brain of Beginning Readers With Varying Reading Skills. Front Hum Neurosci 2020; 14:289. [PMID: 32922271 PMCID: PMC7457077 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2020.00289] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2020] [Accepted: 06/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Learning print-speech sound correspondences is a crucial step at the beginning of reading acquisition and often impaired in children with developmental dyslexia. Despite increasing insight into audiovisual language processing, it remains largely unclear how integration of print and speech develops at the neural level during initial learning in the first years of schooling. To investigate this development, 32 healthy, German-speaking children at varying risk for developmental dyslexia (17 typical readers and 15 poor readers) participated in a longitudinal study including behavioral and fMRI measurements in first (T1) and second (T2) grade. We used an implicit audiovisual (AV) non-word target detection task aimed at characterizing differential activation to congruent (AVc) and incongruent (AVi) audiovisual non-word pairs. While children’s brain activation did not differ between AVc and AVi pairs in first grade, an incongruency effect (AVi > AVc) emerged in bilateral inferior temporal and superior frontal gyri in second grade. Of note, pseudoword reading performance improvements with time were associated with the development of the congruency effect (AVc > AVi) in the left posterior superior temporal gyrus (STG) from first to second grade. Finally, functional connectivity analyses indicated divergent development and reading expertise dependent coupling from the left occipito-temporal and superior temporal cortex to regions of the default mode (precuneus) and fronto-temporal language networks. Our results suggest that audiovisual integration areas as well as their functional coupling to other language areas and areas of the default mode network show a different development in poor vs. typical readers at varying familial risk for dyslexia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fang Wang
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Department of Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong
| | - Iliana I Karipidis
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States
| | - Georgette Pleisch
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Gorka Fraga-González
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Silvia Brem
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and ETH Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland
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26
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Richlan F. The Functional Neuroanatomy of Developmental Dyslexia Across Languages and Writing Systems. Front Psychol 2020; 11:155. [PMID: 32116951 PMCID: PMC7012805 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00155] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2019] [Accepted: 01/21/2020] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The present article reviews the literature on the functional neuroanatomy of developmental dyslexia across languages and writing systems. This includes comparisons of alphabetic languages differing in orthographic depth as well as comparisons across alphabetic, syllabic, and logographic writing systems. It provides a synthesis of the evidence for both universal and language-specific effects on dyslexic functional brain activation abnormalities during reading and reading-related tasks. Specifically, universal reading-related underactivation of dyslexic readers relative to typical readers is identified in core regions of the left hemisphere reading network including the occipito-temporal, temporo-parietal, and inferior frontal cortex. Orthography-specific dyslexic brain abnormalities are mainly related to the degree and spatial extent of under- and overactivation clusters. In addition, dyslexic structural gray matter abnormalities across languages and writing systems are analyzed. The neuroimaging findings are linked to the universal and orthography-dependent behavioral manifestations of developmental dyslexia. Finally, the present article provides insights into potential compensatory mechanisms that may support remediation across languages and writing systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabio Richlan
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, Paris Lodron University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
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Ashburn SM, Flowers DL, Napoliello EM, Eden GF. Cerebellar function in children with and without dyslexia during single word processing. Hum Brain Mapp 2019; 41:120-138. [PMID: 31597004 PMCID: PMC7267899 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24792] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2019] [Revised: 07/30/2019] [Accepted: 08/26/2019] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
The cerebellar deficit hypothesis of dyslexia posits that dysfunction of the cerebellum is the underlying cause for reading difficulties observed in this common learning disability. The present study used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and a single word processing task to test for differences in activity and connectivity in children with (n = 23) and without (n = 23) dyslexia. We found cerebellar activity in the control group when word processing was compared to fixation, but not when it was compared to the active baseline task designed to reveal activity specific to reading. In the group with dyslexia there was no cerebellar activity for either contrasts and there were no differences when they were compared to children without dyslexia. Turning to functional connectivity (FC) in the controls, background FC (i.e., not specific to reading) was predominately found between the cerebellum and the occipitaltemporal cortex. In the group with dyslexia, there was background FC between the cerebellum and several cortical regions. When comparing the two groups, they differed in background FC in connections between the seed region right crus I and three left‐hemisphere perisylvian target regions. However, there was no task‐specific FC for word processing in either group and no between‐group differences. Together the results do not support the theory that the cerebellum is affected functionally during reading in children with dyslexia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sikoya M Ashburn
- Center for the Study of Learning, Department of Pediatrics, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
| | - D Lynn Flowers
- Center for the Study of Learning, Department of Pediatrics, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
| | - Eileen M Napoliello
- Center for the Study of Learning, Department of Pediatrics, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
| | - Guinevere F Eden
- Center for the Study of Learning, Department of Pediatrics, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
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28
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Merkley R, Conrad B, Price G, Ansari D. Investigating the visual number form area: a replication study. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2019; 6:182067. [PMID: 31824678 PMCID: PMC6837224 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.182067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2018] [Accepted: 09/27/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The influential triple-code model of number representation proposed that there are three distinct brain regions for three different numerical representations: verbal words, visual digits and abstract magnitudes. It was hypothesized that the region for visual digits, known as the number form area, would be in ventral occipitotemporal cortex (vOTC), near other visual category-specific regions, such as the visual word form area. However, neuroimaging investigations searching for a region that responds in a category-specific manner to the visual presentation of number symbols have yielded inconsistent results. Price & Ansari (Price, Ansari 2011 Neuroimage 57, 1205-1211) investigated whether any regions activated more in response to passively viewing digits in contrast with letters and visually similar nonsense symbols and identified a region in the left angular gyrus. By contrast, Grotheer et al. (Grotheer, Herrmann, Kovács 2016 J. Neurosci. 36, 88-97) found bilateral regions in vOTC which were more activated in response to digits than other stimuli categories while performing a one-back task. In the current study, we aimed to replicate the findings reported in Grotheer et al. with Price & Ansari's passive viewing task as this is the most stringent test of bottom-up, sensory-driven, category-specific perception. Moreover, we used the contrasts reported in both papers in order to test whether the discrepancy in findings could be attributed to the difference in analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca Merkley
- Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
- Institute of Cognitive Science, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Benjamin Conrad
- Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Gavin Price
- Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Daniel Ansari
- Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
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29
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Emerging neural specialization of the ventral occipitotemporal cortex to characters through phonological association learning in preschool children. Neuroimage 2019; 189:813-831. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.01.046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2018] [Revised: 12/21/2018] [Accepted: 01/21/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
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Pina Rodrigues A, Rebola J, Pereira M, van Asselen M, Castelo-Branco M. Neural Responses of the Anterior Ventral Occipitotemporal Cortex in Developmental Dyslexia: Beyond the Visual Word Form Area. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2019; 60:1063-1068. [PMID: 30897621 DOI: 10.1167/iovs.18-26325] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose For the past 2 decades, neuroimaging studies in dyslexia have pointed toward a hypoactivation of the ventral occipitotemporal cortex (VOTC), a region that has been closely associated to reading through the extraction of a representation of words which is invariant to position, size, font or case. However, most of the studies are confined to the visual word form area (VWFA), while recent studies have demonstrated a posterior-to-anterior gradient of print specificity along the VOTC. In our study, the whole VOTC, partitioned into three main patches of cortex, is assessed in dyslexic and control adults. Methods A total of 30 participants were included in this study (14 developmental dyslexics and 16 age- and education-matched controls). The design consisted of alternately viewed blocks of stimuli from a given class (words, consonant strings, phase-scrambled words, phase-scrambled consonant strings, small checkerboards, large checkerboards). The analyzed contrast was print stimuli (words and consonants) versus scrambled stimuli and checkerboards. Results Corroborating previous findings, our results showed underactivation to print stimuli in the VWFA of dyslexics. Additionally, differences between dyslexics and controls were also found, particularly in an area of the anterior partition of the VOTC, suggesting a relevant role of this area in word processing. Conclusions In sum, our study goes beyond the underactivation hypothesis in the VWFA of dyslexics and indicates that a particular area on the anterior fusiform region might be particularly involved in the reading deficits in dyslexia, demonstrating the involvement of multiple areas within VOTC in reading processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Pina Rodrigues
- Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Life Sciences (CNC.IBILI), Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.,Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research (CIBIT), Institute of Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health (ICNAS), University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - José Rebola
- Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Life Sciences (CNC.IBILI), Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Marcelino Pereira
- Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Marieke van Asselen
- Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Life Sciences (CNC.IBILI), Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Miguel Castelo-Branco
- Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Life Sciences (CNC.IBILI), Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.,Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research (CIBIT), Institute of Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health (ICNAS), University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
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Centanni TM, Norton ES, Ozernov-Palchik O, Park A, Beach SD, Halverson K, Gaab N, Gabrieli JDE. Disrupted left fusiform response to print in beginning kindergartners is associated with subsequent reading. Neuroimage Clin 2019; 22:101715. [PMID: 30798165 PMCID: PMC6389729 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2019.101715] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2018] [Revised: 02/06/2019] [Accepted: 02/09/2019] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
Dyslexia is a common neurobiological disorder in which a child fails to acquire typical word reading skills despite adequate opportunity and intelligence. The visual word form area (VWFA) is a region within the left fusiform gyrus that specializes for print over the course of reading acquisition and is often hypoactivated in individuals with dyslexia. It is currently unknown whether atypicalities in this brain region are already present in kindergarten children who will subsequently develop dyslexia. Here, we measured fMRI activation in response to letters and false fonts in bilateral fusiform gyrus in children with and without risk for dyslexia (defined by family history or low scores on assessments of pre-reading skills, such as phonological awareness). We then followed these children longitudinally through the end of second grade to evaluate whether brain activation patterns in kindergarten were related to second-grade reading outcomes. Compared to typical readers who exhibited no risk factors for reading impairment in kindergarten, there was significant hypoactivation to both letters and false-fonts in the left fusiform gyrus in at-risk children who subsequently developed reading impairment, but not in at-risk children who developed typical reading skills. There were no significant differences in letter- or false-font responses in the right fusiform gyrus among the groups. The finding that hypoactivation to print in the VWFA is present in children who subsequently develop reading impairment even prior to the onset of formal reading instruction suggests that atypical responses to print play an early role in the development of reading impairments such as dyslexia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tracy M Centanni
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research and MIT Integrated Learning Initiative, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States; Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX 76129, United States.
| | - Elizabeth S Norton
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research and MIT Integrated Learning Initiative, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States; Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, United States
| | - Ola Ozernov-Palchik
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research and MIT Integrated Learning Initiative, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States
| | - Anne Park
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research and MIT Integrated Learning Initiative, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States
| | - Sara D Beach
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research and MIT Integrated Learning Initiative, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States
| | - Kelly Halverson
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research and MIT Integrated Learning Initiative, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States
| | - Nadine Gaab
- Laboratories of Cognitive Neuroscience, Division of Developmental Medicine, Department of Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, United States; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States; Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - John D E Gabrieli
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research and MIT Integrated Learning Initiative, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States
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32
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Richlan F. The Functional Neuroanatomy of Letter-Speech Sound Integration and Its Relation to Brain Abnormalities in Developmental Dyslexia. Front Hum Neurosci 2019; 13:21. [PMID: 30774591 PMCID: PMC6367238 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2019.00021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2018] [Accepted: 01/18/2019] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
This mini-review provides a comparison of the brain systems associated with developmental dyslexia and the brain systems associated with letter-speech sound (LSS) integration. First, the findings on the functional neuroanatomy of LSS integration are summarized in order to obtain a comprehensive overview of the brain regions involved in this process. To this end, neurocognitive studies investigating LSS integration in both normal and abnormal reading development are taken into account. The neurobiological basis underlying LSS integration is consequently compared with existing neurocognitive models of functional and structural brain abnormalities in developmental dyslexia-focusing on superior temporal and occipito-temporal (OT) key regions. Ultimately, the commonalities and differences between the brain systems engaged by LSS integration and the brain systems identified with abnormalities in developmental dyslexia are investigated. This comparison will add to our understanding of the relation between LSS integration and normal and abnormal reading development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabio Richlan
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience and Department of Psychology, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
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33
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Visual expertise for print in schizophrenia: Analysis of the N170 component. Int J Psychophysiol 2018; 133:111-119. [PMID: 30092244 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2018.08.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2017] [Revised: 08/01/2018] [Accepted: 08/03/2018] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Reading deficits have been reported for patients suffering from schizophrenia namely, specific phonological processing deficits. Phonological processing skills are crucial in the learning-to-read process as they are necessary to develop visual expertise for print, which reflects the neural specialization for print. The present study is the first to test visual expertise for print in patients suffering from schizophrenia by measuring the N170 component. Patients and pair-matched healthy control participants performed a lexical decision task, in which words and symbols were presented. As expected, larger N170 amplitudes to word than to control stimuli were observed at the left occipito-temporal site PO7 but not at the PO8. More importantly, the modulation of the N170 as a function of the stimulus and hemisphere did not vary between patients and controls. This result suggests preserved visual expertise for print processing in patients suffering from schizophrenia.
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Paz-Alonso PM, Oliver M, Lerma-Usabiaga G, Caballero-Gaudes C, Quiñones I, Suárez-Coalla P, Duñabeitia JA, Cuetos F, Carreiras M. Neural correlates of phonological, orthographic and semantic reading processing in dyslexia. Neuroimage Clin 2018; 20:433-447. [PMID: 30128282 PMCID: PMC6096051 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2018.08.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2017] [Revised: 06/24/2018] [Accepted: 08/09/2018] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Developmental dyslexia is one of the most prevalent learning disabilities, thought to be associated with dysfunction in the neural systems underlying typical reading acquisition. Neuroimaging research has shown that readers with dyslexia exhibit regional hypoactivation in left hemisphere reading nodes, relative to control counterparts. This evidence, however, comes from studies that have focused only on isolated aspects of reading. The present study aims to characterize left hemisphere regional hypoactivation in readers with dyslexia for the main processes involved in successful reading: phonological, orthographic and semantic. Forty-one participants performed a demanding reading task during MRI scanning. Results showed that readers with dyslexia exhibited hypoactivation associated with phonological processing in parietal regions; with orthographic processing in parietal regions, Broca's area, ventral occipitotemporal cortex and thalamus; and with semantic processing in angular gyrus and hippocampus. Stronger functional connectivity was observed for readers with dyslexia than for control readers 1) between the thalamus and the inferior parietal cortex/ventral occipitotemporal cortex during pseudoword reading; and, 2) between the hippocampus and the pars opercularis during word reading. These findings constitute the strongest evidence to date for the interplay between regional hypoactivation and functional connectivity in the main processes supporting reading in dyslexia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pedro M Paz-Alonso
- BCBL, Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language, Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain.
| | - Myriam Oliver
- BCBL, Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language, Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain
| | | | | | - Ileana Quiñones
- BCBL, Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language, Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain
| | | | | | | | - Manuel Carreiras
- BCBL, Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language, Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain; IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science, Bilbao, Spain; Departamento de Lengua Vasca y Comunicación, EHU/UPV, Spain
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35
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Centanni TM, Norton ES, Park A, Beach SD, Halverson K, Ozernov-Palchik O, Gaab N, Gabrieli JDE. Early development of letter specialization in left fusiform is associated with better word reading and smaller fusiform face area. Dev Sci 2018; 21:e12658. [PMID: 29504651 DOI: 10.1111/desc.12658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2017] [Accepted: 01/29/2018] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
A functional region of left fusiform gyrus termed "the visual word form area" (VWFA) develops during reading acquisition to respond more strongly to printed words than to other visual stimuli. Here, we examined responses to letters among 5- and 6-year-old early kindergarten children (N = 48) with little or no school-based reading instruction who varied in their reading ability. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure responses to individual letters, false fonts, and faces in left and right fusiform gyri. We then evaluated whether signal change and size (spatial extent) of letter-sensitive cortex (greater activation for letters versus faces) and letter-specific cortex (greater activation for letters versus false fonts) in these regions related to (a) standardized measures of word-reading ability and (b) signal change and size of face-sensitive cortex (fusiform face area or FFA; greater activation for faces versus letters). Greater letter specificity, but not letter sensitivity, in left fusiform gyrus correlated positively with word reading scores. Across children, in the left fusiform gyrus, greater size of letter-sensitive cortex correlated with lesser size of FFA. These findings are the first to suggest that in beginning readers, development of letter responsivity in left fusiform cortex is associated with both better reading ability and also a reduction of the size of left FFA that may result in right-hemisphere dominance for face perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tracy M Centanni
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Psychology, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, Texas, USA
| | - Elizabeth S Norton
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.,Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, and Institute for Innovations in Developmental Sciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA
| | - Anne Park
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Sara D Beach
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Kelly Halverson
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | | | - Nadine Gaab
- Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - John DE Gabrieli
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
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Abstract
Purpose of Review Developmental dyslexia is characterized by an impaired acquisition of fluent and skilled reading ability. Numerous studies have explored the neural correlates of this neurodevelopmental disorder, with most classic accounts strongly focussing on left temporoparietal regions. We will review recent findings from structural and functional MRI studies that suggest a more important role of occipitotemporal cortex abnormalities in dyslexia. Recent Findings Recent findings highlight the role of the occipitotemporal cortex which exhibits functional as well as structural abnormalities in dyslexic readers and in children at risk for dyslexia and suggest a more central role for the occipitotemporal cortex in the pathophysiology of dyslexia. Summary We demonstrate the importance of the occipitotemporal cortex in for understanding impaired reading acquisition and point out how future research might enhance our understanding of functional and structural impairments in the reading network via large-scale data analysis approaches.
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Weiss Y, Booth JR. Neural correlates of the lexicality effect in children. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2017; 175:64-70. [PMID: 29020645 PMCID: PMC5812738 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2017.09.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2017] [Revised: 09/25/2017] [Accepted: 09/25/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
The comparison of words and pseudowords has been extensively used in adult neuroimaging studies to inform neurocognitive models of reading but has rarely been used to inform models of reading acquisition. Using a rhyming judgment task, the current study examined age-related differences in the spelling to sound mapping mechanisms involved in word and pseudoword reading. We hypothesized a developmental increase in specialization of the brain mechanisms engaged for word and pseudoword processing. Consistent with adult studies, children in the current study demonstrated a greater activation for words as compared to pseudowords in the anterior left ventral occipito-temporal cortex (vOT). Inconsistent with adult studies, children also showed greater activation for words as compared to pseudowords in the mid-posterior left vOT, indicating a robust semantic influence on orthographic processing in young readers. Furthermore, our results did not indicate a lexicality by age interaction for 8- to 13-year-old children, suggesting that the adult-like specialization in the left vOT only appears later in development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yael Weiss
- Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
| | - James R Booth
- Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37203, USA
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38
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An oscillopathic approach to developmental dyslexia: From genes to speech processing. Behav Brain Res 2017; 329:84-95. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2017.03.048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2017] [Revised: 03/14/2017] [Accepted: 03/18/2017] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
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Purcell JJ, Jiang X, Eden GF. Shared orthographic neuronal representations for spelling and reading. Neuroimage 2017; 147:554-567. [PMID: 28011250 PMCID: PMC5303658 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.12.054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2016] [Revised: 12/11/2016] [Accepted: 12/19/2016] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
A central question in the study of the neural basis of written language is whether reading and spelling utilize shared orthographic representations. While recent studies employing fMRI to test this question report that the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and ventral occipitotemporal cortex (vOTC) are active during both spelling and reading in the same subjects (Purcell et al., 2011a; Rapp and Lipka, 2011), the spatial resolution of fMRI limits the interpretation of these findings. Specifically, it is unknown if the neurons which encode orthography for reading are also involved in spelling of the same words. Here we address this question by employing an event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging-adaptation (fMRI-A) paradigm designed to examine shared orthographic representations across spelling and reading. First, we identified areas that independently showed adaptation to reading, and adaptation to spelling. Then we identified spatial convergence for these two separate maps via a conjunction analysis. Consistent with previous studies (Purcell et al., 2011a; Rapp and Lipka, 2011), this analysis revealed the left dorsal IFG, vOTC and supplementary motor area. To further validate these observations, we then interrogated these regions using an across-task adaptation technique, and found adaptation across reading and spelling in the left dorsal IFG (BA 44/9). Our final analysis focused specifically on the Visual Word Form Area (VWFA) in the vOTC, whose variability in location among subjects requires the use of subject-specific identification mechanisms (Glezer and Riesenhuber, 2013). Using a functional localizer for reading, we defined the VWFA in each subject, and found adaptation effects for both within the spelling and reading conditions, respectively, as well as across spelling and reading. Because none of these effects were observed during a phonological/semantic control condition, we conclude that the left dorsal IFG and VWFA are involved in accessing the same orthography-specific representations for spelling and reading.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeremy J Purcell
- Center for the Study of Learning, Department of Pediatrics, United States
| | - Xiong Jiang
- Department of Neuroscience, Georgetown University Medical Center, United States
| | - Guinevere F Eden
- Center for the Study of Learning, Department of Pediatrics, United States.
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Neurogenetics of developmental dyslexia: from genes to behavior through brain neuroimaging and cognitive and sensorial mechanisms. Transl Psychiatry 2017; 7:e987. [PMID: 28045463 PMCID: PMC5545717 DOI: 10.1038/tp.2016.240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2016] [Accepted: 10/15/2016] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Developmental dyslexia (DD) is a complex neurodevelopmental deficit characterized by impaired reading acquisition, in spite of adequate neurological and sensorial conditions, educational opportunities and normal intelligence. Despite the successful characterization of DD-susceptibility genes, we are far from understanding the molecular etiological pathways underlying the development of reading (dis)ability. By focusing mainly on clinical phenotypes, the molecular genetics approach has yielded mixed results. More optimally reduced measures of functioning, that is, intermediate phenotypes (IPs), represent a target for researching disease-associated genetic variants and for elucidating the underlying mechanisms. Imaging data provide a viable IP for complex neurobehavioral disorders and have been extensively used to investigate both morphological, structural and functional brain abnormalities in DD. Performing joint genetic and neuroimaging studies in humans is an emerging strategy to link DD-candidate genes to the brain structure and function. A limited number of studies has already pursued the imaging-genetics integration in DD. However, the results are still not sufficient to unravel the complexity of the reading circuit due to heterogeneous study design and data processing. Here, we propose an interdisciplinary, multilevel, imaging-genetic approach to disentangle the pathways from genes to behavior. As the presence of putative functional genetic variants has been provided and as genetic associations with specific cognitive/sensorial mechanisms have been reported, new hypothesis-driven imaging-genetic studies must gain momentum. This approach would lead to the optimization of diagnostic criteria and to the early identification of 'biologically at-risk' children, supporting the definition of adequate and well-timed prevention strategies and the implementation of novel, specific remediation approach.
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Evans TM, Flowers DL, Luetje MM, Napoliello E, Eden GF. Functional neuroanatomy of arithmetic and word reading and its relationship to age. Neuroimage 2016; 143:304-315. [PMID: 27566261 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.08.048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2016] [Revised: 08/19/2016] [Accepted: 08/22/2016] [Indexed: 10/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Arithmetic and written language are uniquely human skills acquired during early schooling and used daily. While prior studies have independently characterized the neural bases for arithmetic and reading, here we examine both skills in a single study to capture their shared and unique cognitive mechanisms, as well as the role of age/experience in modulating their neural representations. We used functional MRI in 7- to 29-year-olds who performed single-digit subtraction, single-digit addition, and single-word reading. Using a factorial design, we examined the main effects of Task (subtraction, addition, reading) and Age (as a continuous variable), and their interactions. A main effect of Task revealed preferential activation for subtraction in bilateral intraparietal sulci and supramarginal gyri, right insula, inferior frontal gyrus, and cingulate. The right middle temporal gyrus and left superior temporal gyrus were preferentially active for both addition and reading, and left fusiform gyrus was preferentially active for reading. A main effect of Age revealed increased activity in older participants in right angular gyrus, superior temporal sulcus, and putamen, and less activity in left supplementary motor area, suggesting a left frontal to right temporo-parietal shift of activity with increasing age/experience across all tasks. Interactions for Task by Age were found in right hippocampus and left middle frontal gyrus, with older age invoking greater activity for addition and at the same time less activity for subtraction and reading. Together, in a study conducted in the same participants using similar task and acquisition parameters, the results reveal the neural substrates of these educationally relevant cognitive skills in typical participants in the context of age/experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tanya M Evans
- Center for the Study of Learning, Department of Pediatrics, Georgetown University Medical Center, Suite150 Building D, 4000 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20057, USA
| | - D Lynn Flowers
- Center for the Study of Learning, Department of Pediatrics, Georgetown University Medical Center, Suite150 Building D, 4000 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20057, USA
| | - Megan M Luetje
- Center for the Study of Learning, Department of Pediatrics, Georgetown University Medical Center, Suite150 Building D, 4000 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20057, USA
| | - Eileen Napoliello
- Center for the Study of Learning, Department of Pediatrics, Georgetown University Medical Center, Suite150 Building D, 4000 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20057, USA
| | - Guinevere F Eden
- Center for the Study of Learning, Department of Pediatrics, Georgetown University Medical Center, Suite150 Building D, 4000 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20057, USA.
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42
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Glezer LS, Eden G, Jiang X, Luetje M, Napoliello E, Kim J, Riesenhuber M. Uncovering phonological and orthographic selectivity across the reading network using fMRI-RA. Neuroimage 2016; 138:248-256. [PMID: 27252037 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.05.072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2015] [Revised: 05/10/2016] [Accepted: 05/27/2016] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Reading has been shown to rely on a dorsal brain circuit involving the temporoparietal cortex (TPC) for grapheme-to-phoneme conversion of novel words (Pugh et al., 2001), and a ventral stream involving left occipitotemporal cortex (OTC) (in particular in the so-called "visual word form area", VWFA) for visual identification of familiar words. In addition, portions of the inferior frontal cortex (IFC) have been posited to be an output of the dorsal reading pathway involved in phonology. While this dorsal versus ventral dichotomy for phonological and orthographic processing of words is widely accepted, it is not known if these brain areas are actually strictly sensitive to orthographic or phonological information. Using an fMRI rapid adaptation technique we probed the selectivity of the TPC, OTC, and IFC to orthographic and phonological features during single word reading. We found in two independent experiments using different task conditions in adult normal readers, that the TPC is exclusively sensitive to phonology and the VWFA in the OTC is exclusively sensitive to orthography. The dorsal IFC (BA 44), however, showed orthographic but not phonological selectivity. These results support the theory that reading involves a specific phonological-based temporoparietal region and a specific orthographic-based ventral occipitotemporal region. The dorsal IFC, however, was not sensitive to phonological processing, suggesting a more complex role for this region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurie S Glezer
- Department of Neuroscience, Georgetown University Medical Center, 3800 Reservoir Rd. NW, Washington, District of Columbia 20007, USA; Departments of Psychology and Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, San Diego State University, 6505 Alvarado Rd., Suite 203, San Diego, CA 92120, USA.
| | - Guinevere Eden
- Department of Pediatrics, Georgetown University Medical Center, 3970 Reservoir Rd. NW, Washington, District of Columbia 20007, USA
| | - Xiong Jiang
- Department of Neuroscience, Georgetown University Medical Center, 3800 Reservoir Rd. NW, Washington, District of Columbia 20007, USA
| | - Megan Luetje
- Department of Pediatrics, Georgetown University Medical Center, 3970 Reservoir Rd. NW, Washington, District of Columbia 20007, USA
| | - Eileen Napoliello
- Department of Pediatrics, Georgetown University Medical Center, 3970 Reservoir Rd. NW, Washington, District of Columbia 20007, USA
| | - Judy Kim
- Department of Neuroscience, Georgetown University Medical Center, 3800 Reservoir Rd. NW, Washington, District of Columbia 20007, USA; Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N. Charles St. Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
| | - Maximilian Riesenhuber
- Department of Neuroscience, Georgetown University Medical Center, 3800 Reservoir Rd. NW, Washington, District of Columbia 20007, USA
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43
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Martin A, Kronbichler M, Richlan F. Dyslexic brain activation abnormalities in deep and shallow orthographies: A meta-analysis of 28 functional neuroimaging studies. Hum Brain Mapp 2016; 37:2676-99. [PMID: 27061464 PMCID: PMC5103175 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.23202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2015] [Revised: 02/19/2016] [Accepted: 03/21/2016] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
We used coordinate‐based meta‐analysis to objectively quantify commonalities and differences of dyslexic functional brain abnormalities between alphabetic languages differing in orthographic depth. Specifically, we compared foci of under‐ and overactivation in dyslexic readers relative to nonimpaired readers reported in 14 studies in deep orthographies (DO: English) and in 14 studies in shallow orthographies (SO: Dutch, German, Italian, Swedish). The separate meta‐analyses of the two sets of studies showed universal reading‐related dyslexic underactivation in the left occipitotemporal cortex (including the visual word form area (VWFA)). The direct statistical comparison revealed higher convergence of underactivation for DO compared with SO in bilateral inferior parietal regions, but this abnormality disappeared when foci resulting from stronger dyslexic task‐negative activation (i.e., deactivation relative to baseline) were excluded. Higher convergence of underactivation for DO compared with SO was further identified in the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) pars triangularis, left precuneus, and right superior temporal gyrus, together with higher convergence of overactivation in the left anterior insula. Higher convergence of underactivation for SO compared with DO was found in the left fusiform gyrus, left temporoparietal cortex, left IFG pars orbitalis, and left frontal operculum, together with higher convergence of overactivation in the left precentral gyrus. Taken together, the findings support the notion of a biological unity of dyslexia, with additional orthography‐specific abnormalities and presumably different compensatory mechanisms. The results are discussed in relation to current functional neuroanatomical models of developmental dyslexia. Hum Brain Mapp 37:2676–2699, 2016. © 2016 The Authors Human Brain Mapping Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Martin
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunnerstr. 34, Salzburg, 5020, Austria.,Department of Psychology, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunnerstr. 34, Salzburg, 5020, Austria.,Neuroscience Institute, Christian Doppler Clinic, Paracelsus Medical University, Ignaz-Harrer-Str. 79, Salzburg, 5020, Austria
| | - Martin Kronbichler
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunnerstr. 34, Salzburg, 5020, Austria.,Department of Psychology, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunnerstr. 34, Salzburg, 5020, Austria.,Neuroscience Institute, Christian Doppler Clinic, Paracelsus Medical University, Ignaz-Harrer-Str. 79, Salzburg, 5020, Austria
| | - Fabio Richlan
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunnerstr. 34, Salzburg, 5020, Austria.,Department of Psychology, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunnerstr. 34, Salzburg, 5020, Austria
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Krafnick AJ, Tan LH, Flowers DL, Luetje MM, Napoliello EM, Siok WT, Perfetti C, Eden GF. Chinese Character and English Word processing in children's ventral occipitotemporal cortex: fMRI evidence for script invariance. Neuroimage 2016; 133:302-312. [PMID: 27012502 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.03.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2015] [Revised: 03/09/2016] [Accepted: 03/10/2016] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Learning to read is thought to involve the recruitment of left hemisphere ventral occipitotemporal cortex (OTC) by a process of "neuronal recycling", whereby object processing mechanisms are co-opted for reading. Under the same theoretical framework, it has been proposed that the visual word form area (VWFA) within OTC processes orthographic stimuli independent of culture and writing systems, suggesting that it is universally involved in written language. However, this "script invariance" has yet to be demonstrated in monolingual readers of two different writing systems studied under the same experimental conditions. Here, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we examined activity in response to English Words and Chinese Characters in 1st graders in the United States and China, respectively. We examined each group separately and found the readers of English as well as the readers of Chinese to activate the left ventral OTC for their respective native writing systems (using both a whole-brain and a bilateral OTC-restricted analysis). Critically, a conjunction analysis of the two groups revealed significant overlap between them for native writing system processing, located in the VWFA and therefore supporting the hypothesis of script invariance. In the second part of the study, we further examined the left OTC region responsive to each group's native writing system and found that it responded equally to Object stimuli (line drawings) in the Chinese-reading children. In English-reading children, the OTC responded much more to Objects than to English Words. Together, these results support the script invariant role of the VWFA and also support the idea that the areas recruited for character or word processing are rooted in object processing mechanisms of the left OTC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony J Krafnick
- Center for the Study of Learning, Georgetown University Medical Center, 4000 Reservoir Road, Building D Suite 150, Washington, DC 20057, USA.
| | - Li-Hai Tan
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Hong Kong, Room 409, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Building for Interdisciplinary Research, Pokfulam, Hong Kong.
| | - D Lynn Flowers
- Center for the Study of Learning, Georgetown University Medical Center, 4000 Reservoir Road, Building D Suite 150, Washington, DC 20057, USA.
| | - Megan M Luetje
- Center for the Study of Learning, Georgetown University Medical Center, 4000 Reservoir Road, Building D Suite 150, Washington, DC 20057, USA.
| | - Eileen M Napoliello
- Center for the Study of Learning, Georgetown University Medical Center, 4000 Reservoir Road, Building D Suite 150, Washington, DC 20057, USA.
| | - Wai-Ting Siok
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Hong Kong, Room 409, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Building for Interdisciplinary Research, Pokfulam, Hong Kong.
| | - Charles Perfetti
- University of Pittsburgh, Learning Research and Development Center, 3939 O'Hara Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA.
| | - Guinevere F Eden
- Center for the Study of Learning, Georgetown University Medical Center, 4000 Reservoir Road, Building D Suite 150, Washington, DC 20057, USA.
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