Reading skill and structural brain development

Abstract

Reading is a learned skill that is likely influenced by both brain maturation and experience. Functional imaging studies have identified brain regions important for skilled reading, but the structural brain changes that co-occur with reading acquisition remain largely unknown. We investigated maturational volume changes in brain reading regions and their association with performance on reading measures. Sixteen typically developing children (5-15 years old, 8 male, mean age of sample=10.06 ±3.29) received two magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, (mean inter-scan interval =2.19 years), and were administered a battery of cognitive measures. Volume changes between time points in five bilateral cortical regions of interest were measured, and assessed for relationships to three measures of reading. Better baseline performances on measures of word reading, fluency and rapid naming, independent of age and total cortical gray matter volume change, were associated with volume decrease in the left inferior parietal cortex. Better baseline performance on a rapid naming measure was associated with volume decrease in the left inferior frontal region. These results suggest that children who are better readers, and who perhaps read more than less skilled readers, exhibit different development trajectories in brain reading regions. Understanding relationships between reading performance, reading experience and brain maturation trajectories may help with the development and evaluation of targeted interventions.

Volumetric Differences in Cerebellar Lobes in Individuals from Multiplex Alcohol Dependence Families and Controls: Their Relationship to Externalizing and Internalizing Disorders and Working Memory

“…This pattern is consistent with normal age-related reductions in gray matter that take place throughout adolescence and early adulthood [58]. This reduction in gray matter volume has been linked to better cognitive functioning across a variety of domains [59]. In the current study, we observed larger volume of the corpus medullare and inferior posterior cerebellar lobe among individuals with a family history of alcohol dependence.…”

“…Similarly, adolescent cannabis users show significantly larger inferior posterior (lobules VIII–X) vermis volume than controls while alcohol use was associated with smaller posterior inferior volume [61]. Although family history of substance use disorders was not assessed in the Houston et al study [59], it is possible that the larger volume seen among these cannabis users may reflect family history differences in susceptibility for substance use disorders.…”

Academic Difficulties in Children with Prenatal Alcohol Exposure: Presence, Profile, and Neural Correlates

“…Further, spelling was associated with two bilateral cortical regions in the temporal cortices. Reading, while impaired in alcohol-exposed children relative to controls, did not appear to have cortical surface area correlates and may relate to broader neural circuitry dysfunction or differential trajectories (Houston et al, 2014, Ashkenazi et al, 2013). Further, there were no differential associations with cortical thickness, suggesting it may not be as sensitive an indicator for prenatal alcohol exposure (Gross et al, 2016) or the use of an alcohol-exposure group may not be as sensitive in detecting cortical effects of thickness as other continuous measures of alcohol exposure (Meintjes et al, 2014, Roberston et al, 2016).…”

“…Growing literature supports both cognitive mechanisms and specific neural correlates that underlie distinct academic pathways. Neuroimaging findings suggest that structural or functional changes in the brain may contribute to academic performance in typically developing children (Houston et al, 2014, Dehaene et al, 2003), and those with learning disorders (Ashkenazi et al, 2013). Relatively few studies have examined these relations in alcohol-exposed populations, however relations of math performance to brain structure and function have been reported (Woods et al, 2015, Lebel et al, 2010, Meintjes et al, 2010, Santhanam et al, 2009), whereas associations with reading or spelling were not assessed in these studies.…”

Prenatal PBDE and PCB Exposures and Reading, Cognition, and Externalizing Behavior in Children

“…The prenatal period is the most sensitive time window to the influence of environmental factors on cognitive development, when brain development involves neuronal proliferation, differentiation, and migration (Kang et al 2011; Stiles and Jernigan 2010). Reading ability is central to educational attainment and academic achievement, and is predominantly influenced by the development in the brain reading region (Houston et al 2014). Studies have reported that a child’s reading ability was impaired by prenatal maternal smoking exposure (Cho et al 2013).…”