Brain activation profiles during the early stages of reading acquisition.
In the present study, we demonstrate for the first time the presence of an aberrant brain mechanism for reading in children who have just started acquiring reading skills. Children who, at the end of kindergarten, are found to be at risk for developing reading problems display markedly different activation profiles than children who have, at this stage, already mastered important prereading skills. This aberrant profile is characterized by the lack of engagement of the left-hemisphere superior temporal region, an area normally involved in converting print into sound, and an increase in activation in the corresponding right-hemisphere region. This finding is consistent with current cognitive models of reading acquisition and dyslexia, pointing to the critical role of phonologic awareness skills in learning to read.
Simos
Panagiotis G
PG
Department of Neurosurgery, The Vivian L. Smith Center for Neurologic Research, The University of Texas Health Science Center-Houston, 77030, USA. psimos@uth.tmc.edu
Fletcher
Jack M
JM
Foorman
Barbara R
BR
Francis
David J
DJ
Castillo
Eduardo M
EM
Davis
Robert N
RN
Fitzgerald
Michele
M
Mathes
Patricia G
PG
Denton
Carolyn
C
Papanicolaou
Andrew C
AC
D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003071:Cognition; D004410:Dyslexia / Q000175:diagnosis; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010700:Phonetics; D011932:Reading; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000502:physiology; D013997:Time Factors; D014706:Verbal Learning