title: Children's reading performance is correlated with white matter structure measured by diffusion tensor imaging.
abstract: We investigated the white matter structure in children (n = 14) with a wide range of reading performance levels using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), a form of magnetic resonance imaging. White matter structure in a left temporo-parietal region that had been previously described as covarying with reading skill in adult readers also differs between children who are normal and poor readers. Specifically, the white matter structure measured using fractional anisotropy (FA) and coherence index (CI) significantly correlated with behavioral measurements of reading, spelling, and rapid naming performance. In general, lower anisotropy and lower coherence were associated with lower performance scores. Although the magnitude of the differences in children are smaller than those in adults, the results support the hypothesis that the structure of left temporoparietal neural pathways is a significant component of the neural system needed to develop fluent reading.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. gdeutsch@stanford.edu
authors.forename: Gayle K
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: Deutsch
authors.forename: Robert F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Dougherty
authors.forename: Roland
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bammer
authors.forename: Wai Ting
authors.initials: WT
authors.lastname: Siok
authors.forename: John D E
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Gabrieli
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wandell
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D016880:Anisotropy; D001921:Brain / Q000002:abnormalities / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D002648:Child; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D004410:Dyslexia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008297:Male; D011932:Reading