title: 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, eight boys, mean age of sample=10.06 ± 3.29) received two MRI scans (mean interscan 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.
authors.affiliation: aDepartment of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital Los Angeles bDepartment of Radiology and Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada cKeck School of Medicine dDepartment of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA eDepartment of Learning Disabilities, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.
authors.forename: Suzanne M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Houston
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lebel
authors.forename: Tami
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Katzir
authors.forename: Franklin R
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Manis
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kan
authors.forename: Genevieve G
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Rodriguez
authors.forename: Elizabeth R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Sowell
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D007807:Language Tests; D016014:Linear Models; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D036421:Nerve Fibers, Unmyelinated; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D009929:Organ Size; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development; D011932:Reading