Brain bases of morphological processing in young children.
How does the developing brain support the transition from spoken language to print? Two spoken language abilities form the initial base of child literacy across languages: knowledge of language sounds (phonology) and knowledge of the smallest units that carry meaning (morphology). While phonology has received much attention from the field, the brain mechanisms that support morphological competence for learning to read remain largely unknown. In the present study, young English-speaking children completed an auditory morphological awareness task behaviorally (n = 69, ages 6-12) and in fMRI (n = 16). The data revealed two findings: First, children with better morphological abilities showed greater activation in left temporoparietal regions previously thought to be important for supporting phonological reading skills, suggesting that this region supports multiple language abilities for successful reading acquisition. Second, children showed activation in left frontal regions previously found active in young Chinese readers, suggesting morphological processes for reading acquisition might be similar across languages. These findings offer new insights for developing a comprehensive model of how spoken language abilities support children's reading acquisition across languages.
Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Maria M
MM
Arredondo
Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Ka I
KI
Ip
Department of Psychology, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong.
Lucy
L
Shih Ju Hsu
Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.|Center for Human Growth and Development, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Twila
T
Tardif
Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.|Center for Human Growth and Development, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Ioulia
I
Kovelman
D001921:Brain / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007804:Language Development; D007807:Language Tests; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D011932:Reading; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012146:Rest; D013067:Speech Perception / Q000502:physiology*
auditory; children; fMRI; language; literacy; morphemes; reading