title: A DTI tractography study in pre-readers at risk for dyslexia.
abstract: In adults and school-aged children, phonological aspects of reading seem to be sustained by left dorsal regions, while ventral regions seem to be involved in orthographic word recognition. Yet, given that the brain reorganises during reading acquisition, it is unknown when and how these reading routes emerge and whether neural deficits in dyslexia predate reading onset. Using diffusion MRI in 36 pre-readers with a family risk for dyslexia (FRD(+)) and 35 well matched pre-readers without a family risk (FRD(-)), our results show that phonological predictors of reading are sustained bilaterally by both ventral and dorsal tracts. This suggests that a dorsal and left-hemispheric specialisation for phonological aspects of reading, as observed in adults, is presumably gradually formed throughout reading development. Second, our results indicate that FRD(+) pre-readers display mainly white matter differences in left ventral tracts. This suggests that atypical white matter organisation previously found in dyslexic adults may be causal rather than resulting from a lifetime of reading difficulties, and that the location of such a deficit may vary throughout development. While this study forms an important starting point, longitudinal follow-up of these children will allow further investigation of the dynamics between emerging literacy development and white matter connections.
authors.affiliation: Parenting and Special Education Research Unit, KU Leuven, L. Vanderkelenstraat 32, PO Box 3765, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; Laboratory for Experimental ORL, KU Leuven, Herestraat 49, 3000 Leuven, Belgium. Electronic address: Maaike.Vandermosten@ppw.kuleuven.be.
authors.forename: Maaike
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vandermosten
authors.affiliation: Parenting and Special Education Research Unit, KU Leuven, L. Vanderkelenstraat 32, PO Box 3765, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; Laboratory for Experimental ORL, KU Leuven, Herestraat 49, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Jolijn
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vanderauwera
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Experimental ORL, KU Leuven, Herestraat 49, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Theys
authors.affiliation: Parenting and Special Education Research Unit, KU Leuven, L. Vanderkelenstraat 32, PO Box 3765, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; Laboratory for Experimental ORL, KU Leuven, Herestraat 49, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Astrid
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: De Vos
authors.affiliation: Parenting and Special Education Research Unit, KU Leuven, L. Vanderkelenstraat 32, PO Box 3765, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; Laboratory for Experimental ORL, KU Leuven, Herestraat 49, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Sophie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vanvooren
authors.affiliation: Department of Translational MRI, KU Leuven, Herestraat 49, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sunaert
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Experimental ORL, KU Leuven, Herestraat 49, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wouters
authors.affiliation: Parenting and Special Education Research Unit, KU Leuven, L. Vanderkelenstraat 32, PO Box 3765, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Pol
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ghesquière
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D003071:Cognition; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging; D004410:Dyslexia / Q000473:pathology* / Q000523:psychology; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence; D000067010:Literacy; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011712:Pyramidal Tracts / Q000473:pathology; D011932:Reading; D012306:Risk; D066127:White Matter / Q000473:pathology
keywords: Developmental neuroscience; Diffusion weighted imaging; Dyslexia; Preschool children; Reading network