title: Investigating the Influences of Language Delay and/or Familial Risk for Dyslexia on Brain Structure in 5-Year-Olds.
abstract: Early language delay has often been associated with atypical language/literacy development. Neuroimaging studies further indicate functional disruptions during language and print processing in school-age children with a retrospective report of early language delay. Behavioral data of 114 5-year-olds with a retrospective report of early language delay in infancy (N = 34) and those without (N = 80) and with a familial risk for dyslexia and those without are presented. Behaviorally, children with a retrospective report of early language delay exhibited reduced performance in language/reading-related measures. A voxel-based morphometry analysis in a subset (N = 46) demonstrated an association between reduced gray matter volume and early language delay in left-hemispheric middle temporal, occipital, and frontal regions. Alterations in middle temporal cortex in children with a retrospective report of early language delay were observed regardless of familial risk for dyslexia. Additionally, while children with isolated familial risk for dyslexia showed gray matter reductions in temporoparietal and occipitotemporal regions, these effects were most profound in children with both risk factors. An interaction effect of early language delay and familial risk was revealed in temporoparietal, occipital, and frontal cortex. Our findings support a cumulative effect of early behavioral and genetic risk factors on brain development and may ultimately inform diagnosis/treatment.
authors.affiliation: Laboratories of Cognitive Neuroscience, Division of Developmental Medicine, Department of Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.|Harvard Medical School Boston, Boston, MA 02115, USA.|Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychiatric University Clinics Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Nora Maria
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Raschle
authors.affiliation: Laboratories of Cognitive Neuroscience, Division of Developmental Medicine, Department of Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Bryce Larkin Chessell
authors.initials: BLC
authors.lastname: Becker
authors.affiliation: Laboratories of Cognitive Neuroscience, Division of Developmental Medicine, Department of Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychiatric University Clinics Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Lynn Valérie
authors.initials: LV
authors.lastname: Fehlbaum
authors.affiliation: Laboratories of Cognitive Neuroscience, Division of Developmental Medicine, Department of Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Yingying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Laboratories of Cognitive Neuroscience, Division of Developmental Medicine, Department of Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.|Harvard Medical School Boston, Boston, MA 02115, USA.|Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
authors.forename: Nadine
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gaab
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004410:Dyslexia / Q000235:genetics*; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D066128:Gray Matter / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D007805:Language Development Disorders / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D007807:Language Tests; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009929:Organ Size; D012189:Retrospective Studies
keywords: developmental disorder; developmental dyslexia; familial risk; language delay; voxel-based morphometry