title: Development of neural basis for chinese orthographic neighborhood size effect.
abstract: The brain activity of orthographic neighborhood size (N size) effect in Chinese character naming has been studied in adults, meanwhile behavioral studies have revealed a developmental trend of Chinese N-size effect in developing readers. However, it is unclear whether and how the neural mechanism of N-size effect changes in Chinese children along with development. Here we address this issue using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Forty-four students from the 3(rd) , 5(th) , and 7(th) grades were scanned during silent naming of Chinese characters. After scanning, all participants took part in an overt naming test outside the scanner, and results of the naming task showed that the 3(rd) graders named characters from large neighborhoods faster than those from small neighborhoods, revealing a facilitatory N-size effect; the 5(th) graders showed null N-size effect while the 7(th) graders showed an inhibitory N-size effect. Neuroimaging results revealed that only the 3(rd) graders exhibited a significant N-size effect in the left middle occipital activity, with greater activation for large N-size characters. Results of 5(th) and 7(th) graders showed significant N-size effects in the left middle frontal gyrus, in which 5(th) graders induced greater activation in large N-size condition than in small N-size condition, while 7(th) graders exhibited an opposite effect which was similar to the adult pattern reported in a previous study. The current findings suggested the transition from broadly tuned to finely tuned orthographic representation with reading development, and the inhibition from neighbors' phonology for higher graders. Hum Brain Mapp 37:632-647, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
authors.forename: Qing-Lin
authors.initials: QL
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.
authors.forename: Guo-Sheng
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
authors.forename: Hong-Yan
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Bi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002648:Child; D002663:Child Language; D002681:China; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007807:Language Tests; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011930:Reaction Time; D011932:Reading
keywords: Chinese character naming; left middle frontal gyrus; left middle occipital gyrus; orthographic neighborhood; reading development