title: Shared neuroanatomical substrates of impaired phonological working memory across reading disability and autism.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Individuals with reading disability or individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are characterized, respectively, by their difficulties in reading or social communication, but both groups often have impaired phonological working memory (PWM). It is not known whether the impaired PWM reflects distinct or shared neuroanatomical abnormalities in these two diagnostic groups.
  
  
  METHODS
  White-matter structural connectivity via diffusion weighted imaging was examined in sixty-four children, ages 5-17 years, with reading disability, ASD, or typical development (TD), who were matched in age, gender, intelligence, and diffusion data quality.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Children with reading disability and children with ASD exhibited reduced PWM compared to children with TD. The two diagnostic groups showed altered white-matter microstructure in the temporo-parietal portion of the left arcuate fasciculus (AF) and in the temporo-occipital portion of the right inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF), as indexed by reduced fractional anisotropy and increased radial diffusivity. Moreover, the structural integrity of the right ILF was positively correlated with PWM ability in the two diagnostic groups, but not in the TD group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest that impaired PWM is transdiagnostically associated with shared neuroanatomical abnormalities in ASD and reading disability. Microstructural characteristics in left AF and right ILF may play important roles in the development of PWM. The right ILF may support a compensatory mechanism for children with impaired PWM.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
authors.forename: Chunming
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
authors.forename: Zhenghan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
authors.forename: Adrianne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
authors.forename: Lisa Wisman
authors.initials: LW
authors.lastname: Weil
authors.affiliation: McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
authors.forename: Kelly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Halverson
authors.affiliation: Department of Speech, Language & Hearing Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
authors.forename: Tyler K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Perrachione
authors.affiliation: Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; MGH Institute of Health Professions, Boston, MA 02129, USA.
authors.forename: Margaret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kjelgaard
authors.affiliation: Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
authors.forename: Kenneth
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wexler
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tager-Flusberg
authors.affiliation: McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
authors.forename: John D E
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Gabrieli
keywords: autism spectrum disorder; diffusion tensor imaging; phonological working memory; reading disability; transdiagnostic; white matter