title: Connectivity precedes function in the development of the visual word form area.
abstract: What determines the cortical location at which a given functionally specific region will arise in development? We tested the hypothesis that functionally specific regions develop in their characteristic locations because of pre-existing differences in the extrinsic connectivity of that region to the rest of the brain. We exploited the visual word form area (VWFA) as a test case, scanning children with diffusion and functional imaging at age 5, before they learned to read, and at age 8, after they learned to read. We found the VWFA developed functionally in this interval and that its location in a particular child at age 8 could be predicted from that child's connectivity fingerprints (but not functional responses) at age 5. These results suggest that early connectivity instructs the functional development of the VWFA, possibly reflecting a general mechanism of cortical development.
authors: Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.|McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
authors: Zeynep M
authors: ZM
authors: Saygin
authors: Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors: David E
authors: DE
authors: Osher
authors: Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA.
authors: Elizabeth S
authors: 0000-0002-4023-8051
authors: ES
authors: Norton
authors: Department of Biological Sciences, Barnard College, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA.
authors: Deanna A
authors: DA
authors: Youssoufian
authors: Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.|McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
authors: Sara D
authors: SD
authors: Beach
authors: Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
authors: Jenelle
authors: J
authors: Feather
authors: Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors: Nadine
authors: N
authors: Gaab
authors: Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.|McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
authors: John D E
authors: JD
authors: Gabrieli
authors: Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.|McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
authors: Nancy
authors: N
authors: Kanwisher
mesh_terms: D001931:Brain Mapping; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000502:physiology*; D011932:Reading; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000502:physiology; D014796:Visual Perception