TY - JOUR

T1 - Prediction of reading skill several years later depends on age and brain region

T2 - implications for developmental models of reading

AU - McNorgan, Chris

AU - Alvarez, Aubrey

AU - Bhullar, Annum

AU - Gayda, Jessica

AU - Booth, James R.

PY - 2011/6/29

Y1 - 2011/6/29

N2 - We investigated whether brain activity was predictive of future reading skill and, if so, how this brain–behavior correlation informs developmental models of reading. A longitudinal study followed 26 normally developing human children ranging in age from 9 to 15 years who were initially assessed for reading skill and performed a rhyming judgment task during functional magnetic resonance imaging. Patterns of brain activation in this task predicted changes between initial and a follow-up assessment of nonword reading skill administered up to 6 years later. Brain activity in areas typically active during imaging studies of reading was found to predict future nonword reading ability, but the predictive ability of these areas depended on age. Increased activity relative to peers in neural circuits associated with phonological recoding (i.e., inferior frontal gyrus and basal ganglia) was predictive of greater gains in reading fluency in younger children, whereas increased activity relative to peers in orthographic processing circuits (i.e., fusiform gyrus) was predictive of smaller gains in fluency for older children. Interpreted within the context of a connectionist model of reading, these results suggest that younger children who are more sensitive to higher-order phonological word characteristics (e.g., coarticulations) may make greater reading proficiency gains, whereas older children who focus more on whole-word orthographic representations may make smaller proficiency gains.

AB - We investigated whether brain activity was predictive of future reading skill and, if so, how this brain–behavior correlation informs developmental models of reading. A longitudinal study followed 26 normally developing human children ranging in age from 9 to 15 years who were initially assessed for reading skill and performed a rhyming judgment task during functional magnetic resonance imaging. Patterns of brain activation in this task predicted changes between initial and a follow-up assessment of nonword reading skill administered up to 6 years later. Brain activity in areas typically active during imaging studies of reading was found to predict future nonword reading ability, but the predictive ability of these areas depended on age. Increased activity relative to peers in neural circuits associated with phonological recoding (i.e., inferior frontal gyrus and basal ganglia) was predictive of greater gains in reading fluency in younger children, whereas increased activity relative to peers in orthographic processing circuits (i.e., fusiform gyrus) was predictive of smaller gains in fluency for older children. Interpreted within the context of a connectionist model of reading, these results suggest that younger children who are more sensitive to higher-order phonological word characteristics (e.g., coarticulations) may make greater reading proficiency gains, whereas older children who focus more on whole-word orthographic representations may make smaller proficiency gains.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=79959988070&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0334-11.2011

DO - 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0334-11.2011

M3 - Journal article

VL - 31

SP - 9641

EP - 9648

JO - Journal of Neuroscience

JF - Journal of Neuroscience

SN - 0270-6474

IS - 26

ER -