Abstract
Reading acquisition reorganizes existing brain networks for speech and visual processing to form novel audio-visual language representations. This requires substantial cortical plasticity that is reflected in changes in brain activation and functional as well as structural connectivity between brain areas. The extent to which a child’s brain can accommodate these changes may underlie the high variability in reading outcome in both typical and dyslexic readers. In this review, we focus on reading-induced functional changes of the dorsal speech network in particular and discuss how its reciprocal interactions with the ventral reading network contributes to reading outcome. We discuss how the dynamic and intertwined development of both reading networks may be best captured by approaching reading from a skill learning perspective, using audio-visual learning paradigms and longitudinal designs to follow neuro-behavioral changes while children’s reading skills unfold.
Highlights
Despite standardized curricula and teaching programs at school, children reach very different levels of reading fluency
In line with the proposed developmental shift to predominant reliance on the ventral system in fluent readers, increased connectivity between the inferior parietal lobe (IPL) and ventral occipito-temporal cortex (vOTC) is linked to better reading fluency and phonological skills in 5 to 6-year-olds (Yu et al, 2018a; Moulton et al, 2019), while decreased connectivity between these areas has been associated with larger gains in reading fluency in 8 to 14-year-old children (Wise Younger et al, 2017)
Reading development is a highly dynamic and individually variable process illustrating an impressive capacity of the brain to accommodate the requirements of a culturally acquired skill
Summary
Reading acquisition reorganizes existing brain networks for speech and visual processing to form novel audio-visual language representations. This requires substantial cortical plasticity that is reflected in changes in brain activation and functional as well as structural connectivity between brain areas. We focus on reading-induced functional changes of the dorsal speech network in particular and discuss how its reciprocal interactions with the ventral reading network contributes to reading outcome. We discuss how the dynamic and intertwined development of both reading networks may be best captured by approaching reading from a skill learning perspective, using audio-visual learning paradigms and longitudinal designs to follow neuro-behavioral changes while children’s reading skills unfold
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