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Brain activation in children with varying reading skills during visual motion processing
Poster Session C, Friday, October 25, 4:30 - 6:00 pm, Great Hall 3 and 4
Ya-Xi Yang1, Jin-Yi Zhang1,2, Yu-Long Zhou1, Li-Hai Tan1,3,4; 1Center for Language and Brain, Shenzhen Institute of Neuroscience, Shenzhen, China, 2School of Management, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China, 3Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Institute of CNS Regeneration, Jinan University, Shenzhen, China, 4Neuroscience and Neurorehabilitation Institute, University of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Qingdao, China
Introduction Reading is a complex cognitive skill requiring the coordination of multiple brain regions. It involves visual information processing, text shape recognition, speech and semantic conversion, language generation, and grammar processing (1). Previous studies found that many poor readers had particular problems with rapid visual processing because they had a mild impairment of the visual magnocellular system (2). However, the relationship between reading skills and visual information processing in typically developing children is still not clear. Methods We recruited 23 right-handed children aged 9–12 years for this study. The participants first completed the semantic judgment task and the visual motion processing task during fMRI scanning. To classify them into higher-function (HF) and lower-function (LF) groups, we calculated the Lateralization Index (LI) to indicate reading skills based on their performance in the semantic judgment task (3). Subsequently, we compared the performance of the visual motion processing task between the two groups using region of interest (ROI) analysis, focusing on the V5/MT area (4). Results In the semantic judgment task, we observed significant brain activity in areas related to language processing and visual information processing compared with the baseline. Based on the result, we selected bilateral pars triangularis of the inferior frontal gyrus as ROIs. For the visual motion processing task, after corrected by rest condition, mixed ANOVA analysis showed stronger brain activation during dynamic conditions than static ones in the right middle temporal gyrus and the left middle occipital gyrus. The effect was confirmed by paired sample t-test without correction by rest condition. That is, significant brain activation was observed at V5/MT during dynamic conditions using static conditions as the baseline. Whereas, a similar effect was only observed in the LF group, not in the HF group. There were no significant differences in accuracy or reaction time for either task. Conclusion We used pars triangularis of the inferior frontal gyrus as ROI in the semantic judgment task to compute LI as an index of reading skills. Task performance on the visual motion processing task did not differ between the HF and the LF groups. However, different activation patterns emerged, with the LF group showing stronger activation in the V5/MT area. This suggests potential functional restructuring or compensatory activation to cope with task demands (5). It may reflect the application prospects of non-invasive brain stimulation to intervene in children with poor reading skills. References 1. Price CJ. A review and synthesis of the first 20 years of PET and fMRI studies of heard speech, spoken language and reading. NeuroImage. 2012 Aug;62(2):816–47. 2. Stein J. The current status of the magnocellular theory of developmental dyslexia. Neuropsychologia. 2019 Jul;130:66–77. 3. Bradshaw AR, Thompson PA, Wilson AC, Bishop DVM, Woodhead ZVJ. Measuring language lateralisation with different language tasks: a systematic review. PeerJ. 2017 Oct 24;5:e3929. 4. Olulade OA, Napoliello EM, Eden GF. Abnormal Visual Motion Processing Is Not a Cause of Dyslexia. Neuron. 2013 Jul;79(1):180–90. 5. Park DC, Reuter-Lorenz P. The Adaptive Brain: Aging and Neurocognitive Scaffolding. Annu Rev Psychol. 2009 Jan 1;60(Volume 60, 2009):173–96.
Topic Areas: Reading,