Resting-state functional connectivity and reading subskills in children

Alexandra M Cross; Reshma Ramdajal; Lien Peters; Matthew R J Vandermeer; Elizabeth P Hayden; Jan C Frijters; Karen A Steinbach; Maureen W Lovett; Lisa M D Archibald; Marc F Joanisse

doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118529

Resting-state functional connectivity and reading subskills in children

Neuroimage. 2021 Nov:243:118529. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118529. Epub 2021 Aug 29.

Affiliations

¹ Brain and Mind Institute, The University of Western Ontario, London, Canada; Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Western Ontario, London, Canada; School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada. Electronic address: across22@uwo.ca.
² Brain and Mind Institute, The University of Western Ontario, London, Canada; School of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
³ Brain and Mind Institute, The University of Western Ontario, London, Canada; Department of Psychology, The University of Western Ontario, London, Canada.
⁴ Child and Youth Studies, Brock University, St. Catherines, Canada.
⁵ The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), Toronto, Canada.
⁶ The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), Toronto, Canada; Paediatrics and Medical Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
⁷ Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Western Ontario, London, Canada; School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada; Department of Psychology, The University of Western Ontario, London, Canada.
⁸ Brain and Mind Institute, The University of Western Ontario, London, Canada; Department of Psychology, The University of Western Ontario, London, Canada; Haskins Laboratories, New Haven CT, USA.

PMID: 34469812
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118529

Abstract

Individual differences in reading ability have been linked to characteristics of functional connectivity in the brain in both children and adults. However, many previous studies have used single or composite measures of reading, leading to difficulty characterizing the role of functional connectivity in discrete subskills of reading. The present study addresses this issue using resting-state fMRI to examine how resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) related to individual differences in children's reading subskills, including decoding, sight word reading, reading comprehension, and rapid automatized naming (RAN). Findings showed both positive and negative RSFC-behaviour relationships that diverged across different reading subskills. Positive relationships included increasing RSFC among left dorsal and anterior regions with increasing decoding proficiency, and increasing RSFC between the left thalamus and right fusiform gyrus with increasing sight word reading, RAN, and reading comprehension abilities. In contrast, negative relationships suggested greater functional segregation of attentional and reading networks with improved performance on RAN, decoding, and reading comprehension tasks. Importantly, the results suggest that although reading subskills rely to some extent on shared functional networks, there are also distinct functional connections supporting different components of reading ability in children.

Keywords: Magnetic resonance imaging; Reading ability; Reading development; Reading disability; Resting-state functional connectivity.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Brain Mapping / methods*
Child
Comprehension / physiology*
Dyslexia / diagnostic imaging*
Female
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging / methods*
Male
Ontario
Reading*
Temporal Lobe / diagnostic imaging
Thalamus / diagnostic imaging