The resilience of the developing reading system: multi-modal evidence of incident and recovery after a pediatric stroke

Neurocase. 2021 Aug;27(4):338-348. doi: 10.1080/13554794.2021.1957119. Epub 2021 Sep 10.

Abstract

Decades of neuroscientific findings have elucidated the highly specialized brain areas involved in reading, especially along the ventral occipitotemporal stream where the critical step of recognizing words occurs. We report on a 14-year-old female with temporary dyslexia after a left ventral occipitotemporal ischemic stroke. Our longitudinal multimodal findings show that the resolution of the reading impairment was associated with heightened activity in the left posterior superior and inferior temporal gyri. Our findings highlight the role of the left inferior temporal gyrus in reading and the importance of perilesional and ipsilateral cortical areas for functional recovery after childhood stroke.

Keywords: Pediatric stroke; acquired dyslexia; inferior occipitotemporal cortex; lexical access; reading.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Brain
  • Brain Mapping
  • Child
  • Dyslexia* / etiology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Reading
  • Stroke* / complications