Structural connectivity patterns associated with the putative visual word form area and children׳s reading ability

AbstractWhat determines the functional organization of cortex? One hypothesis is that innate connectivity patterns set up a scaffold upon which functional specialization can later take place. We tested this hypothesis by asking whether the visual word form area (VWFA), an experience-driven region, was already connected to proto language networks in neonates scanned within one week of birth. With resting-state fMRI, we found that neonates showed adult-like functional connectivity, and observed that i) language regions connected more strongly with the putative VWFA than other adjacent ventral visual regions that also show foveal bias, and ii) the VWFA connected more strongly with frontotemporal language regions than with regions adjacent to these language regions. These data suggest that the location of the VWFA is earmarked at birth due to its connectivity with the language network, providing evidence that innate connectivity instructs the later refinement of cortex.

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The Relationship between Intrinsic Couplings of the Visual Word Form Area with Spoken Language Network and Reading Ability in Children and Adults

Frontiers in Human Neuroscience ◽

10.3389/fnhum.2017.00327 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 11 ◽

Author(s):

Yu Li ◽

Linjun Zhang ◽

Zhichao Xia ◽

Jie Yang ◽

Hua Shu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Reading Ability ◽

Spoken Language ◽

Visual Word ◽

Word Form ◽

Visual Word Form Area ◽

The Relationship ◽

Language Network

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Innate connectivity patterns drive the development of the visual word form area

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-020-75015-7 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Jin Li ◽

David E. Osher ◽

Heather A. Hansen ◽

Zeynep M. Saygin

Keyword(s):

Functional Connectivity ◽

Functional Organization ◽

Visual Word ◽

Word Form ◽

Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽

Visual Word Form Area ◽

Human Connectome Project ◽

Connectivity Patterns ◽

Set Up ◽

Language Network

Abstract What determines the functional organization of cortex? One hypothesis is that innate connectivity patterns, either structural or functional connectivity, set up a scaffold upon which functional specialization can later take place. We tested this hypothesis by asking whether the visual word form area (VWFA), an experience-driven region, was already functionally connected to proto language networks in neonates scanned within one week of birth. Using the data from the Human Connectone Project (HCP) and the Developing Human Connectome Project (dHCP), we calculated intrinsic functional connectivity during resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and found that neonates showed similar functional connectivity patterns to adults. We observed that (1) language regions connected more strongly with the putative VWFA than other adjacent ventral visual regions that also show foveal bias, and (2) the VWFA connected more strongly with frontotemporal language regions than with regions adjacent to these language regions. These data suggest that the location of the VWFA is earmarked at birth due to its connectivity with the language network, providing evidence that innate connectivity instructs the later refinement of cortex.

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Intact reading ability in spite of a spatially distributed visual word form 'area' in an individual born without the left superior temporal lobe

10.1101/2021.09.15.460550 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Jin Li ◽

Evelina Fedorenko ◽

Zeynep M. Saygin

Keyword(s):

Temporal Lobe ◽

Reading Ability ◽

Temporal Cortex ◽

Past Research ◽

Visual Word ◽

Word Form ◽

Visual Words ◽

Visual Word Form Area ◽

Ventral Temporal Cortex ◽

Language Network

The visual word form area (VWFA) is an experience-dependent brain region in the left ventral temporal cortex of literate adults that responds selectively to visual words. Why does it emerge in this stereotyped location? Past research has shown that the VWFA is preferentially connected to the left-lateralized frontotemporal language network. However, it remains unclear whether the presence of a typical language network and its connections with ventral temporal cortex (VTC) are critical for the VWFA's emergence, and whether alternative functional architectures may support reading ability. We explored these questions in an individual (EG) born without the left superior temporal lobe but exhibiting normal reading ability. Using fMRI, we recorded brain activation to visual words, objects, faces, and scrambled words in EG and neurotypical controls. We did not observe word selectivity either in EG's right homotope of the VWFA (rVWFA)—the most expected location given that EG's language network is right-lateralized—or in her spared left VWFA (lVWFA), in the presence of typical face selectivity in both the right and left fusiform face area (rFFA, lFFA). Interestingly, multivariate pattern analyses revealed voxels in EG's rVWFA and lVWFA that showed 1) higher within- than between- category correlations for words (e.g., Words-Words>Words-Faces), and 2) higher within-category correlations for words than other categories (e.g., Words-Words>Faces-Faces). These results suggest that a typical left-hemisphere language network may be necessary for the emergence of focal word selectivity within ventral temporal cortex, and that orthographic processing may depend on a distributed neural code, which appears capable of supporting reading ability.

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The visual word form area (VWFA) is part of both language and attention circuitry

Nature Communications ◽

10.1038/s41467-019-13634-z ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Lang Chen ◽

Demian Wassermann ◽

Daniel A. Abrams ◽

John Kochalka ◽

Guillermo Gallardo-Diez ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Spatial Attention ◽

Visual Processing ◽

Structural Connectivity ◽

Visual Word ◽

Word Form ◽

Imaging Data ◽

Brain Organization ◽

General Role ◽

Visual Word Form Area ◽

Human Connectome Project

AbstractWhile predominant models of visual word form area (VWFA) function argue for its specific role in decoding written language, other accounts propose a more general role of VWFA in complex visual processing. However, a comprehensive examination of structural and functional VWFA circuits and their relationship to behavior has been missing. Here, using high-resolution multimodal imaging data from a large Human Connectome Project cohort (N = 313), we demonstrate robust patterns of VWFA connectivity with both canonical language and attentional networks. Brain-behavior relationships revealed a striking pattern of double dissociation: structural connectivity of VWFA with lateral temporal language network predicted language, but not visuo-spatial attention abilities, while VWFA connectivity with dorsal fronto-parietal attention network predicted visuo-spatial attention, but not language abilities. Our findings support a multiplex model of VWFA function characterized by distinct circuits for integrating language and attention, and point to connectivity-constrained cognition as a key principle of human brain organization.

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