scholarly journals A Large-Scale Investigation of White Matter Microstructural Associations with Reading Ability

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven L Meisler ◽  
John D.E. Gabrieli
Keyword(s):  
White Matter ◽  
Reading Disabilities ◽  
Reading Ability ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Reading Skills ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Poor Readers ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Data Set

Reading involves the functioning of a widely distributed brain network, and white matter tracts are responsible for sending information between constituent network nodes. Several studies have analyzed fiber bundle microstructural properties to shed insights into the neural basis of reading abilities and disabilities. Findings have been inconsistent, potentially due to small sample sizes and varying methodology. To address this, we analyzed a large data set of 690 children ages 5-18 using state-of-the-art neuroimaging acquisitions and processing techniques. We searched for associations between fractional anisotropy (FA) and single-word and nonword reading skills in both typical and poor readers across multiple tracts previously thought to contribute to reading. Consistent with prior studies, FA increased with age across all tracts. There were significant correlations between better reading skills and higher FA in several fiber bundles among poor readers, but fewer and occasionally negative associations among proficient readers. The left superior longitudinal fasciculus and arcuate fasciculus unexpectedly exhibited higher FA within those diagnosed with reading disabilities compared to those without a diagnosis, while their right-hemisphere homologs exhibited higher FA in those with higher reading scores, regardless of diagnostic status. These results suggest a different relation between white matter pathways in children with typical reading ability versus those with reading disabilities.

The Structural Language Network

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela D. Friederici ◽  
Noam Chomsky
Keyword(s):  
White Matter ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Information Transfer ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Fiber Tracts ◽  
White Matter Fiber Tracts ◽  
The Right

An adequate description of the neural basis of language processing must consider the entire network both with respect to its structural white matter connections and the functional connectivities between the different brain regions as the information has to be sent between different language-related regions distributed across the temporal and frontal cortex. This chapter discusses the white matter fiber bundles that connect the language-relevant regions. The chapter is broken into three sections. In the first, we look at the white matter fiber tracts connecting the language-relevant regions in the frontal and temporal cortices; in the second, the ventral and dorsal pathways in the right hemisphere that connect temporal and frontal regions; and finally in the third, the two syntax-relevant and (at least) one semantic-relevant neuroanatomically-defined networks that sentence processing is based on. From this discussion, it becomes clear that online language processing requires information transfer via the long-range white matter fiber pathways that connect the language-relevant brain regions within each hemisphere and between hemispheres.

Distributed grey and white matter deficits in hyperkinetic disorder: MRI evidence for anatomical abnormality in an attentional network

2001 ◽  
Vol 31 (8) ◽  
pp. 1425-1435 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. OVERMEYER ◽  
E. T. BULLMORE ◽  
J. SUCKLING ◽  
A. SIMMONS ◽  
S. C. R. WILLIAMS ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
White Matter ◽  
Basal Ganglia ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Grey Matter ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Hyperkinetic Disorder ◽  
Normal Children ◽  
Pyramidal Tracts ◽  
Icd 10 ◽  
The Right

Background. Previous neuroimaging studies of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have demonstrated anatomic and functional abnormalities predominantly in frontal and striatal grey matter. Here we report the use of novel image analysis methods, which do not require prior selection of regions of interest, to characterize distributed morphological deficits of both grey and white matter associated with ADHD.Methods. Eighteen children with a refined phenotype of ADHD, who also met ICD-10 criteria for hyperkinetic disorder (mean age 10·4 years), and 16 normal children (mean age 10·3 years) were compared using magnetic resonance imaging. The groups were matched for handedness, sex, height, weight and head circumference. Morphological differences between groups were estimated by fitting a linear model at each voxel in standard space, applying a threshold to the resulting voxel statistic maps to generate clusters of spatially contiguous suprathreshold voxels, and testing cluster ‘mass’, or the sum of suprathreshold voxel statistics in each 2D cluster, by repeated random resampling of the data.Results. The hyperkinetic children had significant grey matter deficits in right superior frontal gyrus (Brodmann area (BA) 8/9), right posterior cingulate gyrus (BA 30) and the basal ganglia bilaterally (especially right globus pallidus and putamen). They also demonstrated significant central white matter deficits in the left hemisphere anterior to the pyramidal tracts and superior to the basal ganglia.Conclusions. This pattern of spatially distributed grey matter deficit in the right hemisphere is compatible with the hypothesis that ADHD is associated with disruption of a large scale neurocognitive network for attention. The left hemispheric white matter deficits may be due to dysmyelination.

scholarly journals Caffeine improves text reading and global perception

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 315-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandro Franceschini ◽  
Matteo Lulli ◽  
Sara Bertoni ◽  
Simone Gori ◽  
Alessandro Angrilli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
Spatial Attention ◽  
Reading Ability ◽  
Reading Skills ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Reading Speed ◽  
Global Processing ◽  
Repeated Measures Design ◽  
Text Reading ◽  
The Right

Background: Reading is a unique human skill. Several brain networks involved in this complex skill mainly involve the left hemisphere language areas. Nevertheless, nonlinguistic networks found in the right hemisphere also seem to be involved in sentence and text reading. These areas do not deal with phonological information, but are involved in verbal and nonverbal pattern information processing. The right hemisphere is responsible for global processing of a scene, which is needed for developing reading skills. Aims: Caffeine seems to affect global pattern processing specifically. Consequently, our aim was to discover if it could enhance text reading skill. Methods: In two mechanistic studies ( n=24 and n=53), we tested several reading skills, global and local perception, alerting, spatial attention and executive functions, as well as rapid automatised naming and phonological memory, using a double-blind, within-subjects, repeated-measures design in typical young adult readers. Results: A single dose of 200 mg caffeine improved global processing, without any effect on local information processing, alerting, spatial attention and executive or phonological functions. This improvement in global processing was accompanied by faster text reading speed of meaningful sentences, whereas single word/pseudoword or pseudoword text reading abilities were not affected. These effects of caffeine on reading ability were enhanced by mild sleep deprivation. Conclusions: These findings show that a small quantity of caffeine could improve global processing and text reading skills in adults.

Manual Communication as an Alternative Mode of Language Instruction for Children with Severe Reading Disabilities

1984 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah Webb Blackburn ◽  
John D. Bonvillian ◽  
Robert P. Ashby
Keyword(s):  
Reading Instruction ◽  
Visual Processing ◽  
Reading Disabilities ◽  
Reading Ability ◽  
Reading Skills ◽  
Current Theory ◽  
Language Instruction ◽  
Communication Training ◽  
Alternative Mode ◽  
Early Results

The development of an effective program to teach reading skills to children with severe reading disabilities is an important area of concern for educators, parents, clinicians, and researchers. Current theory ascribes many reading difficulties to deficits in auditory-visual processing; children often have improved in their reading skills through a structured program of tactile-kinesthetic training. Recently, a few programs for children with severe reading disabilities have begun to include training in manual communication, using one of the sign languages of the deaf or the manual alphabet as the additional processing mode. Early results of these training programs have been encouraging, as some of the students exposed to manual communication training have shown impressive gains in reading and personal behavior. However, these findings are based on very preliminary results with limited populations, and systematic longitudinal studies have not yet been conducted. The present paper presents a critical review of these initial studies, plus the case report of two severely reading-disabled adolescent boys who were given reading instruction with the aid of fingerspelling and sign language. Over the 5-month training period, the two boys demonstrated considerable improvement in reading ability, although their progress probably should not be attributed solely to their manual communication training.

Support Systems for Poor Readers: Empirical Data From Six EU Member States

2010 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 228-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Ise ◽  
Leo Blomert ◽  
Daisy Bertrand ◽  
Luís Faísca ◽  
Anne Puolakanaho ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reading Ability ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Support Systems ◽  
Poor Readers ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Poor Reading ◽  
Member States ◽  
Mainstream Teachers ◽  
Eu Member States

This study surveyed and compared support systems for poor readers in six member states of the European Union (EU). The goal was to identify features of effective support systems. A large-scale questionnaire survey was conducted among mainstream teachers ( n = 4,210) and remedial teachers ( n = 2,395). Results indicate that the six support systems differed substantially, with effective support systems showing high performance on all variables measured. More specifically, effective support systems were characterized by (a) high levels of both teacher and student support and (b) frequent interactions between teachers and remedial teachers as well as between remedial teachers and diagnosticians. The high prevalence of poor reading ability in the current EU member states demonstrates that educational reforms are critically needed. The results of this study provide concrete starting points for improving support systems for poor readers.

Abstract WP98: Characterizing Cerebral Morphometry Changes and Effects of 3K3A-APC in Ischemic Stroke

Stroke ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (Suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew M Padrick ◽  
Ryan Cabeen ◽  
Arthur Toga ◽  
Patrick Lyden ◽  
Keyword(s):  
White Matter ◽  
Feasibility Study ◽  
Treatment Effect ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Grey Matter ◽  
Small Sample Size ◽  
Activated Protein C ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Stroke Treatment ◽  
Cortical Grey Matter

Introduction: Acute stroke treatment trials have long used radiological endpoints of infarct size and hemorrhage burden to quantify treatment effect. Automated imaging pipelines analyzing cerebral morphometry have become more ubiquitous and can provide more comprehensive insight by measuring specific brain compartments. We piloted a feasibility study to integrate these imaging analyses into an established multicenter stroke trial, the NeuroNEXT trial NN104 (RHAPSODY), which investigated the effect of 3K3A-APC, a recombinant variant of activated protein C active at PAR-1. Methods: Using a well-validated Advanced Normalization Tools (ANTs) pipeline and the MindBoggle OASIS-30 Atropos template, gross compartments of hemispheric white matter, cortical grey matter, and subcortical grey matter were calculated from MRIs from participants >7 days post stroke. Fourteen participants treated with placebo were included, and eleven treated with 3K3A-APC. Results: Participants treated with placebo had mean volumes of 220.0mL, 276.5mL, and 21.7mL in ipsilateral cortical grey matter, white matter, and subcortical grey matter, respectively. Participants in the treatment arm had mean volumes of 227.4mL, 243.7mL, and 21.4mL. Discussion: We present a novel application of dynamic cerebral morphometry software that can be implemented in future large scale multi center stroke trials. This study is limited by its small sample size, and while no treatment effect was observed in this feasibility study, we plan to further refine our algorithm to include more heterogenous, clinically acquired imaging protocols, define more specific compartments, and to ultimately correlate with clinical outcomes.

scholarly journals DeGNServer: Deciphering Genome-Scale Gene Networks through High Performance Reverse Engineering Analysis

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Li ◽  
Hairong Wei ◽  
Patrick Xuechun Zhao
Keyword(s):  
Reverse Engineering ◽  
Sample Size ◽  
Gene Networks ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Biological Processes ◽  
Expression Data ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Genome Scale

Analysis of genome-scale gene networks (GNs) using large-scale gene expression data provides unprecedented opportunities to uncover gene interactions and regulatory networks involved in various biological processes and developmental programs, leading to accelerated discovery of novel knowledge of various biological processes, pathways and systems. The widely used context likelihood of relatedness (CLR) method based on the mutual information (MI) for scoring the similarity of gene pairs is one of the accurate methods currently available for inferring GNs. However, the MI-based reverse engineering method can achieve satisfactory performance only when sample size exceeds one hundred. This in turn limits their applications for GN construction from expression data set with small sample size. We developed a high performance web server, DeGNServer, to reverse engineering and decipher genome-scale networks. It extended the CLR method by integration of different correlation methods that are suitable for analyzing data sets ranging from moderate to large scale such as expression profiles with tens to hundreds of microarray hybridizations, and implemented all analysis algorithms using parallel computing techniques to infer gene-gene association at extraordinary speed. In addition, we integrated the SNBuilder and GeNa algorithms for subnetwork extraction and functional module discovery. DeGNServer is publicly and freely available online.

scholarly journals A R-Script for Generating Multiple Sclerosis Lesion Pattern Discrimination Plots

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 90
Author(s):  
Robert Marschallinger ◽  
Carmen Tur ◽  
Hannes Marschallinger ◽  
Johann Sellner
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
White Matter ◽  
Demyelinating Disease ◽  
White Matter Lesions ◽  
Pattern Discrimination ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Multiple Sclerosis Lesion ◽  
Normal Brain ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Lesion Pattern

One significant characteristic of Multiple Sclerosis (MS), a chronic inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system, is the evolution of highly variable patterns of white matter lesions. Based on geostatistical metrics, the MS-Lesion Pattern Discrimination Plot reduces complex three- and four-dimensional configurations of MS-White Matter Lesions to a well-arranged and standardized two-dimensional plot that facilitates follow-up, cross-sectional and medication impact analysis. Here, we present a script that generates the MS-Lesion Pattern Discrimination Plot, using the widespread statistical computing environment R. Input data to the script are Nifti-1 or Analyze-7.5 files with individual MS-White Matter Lesion masks in Montreal Normal Brain geometry. The MS-Lesion Pattern Discrimination Plot, variogram plots and associated fitting statistics are output to the R console and exported to standard graphics and text files. Besides reviewing relevant geostatistical basics and commenting on implementation details for smooth customization and extension, the paper guides through generating MS-Lesion Pattern Discrimination Plots using publicly available synthetic MS-Lesion patterns. The paper is accompanied by the R script LDPgenerator.r, a small sample data set and associated graphics for comparison.

scholarly journals Learning to read increases the informativeness of distributed ventral temporal responses

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marisa Nordt ◽  
Jesse Gomez ◽  
Vaidehi Natu ◽  
Brianna Jeska ◽  
Michael Barnett ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reading Disabilities ◽  
Reading Ability ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Temporal Cortex ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Data Driven ◽  
Learning To Read ◽  
Distributed Information ◽  
Developmental Theories ◽  
Ventral Temporal Cortex

AbstractBecoming a proficient reader requires substantial learning over many years. However, it is unknown how learning to read affects development of distributed visual representations across human ventral temporal cortex (VTC). Using fMRI and a data-driven, computational approach, we quantified the development of distributed VTC responses to characters (pseudowords and numbers) vs. other domains in children, preteens, and adults. Results reveal anatomical- and hemisphere-specific development. With development, distributed responses to words and characters became more distinctive and informative in lateral but not medial VTC, and in the left but not right hemisphere. While development of voxels with both positive (that is, word-selective) and negative preference to words affected distributed information, only development of word-selective voxels predicted reading ability. These data show that developmental increases in informativeness of distributed left lateral VTC responses enable proficient reading and have important implications for both developmental theories and for elucidating neural mechanisms of reading disabilities.

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