scholarly journals White matter in infancy is prospectively associated with language outcome in kindergarten

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Zuk ◽  
Xi Yu ◽  
Joseph Sanfilippo ◽  
Michael Joseph Figuccio ◽  
Jade Dunstan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
White Matter ◽  
Phonological Awareness ◽  
Home Literacy Environment ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
After School ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Language Abilities ◽  
Literacy Environment ◽  
Language Outcome

AbstractLanguage acquisition is of central importance to a child’s development. Although the trajectory of acquisition is shaped by input and experience postnatally, the neural basis for language emerges prenatally. Thus a fundamental question remains unexamined: to what extent may the structural foundations for language established in infancy predict long-term language abilities? In this longitudinal neuroimaging investigation of children from infancy to kindergarten, we find that white matter organization in infancy is prospectively associated with subsequent language abilities, specifically between: (i) the left arcuate fasciculus in infancy and subsequent phonological awareness and vocabulary knowledge, and (ii) the left corticospinal tract in infancy and phonological awareness and phonological memory in kindergarten. Results are independent of age and home literacy environment. These findings directly link white matter organization in infancy with language abilities after school entry, and suggest that structural organization in infancy sets an important foundation for subsequent language development.

Home literacy environment and phonological awareness in preschool children: Differential effects for rhyme and phoneme awareness

2003 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
JUDITH G. FOY ◽  
VIRGINIA MANN
Keyword(s):  
Phonological Awareness ◽  
Reading Ability ◽  
Home Literacy Environment ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Home Literacy ◽  
Phoneme Awareness ◽  
Letter Knowledge ◽  
Literacy Environment ◽  
Phonological Representations ◽  
Active Involvement

The literature to date suggests that the best predictor of early reading ability, phonological awareness, appears to be associated with the acquisition of letter-sound and vocabulary knowledge and with the development of well-defined phonological representations. It further suggests that at least some aspects of phonological awareness critically depend upon literacy exposure. In this study of 4- to 6-year-olds, we examine whether aspects of the home literacy environment are differentially associated with phonological awareness. Parental responses to a questionnaire about the home literacy environment are compared to children's awareness of rhyme and phonemes, as well as to their vocabulary, letter knowledge, and performance on measures of phonological strength (nonword repetition, rapid naming skill, phonological distinctness, and auditory discrimination). The results showed that a teaching focus in the home literacy environment and exposure to reading-related media are directly associated with phoneme awareness and indirectly associated via letter knowledge and vocabulary. Exposure to reading-related media and parents' active involvement in children's literature were also directly and indirectly linked with rhyme awareness skills via their association with letter and vocabulary knowledge.

scholarly journals Acute Diffusivity Biomarkers for Prediction of Motor and Language Outcome in Mild-to-Severe Stroke Patients

Stroke ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (8) ◽  
pp. 2050-2056 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Moulton ◽  
Serena Magno ◽  
Romain Valabregue ◽  
Melika Amor-Sahli ◽  
Christine Pires ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
White Matter ◽  
Corticospinal Tract ◽  
Diffusion Tensor ◽  
Arcuate Fasciculus ◽  
Stroke Patients ◽  
Term Outcome ◽  
Long Term Outcome ◽  
Severe Stroke ◽  
Language Outcome

Background and Purpose— Early severity of stroke symptoms—especially in mild-to-severe stroke patients—are imperfect predictors of long-term motor and aphasia outcome. Motor function and language processing heavily rely on the preservation of important white matter fasciculi in the brain. Axial diffusivity (AD) from the diffusion tensor imaging model has repeatedly shown to accurately reflect acute axonal damage and is thus optimal to probe the integrity of important white matter bundles and their relationship with long-term outcome. Our aim was to investigate the independent prognostic value of the AD of white matter tracts in the motor and language network evaluated at 24 hours poststroke for motor and aphasia outcome at 3 months poststroke. Methods— Seventeen (motor cohort) and 28 (aphasia cohort) thrombolyzed patients with initial mild-to-severe stroke underwent a diffusion tensor imaging sequence at 24 hours poststroke. Motor and language outcome were evaluated at 3 months poststroke with a composite motor score and the aphasia handicap scale. We first used stepwise regression to determine which classic (age, initial motor or aphasia severity, and lesion volume) and imaging (ratio of affected/unaffected AD of motor and language fasciculi) factors were related to outcome. Second, to determine the specificity of our a priori choices of fasciculi, we performed voxel-based analyses to determine if the same, additional, or altogether new regions were associated with long-term outcome. Results— The ratio of AD in the corticospinal tract was the sole predictor of long-term motor outcome, and the ratio of AD in the arcuate fasciculus—along with age and initial aphasia severity—was an independent predictor of 3-month aphasia outcome. White matter regions overlapping with these fasciculi naturally emerged in the corresponding voxel-based analyses. Conclusions— AD of the corticospinal tract and arcuate fasciculus are effective biomarkers of long-term motor and aphasia outcome, respectively.

Intervention in the home literacy environment and kindergarten children’s vocabulary and phonological awareness

2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 433-452 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Niklas ◽  
Wolfgang Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Phonological Awareness ◽  
Intervention Group ◽  
Home Literacy Environment ◽  
Home Literacy ◽  
Dialogic Reading ◽  
Literacy Environment ◽  
Intensive Intervention ◽  
German Children ◽  
Reading Session ◽  
Intervention Procedure

Children develop linguistic competencies during interactions with more knowledgeable others. Consequently, one way to support this development is by enhancing the home literacy environment (HLE) in which children live. In this study a non-intensive intervention procedure was developed to improve HLE and linguistic competencies of 125 German children (mean age at time 1 [t1; beginning of the study]: 5;5 years) in their last year of kindergarten. Parents were offered to participate in one evening meeting and in an individual dialogic reading session. HLE and children’s linguistic competencies were assessed before and twice after the intervention. Families in the complete intervention group did not differ from other families in any of the study variables at the beginning of the study. However, they significantly improved their HLE, and children in these families showed greater development in phonological awareness when compared with the other families. Results indicate that less intensive interventions can have long-lasting effects on HLE and children’s development.

scholarly journals Home literacy environment mediates the relationship between socioeconomic status and white matter structure in infants

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ted K Turesky ◽  
Joseph Sanfilippo ◽  
Jennifer Zuk ◽  
Banu Ahtam ◽  
Borjan Gagoski ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
White Matter ◽  
Reading Ability ◽  
Maternal Education ◽  
Brain Plasticity ◽  
Home Literacy Environment ◽  
Home Literacy ◽  
Literacy Skill ◽  
Literacy Environment ◽  
Literacy Skill Development

The home literacy environment (HLE) in infancy has been associated with subsequent pre-literacy skill development and HLE at pre-school age has been shown to correlate with white matter organization in tracts that subserve pre-reading and reading skills. Furthermore, childhood socioeconomic status (SES) has been linked with both HLE and white matter organization. It is also important to understand whether the relationships between environmental factors such as HLE and SES and white matter organization can be detected as early as infancy, as this period is characterized by rapid brain development that may make white matter pathways particularly susceptible to these early experiences. Here, we hypothesized (1) an association between HLE and white matter organization in pre-reading and reading-related tracts in infants, and (2) that this association mediates a link between SES and white matter organization. To test these hypotheses, infants (mean age: 9.2 +/- 2.5 months, N = 18) underwent diffusion-weighted imaging MRI during natural sleep. Fractional anisotropy (FA) was estimated from the left superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF) and left arcuate fasciculus using the automated fiber-tract quantification method. HLE was measured with the Reading subscale of the StimQ and SES was measured with years of maternal education. Self-reported maternal reading ability was also quantified and applied to all statistical models to control for confounding genetic effects. The Reading subscale of the StimQ positively related to FA in left SLF and mediated the association between maternal education and FA in the left SLF. Taken together, these findings underscore the importance of considering HLE from the start of life and may inform novel prevention and intervention strategies targeted at low-SES families to support developing infants during a period of heightened brain plasticity.

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