A Comparison of the Neuro-developmental Basis of Reading in Two Writing Systems

描述（由申请人提供）：虽然成功的阅读对儿童的教育和社会发展至关重要，但很少有研究探索阅读的神经表征及其在发展早期的认知和感觉技能。我们提出了一项为期3年的纵向研究，使用功能磁共振成像结合一系列心理教育评估来研究典型发展的单语英语使用者从一年级到二年级到三年级阅读习得的功能神经解剖学。在英语读者中，我们预测左梭状回、颞上回和额下回的活动会随着年龄的变化而变化。由于字母和符号书写系统对语音、正字法、形态和语义过程提出了不同的要求，这种比较将使我们能够确定普遍的阅读神经基础，以及每种书写系统特有的大脑活动。成人数据表明，汉字加工对双侧梭状回和左侧额中回的要求更高，而对左侧颞上回的要求则不像英语学习者那样高。为了检验这些差异，两国将采用可比较的实验方法来评估各种与阅读相关的行为和有助于这些技能的大脑活动。阅读增长的神经关联将通过涉及单词阅读和感觉运动技能的任务进行评估。在这些范式中测量的任务相关活动将分别使用组内和组间分析来评估发展和正字法的影响，以及它们之间的相互作用。任务相关活动与行为测量表现之间的相关性，特别是单词识别和快速命名之间的相关性，将进一步帮助描述在这些不同的书写系统中支持阅读的技能的神经相关性。结果将为比较无序阅读提供规范性数据。这项工作将为不同书写系统中正常阅读发展的神经相关性提供新的见解，因为这些对阅读发展障碍的研究至关重要。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Although successful reading is critical to the educational and social development of children, few studies have explored the neural representation of reading and its constituent cognitive and sensory skills during the early stages of development. We propose a 3-year longitudinal study using fMRI in conjunction with a battery of psychoeducational assessments to investigate the functional neuroanatomy of reading acquisition in typically developing monolingual English speakers from the 1st to 2nd and on to the 3rd grade. In readers of English we predict left fusiform, superior temporal, and inferior frontal gyri activity to be modulated by age. In addition, we will make direct comparisons between these English speakers and monolingual Mandarin Chinese speakers in mainland China at these three time points, to examine the effects of orthography on the brain areas involved in reading acquisition. As alphabetic and logographic writing systems place different demands on phonological, orthographic, morphological and semantic processes, such comparisons will allow us to identify the neural basis of reading that is universal, as well as brain activity specific to each writing system. Adult data suggest that Chinese character processing makes greater demands on bilateral fusiform and left middle frontal gyri, but does not engage left superior temporal gyrus as is typically reported in English speakers. To test for these differences, comparable experimental approaches will be employed in both countries to assess a variety of reading-related behaviors and brain activity subserving these skills. Neural correlates of reading growth will be assessed using tasks that involve word reading and sensorimotor skills. Task-related activity measured during these paradigms will be evaluated using within- and between-group analyses to evaluate the effect of development and orthography, respectively, as well as their interactions. Correlations between task-related activity and performance on behavioral measures, particularly word recognition and rapid naming, will further help delineate the neural correlates of skills that support reading in these different writing systems. The result will provide normative data by which to compare disordered reading. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE This work will provide novel insight into the neural correlates of normal reading development in different writing systems, as these are essential to the investigation of disorders of reading development.