DEVELOPMENT OF SKILLED READING: FMRI STUDIES

描述（由申请人提供）：本提案侧重于在阅读技能的发展性习得中必须磨练的正字法和语音过程的神经基质。这些过程的变化随着年轻读者获得书面文字的经验而出现。在行为上，成人表现出处理优势（即增加的速度和/或准确性），在儿童中不太明显，对于视觉上类似的字母物体的字母，以及对于法律的字母串，非字母串或非法字母串。这种处理优势表明，增加经验使读者能够提取有关形成字母和单词的视觉特征的特定正字法信息。大量的证据表明，语音加工为阅读的发展提供了重要的支持，而且语音加工与正字法加工的相互作用随着技能的发展而变化。关于阅读技能的发展性习得如何与大脑中假定的正字法和语音处理区域相关的信息，应该为理解典型（和非典型）阅读发展提供重要的神经生物学基础，并为更有针对性的未来教育和补救策略提供信息。第一个特定目标验证了大脑视觉处理区域随着阅读技能的发展而呈现出越来越专业化的假设。第二个具体的目标测试的假设，即伴随着增加阅读技能和正字法专业化来减少对语音加工机制的依赖。第三个具体目标是使用功能连接MRI和图论分析来表征成人和儿童之间阅读网络的发展差异。其他拟定分析包括纵向部分，其中一组受试者在5年内重复扫描，使用多变量方法探索个体差异，将阅读/认知技能的稳定测量与成像和扫描仪内性能参数相结合，并探索发育性别差异。公共卫生相关性：本研究的重点是在阅读技能的发展性习得过程中必须磨练的正字法和语音过程的神经基础。关于阅读技能的发展性习得如何与大脑中假定的正字法和语音处理区域相关的信息应该为理解典型（和非典型）阅读发展提供重要的神经生物学基础，并且这些基础知识可以用于告知更有针对性的未来教育和补救策略。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This proposal focuses on neural substrates of orthographic and phonological processes that must be honed in the developmental acquisition of reading skill. Changes in these processes emerge through development as a young reader gains experience with written words. Behaviorally, adults show processing advantages (i.e. increased speed and/or accuracy), less evident in children, for letters over visually similar letter-like objects, and for legal letter strings over non-letter strings or illegal letter strings. This processing advantage suggests that increasing experience enables a reader to extract specific, orthographic information about the visual features that form letters and words. In concert, extensive evidence suggests that phonological processing provides important support for reading development, and that its interplay with orthographic processes varies as skill develops. Information about how the developmental acquisition of reading expertise relates to putative orthographic and phonological processing regions in the brain should provide an important neurobiological foundation for understanding typical (and atypical) reading development, and inform more targeted future education and remediation strategies. The first specific aim tests the hypothesis that visual processing regions of the brain will show increasing specialization with the developmental acquisition of reading skill. The second specific aim tests the hypothesis that concomitant with increasing reading skill and orthographic specialization comes decreasing reliance on phonological processing mechanisms. The third specific aim uses functional connectivity MRI and graph theory analysis to characterize developmental differences in reading networks between adults and children. Additional proposed analyses include a longitudinal component where a cohort of subjects have repeated scans over a five year period, exploration of individual differences using a multivariate approach combining stable measures of reading/cognitive skill with imaging and in-scanner performance parameters, and an exploration of developmental sex differences. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: This proposal focuses on neural substrates of orthographic and phonological processes that must be honed in the developmental acquisition of reading skill. Information about how the developmental acquisition of reading expertise relates to putative orthographic and phonological processing regions in the brain should provide an important neurobiological foundation for understanding typical (and atypical) reading development, and this basic knowledge can be used to inform more targeted future education and remediation strategies.