How nature and nurture shape the reading brain

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Background My research seeks to understand the cognitive and neural bases of reading ability, focusing on how biology combines with experience to shape how humans use written language. The science of reading provides excellent models of skilled reading and development, and we have also made great strides in understanding how these are linked to brain organization and development. However, this knowledge is largely based on an idealized view of skilled readers. The proposed research will take this to the next level by capturing important ways in which reading mechanisms vary across individuals and languages. I argue that our reading system is shaped by biological constraints on how sensorineural systems acquire and process audio-visual information, but also by differences in the design of languages' writing systems, and by individual differences in the use of holistic and analytic pathways for translating print to sound. I am proposing a research program that will test the neurocognitive bases of written language recognition across a breadth of human experiences, with the goal of arriving at a more inclusive model of reading and the brain. Proposed Research Using a combination of behavioural and neuroimaging techniques, my lab members and I will address three objectives: 1) to examine how readers maintain different types of neural codes for written language within different brain regions; 2) how these different systems are coordinated as children learn to read; and 3) how these patterns differ across languages, and in bilingual readers. Adults and children will be assessed on behavioural measures of reading and spoken language abilities that are designed to isolate cognitive sub-components of reading. We will use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to identify brain regions supporting reading, and subsequently decode patterns of neural activity using representational similarity analysis (RSA). This will allow us to carefully probe how elements of cognition are coded in neuroanatomy. Elsewhere, electroencephalography (EEG) will be used to measure event-related potentials (ERPs) that index reading sub-processes in real time. Of interest is the extent to which the nature of these codes differ in early versus expert readers. Similarly, these approaches allow us to determine how cross-linguistic differences and bilingualism influence cognitive and neural patterns for reading. Impact This research will provide badly needed insights into the cognitive and neural processes involved in reading during development and adulthood, and how these are reflected in different types of neural signals. Such insights will lead to more inclusive theories of this uniquely human skill. The results will also have important implications for understanding the trajectory of reading development, optimizing reading instruction, and isolating the underlying causes of reading disorders.