Investigations of neural networks associated with basic reading processes

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Expressing oneself through writing (e.g., email, texting, Facebook, etc.) has become a vital skill in today's society. The experiments to be tested in this grant are designed to advance our knowledge of how the brain is wired to support reading. Strong evidence has been provided to show which brain regions are involved/active during reading. Rather less work has been done to show how the brain regions are linked to other brain regions during reading. Thus, the first goal of the proposal is to get answers to the following questions, "what does the overall brain network look like when people read?" and "how strong are the links between the brain regions while someone reads?". People will read several types of words (e.g., pint vs. bint) while they have their brains scanned. The results will provide us with knowledge about the dynamic nature of the reading network. Next, we know that brain regions talk' to each other through underlying connections (e.g., white matter pathways). So, our second goal is to get answers to the following questions, "how do the pathways relate to speed and accuracy of reading behaviour?" and "how are the pathways related to brain activity that is measured while a person reads?". To address this question, we will measure brain structure (e.g., white matter) and assess structure-behaviour relationships and structure-function relationships. Together, these results will advance our understanding of brain-behaviour relationships in the context of reading. Finally, while reading is quite automatic for most adults, we do not know the extent to which reading skills can overcome, or be impervious, to disruptions. As such, our third goal is to address whether the application of a non-invasive brain stimulation technique temporally disrupts brain regions known to be important for successful reading. To do this, we will scan peoples brains while they read several types of words. We will then take them to a side room and to apply non-invasive stimulation through the scalp for 15 minutes. We will then scan their brains again.The findings from this study will provide us with much needed knowledge around the role that specific brain regions play in reading and to what extent they are necessary for and/or contribute to successful reading. Overall, the results from each of these short term goals are important for researchers, educators, and parents alike as reading skills are necessary to function in today's society where written communication is the primary mode of interaction. Understanding how the brain supports reading would be a major contribution to areas of research focused on literacy, written communication, educational instruction of reading and the various difficulties that arise when impairments in such skills are encountered. Given that literacy skills are requisite to successful communication in many social, academic and occupational contexts the current work is timely and valuable.