Reading and the Right Fusiform

描述（由申请人提供）：多年的跨学科研究大大提高了我们对阅读教学的最佳方法，与单词识别相互作用的正字法和语音变量以及支持阅读的神经基质的理解。然而，核心理论问题仍未得到解决。例如，在左梭状皮层的一个特定区域，被称为视觉单词形成区（VWFA），与正字法处理密切相关。总的来说，目前的研究结果表明，该区域是一个核心——甚至可能是必不可少的——途径的一部分，通过这个途径，对书面文字的感知分析最终提供了流畅的音韵和意义表征。在这个提议中，我们考虑了另一种可能性：即，右梭状皮质可以提供另一种途径，通过该途径，打印可以进入语言系统。我们将通过检验文化差异（目标1）、个体差异（目标2）和正字法差异（目标3）对左右梭状皮质的大小、时间过程和功能连通性的影响来检验这一假设。我们将把梭状回活动与阅读技能的测量和不同类型的正字法分析的行为标记联系起来。研究结果将为关于VWFA的理论争论提供信息，并可能为治疗获得性和发展性阅读障碍提供新的方法。公共卫生相关性：本研究的首要目标是确定正确的梭状回是否可以提供进入语言系统的另一种途径，我们在母语为汉语的人的研究中提出了这种可能性。这个问题的答案将阐明目前关于视觉词形区（VWFA）的本质和阅读过程中感知分析对语音编码的影响的争论。从长远来看，答案也可能具有重要的临床意义：如果右侧梭状回能够独立于左侧梭状回支持阅读（即VWFA），那么就有可能设计出治疗VWFA获得性或发展性功能障碍个体的新方法。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Years of interdisciplinary research have significantly advanced our understanding of optimal methods for reading instruction, orthographic and phonological variables that interact with word identification, and the neural substrates that support reading. However, core theoretical issues remain unresolved. For instance, a specific region in the left fusiform cortex, termed the Visual Word Form Area (VWFA), has been strongly implicated in orthographic processing. Overall, the current findings suggest the region is a core - perhaps even obligatory -- part of the pathway by which the perceptual analysis of written words ultimately provides fluent access to representations of phonology and meaning. In this proposal, we consider an alternative possibility: namely, that the right fusiform cortex can provide an alternative route through which print can gain access to the language system. We will test this hypothesis by examining the effect of cultural (Aim 1), individual (Aim 2), and orthographic (Aim 3) differences on the magnitude, time course, and functional connectivity of the right and left fusiform cortex. We will relate fusiform activity to measures of reading skill, and to behavioral markers for different types of orthographic analysis. The results should inform the theoretical debate about the VWFA, and they may lead to new approaches for the treatment of acquired and developmental reading disorders. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The overarching goal of the proposed research is to determine whether the right fusiform can provide an alternative route into the language system, a possibility that is raised by our findings with native Chinese speakers. The answer will shed light on the ongoing debate about the nature of the Visual Word Form Area (VWFA) and the impact of perceptual analysis upon phonological coding during reading. Longer term, the answer may also have important clinical implications: if the right fusiform can support reading independently from the left fusiform (i.e., VWFA), then it may be possible to design new approaches to the treatment of individuals with acquired or developmental dysfunction of the VWFA.