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拼写和语音变量以及支持阅读的神经基质的理解。然而，核心理论问题仍未解决。例如，左梭状皮质中的一个特定区域，称为视觉词形区（VWFA），与正字法处理密切相关。总的来说，目前的研究结果表明，该地区是一个核心-甚至可能是强制性的-路径的一部分，通过该路径，书面文字的感知分析最终提供了流畅的语音和意义的表征。在这个提议中，我们考虑了另一种可能性：也就是说，右侧梭状皮质可以提供另一条途径，通过这条途径，印刷品可以进入语言系统。我们将检验这一假设的影响，文化（目标1），个人（目标2），和正字法（目标3）的差异的幅度，时间过程中，和功能连接的右，左梭状皮质。我们将把梭状回活动与阅读技能的测量以及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：这项研究的总体目标是确定正确的梭状回是否可以提供进入语言系统的替代途径，这是我们对母语为汉语的人的研究结果提出的一种可能性。这个答案将有助于解释视觉词形区的性质以及知觉分析对阅读中语音编码的影响。从长远来看，这个答案也可能具有重要的临床意义：如果右梭状回可以独立于左梭状回支持阅读（即，VWFA），那么就有可能设计新的方法来治疗患有获得性或发育性VWFA功能障碍的个体。

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.