Language learning in the context of a global pandemic: proximal and distal factors matter.

Background: Public health measures implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally altered the socioecological context in which children were developing.

Methods: Using Bronfenbrenner's socioecological theory, we investigate language acquisition among 2-year-old children (n = 4037) born during the pandemic. We focus on "late talkers", defined as children below the 10th percentile on the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories-III.

Structural neural connectivity correlates with pre-reading abilities in preschool children.

Pre-reading abilities are predictive of later reading ability and can be assessed before reading begins. However, the neural correlates of pre-reading abilities in young children are not fully understood. To address this, we examined 246 datasets collected in an accelerated longitudinal design from 81 children aged 2-6 years (age = 4.

Changes in brain metabolite levels across childhood.

Metabolites play important roles in brain development and their levels change rapidly in the prenatal period and during infancy. Metabolite levels are thought to stabilize during childhood, but the development of neurochemistry across early-middle childhood remains understudied. We examined the developmental changes of key metabolites (total N-acetylaspartate, tNAA; total choline, tCho; total creatine, tCr; glutamate+glutamine, Glx; and myo-inositol, mI) using short echo-time magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the left temporo-parietal cortex (LTP) using a mixed cross-sectional/longitudinal design in children aged 2-11 years (ACC: N = 101 children, 112 observations; LTP: N = 95 children, 318 observations).

Reading intervention and neuroplasticity: A systematic review and meta-analysis of brain changes associated with reading intervention.

Behavioral research supports the efficacy of intervention for reading disability, but the brain mechanisms underlying improvement in reading are not well understood. Here, we review 39 neuroimaging studies of reading intervention to characterize links between reading improvement and changes in the brain. We report evidence of changes in activation, connectivity, and structure within the reading network, and right hemisphere, frontal and sub-cortical regions.

Widespread effects of dMRI data quality on diffusion measures in children.

Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) datasets are susceptible to several confounding factors related to data quality, which is especially true in studies involving young children. With the recent trend of large-scale multicenter studies, it is more critical to be aware of the varied impacts of data quality on measures of interest. Here, we investigated data quality and its effect on different diffusion measures using a multicenter dataset.

Neurite density and arborization is associated with reading skill and phonological processing in children.

Background: Studies exploring neuroanatomic correlates of reading have associated white matter tissue properties with reading disability and related componential skills (e.g., phonological and single-word reading skills).

From BDNF to reading: Neural activation and phonological processing as multiple mediators.

The BDNF gene is a prominent promoter of neuronal development, maturation and plasticity. Its ValMet polymorphism affects brain morphology and function within several areas and is associated with several cognitive functions and neurodevelopmental disorder susceptibility. Recently, it has been associated with reading, reading-related traits and altered neural activation in reading-related brain regions.

Gray Matter Structure Is Associated with Reading Skill in Typically Developing Young Readers.

Research using functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging has identified areas of reduced brain activation and gray matter volume in children and adults with reading disability, but associations between cortical structure and individual differences in reading in typically developing children remain underexplored. Furthermore, the majority of research linking gray matter structure to reading ability quantifies gray matter in terms of volume, and cannot specify unique contributions of cortical surface area and thickness to these relationships. Here, we applied a continuous analytic approach to investigate associations between distinct surface-based properties of cortical structure and individual differences in reading-related skills in a sample of typically developing young children.

Putative protective neural mechanisms in prereaders with a family history of dyslexia who subsequently develop typical reading skills.

Developmental dyslexia affects 40-60% of children with a familial risk (FHD+) compared to a general prevalence of 5-10%. Despite the increased risk, about half of FHD+ children develop typical reading abilities (FHD+Typical). Yet the underlying neural characteristics of favorable reading outcomes in at-risk children remain unknown.

Neuroimaging genetics studies of specific reading disability and developmental language disorder: A review.

Developmental disorders of spoken and written language are heterogeneous in nature with impairments observed across various linguistic, cognitive, and sensorimotor domains. These disorders are also associated with characteristic patterns of atypical neural structure and function that are observable early in development, often before formal schooling begins. Established patterns of heritability point toward genetic contributions, and molecular genetics approaches have identified genes that play a role in these disorders.

Neural correlates of phonological processing: Disrupted in children with dyslexia and enhanced in musically trained children.

Phonological processing has been postulated as a core area of deficit among children with dyslexia. Reduced brain activation during phonological processing in children with dyslexia has been observed in left-hemispheric temporoparietal regions. Musical training has shown positive associations with phonological processing abilities, but the neural mechanisms underlying this relationship remain unspecified.

Common variation within the SETBP1 gene is associated with reading-related skills and patterns of functional neural activation.

Epidemiological population studies highlight the presence of substantial individual variability in reading skill, with approximately 5-10% of individuals characterized as having specific reading disability (SRD). Despite reported substantial heritability, typical for a complex trait, the specifics of the connections between reading and the genome are not understood. Recently, the SETBP1 gene has been implicated in several complex neurodevelopmental syndromes and disorders that impact language.

Emergence of the neural network underlying phonological processing from the prereading to the emergent reading stage: A longitudinal study.

Numerous studies have shown that phonological skills are critical for successful reading acquisition. However, how the brain network supporting phonological processing evolves and how it supports the initial course of learning to read is largely unknown. Here, for the first time, we characterized the emergence of the phonological network in 28 children over three stages (prereading, beginning reading, and emergent reading) longitudinally.