Neural correlates of priming effects in children during spoken word processing with orthographic demands.

Priming effects were examined in 40 children (9-15 years old) using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). An orthographic judgment task required participants to determine if two sequentially presented spoken words had the same spelling for the rime. Four lexical conditions were designed: similar orthography and phonology (O(+)P(+)), similar orthography but different phonology (O(+)P(-)), similar phonology but different orthography (O(-)P(+)), and different orthography and phonology (O(-)P(-)).