Diana López-Barroso|Michel Thiebaut de Schotten|José Morais|Régine Kolinsky|Lúcia Willadino Braga|Alexandre Guerreiro-Tauil|Stanislas Dehaene|Laurent D. Cohen
Impact of literacy on the functional connectivity of vision and language related networks
Allen Institute for Brain Science|Institut du Cerveau|Universidad de Málaga|Allen Institute for Brain Science|Institut du Cerveau|Neurodegeneratives Diseases Institute|Université Libre de Bruxelles|Université Libre de Bruxelles|Sarah Network of Rehabilitation Hospitals|Sarah Network of Rehabilitation Hospitals|Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies Commission|Collège de France|Frédéric Joliot Institute for Life Sciences|Allen Institute for Brain Science|Institut du Cerveau|Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital|Sorbonne Université
learning read leads functional structural changes cortical brain areas related vision language previous evidence suggests visual word form area vwfa region devoted recognition letter strings literate persons acts interface systems different studies performed univariate analyses study effects literacy brain function little known impact whole functional networks especially literacy acquired adulthood investigated functional connectivity three groups adults different literacy status illiterates exilliterates ie learned read adulthood literates ie learned read childhood used datadriven multivariate whole brain approach independent component analysis ica combined region interest roi analysis order explore functional connectivity vwfa four ica networks related vision language functions ica allowed identification four networks interest left frontoparietal auditory medial visual lateral visual functional networks plus control right frontoparietal network explored effects literacy connectivity vwfa networks trying furthermore disentangle roles reading proficiency age acquisition ie literacy status changes results showed functional connectivity vwfa left frontoparietal lateral visual networks increased decreased respectively literacy moreover functional coupling vwfa auditory network decreased literacy study provides novel insights mechanisms reading acquisition brain plasticity putting light emergence vwfa bridge language vision studies required characterize interplay proficiency age reading acquisition relevance models brain plasticity across lifespan