Nora Maria Raschle|Men-Chi Chang|Nadine Gaab
Structural brain alterations associated with dyslexia predate reading onset
Boston Children's Hospital|Boston Children's Hospital|Boston Children's Hospital
functional magnetic resonance imaging studies reported reduced activation parietotemporal occipitotemporal areas adults children developmental dyslexia compared controls reading reading related tasks patterns regionally reduced activation linked behavioral impairments readingrelated processes eg phonological skills rapid automatized naming observed functional behavioral differences individuals developmental dyslexia complemented reports reduced gray matter left parietotemporal occipitotemporal areas fusiform lingual gyrus cerebellum important question education whether neural differences present reading taught developmental dyslexia diagnosed formal reading education starts however investigate whether previously detected gray matter alterations adults children developmental dyslexia already observed small group prereading children familyhistory developmental dyslexia compared age iqmatched children without familyhistory n 20mean age 59 years age range 5165 years voxelbased morphometry revealed significantly reduced gray matter volume indices prereading children compared children without familyhistory developmental dyslexia left occipitotemporal bilateral parietotemporal regions left fusiform gyrus right lingual gyrus gray matter volume indices left hemispheric occipitotemporal parietotemporal regions interest also correlated positively rapid automatized naming differences two groups observed frontal cerebellar regions discovery small group children suggests previously described functional structural alterations developmental dyslexia may due experiencedependent brain changes may present birth develop early childhood prior reading onset studies using larger sample sizes longitudinal analyses needed order determine whether identified structural alterations may utilized structural markers early identification children risk may prevent negative clinical social psychological outcome developmental dyslexia