Resting-state functional connectivity and reading subskills in children.

Individual differences in reading ability have been linked to characteristics of functional connectivity in the brain in both children and adults. However, many previous studies have used single or composite measures of reading, leading to difficulty characterizing the role of functional connectivity in discrete subskills of reading. The present study addresses this issue using resting-state fMRI to examine how resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) related to individual differences in children's reading subskills, including decoding, sight word reading, reading comprehension, and rapid automatized naming (RAN). Findings showed both positive and negative RSFC-behaviour relationships that diverged across different reading subskills. Positive relationships included increasing RSFC among left dorsal and anterior regions with increasing decoding proficiency, and increasing RSFC between the left thalamus and right fusiform gyrus with increasing sight word reading, RAN, and reading comprehension abilities. In contrast, negative relationships suggested greater functional segregation of attentional and reading networks with improved performance on RAN, decoding, and reading comprehension tasks. Importantly, the results suggest that although reading subskills rely to some extent on shared functional networks, there are also distinct functional connections supporting different components of reading ability in children.

White matter correlates of reading subskills in children with and without reading disability.

Individual differences in reading ability are associated with characteristics of white matter microstructure in the brain. However, previous studies have largely measured reading as a single construct, resulting in difficulty characterizing the role of structural connectivity in discrete subskills of reading. The present study used diffusion tensor imaging to examine how white matter microstructure, measured by fractional anisotropy (FA), relates to individual differences in reading subskills in children aged 8 to 14 (n = 65). Findings showed positive correlations between FA of the left arcuate fasciculus and measures of single word reading and rapid naming abilities. Negative correlations were observed between FA of the right inferior longitudinal fasciculus and bilateral uncinate fasciculi, and reading subskills, particularly reading comprehension. The results suggest that although reading subskills rely to some extent on shared tracts, there are also distinct characteristics of white matter microstructure supporting different components of reading ability in children.

Rich-club structure contributes to individual variance of reading skills via feeder connections in children with reading disabilities.

The present work considers how connectome-wide differences in brain organization might distinguish good and poor readers. The connectome comprises a 'rich-club' organization in which a small number of hub regions play a focal role in assisting global communication across the whole brain. Prior work indicates that this rich-club structure is associated with typical and impaired cognitive function although no work so far has examined how this relates to skilled reading or its disorders. Here we investigated the rich-club structure of brain's white matter connectome and its relationship to reading subskills in 64 children with and without reading disabilities. Among three types of white matter connections, the strength of feeder connections that connect hub and non-hub nodes was significantly correlated with word reading efficiency and phonemic decoding. Phonemic decoding was also positively correlated with connectivity between connectome-wide hubs and nodes within the left-hemisphere reading network, as well as the local efficiency of the reading network. Exploratory analyses also identified sex differences indicating these effects were stronger in girls. This work highlights the independent roles of connectome-wide structure and the more narrowly-defined reading network in understanding the neural bases of skilled and impaired reading in children.

Mathematical Abilities in Children With Developmental Language Disorder.

Purpose This review article provides a scoping review of the literature on mathematical abilities in developmental language disorder (DLD). Children with DLD typically struggle with learning in school; however, the mechanism by which DLD impacts academic success is unclear. Mathematics involves demands in the multiple domains and therefore holds potential for examining the relationship between language and academic performance on tasks mediated by verbal and nonverbal demands. Method A scoping review was performed via computerized database searching to examine literature on mathematics and DLD. The 21 review articles meeting inclusion criteria compared children with typical development or DLD on various tasks measuring numerical cognition. Results Children with DLD consistently performed below peers with typical development on number transcoding, counting, arithmetic, and story problem tasks. However, performance was similar to peers with typical development on most number line, magnitude comparison, and conceptual mathematics tasks. Conclusions The findings suggest a relationship between DLD and mathematics was characterized by more detrimental performance on tasks with higher verbal demands. Results are discussed with respect to typical academic curricula and demonstrate a need for early identification and intervention in DLD to optimize academic outcomes.

Viral coinfections among African children infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1.

City-dwelling children from Kenya who were infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) were tested for coinfection with cytomegalovirus (CMV), human T cell lymphotropic viruses 1 and 2, Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), or hepatitis B, C, and G viruses. All children were found to be coinfected with CMV, whereas 5% had hepatitis G virus coinfection and 15% had KSHV coinfection. A protective role for hepatitis G virus cannot be excluded but likely affects only a minority of HIV-1-infected African children.