The utility of neuroimaging studies for informing educational practice and policy in reading disorders.

Educational neuroscience is an emerging scientific field that brings together researchers from neuroscience, psychology, and education to explore the neurocognitive processes underlying educational practice and theory. In this brief article, we take reading disorder (RD, also known as developmental dyslexia) as an example, and explore trends in neuroimaging research, which may have future implications for educational practice and policy. Specifically, we present two examples that have been central to research efforts in our laboratory: (a) utilizing multimodal neuroimaging to optimize criteria to diagnose RD, and (b) identifying neuroimaging markers that predict future academic outcomes. Such research is faced with important challenges, and rigorous validation is necessary before any claims of the widespread practical utility of neuroimaging can be made. Nevertheless, we contend that neuroimaging studies offer opportunities for providing critical information that could lead to advancing theory of reading and RD. This could in turn lead to better diagnostic criteria and more accurate and earlier identification of RD.

White matter morphometric changes uniquely predict children's reading acquisition.

This study examined whether variations in brain development between kindergarten and Grade 3 predicted individual differences in reading ability at Grade 3. Structural MRI measurements indicated that increases in the volume of two left temporo-parietal white matter clusters are unique predictors of reading outcomes above and beyond family history, socioeconomic status, and cognitive and preliteracy measures at baseline. Using diffusion MRI, we identified the left arcuate fasciculus and superior corona radiata as key fibers within the two clusters. Bias-free regression analyses using regions of interest from prior literature revealed that volume changes in temporo-parietal white matter, together with preliteracy measures, predicted 56% of the variance in reading outcomes. Our findings demonstrate the important contribution of developmental differences in areas of left dorsal white matter, often implicated in phonological processing, as a sensitive early biomarker for later reading abilities, and by extension, reading difficulties.

Socio-Emotional and Cognitive Resilience in Children with Reading Disabilities.

In recent times, research on resilience in children facing adversities has proliferated. In this review, the authors characterize resilience in children with reading disorders (RD). To organize our discussion and categorize the specific outcomes such children demonstrate, we adopt the terms cognitive resilience and socio-emotional resilience. By paralleling other resilience research, we seek to uncover protective factors in the hopes that they can be targeted in education and interventions to improve cognitive functioning, socio-emotional wellbeing, and academic success of children with RD. We conclude by considering current limitations and addressing the need for future resilience research in this specific population of children.

The matter of motivation: Striatal resting-state connectivity is dissociable between grit and growth mindset.

The current study utilized resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine how two important non-cognitive skills, grit and growth mindset, are associated with cortico-striatal networks important for learning. Whole-brain seed-to-voxel connectivity was examined for dorsal and ventral striatal seeds. While both grit and growth mindset were associated with functional connectivity between ventral striatal and bilateral prefrontal networks thought to be important for cognitive-behavioral control. There were also clear dissociations between the neural correlates of the two constructs. Grit, the long-term perseverance towards a goal or set of goals, was associated with ventral striatal networks including connectivity to regions such as the medial prefrontal and rostral anterior cingulate cortices implicated in perseverance, delay and receipt of reward. Growth mindset, the belief that effort can improve talents, notably intelligence, was associated with both ventral and dorsal striatal connectivity with regions thought to be important for error-monitoring, such as dorsal anterior cingulate cortex. Our findings may help construct neurocognitive models of these non-cognitive skills and have critical implications for character education. Such education is a key component of social and emotional learning, ensuring that children can rise to challenges in the classroom and in life.